September 4

Included herein are a few scattered photos of an occasionally exciting life now a surprisingly three quarters of century long . . .

I kept a diary right after I was born. Day 1: Tired from the move. Day 2: Everyone thinks I’m an idiot. ~ Steven Wright

[My sister labeled my high school graduation photo “Tilt” – and yes, that was a fake tie (but everything else was real . . . ]

There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why. ~ William Barclay

To me – old age is always ten years older than I am. ~ Bernard Baruch

[As I’ve previously noted, when it’s the 75th all one can do is grin and bear it . . . ]

My life is better with every year of living it. ~ Rachel Maddow (But there does come a time when a rebuttal will be necessary. ~ Me)

[A present from sister . . . ]

I threw my 20th birthday party at Brown, and I didn’t even have to say to anyone not to put pictures on Facebook. ~ Emma Watson

[The babies had to join in on the celebration, of course . . . ]

There is still no cure for the common birthday. ~ John Glenn

I looked up the names of other September 4 birthdayers. The only one I knew was Beyonce. But she hasn’t called yet? ~ Me

[BAGGED!!]

A gift, with a kind countenance, is a double present. ~ Thomas Fuller

[When it’s momentous birthday, like the 75th, it should be celebrated in a unique and special way – like a road trip with the roof down to Battle Lake, with its famed restaurant row, on a beautiful day . . . ]

[My first ever visit with a deer (c. 1949) . . . ]

It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.’ ~ Sam Levenson

[Country roads, take me . . . to Battle Lake . . . ]

I was forced to live far beyond my years when just a child, now I have reversed the order and I intend to remain young indefinitely. ~ Mary Pickford

The worst part about celebrating another birthday is the shock that you’re only as well as you are. ~ Anne Lamott

If I could be doing anything, I’d be laying on the floor in my birthday suit eating junk food and watching something dumb on TV. ~ Anita Baker

[Approaching Battle Lake . . . ]

I intend to live forever. So far, so good. ~ Steven Wright

[Arriving Battle Lake, some 38 miles from home . . . ]

[Empire State Building (c. 1988) . . . ]

My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it. ~ Boris Johnson

[Stella’s, on Battle Lake’s main street , Main Street . . . ]

Every year, I think you earn the right to eat cake on your birthday. ~ Bret Hart

[Joined by Helen and John Etnier, friends from Ashby . . . ]

I decided if you’re lucky enough to be alive, you should use each birthday to celebrate what your life is about. ~ Mary Steenburgen

[An award received for never once getting lost on the way to work (c. 1990’s) . . . ]

He said the government was always listening and that anything you had to say you should say in person. ~ Jess Lourey

[If you’re a fan of Jess Lourey’s Murder-by-Month mysteries, you know Battle Lake is the venue for the series. This is Prospect House, prominently featured in one of her novels . . . ]

The woman rolled her eyes so loud I could hear it. ~ Jess Lourey

Don’t go in there. Basements are where men hide their secrets. ~ Jess Lourey

[With grandson Tom (1994) . . . ]

He watched a lot of TV. I guess many people did. Maybe like him, they preferred their lives delivered to them in a box. ~ Jess Lourey

My head was just circling things, so I had to pull out all those squirming thoughts and nail ’em to the paper. ~ Jess Lourey

[And this is Chief Wenonga, prominently featured in many of Jess’s novels . . . ]

My eyes were scratchy with middle-sleep. ~ Jess Lourey

His accent was coarse, pure backcountry Minnesotan. If he had to string together more than five words, we’d hear the “I seen it” and “can you borrow me some” that my parents said were the signs of ignorance. ~ Jess Lourey

[Obert plates, always ISO . . . ]

I suddenly realized how much I loved her when we attended Alfred Hitchcock’s 75th birthday party last August. There was something magical about that night, and it made me see how much she really meant to me. ~ Rod Taylor

I’d been thirteen, not stupid, though a lot of people confuse the two. ~ Jess Lourey

[The waterfront of the town of Battle Lake overlooks West Battle Lake (the lake), which at 5,565 acres is the equivalent size of Lake Miltona, the biggest lake in the Alexandria area . . . ]

I enjoyed my own company enough that I didn’t feel the need to socialize with people who exhausted me. ~ Jess Lourey

There’s about a hundred shades of green in a Minnesota summer, light like celery, deep like emeralds. You wouldn’t think one color could have so many different flavors. ~ Jess Lourey

[Mont Blanc, Chamonix, France enjoying orange beer (1997) . . . ]

Brilliantly lit from stem to stern, she looked like a sagging birthday cake. ~ Walter Lord

[My first ever visit to Clitherall, population 109 . . . ]

Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time. ~ Douglas Coupland

[Lake Clitherall is a substantial 2,500 acres . . . ]

As I approach my 88th birthday, it’s become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren’t quite what they used to be. The prospect of long flights to wherever in search of whatever are not quite as appealing. ~ Mike Wallace

I was fired by ‘America’s Next Top Model’ on my birthday. ~ Paulina Porizkova

[With Goldy at Carlos Creek Winery (2003) . . . ]

As I approached my 95th birthday, I was burdened to write a book that addressed the epidemic of ‘easy believism.’ There is a mindset today that if people believe in God and do good works, they are going to Heaven. ~ Billy Graham

[Downtown Clitherall . . . ]

I’m most comfortable in my birthday suit. ~ Amanda Seyfried

[Vining’s, population 41, famous sculpture garden . . . ]

[With Dennis Murphy at Carlos Creek Winery (c. early 2000’s) . . . ]

Don’t judge me. I made a lot of money. ~ Samantha Bee

[This is Urbank, population 52. On the way to Battle Lake, the whole town was blocked off. It must have been Urbank Days, or something. Everybody in the whole county must have been there . . . ]

With my wife I don’t get no respect. I made a toast on her birthday to ‘the best woman a man ever had.’ The waiter joined me. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

I hate birthdays. I thought that I only hated my own birthday, and then I realized that I hate my children’s birthdays too. ~ Samantha Bee

I wanted to be a priest, but when they told me I could never have sex, not even on my birthday, I changed my mind. ~ Johnny Vegas

[Alexandria Golf Club, a new golf shirt fell apart while being worn. Crazy Dave, who lives close to the 7th green, rushed out with the yellow shirt so I could finish the round without being arrested for indecent exposure (2008) . . . ]

About astrology and palmistry: they are good because they make people vivid and full of possibilities. They are communism at its best. Everybody has a birthday and almost everybody has a palm. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

[Ebenezer Lutheran Church at the confluence of County Roads 5 & 6 in Douglas County . . . ]

Let them eat pizza. ~ Me

[Party time at Carlos Creek Winery with known acquaintances and musical accompaniment from Anthony Miltich . . . ]

Let them eat cake. ~ Marie Antoinette

I quit high school on my birthday. It was my senior year and I didn’t see the point. This was 1962, and I was ready to make music. ~ Barry White

[Promoting the Beavers at Carlos Creek Winery (2013) . . . ]

One of the shocks of a 50th birthday is realizing the fundamental fact that your youth is irrevocably over. ~ Marianne Williamson (Try 75, Marianne!!)

[Anthony . . . ]

In 1993 my birthday present was a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. ~ Annette Funicello

I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ ~ Steven Wright

[Dancing with the lovely Olga, the Governor’s House, Yaroslavl, Russia (2018) . . . ]

I gave a funny speech at my wife’s birthday party, and I’m thinking, ‘Hey, I’ve still got it.’ ~ Larry David

[The group at Jack’s Pub at the winery . . . ]

Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words. ~ Plautus

[My first (and last) ever Big Mac (2020) . . . ]

I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. I didn’t want to waste it so I just wrote ‘Jesus’ on it. ~ Demetri Martin

It’s odd the things that people remember. Parents will arrange a birthday party, certain it will stick in your mind forever. You’ll have a nice time, then two years later you’ll be like, ‘There was a pony there? Really? And a clown with one leg?’ ~ David Sedaris

[Cub reporting, the early years. Soon to be back to that size as a recent physical exam revealed that I am now two inches shorter than when I was just a kid of 70?]

I love a card. You know, cards? At birthdays? I collect them. ~ Adele

It takes a long time to become young. ~ Pablo Picasso

We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me. It’s the day I was born. My mother’s birthday, and a lot of my friends’ birthdays, are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date. ~ Beyonce

When someone asks if you’d like cake or pie, why not say you want cake and pie? ~ Lisa Loeb

[Thanks again to Paul Trumm, who roasts his own . . . ]

This is a wonderful way to celebrate an 80th birthday… I wanted to be 65 again, but they wouldn’t let me – Homeland Security. ~ Art Buchwald

If Congress can move President’s Day, Columbus Day and, alas, Martin Luther King’s Birthday celebration for the convenience of shoppers, shouldn’t they at least consider moving Election Day for the convenience of voters? ~ Andrew Young

Up Next: No doubt something as equally compelling . . .

* No TV or radio time outs for ads making it, for me, the only football worth watching . . .

