March 27

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

December 27

Life without playing music is inconceivable to me. I live my daydreams in music. ~ Albert Einstein

[A day at sea cruising to the Chilean Fjords . . . ]

There is no such thing in this country as equality before the law, and everyone knows it. ~ Michael Tomasky

[The view from our balcony . . . ]

The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance.  ~  Thomas Paine

[Another view from our balcony . . . ]

It is permissible in English for a preposition to be what you end a sentence with.  ~  Merriam-Webster publisher

[A view of the viewer from our balcony . . . ]

I have many faults.  Misunderstanding politics is not one of them.  ~  Mitch McConnell

[Ahhh, the fresh morning air from our balcony . . . ]

The U.N. was not created to take mankind to heaven but to save humanity from hell.  ~  Dag Hammarskjold

[Ultimately to become my desktop background . . . ]

Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.  ~  Judge Learned Hand

[Days at sea involve going to lectures and fine dining, both of which are good for the soul . . . ]

For what we do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?  ~  Jane Austen

[It’s always good to know where you are and where you’re going . . . ]

You’re on Earth.  There’s no cure for that.  ~  Samuel Beckett

[We’re not at where the yellow arrow is pointing . . . ]

A clown with a flamethrower still has . . . a flamethrower.  ~  Charlie Sykes

[We’ll be here soon . . . ]

Men are not from Mars and women are not from Venus, (but politically) they increasingly inhabit what might as well be different planets.  ~  Elizabeth Grace Matthew

Trump, who can’t help putting his name on things like a boy pissing his initials in the snow, is happy to claim responsibility for the tragedies and human rights violations we’ve seen since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in ‘Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization’.   ~  Elie Mystal

What men in government – and it is mostly men – never seem to understand is that having a child changes a woman’s entire life, physically, emotionally, economically, professionally, and even sexually.  ~  Katha Pollitt

[Enjoying lectures creates appetite . . . ]

Never underestimate the ability of the American right to promote outlandish lies:  The litany of deception runs from weapons of mass destruction in the Iraq war to climate change denial, QAnon conspiracy theories, and anti-vaxxing pseudoscience.  ~  Jeet Heer

[Only possible under the influence of dramamine (OK, normal seas have little influence on vessels this size, though the seas are more “normaler” on the Pacific side than the Atlantic) . . . ]

The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent.  It has been under 4 percent for 24 consecutive months, a streak that has not been matched in more than half a century.  ~  Dean Baker

[Meanwhile, back in the classroom . . . ]

[W]ages have risen more rapidly and are now higher when adjusted for inflation than before the pandemic.  [T]he most rapid pay increases have been for those at the bottom end of the wage distribution spectrum.  Much of the rise in inequality of the past four decades has been reversed in the past three years.  ~  Dean Baker

[Differentiating Patagonia from Pampas . . . ]

One might reasonably expect Christians, including white evangelicals, would be a unifying, healing force in American society.  Yet in the main, the white evangelical movement has for decades exacerbated our divisions, fueled hatreds and grievances, and turned fellow citizens into enemies rather than friends.  ~  Peter Wehner

[In the broader sense of where we were . . . ]

Generations of have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell; the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.   ~  Gerard Manley Hopkins

[We’ll get here by and by . . . ]

The conservation movement, born in the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, came late, but mercifully not too late to save what is left of our fauna and flora.  ~  Edward O. Wilson

[Fine dining at the Viking Chef’s Table . . . ]

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. ~ Texas Guinan

[Pack in the dark, you match navy pants with a black sweater . . . ]

The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world.  ~  Alexander von Humboldt

[Here’s our worldview . . . ]

Persons of genius, it is true, are, and are always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow.  ~  John Stuart Mill

[May the first course be with you . . . ]

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~ Aesop

[Cheers for the entree . . . ]

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~ Plato

[And a palate cleanser . . . ]

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.  ~  Dalai Lama

[Must be the main course . . . ]

America’s national parks are “the best idea we ever had . . . ”  ~  Wallace Stegner

. . . even though extinction rates are soaring, a great deal of Earth’s biodiversity can still be saved.  ~  Edward O. Wilson 

I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it. Suppose any party, in addition to whatever share it may possess of the ability of the community, has nearly the whole of its stupidity, that party must, by the law of its constitution, be the stupidest party; and I do not see why honorable gentlemen should see that position as at all offensive to them, for it ensures their being always an extremely powerful party . . . There is so much dense, solid force in sheer stupidity, that any body of able men with that force pressing behind them may ensure victory in many a struggle, and many a victory the Conservative party has gained through that power.  ~  John Stuart Mill ( British philosopher, economist, and liberal member of Parliament for Westminster from 1865 to 68 )

[And the set menu for the evening . . . ]

Both teachers and learners go to sleep at their post as soon as there is no enemy in the field.  ~  John Stuart Mill

Nature is wild, nature is ancient, nature is pure, this essentially American credo [conservation] declared, and nature should not be managed except to blunt the corroding effects of human interference.  ~  Edward O. Wilson

[Here’s dessert to you . . . ]

Everything is everywhere, but the environment selects.  ~  Lourens Bass Becking

[A little apres wine . . . ]

There is a new epoch for individuals over the age of 75.  It’s called the Age of Major Surgeries.  ~  Me

[Well, you’ll notice there were a few wine pairings on the menu . . . ]

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music, and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays. ~ Henny Youngman

Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is best not to stir them. ~ P.G. Wodehouse

I never eat in a restaurant that’s over a hundred feet off the ground and won’t stand still. ~ Calvin Trillin

Up Next: Day 9 . . .

March 25

In life it is not where you go, it is who you travel with. ~ Charles M. Schulz

December 26

You will never get any more out of life than you expect. ~ Bruce Lee

After multiple delays in processing this South America blog (medical (doing fine), Big Ten and high school basketball tournaments, and general gremlin attacks on our computers and their apps), I’m hoping to finally get rolling again. Said delays created long distance phone calls of concern. There were also so many photos I should have broken this into two posts. Anyway, this is our first adventure outside of South American urbanity to the Chilean Lake District. ~ Me

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that. ~ George Carlin

[Osorno Volcano is a 2,652-metre-tall (8,701 ft) conical stratovolcano lying between Osorno Province and Llanquihue Province in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile. It stands on the southeastern shore of Llanquihue Lake, and also towers over Todo los Santos Lake. Osorno is considered a symbol of the local landscape and, as such, tends to be the referential element of the area in regards to tourism. By some definitions, it marks the northern boundary of Chilean Patagonia (Wikipedia).]

[We’re on a bus ride through central Chile to see volcanoes and lakes . . . ]

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. ~ H. L. Mencken

[These are a few of the several (and more) photos I took of Orsono – a beautiful, conical, snow-capped volcano on a beautiful day . . . ]

You cannot explore the universe if you think that you are the center of it. ~ Joshua Suya Pelicano

So much of who we are is where we have been. ~ William Langewiesche

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment. ~ Hilaire Belloc

[El Galpón is an ecotourism park that has cabins to receive visitors, large green areas, children’s games, sports areas and an elegant room for social events. A space to spend a weekend in the company of the family, is located in Ayapango, State of Mexico (Wikipedia).]

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. ~ T.S. Eliot

[Calbuco is a stratovolcano in southern Chile, located southeast of Llanquihue Lake and northwest of Chapo Lake, in the Los Lagos Region, and close to the cities of Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt. With an elevation of 2,015 meters above sea level, the volcano and the surrounding area are protected within the Llanquihue National Reserve. The most recent eruption, a major VEI 4 event, happened with little warning on April 22–23, 2015, followed by a smaller eruption on April 30. This was Calbuco’s first activity since 1972 (Wikipedia).]

Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ~ Gustave Flaubert

[Suspected to be a campground . . . ]

The most beautiful thing in the world is of course, the world itself. ~ Wallace Stevens

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. ~ St Augustine

[Orsono and Calbuco in the same shot, with reflections from the bus window thrown in at no extra charge . . . ]

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before. ~ Dalai Lama

[Casablanca is a holocene stratovolcano in the Andes of Los Lagos Region. It is located about 90 km east of the city of Orsono and host on its slopes the Antillanca ski resort. The complex erupted lavas with composition between basalt and andesite and has no recorded historical eruptions. Several scoria cones formed after the last ice age (Wikipedia).]

The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have. ~ Anna Quindlen

[The Chilean Lake District is a zone in Southern Chile defined by its many lakes in the Andean foothills. The term is primarily used in tourism literature and advertising, in Chile Zona Sur is preferred as a geographical concept. The Chilean Lake District includes the cities of Temuco, Villarrica, Pucon, Valdivia, Orsono, Entre Lagos (Puyehue),Puerto Octay, Frutillar, Puerto Varas, and Puerto Montt (Wikipedia).]

Seize the day (boys). Make your life extraordinary. ~ John Keating

[A boat ride on Lake Todos Los Santos in Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park . . . ]

In this spot, the photo at the top of this post (and all others throughout) . . .

It is a big beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it. I don’t want to be most of us. ~ Oberyn Martell

[A now, the views from the boat . . . ]

Whenever I miss traveling (which is pretty much all the time), I find myself googling quotes to cheer me up. ~ Anna Faustino

[Little Ole really gets around . . . ]

I have worn the dust of many foreign streets, but to brush it off would surely be a crime. I have the memories of many foreign adventures, but to forget them would surely be a sin. So, breath in the dust and keep the memories in. ~ Rowland Waring-Flood

[Casablanca . . . ]

If you’re not moving, you’re standing still. ~ Stephen Trafton

Fear of the unknown will always be overpowered by human desire toward exploration. Curiosity is the risk, whose gifts often pays off. ~ Mladen Đorđević

[Well, I told you I took a lot of shots of Osorno . . . ]

Exploring the world is one the best ways of exploring the mind, and walking travels both terrains. ~ Rebecca Solnit

[That’s our new travel friend Rich in the middle background . . . ]

People have always looked to the horizon and feared that which they did not understand. ~ Matt Kaplan

[And our new travel friend Liz as photographer . . . ]

I’ve been to almost as many places as my luggage. ~ Bob Hope

Oh the places you’ll go. ~ Dr. Seuss

[Fellow travelers we met on the trip, Liz and Rich (in above photos solo) from Stanford, and with whom we became friends . . . ]

Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.  ~  Michael Palin

The world’s mine oyster… ~ William Shakespeare

A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander. ~ Roman Payne

[Even more American tourists . . . ]

We can never have enough of nature. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[And no, the guy in the background with the hat is not William Kent Krueger . . . ]

Love is a game that two can play and both win. ~ Eva Gabor

The gladdest moment in human life is a departure into unknown lands. ~ Sir Richard Burton

[Lakeshore views . . . ]

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. ~ John Steinbeck

It is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all. ~ Ernest Shackleton

Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure. ~ Irving Wallace

I will go anywhere, as long as it is forward. ~ David Livingstone

[Petrohué Waterfalls is a chute-type waterfall in the upper reach of Petrohué River in Chile, a short distance downstream of the source of this river in Todos los Santos Lake. This waterfall is inside the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, close to the road leading to the Petrohue locality on Lake Todos los Santos (Wikipedia).]

[Back ashore, hiking Saltos del Rio Petrohue . . .

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. ~ Martin Buber

The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it. ~ Rudyard Kipling

Adventure, yeah, I guess that’s what you call it when everybody comes back alive. ~ Mercedes Lackey

People protect what they love. ~ Jacques Cousteau

[Trying to keep up with the Supervisor . . . ]

Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. ~ Ibn Battuta

[From here Orsono and Casablanca are both in view . . . ]

We need the tonic of wildness…We can never have enough of nature. ~ Henry David Thoreau

I will come again and conquer you because as a mountain you can’t grow… but as a human, I can. ~ Edmund Hillary

[The crowd at the falls overlook . . . ]

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. ~ Aldous Huxley

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. ~ Ansel Adams

[The crowds, the crowds . . . ]

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. ~ Edwin Hubble

[Rich, Liz, Ruthie, some people, and Orsono . . . ]

Drink heavily with locals when possible. ~ Anthony Bourdain

We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. There are always new things to find out if you go looking for them. ~ David Attenborough

We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. ~ Jacques Cousteau

Once you get to earth orbit, you’re halfway to anywhere in the solar system. ~ Robert A. Heinlein

You should be excited to meet new people and try new things—to assume the best about them, in the absence of evidence to the contrary. ~ Brian Christian

I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Occasionally, I find an answer. ~ Stephen Hawking

We want to explore; we want to understand. We want to believe. ~ Robert C. Jacobson

[A short bus ride to a beach on Llanquihue Lake, Chile’s 2nd largest lake . . . ]

Space is only 100 kilometers above sea level. That’s incredibly close—about an hour’s drive on most United States highways (at speed limit, of course). ~ Robert C. Jacobson

An explorer cannot stay at home reading maps other men have made. ~ Susanna Clarke

My true ecstasy is to hunt, seek, and find new things in life. ~ Helen Edwards

J. Robert Oppenheimer once remarked, “live always at the ‘edge of mystery’—the boundary of the unknown. ~ Rebecca Solnit

[The drive along Llanquihue Lake to Puerto Varas . . . ]

Perhaps there is no thrill so great as that which comes with a walk in the freshness of morning air. ~ Hellen Keller

[The Puerto Varas “boardwalk” . . . ]

As a child, a library card takes you to exotic, faraway places. When you’re grown up, a credit card does it. ~ Sam Ewing

[Lunch at Hotel Cumbres Puerto Varas on the waterfront . . . ]

Among the trees, I have come to find that there is no age limit to exploration. There is no end to learning. ~ Jessica Marie Baumgartner

[This was our view coming out of the restaurant after lunch . . . ]

To think, she could have lived and died and never seen the sea. ~ V. E. Schwab

[Our volcanoes on the far side . . . ]

There is a reason the remote Pacific was the last place on Earth to be settled by humans: it was the most difficult, more daunting even than the deserts or the ice. ~ Christina Thompson

[Really too bad we didn’t have a nice day . . . ]

Where ever humans can’t go, the earth is in peace. Not much left, though. That is why we reach out to the universe. ~ Lenfantvivant

[When telephoto lenses come in handy . . . ]

‘No Trespassing’ actually means ‘Best views this way’. ~ Rip Pereida

If ever it’s necessary to ride the bandwagon, it’s done with one leg swinging out and eyes scoping the fields. ~ Criss Jami

[International tourists?]

