Category Archives: Blog Archive

  My left shoulder, the one that got blasted in a car accident back in January of 2010 (don’t get me started!) has finally broken down to the point where it needs surgical help. I can work through most pain … Continue reading →

  One of my favorite books about writing is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (1994. Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-48001-6.) I’ve read it from cover to cover at least twice and used excerpts from the book in countless lectures and … Continue reading →

This week, goldfinches, purple finches, morning doves, barn swallows, and bluebirds came back to the feeders on our lawn rolling to the banks of the Cloquet River. It was 86 degrees out at the house yesterday, a record, I am … Continue reading →

The title says it all. I’ve been coming to Bob and Pat Scott’s cabin on Whiteface Lake for the Minnesota Fishing Opener since I was 13 years old. It started when Bob invited six of the dads in his Denfeld … Continue reading →

Ah, the life of a semi-famous novelist from Duluth. It’s Friday afternoon. I’ve just concluded four days of presiding over a complex and hard fought civil trial in my courtroom. I loaded the new Pacifica (not to be confused with … Continue reading →

  I’ve been pretty busy at work. Some of you gleaned this from the fact my name’s been mentioned of late in the local newspaper. In my “real” job, the one that pays the bills, that happens sometimes: I get … Continue reading →

Saturday. I’m up at 5:00am and in the shower. By  5:45am, I’m on the road to the Bloomington Writers’ Festival. I’m nervous: I’m not only selling books at the festival; I’m also reading from Laman’s River for Bloomington cable access … Continue reading →

  We’re blessed with friends. That’s the one thing that I can say with certainty about my wife Rene’ and I. It’s been that way for a long while now, being blessed by friends. Many of our closest friends are … Continue reading →

    What I learned after skiing five straight days last week with my fourteen year old son  and my wife in Montana. First, as I get older, I don’t get better on skis. But as 14 year old’s get … Continue reading →

Recently, twenty Minnesota judges gathered at the pastoral Gainey Conference Center to participate in the Judicial Decision Making Conference. Also known as the “Literature and the Law” conference, the premise of the session is to read short works of fiction, … Continue reading →