[Well, except for the 1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers . . . ]

September 2

I’m pure old-school Cardinals fan. ~ Mark Consuelos

First of all the name, and the color purple, I think those two things distinguish the Vikings as much as anything. You go anywhere in the country and say ‘Vikings,’ they know exactly where you are. You say ‘Cardinals,’ well, Cardinals who? There are a dozen Cardinals teams in the country in professional and amateur sports. ~ Bud Grant

[A beautiful evening for the first football game of the season . . . ]

We have all, at one time or another, been performers, and many of us still are – politicians, playboys, cardinals and kings. ~ Laurence Olivier

She used to be a teacher but she has no class now. ~ Fred Allen

[It was parents’ night . . . ]

There is nothing on earth intended for innocent people so horrible as a school. ~ George Bernard Shaw

[That’s Mark Ripley in the white shirt and shorts. He’s the school photographer. I think this night made it the 1,342nd consecutive Cardinal football game he has attended. That means drives home from such places as Bemidji in December in sub-zero temperatures and blizzards . . . ]

The fans know and the Cardinals know that I want to be a Cardinal for my whole career. I love this city. The way that this city has embraced me and my family. ~ Albert Pujols

Accomplishing the impossible means only the boss will add it to your regular duties. ~ Doug Larson

[My main thought as we basked in yet another 75-degree day was that it was 50 degrees cooler than Death Valley . . . ]

We all learn by experience but some of us have to go to summer school. ~ Peter De Vries

[The blank scoreboard indicated things were not going to go well. The gentleman sitting next to me said it wasn’t working for the girls soccer game a few days before. It’s brand new this season, but it’s off to a tough start. But even worse, while it has large billboard advertising, the digital part offering up such useful things at the time, the score, and down and distance are so small I had to squint from the other end of the field once they got it up and running later in the first quarter . . . ]

[Stuff happens. The first game of the season for the Cards hosted Hutchinson, the defending state champions. The Cardinals graduated all their playmakers from last year. New players at a lot of positions, including a sophomore quarterback starting his first varsity game. This is the first play of the game, an incomplete pass that was then ruled a lateral and recovered by Hutchinson, who scored a couple runs later. The Cardinals had a good kickoff return, but went 3 and out. The snap to the punter went over his head and he fell on it inside the 10 yard line. Hutchinson again scored and led 16-0 before the Cardinals even had one positive yardage pay. In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., “So it goes.”]

I never did very well in math—I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn’t meant my answers literally. ~ Calvin Trillin

I said school starts tomorrow. I didn’t say I was going to be there. ~ Kim Harrison

School means work and work means death. Let’s all go take a nap. ~ Emma Shannon

[This is our sophomore quarterback, 6’7″ Chase Thompson, whose 7′ tall brother Treyton is on the Minnesota Gopher basketball team. Chase will be very good, already a topnotch basketball player, but until this last Cardinal series right before the half we were down 32-0 and had not yet attained a single first down. Chase led us down the field for a Cardinal touchdown with 4 seconds left in the half . . . ]

But, yeah, I definitely want to get a Cardinals tattoo. ~ Tyrann Mathieu

School bells are ringing loud and clear; vacation’s over, school is here. ~ Winifred C. Marshal

Run, Chase run . . .

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. ~ Aristotle

But if there’s a school bus, there needs to be a school! ~ Fred Rogers

It’s my first day of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomach ache. ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

It’s been two weeks. That’s like a decade in high school years. ~ Rob Thomas

[Chase really does look the part in the pocket . . . ]

What I hate most about school is that my mom can’t read me my bedtime stories. ~ Dan Houser

[Kelly Johnson (10), a senior receiver, who was the favorite target all night with 7 catches for 116 yards . . . ]

Ain’t no registration / Ain’t no student loan / You may not learn to read or write / But you will surely learn to roll dem bones / Get on back to school. ~ Jimmy Buffett

The 5 most common words heard by a school principal: ‘Have you got a minute?’ ~ John Blaydes

[The bane of the amateur sports photographer – the accidental photo bombers . . . ]

Respect your parents. They passed school without Google. ~ Anonymous

Education can get you the only thing that really matters in today’s world—an assigned parking space. ~ Gene Perret

School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside. ~ Lon Watters

First day of school, make sure that you know your locker combination. ~ Jordan Francis

[A completion to senior Jaxon Schoenrock (3), also a key player on the basketball team . . . ]

School is a lot like toilet paper. You only miss it when it’s gone. ~ Anonymous

[The catch . . . ]

[The TD pass, in the air, looks like it’s heading to Schoenrock (3) . . . ]

High school looks so much cooler on TV. ~ Unknown

[But it was to Johnson (10) behind him who finished the play for a 16-yard TD . . . ]

I would enjoy school more if I was allowed to bring a pillow. ~ Unknown

If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. ~ Chinese proverb

[The Cards have a first rate place kicker, sophomore Daniel Jackson (9), who converted 3 PAT’s and had two kickoffs for touchbacks . . . ]

Don’t try so hard to fit in, and certainly don’t try so hard to be different…just try hard to be you. ~ Zendaya

[I left at the half – it was past my bedtime. The Cards settled down and played the Tigers even in the 2nd half. The final score was 46 – 21. I see a future the Cards, but the crystal ball is still a tad murky . . . ]

Before broadcasting for 50-some years, I did TV, played 10 years in the big leagues, won a world championship – and played a big part in that, too, letting the Cardinals inject me with hepatitis. Takes a big man to do that. ~ Bob Uecker

In America, one sure sign of success is the presence of an unnecessary waterfall in a person’s yard. ~ Demetri Martin

Up Next: Somebody had a birthday . . .

August 31

As we move from summer music and theatre to fall high school events . . .

Nature has a myriad of weapons to combat human arrogance. ~ Wayne Gerard Trotman

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.  ~  Mary Oliver

August 26

This was the last program of the season for Theatre L’Homme Dieu. I heard from several people it was the best season ever. I have no reason to contest those opinions . . .

Bluegrass is wonderful music. I’m glad I originated it. ~ Bill Monroe

It seems like bluegrass people have more great stories to tell than other musicians. ~ Dan Fogelberg

Members
Nate Sipe: Mandolin, Fiddle
Kevin Kniebel: Banjo
J Lenz: Acoustic Guitar
Justin Bruhn: Upright Bass
Matt Cartier: Clogs & Fiddle

Discography
2005 – Live: Just Outside of Sandstone
2007 – Up and Down The River
2008 – Needle & Thread
2009 – Out On A Spree
2011 – Paradise Hop
2013 – Ship of Fools 7”
2014 – The Hardest Part of Leaving
2016 – Discovery of Honey

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.  ~  William Shakespeare

[Early arrivers, the Super took our blue chairs out on the lawn to claim our usual in-theatre spots – row E, seats 1 & 2 . . . ]

All theatre, by virtue of its being a cultural construct and therefore ideologically inscribed, is political. ~ Mark S Weinberg

A hotel room all to myself is my idea of a good time. ~ Chelsea Handler

[The stage is being set . . . ]

[We ran into Robb Justice, a regular performer on the local music scene . . . ]

It’s music [bluegrass] that finds its way deep into your soul because it’s strings vibrating against wood and nothing else. ~ Alison Krauss

I think the singer/songwriter genre is going to be like bluegrass and jazz. You can make a living at it, but it’s not part of the musical mainstream anymore. ~ Steve Earle

[From behind the stage with the lodge and cabins in the background . . . ]

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

People like bluegrass. It’s had a following amongst a lot of hip and young people. A lot of college kids like bluegrass. ~ Dolly Parton

Because the blues is the basis of most American music in the 20th century. It’s a 12-bar form that’s played by jazz, bluegrass and country musicians. It has a rhythmic vocabulary that’s been used by rock n’ roll. It’s related to spirituals, and even the American fiddle tradition. ~ Wynton Marsalis

Bluegrass has a very, very strict musical form. Once you start to dilute it, it disappears. ~ Emmylou Harris (whom my brother once roadied for)

The grand old lady of bluegrass? Well, wouldn’t that be a wonderful title to have? I hope I do enough to earn it some day. ~ Alison Krauss

[A new theatre board member was caught slinking away after grabbing a couple stage front photo ops . . . ]

Bluegrass is in my blood and in my ears. ~ Charlie Haden

It was so much fun playing simple American bluegrass. I got to meet Doc Watson. ~ Dan Fogelberg

There’s Americana, there’s Bluegrass, there’s some rock, there’s some really George Jones-style stuff on it, slow-style Ray Price country elements, there’s some modern country, a little of this and a little of that. ~ Cody Johnson

Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. ~ Steve Earle

I wanted to use some kind of name so people would know where I was from. So I took the name “bluegrass.” There is not a prettier name in the whole world. ~ Bill Monroe

[The actual view from our seats . . . ]

Herb and I met each other forty years ago when we were both eighteen years old, playing bluegrass, and that’s what drew me into music, and I enjoyed every particular part of my career. ~ Chris Hillman

Although it was hard to tell, with bluegrass, wether or not they were supposed to sound like geese. ~ Sarah McCarry

. . . Or a group of bluegrass musicians who’d be playing the most raucous tunes imaginable, looking around at each other with bemused expressions that seemed to say where’s all that racket comin from? ~ Carolyn Jourdan

The guitar is such an incredible instrument; it plays classical, flamenco, jazz, country, bluegrass, rock, acid, blues. You’ll never see a clarinet playing Black Sabbath. But you will see a guitar in a clarinet band playing rhythm. It is the most popular instrument in the world; it is the one everybody loves. ~ Randy Bachman

