August 25

It’s the change of rhythm which I think is what keeps me alive. In Spain, I hear so much noise from my window that I can’t stand it. In Switzerland, it’s the lack of noise that drives me crazy.   ~  Geraldine Chaplin

Switzerland is my favorite place now, because it’s so – nothing. There is absolutely nothing to do.  ~  Andy Warhol

[Chamonix, France, exotic as it sounds, at the west end of the Mont Blanc tunnel.  Chamonix was host to the first Winter Olympics in 1924 . . . ]

[The Chamonix Valley is considered by many to be the best freeride resort in the world. With its 5 ski resorts (Grands Montets, Les Houches, Le Tour/Balme, La Flegere and Le Brevent) Chamonix Mont-Blanc offers the perfect ski holiday.  Anything you would ever want to know about skiing in Chamonix Mont-Blanc is here (chamonix.net).]

[Mont Blanc . . . ]

If you’re looking for a vacation concept that combines the element of outdoor fun with the element of potentially knocking down a tree with your face, you can’t do better than skiing.  ~  Dave Barry

Cross-country skiing is great, if you live in small country.  ~  Steven Wright

[Saint Michel Church, and a car that dates the photo . . . ]

[I could have sat in the town square all day just thinking about skiing.  And I think we did, enjoying the beverage of choice, orange beer . . . ]

[The rest of the “team” took the cable car to the top of Mont Blanc.  Some reported altitude sickness (which is common at the top) – thus explaining why our preference was the town square . . . ]

The next day

[The Super and I drove around Lake Geneva (Lac Leman).  A spur of the moment decision to give the family some space.  Worked out great . . . ]

[Lake Geneva (or le Léman) is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France.  It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhone (Wikipedia).  The lake is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide, it averages over 500 feet deep and is over 1,000 deep at its deepest.  You can drive around it in a couple of hours, depending on how much touristing you do.  We did the touristing thing so it probably took all afternoon . . . ]

[View of Lake Geneva about between Vevey in front, Lausanne in the back behind Mont Pelerin on the right and Evian-les-Bains on the left, shot from a place between Caux and Glion above Montreux (Wikipedia).]

[From the map above, we began at Chatel, drove the 34 miles to Geneva, and began our trip around the lake.  I took this shot from the far side of Geneva . . . ]

[Geneva, above and below, with Jet d’Eau, literally meaning ‘water jet’, the huge fountain on the lake, one of the tallest fountains in the world shooting water up 460 feet . . . ]

[The Alps as seen from the lake . . . ]

[Flower gardens along the lake . . . ]

[The city circles around the west end of the lake.  Here we’re wandering along the promenade and the gardens . . . ]

[Quite lovely waterfront, n’est-ce pas?]

[Le Richemond, a 109-room luxury hotel . . . ]

[Commercial streets that I believe the Super would have loved to have shopped . . . ]

[But we were on a mission to circle the lake . . . ]

[Nice unidentified garden . . . ]

But before I die, I want to visit heaven on Earth: Switzerland.   ~  Govind Maheshwari

[For those visitors who’d like to taste what the Swiss are keeping to themselves, the guidebook recommends the Lavaux region, whose “vineyards, enclosed within low stone walls, slope so steeply that all the work has to be done by hand.” That’s made the area a UNESCO World Heritage site: “10,000 terraces of Chasselas, Gamay, and Pinot Noir vines spread over 40 levels.” Strung prettily along the north shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), it runs 24 kilometres east from Lausanne to Montreux (culturelocker.com).]

[One would think this would be a significant enough piece of art to at least get a mention on the world wide web . . . ]

[But it didn’t – an impermanent structure?]

[St. Peter’s Cathedral (english), or Saint Pierre Cathedral (french), is over 850 years old Geneva’s main church is located in the center of Geneva’s Old Town, slightly on the hill overseeing the city, combining various architectural styles from Gothic to Ancient, as it was being rebuilt over the centuries.  Since 16th century Cathedral belongs the Reformed Church (geneva.info).]