Emergencies have always been necessary to progress.  ~ Victor Hugo

[Note to Puerto Varas Chamber of Commerce: Please permit street art on this forsaken wall . . . ]

Is it fair to say that traveling is life itself? ~ Louis Yako

[Left side center, where we had lunch . . . ]

We tend to think things are new because we’ve just discovered them. ~ Madeline L’Engle

There’s no blank spots on the map anymore, anywhere on earth. If you want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. ~ Jon Krakauer

[Why yes, I am a tourist from the United States. How did you guess?]

Travel is broadening. It’s time to hit the road again. ~ Carl Sagan

Once upon a time, we soared into the Solar System. For a few years. Then we hurried back. Why? What happened? What was ‘Apollo’ really about? ~ Carl Sagan

[Why yes, I too am a tourist from the United States . . . ]

Whether women are better than men I cannot say – but I can say they are certainly no worse. ~ Golda Meir

Through a strange kind of geographic arrogance, Europeans like to think that the world was a silent, dark, unknown place until they trooped out and discovered it. ~ Tahir Shah

It is often said that there are very few places left on earth that have yet to be discovered. But those who say this are usually referring to places that exist at the human scale. ~ Mark Miodownik

Inquiring minds want to know: What’s the difference between sea salt . . . and salt? ~ Me

[A big boat . . . ]

He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.  ~   Dutch Proverb

[We are tendering back to our ship . . . ]

Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards eternal or we imagine of it. ~ Cesare Pavese

The country remained the same, and was extremely uninteresting. The complete similarity of the productions throughout Patagonia is one of its most striking characters. ~ Charles Darwin

Up Next: Day 8 . . .

March 9

As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is.  ~  Eric Sevareid

It’s Christmas.  So, Feliz Navidad.  We spent the entire day cruising at sea, heading for Puerto Montt (see map above).  Come to think of it, the Super would like to do that for the rest of her life . . . ~ Me

There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.  ~  Charles Dickens

December 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS

When you stop believing in Santa, you get underwear! ~  Anonymous

[A gentleman with his morning coffee, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” . . . ]

Christmas is, of course, the time to be home – in heart as well as body (or on a cruise ship in South America ~ Editor).  ~  Garry Moore

[The grand staircase in the boat’s atrium, appropriately decorated for the season . . . ]

Our children await Christmas presents like politicians getting in election returns: there’s the Uncle Fred precinct and the Aunt Ruth district still to come in.  ~  Marcelene Cox

[A Christmas village of gingerbread homes . . . ]

Being a traditionalist, I’m a rabid sucker for Christmas. In July, I’m already worried that there are only 146 shopping days left.  ~  John Waters

[The grand staircase (no, I didn’t skip up or down) . . . ]

Godot is whatever it is in life that you are waiting for: ‘I’m waiting to win the lottery. I’m waiting to fall in love’. For me, as a child, it was Christmas. At least that eventually came.  ~  Ian Mckellen

[Those responsible for keeping us entertained, fed, and alive . . . ]

Let our religions unite us for human kindness rather than dividing us on what we believe. Merry Christmas. ~   Hockson Floin

[A lecture by someone whose face is turned and thus I can’t identify . . . ]

Abbie had survived exam week on nothing but strong coffee and homemade Christmas cookies – the kind that are 97 percent sugar.  ~  Dan Salerno

[It must have been a good one – the theatre was packed . . . ]

I’m a physicist, and we have something called Moore’s Law, which says computer power doubles every 18 months. So every Christmas, we more or less assume that our toys and appliances are more or less twice as powerful as the previous Christmas.  ~  Michio Kaku

[The cruise director gave daily briefings about events for the following day . . . ]

It kills me when people talk about California hedonism. Anybody who talks about California hedonism has never spent a Christmas in Sacramento. ~ Joan Didion

[Looking down the grand stairway to the pianist performing in the atrium . . . ]

There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. ~ Erma Bombeck

Tomatoes should be accorded with respect, for without them, Christmas stew wouldn’t exist. ~ Michael Bassey Johnson

[And with a photo bomber . . . ]

There’s never really been a real hood Christmas movie. ~ Ice Cube

[A fan of the pianist . . . ]

Don’t give me books for Christmas; I already have a book. ~ Jean Harlow

Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard or too sad when you’ve got a Christmas tree in the living room. ~ Nora Roberts

[And that’s the ship’s staff and crew caroling . . . ]

I love Christmas. Frosty the Snowman, peace on Earth and mangers, Salvation Army bell ringers and reindeer, the movie ‘Meet Me in St. Louis,’ office parties and cookies. ~ Mo Rocca

I throw a Christmas party at my house. It’s not really a Christmas party, because I don’t want to call it a Christmas party. But let’s just say I put a lot of Christmas trees around the house, so it smells good. ~ Bill Murray

[Whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy a good yarn about bonnie King Charlie . . . ]

Christmas is a juggernaut, it rolls over most interruptions, potholes or side-tracks, and just keeps right on going. ~ Alan Camrose

[The king is a year younger than me, so I know he’s hurting . . . ]

Most Christian holidays were Pagan holidays first. Christmas trees and Easter eggs have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. They are Pagan symbols. Christianity is thinly disguised Paganism. ~ Oliver Markus Malloy

[Dr. Lawrence Kuznetz was a real hoot. He helped design the space suit for the Apollo missions and unsuccessfully tried to direct me to the Southern Cross . . . ]

The day you stop getting excited about Christmas is the day you become officially old. ~ Stewart Stafford

Life is short. Jingle your bells. ~ Eleanor Brownn (yes, two ‘n’s’)

This chap has the sort of old, lively face that one would wish for beside a cosy Christmas fire. ~ Vincent van Gogh

Real ballplayers pass the stuffing by rolling it up in a ball and batting it across the table with a turkey leg. ~ Tom Swyers

[Let’s see – what’s for Christmas dinner? As I recall the Super went for the Beef Wellington and I the Braised Halibut . . . ]

Like a sparkle of a thousand pearls; an angel touched my lips. ~ Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann

[And what’s for Christmas dessert?]

Christmas carols always brought tears to my eyes. I also cry at weddings. I should have cried at a couple of my own. ~ Ethel Merman

[With apologies to Liz for catching her in mid-bite . . . ]

I had eight brothers and sisters. Every Christmas my younger brother Bobby would wake up extra early and open everybody’s presents – everybody’s – so by the time the rest of us got up, all the gifts were shredded, ribbons off, torn open and thrown aside. ~ Tommy Hilfiger

[As the sun sets on Christmas 2023 . . . ]

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~ Washington Irving

And so, I’m offering this simple phrase to kids from one to 92. Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you. ~ Mel Torme and Robert Wells 

Up Next: Day 7 . . .

February 19

I suppose it all started with the snow. You see, it was a very special kind of snow. A snow that made the happy happier, and the giddy even giddier. A snow that’d make a homecoming homier, and natural enemies, friends, natural. ~ Frosty the Snowman

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: All of them make me laugh. ~ W. H. Auden

If you can laugh at it, you can live with it. ~ Erma Bombeck

December 24

We got to the moon on Christmas Eve 1968, at the end of a poor year for this country. We had Vietnam. We had civil unrest. We had the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. But we went around the moon and saw the far side for the first time. A script writer couldn’t have done a better job of raising people’s hope. ~ Jim Lovell

Yes! Yes I do! I like Christmas! I love Christmas! ~ Ebenezer Scrooge

[It’s Christmas Eve – time for a dip in the pool?]

I get a little bit tired of Christmas trees. I like to mix it up and get a big pile of dirt. ~ Lewis Black

[When Viña del Mar [Valparaiso] was chosen as a venue for the 1962 World Cup, the coastal city decided to spruce up its seafront with a large, flowery, fully functioning clock. The Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock) is a botanical landmark in Viña del Mar to this day. It has been severely damaged by both vandalism and a fallen tree over the years, but the flowers keep on blooming, and the clock’s still ticking. (atlasobscura.com)]

Pretending to believe in the Mayan apocalypse prophecy is a great way to get out of buying Christmas presents. ~ Unknown

[The Museo Fonck, also known as the Museo de Arqueología e Historia Francisco Fonck, is situated in Viña del Mar, Valparaíso. This museum was inaugurated on November 25, 1937, and is named in honor of Francisco Fonck, a German doctor, explorer, and politician who settled in Chile and is known for his exploration of southern Chile. The museum houses an extensive collection from Easter Island, one of the most complete of its kind, which allows visitors to visualize the Rapanui culture and civilization. It also displays artifacts from the primitive cultures of northern, central, and southern Chile, including the Atacameños, Mapuches, and Diaguitas. (whichmuseum.com)]

Mama, you know, poor baby, she’d had her family all finished: four daughters and a couple of sons, and suddenly, I arrived in her midlife on Christmas Eve 1922. ~ Ava Gardner

[Our Valparaiso tour guide . . . ]

As popular as Christmas is, it would be even bigger if it had vampires. ~ Andy Borowitz

[Rapa Nui, the Polynesian name for Easter Island . . . ]

Adults can take a simple holiday for children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks from her dog, who drew her name. ~ Erma Bombeck

Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight? ~ Santa Claus

[Where we were and where Rapa Nui is on the planet . . . ]

When I was a kid, we would get McDonalds on Christmas Eve, and that was a big deal because the closest one to the south side of Chicago was a 35 minute drive away. I remember opening the bag and smelling those fries, and even now when I smell them, it reminds me of Christmas Eve. ~ Jane Lynch

[North Atlantic meets South Pacific . . . ]

We have 40 people over for Thanksgiving, 30 people for Easter lunch, 35 people on Christmas Eve. People tend to expect to spend their holidays with us, which is lovely and an expectation I carry with pride. ~ Sonya Walger

[The inspiration for Pablo Picasso?]

I make a huge batch of cinnamon buns on Christmas Eve and bake them off early Christmas morning. ~ Christina Tosi

[Easter Island, a special territory of Chile . . . ]

Indeed, the Royal Family still retain the German custom – introduced by Prince Albert – of opening their presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning. ~ Ingrid Seward

[The inspiration for Andy of “Toy Story”?]

My grandmother was a church organist, but we only went on Easter and Christmas Eve sometimes. ~ Zach Anner

[The ‘Mapuche’ is a group of native indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. (Wikipedia)]

Tomorrow is Christmas! It’s practically here! ~ The Grinch

[Notable is the collection on the culture of Rapa Nui (inhabitants of Easter Island), starting with an authentic Moai, located in the garden, brought to the continent in 1951, which, together with those in the British Museum in London, are the only ones outside the island. (chile-travel-and-news.com)]

It’s Christmas Eve. A time of mystery, expectations, who knows what might happen. ~ Drosselmeyer

[The Supervisor with the moai (Easter Island monumental statue) . . . ]

Cheer up, dude. It’s Christmas.  ~  The Grinch

[Moai, without the Supervisor . . . ]

God bless us, every one! ~ Tiny Tim

[Escultura Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and diplomat, located adjacent to Museo Fonck . . . ]

I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love. ~ Charlie Brown

We got so caught up in the little things of Christmas, like love and family, that we almost forgot that it’s buying things that makes our economy thrive. ~ Diana Choksondik

[In the neighborhood . . . ]

Got all my Christmas shopping done. Now to shop for other people. ~ Conan O’Brien

Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you. ~ Steve Maraboli

[Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón (April 3, 1848 – May 21, 1879) was a Chilean lawyer and navy officer. He was killed in the Battle of Iquique, during the War of the Pacific. During his career, Prat had taken part in several naval engagements, including battles at Papudo (1865), and at the Abtao (1866). Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero [the John Paul Jones of Chile]. Prat’s name is commemorated on numerous plazas (squares), streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile’s major warships. One of Chile’s Antarctic research facilities, Arturo Prat Station, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso bank note. Also, in 1984 Arturo Prat University was founded, with its main campus in Iqioque where his heroic deed took place (Wikipedia).]

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~ Washington Irving

[The Navy Building, the administration headquarters of the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Navy . . . ]

The Christmas spirit is a spirit of giving and forgiving. ~ J. C. Penney

Thank you, Stockings, for being a long flammable piece of fabric people like to hang over a roaring fireplace. ~ Jimmy Fallon

You can’t fool me—there ain’t no Sanity Clause! ~ Chico Marx

[And behind us here is the Navy Building . . . ]

White Christmas’ is the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ of Christmas songs. ~ Stewart Stafford

[I like buildings whose names tell you what they are (the Court of Appeals of Valparaíso) . . . ]

Am I just eating because I’m bored? ~ The Grinch

Of course Santa is dead. You force a guy to eat a billion cookies in one night, what do you think is going to happen? ~ Jimmy Kimmel

[It’s always fun to take a ride up a funicular . . . ]

According to Wikipedia, single hill funiculars have been around since the 1820s but it wasn’t until 1867 that the first out of five lines of the Funicular of Lyon . . .

