May 29

Meanwhile, back at the Coronado Springs Villa & Gardens . . .

[The Super came down the water slide . . . ]

[Then I came down the slide . . . ]

[There wasn’t enough water to keep me moving – a kid slid into me from behind . . . ]

A reminder of where we were coming out of Part I:

FLORIDA TRIP – March 20 -31, 1999

Day 1: To Charleston, SC – 8 1/2 hours (525 miles)

Day 2: To Orlando, FL
Arrive St. Augustine – 4 1/2 hours (285 miles) – 1 hour stay
Arrive Kennedy Space Center – 3 hour stay
Arrive Orlando – 6 3/4 hours from St. Augustine (175 miles)

Day 3: Disney – Epcot, Norway dinner, fireworks

Day 4: Disney – Magic Kingdom

Day 5: Disney – Animal Kingdom

Day 6: Disney – MGM

Day 7: To New Port Richey – 2 1/2 hours (110 miles)
New Port Richey Beach

Day 8: Friday Final Four practice – drove Outer Banks from Clearwater to Ft. De Soto –
dinner @ Columbia in Ybor City (oldest restaurant in FL since 1905 (still going 2021))

Day 9: Around St. Petersburg

Day 10: Clearwater Beach – Dolphin boat

Day 11: Same as above

Day 12: To Fayetteville, NC – 13 1/4 hours (660 miles) – stops @ Jekyll Island & Hilton Head

Day 13: Arrive home – 5 hours (307 miles)

MGM

From the pancake house I drive directly to the county morgue. The contrast is not especially striking. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[Looks like a nice place for a nosh, but I don’t remember it . . . ]

He paused and manufactured a chuckle. ~  Carl Hiaasen

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

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

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already. ~ Dave Barry

How come you never see a headline like ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’? ~ Jay Leno

Miami … the floating-human-body-parts capital of America. ~  Carl Hiaasen

To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people! ~ Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis)

My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne. ~ Tina Fey

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well. ~ Mark Twain

St. Petersburg

As noted in our trip log, technically from Orlando to New Port Richey (where we stayed for the Final Four), 2 1/2 hours over 110 miles. The daily trip from New Port Richey to Tampa-St. Pete was a horrific trip of 40 miles of stoplights and strip malls . . . ]

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. ~ Oscar Wilde

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. ~ Groucho Marx

The victim’s hand was contracted into a fist except for the middle digit, which was rigidly extended. ~  Carl Hiaasen

The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. That’s from Emerson . . . ~ Carl Hiaasen

We get along fine. In return for food and shelter, they give me unconditional indifference. ~  Carl Hiaasen

Love isn’t about thinking. You should know that by now. ~ Carl Hiaasen

She awoke with renewed certainty that Carl Jung was full of shit. ~  Carl Hiaasen

[That first day we drove the Outer Banks from Clearwater to Ft. De Soto . . . ]

[To the Final Four . . . ]

[I’ve been to 26 Final Fours. The first was in Philadelphia in 1976 when Indiana became the last team to finish an undefeated season. Our last Final Four was in Indianapolis in 2010. We eventually learned it was much easier and more comfortable to watch the game at home on a big screen TV sitting in a Lazy Boy . . . ]

I have warned many times about the guaranteed dangers of betting with your heart instead of your head – big darkness, soon come – but every once in a while you get a fair chance to have it both ways, and the annual NCAA basketball Tournament is one of them. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

The NCAA is one of the worst organizations – maybe the worst organization – in sports. They certainly don’t care about the athlete. ~ Stan Van Gundy

[ESPN, made famous by Final Fours, here with Dick Vitale and Digger Phelps . . . ]

The one thing that saved me is that in 17 years of coaching I never had an NCAA investigator talk to one of my players. I lost games, but I lost the right way. ~ Lee Corso

I got some cash from agents. I’ve talked to the NCAA. I think that should be legal. I want some money, too; everybody else is making money. I want to go on dates. I want to go buy myself some new suits. I want to buy myself some new sneakers, and I paid the agents back. ~ Charles Barkley

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

[I have no memories whatsoever of this tournament. I don’t even remember being in Tropicana Field, the most loathed major league baseball stadium. This is one of two Final Fours Basketball Dan missed over the last 60-some years – even he recalled that Connecticut won in 1999. He was right, they beat Duke. The other two teams were Ohio State and Michigan State. Duh! . . . ]

If you make every game a life-and-death proposition, you’re going to have problems. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot. ~ Dean Smith

[Why it makes no sense to watch a basketball game in a football stadium . . . ]

They have all those McDonald’s All-Americas. We have four guys on our team who don’t even have a McDonald’s in their town. ~ Rick Majerus

Florida cop claims Burger King put dirt on his food – investigation revealed it was seasoning. ~ New York Daily News

[That evening we went to Ybor City for Cuban dining at Columbia, the oldest restaurant in Florida, since 1905 and still going in 2021 . . . ]

[I wore the shirt I purchased at the Rainforest Cafe at Disney, and that shirt is still in my summer rotation to this day. Always the fashion trend setter . . . ]

[Dolphin boat rides out of Clearwater Beach . . . ]

[The Pittsburgh Pirates arrive for spring training . . . ]

Thousands of gun owners in Florida planning to ‘shoot down’ Hurricane Irma. ~ INDEPENDENT

Mickey Cray had been out of work ever since a dead iguana fell from a palm tree and hit him on the head. ~ Carl Hiaasen

I’m waiting for the day when Rush Limbaugh’s pharmacist writes a book. ~  Carl Hiaasen

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

You can only be young once. But you can always be immature. ~ Dave Barry (Mr. Barry, incidentally, is exactly 2 months and one day older than me)

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

[Voted number one in a poll as most obvious tourists . . . ]

It is a well-documented fact that guys will not ask for directions. This is a biological thing. This is why it takes several million sperm cells… to locate a female egg, despite the fact that the egg is, relative to them, the size of Wisconsin. ~ Dave Barry

I married an asshole, she thought, knifing into the waves. ~  Carl Hiaasen

Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects. ~ Dave Barry

The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. ~ Dave Barry

The real threat to whales is whaling, which has endangered many whale species. ~ Dave Barry

Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet. ~ Dave Barry

[This was neither Ruthie nor I, but some poor guy from Iowa who believed in the old axiom that if your life bores you, risk it . . . ]

The detective had moved to Fort Lauderdale from St. Paul because his wife had inexplicably yearned to experience humidity. ~ Carl Hiaasen

The information encoded in your DNA determines your unique biological characteristics, such as sex, eye color, age and Social Security number. ~ Dave Barry

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

Since the medical board was made up mostly of other doctors, Rudy Graveline had fully expected exoneration–physicians stick together like shit on a shoe. ~ Carl Hiaasen

The simple truth is that balding African-American men look cool when they shave their heads, whereas balding white men look like giant thumbs. ~ Dave Barry

Buck stared incredulously. “This is the first time you ever fired a gun? And you live in Florida?” ~ Carl Hiaasen

The dog proved to be as dumb and stubborn as a mud fence, so Stranahan had named him Strom. ~ Carl Hiaasen

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. ~ Dave Barry

Violence and smut are of course everywhere on the airwaves. You cannot turn on your television without seeing them, although sometimes you have to hunt around. ~ Dave Barry

The message, never stated but avuncularly implied, is that America’s values ought to reflect those of the Walt Disney Company and not the other way around. ~ Carl Hiaasen

The leading cause of death among fashion models is falling through street grates. ~ Dave Barry

Detective Karl Rolvaag belonged in the Midwest. This he knew in his heart, and he was reminded of it every day when he went to work. ~ Carl Hiaasen

Florida needs a special prison for tourists. Not all tourists—just the ones who trash the place, rob, shoplift, vandalize, drive drunk, assault the cops, puke in the alleys, pee in the medians, and so on. ~ Carl Hiaasen

We idolized the Beatles, except for those of us who idolized the Rolling Stones, who in those days still had many of their original teeth. ~ Dave Barry

[On the road again (in my 1998 Ford Expedition purchased to deal with Minnesota winters in our retirement two years hence). We’re heading to Jekyll Island . . . ]

[Jekyll Island is located off the coast of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body. At the end of November 1910, . . . a secret meeting to plan the country’s monetary policy and banking system, formulating during the meeting the Federal Reserve as America’s next central bank.  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the 1910 Jekyll Island meeting resulted in draft legislation for the creation of a U.S. central bank. Parts of this draft (the Aldrich plan) were incorporated into the 1913 Federal Reserve Act (Wikipedia).]

Have you noticed that whatever sport you’re trying to learn, some earnest person is always telling you to keep your knees bent? ~ Dave Barry

“A well-regulated militia,” Bode added, “like they talk about in the Second Amendment.” “Oh,” said Shiner. He hadn’t read the first one yet. ~ Carl Hiaasen

I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh. But in order for me to be funny, I have to get ticked off about something. ~ Carl Hiaasen

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

In fact, when you get right down to it, almost every explanation Man came up with for anything until about 1926 was stupid. ~ Dave Barry

And so by the fifteenth century, on October 8, the Europeans were looking for a new place to try to get to, and they came up with a new concept: the West. ~ Dave Barry

That’s what people do when they find a special place that wild and full of life, they trample it to death. ~ Carl Hiaasen

Well, that’s about it, for now . . . ~ Ruthie

[Back home to Arlington, Virginia and our aged children, Lily and Woody . . . ]

[Who would both retire to Minnesota with us.]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this review is that I should have begun shaving my head before we went on this trip. ~ Me

What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death. ~ Dave Barry

Up Next: The cats?