[My guess, Old Town (?) . . . ]

Switzerland is a country where very few things begin, but many things end.  ~  F. Scott Fitzgerald

[Pollarded plane trees (beats me?) along the boulevard . . . ]

[Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches.  The practice occurred commonly in Europe since medieval times, and takes place today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a determined height.  Examples of trees that do well as pollards include broadleaves such as beeches, oaks, maples, planes (Platanus) . . . (Wikipedia).]

[On the road again, by Lausanne (where I apparently didn’t get any photos), home of the International Olympic Committee . . . ]

[Through Vevey, with the along-the-lake journey ending at Montreux . . . ]

[Somehow (?) the numbering of the photos appears out of order because . . . ]

[This is the Chateau de Chillon (Chillon Castle) in Montreux (see again further down) . . . ]

[Sculpture in the form of a girl with a seashell on the seahorse by Edouard-Marcel Sandoz, Vevey, Lake Geneva, Switzerland (dreamstime.com).]

[Vevey is a town in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.   It is part of the French-speaking area of Switzerand.  Vevey is home to the world headquarters of the international food and beverage company Nestle, founded here in 1867.  Milk chocolate was invented in Vevey by Daniel Peter in 1875, with the aid of Henri Nestle.  The residence of British American actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin was in Vevey, where he lived from 1952 until his death in 1977 (Wikipedia).]

[The Super with Charlie . . . ]

[On the road between Vevey and Montreux . . . ]

[Roy in his Chateau de Chillon sweatshirt . . . ]

[Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) is an island castle located on Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), south of Veytaux (Vevey) in the canton of Vaud.  It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives access to the Alpine valley of the Rhone.  Chillon is amongst the most visited castles in Switzerland and Europe.  Successively occupied by the house of Savoy then by the Bernese from 1536 until 1798, it now belongs to the State of Vaud and is classified as a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance.  The Fort de Chillon, its modern counterpart, is hidden in the steep side of the mountain (Wikipedia).]

[A mechanical automaton representing the Chillon Castle illustrates the capture of the castle and the liberation of Francois Bonivard by the Bernese in 1536.  Barred windows also show the interior of the castle, including scenes of torture in prisons. After having disappeared for decades and being found in various homes, the automaton was eventually acquired by the Association of Friends of Chillon, the Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History (MCAH) and the Castle Foundation, in March 2016.  Having been inspired by the story of Francois Bonivard after a visit to the castle, Lord Byron wrote a poem on The Prisoner of Chillon in 1816 (Wikipedia).]

Since Peter the Great, Russia had been expanding at the rate of one Belgium per year.  ~ Henry Kissinger

Up Next:  Still in Europe . . .

August 24

A country like Belgium, or socialist countries in central Europe spend more money on art education than the United States, which is a really puzzling thought.  ~  Mikhail Baryshnikov

[Châtel is a commune in the Upper Savoy department in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region in south-eastern France.  It is situated in the northern French Alps on the French/Swiss border and is a popular ski resort.  Despite its development into a major ski resort, the village still retains many of its traditional alpine characteristics (Wikipedia).]

[But it was early April and there wasn’t much snow left.  I don’t think anybody in our group skied . . . ]

[And on to the nightlife . . . ]

[Not that I have any remembrances of it . . . ]

[I suppose that could be good or bad . . . ]

[A hotel/restaurant, in English that means it’s a place to stay and/or eat . . . ]

[A mountain and a church . . . ]

I can’t understand why men make all this fuss about Everest — it’s only a mountain.  ~ Junko Tabei, first woman to climb Everest

[Located in the center of the village, the Super-Châtel gondola takes you at an altitude of 1650m.  I have no recollection of this . . . ]

[Meanwhile, back on the slopes . . . ]

[Nope, just doesn’t look good for skiing . . . ]

[Walter and Roel and the fountain pond in Chatel . . . ]

[Wrapping up the wind around pond walk . . . ]

The only mountain that I would still like to climb: I’d like to break 85.  ~  Peter Falk

[Himself . . . ]

Nature never hurries. Atom by atom, little by little she achieves her work.  ~  Ralph Waldo Emerson

[The Château de la Bâtiaz was built in 1260 and is the only remaining witness to the medieval era (www.valais.ch/).  I think I’m correct, but I have no personal remembrance of this . . . ]

[The covered highway, a defense against avalanches . . . ]

[Dire fromage!]