I was in a bluegrass band. I made two records with a band called the SteelDrivers. ~ Chris Stapleton

I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.  ~  Woody Allen

[As the daylight began to wither . . . ]

Terry Kennedy was in the house. Terry and I can jointly claim, before we knew each other and likely in the 80’s, we saw The Seldom Seen perform at the legendary Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. ~ Me

Soon the Boov was in the ghost suit and Pig was in the car, which would be a good lyric for a bluegrass song, now that I think of it. ~ Adam Rex

[Time for a stroll around the venue . . . ]

I feel good about being able to take bluegrass on to television like ‘Letterman’ and ‘The View,’ and I’ve heard nice things about being able to do that. ~ Steve Martin

I had some good teachers. One of the greatest teachers I’ve had is bluegrass music: going back and listening to Bill Monroe’s music, the Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs. ~ Ricky Skaggs

It’s true that bluegrass is a virtuosic form and asks that of its performer. ~ Ketch Secor

[From behind the control booth . . . ]

The reason why you don’t eat Kentucky bluegrass or crabgrass is because it tastes sour and bitter. ~ Homaro Cantu

I got to sing with Placido Domingo … I got to sing with Aaron Neville, who is one of my favorites. Got to sing with Brian Wilson, one of the great high tenors. And Ricky Skaggs, a bluegrass tenor. I’m also proud of my musical friendship with Emmylou Harris. ~ Linda Ronstadt

By the time I made the bluegrass record … I’m more impressed with myself when I push the envelope musically than I am when I push it literality. ~ Steve Earle

The Irish came over with their fiddles in hand, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and rockabilly. I love it when music from different countries combine. ~ Imelda May

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.  ~  George Washington Carver

[The theatre campus . . . ]

Like, I do sort of an acoustic version of ‘Purple Haze’ that has some bluegrass licks in it. ~ Eugene Chadbourne

Once all the power goes out, there will still be human beings standing together around a campfire, playing acoustic guitars. ~ Jim James

[A couple of guys were dancing in the vicinity of the stage. One kicked out a power cord; the place scrambled for resolution. It was determined they were overcome by bluegrass . . . ]

Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself. ~ John Hartford

[It’s over . . . ]

I always loved bluegrass, but there was so much I didn’t know about American country music in respect to the origins of this country. It was interesting to see the evolution of it. ~ Clare Bowen

[Well, until the encores . . . ]

I just hope bluegrass entertainers take care of their music and take care of their fans. If you don’t practice, the man next door who is practicing will beat you. ~ Bill Monroe

[Good night, and thank you boys! Get down, get funky!]

[Kudos again to TLHD’s executive director, Nicole Mulder, and to the board’s president and first lady, Jim and Jan Pence (left background). See you all again next year!]

August 27

The setup: We haven’t attended many sporting events over the last couple years – something to do with COVID protocols and, if not, personal health protocols. Last year our football Cardinals made the state tournament, so I revisited (thanks to YouTube) our great section semifinal game against Moorhead. Our three main skill positions (aren’t they all skill positions?) – quarterback, running back, and wide receiver – were all seniors last year. That’s a lot to replace. When I arrived at the scrimmage it was like the good old days at the hockey arena where the “older” fans were the folks I called the “guys on the rail” who stood for the whole game above the seating area. Well, there was another group of football “guys at the rail” when I arrived, one of which attended freshmen games last year and liked the 6’6″ now-sophomore, likely the starting quarterback this year. So, we all kibitzed each other for the whole scrimmage . . .

[Up at the crack of dawn the next day for the first high school football scrimmage of the season. Our Cardinals (red pants) were hosting, to the best of our knowledge, Fergus Falls, Albany, and Big Lake. Each team would rotate to scrimmage each other team . . . ]

I got the shakes that’ll make you quake. I got the fries that’ll cross your eyes. I got the burgers that’ll…I just got burgers. ~ Cheeseburger Eddie, The Longest Yard (2005)

[Our first look at the new, hypersonic scoreboard . . . ]

Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable. ~ Tom Landry

[Big Lake on offense against our defense . . . ]

I’m the football coach around here and don’t you remember it. ~ Bill Peterson

[Our first look at 6’6″ sophomore quarterback, Chase Thompson . . . ]

Having two weeks off gives family, friends, and the media more time to get on your nerves. ~ Deion Sanders

[It’s a handoff . . . ]

It’s ridiculous for a country to get all worked up about a game—except the Super Bowl, of course. Now that’s important. ~ Andy Rooney

[And now a rollout pass . . . ]

The next MVP of the Super Bowl is just as likely to have been a full-time grocery store bagger last year as a Heisman Trophy winner. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

It’s an unprecedented precedent. ~ Clark Carlisle

[It’s another handoff . . . ]

Cancel the Super Bowl? That’s like canceling Christmas! ~ Thomas Harris

[Into the hole . . . ]

In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are. ~ Arnold H. Glasow

[This, and remaining photos, are all shot on “burst,” a/k/a continuous shooting. Those displayed herein are at about 5-photo intervals . . . ]

When I played at Minnesota, Green Bay, those northern cities, Buffalo, they wanted to have those championship games at home. It was going to be an advantage to be there with their fans and the cold weather and all that. ~ Tony Dungy

[The running back is in the scrum somewhere. Absent programs for this, we couldn’t identify individual players . . . ]

This helicopter flies overhead, probably taking pictures, and McMahon just moons it. He mooned the helicopter from the field. ~ William “The Refrigerator” Perry

[And he pops out the other side . . . ]

Cheerleading isn’t easy if it was more guys would be in it. ~ Tucky, Brownsville, TX, USA

Not every girl can be a cheerleader, it takes a special kind. Cheerleaders are full of life and a little bit out of their mind. ~ Jennifer, Tennessee, USA

Now I lay me down to sleep, megaphone and pom poms at my feet! ~ Mo, The Sunshine State

[Young Mr. Thompson showed off some nice skills. I think people at the next level will have an eye on him . . . ]

All Grange can do is run. And all Caruso can do is sing. ~ Bob Zuppke

The shoulder surgery was a success. The lobotomy failed. ~ Mike Ditka

He couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the C and the T. ~ Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson

I don’t know whether I prefer Astroturf to grass. I never smoked Astroturf. ~ Joe Namath

I’ve been big ever since I was little. ~ William “The Refrigerator” Perry

I resigned as the Broncos coach because of illness and fatigue. The fans were sick and tired of me. ~ John Ralston

If cheerleading was any easier it would be called football. ~ Kim, Bristol, Maine, USA

You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone. ~ John Madden

I’m a light eater. As soon as it’s light, I start to eat. ~ Art Donovan

When it’s third and ten, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time. ~ Max McGee

I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock. ~ Barry Venison

In high school, when I played football I got no respect. I shared a locker with a mop. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Up Next: Cardinal football hosts Hutchinson, the defending state champions, on Friday. The Cardinal girls soccer team is already 3 – 0 by a combined score of 17 – 0!

August 21

I’m at a place in my life when errands are starting to count as going out. ~ Anonymous

If truth be told, this photo was taken on Friday . . .

A good rule to remember for life is that when it comes to plastic surgery and sushi, never be attracted by a bargain. ~ Graham Norton

Alexandria Golf Club

If truth be told, the rest of the photos were all taken on Sunday . . .

[Another beautiful day in Vacationland USA. We enjoyed a 2-hour breakfast at the golf club with close personal friends. The club championships were ongoing so it was a breakfast buffet in the lower patio level. Unfortunately, it was the last breakfast of the season at the club – mostly a matter of staffing . . . ]

[Something about a beautiful day once again inspired me to take garden photos . . . ]

I’m not feeling very well – I need a doctor immediately. Ring the nearest golf course. ~ Groucho Marx

The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course. ~ Billy Graham

There’s a reason so many new retirees, freed from the treadmill of work, promptly keel over on the golf course: Work fulfills us. It keeps us going. ~ Ben Shapiro

Exercise? I get it on the golf course. When I see my friends collapse, I run for the paramedics. ~ Red Skelton

I learned one thing from jumping motorcycles that was of great value on the golf course, the putting green especially: Whatever you do, don’t come up short. ~ Evel Knievel

I don’t like going to the mall. I’m not really like the other girls. I just like to go out on the golf course and play. Golf is fun and feels really good. ~ Michelle Wie

You don’t go to Palm Springs in the summer unless you’re building a golf course. ~ Arnold Palmer

Women in pro-ams are always telling me about all the business deals they’ve struck on the golf course playing with their male work colleagues. ~ Paula Creamer

If I played golf, I’d be on the golf course every day, but I just can’t wear those dumb pants. ~ Elvis Duran

I wasn’t a silver-spoon kid on the golf course growing up. ~ John Daly

[It’s always nice to run across one’s nickname spray painted on a cart path . . . ]

[Can you spot the pollinators?]