May 27

Why? Because you never know what you’ll find when you’re looking for something else. In this case, the log of our 1999 road trip from Washington, D.C. (where we were living at the time) to Florida. The only reason for visiting Florida was for the NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournament being hosted in Tampa Bay that year. Then we discovered that Florida was also the home of Disney World. We had previously been advised that the two places one must visit in one’s lifetime were Disney World (or Disneyland) and the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. And so we were off. There was also the possibility this would be our last trip ever because Y2K was looming at the end of the year. I must warn you, however, this is the first of a two-part series . . .

FLORIDA TRIP – March 20 -31, 1999

Day 1: To Charleston, SC – 8 1/2 hours (525 miles)

Day 2: To Orlando, FL
Arrive St. Augustine – 4 1/2 hours (285 miles) – 1 hour stay
Arrive Kennedy Space Center – 3 hour stay
Arrive Orlando – 6 3/4 hours from St. Augustine (175 miles)

Day 3: Disney – Epcot, Norway dinner, fireworks

Day 4: Disney – Magic Kingdom

Day 5: Disney – Animal Kingdom

Day 6: Disney – MGM

Day 7: To New Port Richey – 2 1/2 hours (110 miles)
New Port Richey Beach

Day 8: Friday Final Four practice – drove Outer Banks from Clearwater to Ft. De Soto –
dinner @ Columbia in Ybor City (oldest restaurant in FL since 1905 (still going 2021))

Day 9: Around St. Petersburg

Day 10: Clearwater Beach – Dolphin boat

Day 11: Same as above

Day 12: To Fayetteville, NC – 13 1/4 hours (660 miles) – stops @ Jekyll Island & Hilton Head

Day 13: Arrive home – 5 hours (307 miles)

Total miles – 2507.9

Charleston

[To reconstruct a trip from 22 years ago with nothing more than where we were on each day is beyond difficult. I’m not sure how much Google research I’m willing to put in to identify all the photos contained herein. For example, I could not identify this church without Wikipedia, which told me Philip’s Church is an historic church at 142 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Its National Historic Landmark description states: “Built in 1836 (spire completed in 1850), this stuccoed brick church features an imposing tower designed in the Wren-Gibbs tradition . . . ]

[I was subsequently released on my own recognizance, but I can no longer vote in the majority of states . . . ]

South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum. ~ James L. Petigru

South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult. ~  Pat Conroy

Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest, and most agreeable cities that I have ever seen. ~ Marquis de Lafayette

Walking the streets of Charleston in the late afternoons of August was like walking through gauze or inhaling damaged silk. ~ Pat Conroy

No city could be more beautiful than Charleston during the brief reign of azaleas, no city on earth. ~  Pat Conroy

During the settling of the American colonies, it was said that the Spaniards would first build a church, the Dutch would first build a fort and the English a tavern. Welcome to Charleston, an English colony founded in 1670. ~ Mark R. Jones

Charleston is not the center of the universe, but it should be. That is the persistent perception of many locals. ~ Mark R. Jones

I’m going back to dignity and grace. I’m going back to Charleston, where I belong. ~ Rhett Butler

[On my own recognizance . . . ]

It is a matter of common knowledge that the government of South Carolina is under domination of a small ring of cunning, conniving men. ~ Strom Thurmond

St. Augustine

[The Bridge of Lions is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island across Matanzas Bay (Wikipedia).]

[The Old City Gates are a striking site toward the north end of St. George Street. The Old City Gates were at one time the only entrance into St. Augustine. The two ancient columns made of stone were built in 1808 as a line of defense for the city (trolleytours.com).]

A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car. ~ Emile Ganest

It should be illegal to yell ‘Y2K’ in a crowded economy. ~ Larry Wall

How could this Y2K be a problem in a country where we have Intel and Microsoft? ~ Al Gore

[The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. The construction of the core of the current fortress was completed in 1695, though it would undergo many alterations and renovations over the centuries (Wikipedia).]

There is only one problem in taking a winter vacation in Florida. You spend two weeks getting a deep, rich, golden tan— then they hand you the bill and you’re pale again. ~ Robert Orben

Two things Florida can teach the other 49 states: how to make good margarita and how to deal with the aftermath of a hurricane. ~ Tom Feeney

I like Florida. Everything is in the ’80s. The temperatures, the ages, and the IQs. ~ George Carlin

Kennedy Space Center

That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. ~ Neil Armstrong

The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever. ~ Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Space is for everybody. It’s not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That’s our new frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space. ~ Christa McAuliffe

I know the sky is not the limit because there are footprints on the Moon — and I made some of them! ~ Buzz Aldrin

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. ~ Neil Armstrong

Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world, knowing they’re going to light the bottom, and doesn’t get a little worried, does not fully understand the situation. ~ John Young

One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist…..Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist. ~ Stephen Hawking

When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ~ Albert Einstein

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. ~ Carl Sagan

By denying scientific principles, one may maintain any paradox. ~ Galileo Galilei

My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all. ~ Stephen Hawking

[The Saturn V Rocket, one of Arthur C. Clarke’s 7 Wonders of the World, the most powerful machine ever built by man . . . ]

Looking up into the night sky is looking into infinity – distance is incomprehensible and therefore meaningless. ~ Douglas Adams

Disney World

[A tourist arrives at the Coronado Springs Villa and Gardens . . . ]

Walt Disney World is nearly 30,000 acres or 48 square miles. That is more than 80 times the size of Monaco. Grace Kelly would have been queen of a larger and wealthier kingdom if she’d married Uncle Walt instead of Prince Rainier. ~ Eve Zibart

My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that’s the law. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

It’s always sunny in the sunshine state. Except for at night. ~ Jarod Kintz

It’s Florida. Hair is just an extra sweater I’m force to wear. ~ Emma Gonzalez

A lot of people stop short. They don’t actually die but they say, “Right I’m old, and I’m going to retire,” and then they dwindle into nothing. They go off to Florida and become jolly boring. ~ Mark Wesley

A prosthetic leg with a Willie Nelson bumper sticker washed ashore on the beach, which meant it was Florida. Then it got weird. ~ Tm Dorsey

Epcot

They call Florida the “Sunshine State,” which is funny because in the twelve years I lived here, it was only sunny for like twenty minutes – when the eye of the hurricane passed over my house. ~ Seth Lyon

I love baseball. I’ll probably end up one of those old farts who go to spring training in Florida every year and drive from game to game all day. ~ Steve Earle

I love Florida. I love the beach. I love the sound of the crashing surfers against the rocks. ~ Emo Philips

We are not exposed to ice much in Florida. ~ Brittany Bowe

August in Florida is God’s way of reminding us who’s in charge. ~ Blaize Clement

There was, I think, never any reason to believe in any innate superiority of the male, except his superior muscle. ~ Bertrand Russell

[I believe this is where we noshed . . . ]

When the Mayan Calendar runs out there will be another day. Just like there was with Y2K. ~ Stanley Victor Paskavich

Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge! ~Robert Green Ingersoll

Of all the places in the world, she belongs in Florida. How dispiriting to learn this of herself. ~ Lauren Groff

He says Florida is slowly sinking, sinking into the ocean. He says the housing tracts are built on half facts and the rest half fiction. ~ Less Than Jake, The State Of Florida

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

I couldn’t adjust to the racism in Florida. It was so blatant . . . I had never been so described as Florida described me. ~ Sidney Poitier

[One of these two is a crash test dummy . . . ]

[(The other is just a dummy . . . )]

Usually, the news out of Florida makes me feel like being black in Florida can be a terminal condition. ~ W. Kamau Bell

One thing about living in South Florida is that everywhere you go is violently air-conditioned. ~ Katie Cotugno

The Florida in my novels is not as seedy as the real Florida. It’s hard to stay ahead of the curve. Every time I write a scene that is the sickest thing I have ever dreamed up, it is surpassed by something that happens in real life. ~ Carl Hiaasen

Disney world is an armpit, compared to Montana!! ~  Carl Hiaasen

Magic Kingdom

The Y2K problem is not caused by technical limitations. We simply forgot to think of the problem. ~ Hasso Plattner

The wealth of south Florida, but even more important, the meaning and significance of south Florida lies in the black muck of the Everglades and the inevitable development of this country to be the great tropic agricultural center of the world. ~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Mrs. Bonneville never buckled her seat belt, even though it was required by state law; an ardent libertarian, she opposed government meddling in all matters of personal choice. ~  Carl Hiaasen (the Super is a fan)

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them. ~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas

In Florida, to buy a gun, you do not need a permit, you do not need a gun license, and once you buy it, you do not need to register it. You do not need a permit to carry a concealed rifle or shotgun. You can buy as many guns as you want at one time. ~ Emma Gonzalez

I actually was there down in Florida when Prince did ‘Purple Rain’ in the rain. He was out there with the guitar goin’. It was absolutely awesome. ~ Joe Mauer

Florida isn’t so much a place where one goes to reinvent oneself, as it is a place where one goes if one no longer wished to be found. ~ Douglas Coupland

I learned very quickly there’s not a lot to do in South Florida when you can’t golf or fish. ~ Justin Thomas

He wondered if something was mentally wrong with him for being content with what he had. ~ Carl Hiaasen

Nobody said he was Alvin Einstein. ~  Carl Hiaasen

Florida Man is responsible for a large percentage of abnormal incidents that occur in Florida. Think of him as an alt-right Johnny Appleseed. No one knows his true identity, date of birth, what he looks like. That’s why headlines always say, “Florida Man.” ~ Darius in Atlanta

I think in the old days, the nexus of weirdness ran through southern California, and to a degree New York City. I think it’s changed so that every bizarre story in the country now has a Florida connection. I don’t know why except it must be some inversion of magnetic poles or something. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[Pink flamingos – why not?]

