I’m not big on making resolutions. The times I have vowed to start doing something or stop doing something at the beginning of the New Year usually lead to self loathing by the first of February. So I simply choose not to set myself up for failure and disappointment. Instead of New…
In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, “Well, there you go again.” After an 0-2 start to the season, I had no illusions that the Minnesota Vikings would have the power to suck me back into the fold, especially with that Jackson guy as quarterback. But little rays of hope did return when he was pulled…
When John Gruseth first stepped off the ship’s gangway onto solid ground once again he still had his sea legs and felt a bit wobbly. It had been a long rough voyage across the Atlantic in late December and he was mighty glad to be standing here at Trondheim Harbor on Christmas Eve day 1906. As he…
If you’re allergic to corn, or are diabetic, stop reading now!It’s about to get awfully corny and sugary sweet around here. As I close in on my 62nd Christmas, I got to thinking about which ones have been the most memorable. The first Christmas I have any recollection of at all was in 1949 when…
Call it Karma, fate, coincidence or irony but no sooner do I write about the patience and perseverance of our pioneer ancestors during the long winter of 1880-81 than my own winter survival ability is put to the test. The story actually began a couple weeks ago when I received a letter from Midcontinent Communications which…
Sorry.It’s been a while since my last entry and I have no excuses other than..well, let’s see, I’ll blame the weather. Nothing dulls my senses or freezes-up the creative juices more than a few days of skin-cracking cold with snow and a 35 mile an hour north wind thrown in for good measure.We’ve been living like…
Whenever I’m out and about (which isn’t that often these days) invariably, someone will ask if I ever see Captain 11 (A.K.A., Dave Dedrick) anymore. Well, the answer, I’m ashamed to admit, is “no.” Linda and I drove by their house a few times this past summer hoping to spot Dave and Marjean sitting out…
Oh no! Barack Obama still sneaks a cigarette from time to time. Am I one of the few people who had no idea that the President Elect has smoked cigarettes most of his adult life and that recent attempts to quit have, by his own admission, not been entirely successful? I’ll bet if my golfing…
Even though I don’t have to punch a clock anymore (figuratively speaking, of course,) I’m still not a big fan of Mondays. Especially Mondays like this one; cold, grey and cloudy with snow in the forecast. What really got me in a grumpy mood, though, was not so much the weather but discovering that the…
I was getting worried.Just three weeks before Christmas and I still wasn’t in the Christmas Spirit. Back when I was a kid, all it took was a slight stimulation of any of the 5 senses; “hearing” Gene Autry singing about Rudolph the red nosed reindeer during Ray Loftesness’ Holiday Inn program on KSOO Radio. “Seeing”…