[The very definition of “tourist” . . . ]

There is probably no pleasure equal to the pleasure of climbing a dangerous Alp; but it is a pleasure which is confined strictly to people who can find pleasure in it.  ~  Mark Twain

[The monument at the entrance to the Mont Blanc Tunnel from the French side.  The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy.  It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy.  The passageway is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on this tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe (Wikipedia).]

[Mont Blanc (“White Mountain”) is the second-highest mountain in Europe after Mount Elbrus. It is the highest mountain in the Alps, rising 4,808 m (15,774 ft) above sea level. It is the eleventh-most prominent peak in the world.  The mountain stands in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France (Wikipedia).]

August 24

If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium . . . 

A main feature you may have noticed in Part 1 was a dearth of photos?  That is true.  Remember, this was back in the day of film.  And Kodachrome (see Paul Simon’s song) came in rolls of 24 shots.  So if you shot a roll of film a day on a 2-week trip, you needed to take 14 rolls of film along.  It could become logistically difficult.  On this trip, therefore, I took about 300 photographs for the entire trip.  As you may have noticed in latter day trips, I often take up to 200 digital photographs . . . per day!  Live long and prosper . . . 

[Here we are now in Grand Place (“ploss”, recognizing this is a foreign language) with Michelle, Roy, and Ruthie.  The Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels.  It is surrounded by opulent guildhalls and two larger edifices, the city’s Town Hall, and the ‘King’s House’ or ‘Breadhouse’ building containing the Brussels City Museum. The square measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 361 ft).  The Grand Place is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels.  It is also considered as one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 (Wikipedia).]

[Lots of lovely outdoor cafes for your wining and dining pleasures . . . ]

[Renovations were unfortunately the order of the day when we were there . . . ]

[The oldest part of the present Town Hall is its east wing (to the left when facing the front).  This wing, together with a shorter belfry, was built and completed in 1420.  [A] second, somewhat longer wing was built on to the existing structure, with laying its first stone in 1444.  The facade is decorated with numerous statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures. The present sculptures are reproductions; the older ones are in the city museum in the ‘King’s House’ across the Grand Place.  The 96-metre-high (315 ft) tower in Brabantine Gothic style . . . by 1454, this tower, replacing the older belfry, was complete.  Atop the spire, stands a 5-metre-high gilt metal statue of the archangel Michael, patron saint of Brussels, slaying a dragon or devil (Wikipedia).]

[King’s House, on the left; Guild building cafes, on the right (best guess) . . . ]

[Walter, allegedly master of his domain . . . ]

[Remember the thing about Belgian lace in Part 1?]

[Shopping for them; sightseeing for me . . . ]

[To know him is to love him . . . ]

[Manneken Pis (“Little Pissing Man”‘) is a landmark 61 cm (24 in) bronze fountain sculpture in the centre of Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin.  It was put in place in 1618 or 1619.  The current statue is a replica which dates from 1965.  The original is kept in the Brussels City Museum.  Manneken Pis is the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels.  It also embodies their sense of humour (called zwanze in the dialect of Brussels) and their independence of mind.  Manneken Pis is located only five minutes’ walk from the Grand Place (Wikipedia).]