There’s definitely been some looks throughout history on the golf course that would make people say, ‘woah, what’s this guy wearing?!’ if they were to walk into a restaurant. ~ Justin Rose

Rolling Forks Vineyards

Does it disturb anyone else that ‘The Los Angeles Angels’ baseball team translates directly to ‘The The Angels Angels’? ~ Neil DeGrasse Tyson

[After a buffet-style breakfast, one must retreat home for a multi-hour nap prior to attempting any further activities. After doing such, we were good to go for an afternoon with the Cheese Bots at Rolling Forks Vinyard . . . ]

[A quick survey by the National Archives, it appears we have not seen the Bots since March 2020. The blame for that could likely be placed on COVID, student loan debt, or PBS Passport . . . ]

I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious. ~ Steve Carrell (The Office)

[The usual suspects were again at the scene . . . ]

There’s nothing wrong with you that an expensive operation can’t prolong. ~ Graham Chapman (Monty Python)

[Two of the three Bots . . . ]

[Once a member of the U. S. Air Force Band, now a practioner of Melrose Soul . . . ]

[The Bots in their entirety . . . ]

[Marty “Longhorn Colby” Sarlette . . . ]

[Jim “Fromage du Jour” LaRocque . . . ]

[Lindy “Limburger” Pederson . . . ]

[Photos ops abounded in the beautiful setting overlooking Lake Minnewaska . . . ]

[And food, don’t forget the food!]

[This is where the Super stepped into the action and took the photos of the day!]

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

[The group photo by the Super . . . ]

We interrupt this program for a brief history lesson. DiAnn Ness, founder of Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale (SAWA), was sitting at a table just off the right side of this photo (her daughter Traci is visible in the photo on the far right). The first time we saw the Cheese Bots was at SAWA, so I asked DiAnn how she “discovered” them. She said Marty Sarlette, the saxophone player who had performed at SAWA with Funky Gumbo Trio, asked her if a new group he had formed with his college buddies could perform at SAWA. And then SAWA was the first place the group Cheese Bots ever performed . . .

Here’s a sample of the Funky Gumbo Trio from 2011. The guys in the video are Mike Gill (saxophone, vocals), Craig Sandberg (bass, vocals), Spencer Christensen (guitar) & Bill Engebretsen (drums, leader of the pack):

I have no photos of Marty playing with Funky Gumbo but here’s a couple of him playing with Components at SAWA . . .

Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts. ~ Leslie Nielson (Lt. Frank Drebin)

And here’s a sample video of the Cheese Bots, playing the Super’s favorite:

DiAnn would have to be considered the Barry Gordy, Jr. or Clive Davis of Alexandria. Here’s a list of the performers we saw at SAWA (which closed December 31, 2016) over the years, :

Until next time. ~ Me

If I’m not back in five minutes, just wait longer. ~ Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura)

Up Next: Surprise me . . .

August 20

OK, this photo is just meant to be a Facebook (which always posts the first photo) attention grabber. I took this at the Final Four in Atlanta in 2002 or 2007, who remembers such things . . .

There are “cameo” appearances at the end of this post by half of the Salty Dogs and Tuesday Nightclub . . .

Editor’s note: This is my 6th and last year on the theatre board. It was fun and entertaining, and I have nothing but optimism for TLHD’s future. Here’s a look back to thoughts five years ago:

“Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future.” Sophocles said that. I never met the man, but I think he was on to something. One should always lead off a discussion about the arts with a quote from Sophocles anyway. None of his quotes ever went viral, however, because he never put them on Facebook. Which leads me, of course, to Theatre L’Homme Dieu (TLHD).

THLD is in its 57th year of existence, the longest running summer stock theater in Minnesota. While growing up in the Ozzie and Harriet-ness of Alexandria’s Victoria Heights, I recall attending TLHD in the early 60’s. I was not a theater devotee, so my only memories of the theater then of are the mosquitoes. And it seemed to be a very long ride from our Victoria Heights cocoon. Then I went away for almost 40 years. The theater somehow continued on without me. After we retired back to Alex, the theater went through a major transition going independent after a long affiliation with St. Cloud State University. Now TLHD is doing better than ever through associations with various professional theater companies from around the state. And they love performing here.

I recognize not everyone is a fan of live theater. But you can say that about anything – except bacon. It is important to recognize the role it plays in the arts in general, and how important the arts are to quality of life. Think of it, if nobody is producing entertainment, there would be no need to invent devices to disseminate it. An iPad or television would be useless without anything to listen to or watch on them. It’s hard to imagine a life without the Beatles, or “Seinfeld,” or “Hollywood Squares,” for Pete’s sake. Live theater is where it all began.

In its quintessential Minnesota lakes area setting, the drive into the TLHD’s campus produces an excitement rush in its own right. So for a couple of months each summer, go out occasionally and grab one of the 272 available seats (I think I counted that right?) for any or all of the six plays, performed six days a week, plus some special events. And at the end of an event, if the spirit so moves you, stand and applaud, shout “Bravo,” and remind yourself you have just had a wonderful life experience. ~ Me

August 11

Please note this was a production of Theatre L’Homme Dieu. Many thanks and kudos to Nicole Mulder, the artistic staff, and the technical crew for a rousing season finale . . .

[The following photos were taken about an hour before an evening performance of the play. In fact the audience was starting for their seats as we were wrapping this up. Jenna Nowak, of the technical crew and regular theatre staff, set the scene for each shot – the actors posed and I hit the shutter button. The quotes with the photos generally do not match the scene (for reasons of time and convenience) . . . ]

I was in the hall. I know because I was there. ~ Wadsworth

When once your point of view is changed, the very thing which was so damning becomes a clue to the truth. ~ Arthus Conan Doyle

Who was the real Hitchcock? I interviewed him once and haven’t a clue. ~ Roger Ebert

With ‘The Simpsons,’ people didn’t know what they were gonna see. They didn’t have a clue. ~ Sam Simon

Oh, who ever it is, they gotta go away or they’ll be killed. ~ Mrs. Peacock

This is war, Peacock. Casualties are inevitable. You can not make an omelet without breaking eggs, every cook will tell you that. ~ Colonel Mustard

I haven’t a clue what’s going to happen next, and I can’t wait to find out. ~ Mandy Patinkin

If you think America is great, remember that every person telling you otherwise may carry a clue to making it greater. ~ Anand Giridharadas

‘Clue’ was a big flop when it came out, but it became a… It’s a movie that almost everyone references with me, now, when I run into people. ~ Michael McKean

Husbands should be like Kleenex. Soft, strong, and disposable. ~ Mrs. White

Being killed is pretty final, wouldn’t you say? ~ Mrs. White

It’s a matter of life after death, now that he’s dead I have a life. ~ Mrs. White

He was always a stupidly optimistic man. I mean, I’m afraid it came as a great shock when he died but he was found at died at home his head had been cut off and, um, so had his, umm… you KNOW. ~ Mrs. White

How many husbands have you had? ~ Colonel Mustard
Mine or other women’s? ~ Mrs. White

Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn. ~ Wadsworth

Communism was just a red herring. ~ Wadsworth

Yvette, could you attend to the Colonel and give him anything he requires? Within reason, that is. ~ Wadsworth

I have something to say. I’m not going to wait for Wadsworth here to unmask me. I work for the State Department, and I’m a homosexual. I feel no personal shame or guilt about this, but I must keep it a secret, or I will lose my job on security grounds. ~ Mr. Green

You lure men to their deaths like a spider with flies. ~ Colonel Mustard
Flies are where men are most vulnerable. ~ Mrs. White

Are you a cop? ~ Mrs. White
No, I’m a plant. ~ Mr. Green
A plant? I thought men like you were usually called a fruit. ~ Miss Scarlett

I am your singing telegram. ~ Singing telegram girl

Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests? ~ Colonel Mustard
You don’t need any help from me, sir. ~ Wadsworth
That’s right! ~ Colonel Mustard

They all did it. But if you wanna know who killed Mr. Boddy, I did. In the hall. With the revolver. All right, Chief, take’em away. I’m gonna go home and sleep with my wife. ~ Mr. Green

Oh, you’re a doctor? ~ Mrs. White
I am, but I don’t ptactice. ~ Professor Plum
Practice makes perfect. Ha! I think most men need a little practice, don’t you Mrs. Peacock? ~ Miss Scarlett

Maybe there is life after death. ~ Miss Scarlett
Life after death is as improbable as sex after marriage! ~ Mrs. White

Three murders? This is getting serious. ~ Wadsworth

[The whole cast and crew . . . ]

I’ll run into somebody, and of all the movies I’ve done, they may say something about ‘Back to the Future’ or whatever, but then they make reference to ‘Clue’ very favorably. ~ Christopher Lloyd

[The whole cast, crew, and theatre staff . . . ]

[The funny cast and crew . . . ]

What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death? ~ Professor Plum
No, just death, isn’t that enough? ~ Mrs. Peacock

‘Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, . . .

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.’ . . .

August 14

[The quarterly wine pick up party at Carlos Creek Winery, driving past the Alexandria Golf Club where we enjoyed breakfast a couple hours earlier . . . ]

[The party for the first time was being held in the brewery, behind the roadside buildings . . . ]

[A “backyard” view . . . ]

[As is this . . . ]

[The Super driving her VW convertible up the hill for parking . . . ]

[The roadside buildings from behind . . . ]

[Beer, beer, beer, beer . . . ]

[And then back out front for the entertainment: Greg Donahue on the fiddle and Erik Schultz on the guitar and voice . . . ]

“’I’m forty-two,’ he said. ‘That’s eighty-four in musician years.’” ~ Monica Wood

Life can’t be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years. ~ William F. Buckley, Jr.