[It appears the “street art” in the lower right hand corner translates the same in Spanish and English . . . ]

The noun ‘funicular’ descends from an earlier adjective funicular, meaning “relating to a cord under tension” . . .

[Above and below, the view of the port and the city of Valparaiso . . . ]

“Funiculì, Funiculà,“ was written to advertise the opening of the Mt. Vesuvius funicular in 1880 . . .

[And, at no additional cost, another view of the port . . . ]

A painting is worth a thousand confused art-gallery visitors. ~ Ljupka Cvetanova

[This was our destination at the top of the funicular, in full display in the following photo . . . ]

Everywhere you walk, every place you go is full of art, explicit or hidden! If you can see them, you will be the richest art collector and your memory will be the richest art gallery! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

[The Valparaíso Fine Arts Museum, which is housed in the beautiful Baburizza Palace, is an institution that watches over the care, protection and diffusion of the important pictorial collection that the city has been gathering since 1895, under the management of the great national expert Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma, and stands out among the four most important public art collections in Chile. The Collection is composed by works done by great national artists, such as: Juan Francisco González, Pedro Lira, Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma and Nemesio Antúnez, to point out to some. Among these we can also highlight foreign precursors, including Thomas Jacques Somerscales, Johan Moritz Rugendas, Giovanni Mochi and Desiree Chassin Trubert. (museobaburizza.cl)]

Before becoming an artist myself, I used to visit galleries and I enjoy someone’s work… Now I visit galleries and I can enjoy seeing others enjoying my work. ~ Efrat Cybulkiewicz

[The works of these last artists belonged to the personal heritage of paintings owned by Pascual Baburizza, a prominent businessman and philanthropist. (museobaburizza.cl)]

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~ Pablo Picasso

Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. ~ Pablo Picasso

When I go to an art gallery and stand in front of a painting, I don’t want someone telling me what I should be seeing or thinking; I want to feel whatever I feel, see whatever I see, and figure out what I figure out. ~ James Frey

The whole world is an art gallery when you’re mindful. There are beautiful things everywhere and they’re free. ~ Charles Tart

[Our gallery tour guide was young, comedically quick witted, and knowledgeable reflecting what I seem to recall an Ivy League, or British equivalent, background. He noted that Baburizza selected paintings that he liked, not necessarily those that were famous or by famed artists. What a concept . . . ]

You know how you feel somebody looking at you, and you turn, and somebody actually is? It’s the same at an art gallery. You’re looking at one portrait, turn around, and there is a work of art directly behind you. Because it’s all energy. Every single thing has energy. ~ Marina Abramovic

[Our guide noted this painting generally drew the most interest, likely due to what appears to be some sort of interior lighting . . . ]

There is no must in art because art is free. ~ Wassily Kandinsky

Once upon a time, a girl with moonlight in her eyes . . . ~ Charles Strouse / Lee Adams

I love the art world, I love art galleries, I love what it means – I love art. ~ Nas

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso

[This is a table top . . . ]

Great art picks up where nature ends. ~ Marc Chagall

A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. ~ Michelangelo

I love going to art galleries. The Tate Modern is one of my favourite things to do. But I don’t invest in the history of it and I don’t read up on it. I am a guy who would buy a print rather than buy an original. ~ James McAvoy

In 1967 there was no place for photography in a contemporary art gallery. It was almost impossible to get an art dealer to look at, let alone exhibit, anything photographic. ~ Mel Bochner

[A view of the port . . . ]

Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor. ~ Arnold J. Toynbee

[4-masted sailing ship in the harbor (more further down) . . . ]

One can advise comfortably from a safe port. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

[Taking the funicular back down . . . ]

Everything in a modern container port is enormous, overwhelming, crushing. ~ Rose George

I don’t mind cheese with a nice glass of port, but I prefer chocolate. ~ John Virgo

[As you’ll recall, we passed this on the way up . . . ]

[“La Esmeralda”, training ship for the Chilean Navy at her Valparaiso base. Unfortunately, the beautiful four-masted tall ship has now a bad reputation. From 1973 to 1980, it was used as a floating jail and torture chamber for political prisoners during the Pinochet years. ~ igorsolar09 (Pinterest)]

If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. ~ Thomas Aquinas

[A giant cargo ship of the modern age . . . ]

A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. ~ Grace Hopper

It is easy to give advice from a port of safety. ~ Friedrich Schiller

[A different angle on La Esmeralda . . . ]

Every day is like Halloween or Christmas eve for me. I go to bed, and I’m so excited to get back to work. I’m very lucky that I have a career like that ’cause not many people do. ~ Adam Green

[After a hard day of touring, Ruthie and our new friend Liz went for a dip in the ship’s infinity pool . . . ]

Sometime after dark is when we were going to open all the presents underneath the tree from Mom, Dad and the kids and everything – just the family presents was every Christmas Eve. ~ Blake Shelton

‘Safe Harbor’ is a state of mind… it’s the place – in reality or metaphor – to which one goes in times of trouble or worry. It can be a friendship, marriage, church, garden, beach, poem, prayer, or song. ~ Luanne Rice

[A view of the port from our ship . . . ]

Still bent to make some port he knows not where, still standing for some false impossible shore. ~ Matthew Arnold

[And of the city from our ship . . . ]

After a prosperous, but to me very wearisome, voyage, we came at last into port. Immediately on landing I got together my few effects; and, squeezing myself through the crowd, went into the nearest and humblest inn which first met my gaze. ~ Adelbert von Chamisso

Never break the neutrality of a port or place, but never consider as neutral any place from whence an attack is allowed to be made. ~ Horatio Nelson

To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

[Guest lecture by Dr. James Kus on the Central Valley of Chile, the region south of Santiago, especially the Lake District . . . ]

It is not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success of a voyage. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

[Leaving Valparaiso . . . ]

No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port. ~ Michel de Montaigne

[Finally, heading out to sea. Next stop, Puerto Montt . . . ]

I grew up in Beijing and Beijing roast duck is my favorite. My mom makes it every year for Christmas Eve. How crispy the skin is is how good a duck restaurant is. ~ Lulu Wang

[The Super with a shipboard view overlooking the atrium . . . ]

We have a Danish Christmas. On Christmas Eve we dance around the tree, hold hands, sing carols. There are real candles on the tree. ~ Morten Andersen

[The musicians being overlooked (so to speak) . . . ]

But sir, Christmas is a time for giving … a time to be with one’s family. ~ Bob Cratchit

My instinctive belief is that it is probably impossible for poor old homo sapiens to get to the bottom of it all. ~ Astrophysicist Paul Davies

Guns ruin everything. There are too many damned guns in the hands of too many damned idiots in this country. ~ Joel Mathis, Kansas City Star

Up Next: Day 6, a/k/a, Christmas Day . . .

February 18

December 23

Wine…the intellectual part of the meal… ~ Alexandre Dumas

OK, it’s time to get on board the ship. After all, it is a cruise. So, for the next two posts I’ll include the full “Viking Daily” so you get the idea of what’s happening on a daily basis – plus it’s an introduction to the four lecturers we enjoyed through the entire cruise . . . ~ Me

For a chase, the Cardinal recommends his excellent ’24 Cabernet. ~ Porthos in “The Three Musketeers”

With wine in hand, one reaches the happy state, where men are wise, women beautiful, and even one’s children begin to look promising. ~ Unknown

[Our last meal (breakfast) at the Santiago Marriott . . . ]

Clearly, the pleasures wines afford are transitory – but so are those of the ballet, or of a musical performance. Wine is inspiring and adds greatly to the joy of living. ~ Napoleon, 1769–1821

[On the hour and a half (70 miles) bus ride from Santiago to Valparaiso where we will board our boat, Viking Jupiter . . . ]

[b]efore the Berlin Tasting in 2004, Chile’s wines had no recognition. ~ Eduardo Chadwick

[The Santiago version of the “Hollywood” sign . . . ]

Wine is sunlight, held together by water. ~ Galileo Galilei

When there is plenty of wine, sorrow and worry take wing. ~ Ovid, The Art of Love, c. A.D. 8

[As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, “We’ll be back” . . . ]

Water is bad for you and wine makes you sing. ~ Italian proverb

[Church on entry into Valparaiso . . . ]

Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[On the bus, arriving in Valparaiso wending our way to the port for our boat . . . ]

There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking. ~ Benjamin Franklin

[We’re here . . . ]

My dear girl, there are some things that are just not done, such as drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38° Fahrenheit. ~ James Bond

[Check in, security checks, et al . . . ]

What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch? ~ W.C. Fields

[On our boat balcony looking out over Valparaiso . . . ]

I never drink… wine. ~ Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi)

[Our home for the next three weeks . . . ]

I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it. ~ Winston Churchill

[Assume the default position . . . ]

Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together. ~ Elizabeth Taylor

[When you empty your backpack after several trips . . . ]

[The Solidarity Monument is a Chilean sculptural monument made with a copper coating located on the side of the building of the National Congress of Chile , in the central lane of Avenida Argentina in the commune of Valparaiso. It was designed by the Chilean sculptor Nario Irarrazabal. (Wikipedia)]

Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you. ~ William Shakespeare

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind. ~ Humphrey Bogart

[Valparaiso street scene as we bus to an evening at a Casablanca Valley Winery . . . ]

There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne. ~ Bette Davis

Wine is the most civilized thing in the world. ~ Ernest Hemingway

[This reminded me of the dire need for building codes . . . ]

Penicillin cures, but wine makes people happy. ~ Alexander Fleming

Chile is making a shift up from the lower echelons of the pricing spectrum into more premium territory…now it’s clear producers are focusing on imbuing the wines with elegance, restraint and great capacity to age. This is very promising news. ~ Peter Richards

The quality-price ratio is hard to ignore: highly rated Chilean bottles that cost $15 to $30 a bottle in the United States can easily compete with European or Californian counterparts that would cost three to four times as much. ~ John Suckling

[We have arrived for an afternoon at a Casablanca Valley Winery . . . ]

[These wines] offer a completely different face of Chile, a style of wines that give the country a way into the conversation… and joins the eternal search for wines of authenticity. ~ Patricia Tapia

During the 17 years I have covered Chilean wine for Wine Enthusiast, never have more boutique wines made their debut than right now. Now more than ever, the little guy in Chile is making waves. ~ Michael Schachner

This is not the industrial and boring Chile you might have had in mind. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. ~ Luis Gutierrez

[And who knew it came with entertainment?]

It’s a little depressing that sommeliers who seek out wines from the most obscure regions of France, Italy, Spain and California apparently can’t seem to find even a single Chilean bottling that meets their standards. Are [sommeliers] even bothering to look at this vinously diverse country’s wines at all? I wonder because today there are many excellent wines available from Chile, as well as countless outstanding values. ~ Josh Reynolds

[The Super was looking for either a chair or a dance partner . . . ]

Every time I’m in Chile I’m impressed by the breadth of great wines being produced, though many of them tend to never leave the country. ~ Nicholas Gill

Wine in Chile, as is the case across the American continent, was brought by Spanish colonisers and spread across the territory thanks to the insistence on converting people to Catholicism. ~ Ricardo Grellet

Moving beyond workhorse bottles, you’ll find a country full of distinct regions and a broad range of grapes. Explore Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and find out whether or not Cabernet Sauvignon is Chile’s best red grape. ~ Michael Schachner

I’m coming across Chilean wines that have that hard-to-define little extra that makes a wine worth shelling out a few quid more for: that bit of extra verve, complexity, character, or concentration to make them stand out from their cheaper peers. ~ David Williams

Chile is a unique country with a profound history and culture of winemaking. The country is situated in one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic New World wine regions. The historic wine roots go deep in time. The Maipo Valley is arguably Chile’s most historic and famous wine region. ~ thisdayinwinehistory

It is straightforward to fall in love with Chile – the landscape, its gregarious people, and the excellent wines. ~ James Lawrence

Ask anyone who knows my wine-loving-side what my favorite wine country in the world is … I have always responded … “CHILE!”  ~ Veronique Cecilia Barretto

Chilean wine tourism severely trails that of places like France or Napa Valley. Most wine producers are just not set up to accept winery visits. ~ Felipe Tosso

[Wine tasting with palate cleaners . . . ]

Chilean wines have sparked tremendous interest throughout the world and their success is now explained by this account of the origins and development of an industry with a rich 450 years winemaking tradition. ~ Rodrigo Alvarado

[If I read the bottle label correctly, this was a quite tasty Casas Del Bosque Sauvignon Blanc . . . ]

The Casablanca Valley is relatively new to the wine industry with wine production beginning as late as the mid-1980s. Situated on the coastal plain between Santiago and Valparaiso, it is Chile’s fastest growing wine region. ~ knowmadadventures

In Chile, the large temperature differences between day and night, the relatively high degree of humidity of the ocean and the many hours of sunshine provide the perfect conditions for good wine-growing opportunities.  ~ Grandcruwijnen.nl

Chile’s vintners are increasingly thinking about how to adapt to shifts in climate and drier weather that has seen the Andean country gripped by drought for over a decade. ~ Reuters

Of all the wine regions, in all the countries, in all the world…one of the ones I was most excited about visiting recently was Chile’s Casablanca Valley. ~ clustercrush

Located just about an hour’s drive east of Santiago, between the capital and the coastal city of Valparaiso, the Casablanca Valley is a relatively new wine region that was first planted in the mid-80s. ~ clustercrush

Wine can of their wits the wise beguile, Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. ~ Homer, The Odyssey, 9th century B.C.

