January 15
The summer of 1999. The Super and I were still working and living in D.C. We took our summer vacations in Alex with free lodging at Mom’s on Lake Le Homme Dieu. With high school classmates Greg Johnson and Tom Kiehne, we came to play in the Resorters Tournament at the Alexandria Golf Club. Their families joined the festivities for a picnic on Mom’s lakeshore. Cousin Barb Arrell, a winner of the Resorters, was there with her mom Shirley. Sister Gretch and brother-in-law Mohamed were also in town from D.C. A good time was had by all. I am not aware of any nuisance complaints filed with the local constabulary . . .
[Barb Arrell, Ruth Hill (later Obert), and Anne Kiehne on the shores of Lake Le Homme Dieu . . . ]
[Tom “Professor Doctor Colonel” Kiehne and Greg “Little Mayo” Johnson . . . ]
Summer bachelors like summer breezes, are never as cool as they pretend to be. ~ Nora Ephron
[Table 1: June & Merill Kiehne, Ruth, Anne, and Mayo (Big) Johnson. Table 2: Barb, Natalia Obert, Shirley Arrell . . . ]
[Barb, Natalia, Shirley, Pearl Johnson, June, and Mohamed . . . ]
A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawnmower is broken. ~ James Dent
It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do. ~ Walter Winchell
[Three-quarters of American males cross their right legs over their left . . . ]
[All were subsequently released on legal technicalities . . . ]
[Gretch practicing photo-journalism, which would subsequently lead her to report on the 2020 election activities in the nation’s capital . . . ]
A lot of parents pack up their troubles and send them off to summer camp. ~ Raymond Duncan
Smell the sea, and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly. ~ Van Morrison
It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine…it’s summertime! ~ Kenny Chesney
Summertime and the livin’ is easy. ~ Porgy and Bess
[Merill is still going strong at 99 . . . ]
[We were there for the 1999 opening of Carlos Creek Winery and have signatures to prove it . . . ]
Beer is made by men, wine by God. ~ Martine Luther
I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food. ~ W. C. Fields
[Barb, with surrounding fan club, making a shot in the Resorters . . . ]
If you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt. ~ Dean Martin
A hole in one is amazing when you think of the different universes this white mass of molecules has to pass through on its way to the hole. ~ Mac O’Grady
It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. ~ Mark Twain
I started watching golf for the first time yesterday. I’m really worried about myself. I was actually enjoying it. ~ Ewan McGregor
[The entire Arrell entourage . . . ]
[And then the guys played . . . ]
[And Mom watched . . . ]
These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow. ~ Sam Snead
[And then more Obert families arrived – from Arizona and Colorado and Mounds View . . . ]
A family reunion is an effective form of birth control. ~ Robert A. Heinlein
[Uncle Tom (Arizona) and “Uncle” Mo (D.C.) and nephew Michael John (Mounds View) . . . ]
[Sister-in-law Karen (Mounds View) and cousin Paula (Colorado) with their “chidrun” . . . ]
Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. ~ George Burns
Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts. ~ Wayne Huizenga
[Say “Good night” Aunt Mookie (Arizona) . . . ]
[Michael John and Katy of the Mounds View Oberts (brother Cam and sister-in-law Karen) . . . ]
[Micheal John emulated Yo Yo Ma; Katy emulated Simone Biles . . . ]
[Cam emulated . . . well, refer to the family tree quote about producing nuts . . . ]
Family: A social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space. ~ Evan Esar
[Katy went to practice her gymnastics; Michael John looking for the basketball . . . ]
I wish I could relate to the people I’m related to. ~ Jeff Foxworthy
[Sometime later, in 2000 or 2001, visiting at Mom’s with snow all around . . . ]
In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. ~ Albert Camus
[The Super checking on the Lake Darling property where we would build our log home . . . ]
[With our builder, Roger Rosengren . . . ]
[Meanwhile, back at Mom’s, the snow continued to pile up . . . ]
He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter. ~ John Burroughs
[Spring 2001, the swallows returned to Minneapolis for the Final Four. Meeting for brunch at the Lake Elmo Inn, as was the custom in those days, were brother Cam, Gus Campuzano from Wichita, Basketball Dan from the world, and the Little Mayo Johnson family of Linda and Alexandra from Burnsville, and the Super . . . ]
[Mounds View Oberts at the State Gymnastics meet . . . ]
[From our front row seats for the Final Four in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome . . . ]
[The Metrodome (since mercifully put out of its misery) in downtown Minneapolis . . . ]
The family. We are a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms. . . and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~ Erma Bombeck
There is no such thing as fun for the whole family. ~ Jerry Seinfeld
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