I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair. ~ Sandi Thom

Where words fail, music speaks. ~ Hans Christian Andersen

Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~ Ronald Reagan

[Still striving for nirvana . . . ]

I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would rather hear me drink scotch. ~ George Burns

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~ Confucius

August 16

[Tuesday night at the Garden Bar with Tuesday Nightclub . . . ]

[The regulars, l-r: Terry Kennedy, Jim Faber, Bill Riggs, and Al Lieffort . . . ]

When a piece gets difficult, make faces. ~ Arthur Schnabel

Brass bands are all very well in their place – outdoors and several miles away. ~ Thomas Beecham

[And on this night Dale White on flugelhorn sat in with the boys . . . ]

Hell is full of musical amateurs. ~ George Bernard Shaw

I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play. ~ Arthur Schnabel

It would be interesting if Elvis were reincarnated as an Elvis impersonator. ~ Demetri Martin

Composers shouldn’t think too much – it interferes with their plagiarism. ~ Howard Dietz

I always hate it when people watch a musical and they go, ‘Oh, it’s so unrealistic, no one just breaks into song in the middle of their day.’ Yeah, they do- if they’re me. ~ Zachary Levi

Jazz came to America three hundred years ago in chains. ~ Paul Whiteman

Give me a laundry list and I’ll set it to music. ~ Gioachino Rossini

Nothing soothes me more after a long and maddening course of pianoforte recitals than to sit and have my teeth drilled. ~ George Bernard Shaw

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass? ~ Michael Torke

I don’t know anything about music. In my line you don’t have to. ~ Elvis Presley

People never ask people doing serious music, ‘Do you ever think about doing funny music?’ ~ Al Yankovic

If anyone has conducted a Beethoven performance, and then doesn’t have to go to an osteopath, then there’s something wrong. ~ Simon Rattle

All the shopping malls and restaurants and airports are riddled with low-fidelity loudspeakers, which apparently have developed the ability to reproduce by themselves; these are all connected to a special programming service called Music That Nobody Really Likes, and you cannot get away from it. ~ Dave Barry

Up Next: Likely more music . . .

August 16

I married a woman who loves to camp, and I am what you would call indoorsy… My wife always brings up, Camping’s a tradition in my family. Hey, it was a tradition in everyone’s family ’til we came up with the house. ~ Jim Gaffigan

When I’m deciding to read a book, I never open to the first chapter, because that’s been revised and worked over 88 times. I’ll just turn to the middle of the book, to the middle of a chapter, and just read a random page and I’ll know right away whether this is the real deal or not. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[The morning “steam” over Elkhart Lake on August 5 . . . ]

August 3

Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories. ~ Steven Wright

[A picture is worth a thousand words. However, the swimming area actually stretches to our direct view from Rappaport . . . ]

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. ~ H. L. Mencken

[A generic schedule for we older folks . . . ]

Humans are like bunnies. Some can be incredibly sweet, and some can be little demons. Either way they are dumb. ~ Alice Jansing

[These guys/gals must live under the evergreen in our front yard. So accustomed to campers, they are hardly distracted when we walk by . . . ]

If it weren’t for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all. ~ Joey Adams

[During the two year shut down, the steps from the office (Efroymson Hall) to lake level, which previously were the equivalent of rappelling, were replaced. While it made ascent and descent much easier and safer, I still preferred the golf cart . . . ]

I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any. ~ Mark Twain

Once we hit forty, women only have about four taste buds left: one for vodka, one for wine, one for cheese, and one for chocolate. ~ Gina Barreca

[Into every life, a little rain must fall . . . ]

I’ll tell you what I love doing more than anything: trying to pack myself in a small suitcase. I can hardly contain myself. ~ Tim Vine

[And this is our room, with window fan air conditioning . . . ]

Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle. ~ Bob Hope

[We had our names on the door so we could find our way home . . . ]

If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner. ~ Tallulah Bankhead

[The lake view from our screen porch . . . ]

My sister Rita Simon & me beating former IU basketball star John Laskowski & his partner in the Camp Brosius Euchre tournament. John owns the Bloomington Culver‘s. ~ Ruthie

If you’re not in New York, you’re camping out. ~ Thomas Dewey

[Let the games begin! Here the cornhole tournament with the aforementioned Fort Waynians Scott (throwing) & Vicki teaming up . . . ]

A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money. ~ W. C. Fields

[Scotty and Vick (throwing) giving it the good ole college try . . . ]

I hate camping, but I love summer camp. ~ Zooey Deschanel

[Jenny (throwing) and Kent (blue shirt), daughter-in-law and son of Vicki and Scott, defending their cornhole championship once again. They are a mini-dynasty . . . ]

The ultimate camping trip was the Lewis and Clark expedition. ~ Dave Barry

[Ed showing the form that led him to a high finish in horseshoes in a previous camp . . . ]

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. ~ Mark Twain

As frightening as this may sound, what you see in the books is the way I see the world. And so far I haven’t seen anything, either in Florida or elsewhere, to dissuade me from it. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[My teammate, Rosalba, in warmups . . . ]

The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider it. ~ Joan Rivers

[Through sheer grit and determination, Rosalba and I made our way to the semifinals – we drew a 1st round bye, then won by forfeit . . . ]

I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland to see what the army does with those wee red knives. ~ Billy Connolly

[Wait till next year!!]

Incredibly, almost every hotel I ever played in Vegas was blown up shortly afterward: The Dunes, The Sands, The Landmark, The Aladdin, The Frontier, The Hacienda, The Stardust – all were imploded. ~ Elayne Boosler

[Although I don’t see us unseating Jenny and Kent, who are to cornhole what the dreaded Callecod sisters are to euchre . . . ]

Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing every year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared. ~ Jack Handey

[The threes time a day chow line . . . ]

August 4

Of course, not everybody likes camping trips. I do not myself enjoy them much, because I’m not outdoorsy, or at any rate, I’m not outdoorsy overnight-without-a-matress-wise. There’s a limit to the outdoorsiness to which some academics can be expected to submit. ~ G.A. Cohen

[Theatre L’Homme Dieu and Farewell Argentina saved each other coming out of COVID . . . ]

Now that we finally got the men out of the way, we can have some fun . . .

[It’s nice here in the shade – we can just sit and visit, read a book, cool our heels . . . ]

Camping is nature’s way of promoting the motel business. ~ Dave Barry

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. ~ Christopher Columbus

[The camp’s Smoker Craft pontoon – Rita’s best friend and a longtime Brosius camper, Cindy, was in the Smoker lineage . . . ]

He was happily married – but his wife wasn’t. ~ Victor Borge

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

If you live a life of make-believe, your life isn’t worth anything until you do something that does challenge your reality. And to me, sailing the open ocean is a real challenge, because it’s life or death. ~ Morgan Freeman

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

[Our porch was always a center of activities, and inactivities . . . ]

[Rosalba, my partner in the cornhole tournament. Rosalba lives in Winston Salem, NC, where she is good friends with a former colleague (of a much higher level) of mine from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. With the aforementioned Dan Spiro, giving camp a trifecta of Kevin Bacon-ness connections . . . ]

It’s regatta time!

I never think of the future – it comes soon enough. ~ Albert Einstein

[Spectators line the dock for the first heat. There were 6 contestants and 4 Sunfish – so it was decided to do two heats of three with heat winners facing off . . . ]

There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. ~ Kenneth Grahame

[The first heat board their boats . . . ]

Big boats get the glory, but the dingy makes the sailor. ~ From the movie “Wind”

[Phyllis . . . ]

It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage. ~ George William Curtis

[Chris . . . ]

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau

I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship. ~ Louisa May Alcott

[It’s neck and neck going up wind to the first buoy . . . ]

I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full. ~ Arthur Ashe

[Heading for the finish with the wind at their backs . . . ]

Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea. ~ Charles Cook

[Chris made a final dash to pull it out at the end . . . ]

Sailing round the world in a dirty gondola oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola! ~ Bob Dylan

[The excitement builds as the racers take off into the wind again . . . ]

Mackerel skies and mares tails, soon will be time to shorten sails. ~ Sailors proverb

[Sailing past the Brosius Bay swimming area . . . ]

Instead of sailing off into the sunset, he hopes to sail into the next century. ~ Dave Anderson

[Jack pulled away in the finals . . . ]

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Give him a fishing lesson and he’ll sit in a boat drinking beer every weekend. ~ Alex Blackwell

[And across the finish line . . . ]

Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar. ~ Don Bamford

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

[I believe that was Phyllis with the red and white sail . . . ]

The first rule of hurricane coverage is that every broadcast must begin with palm trees bending in the wind. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[The Super and Ed enjoying a weekly highlight – a pontoon ride around the lake after dinner. We got the early shift this year meaning we couldn’t come home with the sunset . . . ]

[With the staff driver, Chris, Elke, Beth, Jack, and Phyllis. Jack and Phyllis, both geology professors at Austin Peay University, had no previous connection to Indiana University until about 12 years ago (I think they said at introductions) when they saw an ad for Camp Brosius. They thought it looked like a nice place for a week’s summer vacation and have been coming every year since. We watched their daughter grow up in camp and now she’s in college, doing a summer work program and living in Arlington, Virginia, less than a mile from where Ruthie and I lived . . . ]

