* In the greater Alexandria, Minnesota, standard metropolitan statistical area.
I was so bored I called Jake from State Farm just to talk to someone. He asked me what I was wearing. ~ Not Jake
Another highlight of the year was eating at Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown, another first. Nevertheless, in spite of that landmark event, “many think of 1776 as the most defining year of American history, the year we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self-government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as crucial to our nation’s identity, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba, and then the Philippines, becoming a meddling . . . (the first of a continuing string of unflattering adjectives as only Vowell can do) . . . superpower practically overnight.” ~ Book liner
Lisa Lynn @ SAWA, June 2014
Patchouli @ CCW, June 2014
Salty Dogs @ Bug-A-Boo Bay, June 2014
Harper’s Chord @ SAWA, July 2014
High School Band Combo (Paul Meland, Kirby Karpin & ?) @ Bug-A-Boo Bay, July 2014
Katie Ray @ CCW, July 2014
Lisa Lynn @ SAWA, July 2014
Reverend Raven & the Chain Smoking Altar Boys @ Legacy of the Lakes Gardens, July 2014
Components (Dave Strom, Bill Engebretson, Marty Sarlette & Bryan Poyzer) @ SAWA, August 2014
Jim & Anthony Miltich, w/ Victor Facio @ CCW, August 2014
Josie Nelson @ CCW, August 2014
Anthony Miltich @ CCW, September 2014
BAT @ SAWA, September 2014
BAT @ CCW, September 2014
CCW, September 2014
Harper’s Chord @ CCW, September 2014
Patchouli @ CCW, September 2014
Salty Dogs @ CCW, September 2014
Tucker’d Out @ CCW, September 2014
W/ Annie O’Flynn
Anthony & Jim Miltich @ The Peak, October 2014
Anthony Miltich & Jay Seiling @ The Peak, October 2014
Cheese Bots @ SAWA, November 2014
Erik Schultz & Mary Lou Thunselle @ SAWA, November 2014
Salty Dogs @ CCW, November 2014
Yellow Submarines & Walruses . . .
This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house & told my cat. We laughed a lot. ~ Also Not Jake
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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