Animal Kingdom

If anything is more irresistible than Jesus, it’s Mickey. ~ Carl Hiaasen

[The Rainforest Cafe – a great place to meet elephants . . . ]

[And now for a tour of animals not from this hemisphere. To tour this place, likely even more than the other venues, one is advised to arrive as early as possible . . . ]

It’s not palm trees and neon signs in Florida; it’s strip malls, highways, hot sun beating down on you. ~ Patty Jenkins

Old people in Florida, they drive slow and they sit low. Right? That is their motto. The stage flag of Florida should be like a steering wheel with a hat and two knuckles on it. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

Sometimes I think I’ve figured out some order in the universe, but then I find myself in Florida. ~ Susan Orlean

The one thing I did learn at Florida State, I learned to talk trash, believe that. ~ Randy Moss

[We really were greeted with an early morning roar . . . ]

There are so many colorful characters in Florida. There’s a lot of money, development – not all of it good – and corruption. ~ John Grisham

Wade tried to imagine Florida before the advent of man, but couldn’t. The landscape seemed too thoroughly colonized – the trailers, factory outlets, and cocktail shacks of the world below. He decided that if human beings took over the moon, they’d probably just turn it into Florida. ~ Douglas Coupland

With swamps and alligators inland, and the gated communities and shopping malls in the traffic-clotted towns along the coasts, the state seems to Stern like a giant penal colony for America’s elderly, where the residents–like characters in a famous play–have all been blinded by the sun and do not realize they are actually in hell. ~ Scott Turow

You’re from Florida. There’s got to be more holes to hell in Florida than in any other state. ~ T. Kingfisher

Almost everything strange washes up near Miami. ~  Rick Riordan

The general intellectual level of South Florida is somewhere just above “functionally retarded”. ~ Tucker Max

Remember that Florida is a land of weirdos and bizarre happenings, and conduct yourselves accordingly. ~  Jeff Zentner

I hate hiking with convicts carrying machetes. ~  Susan Orlean

You could step on a gator and the next thing you know is ouch. ~  Nick Smith

While living in Florida I realized that I could never stay there, because it’s so damn hot. There’s only like three months when you don’t feel like you’re on the cusp of hell. ~  Jennifer L. Armentrout

The post-traumatic shock from living in Florida never goes away, yet part of me is forever attached to that eccentric, heat-infested swamp. ~  Jennifer Harrison

If insanity was a side effect of Botox, every Floridian over the age of forty would be nuts. Who says they’re not? ~ Margot Hunt

Natives of the Florida Keys often refer to themselves as Conchs, and for good reason: They have been drinking. ~  Dave Barry

Do you always carry a gun? It’s Florida, even Mickey Mouse probably carries a piece. ~  Brian Freeman

This is Florida, where they’re cool about putting people to death. ~  Patricia Enge

Under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, it is legal to shoot anybody for any reason as long as you are standing on the ground. ~  Dave Barry

Up Next: The eagerly anticipated Part II . . .

A/k/a, the Deep State *

May 21

As a bureaucracy becomes more established, it develops its own career structure. It is less dependent, and should be less dependent, on individual personalities. Absolutely no one is indispensable. ~ John Scarlett

Hi! Do you know us? We’re federal employees. Absolutely none of us are indispensable. And because of that, this country didn’t lapse into anarchy in the last couple years when many of us were summarily dismissed from our positions . . .

I stumbled upon these photos while doing ‘deep’ background on something else. This was February 1999. It was a retirement party for Ethel Miller (the lady in black), who was my immediate supervisor at the time. We were in the Office of Government Contracts, Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor (well, it is the government). Specifically we oversaw the compensation for, at that time, 2 million employees of government service contractors. Got it?

[Surprisingly, I still recognize all these people. I don’t remember all the names, but I remember all the faces. Blogging seemed to be the best way to distribute the pictures to everyone . . . ]

[Several of the people contained herein were also, at one time or another, my immediate supervisors . . . ]

[I have no idea why I would need such a variety of supervisors?]

[Everybody liked Ethel. People came from other agencies, other departments. What fun!]

I have an institutional fear of big government. I have an institutional opposition to bureaucracy. ~ Rush Limbaugh

In most legislatures, punctilious attention to correct usage is considered elitist. The word ‘government,’ for example, is normally pronounced ‘gummint’; bureaucracy is ‘bureaucacy’; fiscal comes out ‘physical,’ and one moves not to suspend the rules, but to ‘suppend.’ ~ Molly Ivins

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

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. ~ Abe Lemons

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

It is better to live rich than to die rich. ~ Samuel Johnson

[This was us. I think Tim (2nd from left) took over as the supervisor after Ethel . . . ]

[I worked with a lot of these folks for a long time. A lot of the people I came in with were gone. I started to think it was getting time for me to go. I did, two years later . . . ]

[This is Ethel and her crew. During the whole time we were together, at no time did the fascists or Commies take over our government! And every Friday, we’d all go to lunch together – usually at the Hyatt, a little over a block away and where the C-SPAN studios were . . .]

[The hugger and I are still in contact, many years into retirement . . . ]

[These two were part of a group that went to ride all the roller coasters at Hershey Park, shortly before I retired . . . ]

[We’ve lost Bo; Vanessa (on the right) went on to become labor relations advisor for the Army Corps of Engineers . . . ]

[Ethel, Vanessa, and Doug, one of our lead attorneys who sends informational (and silly) emails on a regular basis . . . ]

Working people have a lot of bad habits, but the worst of these is work. ~ Clarence Darrow

[TJ and Clarence (on the right) were with our agency the whole I was there . . . ]

[As were Jessie and Mary (2nd & 3rd from left) . . . ]

[Bill was my whole career bud, who at one time was also my first line supervisor. We go on cruises together in our senior years . . . ]

[Terry, also a career long bud, who was the long time manager of our historic agency softball team . . . ]

My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that’s the law. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples. ~ George Burns

When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking. ~ Gail Sheehy

[I believe this event took place at Hogate’s. At the time it was a bellwether restaurant on the Washington, D.C. waterfront. I believe it is no longer there as that whole area has undergone an extensive makeover.]

I wanted to have more time to play and reflect, but I find retirement more stressful than having a nice, steady job because I have to make decisions about where I want to be. ~ Walter Cronkite

Up Next: Who knows what’s left to be discovered in the archives.

May 17

Because even if I should speak, no one would believe me. And they would not believe me precisely because they would know that what I said was true. ~ James Baldwin

I’m in the midst of simultaneously reading Caste and The Code Breakers. Both, of course, are beyond my usual comprehension level so I may as well double the fun. I thoroughly enjoy the subject material and the writing in both – so I take my time trying to absorb as much as I can. I thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from these tomes as I ramble through the excitement of everyday life in Vacationland USA . . .

May 14

[Friday night with Anthony at Willy T’s at the Holiday Inn . . . ]

[We joined the Bergs (the Trumms had to bow out) for an evening of music and dining . . . ]

I will show you. If I want to do science, I am going to do it. ~ Jennifer Doudna

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful. ~ Henri Poincare

To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we speak of the race problem in America, what we really mean is the caste system and the problems which that caste system creates in America. ~ Ashley Montagu

[Looking south, across Lake H2Obert, upon arriving home . . . ]

I was kind of a nerdy, geeky type. And I loved math. People teased me about it. I felt pretty much like an outcast. ~ Jennifer Doudna

Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house? ~ W.E.B. Du Bois

I know. In fact, I am never wrong. ~ Oscar Wilde

May 15

[Minnesota’s fishing opener, a day revered in the history of humankind . . . ]

[And here are some early fishers . . . ]

All one needs to write a story is one feeling and four walls. ~ Doris Betts

In Ireland or Italy, whatever social or racial identities these people might have possessed, being White wasn’t one of them. ~ Ian Haney Lopez

No one was white before he/she came to America. ~ James Baldwin

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill will hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak food enough for a week. But I’m damned if I see how the helican. ~ Dixon Lanier Merritt

Race is a social concept, not a scientific one. ~ J. Craig Venter

Americans cling to race as the unschooled cling to superstition. ~ Nell Irvin Painter

The more we know, the more we realize there is to know. ~ Jennifer Doudna

The idea of race was, in fact, the deliberate creation of an exploiting class seeking to maintain and defend its privileges against what was profitably regarded as an inferior caste. ~ Ashley Montagu

January 6 was a reflection of the realization that democracy could bring about the demise of the American caste system. ~ Me

May 16

[Sunday breakfast at the Alexandria Golf Club overlooking the deck renovation and the practice putting green . . . ]

I think that for a lot of women there’s a subtle but unfortunately effective discouragement of women pursuing the STEM fields. ~ Jennifer Doudna (and the Super!)

[No waiting for a table; great exterior ambiance – what’s not to like? (It is open to the public, people!)

[The bucolic 9th green from the clubhouse restaurant . . . ]

[The bucolic sausage & eggs, toast & potatoes from the clubhouse restaurant . . . ]

People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day. ~ A.A.Milne

[And sweet cream pancakes with raspberry topping & crispy bacon . . . ]

A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ…but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don’t look for it in the Twilight Zone…look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether. ~ Rod Serling, “I Am the Night — Color Me Black”

[Leaving the club, shooting past the 5th green . . . ]

[Anthony survived his performance at Willy T’s Friday night. But since he was performing again at the winery on Sunday, rather than driving back to the Cities he decided to go to his sister’s in Battle Lake. He was concerned about deer driving (without licenses) at night. Wrong species for concern – he hit a raccoon. The vehicular damage was such he had to have his sister pick him up at the crash site near Ashby. He offered no report on the raccoon, but we assume the worst. Although he has not yet arrived on the winery stage, he was physically fine . . . ]

[The wine tasting table for the new cabernet sauvignon . . . ]

[The kegs not likely full of the new cab . . . ]

Go gays. You can’t win a championship without gays on your team. It’s pretty much never been done before ever. Science, right there. To be gay and fabulous during Pride month at the World Cup is nice. ~ Megan Rapinoe

[Here’s-s-s-s-s-s-s, Anthony!]

Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps. ~ Tiger Woods

If the majority knew of the root of this evil, then the road to its cure would not be long. ~ Albert Einstein

Social media was invented as part of a plot to undermine the faith of sensible people in freedom of speech. ~ Michael Deacon

Up Next: There is always the possibility this is the very last one . . .

May 13

I really haven’t had an opportunity to do any “cub reporting” during the year of the pandemic. It’s time to shake off the rust. Unfortunately, I only batted .500 for the week as we had six “events” on the calendar but were only able to cover three of them. It may be that time of life where doctor, chiropractor, dentist, physical therapist , et al, appointments begin to intrude on life’s pleasures . . .

May 5

[The Alexandria Golf Club (AGC), with the deck and patio being prepped for a 100th anniversary makeover . . . ]

[The first get together of the Wednesday Night Fine Dining Club at the AGC. In honor of the season debut, club chefs Pat and Karen donated this salad for our approval as a regular menu item . . . ]

[The first night group – not all are available to join us yet . . . ]

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading. ~ Henny Youngman

Be careful to trust a person who does not like wine. ~ Karl Marx

[Yep, gonna be a REALLY big year . . . ]

May 7

Rachael Ianiro led off three consecutive days of solo artists at Carlos Creek Winery. I’m including a YouTube video of each as they all are favorites and will be making several appearances at CCW this year . . .

[Rachael was performing in the 22 Northmen Brewing Co. at the winery . . . ]

[She is from Detroit Lakes, about 90 miles north of Alex . . . ]

Age is just a number. It’s totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine. ~ Joan Collins

Better is old wine than new, and old friends like-wise. ~ Charles Kingsley

May 8

[Elsa Lee at the winery’s outdoor stage. She is recording under Elska. Elska, she explained, is a girl’s name meaning “love.” In Old Norse and some modern Nordic languages, Elska means “love” or “to love.”]

[Looking sharp in her Joe Biden avaitor sunglasses . . . ]

[Mindful of another time she played the winery when we all froze. We don’t know how she played the piano?]

[She is originally from Duluth, but now lives in Minneapolis . . . ]

I try not to drink too much because when I’m drunk, I bite. ~ Bette Midler

[With our usual partners, Karin and Dave . . . ]

Voted most likely to some day be arrested for having too much fun . . .

Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy. ~ Frank Sinatra

[The ladies sitting behind photobombed us . . . ]

[For further explanation, refer to the Sinatra quote . . . ]

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Too much of anything is bad, but too much of champagne is just right. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

[I believe Elsa was smiling in response to that quote. Fitzgerald, of course, was also a Minnesotan . . . ]

[Her latest CD of all original music . . . ]

[On Monday “the babies”, a/k/a, the Tasmanian Devils, enjoyed listening to Elsa’s CD.]

May 9

Mother’s Day – here is the card from “the babies” to the Super. We had planned a big day, brunch at the golf club, Josie Nelson at the winery, and then book club. None came to fruition as the Super and I were taken aback by something that physically didn’t agree with us . . .

For reasons of our long time association, we felt we still owed Josie her due . . .

[Josie singing an original song by Josie Nelson, of Alexandria . . . ]

[Josie in the early years as a young teen . . . ]

[And now as someone about the enter medical school at the University of Minnesota.]

[Josie singing an original song by another Minnesotan, goes by the name Bob Dylan.]

May 10

Scenes from our bedroom window, on a beautiful spring evening . . .

May 11

OK, this is event number 7. It arrived before I completed the blog post, so I may as well include it. It was a Tuesday night – thus Tuesday Night Club was performing at the Garden Bar.

[Tuesday Night always includes Terry Kennedy on guitar, generally Bill Riggs on trumpet, Al Lieffort now joining in from New London on a regular basis with a variety of musical instruments and his vocal cords, and now the seasonally available Jim Faber on bass and vocal cords . . . ]

[The aforementioned Jim . . . ]

I know I’m drinking myself to a slow death, but then I’m in no hurry. ~ Robert Benchley

I drink to make other people more interesting. ~ Ernest Hemmingway

[The aforementioned Al, with a mandolin on this evening . . . ]

[The aforementioned Bill . . . ]

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world. ~ Louis Pasteur

[The not previously mentioned Mediterranean zucchini entree . . . ]

Wine… the intellectual part of the meal…. ~ Alexandra Dumas

[The regular crowd shuffled in with Paul and Deb on the left with the Super . . . ]

Wine is poetry in a bottle.  ~ Cliffon Fadiman

[The aforementioned Terry on the left . . . ]

What wine goes with Captain Crunch? ~ George Carlin

I drink and I know things. ~ Tyrion Lannister

Give me wine to wash me clean of the weather-stains of cares. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Up Next: Something new, and better . . . maybe.

May 2

My early life parental advice was to go outside and blow the stink off. Outside, however, is always hot, muggy, dirty, and buggy. Theater, fortunately, is generally an inside activity . . .

This event offered we locals a wonderful opportunity to escape from the mind-numbing boredom of the NFL draft . . .

This is an annual event (though pandemicked out last year) where those so inclined meet up to watch the Kentucky Derby while simultaneously raising funds for Theatre L’Homme Dieu. It is also an event for announcing the upcoming season. The season this year will be a continuously moving target under ongoing pandemic protocols. Please keep an eye on the theatre’s website and Facebook page for schedule updates.

This year we stumbled into an unlikely 83-degree May 1 date so we could celebrate outdoors at Lure Lakebar, separated by County Road 42, a state designated scenic highway, from beautiful Lake Le Homme Dieu . . .

[Joe, Nicole, Deb, and the Super arrive early for set up . . . ]

The only sport I’m not interested in is horse racing. That’s because I don’t know the horses personally. ~ Nat King Cole

[Joe’s selfie . . . ]

[Mr. and Mrs. Cub Reporter . . . ]

I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical. ~ Arthur C. Clarke

The best thing about the Kentucky Derby is that it is only two minutes long. It is the quickest event in sports, except for Sumo-wrestling & Mike Tyson fights. Maybe Drag-racing is quicker, but I have never been attracted to it. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

[Joe and Janet . . . ]

[Without whom events such as this could not happen . . . ]

[Entertainment was provided by the Salty Dogs . . . ]

[Fans began pouring in by pontoon . . . ]

Get off your horse and drink your milk. ~ John Wayne

[Erik and Tom, rumored to be professional musicians . . . ]

[The president and first lady of the Theatre L’Homme Dieu board . . . ]

[A/k/a, Jim and Jan . . . ]

[Nicole, executive director, and Lisa, board committee chair, overseers of the current and future theatre campus . . . ]

[Arriving with great flair, the professional fiddler . . . ]

[Greg was modeling the winning bonnet from two years ago . . . ]

[Dave and Karin, on his 74th birthday. We were unable to have an audience sing-along because the band forgot the words to “Happy Birthday” . . . ]

[The board’s finance guy and his personal auditor . . . ]

[We have been musically wining and dining with them for years. Fortunately, they show no ill effects . . . ]

There are those who dance the notes, and those who dance the music. ~ Eva Ibbotson

Alimony is like buying hay for a dead horse. ~ Groucho Marx

The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster. ~ Oscar Wilde

The difference between a theatre with and without an audience is enormous. There is a palpable, critical energy created by the presence of the audience. ~ Andy Goldsworthy

Always give them the old fire, even when you feel like a squashed cake of ice. ~ Ethel Merman

[Board member Lisa, with Adam . . . ]

[I asked if they could produce an identical second shot . . . ]

[Steve and Diane struggle to produce appropriate identification for our check-in table of Joe, Janet & Al . . . ]

[Our table of three board members claimed front row seats . . . ]

It will never be perfect, but perfect is overrated. Perfect is boring. ~ Tina Fey

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. ~ George Bernard Shaw

[Annie, Greg, Erik & Tom, a/k/a, The Salty Dogs (or John, Paul, George & Ringo) . . . ]

Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward. ~ Carol Channing

[Jack Reuler in the center, a long-time contributor to TLHD . . . ]

[Jack retires this year as founder of and artistic director for Mixed Blood Theatre in Mpls . . . ]

A difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionaries. ~ Will Rogers

What is that unforgettable line? ~ Samuel Beckett

The arts make a bridge across this world in ways that nothing else can. ~ Julie Andrews

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. ~ Bill Watterson

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t know where to shop. ~ Gertrude Stein

Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny. ~ Stephen Hawking

[Because I report to him . . . ]

[The Salty Dogs . . . ]

[Annie, Greg, Erik & Tom . . . ]

Slipping in a video for your dining and dancing pleasure . . .

[They occasionally come unsalted, depending on your diet . . . ]

The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so. ~ Gore Vidal

[Board member Judy with friends and accomplices . . . ]

[With John, and her “R4R” bonnet . . . ]

I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Marlene and friends . . . ]

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~ Thomas A. Edison

[The first family, extended . . . ]

If you’re too open-minded; your brains will fall out. ~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Who knew doctors were fans of the theatre?