I like coffee because it gives me the illusion that I might be awake. ~ Lewis Black

[Pulling away with the Sputh Roundhouse in the background . . . ]

It’s easy to get distracted by the vaudevillian aspects of the healthcare debate. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[And the Roundhouse from the other side . . . ]

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it. ~ P. J. O’Rourke

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. ~ Jim Carrey

Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes? ~ George Gobel

[The trees along the shoreline are “trimmed” to the level the deer can reach while standing on the ice in winter . . . ]

A camera didn’t make a great picture anymore than a typewriter wrote a great novel. ~ Peter Adams

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don’t have film. ~ Stephen Wright

[The Osthoff Resort on the far side of the lake from camp . . . ]

My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them. ~ Mitch Hedberg

Minolta makes the best bodies, Nikon makes the best lenses, Canon makes the best compromise. ~ Unknown

[The Tiki Bar (with the colorful umbrellas) where we stopped on day one . . . ]

Photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure. ~ Tony Benn

[A new house on the lake that was estimated to have cost several shekels . . . ]

First Person: “Is that camera fully automatic?” Second Person: “No. You have to take the film to the chemist!” ~ Unknown

[The Super’s favorite boat house . . . ]

[The Johnsonville Brat house, also estimated to have cost a few shekels . . . ]

My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport. ~ Steve McCurry

[Back to home sweet home . . . ]

A good photograph is knowing where to stand. ~ Ansel Admas

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. ~ Ansel Adams

August 5

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. ~ Albert Einstein

[I always look forward to the mornings with a “marine layer” before the sunrise. It finally happened on the last day of camp making for great photo ops . . . ]

There are no bad photographs. That’s just how your face looks sometimes. ~ Abraham Lincoln

What’s the difference between a large pepperoni pizza and a photographer? A large pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four. ~ Anonymous

The quickest way to make money at photography is to sell your camera. ~ Anonymous

[A/k/a, Ye Olde Swimming Hole . . . ]

The rarest thing in the world is a woman who is pleased with a photograph of herself. ~ Elizabeth Metcalf

If you saw a man drowning 20 feet away and you could either save him or photograph him…what lens would you use? ~ Anonymous

[The Sputh Roundhouse, where all daily activities begin for the early risers . . . ]

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. ~ Plato

On being asked what he would save first if his house were on fire, his wife or his negatives, Ansel Adams responded: “My wife, of course. Then I’d have her get the negs out!”

People say photographs don’t lie, mine do. ~ David Lachapelle.

Photography is pretty simple stuff. You just react to what you see, and take many, many pictures. ~ Elliott Erwitt.

Photographers: the only people who don’t get arrested for flashing and exposing in public. ~ Unknown

Consulting the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk? ~ Edward Weston

Taking a picture is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies. ~ Diane Arbus

My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, ‘Mom, they weren’t trying to teach you how to swim. ~ Paula Poundstone

[The activities for the last full day of camp begin with the lake swim. The pontoon takes all the competitors across the lake for the one-mile swim back to camp – it was a shorter 2/3 of a mile this year . . . ]

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked. ~ Warren Buffett

[There were only 7 participants but to my knowledge they all made it. The first three completed the swim in a little over 23 minutes. Being of sound mind but lesser body I have never attempted this endeavor . . . ]

Swimming is a confusing sport, because sometimes you do it for fun, and other times you do it to not die. And when I’m swimming, sometimes I’m not sure which one it is. ~ Demetri Martin

[Phyllis and Jack finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively . . . ]

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~ Edith Wharton

[We lost a good friend and camper a couple years ago. We were delighted that Rosalba came back to camp this year . . . ]

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. ~ Warren Buffett

[The patio – not unlike sitting on a bench in Central Park . . . ]

Do not worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older it will avoid you. ~ Joey Adams

It is a scientific fact that your body will not absorb cholesterol if you take it from another person’s plate. ~ Dave Barry

[The Biddies enjoying an ice cream cone in Gessert’s Ice Cream & Confectionery in downtown Elkhart Lake, celebrating 100 years in business . . . ]

I always feel like I’m warring with my womanhood and wanting the world to be better, and with my blackness – which is the opposite of whiteness. ~ Jessica Williams

[Sheboygan Broughton Marsh Park & Tower – I climbed it once several years ago. Once is enough . . . ]

The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl. ~ Dave Barry

Golf is more fun than walking naked in a strange place, but not much. ~ Buddy Hackett

[The last night of camp – party time . . . ]

I don’t accept the status quo. I do accept Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. ~ Stephen Colbert

[The staff will soon be on their ways back to college . . . ]

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down. ~ Robert Benchley

[Larry, the previous longtime chef at camp and since retired, dropped by to say “hi” to his favorite customers . . . ]

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

[A campertime line was posted on patio . . . ]

[I think the first visit by the Super and me was in 1993 . . . ]

[We’ve have been many times since, the exact number of times would require too much research . . . ]

[Nephew Chris signs the board with his mom and Ruthie checking his spelling. I somehow had never noticed that he’s left-handed?]

[We left for home the next morning . . . ]

August 6

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me. ~ Emo Philips

[Crazy Dave’s town was re-opened on our drive back home . . . ]

JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM! We arrived home from Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in just a tidge over 7 hours with one stop for gas and a state mandated stop at the DQ in Albany, MN. The one-way distance was 452 miles. Our total mileage for the one week stay was 1014 miles. DYK that gas in eastern Wisconsin was a mere $3.39 per gallon? ~ Me

[Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United FC, a Major League Soccer team in North America, as we rolled through St. Paul on I-94 on the drive home . . . ]

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. ~ Winston Churchill

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. ~ Jules Renard

Up Next: Music stuff and the beginning of the high school entertainment year . . .

August 16

Golf is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well. ~ P.G. Wodehouse.

This morning after the Fat Boys sauntered for an hour, Tom Mulder suggested we go over to the Alexandria Golf Club (AGC) to see the lay out of the proposed 9-hole par 3 course on the farm land to the south of the AGC. I had heard about the proposal but had no idea a rough cut of this new course, The Little Darling”, already existed. Chauffeur Tom drove me around, I loved it, and shot the following photos. When I got home, the AGC Newsletter arrived and I share that with you:

Dear AGC Members, On July 30th, we introduced the idea of building a Par 3 Course at AGC with my communication titled “AGC – A Vision for our Future.” Since that time, we have received a tremendous amount of positive feedback and the project has generated a level of excitement at Alexandria Golf Club that I have not seen before. The successful completion of this project will create generational benefits like nothing we have ever done at AGC and my energy and passion for the project is extremely high and continues to grow! One only needs to take a quick tour of what we are planning to call “The Little Darling” par 3 course and you will be as excited as I am. We have done a lot of work in preparation for kicking off our fundraising efforts for the project. In this communication, I won’t share all the details of the work that has been completed on the project thus far, but I do want to highlight a few things that might be of interest to you: 1.    The location of our proposed Par 3 Course is on a piece of property AGC has owned since 1971. The piece of land is an amazing natural location for the project and will allow us to create one of the most spectacular par 3 courses in the country. We were fortunate to have Mike Flannagan join us on Thursday of last week to help us validate our cost estimates, share best practices, and discuss ways we can minimize our construction costs for the project. Mike has 40 years of experience in the golf industry as a greens superintendent, a golf course construction company owner, a golf course construction consultant, and current project manager for the Cragun’s course renovation in Brainerd.  The meeting was very informative and helpful although there is something Mike said that confirms the potential of this project.  After touring the proposed layout of The Little Darling Par 3 Course, Mike said the following: “This is the most magnificent piece of property to build a par 3 course on that I have seen in my entire career. It is amazing!” Mike’s comments are just another confirmation of the potential this project has for us. If you have not had the opportunity to tour the proposed course layout, I encourage you to do so and I’m pretty sure you will feel the same way we all feel about the project. 2.    Our proposed name for the spectacular par 3 course is “The Little Darling.” I want to credit Bruce Leland for the idea. It is a very appropriate name and one that has much meaning for what we are creating at AGC with this effort. “The Little Darling” name connects the par 3 course to one of our lakes in Alexandria that borders our main golf course while adding a special local touch to the project that will drive a strong community connection. In addition, “The Little Darling” name is a perfect reference to our youth who will be key beneficiaries of this project for generations to come. “The Little Darling” Par 3 Course will play a significant role in assisting our “Little Darling” youth develop skills and important traits that will help them become the leaders of tomorrow.  We have been working on a “Little Darling” logo intended to capture the spirit and objective of the project. I have included a draft of that logo below. We want the logo to encompass the main objectives of the project – youth, family, and fun! I hope you like it and I hope it conveys a little of what is great about golf and AGC – a focus on our kids and the strength of the family!