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever. ~ Aristophanes

Anyone who tries to make you believe that he knows all about wines is obviously a fake. ~ Leon Adams, “The Commonsense Book of Wine”

In vino veritas. (In wine there is truth.) ~ Pliny the Elder, 23–79 A.D.

[And say “Good Night”, Ruthie . . . ]

Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it. ~ Anonymous

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Come quickly! I am tasting stars! ~ Dom Perignon

Up Next: Day 5 (i.e., Christmas Eve)

February 8

Editor’s note: This missive has been delayed for reasons of extended recovery periods from the ravages of international travel . . .

I think the cruise industry has come of age. And older people my age are attracted to the cruise ship industry. And they are booming right now, and all over the world they are booming. And I think they’re for the golden oldies, and there are more and more of them around. ~ Julian Robertson

Mining created Chile. The story of men who go down into the mountain and chip away at minerals in the darkness and then suffer an accident that leaves them at the mercy of that darkness is part of the DNA of Chile, an integral part of the country’s history. ~ Ariel Dorfman

December 22

When I was growing up, the Spanish-speaking world was Balkanized. We were isolated. We didn’t know what was happening in cultural terms in Ecuador, Colombia and Chile. Nowadays, this has changed a lot – fortunately for writers and readers. There is much more integration. ~ Mario Vargas Llosa

[A view from our window to the courtyard below . . . ]

Chile could work as a double for L.A.; it’s very production-friendly and there’s terrific talent down there. ~ Eli Roth

[Using the windows perpendicular to our room as a mirror on the world . . . ]

If a country like Chile can fix its social security system, there is no reason a country as great as the United States… can’t fix our Social Security system. ~ Bill Flores

[This was a day to roam the city of Santiago unattended and unsupervised. We opted for the hop on/hop off bus located 1/2 mile away from our hotel on Av Presidente Kennedy . . . ]

Only two countries in this hemisphere are not democratic, but many countries in both Central and South America, and in the Caribbean, are really fragile democracies. ~ Warren Christopher

[Said hop on/hop off bus . . . ]

When we say Afro American, we include everyone in the Western Hemisphere of African descent. South America is America. Central America is America. South America has many people in it of African descent. ~ Malcolm X

[Why yes, there are mountains here – the Chilean Coastal Range runs parallel to the Andes . . . ]

When Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, there were already well-established universities in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. ~ Oscar Arias

[Costanera Tower, the tallest building in Latin America at 300 meters, will be featured often in this post . . . ]

I’ve never been in any country for more than four years, and I’m learning different languages all the time. It gives you a different attitude. ~ Santiago Cabrera

Latin America is not that different from the rest of the world. Some of us have been trying to get from the edges into the centre, but we’re very few. The world is still very resistant to understanding the diversity of human beings. ~ Daniela Vega

[Plaza de Armas decorated for the summer Christmas season . . . ]

There’s nowhere like home for me, but there has been something so interesting about most of the places I’ve visited. One that sticks out in my mind is traveling around South America. It’s a huge continent, and I only got to see a small portion of it, but I’ve always liked going there. ~ Brittany Bowe

[Don Pedro de Valdivia, the guy on the horse, in the Plaza de Armas De San Fernando, and the Metropolitan Cathedral on the right . . . ]

I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet. ~ Isabel Allende

[The Metropolitan Cathedral . . . ]

Birds born in cages think that flying is a disease. ~ Alejandro Jodorowsky

[Despite all security measures, there appears to be a missing person here . . . ]

I think in South America people are very, uh, they have no inhibitions and wear their hearts on their sleeves – what’s the word? They’re very expressive, demonstrative. ~ Bernard Sumner

The only continent where social movements have led to political parties that have pushed through serious social and political reforms is in South America. ~ Tariq Ali

Two prominent terms, ‘Latino’ and ‘Hispanic,’ refer to people living in the United States who have roots in Latin America, Spain, Mexico, South America, or Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. ~ Ilan Stavans

[Palacio de La Moneda, or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the president of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency, and General Secretariat of the Government . . . ]

Latin American Art is an operational term used to describe art actually made in the more than twenty countries that make up Latin America and that encompass Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. ~ Mari Carmen Ramirez

[I have reason to suspect the nutcrackers are appendages of the season . . . ]

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. ~ Andrew Jackson

I realize that humor isn’t for everyone. It’s only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive. ~ Anne Wilson Schaef

[I liked the fire escape . . . ]

I don’t really watch what I eat. I love sitting around with friends and eating loads and drinking loads for hours. Maybe when I’m 40 I’ll worry about my diet. ~ Santiago Cabrera

[Street scene . . . ]

When people refer to ‘Back in the Day,’ it was a Wednesday. Just a little fun fact for you. ~ Dane Cook

You can be childlike without being childish. A child always wants to have fun. Ask yourself, ‘Am I having fun?’ ~ Christopher Meloni

[Central Post Office Building . . . ]

The problem is when that fun stuff becomes the habit. And I think that’s what’s happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal. ~ Michelle Obama

[Santa Lucía Hill (Spanish: Cerro Santa Lucía), also known in Mapuche as Huelén Hill, is a small hill in the centre of Santiago. An adjacent metro station is named after it. The hill has an altitude of 629 m and a height of 69 m over the surrounding area. The hill is the remnant of a volcano 15 million years old. The hill comprises a 65,300 square metre park adorned with ornate facades, stairways and fountains. At the highest point there is a viewpoint popular with tourists visiting the city and meeting point. (Wikipedia)]

When you start recognising that you’re having fun, life can be delightful. ~ Jane Birkin

Dreams don’t have deadlines. I’m thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it. ~ LL Cool J

[A big brown building, a/k/a, Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center . . . ]

Technology is so much fun but we can drown in our technology. The fog of information can drive out knowledge. ~ Daniel J. Boorstin

[Approaching Sky Costanera . . . ]

You must enjoy the journey because whether or not you get there, you must have fun on the way. ~ Kalpana Chawla

[The Super getting tickets for the elevator ride (one minute) to Sky Costanera . . . ]

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

[The view, the view . . . ]

Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance. ~ David Mamet

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. ~ Maya Angelou

[Sky Costanera, on the 61st and 62 floor of Costanera Tower . . . ]

Old and young, we are all on our last cruise. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

[Reeking of American tourists . . . ]

I had a pretty modest upbringing; it was no pleasure cruise. ~ Vanilla Ice

Violence is one of the most fun things to watch. ~ Quentin Tarantino

[Our personal photographer . . . ]

It didn’t get any more glamorous than Havana, Cuba, in the 1950s. I used to go there when I was a waiter on a cruise ship. ~ Sino Maccioni

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind. ~ Taylor Swift

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. ~ Dalai Lama

We do not remember days, we remember moments. ~ Cesare Pavese

I spend six months of the year on cruises. Travelling the world with your mates, it’s such good fun and I hope that comes across. ~ Jane McDonald

I found out retirement means playing golf, or I don’t know what the hell it means. But to me, retirement means doing what you have fun doing. ~ Dick Van Dyke

A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous. ~ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

The skyscraper establishes the block, the block creates the street, the street offers itself to man. ~ Roland Barthes

What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the ugliness. ~ Joseph Brodsky

The skyscraper style first advocated by Louis Sullivan – a tower of strongly vertical character with clear definitions among base, shaft, and crown – has remained remarkably consistent throughout the history of this building type. ~ Martin Filler

I’ve searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

[Continuing the “loop” – the hop on/hop off bus was a two-hour, 12-stop tour of the city. We circled twice hoping the funicular might open on the second pass. It didn’t . . . ]

A culture, we all know, is made by its cities. ~ Derek Walcott

[Headquarters for the hop on/hop off bus, basically an enlarged telephone booth . . . ]

The land created me. I’m wild and lonesome. Even as I travel the cities, I’m more at home in the vacant lots. ~ Bob Dylan

[Appears to be a Lady Bird Johnson-like attempt at urban beautification, i.e., climate induced drought has required the use of attached water bags for new plantings . . . ]

I think there will be a 200-story skyscraper someday. However, it will require a developer who will not think in conventional terms and for whom economic restraints won’t apply. ~ Helmut Jahn

Doing a house is so much harder than doing a skyscraper. ~ Philip Johnson

The one thing that all great cities have in common is that they are all different. ~ Cate Blanchett

[The funicular to the hilltop was closed because of wildfire hazards. (As I type this on February 6, there have been fatal and destructive wildfires in this area.)]

There are certain romances that belong in certain cities, in a certain atmosphere, in a certain time. ~ Sammy Davis, Jr.

[Mapocho River through the city . . . ]

You probably don’t need more weapons than what’s required to destroy every city on earth. There’s only 2,300 cities. So, the United States, by that criteria, only needs 2,300 nuclear weapons – well, we’ve got more than 25,000! ~ Carl Sagan

[Street scene . . . ]

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

[Academia Diplomática Andrés Bello of Chile is the institution responsible for training Chile’s future diplomats and has also contributed to the preparation of diplomats from South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. It is one of the oldest Academy on the American continent. (Wikipedia)]

Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends. ~ Lewis Mumford

If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. And to do that, we must understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living. ~ Harvey Milk

But geography, if used correctly, can be used to redesign sustainable and more livable cities. ~ Jack Dangermond

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges facing our cities or to the housing crisis, but the two issues need to be considered together. From an urban design and planning point of view, the well-connected open city is a powerful paradigm and an engine for integration and inclusivity. ~ Richard Rogers

I would like to use architecture to create bonds between people who live in cities, and even use it to recover the communities that used to exist in every single city. ~ Toyo Ito

I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all. ~ Michelangelo

[Clock tower of the San Francisco Church . . . ]

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. ~ Bertrand Russell

[Pontifical Catholic University of Chile . . . ]

I have my own boat, but when I first thought about taking a cruise, I thought, ‘You’re going to trap me on a boat, and I’m going to walk in circles and go crazy,’ but it’s awesome. ~ Guy Fieri

[Known, amazingly, as the yellow spiral sculpture in the central business district of Santiago . . . ]

I tell anyone who will listen to me: On a cruise, you can be with all these people, or you can be by yourself. You can find tranquility, you can find party, you can find new friends. I’m a cruise convert. ~ Guy Fieri

Since the 1920s, when some U.S. cruise ships decided to fly a Panamanian flag to avoid Prohibition regulations, ships have commonly flown the flag of countries foreign to their owners. The benefits are obvious: lower taxes, laxer labor and safety laws. ~ Rose George

I would not want to be on a cruise ship. Some ferry crossings I’m not too thrilled about. ~ Jennifer Connelly

[I really have no idea . . . ]

I don’t believe in nudity for nudity’s sake, but it’s really beautiful when it’s done well, when it’s within a story. I’m very comfortable with my body. I grew up mostly in France, where nudity is not taboo. ~ Leonor Varela

[Tourists on a bus . . . ]

A bigger business is like a cruise ship: There are lots of amenities and you can go a lot further, but it’s harder to turn quickly. ~ Tony Hsieh

[Our Marriott . . . ]

Broke my femur on a cruise with my wife in Italy. I’d walked back to my cabin after dinner with half a plate of spaghetti when I leaned in to open the door. Turns out it was already open, so I fell flat on my face like something from the Keystone Kops. ~ Art Donovan

[Our Marriott . . . ]

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. ~ Bertrand Russell

[Our Marriott, placing an unnatural significance on our hotel . . . ]

Someone asked how I feel about Captain Crunch. I’m capable of eating an entire box of it without any milk. It is a sweet taste that is indescribable. Captain Crunch is its own flavour. ~ Pedro Pascal

[Does anyone see any significance in this?]

The idea of elegance and aristocratic indulgence of an ocean cruise was born out of the image of the rich men and women who ruled the British Empire slowly sailing to India and the Far East while sipping gin and tonic on deck – served by men in white jackets. ~ Adam Curtis

[The hotel interior court in the background (see first pic in this post) . . . ]

I’ve never been on a cruise. ~ Philip Seymour Hoffman

I don’t like cruises. Period. My biggest nightmare is being stuck on a boat. ~ Joe Flanigan

[Bottled water from Tuscany?]

I’ll be 65 in September and I work as much as I want to, take cruises with Kay, relax with my family, do everything in moderation, because I want to enjoy my life. ~ Frankie Avalon

[After a long day of touristing, Little Ole was ready to chow down. Say “good night,” Ruthie . . . ]

Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued. ~ Socrates

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. ~ Mark Twain

Up Next: Day 4

January 22

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows you are slightly cracked. ~ Bernard Meltzer

Dave, Karin, and their labradoodle daughter Gracie lived on the far NE corner of Lake Carlos. Their little slice of heaven here on earth, home to beautiful sunsets on the classic Minnesota lake. Through the years, however, we always marveled at their ability to join us for in-town social events when they had such a long drive home after 8:00 pm (we were all real night owls). We live about two miles from “downtown” Alex while the Bergs were way out there in the exurbs, maybe 10 miles from downtown. In their last few years there, they did begin consideration of a move closer to town.

Dave and I first met at the Alexandria Golf Club (AGC) double digit years ago. By federal, state, and local law, it is a requirement that first meetings of retirees must take place on a golf course. We had similar games and had many fun times together playing in the AGC’s senior men’s league. Then about eight years ago I was struck by a sudden bolt of sanity and decided that life is short and golf just takes too much time. Fortunately Dave, Karin, Ruthie, and I would still be knit together by mutual love affairs with wine, fine dining, and live music.