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience. ~ George Bernard Shaw

[As I recall, the first Alexandria board that ever accepted me as a member also included LuAnn . . . ]

Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it. ~ E. B. White

[Judy is also a regular attendee of the Carlos Creek Winery music scene . . . ]

Our fearless leader, the keeper of the flame, the slayer of dragons . . . also does plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, and talent scouting . . .

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal. ~ Albert Camus

[Keeps the place in the black by feeding the gerbil that runs in the exercise wheel . . . ]

[Awards ceremony . . . ]

All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal, or fattening. ~ Alexander Woollcott

That’s going to cost us how much?

(It was hard enough just trying to get the background folks in focus . . . )

[More awards . . . ]

[Board members Deb and Dave lead the applause . . . ]

[The twin doctors receive awards for – being twin doctors . . . ]

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific. ~ Lily Tomlin

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. ~ Albert Einstein

[And now everybody stampedes to a TV for the race . . . ]

[Here’s the Super. She drew first in the lottery – and drew the favorite, Paul Lynde to Block, or whatever his name was. I think he came in 4th . . .

[The biggest screen was in the pool room . . . ]

[Looking back out from whence we came . . . ]

[The big screen watchers . . . ]

[Ruthie with Dave and Karin . . . ]

And they’re off!!

Go horsies!

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. ~ W. C. Fields

[Who let the AGC greenskeeper in?]

[Though he seemed right at home with the theatre crowd . . . ]

[Theatre brain trust in high level deliberations . . . ]

People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day. ~ A.A.Milne

[It’s a PAR-TAY!]

[Nicole wraps up with some closing notes . . . ]

[Erik & Tom are wondering if they can go home now?]

[Nicole, with a close personal relation . . . ]

[Board member Terri with Nicole . . . ]

[And that’s a wrap! I hope I got everyone who was there. If not, I’ll try to do better next time!]

And from all of us – to Fred!

Up Next: I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer. ~ Douglas Adams

April 22

To be or not to be. That’s not really a question. ~ Jean Luc Goddard

The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day marked the first of four contiguous days of physical associations with fellow members of our species – the first such associations in over a year. Fellow members of our species in our age group have long since received our second COVID19 vaccination and generally feel comfortable in some of our pre-pandemic associations. And gives me something to blog about again . . .

[Eight Fat Boys on the trail this morning. A local alert may have been posted because in the course of our one-hour saunter, we encountered no other human beings?]

Play is the exultation of the possible. ~ Martin Buber

[The Tenor, being of strong ear, heard my request for another photo op . . . ]

An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh. ~ Will Rogers

[Before the Earth Day Festivities, we lunched at the Lure with friends from Austin, Texas – Tom, a high school classmate, was in town (on his own birthday weekend) with Pam to make plans for his dad’s 100th birthday later this year. Being a little rusty at this cub reporter thing, I forgot to get photographic evidence of the event. And then it was on to Earth Day . . . ]

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

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

[An Earth Day guy . . . ]

[Viola Riggle, on behalf of the Audubon Society . . . ]

The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. ~ Gaylord Nelson

What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[Steve Henry, on behalf of the area lake associations . . . ]

The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for. ~ Ernest Hemingway

The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it. ~ Barry Commoner

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. ~ Rachel Carson

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken. ~ Leo Tolstoy

[Jeanne Johnson, on behalf of the Citizens Climate Lobby . . . ]

Get out there and fight, fight, fight for H.R. 2307! ~ Jeanne Johnson

To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash. ~ Bill Nye

April 23

[The Boys of ’65 have been doing out-of-town lunches on a regular basis for several years now. Tom can only join in on the occasions when he’s in town (duh!), like once or twice a year. To honor his availability this year, we took our longest trip ever – to Krewe in St. Joe, an hour drive for us, an hour and a half for Mayo coming up from Burnsville. Here Mayo leads Tom and Brad through the front door . . . ]

[We always appreciate Brad’s statement t’s . . . ]

[The place proved to be a big hit for all – Mayo and I had the red beans and rice, Brad the jambalaya, and Tom a butter burger with a red bean chaser . . . ]

In a restaurant, choose a table near a waiter. ~ Jewish Proverb

Never eat at a place called ‘Moms’, but if the only other place in town has a sign that says ‘Eats’, go back to Moms. ~ W. C. Fields

I met a keen observer who gave me a tip: ‘If you run across a restaurant where you often see priests eating with priests, or sporting girls with sporting girls, you may be confident that it is good. Those are two classes of people who like to eat well and get their money’s worth.’ ~ A.J. Liebling

I’m in favor of liberalizing immigration because of the effect it would have on restaurants. I’d let just about everybody in except the English. ~ Calvin Trillin

[So, we capped off our little reunion of world travelers discussing future trips, if there are to be any. In the meantime, we returned to our various domiciles to whip up lists of countries already visited, as any good alums of Alexandria Jefferson High School would do . . . ]

April 24

[A winter re-run? Uff da!]

[Among the other things discussed during the previous day’s lunch was what we have been watching and what we have been reading. Mayo said he was pretty much overwhelmed by Caste, and since that was an up and comer in our non-fiction book club I paid a visit to Cherry Street and picked it up, along with The Code Breaker, destined to be another book I love but find way over my head . . . ]

[Then that evening Carlos Creek Winery stepped up to the plate with a concert for musicians – entertainers haven’t been working much in the last year and are anxious to get back in the game . . . ]

[New entry doors on the west side of the Grand Stables building at CCW . . . ]

[The set up was pretty elegant – glad I opted for clean under garments . . . ]

[Our old buddy Anthony Miltich was leading things off from Center Stage . . . ]

I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’ ~  Bob Newhart

[Ruthie in line for the requisite snacks and beverages . . . ]

[We did well to snag seating arrangements next to the winery proprietors. I have no idea if any “quid pro quo” was involved? In the far background is Jeff James on the North Stage . . . ]

[The aforementioned Mr. James who, among other things, played Dueling Banjos on a single instrument . . . ]

[Professor Miltich has joined our table for the following acts, here the Robb Justice Band . . . ]

Last night at Carnegie Hall, Jack Benny played Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn lost. ~  Harold C. Schonberg

Wagner’s music is better than it sounds. ~  Mark Twain

I can’t listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland. ~  Woody Allen

[We discovered Anthony is not only a fine musician and singer, he knows which way to point a camera . . . ]

[The usual group at such events: Deb, Paul, moi, Ruthie, Karin, & Dave. We were all up well past our bed times . . . ]

Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian. ~  H. L. Mencken

[The keyboard player for next act joined the Justice band for a tune or two . . . ]

[Let’s see who else is here . . . ]

An unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences. ~  Edith Wharton

[The Super hobnobs with Mr. Justice and our host for the evening . . . ]

[When another member of the table usurps the photographic equipment . . . ]

[Two guitar players likely fretting over frets . . . ]

I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer. ~  Richard Strauss

I wonder where Ruthie went?

[The last act, Jackson & the Burn . . . ]

I used to jog but the ice cubes kept coming out of my glass. ~ David Lee Roth

We used to get on planes, and they’d ask who we were, and we’d say, ‘The Dave Brubeck Quartet’, and they’d say, ‘Who?’ In later years they’d say, ‘Oh’, which amounts to the same thing. ~ Paul Desmond

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~ John Lennon

Say goodnight, Tom! ~ Everybody

[We came home to discover Galahad’s latest crime wave took place on top of our kitchen cabinets, which we thought would be inaccessible to him . . . ]

April 25

[The day after Tom’s birthday, lunch at the Pike & Pint. Tom and Pam would be returning to Texas the next day. We gave them snow as a goodbye gift. At the table: Brad, Tom, The Super, Helen, Pam, & John. John, Helen, Pam, Tom, Ruthie and I once river cruised together in Europe, so this was another mini-reunion . . . ]

It’s good to be back in the saddle again . . .

As far as I’m concerned, there won’t be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead. ~ George Harrison

Up Next: Playing it by ear . . .

April 14

This is Larry (with Laura, obviously). Larry was born in Worthington and lived in the house pictured below. That house was about 4 blocks from where my mom grew up. Near as we can figure there was at least a few years overlap between the two families before Mom’s moved to Minneapolis, but they didn’t know each other then. When the McCoys moved to Alex some 30+ years later, they bought the Obert house (that we built in ’49-50-ish) in 1967 in Victoria Heights and have lived there ever since. The house has had the same phone number for 68 years. And then to cap it off, Larry and I have the same birthday! (September 13, 2017)

Lawrence “Larry” McCoy

Lawrence “Larry” Joseph McCoy was born on September 4, 1934 in Worthington, MN to parents Lawrence and Mildred McCoy. He was the first-born child of a family of 10 children. He graduated high school in Worthington in 1952 and went on to Worthington Community College and Mankato State where he completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education.

Larry met the love of his life, Laura Thiner (Brewster, MN), while attending community college. They were united in marriage on August 16, 1958 and started their family in Canby, MN with the births of their first four children. Life was interrupted when Larry went into the Army, leaving Laura to manage things at home for a year. In 1967 they moved to Alexandria where Jeff was born. Larry and Laura raised their family in Alexandria’s Victoria Heights and lived happily in lake country for over 50 years.

Larry’s teaching career began in Canby’s middle school and eventually the Canby Technical School. Larry got the opportunity to move to lake country and teach computer programming at the Alexandria technical school. Larry was self-taught in computer science.

Larry loved sports of all types – including hockey, baseball, basketball, football, fishing, hunting and golf. He was a fine golfer who shot his age at 76. He passed his love of sports on to his children and grandchildren. He and Laura cheered on Cardinal sports teams for decades.

On April 3, 2021, Larry passed away peacefully in his sleep. He was preceded in death by Laura, his wife of 61 years, his mother and father, and his brothers Patrick and Joseph.