3.    I have also attached a link to a document (“The Little Darling” Tour Guide) we created for our members and guests touring the proposed layout of “The Little Darling” Par 3 Course. The document gives a high-level summary of “The Little Darling” concept and a description of each hole on “The Little Darling” course. If you are unable to tour the proposed course, it will give you a feel for what we are doing and if you plan to tour the proposed course, it will be a helpful guide as you move around the property.   CLICK HERE TO VIEW“THE LITTLE DARLING” TOUR GUIDE I am more excited about this project than anything we have ever done at AGC. I hope you share in that excitement, and I hope you will generously support what we are trying to accomplish. Personally, I have given numerous tours of the course to members and guests alike and I would be happy to show it to each of you. After touring “The Little Darling” during the Resorters, two individuals who are not even AGC members, committed to significant donations to help us complete the project. I believe it is only the beginning of our successful fundraising efforts as this project will provide immeasurable benefits to our kids and our community while leaving a legacy that will be incredible!  Thanks for all your support. It’s a remarkable time to be a member at Alexandria Golf Club! All the best, Jerry RoseAGC President

Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it’s open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. ~ Dave Berry

[I will begin with the upgrades to the practice range that I shot on July 29 . . . ]

A great deal of unnecessarily bad golf is played in this world. ~ Harry Vardon

[And now for the tour of The Little Darling. I think it’s going to be great. Click for the “tour guide” of each hole in the newsletter . . . ]

[My chauffeur in the foreground; Voyager Elementary School in the backgound . . . ]

If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they’d starve to death. ~ Sam Snead

Up Next: Back to the regular stuff . . .

August 15

Camping: the art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower, and flush toilet. ~ Unknown [Editor’s Note: Actually, in Rappaport, we had cold beverages, hot showers, and a flush toilet . . . ]

[This Edward Hopper’s 1940 “Office at Night”. This has nothing to do with camp – I was just looking for a grabber for the FB posting. Within 10 years of finishing what is now one of his most recognizable and provocative paintings, Edward Hopper sold “Office at Night” (1940) to the Walker Art Center (walkerart.org) . . . ]

If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. ~ Michael Crichton

July 31

Give me a museum and I’ll fill it. ~ Pablo Picasso

[Still in the Kohler Art Museum, the “hands” have it . . . ]

[Creator of the “hands” . . . ]

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. ~ T. S. Eliot

Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Art is limitation. The essence of every picture is the frame. ~ G. K. Chesterton

I want to make of Impressionism an art as solid as that of the museums. ~ Paul Cézanne

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. ~ Michelangelo

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

The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum. The more art you see, the more you’ll learn to define your own taste. ~ Jeanne Frank

Painter, you are not a speaker! Paint so and be silent! ~ Salvador Dali

[Rita leads me through the “hands” exhibit . . . ]

[Well, I tried . . . ]

A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can. ~ Maira Kalman

[The Super proves you can indeed play peekaboo with art . . . ]

I paint flowers so they will not die. ~ Frida Kahlo

Whatever else art is good for, its chief effectiveness lies in propagating more art. ~ Leo Steinberg

[Parting the museum until next time . . . ]

Midwest kids got to summer camp. There is something very special about being away from your parents for the first time, sleeping under the stars, hiking and canoeing. ~ Jami Gertz

[We left the museum in Sheboygan for our next stop at the Tiki Bar in Elkhart Lake. The Super is purchasing adult beverages for our group. This is always our last stop before checking into camp at 1:00 on Sunday . . . ]

[The view of Elkhart Lake from the Tiki Bar. Camp Brosius is at the exact opposite side of the lake from here . . . ]

Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake. ~ Wallace Stevens

[Sunfish races . . . ]

I’m an old-fashioned guy… I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something. ~ Johnny Depp

Lake Wobegon, the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve. ~ Garrison Keillor

[COVID cancelled camp the previous two years. That yielded a turnover of the management and staff in charge of camp operations. This year instead of the usual 30-ish number of camp counselors (college students), there were only 11. Nevertheless, those who were available gave the arriving campers the usual greeting . . . ]

In a well-ordered universe… camping would take place indoors. ~ Morgan Matson

[Our view of our front yard from Rappaport cottage . . . ]

[The two-year absence of campers allowed for some serious makeovers – like the patio which was suffering the death pangs of crumbling flagstones. The building is the mess hall where we received three meals a day, almost all eaten outside in the beautiful weather . . . ]

[The boat dock and roundhouse, where coffee was available everyday at 7:00 am . . . ]

[A new house was built across the lake in the two years we were gone . . . ]

[Looking back from the dock at the patio which was set up for new camper introductions . . . ]

You don’t have to say everything to be a light. Sometimes a fire built on a hill will bring interested people to your campfire. ~ Shannon L. Alder

[And as will be discussed further as we roll along, the is a one degree of separation for three people at camp. Crossing in the foreground is Dan Spiro, whose dad worked in the same agency as me at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. . . . ]

August 1

[Down for 8:00 breakfast the following morning . . . ]

[The inn, across the patio from the mess hall, with a game room, showers, and rooms for campers on the 2nd and 3rd floors . . . ]

[The waterfront with four Hobie Cats . . . ]

[After breakfast discussions with old friends we may not have seen for three years. Here are Scott and Vicki from Ft. Wayne (campers for over 40 years) with Rita (camper for almost 40 years) in the middle . . . ]

[And other long timers . . . ]

[Back up top, starting the day with the “birdie” song for all the kids at flag raising . . . ]

If you can survive camping with someone, you should marry them on the way home. ~ Yvonne Prinz

[Our porch – hang out for card playing, reading, imbibing, napping, and BSing . . . ]

The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[Those are the “cabins on the hill” in the background . . . ]

All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

[The following photo indicated how far we were from the water tower for this shot . . . ]

[Can you still see the water tower?]

[Another beautiful evening suitable for a picnic . . . ]

[As older people, we rent a golf cart for the week so don’t have to deal with the stairways to heaven before and after the three meals a day and any other time you want to visit the lake front and can survive the driving habits of the Super . . . ]

You always are changed when you come back from summer camp. ~ Emma Stone

[The playground view from our front yard . . . ]

[The photos are of Ruthie with her new close personal friend, John Laskowski – the first taken at camp in 2000, the latter last week. John played for the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971 to 1975 as the team’s 6th man – he was known as the Super Sub who averaged 11 points a game in his IU career. In his career the Hoosiers never lost a home game. Similarly, in Ruthie’s IU career from 1963 to 1967 she never missed a home game!]

If you’re not in New York, you’re camping out. ~ Thomas E. Dewey

August 2

Summer camp: the second worst camp for Jews. ~ Sarah Silverman

[And this is why we prefer to take the golf cart . . . ]

[And this is why we prefer to take the golf cart, part 2 . . . ]

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. ~ John Muir

[All the little chidrun are going for a pontoon ride – or why camp works of adults . . . ]

And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling. ~ Shanti

[And here they are . . . ]

Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about. ~ John Mayer

If you live a life of make-believe, your life isn’t worth anything until you do something that does challenge your reality. And to me, sailing the open ocean is a real challenge, because it’s life or death. ~ Morgan Freeman

I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship. ~ Louisa May Alcott

[The Biddies are out on the bounding main . . . ]

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. ~ Willa Cather

There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. ~ Kenneth Grahame

There is a rule in sailing where the more maneuverable ship should give way to the less maneuverable craft. I think this is sometimes a good rule to follow in human relationships as well. ~ Joyce Brothers

Are we having fun, or what? ~ The Biddies

Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit. ~ Brooks Atkinson

[A beautiful day (well, mostly the whole week), everything was just ducky . . . ]

My idea of heaven used to be relaxing at home with a cheese plate and champagne. ~ Lea Michele

[This was a road trip to Henning’s Cheese in Kiel, Wisconsin. Ed and Elke display the proper headgear for the occasion . . . ]

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese? ~ Charles de Gaulle

[Years ago Henning’s offered full tours of the factory, but no longer. Here through the class are many large cheese presses all in a row . . . ]

Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese. ~ Billie Burke

Cheese is milk’s leap toward immortality. ~ Clifton Fadiman

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Nothing says holidays, like a cheese log. ~ Ellen DeGeneres

[OK, I zeroed in on this because our family group included Elke, Ed, and Chris Hatch . . . ]

People should always have a good bottle of extra virgin olive oil, a packet of pasta, tinned tomatoes and a good cheese somewhere in their fridge. ~ Gino D’Acampo

[The farm across the road from the cheese factory . . . ]

My old modus operandi was, if you’re going to have a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich, don’t have one, have two. If you’re going to have vanilla wafers, you have the whole box. ~ Al Roker

[It has an All-American farm look – Elke thought a photo thereof would make a fine computer background . . . ]

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is the ultimate comfort meal. ~ Ina Garten

Mooooo!!

[Back to camp for adult dinner night . . . ]

[Ruthie with Beth, people are asked to wear their finest clothes out of their backpacks . . . ]

L.A. is great, but it’s a completely different beast. I go back to Minnesota, and I borrow a bike from my neighbor and go around Lake Harriet saying ‘Hi’ to people. Some of that is missing in L.A. ~ Yara Shahidi

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do all the rest have to drown too? ~ Steven Wright.

Up Next: Part 3 . . .

August 15

We now no longer camp as for a night, but have settled down on earth and forgotten heaven. ~ Henry David Thoreau

June bugs in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Under the June bug code of ethics, what happens in Sheboygan stays in Sheboygan . . .