Ruthie and I had just started our 3-week cruise around South America when we received notice that Dave had died. ~ Me

August 2012

Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine. ~ Charles Dickens

[Here Dave (far right) and Karin (middle, putting) are competing in the annual senior men’s league Steak Fry and Bean Feed at the Alexandria Golf Club . . . ]

To like and dislike the same things, that is what makes a solid friendship. ~ Sallust

[Dave and Karin provide the background for two native Alexandrians who returned home in retirement because it was the only place that would accept them . . . ]

Friendship is a wildly underrated medication. ~ Anna Deavere Smith

[At the aforementioned Steak Fry and Bean Feed . . . ]

Friendship is being there when someone’s feeling low and not being afraid to kick them. ~ Randy K. Milholland

[Awards at the steak fry were handed out by Dave’s older brother Loren (standing) . . . ]

It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like ‘What about lunch?” ~ A. A. Milne

All you need to do to be my friend is like me. ~ Taylor Swift

I’ll stick to finding the funny in the ordinary because my life is pretty ordinary and so are the lives of my friends—and my friends are hilarious. ~ Issa Rae

November 2013

No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether depraved. ~ Thomas Carlyle

[Over the years, a home away from home for the four of us – initially, Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale (SAWA), succeeded-in-name-and-ownership by the Garden Bar on 6th. Lisa Lynn (between Karin and Dave) was a favorite performer of ours at this venue . . . ]

My friends and I are crazy. That’s the only thing that keeps us sane. ~ Matt Schucker

[I think this was an example of flash/no flash . . . ]

June 2014

I don’t like to commit myself about heaven and hell — you see, I have friends in both places. ~ Mark Twain

[If we were not to be found at SAWA/Garden Bar, the likely next choice would be at Carlos Creek Winery (CCW) as always ISO a music venue . . . ]

September 2014

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re OK, then it’s you. ~ Rita Mae Brown

[Again at CCW with Bob, Vivian, and Angie Annen at the next table . . . ]

May 2015

Most of us don’t need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with. ~ Robert Brault

[A time of year phenomenon (too cold to be outside), here Karin taking photos indoors at CCW . . . ]

Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ~ C.S. Lewis

September 2017

The imaginary friends I had as a kid dropped me because their friends thought I didn’t exist. ~ Aaron Machado

[In the Grand Hall at CCW for a music event. Dave discovered a handy holster for his bottle of wine . . . ]

One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention. ~ Clifton Fadiman

[I detect a western theme . . . ]

May 2018

Friend is someone to share the last cookie with. ~ Cookie Monster

[A fundraising soiree for Theatre L’Homme Dieu (TLHD) at the Alexandria Golf Club. (Note: It’s Theatre L’Homme Dieu; and Lake Le Homme Dieu. Go figure?)]

It’s important to our friends to believe that we are unreservedly frank with them, and important to the friendship that we are not. ~ Mignon McLaughlin

[TLHD’s executive director Nicole Mulder talks shop with TLHD board member Dave while Karin chaperones . . . ]

Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success. ~ Oscar Wilde

[Looks like a first class beverage . . . ]

Come at once if convenient. If inconvenient, come all the same. ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

[Dave and Karin have left the building . . . ]

June 2018

No one will ever be as entertained by us as us. ~ Your Friend Who’s a Riot

[Younger generation family members joined Karin and Dave for The Killer Vees at the CCW Grand Hall . . . ]

Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends. ~ Virginia Woolf

[Another flash/no flash event . . . ]

Friendship is not possible between two women, one of whom is very well dressed. ~ Laurie Colwin

September 2018

Whoever says friendship is easy has obviously never had a true friend! ~ Bronwyn Polson

[Likely the Grape Stomp at CCW with older brother Loren . . . ]

Friends come and go, like the waves of the ocean, but the true ones stay. Like an octopus on your face. ~ Unknown

[Was that a ’57 T-bird?]

June 2019

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~ Sicilian Proverb

[Another oft visited music, wine and dining venue – the Lure Lakebar patio overlooking Lake Le Homme Dieu . . . ]

Friendship must be built on a solid foundation of alcohol, sarcasm, inappropriateness and shenanigans. ~ Unknown

Instead of the mahi mahi, may I just get the one mahi because I’m not that hungry? ~ Anna Faris

[Another cropping/no cropping example . . . ]

A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~ Lois Wyse

True friends don’t judge each other, they judge other people together. ~ Emilie Saint-Genis

[Yes, I think it was that ’57 T-bird . . . ]

September 2019

Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives. ~ Alexandre Dumas

[And here we are back at the winery patio again. It must have been a cold September . . . ]

December 2019

Friends make you smile – best friends make you giggle till you pee your pants. ~ Terri Guillemets

[Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, Have a happy holiday – the usual suspects at the winery again . . . ]

A good friend keeps your secrets for you. A best friend helps you keep your own secrets. ~ Lauren Oliver

[Fine dining at the Garden Bar . . . ]

Friends should be like books, few, but hand-selected. ~ C.J. Langenhoven

[The Group of 6 (Paul and Deb Trumm are closest to the camera) at the Garden Bar, likely to listen to the musical stylings of Tuesday Night Club . . . ]

Time doesn’t take away from friendship, nor does separation. ~ Tennessee Williams

A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth. ~ Charles Darwin

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? ~ Abraham Lincoln

June 2020

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun. ~ Charles R. Swindoll

[Another member of the Berg family (left, Dave’s daughter, as I recall) decided to join parental units in all the fun they have on the winery patio . . . ]

Of all possessions a friend is the most precious. ~ Herodotus

August 2020

Awards become corroded. Friends gather no dust. ~ Jesse Owens

[Dave signing in to compete in the annual Resorters Tournament at the Alexandria Golf Club . . . ]

The only way to have a friend is to be one. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Karin caddied for him in the golf cart . . . ]

There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met. ~ Jim Henson

[The tee off on hole #10 . . . ]

Happiness is a long walk with a putter. ~ Greg Norman

Nobody asked how you looked, just what you shot. ~ Sam Snead

The proper score for a businessman golfer is 90. If he is better than that he is neglecting his business. If he’s worse, he’s neglecting his golf. ~ St. Andrews Rotary Club Member

Don’t sell yourself short Judge, you’re a tremendous slouch. ~ Ty Webb, Caddyshack

At the end of the day, if I can say I had fun, it was a good day. ~ Simone Biles

[The usual sixsome at the winery listening to Erik Schultz . . . ]

September 2020

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. ~ Dr. Seuss

[Listening to Anthony Miltich at the winery . . . ]

April 2021

We just like having fun with everything we do. ~ Young Dolph

[The Grand Hall at CCW for The Bands Played On fundraiser . . . ]

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. ~ Michael Jordan

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun. ~ Randy Pausch

[Dave always had to check with Anthony to make sure Anthony was taking good care of his 8-string guitar . . . ]

June 2021

Life is too short to not have fun; we are only here for a short time compared to the sun and the moon and all that. ~ Coolio

[Road trip to Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud to see Harper’s Chord, a long time favorite area group . . . ]

You just do what you can and you have as much fun as possible. ~ Frank Ocean

August 2021

Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs. ~ Kin Hubbard

[Ruthie and I usually spend the first week of August at summer camp in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. That week also coincides with our local Resorters Tournament. The two years of COVID cancelled summer camp so we got to follow Dave in the golf tournament again . . . ]

Winning is only half of it. Having fun is the other half. ~ Bum Phillips

If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf. ~ Bob Hope

When you start recognising that you’re having fun, life can be delightful. ~ Jane Birkin

[Panorama of the Mick Sterling concert at the Legacy of the Lakes Gardens . . . ]

September 2021

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. ~ Andrew Jackson

[Dave happy amongst his fellow guitar players, all performers at CCW and other area venues: l-r, Erik Schultz, Jeff James, Robb Justice, Dave, and Anthony Miltich . . . ]

I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints – the sinners are much more fun. ~ Billy Joel

[This, and the above photo, were taken at the Grape Stomp at CCW. Karin and Dave’s friends Sue and Bob from The Cities joined us here . . . ]

December 2021

Aging can be fun if you lay back and enjoy it. ~ Clint Eastwood

[The Those Who Stay Behind dinner at Arrowwood . . . ]

I just like having fun. ~ Katy Perry

[With Warren and Ann Smith to see Elsa Lee at the winery . . . ]

March 2022

We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. ~ William Glasser

[Wednesday night fine dining, at this time of year at Lure Lakebar, and joined by Jim and Mary Pohl . . . ]

You don’t fall in love with people because they’re fun. It just happens. ~ Kirsten Dunst

[And Tom and Jeanne Mulder on the right . . . ]

I realize that humor isn’t for everyone. It’s only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive. ~ Anne Wilson Schaef

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. ~ Dale Carnegie

[And later that same month by an additional cast of thousands . . . ]

Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party. ~ Jimmy Buffett

May 2022

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s gathering people together to do something fun. ~ Dave Grohl

[Run for the Roses fundraiser for TLHD at CCW Grand Hall . . . ]

The fun for me in collaboration is, one, working with other people just makes you smarter; that’s proven. ~ Lin-Manuel Miranda

Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all. ~ Joseph Epstein

[Jim Pence, the “CEO” and Dave, the “CFO” of TLHD, and yes, I can be blamed for nominating both of them for the board . . . ]

Don’t get older just to get wiser. If you get older, you will be wiser, I believe that – if you dare. But get older because it’s fun! ~ Maya Angelou

July 2022

Astronomy’s much more fun when you’re not an astronomer. ~ Brian May

[An outdoor concert at Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]

When people refer to ‘Back in the Day,’ it was a Wednesday. Just a little fun fact for you. ~ Dane Cook

[An outdoor concert with Josie Nelson at Gathered Oaks . . . ]

I only do this because I’m having fun. The day I stop having fun, I’ll just walk away. ~ Heath Ledger

[A Tribute to Bread outdoor concert at TLHD . . . ]

I like to go to parties where I know everyone. How are you going to have fun with people you don’t know? ~ Mary-Kate Olsen

[TLHD fundraising soiree . . . ]

Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. ~ Dave Barry

August 2022

Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before. ~ Mae West

[Breaking in a new venue – Rolling Forks Vineyards on Lake Minnewaska in Glenwood . . . ]

To love what you do and feel that it matters how could anything be more fun? ~ Katharine Graham

[We were there for the Cheese Bots, another of our longtime favorites . . . ]

As long as I’m having fun, I’m not quitting. ~ Sue Johanson

As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both. ~ Bono

November 2022

Are we having fun yet? ~ Bill Griffith

[Joined by John and Helen Etnier, the prince and princess of Ashby, to see Elsa Lee at the winery . . . ]

January 2023

As long as you’re having fun, that’s the key. The moment it becomes a grind, it’s over. ~ Barry Gibb

[To see Anthony Miltich at Willy T’s . . . ]

Summer means happy times and good sunshine. It means going to the beach, going to Disneyland, having fun. ~ Brian Wilson

The universe is hilarious! Like, Venus is 900 degrees. I could tell you it melts lead. But that’s not as fun as saying, ‘You can cook a pizza on the windowsill in nine seconds.’ And next time my fans eat pizza, they’re thinking of Venus! ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

April 2023

Comedy is a reflection. We create nothing. We set no styles, no standards. We’re reflections. It’s a distorted mirror in the fun house. We watch society. As society behaves, then we have the ability to make fun of it. ~ Alan King

[Wednesday night fine dining at Lure Lakebar . . . ]

May 2023

It’s kind of fun to be sexy. ~ Tea Leoni

[Galaxy Road playing at the winery . . . ]

July 2023

There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it. ~ Mindy Kaling

[Dave, Karin, and super volunteer Janet Baker join the star of the show, Don Shelby, after the play Love Letters at TLHD . . . ]

August 2023

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. ~ Mark Twain

[TLHD’s annual fundraising soiree . . . ]

September 2023

I walk around like everything’s fine, but deep down, inside my shoe, my sock is sliding off. ~ Anonymous

[The usual suspects gather for an evening of entertainment with Anthony Miltich at Stella’s in beautiful downtown Battle Lake . . . ]

You know you’ve reached middle age when you’re cautioned to slow down by your doctor, instead of by the police. ~ Joan Rivers

[The Berg’s Twin City friends, Bob & Sue, join us at the winery for an afternoon with Anthony Miltich . . . ]

I never feel more alone than when I’m trying to put sunscreen on my back. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

There’s no need to dress like everyone else. It’s much more fun to create your own look. ~ Twiggy

[Or why I’m also more comfortable behind the camera . . . ]

November 2023

When I’m in social situations, I always hold onto my glass. It makes me feel comfortable and secure and I don’t have to shake hands. ~ Larry David

[November 17, 2023, our last get together, dinner at Biaggi’s in Maple Grove. They had recently moved from Alex to Plymouth to be closer to family and health care. They got away before we could take them out to dinner in Alex. Maybe some day we can get together again for a round of golf?]