He is survived by siblings: Gerald, Mary, Clem, Kathleen, Mike, Therese, and Margaret; his children: Greg McCoy of Charleston SC, Steve (Lynne) McCoy of Eden Prairie, Nancy (Mike) Barthold of Brooklyn Center, Tom (Lori) of Eagan, and Jeff (Erin) McCoy of Alexandria and ten grandchildren: Megan, Ryan, Jack, Sam, Rebecca, Kaitlin, Sean, Shannon, Isaac and Brady.

A Private Family Service will be held on Friday, April 9, 2021 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alexandria due to ongoing COVID-19 recommendations. This service will be live-streamed and recorded for family and friends to view from Larry’s obituary page on the Anderson Funeral Home website at 11 AM on Friday. Entombment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Alexandria Cardinal Athletic Foundation in honor of Larry and Laura McCoy. Arrangements are with the Anderson Funeral Home. www.andersonfuneral.net (Echo Press obituary)

[Our shared house in Victoria Heights . . . ]

Where it all began . . .

[Mom’s Worthington house . . . ]

[Larry’s Worthington house . . . ]

This is the first blog post in two months. For over a decade I probably averaged 2 – 3 posts a week. Everything has been shut down for a year. I can’t remember the last time I saw Larry. I first met him, I’m sure, at the Alexandria Golf Course, when we retired back to Alex in 2001. I was delighted to discover our mutual connections, and that he was a teacher, a good athlete, and Cardinal fan. The rest of this post will feature photos of and narratives about Larry previously featured in this blog. The opening photo of Larry and Laura was taken on August 31, 2010, at the golf club during the annual steak fry and putting contest for the Senior Men’s Golf League.

[Larry at the steak fry and putting contest on September 11, 2006. In the group photo, he is in the back, 3rd from the left.]

[We were likely the last golfers on the course for the year on November 2, 2010. Larry is in the middle.]

Fergus Falls – 40, Alexandria – 36. You know it was a big game. Ruthie was there for the first time. Gary Otto was there for the first time. And Laura and Larry McCoy were there for the first time – well, at least since the 80’s when they watched three all-conference progeny perform on a regular basis. And, of course, Luella and Otto were there. We were all there to watch our undefeated girls’ basketball Cards play once beaten Fergus Falls to keep pace with undefeated Sartell in the conference. I think it was the biggest crowd of the season, boy or girl. (January 15, 2011)

Well, we’ll get to the subject line later.* Legendary sportswriter Red Smith once said, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” Hey, sometimes it happens. It’s the evening after three games, and I ain’t got nuthin’ yet. The boys’ basketball and hockey teams were home last night. Despite weather forecasts of near fatal wind chill conditions, the show(’s coverage) must go on. The hockey game seemed to offer a more competitive game – Sartell is playing for a #1 tournament seed but the Cardinals figured to be competitive at home (Sartell did win, 3-0, on three power plays). The roundballers were playing last place Sauk Rapids – we like to cover wins! And besides, Dr. Larry McCoy called earlier and said he and Dr. Laura McCoy were interested in going to the basketball game, so I joined them at the gym (I call them “Dr.” because they are educators*). (February 2, 2011)

[And here we are again, on the tee, June 8, 2011. Larry is 4th from the left.]

[And then another annual steak fry and putting contest, June 29, 2011. Larry is on the far right.]

Last night, Richie Braun hosted the 2nd Annual “Those Who Stay Behind” Dinner at Arrowwood. We had 21 leftovers from the senior golf leagues – our snowbird brethren long since departed to strange and exotic places like Florida . . . and Arizona, places where passports are required to enter and leave, where the sun makes dermatology the career of choice, and where snow shoveling is banned as a matter of course! The attendees were Vivian and Bob Annen, Marlene and Richie Braun, Sue and Jay Diebold, Merry and Paul Donley, Bill “Walleye Willie” Feriancek, Diann and Al Guenther, Joanne and Corky Krogstad, Laura and Larry McCoy, Ruth and Tom Obert, Barb and Roger Riley, and Joyce and Dave Rogosheske. “Walleye Willie” within the week joined Richie as a first time octogenarian. After a couple of hours worth of North Dakota martinis, stir fry and pasta buffet, and dessert goodies, everyone waddled happily home while dreams of birdies and eagles danced in their heads. (December 9, 2011)

[Said dinner, Larry on the right.]

Our niece, Jessica, brother Chris and Janet’s oldest daughter, recently moved to Eden Prairie from the State of Virginia, where she was born and raised. Jessica got married this summer. Her husband, Colin, got a job with Channel 9 in Eden Prairie. She is very much a hot weather person like her father. She hates the cold and snow of Eden Prairie. She wants to move to Miami.

Alexandria’s Jefferson High School (JHS) is 50 years old, and we dearly want to replace it. Jessica’s uncle, me, loves winter and thinks it’s the prettiest time of year. A new winter snowfall even makes JHS look good. We go to JHS in the winter to see concerts as part of the Central Lakes Concert Association (CLCA) series. We sit with Larry and Laura McCoy at the concerts. The McCoys bought the Obert house in Victoria Heights from Oberts in the 1960’s. They still live there. Today we told the McCoys the Jessica story. Larry said his brother was Eden Prairie’s school superintendent, until he retired 5 years ago. In that position, he hired Bud Grant’s son, Mike, to be the Eden Prairie football coach. Eden Prairie just finished an undefeated season and won the state class 5A football title. Larry’s brother also taught Paul Donley, Executive Director, Alexandria Area Education Foundation, how to ski. Mike Grant’s sister (Bud’s daughter) once taught in the Alexandria school system.

Larry McCoy also mentioned that he recently went to Charles Krump’s funeral. Charles taught in the Alexandria school system for 41 years. His obituary mentioned that his brother and sister-in-law live in Loveland, Colorado. Our Aunt Pearl and Uncle Ted have lived in Loveland for many years. I e-mailed the Krump obituary to them. Aunt Pearl responded almost immediately that she has known Joan Krump for years. They met on a golf course and she is a pretty good golfer.

We want to take Jessica and Colin to an Alexandria girls hockey game at Breck on December 22. We hope an introduction to Minnesota’s beautiful winter sport will help change Jessica’s feelings about Eden Prairie. Breck is a private school located in Golden Valley, a neighboring city to Eden Prairie. Kathy Sherry Skadsberg is a member of Golden Valley Country Club (GVCC). Kathy grew up in Victoria Heights, just across the street from the house previously occupied by the Oberts and now occupied by the McCoys. Kathy has invited the Obert family, et al, to have lunch at GVCC prior to the Breck-Alex hockey game.

This getting too weird, even for me. (July 8, 2012)

Stuff began with an “emergency call” saying Kohler (girls’ basketball coach, Wendy) needed chaperone help for her class at Miltona Golf Club on Thursday, September 12. Ever ready to be of service, fellow Super Fan, Larry McCoy, and I arrived promptly that morning, meaning we had time for a full cup of coffee before the buses arrived. Much to our delight, we were assigned the front 9 where the group on the 1st tee consisted of four lady (well, they call themselves “ladies”) athletes of whom we are Super Fans. “Batting” here is Karly Betterman, of basketball, cross-country and track fame; and with her is Sarah Bruzek, of soccer, basketball, and softball fame. (September 12, 2013)

[Mom’s celebration of life on May 18, 2009 with current and past residents of Victoria Heights. The McCoys are on the far left.]

[At our mutual birthday in 2014 at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale, with fellow September 4ers, Shelly Karnis and Marlene Collins.]

[Larry at the retirement party for longtime Cardinal broadcaster Dave Harris, December 17, 2014.]

[Here are 5 photos of Larry and Laura arriving at and seated at Cardinal basketball games in January and February 2016. I was on the opposite side of the court for photos ops. See if you can find them.]

It was the first indication of a new weather season – as I recall Brad reported the windchill to be in the 20’s at game time. Larry McCoy joined us in the parka and stocking cap brigade. In an effort to create warmth, small children were running up and down the field prior to kickoff. And, of course, kids just wear hoodies in this kind of weather because they are born with antifreeze in their veins. (October 19, 2016)

[I ultimately saw Larry at a couple games in a wheelchair, so this may have been the last game I saw him in the stands on December 6, 2018.]

Larry was always one of the best golfers in our league. But he didn’t appreciate our “game,” however, a pay out for polies, sandies, and greenies. So we’d really tease him when he’d come in with one of the best total scores, and still had to pull out his coin purse to pay quarters to others with more polies, greenies, or sandies. We used to say moths would fly out of that coin purse when he opened it. That coin purse belongs in the AGC hall of fame. Larry was never eligible to join the Fat Boys Walking Club. And it drove the rest of us (the Fat Boys) crazy because he always weighed 167 pounds, no matter how little – or how much – he ate. We will miss him.

We lost two other guys from the senior men’s league this past year. So here’s an homage to and final good-byes to Sam Joy and Bob Peterson.

[Sam, August 31, 2010]

[June 9, 2011]

[July 26, 2012]

[Bob (with Pat) on the right, June 10, 2015}

As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round. ~ Ben Hogan

Up Next: No idea . . .

February 14

Valentine’s Day was chosen as our wedding day to help me remember the date. For many years I thought Valentine’s Day was February 12. I was never good about Hallmark holidays. One makes the required adjustments.