This was our annual trip to Camp Brosius, the Indiana University camp in (and on) Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. We always go the first week in August (the 8th and last week of camp which turns over 100 campers a week), unfortunately competing with the Resorters Golf Tournament at the same time in Alexandria. ~ Me

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. ~ Dave Barry

July 30

Camp is a solvent of morality. It neutralizes moral indignation, sponsors playfulness. ~ Susan Sontag

[This may seem to be a rather ordinary picture. But I thrive on the ordinary. Every year on the way to camp we pass Owen, Wisconsin. We have to take this photo because . . . see the following photo . . . ]

[Because this is Crazy Dave Owen, famed in song and story. We were sorry to see his town was “closed” on this day . . . ]

[Driving by the mountains of Wausau, Wisconsin . . . ]

[On close inspection, one can see the downhill ski trails . . . ]

[Our first stop, at the Culver’s in “War-sore” . . . ]

SHEBOYGAN, WE ARE HERE! 473 miles, 7 hours and 45 minutes with lunch and gas stops. Tomorrow we go to Camp Brosius, 20 miles from here, needing proof of 4 vaccinations, a negative COVID test, and fumigation for bugs, ticks, ear wax, and boll weevils. The annual opening event is optional coed skinnydipping, which through the years has drawn no participants but many campers become camera ready . . .

[Our royal suite at the Fountain Park Motel in Sheboygan . . . ]

[It was connected to a huge restaurant that is allegedly the favorite breakfast place for Sheboyganites . . . ]

[Thousands of miles from an ocean, yet we could view humpback whales from our motel windown . . . ]

[The Sheboygan River, hard by Lake Michigan . . . ]

[Fine dining at Parker John’s BBQ & Pizza on the Sheboygan waterfront. Since one needs a scorecard to know the players, across from Ruthie is Ed Hatch, father of Chris, who is married to Ruthie’s sister Rita’s daughter Beth. You’ll be quizzed on this later in the semester . . . ]

[Beth, incidentally, ordered a rather tasty dish of frickles . . . ]

[It was on this very same waterway on August 8, 2008, we saw and photographed Ivana Trump’s yacht. And as you’ll recall from your readings, August 8 is also the date Nixon resigned and the day the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, a date that will live in infamy . . . ]

[We did not see Ivana, but it was our understanding that she cruised the Great Lakes in summers to support things environmental . . . ]

July 31

Murals in restaurants are on a par with the food in museums. ~ Peter De Vries

[The following morning our humpbacks were still there . . . ]

[As a condition for campdom, we had to show proof of four vaccines and a negative COVID test, which the Super and I passed that morning in the motel . . . ]

[The Fountain Park Hotel was appropriately enough right across the street from Fountain Park . . . ]

[We spend Saturday nights in Sheboygan every year because it is a 7 1/2 hour drive from Alexandria, and we cannot check into Camp Brosius until 1:00 on Sunday. So now as a matter of custom we visit the Sheboygan lake front on Sunday mornings . . . ]

[This is Sheboygan Peace Park, and peace is generally considered to be a good thing . . . ]

[Just some McMansions scattered along the waterfront . . . ]

Don’t go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. They are ecstasy machines. Follow your eyes to wherever they lead you…and the world should begin to change for you. ~ Jerry Saltz

[And every year before heading off to Elkhart Lake we visit the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for an hour or two . . . ]

A country that has few museums is both materially poor and spiritually poor … museums, like theatres and libraries, are a means to freedom. ~ Wendy Beckett

It’s not a museum. It’s not a place of artifacts; it’s a place of ideas. ~ Jeanie Kahnke

[Through the arch and across the street is the outdoor music park . . . ]

A people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture are like a tree without roots. ~ Marcus Garvey

The only way to understand painting is to go and look at it. And if out of a million visitors, there is even one to whom art means something, that is enough to justify museums. ~ Pierre-Auguste Renoir

[Looking back at the Arts Center through the arch, i.e., making my own art (?) . . . ]

A museum has to renew its collection to be alive, but that does not mean we give on important old works. ~ David Rockefeller

[See the photo at the top of this page . . . ]

[Ruthie & I arrived first and here comes the rest of the group . . . ]

The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum. The more art you see, the more you’ll learn to define your own taste. ~ Jeanne Frank

[Beth, Elke (Ed’s wife), and Rita, like all the ladies every year, enjoy a trip to the men’s room. When you first come in the Arts Center you must first visit the two restrooms, which are signature works of art in among themselves . . . ]

If Picasso drips, I drip. ~ Arshile Gorky

You can’t do a painting without a drip. ~ Andy Warhol

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. ~ Heraclitus

[And without further adieu, the ladies’ room . . . ]

For every joy, there is a price to be paid. ~ Ancient Egyptian Proverb

If you really want to seriously think about life, and therefore take painting very seriously… and take seriously the joys that it can bring to one, then you want to go to museums. You want to study the greats of the past. ~ Nelson Shanks

Art has always had as its test in the long term the ability to speak to our innermost selves. People have experiences in art museums today that they used to have in the church. ~ Bill Viola

When in a museum, walk slowly but keep walking. ~ Gertrude Stein

The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second, and throughout nature, this primary figure is repeated without end. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. ~ Socrates

[And now into the art display areas . . . ]

[A selfie in an acolyte mirror – I have no idea if I win a prize for that or not . . . ]

[And now the left turn . . . ]

That’s why we have the Museum, Matty, to remind us of how we came, and why: to start fresh, and begin a new place from what we had learned and carried from the old. ~ Lois Lowry

[From inside the gallery, through the arch, to the outdoor music park . . . ]

I love doing normal things … I also love to go to art and history museums. ~ Christina Aguilera

A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can. ~ Maira Kalman

[Our guide, when one was necessary, which was often . . . ]

The only way to understand painting is to go and look at it. And if out of a million visitors there is even one to whom art means something, that is enough to justify museums. ~ Pierre-Auguste Renoir

[The Biddies were amazed at the fabric construction . . . ]

[Ed enjoying the comforts of what I dubbed the “man cave” . . . ]

[So then I took a crack at it . . . ]

A painting in a museum probably hears more foolish remarks than anything else in the world. ~ Edmond De Goncourt

[Beth and the Super invade “our” man cave . . . ]

A museum is a place where one should lose one’s head. ~ Renzo Piano

Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures. ~ Cesar Chavez

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. ~ Plato

Up Next: Part 2 . . .

August 9

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. ~ Carl Sagan

He was observed wandering the premises. It was not clear as to whether there was any point to this. He is generally considered to be rather harmless. He has never been reported as being dangerous unless you consider a PBS tote bag full of milkweek pods to have weapon potential. He ultimately slunk away under the cover of darkness . . .

You’re only as good as your last haircut. ~ Fran Lebowitz

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~ Japanese Proverb

[We then turned that portion of the evening for pledges and auction items. Rush Benson, whose wife Renee Guittar (red dress) led off the dance sequences in Part 1, played a similar role at last year’s soiree . . . ]

In ceremonies of the horsemen, even the pawn must hold a grudge. ~ Bob Dylan

The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. ~ Andrew Carnegie

[Glen Fladeboe of Fladeboe Companies was once again the auctioneer host . . . ]

Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference. ~ Kathy Calvin

The most effective way to do it, is to do it. ~ Amelia Earhart

You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it. ~ Robin Williams

Do a loony goony dance cross the kitchen floor, put something silly in the world that ain’t been there before. ~ Shel Silverstein

[Puck . . . ]

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. ~ Plato

You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take. ~ Wayne Gretzky

[A long time friend of TLHD expressed her appreciation for the theatre . . . ]

If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. ~ George Bernard Shaw

If you call yourself Save the Whales, every once in a while you have to save a whale. ~ Tom Ahern

If music be the food of love, play on. ~ William Shakespeare

If you can dream it, you can do it. ~ Walt Disney

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. ~ Aldous Huxley

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

When I dance, people think I’m looking for my keys. ~ Ray Romano

No one dances sober, unless he is insane. ~ Cicero

[Ruthie finally chased down Rush . . . ]

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t. ~ Bill Nye

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ~ Bob Marley

[If we were Table No. 2, this must have been Table No. 1?]

Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. ~ J.D. Salinger

Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go. ~ Oscar Wilde

We’ll meet again, Don’t know where, don’t know when, But I know we’ll meet again, Some sunny day. ~ Vera Lynn

[Thor presided over the stage . . . ]

I’ll see you in another life. When we are both cats. ~ Tom Cruise

[Ceremonies completed, it’s time for the parting glass . . . ]

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. ~ Margaret Mead

[New board member Brian Nelson discusses things theatrical with the aforementioned Mr. Berg . . . ]

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. ~ Elizabeth Andrew

[See the photo at the bottom . . . ]

Volunteers will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no volunteers. ~ Ken Wyman

So long, and thanks for all the fish! ~ Douglas Adams

[The parting shot . . . ]

I look up so much to those movies, ‘Airplane!’ and ‘Naked Gun.’ I think that stuff is so funny. I grew up just loving all that stuff and sort of idolizing Leslie Nielsen. ~ Ron Huebel

Say good night, Ruthie (a Leslie Nielsen fan)! [Photo credit for this and the one at the beginning to Janet Baker, the ultimate volunteer.]

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. ~ Dr. Seuss

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

It is so hard to leave until you leave and then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world. ~ John Green

Up Next: Camp . . .