Love when you can. Cry when you have to. Be who you must, it’s part of the plan. Await your arrival, with simple survival, and one day we’ll all understand. ~ Dan Fogelberg

January 14

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. ~ St. Augustine

In 2003, I almost died of an intestinal blockage when I was on a mountain in Chile, filming a segment for ‘Scientific American Frontiers.’ ~ Alan Alda

[Little Ole signature photo representing the trip with Orsono Volcano in the Chilean Lake District as the background . . . ]

Our first cruise since the summer of 2019 when we went to Norway. My fondest memory of this cruise will be that I didn’t gain a single pound, a singular accomplishment in the world of cruising. It took us a full day to get there: From Minneapolis, to Atlanta, to Bogota, Colombia, to Santiago, Chile. The trip added five new counties to my repertoire: Colombia, Chile, Falkland Islands, Argentina, and Uruguay. I also added a couple of other firsts. I now have to answer the medical question “have you fallen down?” with a yes, twice. The first time was on the last week of the cruise while on the top deck star gazing (I still haven’t seen the Southern Cross) when I tripped over the barrier to the bocce ball court and fell flat on my face, bracing my left hand to protect my phone and will now do shoulder rehab. The last was in the Minneapolis airport when I should have known better than to use an escalator when overloaded with luggage. I took a lovely tumble that chewed up both shins. I made it home and am now on full reclusiveness at home in recovery. We are postponing today’s book club gathering until next weekend – even for lifelong Minnesotans, it was decided that a temperature of 40 degrees below zero wind chill would best be endured in the comfort of one’s own home (and in my case to avoid further injury). And now, our report . . . ~ Me

December 20

Not all those who wander are lost. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

[As usual, the Super graciously volunteered to be the perspective model in our photos. Here in MPLS enroute to Atlanta on the first leg of the journey . . . ]

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, ‘As pretty as an airport.‘ ~ Douglas Adams

[In the Atlanta airport for leg two of the journey to Bogota, Colombia . . . ]

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home. ~ Anna Quindlen

[Readying for the third and final leg . . . ]

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. ~ Mark Twain

[To Santiago, Chile . . . ]

December 21

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~ Marcel Proust

[Atrium of the Santiago Marriott Hotel . . . ]

Jet lag is for amateurs. ~  Dick Clark

[Little Ole came out to celebrate our arrival . . . ]

Travel far enough, you meet yourself. ~ David Mitchell

[Santiago has a population of 5.6 million and they all passed through the airport this morning!]

I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there. ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[And a Merry Christmas from Santiago . . . ]

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ~ Gustave Flaubert

[The hotel patio . . . ]

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. ~ Terry Pratchett

[The hotel restaurant . . . ]

Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without traveling. ~ Roman Payne

[Dinner at said hotel restaurant . . . ]

But that’s the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don’t want to know what people are talking about. I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses. ~ Bill Bryson

[The view from our hotel room . . . ]

I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

[View from our hotel room side window . . . ]

There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

[Our first bus tour, cruising Santiago . . . ]

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home. ~ James A. Michener

[The Super organizes her touring stuff . . . ]

We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. ~ Pico Iyer

[Our tour guide, in seasonal antlers for the upcoming holiday . . . ]

Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? ~ Anthony Bourdain

[Our first objet jour – our hotel . . . ]

Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else. ~ Tennessee Williams

[Gran Torre Costanera, previously known as Costanera Center Torre 2, and also known as El Costanera (The Costanera) by the locals, and previously known as Torre Gran Costanera, is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile. It is the tallest building in South America. The tower was designed by Chilean architects Alemparte Barreda & Asociados, the Argentine architect Cesar Pelli and the Canadian company Watt International. ~ Wikipedia]

Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever. ~ Joe Abercrombie

[Plaza de Armas is the main square of Santiago. It is the centerpiece of the initial layout of Santiago, which has a square grid pattern. This urban design was accomplished by Pedro de Gamboa, which was appointed by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541. ~ tripadvisor.co[m]

Self-consciousness kills communication. ~ Rick Steves

[Christmas in the plaza . . . ]

It is always sad to leave a place to which one knows one will never return. Such are the melancholies du voyage: perhaps they are one of the most rewarding things about traveling. ~ Gustave Flaubert

[Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. ~ Wikipedia]

Every one of a hundred thousand cities around the world had its own special sunset and it was worth going there, just once, if only to see the sun go down. ~ Ryu Murakami

[STGO = Santiago . . . ]

There is strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow. ~ Aaron Lauritsen

[Perfect for kids . . . ]

I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every states I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move. ~ John Steinbeck

[Of course you already know the description . . . ]

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect. ~ Paul Theroux

[Our tour guide in photo center explaining all you can see in the plaza . . . ]

Anyone who needs more than one suitcase is a tourist, not a traveler. ~ Ira Levin

[The building on the right is the seat of the municipality of Santiago – the city hall – at the corner of the 21 de Mayo Street. It was built 1785-1790 by the italian architect Joaquín Toesca. First it was the seat of the cabildo, the colonial administrative council of the city, while it also served as the prison of the city. ~ panoramastreetline.com]

If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. ~ Anthony Bourdain

[With City Hall as the background . . . ]

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~ Lin Yutang

[A tree not native to Alexandria, Minnesota . . . ]

That’s the place to get to—nowhere. One wants to wander away from the world’s somewheres, into our own nowhere. ~ D.H. Lawrence

Every hundred feet the world changes. ~ Roberto Bolaño

[The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago is a building located in the north central village of the Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile. The building dates back to 1808 and houses, since 1982, the National History Museum of Chile. ~ Wikipedia

The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago, which today houses the Museo Histórico Nacional (MHN – National History Museum of Chile). It was built 1804-07 by Juan Goycolea for the Royal Courts of Justice of Chile. Later it also served as the seat of the government of Chile. ~ panoramastreetline.com]

We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean because there’s no service on the beach and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure and we’re helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in, and hashtag. ~ Jeremy Glass

[The Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago . . . ]

You don’t even know where I’m going. I don’t care. I’d like to go anywhere. ~ John Steinbeck

[The Super fronting a flock of lupine . . . ]

The saddest journey in the world is the one that follows a precise itinerary. Then you’re not a traveler. You’re a f@@king tourist. ~ Guillermo del Toro

[Washingtonia filifera, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm, is a flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California, Mexico. Growing to 15–20 m tall by 3–6 m broad, it is an evergreen monocot with a tree-like growth habit. ~ Wikipedia]

There are two kinds of travel: first class and with children. ~ Robert Benchley

[Simon Bolivar fountain and monument to American Liberty at Plaza de Armas Square . . . ]

Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone? ~ Erma Bombeck

[Again, the cathedral . . . ]

The farther you go, however, the harder it is to return. The world has many edges, and it’s easy to fall off. ~ Anderson Cooper

[Inside the cathedral, where we were allowed a quick photo op . . . ]

Men read maps better than women because only men can understand the concept of an inch equaling a hundred miles. ~ Roseanne Barr

[Now this is an urban street as urban streets should be . . . ]

Travel does not exist without home….If we never return to the place we started, we would just be wandering, lost. ~ Josh Gates

[Another wonderful urban street . . . ]

Only it seems to me that once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to. ~ Thornton Wilder

[Our tour bus. I know that because that’s what the sign says . . . ]

The only way I knew how to live the best day ever was on an expedition. ~ Hendri Coetzee

[The Former National Congress Building (ex Congreso Nacional) is the former home of the Chilean Congress. Congress met in this building in central Santiago until Salvador Allende’s socialist government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet’s military coup d’etat on September 11, 1973. During the Pinochet dictatorship, Congress was moved to new premises in Valparaiso; the old building was declared a national monument in 1976 and between 1990 and 2006 housed the ministry of foreign affairs. The Senate moved its offices in Santiago to this building in December 2000. On January 26, 2006 the Chamber of Deputies recovered its old offices. ~ Wikipedia]

I heard an airplane passing overhead. I wished I was on it. ~ Charles Bukowski

[Continuing my urban street theme . . . ]

The best traveler is one without a camera. ~ Kamand Kojouri

[Close up of the plaza statue a few pics below . . . ]

I wonder if the ocean smells different on the other side of the world. ~ J.A. Redmerski

[See explanation above . . . ]

You can’t understand a city without using its public transportation system. ~ Erol Ozan

[The official government building, seat to the President of the Republic, is generally known as La Moneda. It also hosts the Home Office, the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the General Secretariat of the Government and the Ministry of Social Development. ~ thesingular.com]

It’s in those quiet little towns, at the edge of the world, that you will find the salt of the earth people who make you feel right at home. ~ Aaron Lauritsen

[Statue of Pedro Aguirre Cerda located at the Plaza de la Constitución. ~ Wikipedia]

[Plaza de la constitución (Constitution Square), Santiago de Chile. Occupying a full square block in the heart of the civic district of Santiago, Chile. It is located in front of the northern facade of the Palacio de la Moneda and is surrounded by other government buildings such as those housing the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Banco Central de Chile and the Intendencia de Santiago. ~ deviantart.com]

When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable. ~ Clifton Fadiman

It is better to fill your head with useless knowledge than no knowledge at all. ~ Jim Hinckley

[DIEGO PORTALES: (June 16, 1793 – June 6, 1837) was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto Diego Portales played a pivotal role in shaping the state and government politics in the 19th century, delivering with the Constitution of 1833 the framework of the Chilean state for almost a century. Portales influential political stance included unitarianism, presidentialism and conservatism which led to consolidate Chile as a constitutional authoritarian republic with democracy restricted to include only upper class men. ~ deviantart.com]

He didn’t really like travel, of course. He liked the idea of travel, and the memory of travel, but not travel itself. ~ Julian Barnes

Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. ~ Cesare Pavese

[An outdoor craft fair – the Super alleges she didn’t buy anything there . . . ]

Leave home, leave the country, leave the familiar. Only then can routine experience—buying bread, eating vegetables, even saying hello—become new all over again. ~ Anthony Doerr

[Adios, from Santiago . . . ]

Everything I did, all my actions, all of the problems I had I dedicate to God and to Chile, because I kept Chile from becoming Communist. ~ Augusto Pinochet

Chile has done a lot to rid itself of poverty, especially extreme poverty, since the return to democracy. But we still have a ways to go toward greater equity. This country does not have a neoliberal economic model anymore. We have put in place a lot of policies that will ensure that economic growth goes hand in hand with social justice. ~ Michelle Bachelet

Up Next: South America . . .

December 11

The future [of America] is not going to be formed by 76-year old white guys living in Florida.  ~  David Brooks

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. ~ Lily Tomlin

This is your Christmas card. Due to the vicissitudes of age, time, and health, we will not honor America’s major holiday with the usual “full year in review.” Instead, we will just play blog catch up with what’s left to cover as the year comes to an end. In other words, this is just a regular submission in my diary that doubles as a blog. As the saying goes, stuff happens. At least it ended with, to paraphrase Jimmy V., a perfect day when you can enjoy the symphony, meet for book club, and end with John Cleese discussing creativity on TV . . . ~ Me

Christmas is a box of tree ornaments that have become part of the family. ~ Charles M. Schulz

Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard or too sad when you’ve got a Christmas tree in the living room. ~ Nora Roberts

[Guinie stands guard over the tree (when she’s not trying to climb it) . . . ]

We begin in direct contradiction with what has previously been stated. The Supervisor came upon an old photo disc and placed it on my desk, which I took to believe was a request to “put these in the Christmas blog!” They are photos from Christmas 2004, from a place highly noted for its white Christmases – southern Indiana. ~ Me

I was Christmas shopping and ran into a guy on the street. I noticed his watch and said that it runs slow. He said, ‘So does the guy I stole it from.‘ ~ David Letterman

[Ruthie’s sister Rita’s classic log home in Nashville, Indiana . . . ]

Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip. ~ Gary Allan

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. ~ Maya Angelou

[Ruthie, Rita, and Beth (Rita’s daughter) in front of stated log home . . . ]

Christmas: It’s the only religious holiday that’s also a federal holiday. That way, Christians can go to their services, and everyone else can sit at home and reflect on the true meaning of the separation of church and state. ~ Samantha Bee

[Walking the city streets of Nashville . . . ]

We celebrate the birth of one who told us to give everything to the poor by giving each other motorized tie racks. ~ Bill McKibben

[On the street where Rita lives . . . ]

I love Christmas. I receive a lot of wonderful presents I can’t wait to exchange. ~ Henny Youngman

[Ruthie greets a neighborhood ungulate coming from Rita’s yard . . . ]

I grew up on a Christmas Tree Farm so this is a good season for me. ~ Taylor Swift

[The sign says “Be careful, there’s a fence under the snowpile.” This was at the home of Rita’s friend and neighbor, famed wildlife artist Bill Zimmerman . . . ]

Were it not for the shepherds, there would have been no reception. And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts. ~ Max Lucado

Meanwhile, back in modern times . . .

November 3

Christmas is such a carefree, low-pressure time—that’s one of the things I love about it. ~ Stephen King

[Alexandria’s football team won the section 8 5A championship (with an 11 – 0 season record) earning a trip to the Vikings’ stadium for the state semifinals . . . ]

‘White Christmas’ is the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ of Christmas songs. ~ Stewart Stafford

Thank you, Stockings, for being a long flammable piece of fabric people like to hang over a roaring fireplace. ~ Jimmy Fallon

[Moving toward field center for the after game congratulatory handshakes with the Brainerd players . . . ]

This holiday season, no matter what your religion is, please take a moment to reflect on why it’s better than all the other ones. ~ Guy Endore Kaiser

[Books not appreciated by Ron DeSantis . . . ]

November 7

I hate the radio this time of year because they play ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ like, every other song. And that’s just not enough. ~ Bridger Winegar

[Terry Kennedy and Erik Schultz entertaining the dinner crowd at the Garden Bar on 6th . . . ]

Christmas sweaters are only acceptable as a cry for help. ~ Andy Borowitz

[Fine examples of Garden Bar on 6th constituents . . . ]

The office Christmas party is a great opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen for 20 minutes. ~ Julius Sharpe

[Le Homme Dog . . . ]

November 11

I bought my brother some gift wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping. ~ Steven Wright

[The Cardinal girls hockey team opened the season hosting the Buffalo Bison . . . ]

My wife, like many women, actually ‘likes’ wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of mental illness. ~ Dave Barry

[And away we go!]