I require three things in a man: he must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid. ~ Dorothy Parker

2011

[Several people of DNA or legal connection cruising Lake Darling with Grandson Tom at the helm . . . ]

[The Biddies prepare for an assault on the American countryside in Rita’s Rialta . . . ]

[And then waving Rita goodbye at the end of the trip. I survived their absence with the usual bachelor sustenance – sourdough toast w/ butter, potato chips, cheese and crackers, pot pies, canned chili, & M&M Peanuts . . . ]

[Getting a scalp massage at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale from Jo Colvin, erstwhile acclaimed reporter for the local newspaper . . . ]

Don’t accept rides from strange men – and remember that all men are as strange as hell. ~ Robin Morgan

I am a woman meant for a man, but I never met a man who could compete. ~ Bette Davis

[The Biddies at our annual August getaway, Indiana University’s Camp Brosius on Elkhart Lake in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin . . . ]

[A camp day trip to local places of interest . . . ]

The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things. ~ Jilly Cooper

It’s not the men in my life that counts – it’s the life in my men. ~ Mae West

[Camp games!]

[The camp theme that year was pirates. I was confused and initially came dressed as Roberto Clemente . . .]

[It’s hard to say goodbye after a week together at camp . . . ]

[Corn? Did someone mention Schonberg’s corn?]

[Julie Patchouli and Bruce Hecksel as “Patchouli” at the winery . . . ]

[Despite obvious shortcomings, assumed duties as the chronicler of the homecoming parade . . . ]

Basically my wife was immature. I’d be at home in the bath and she’d come in and sink my boats. ~ Woody Allen

[With Anne & Bill Gross at Grandma’s (home of the marathon) in Duluth . . . ]

[We crashed the barrier of a yet unopened Lake Superior overlook . . . ]

[Sunrise over beautiful Lake Darling . . . ]

[Friday after Thanksgiving. Fort Alexandria. We gather for the lighting of the Christmas lights on Broadway . . . ]

[Photojournalist practicing his craft . . . ]

[Seriously. This was Christmas Day. In Alexandria, Minnesota . . . ]

2012

[I was kidnapped once again for a snowbird trip to Sarasota . . . ]

[And then the grandson’s graduation cruise on the Caribbean . . . ]

[Seriously, she could live on one of these things!]

[They never found the contraband, and I lived to smuggle another day . . . ]

[Sitting on my ass in Dorset, Minnesota’s (population 22) famed restaurant row . . . ]

[A Jess Lourey book signing at Cherry Street books . . . ]

2013

[A winter trip east to visit the McMullens in Salem, Massachusetts . . . ]

[There was no snow but it was really cold in D.C. . . . ]

[Plying my trade on the basketball court. At no time was I hit with a “fake news” epithet!]

[Venice, Italy. They have subsequently banned large cruise ships. Good for them, and we apologize . . . ]

[Probably my favorite photo ever of this particular model. The setting was Sorrento, Italy . . . ]

2014

[Another book signing with Jess Lourey. She is prolific. Still introducing her books to appreciative friends . . . ]

[With the previously mentioned Jo Colvin, and her daughter Brianna, at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale . . . ]

King of the World (Atop the Arc de Triomphe)

[To the best of my knowledge, have never had any run-ins with the Elkhart Lake constabulary . . .

[A William Kent Krueger (“Kent” to his book signing friends) book signing at Cherry Street Books . . . ]

[The Super, once again with her close personal friend Sid, as we seek access to Basketball Dan’s annual turkey day . . . ]

2015

[It’s something about the hats . . . ]

[It’s something about the wine . . . ]

[The Super shooting BAT at the winery . . . ]

[We’re so proud. Celia was amazed. Grandson Tom ordered the gigantic burger on the Arrowwood deck and polished it off without breaking a sweat . . . ]

[Kettle corn with the Hasz family at the winery. Megan and Bethany, of course, were track and cross-country state champions for the Alexandria Cardinals and are doing the same as 4-year Minnesota Golden Gophers . . . ]

2016

Wives are people who feel they don’t dance enough. ~ Groucho Marx

You never see a man walking down the street with a woman who has a little pot belly and a bald spot. ~ Elayne Boosler

[A book signing with Carl Hiaasen at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul . . . ]

[With Dangerous Dan, the Boy Tenor, and Rita at SAWA . . . ]

2017

The ability to have our own way, and at the same time convince others they are having their own way, is a rare thing among men. Among women it is as common as eyebrows. ~ Thomas Bailey Aldrich

[At Brewster’s in Bloomington, Indiana . . . ]

[With The Biddies at Mini-University on the campus of Indiana University . . . ]

[With Rita at Showalter Fountain on the campus of Indiana University . . . ]

[Going home from our week of higher education in the Hoosier state, leaving from Rita’s classic log home in the unique village of Nashville, Indiana . . . ]

[The Super’s favorite orange moose in Black River Falls, Wisconsin . . . ]

[Enjoying Josie Nelson at the winery . . . ]

[Carlos Creek Winery’s famed fun bunch . . . ]

[They were subsequently released on their own recognizance . . . ]

I want a man who’s kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire? ~ Zsa Zsa Gabor

[Bullwinkle & Rocky . . . ]

2018

[Ruthie meets and has a chat with Mark Twain at Alexandria Area High School’s Performing Arts Center. Mark Twain was portrayed by Don Shelby. Don Shelby is a Hoosier. Ruthie is a Hoosier. It took off from there . . . ]

[Ruthie meets University of Minnesota’s basketball coach Richard Pitino at the Legacy of Lakes Museum during the Golden Gopher Statewide Caravan. Richard is not a Hoosier. Nevertheless, we invited him to share our table . . . ]

Miscellaneous

With some senators or senator-wannabes . . .

[Another time at the Daily Grind . . . ]

[The Villa Bellezza winery in Pepin, Wisconsin, one year on our way to camp, exploiting the good life . . . ]

And finally, for this past year in pandemic quarantine, we survived by doing puzzles, blogging, reading, ZOOMING, watching such as “Professor T.”, “Scott & Bailey”, and “New Tricks”, and ultimately adopted Guinevere and Galahad who keep us moving trying to save household artifacts from destruction . . .

And so, February 14, 2021, outside with a “feels like” temperature of 40 degrees below zero . . .

And toasting to another 20 years, pandemic free of course . . .

Tomorrow, February 15, we will each receive our second COVID19 vaccination, and hope that will be the start of the beginning to the end . . .

February 14

A Virtual Scrapbook for the Super . . .

It is easier to be a lover than husband for the simple reason that it is more difficult to be witty every day than to produce the occasional ‘bon mot’. ~ Balzac

The early years . . .

OK, not really . . .

Before I continue, I should proffer my press credentials . . .

[Credentials confirmed, I can report it is not fake news that this is where the Super and I first met. This is the Astoria Condominium (center of the photo shot by me from an airplane (obviously) taking off or landing at National Airport) in Arlington, Virginia. We both bought into the newly constructed building in 1987. Lee Highway (a/k/a, Highway 29/211, and a candidate for Cancel Culture) borders the front of the building and I-66 lies just beyond. And probably a quarter mile off the bottom of the photo is the Potomac River, the flight path for planes in and out of National Airport, and on the other side of the river in Washington, D.C. is Georgetown . . . ]

[We lived in separate condos within the Astoria from 1987 to 2001. I will begin with a few photos from this, our “just friends” era. Our first trip together was to the Big Apple in 1989 . . . ]

[Ruthie in the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue. We didn’t run into The Donald . . . ]

Being a bachelor is the first requisite of the man who wishes to form an ideal home. ~ Beverly Nichols

[In 1990, Basketball Dan came to town. We went on a bike ride to Mount Vernon. You could do stuff like that here in the cradle of democracy . . . ]

[In 1992, the Super with close personal friend Boog Powell at the new Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The first remake of the classic ball parks. We had partial season tickets for a few years. We loved the place . . . ]

[In 1994, with grandson to be, Tom. Ruthie & Jami went shopping and left me to babysit. When they returned I was asleep on the couch with the one-year old Tommy standing next to me. I was never good with kids . . . ]

[With Rose & Dick McMullen in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, in 1994. It was a multi-year destination for extended MLK, Jr. holiday weekends . . . ]

[I knew this photo was taken at the internationally famous Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City – I just couldn’t remember the year or the event (though for sure a basketball trip). I sent a query to Basketball Dan. His response was almost immediate, thus showcasing why he is known as The Great One: My first thought was ’92  (but then I couldn’t remember you being there), that was one of my most memorable regionals ever (not because the games were boring and terrible) because on Selection Sunday, it looked like the teams there would be KU (ranked #1 in the country), Iowa , and USC (with Harold Miner, aka ‘Little Jordan’, the most exciting player in the country).  I somehow managed to acquire a total of 16 tickets, and with Andy and Jerry Norman also going, we figured to make a substantial killing on scalping those extras.  So Iowa loses in the first round, KU is upset by UTEP on the first weekend, and Georgia Tech throws in a 35 footer at the buzzer on the first weekend to upset USC by 1 pt.  So the field of UTEP, Cincy, Ga Tech, Memphis didn’t even fill half of Kemper.  I think we sold a couple tickets for $5 each….Jerry forgot something in the car, so I just handed him one of the 10 extras and he came back in a 2nd time. So it had to be ’95 when this pic was taken (I can’t claim to remember the exact years without Wikipedia, but I remember most of the teams and who all was there)…..Andy and Sharon came up from Wichita, Pete and Patti Blasco came from Portland, and I know I didn’t drive back home by myself, so it must’ve been the 3 of us.  Blasco’s came because UVa was playing, and they upset #1 seed KU, but then lost to Arkansas (the year after Hogs won it all in Charlotte…..that was where Ruthie got an autograph from Ray Ohs of Arizona at some restaurant after the Saturday games).  Fortunately UCLA (coached by Honest Jim Harrick) beat Arkansas in the championship game (as I despised that Hog team).  You guys were definitely there in Seattle…we stayed at a cheap motel on the East Side of Lake Washington, and I recall panicking when I got to my room and saw that I had  a wild rash all over my back……and we talked to Eddie Sutton is some hotel gift shop on the way to the Saturday games (Ok St led by Big Country). There’s nothing left but the memories!]

