Category Archives: Blog Archive

Hawaii. The crash of waves. The pound of surf against the beach and the black volcanic rock that lifts this hotel, this land, and the people of Kaua’i out of the Pacific Ocean. Why am I thinking of my idol, … Continue reading →

Anita Anderson, an energetic and youthful daughter-in-law of friends, had posited the question to me more than once as our paths crossed in Fredenberg Township, the little slice of heaven we both call home: “Have you skied Biskey Ponds yet?” … Continue reading →

Smile Pinki (2012. Smile Train) I received a DVD copy of the 2008 Academy Award winning documentary, Smile Pinki, unsolicited in the mail a few months back. The movie sat on my writing desk for a bit because the subject … Continue reading →

I’ll come clean. The photo wasn’t taken yesterday. It was taken a few Sundays back when the dogs and I made a long loop on the ski trail in the woods behind my house. I was skiing on trails I … Continue reading →

I first began collecting albums (you remember them, don’t you: vinyl records that held approximately 40 minutes worth of music?) back in the late 1960s. My mom belonged to the Columbia Record Club and let me order a couple of … Continue reading →

The other day I noticed a comment my friend, Sally Anderson, the manager of the Bookstore at Fitger’s, had posted on Facebook. Seems Fox News was doing a piece on the status of independent bookstores in our region without bothering … Continue reading →

The news was expected. Our second son, Dylan, and his long time significant other, Shelly Helgeson, got engaged over the Christmas break. The normally recalcitrant and emotionally reserved young man “popped the question” to his lady on Christmas Eve and … Continue reading →

The photo above was taken before Christmas. It was one of the many below zero days we, as hardy Northlanders, recently endured. -15F that day, to be exact. Since then, I’ve recorded three days colder than thirty below (-34, -32, … Continue reading →

Light snow fell as I pulled out of my brother and sister-in-laws’ place. My Garmon GPS was tuned to Christ Church Lutheran, an enclave of Finnishness in a Minneapolis neighborhood a stone’s throw east of Uptown. The freeways from Lakeville … Continue reading →

It started out innocently enough. At the suggestion of my life-long best friend, Eddie, and his wife Sue, Rene’ and I agreed to try out Jim Pappas’ Christmas tree lot on Morris Thomas Road in Duluth. I grew up with … Continue reading →