I left Santa gluten-free cookies and organic soy milk and he put a solar panel in my stocking. ~ Earthman Adam

[Sophomore Lillian Dutton (26) unleashes a shot on goal . . . ]

More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you’ve been bad and good. ~ Linda Sunshine

[The scoreboard shut down early – final score: Alexandria – 2, Buffalo – 0]

We got so caught up in the little things of Christmas, like love and family, that we almost forgot that it’s buying things that makes our economy thrive. ~ Diana Choksondik

[Mothers’ Day photo . . . ]

November 27

From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist, it would be necessary to invent it. ~ Katharine Whitehorn

[The Super made a discovery while scouring the “basement” for Christmas decorations. This was a present to her from Basketball Dan commemorating her Hoosiers’ national championship in 1987, a game attended by Basketball Dan and me at the Superdome in New Orleans . . . ]

Got all my Christmas shopping done. Now to shop for other people. ~ Conan O’Brien

[Out of all the great movies this year, still may have been my favorite . . . ]

November 28

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Really? Is it the most wonderful? Have you been outside? Seen the crowds? The traffic? Ever go through security in the airport in December? I’ll tell you one word that doesn’t come to mind: wonderful. ~ Jim Gaffigan

[The season opening game for our Cardinal girl basketballers hoping to reprise their state tournament appearance from last year. Expectations are high as they started the season ranked No. 1 in state class 3A. Here junior center Ashley Thul (11) wins the opening tap against perennial power Marshall . . . ]

Christmas is getting all you can get while the getting is good. ~ Sally Brown

[The ball moved out of the frame when I took the picture . . . ]

Christmas, here again. Let us raise a loving cup; Peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up. ~ Wendy Cope

[A nice opening win against a quality opponent . . . ]

November 30

I’d rather do community service than sit and write a load of Christmas cards. ~ Paul O’Grady

[Two days later the girls hosted conference rival Brainerd. We begin again with Hadley and the anatomy of the jump ball . . . ]

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. But if the white runs out, I’ll drink the red. ~ Anonymous

I’m releasing a holiday song called, ‘All I Want for Christmas is my Parents’ Freaking Wifi Password.’ ~ Damien Fahey 

All I want for Christmas is for my family to stop trying to talk to me while I’m trying to tweet. ~ Robin Wood

[From my courtside location, the Cardinals, as is their wont, push the ball upcourt at speed . . . ]

You know you’re getting older when Santa starts looking younger. ~ Robert Paul

[Hadley had just scored her career 1,000th point . . . ]

There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor. ~ Charles Dickens

I don’t want Christmas season to end, because it’s the only time I can legitimately indulge in on particular addiction: glitter. ~ Eloisa James

[Though this is the final score, the game was unofficially over at the half . . . ]

December 1

Christmas makes me happy no matter what time of year it comes around. ~ Bryan White

[Cardinal girls hockey team teed it up against the mighty Moorhead Spuds . . . ]

Christmas is always a problem to the man who has to convince his kids that there is a Santa Claus, and his wife that there isn’t. ~ Evan Esar

[The rest of the game was decidedly not this close. The Cards will nonetheless recover . . . ]

You smell like beef and cheese. You don’t smell like Santa. ~ Buddy the Elf

[The voices of Cardinal sports on KXRA . . . ]

Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing. ~ Grace Noll Crowell

[The Cardinals coaching brain trust . . . ]

Wretched excess is an unfortunate human trait that turns a perfectly good idea such as Christmas into a frenzy of last-minute shopping. ~ Jon Anderson

[A highlight of the game for me was a visit from Nikki Ecklund (front row, right). Nikki was a member of the Cardinals 2008 state championship team, and I had not seen her since then. She was at the game, now as a Spuds fan as she lives in Moorhead with her husband and two young daughters destined to be hockey players . . . ]

December 2

Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead? ~ Clark Griswold

[On the Saturday morning (6:00 am) doughnut run . . . ]

Christmas is a stocking stuffed with sugary goodness. ~ Mo Rocca

[A good opportunity for a shot of Big Ole with the decorated Christmas tree across the street at The Depot . . . ]

There’s nothing cozier than a Christmas tree all lit up. ~ Jenny Han

Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin – inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night. ~ John J. Geddes

A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! ~ Charles Dickens

[Shortly after arriving home with our doughnuts . . . ]

Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

[The most sought after Saturday morning treats!]

December 6

Christmas and the New Year are actually two holidays. So there is a plural, which in the English language, necessitates the use of ‘s.’ I suppose you could say ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year,’ but you probably have sh*t to do. ~ Jon Stewart

[Self explanatory . . . ]

A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours. ~ John B. Priestly

If you can’t wrap Christmas presents well, at least make it look like they put up a good fight. ~ Unknown

Anyone who believes that men are the equal of women has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present. ~ Unknown

The outdoor Christmas lights, green and red and gold and blue and twinkling, remind me that most people are that way all year round — kind, generous, friendly and with an occasional moment of ecstasy. But Christmas is the only time they dare reveal themselves. ~ Harlan Miller

[The Performing Arts Center stage . . . ]

If you see a sign that says ‘Peep Show’, that doesn’t mean they’re letting you look at presents before Christmas. ~ Father Christmas in Elf

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling. ~ Edna Ferber

[Shaun and the Big Band . . . ]

Do give books – religious or otherwise – for Christmas. They’re never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. ~ Lenore Hershey

Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever. ~ Richelle Goodrich

[After the gig, our fellow attendees, Tom Mulder and his daughter Nancy, visited with Shaun as they are longtime friends . . . ]

At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year. ~ Thomas Tusser

I won’t ask for much this Christmas. I won’t even wish for snow. And I’m just gonna keep on waiting, underneath the mistletoe. ~ Mariah Carey

December 8

A Christmas tree, the perfect gift for a guy. The plant is already dead. ~ Jay Leno

[The umpteenth annual “Those Who Stay Behind” dinner last night at Arrowwood Resort. Made up of past and current members of the senior men’s golf league who do not flee to the South at the first sighting of a snowflake. This was the first time in recorded history that this event (always the 2nd Friday in December) took place in a total absence of snow . . . ]

A good conscience is a continual Christmas. ~ Benjamin Franklin

[All partook of either the pasta bar or the stir fry bar . . . ]

My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it’s funny because we had no idea. ~ Johnny Mathis

Christmas is a togethery sort of holiday. That’s my favorite kind. ~ Winnie the Pooh

It’s always consoling to know that today’s Christmas gifts are tomorrow’s garage sales. ~ Milton Berle

[I fled the dinner in time to catch the 2nd half of the girls basketball game against Willmar. This was the halftime score, so what I saw was just playing out the string. I should note that at the time of this missive the boys season hadn’t yet started – they will similarly be playing to return to state and are ranked 3rd in the state as the season begins . . . ]

Down the chimney? You want me to take the toys down the chimney into a strange house, IN MY UNDERWEAR? ~ Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause

[This is called “general milling about” . . . ]

You have such a pretty face, you should be on a Christmas card! ~ Elf

[Under the studied-eye of crouching coach Wendy Kohler . . . ]

Why are women… so much more interesting to men than men are to women? ~ Virginia Woolf

December 9

I am dreaming of white Christmas, with every Christmas card I write, May your days be Merry and bright, and May all your Christmases be white. ~ Bing Crosby

[The day after the no snow “Those Who Stay Behind” dinner . . . ]

It’s fruitcake weather! ~ Truman Capote

The ideal Christmas gift is money, but the trouble is you can’t charge it. ~ Bill Vaughan

[Quinie was not put off by the sudden appearance of the white stuff . . . ]

I like indoor Christmas trees. And I like people who decorate their homes with lights and all that crap. I think it’s a healthy outlet for them. If they weren’t covering their lawns with twinkling lights, they’d be doing something that was really, really creepy. ~ Lewis Black

[Laddie, on the other hand, decided I’m not going out there!]

It’s that special time of year when your whole family gathers together in one place to look at their cellphones. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

This past Christmas, I told my girlfriend for months in advance that all I wanted was an Xbox. That’s it. Beginning and end of list, Xbox. You know what she got me? A homemade frame with a picture of us from our first date together. Which was fine. Because I got her an Xbox. ~ Anthony Jeselnik

[And then it was on to Carlos Creek Winery for an afternoon with Elsa Lee . . . ]

Christmas Shopping: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find one gift that you didn’t have to dust, that had to be used right away, that was practical, fit everyone, was personal and would be remembered for a long time? I penciled in “Gift certificate for a flu shot.” ~ Erma Bombeck

[It was good to see her again as it had been about a year since her last appearance here . . . ]

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! ~ Francis P. Church

Do give books – religious or otherwise – for Christmas. They’re never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. ~ Lenore Hershey

One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books. ~ Professor Dumbledore

Most parents, it turns out, don’t want elected officials dictating how history is taught or what books kids can read, and don’t share the GOP’s anti-trans hysteria.  ~  Jamelle Boule

[Photo by Ruthie . . . ]

Heap on more wood! – the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We’ll keep our Christmas merry still. ~ Walter Scott

December 10

Xmas Trivia: Before it became a major shopping holiday, Christmas is believed to have had a “religious” meaning. ~ Andy Borowitz

I have fun with my clothes onstage; it’s not a concert you’re seeing, it’s a fashion show. ~ Freddie Mercury

If you go to a Christmas concert, you take your wife on a nice evening, people are dressed up a little bit more, and it’s definitely a sit-down event. ~ Bart Millard

[The high school’s Performing Arts Center . . . ]

On Christmas morning, before we could open our presents, we would go to this stranger’s home and bring them presents. I remember helping clean the house up and putting up a tree. My father believed you are responsible for looking after everyone else. ~ George Clooney.

My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it’s funny because we had no idea. ~ Johnny Mathis

There are 17 more shopping days until Christmas. So, guys, that means 16 more days till we start shopping, right? ~ Conan O’Brien

I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark. ~ Dick Gregory

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ONE AND ALL

[These people spent an inordinate amount of time engaged with the country’s health care system this year. Otherwise, the proud parents of Quinie and Laddie generally behaved themselves . . . ]

Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day. ~ Helen Steiner Rice

All land is stolen land; every piece of dirt has been conquered multiple times.  ~  Noah Smith

November 25

We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country. ~ You know who

I’m taking a break from “trying to catch up” due to a plethora of current events. We made our first visit in “decades” to downtown Minneapolis for the high school football state semifinals to see our undefeated Alexandria Cardinals play. It was my first visit ever to the Vikings’ stadium – it will also be my last (don’t get me started). The visit was mostly highlighted by pre- and post-game fine dining with friends followed by more such dining the following morning. We hustled back that next day to catch Fire and Rain, The Music of James Taylor, by our friend Anthony Miltich in Fergus Falls that evening. The next afternoon featured the high school’s performance of Mamma Mia. The kids always hit it out of the park. On Thanksgiving Eve, I joined high school classmate, Little Mayo, for lunch at AJ’s in Glenwood, continuing our ongoing monthly tradition. For Thanksgiving, we picked up Jami and Danny for our holiday repast at the Shooting Star Casino on the White Earth Reservation and then on to Itasca State Park for an overnight at the Mississippi Headwaters Inn. We returned to Alex for all of the day after Thanksgiving activities downtown. ~ Me

I wish the women would hurry up and take over. ~ Leonard Cohen

Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous “I don’t know.” ~ Wislawa Szymborska

November 12

The Americans are, of all modern peoples, those who have pushed equality and inequality furthest among men. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville

[Outside at the winery in the 2nd week of November?]