[With the McMullens at Matuba in Arlington in 1997. We do not have access to Japanese anymore . . . ]

[With The Biddies (Ruthie’s sister Rita and mom Janella, and my mom, Natalia) at the White House in 1997 . . . ]

A bachelor never quite gets over the idea that he is a thing of beauty and a boy forever. ~ Helen Rowland

[And I used to go on fishing trips with the boys . . . ]

The only really happy folk are married women and single men. ~ H. L. Mencken

[Finally, one of our last social events ever at the Astoria?]

The major concrete achievement of the women’s movement of the 70’s was the Dutch treat. ~ Nora Ephron

The knot is tied – and here’s a whirlwind tour of the following 20 years . . .

We were married on Valentine’s Day 2001. I was 53. I gave it a good shot. I was no longer footloose and fancy free, free to roam the globe on singular whim. We were both retiring to Alexandria within that year and thought it best to “make it legal” for reasons of finance and assumed sensibilities of our new home town. We met at a celebrant’s office in Arlington after work one day. Ruthie from the Pentagon, me from the Department of Labor (we respectively had only two and five mile daily commutes so likely were never overcome by the angst of big city rush hours). After about a five minute ceremony attended by the three of us, we went to the grocery store, went home and had dinner while watching the PBS News Hour, like any other work night.

Ruthie came with two adult, already out of the house, children. I thus was able to avoid the dreaded diaper and hormone years. (OK, I admit, the hormone years never end – for reasons that have totally baffled the scientific community since the Big Bang . . . ]

Twenty years is 7,300 days (Uff da!). As the cub reporter, I likely had something to report on a vast majority of those days. But this is meant to be an overview, so I will not include any of our major adventures as they have already been covered within an inch of their lives in this venue. Nevertheless, it will necessarily require a 2nd posting . . .

2001

[This is our retirement home in Alexandria, on Lake Darling. We moved in on Thanksgiving. It snowed . . .

2002

[We made an early trip back to D.C. where we met up with the old golf group . . . ]

[When Yamaguchi and Gretzky used to skate together at the Runestone Community Center . . . ]

Nature abhors a virgin – a frozen asset. ~ Clare Booth Luce

2003

[We met a rodent at a U of M alumni event at Carlos Creek Winery . . . ]

[A tradition of some 40 years at Basketball Dan’s . . . ]

2004

I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They’ve experienced pain and bought jewelry. ~ Rita Rudner

An archaeologist is best husband a woman can have: the older she gets, the more interested he is in her. ~ Agatha Christie

[Aunt Mary Kay & Uncle Tom’s home in Desert Mountain, AZ. It was part of the take the ‘Echo Press’ with you era.]

[The Clinton Library in Little Rock, AR . . . ]

[At a new shi-shi restaurant of forgotten name between Minneapolis and St. Paul with Little Mayo and Basketball Dan.]

[Delegates to the DFL state convention in Duluth. I was nominated for commissioner of Weird Things Minnesota but lost on the 3rd ballot of rank choice voting . . . ]

2005

[Here at Carlos Creek Winery, destined to become state tournament groupies . . . ]

[Christmas at home with Mom . . . ]

2006

[The Super became a real girls hockey fan on this night. One of the great games of all time, the Super cheering our Cards section title winning goal against dreaded, big city, private school, Totino Grace, in 2OT’s . . . ]

[In Wabasha with some other Grumpy Old Men . . . ]

[I have no idea who these people are, but they seem to be in other photos as well?]

[Ruthie, her sister Faith, and her Mom on a Moby Obie cruise of beautiful Lake Darling. This was Janella’s last visit to Alexandria . . . ]

[Hello, Ralph Tillitt! You never know who you’re going to run into at a Gopher homecoming game . . . ]

[The whole fam damily (Jami, Danny, Tom) at a Cardinal hockey game . . . ]

[And again at the Lake Minnewaska overlook in Glenwood . . . ]

[With Basketball Dan at a place I don’t recall . . . ]

[Throwing in son Rob at Christmas . . . ]

2007

[The Cardinal girls’ hockey team Super Fans, famed in song and story . . . ]

[With Mikko Cowdery in a Mardi Gras parade down Broadway . . . ]

Behind every great man – there’s a woman rolling her eyes. ~ Jim Carrey

[OK, these are high school classmates at my 60th birthday. They seem to have aged better than me?]

[With Dennis Murphy at the winery . . . ]

2008

[Yet another visit to St. Paul for the girls state hockey tournament with Viv & Bob Annen . . . ]

[Celebrating our state champion team at the classic St. Paul Hotel . . . ]

[Photobombed a team photo . . . ]

Marrying a man is like buying something you’ve been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get it home, but it doesn’t always go with everything else. ~ Jean Kerr

[The horrors! Snowbirded to Sarasota and stayed with friends Crazy Dave and Mary Owen . . . ]

[The horrors, part 2! The McMullens also snowbird to Sarasota . . . ]

[We were much more comfortable in Alaska, with Denali in the background . . . ]

[With Bill and Anne Gross in what appears to be the Skagway Brewing Co. . . .]

[Our tour bus driver in Juneau was Anatoli, a Russian geography teacher who taught NBA star Carlos Boozer in high school . . . ]

I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; by then it was too late. ~ Anonymous

Marriage is the perfection of what love aimed at, ignorant of what it sought. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Ruthie was an election judge for the Al Franken recount . . . ]

[Ruthie with Mom, Mom’s last Christmas . . . ]

Any intelligent woman who reads the marriage contract, and then goes into it, deserves all the consequences. ~ Isadora Duncan

2009

[Hangin’ out at Torrey Pines, San Diego . . . ]

[In San Diego, touring in nephew Chris’s Mini Cooper . . . ]

[I think this was an overlook for a nude beach. I couldn’t confirm that from this height . . . ]

If We Take Matrimony at Its Lowest, We Regard It as A Sort of Friendship Recognized by The Police. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

[Palm Desert, at Beryl and Don Waldeland’s . . . ]

[The Salton Sea, with The Biddies . . . ]

[Death Valley, again with The Biddies . . . ]

[From the rear of Rita’s cute little, handy-dandy VW RV . . . ]

[Bill Clinton’s boyhood home in Hope, Arkansas. Bill and Hillary weren’t there. The place was just closing but the nice lady let us have a tour . . . ]

Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event. ~ Oscar Wilde

[I don’t remember this – St. Louis?]

[Having a little chat with author/TV host Cathy Wurzer at Cherry Street Books . . . ]

[Whoa! The internationally-renowned Super Fans again . . . ]

I love you more than coffee, but please don’t make me prove it. ~ Elizabeth Evans

Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient. ~ H. L. Mencken

2010

If two people love each other, nothing is impossible. Except deciding where to eat. ~ Anonymous

In my house I’m the boss, my wife is just the decision maker. ~ Woody Allen

[Our all-time favorite, above and below, Sonny’s, which later became Weston Station . . . ]

[Mort’s Deli in Golden Valley enroute to or coming from the girls’ state hockey tournament. The youngest member at the table, I believe, recently scored 22 points for Hopkins in a high school basketball game . . . ]

[With Viv & Bob after a hockey game at Vescio’s in Dinkytown . . . ]

[At some far flung place, likely Indianapolis, with the usual suspects at an NCAA basketball game . . . ]

[Ruthie & Matt Velline (check him out on YouTube) at the winery . . . ]

[This year was the 25th anniversary of this event!]

[Ruthie with John Hawkes, a local guy with an Oscar nomination . . . ]

[50th class reunion on beautiful Lake Darling . . . ]

A youth with his first cigar makes himself sick – a youth with his first girl makes other people sick. ~ Mary Wilson Little

[Ruthie with Big Bird . . . ]

[The Super Fans just keep coming . . . ]

No normal man ever fell in love after thirty when the kidneys begin to disintegrate. ~ H. L. Mencken

[It’s great when the grandson shows up from out of town to help with the shoveling . . . ]

2011

[Lovely winter scenes at the winery . . . ]

[You can even go for a dog sled ride . . . ]

If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question? ~ Lily Tomlin

10th Anniversary

[Overcome with excitement at a basketball game . . . ]

[(I couldn’t believe he was bringing me to Minnesota?)]

[Ruthie & Sid, through the years . . . ]

KIRBEEEEEEEEEE Puckett!!!

If the glove doesn’t fit, you’ve got the wrong mitt!

[Teenage brother Cam met Harmon once. Harmon told him to get a haircut . . . ]

[Hiking Siesta Key in Sarasota . . . ]

To fall in love you have to be in the state of mind for it to take, like a disease. ~ Nancy Mitford

[Without question, the world’s greatest sub, The Italian Store, Lyon Village, Arlington, VA . . . ]

[Yes, even older than Alexandria, MN . . . ]

[Our favorite restaurant in Old Town . . . ]

Before the fall . . .

[Ruthie & Eleanor . . . ]

Money cannot buy the fuel of love but is excellent kindling. ~ W. H. Auden

[Heaven, she’s in heaven . . . A morel picked on our property and asparagus . . . ]

[After making 36 free throws in a row while juggling . . . ]

[The Oscar-nominated actor from Alexandria with a local fan . . . ]

[Wrapping up Part 1 with the whole fam damily on our lakeside patio . . . ]

Men have a much better time of it then women; for one thing they marry later; for another thing they die earlier. ~ H. L. Mencken

Up Next: Part 2