Wine … offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than possibly any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased. ~ Ernest Hemingway

[The regular crowd shuffles in . . . ]

Wine is sunlight, held together by water. ~ Galileo Galilei

[We were here for our quarterly wine pick up only to also discover Anthony was playing . . . ]

Anyone who tries to make you believe that he knows all about wines is obviously a fake. ~ Leon Adams

[Long our local favorite, Marquette . . . ]

November 16

Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been. ~ David Bowie

[The American Association of University Women’s annual book shindig at the Garden Bar . . . ]

Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. ~ Pope John XXIII

[OK, a couple of guys crash the party . . . ]

November 17

That’s why I love road trips, dude. It’s like doing something without actually doing anything. ~ John Green

[On the road again, early morning heading SE on I-94 to The Cities . . . ]

Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life. ~ Jack Kerouac

[We lunched at Umbra Minneapolis, kitty corner from the Viking stadium . . . ]

A road trip is a way for the whole family to spend time together and annoy each other in interesting new places. ~ Tom Lichtenheld

[We were joined by monthly alum lunch partner, Little Mayo. We all gave Umbra big kudos . . . ]

“Driving is boring,” Rabbit pontificates, “but it’s what we do. Most of American life is driving somewhere and then driving back wondering why the hell you went.” ~ John Updike

A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car. ~ Emile Ganest

[The reason for the road trip . . . ]

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey. ~ Babs Hoffman

I love being on the road. I love that lifestyle, traveling city to city, rocking out and moving on to the next place. ~ Caleb Johnson

No road is long with good company. ~ Turkish Proverb

Sometimes all you need is a great friend and a tank of gas. ~ Thelma and Louise

[Blechhh . . . ]

If you’re on a road trip, you need driving music. ~ Edgar Wright

[The Mpls skyline from the stadium . . . ]

I love road trips. You get into this Zen rhythm; throw the sense of time out the window. ~ Miriam Toews

[The field of play (if you can bivouac through to get to your seats) . . . ]

Road trips required a couple of things: a well-balanced diet of caffeine, salt and sugar and an excellent selection of tunes—oh, and directions. ~ Jenn McKinlay

[The Cards (black and red) warming up; Mpls through the stadium windows . . . ]

The road goes on forever and the party never ends. ~ Robert Earl Keen

Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn’t block traffic. ~ Dan Rather

[The opening kickoff. Our kicker, Daniel Jackson, created a bit of stir in the broadcast booth (as I understand it) when one of his later kickoffs hit halfway up on one of the goalpost uprights . . . ]

Well, we’re not in the middle of nowhere, but we can see it from here. ~ Louise, Thelma and Louise

Road Trips: Because they’re cheaper than therapy. ~ Unknown

[Kickers warming up at halftime . . . ]

Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~ Hunter S Thompson

[Cardinal basketball center, Grayson Grove (who will be a Gopher next year), leading the cheers in the student section . . . ]

Now, on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had. ~ Elizabeth Berg

Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take. ~ Angela N. Blount

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. ~ Zig Ziglar

[Quarterback Chase Thompson (12) hands off to Andrew Flaten (28). Receiver Evan Kludt (7) was an early star in the game as the Cards jumped out to a 23 – 0 lead. We eventually lost 42 – 30, largely (in my opinion) due to losing 3 of our 4 wide receivers (including Kludt) before and during the game . . . ]

Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, anywhere. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and stories, feel the ground and capture the spirit. Then, we’ll turn it into our own story that will live inside our history to carry with us always. Because stories are more important than things. ~ Victoria Erickson

[We fine dined that evening with our old entertainment partners in Alex, Karin and Dave, at Biaggi’s in Maple Grove. It was another big hit . . . ]

The road is there, it will always be there. You just have to decide when to take it. ~ Chris Humphrey

[They had recently moved from Alex to Plymouth, and they hosted us overnight in their new home . . . ]

November 18

When you come to a fork in the road; take it. ~ Yogi Berra

[The morning drive from Plymouth to Longfellow Grill in Mpls . . . ]

When you go on a road trip, the trip itself becomes part of the story. ~ Steve Rushin

[The Basilica of Saint Mary, a Mpls landmark . . . ]

There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars. ~ Jack Kerouac

[At Longfellow Grill on the Mississippi . . . ]

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live. ~ Hans Christian Andersen

[Having a nosh with the internationally-renowned Basketball Dan from Woodbury and brother Cam from Mounds View . . . ]

On the road again, Goin’ places that I’ve never been, Seein’ things that I may never see again, And I can’t wait to get on the road again. ~ Willie Nelson

[Leaving Mpls, probably should have been the lead photo at the top of the page . . . ]

According to the map, we’ve only gone four inches. ~ Dumb & Dumber

[Back home in time for another road trip . . . ]

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. ~ James Taylor

[On the road to Fergus Falls as passengers with Deb and Paul, usual entertainment partners. An unseen avian bomber left a deposit on the windshield as we motored along I-94 . . . ]

I don’t read music. I don’t write it. So I wander around on the guitar until something starts to present itself. ~ James Taylor

[At the Fergus Center for the Arts with Anthony setting up in stage . . . ]

I don’t take compliments very easily. I think most musicians suffer from low self-esteem to some extent. ~ James Taylor

[After dinner on stage behind the curtain, we settled into our seats for the performance . . . ]

I find it a lot healthier for me to be someplace where I can go outside in my bare feet. ~ James Taylor

I don’t think anyone really says anything new. ~ James Taylor

[Michael Burgraff, executive director, addressed the assembled masses . . . ]

Music is like a huge release of tension. ~ James Taylor

[The star of the show and master guitar tuner . . . ]

Certain things in life are more important than the usual crap that everyone strives for. ~ James Taylor

Though ‘Fire and Rain’ is very personal, for other people it resonates as a sort of commonly held experience… And that’s what happens with me. I write things for personal reasons, and then in some cases it… can be a shared experience. ~ James Taylor

I have a love-hate relationship with the Grammys because I don’t see the music world as a competitive sport. ~ James Taylor

November 19

To succeed in life, you need three things a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. ~ Reba McEntire

When I made a breakthrough as an actor, people started to say, ‘Who’s that bloke with the funny name?’ They advised me to change it, saying it would never be put up in lights outside theaters because they couldn’t afford the electricity. But I would never contemplate changing it. It’s who I am. ~ Pete Postlethwaite

[The Performing Arts Center at Alexandria Area High School . . . ]

Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different. ~ C. S. Lewis

I love being funny! I started in the theater when I was 9 and, believe it or not, always played the funny part! ~ Robert Knepper

A melange of funny, straight drama, television, movies, a little theater here and there wouldn’t hurt. So if I can keep doing that, I’ll be a very happy person. ~ Mary Tyler Moore

At the School of Visual Arts in New York, you can get your degree in Net art, which is really a fantastic way of thinking of theater in new ways. ~ Laurie Anderson

The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 1986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert. ~ David Letterman

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. ~ Will Rogers

The three theater peeps I would love to dine with are Mel Brooks, because he is so funny; Stephen Sondheim, because he is a god-like genius; and Ethel Merman, to compare notes on fabulous belting. ~ Nancy Allen

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere. ~ Dr. Seuss

The avant-garde theater is fun; it is free-wheeling, bold, iconoclastic, and often wildly, wildly funny. If you will approach it with childlike innocence — putting your standard responses aside, for they do not apply — if you will approach it on its own terms, I think you will be in for a liberating surprise. I think you may no longer be content with plays that you can’t remember halfway down the block. ~ Edward Albee

I was a theater guy growing up and I wanted to be Al Pacino, and I think I just looked and sounded too funny. ~ Charlie Day

My only regret in the theater is that I could never sit out front and watch me. ~ John Barrymore

The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life. ~ Oscar Wilde

November 22

I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don’t know where it’s going to lead me, but I follow it. ~ Grace Jones

[On this date, we must always begin with the Gophers’ No. 1 fan, Uncle Dick, who would have been 102 on this day . . . ]

Pleasant road trips require yummy snacks, good music, fun chatter, and oh—reliable directions! ~ Jenn McKinlay

[AJ’s in Glenwood . . . ]

I climb behind the steering wheel… I drive off immediately without once looking back. It’s a long journey but it leads to freedom. ~ Corinne Hofmann

[Lake Minnewaska in the far background . . . ]

Oh the places you’ll go! ~ Dr. Seuss

[Nice sports bar motif . . . ]

Some roads aren’t meant to be traveled alone. ~ Chinese Proverb

[We’re a lot younger than we look . . . ]

The open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself. ~ William Least Heat Moon

November 23 (a/k/a Thanksgiving)

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it. ~ Rosalia de Castro

[Itasca State Park is just about a perfect 100 miles north of Alexandria . . . ]

The freedom of the open road is seductive, serendipitous, and absolutely liberating. ~ Aaron Lauritsen

[I don’t understand why some people somewhere (and they know who they are) would disapprove of living in Minnesota. I mean, this is the typical traffic in the state . . . ]

Get your motor runnin’, Head out on the highway, Lookin’ for adventure… ~ Steppenwolf

[Approaching Sebeka on the road north . . . ]

Not all who wander are lost. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

[And then there’s Menahga, home St. Urho, the beginning of Minnesota’s coniferous forests . . . ]

I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me. ~ Walt Whitman

[Said conifers . . . ]

Look at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror. ~ Byrd Baggett

[We are now in Itasca State Park . . . ]

In 1903 the Wright brothers invented airplanes, because in 1902 they took a road trip across the country with their family. ~ Bill Engvall

[Where we stayed . . . ]

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin. ~ Tony Robbins 

[They called him “flicker, flicker, faster than lightning” . . . ]

Look for chances to take the less-traveled roads. There are no wrong turns. ~ Susan Magsamen

It’s not too much food. This is what we’ve been training for our whole lives. This is our destiny, this is our finest hour. ~ Lorelai Gilmore

[And now, a short tour of the Inn. Our room (#1) . . . ]

If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken. ~ Ina Garten

[The entry room (lobby?) . . . ]

I can’t cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast. ~ Charlie Brown

[A double kitchen, available for guests. When this was a hostel, we had two Thanksgivings here, with turkey and all the fixin’s . . . ]

Overeating at Thanksgiving is a case in point. It’s a national tradition. ~ Eric Samuel Timm

[The living room . . . ]

Turkey: A large bird whose flesh, when eaten on certain religious anniversaries, has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. ~ Ambrose Bierce

[The dining lobby . . . ]

A lot of Thanksgiving days have been ruined by not carving the turkey in the kitchen. ~ Kin Hubbard

[All the rooms . . . ]

Good mashed potato is one of the great luxuries of life. ~ Lindsey Bareham

[We were heartened to learn we were only .2 miles from the swimming beach . . . ]

Hope my relatives are getting along with the professional line sitter I hired to hold my place at the front of the Thanksgiving food line. ~ John Lyon

[Lake Itasca . . . ]

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little emotional scarring. ~ Friends

Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, one by one, as each relative goes home. ~ Melanie White

[Along the shores of Lake Itasca the wind chill was . . . well, chilly . . . ]

For those of you who cannot be with family this Thanksgiving, please resist the urge to brag. ~ Andy Borowitz

[There are no TV’s here; but there is WiFi . . . ]

The Thanksgiving tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that everyday!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us.’ ~ Jim Gaffigan

[On the way to Thanksgiving dinner, gotta love the traffic . . . ]

A new survey found that 80 percent of men claim they help cook Thanksgiving dinner. Which makes sense, when you hear them consider saying ‘that smells good’ to be helping. ~ Jimmy Fallon

[Shooting Star Casino in Bagley . . . ]

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. ~ Erma Bombeck

[Ruthie & I had the basic Thanksgiving dinner, Jami had a salad, and Danny . . . see below . . . ]

Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year. ~ P. J. O’Rourke

[The casino is on the other side . . . ]

The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so. ~ Nora Ephron

[Danny’s entree was so over the top I can’t find it on any online menus. It was basically a half pound hamburger wrapped top and bottom by grilled cheese sandwiches. No, he did not finish it here . . . ]

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~ Irv Kupcinet

[As the sun sinks slowly into Lake Itasca . . . ]

I’m looking forward to seeing pie this Thanksgiving more than members of my own family. ~ Damien Fahey

[Settling down after eating . . . ]

Thanksgiving is America’s national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. ~ Michael Dresser

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis

November 24

Cooking tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out. ~ Nicole Hollander

[Leaving the Park, heading for home . . . ]

Thanksgiving Day, man—not a good day to be my pants. ~ Kevin James

Pie makes everybody happy. ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

Thanksgiving: Bringing out the best in family dysfunction since 1863. ~ Unknown

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. ~ Johnny Carson

[End of the National Route . . . ]

You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out. ~ Jay Leno

[Home in time for Christmas at Fort Alexandria and the lighting of the lights on Broadway. We began our stroll around the Legacy of the Lakes Gardens . . . ]

Thanksgiving—when the people who are the most thankful are the ones who didn’t have to cook. ~ Melanie White

After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. ~ Oscar Wilde

I’m from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with more food. ~ Howie Mandel

People who love to eat are always the best people. ~ Julia Child

Even though we’re a week and a half away from Thanksgiving, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. ~ Richard Roeper

There is no such thing as fun for the whole family. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

Turkey for me, turkey for you. Let’s eat the turkey in my big brown shoe. ~ Adam Sandler

I haven’t even finished eating all of my Halloween candy! ~ Sally Brown

Nothing says holidays, like a cheese log. ~ Ellen DeGeneres

[Walking through Fort Alexandria on the way to Broadway . . . ]

Every Thanksgiving I bring the champagne, because in my family we all know what our strengths are. ~ Gloria Fallon

[“They say the LED lights are bright on Broadway” . . . ]

I love spending Thanksgiving surrounded by all these great friends I met in the Best Buy parking lot. ~ John Lyon

[This is the initial lighting of the lights for the season . . . ]

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! It’s the day you forget about all the fighting and division in the world and just focus on all the fighting and division in your family. ~ Jimmy Fallon

I love Thanksgiving traditions: watching football, making pumpkin pie and saying the magic phrase that sends your aunt storming out of the dining room to sit in her car. ~ Stephen Colbert

You can’t have Thanksgiving without turkey. That’s like the Fourth of July without apple pie or Friday with no two pizzas. ~ Joey Tribbiani

My cooking was so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor. ~ Phyllis Diller

[Our actual sightlines . . . ]

Thanksgiving, the day where there’s never enough food. You can’t just have a turkey. No, there has to be a roast beef or a ham too. Or both. It’s the only day we have mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. ~ Lewis Black

[Apparently the symbol of an upcoming holiday . . . ]

You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, ‘Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave. ~ Dylan Brody

[To the best of my recollections, this is the first year a parade has been added to this annual event . . . ]

November 24

Thank you, the day after Thanksgiving, or as the makers of sweatpants call it, ‘the busy season.’ ~ Jimmy Fallon

[The arctic blast of the last couple days has put the ice back on Lake H2Obert, I believe this time until April . . . ]

We all have that one friend who is either on a road trip or planning a road-trip or thinking about a road-trip or talking to people who are on a road-trip or posting quotes about road trips. ~ Crestless Wave

A bend in the road, is not the end of the road….unless you fail to make the turn. ~ Helen Keller

Hit the road, Jack! ~ Ray Charles

Up Next: Back to catching up (or, there are two home girls basketball games this week) . . .