[Friends Rose & Dick joined us on our next trip to Brussels 4 years later – we had to take Rose here . . . ]

[Everard t’Serclaes (c. 1320 – 31 March 1388), lord of Kruikenburg , was a citizen of Brussels, who was made famous by his recovery of that city from the Flemings.  Everard is commemorated by a monument located on Charles Buls street in Brussels, just off the Grand Place.  It is said among locals that the statue of Everard t’Serclaes brings luck and grants the wishes of all who touch it.  Many tourists touch (or rather rub) the statue, particularly the arm, because legend has it that rubbing the arm will ensure one’s return to Brussels.  Other parts are also touched frequently by the tourists such as the face of an angel, a dog, and one of the shields.  This constant polishing keeps the body shining compared to the rest of the sculpture (Wikipedia).]

[On the road to Chatel . . . ]

[At our chalet in Chatel (love the alliteration) . . . ]

[Eric and D’Arcy, now completely full-blown multi-degreed adults . . . ]

[Walter providing perspective for the chalet.  Cute, eh?]

[The backyard with Walter and Brandon . . . ]

[The kids, being kids . . . ]

[A ski hill behind (did I mention everybody but me skied), “The Box,” and our 5-speed diesel automobile . . . ]

[The Alps all around . . . ]

[An idea of where we were:  Montreux is a Swiss town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps.  It and has a population of approximately 26,433, and about 85,000 in the agglomeration Vevey-Montreux as 2019 (Wikipedia).]

[Home, sweet, home . . . ]

[For the 8 of us . . . ]

[Just back from shopping for groceries . . . ]

And hoping this doesn’t piss you off?

Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French.  ~  Charles de Gaulle

Up Next:  More Europe

August 23

As our summer of discontent continues, a venture back to a time when Europe still adored (tolerated) Americans.  A friend just posted photos from a trip to Ely, the substitute for the previously scheduled trip to Alaska.  Canoeing in the boundary waters is still very nice.  This is my substitute . . .

In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.  ~  Mark Twain  [Editor’s note:  The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German.]

[The trip diary, done in the days before computers yet shortly after the advent of the typewriter . . . ]

[OK, this is not Europe.  It’s Indianapolis.  The Super is back in her home state.  We had not planned this trip.  We were soon on our way to Europe.  Because of that, unlike most years, we had not even applied for tickets to the Final Four.  But our Gophers made it that year (yes, that is the University of Minnesota band walking up the sidewalk)!  How could I not go?  So, we drove to Indianapolis from Arlington, Virginia – no game tickets, no lodging reservations – just because . . . ]

[Most years you have to score tickets through a lottery that begins the moment the previous Final Four ends.  And if you get tickets, you’d better make lodging reservations at the next venue immediately.  So, we were bucking the odds . . . ]

[Fortunately, we knew Basketball Dan would be there.  His knowledge would be invaluable.  He would often go to Final Fours without tickets and buy them on the street, hoping to get them at reasonable scalper rates.  We could not have been luckier.  The Gophers were playing Kentucky, the team with the most avid fans and just across the state border from Indy.  Nevertheless, we ran across a young couple from Kentucky who couldn’t use their tickets – and they sold them to us at face value!  And Ruthie’s sister Rita lives just a little over an hour from Indy, so we had lodging . . . ]

[Not believing the sign, we did walk to the other side of the building – and the road did continue . . . ]

[The Gopher fans had overrun San Antonio the previous week in the regional finals . . . ]

[And they arrived en masse again . . . ]

[The aforementioned Basketball Dan with the Super and the state capitol building.  We have always thought Indianapolis to be the best host city for the Final Four – the NCAA is headquartered here, and everything as far as lodging, restaurants, and entertainment is self-contained easily within walking distance . . . ]

[One of the things we always did for “fun” was to pay visits to the hotels where the teams and coaches stayed – the major spendier ones near the arena.  Here I spotted the old lefthander, Lefty Driesell, the Maryland coach, from a walkway likely at the Hyatt . . . ]

[The Gophers lost the close semi-final game to Kentucky.  We left for home after the game to ready for European trip and sold our championship game tickets to Kentucky fans – at face value . . . ]

[Brussels, we are here!  Here’s Roy-san in the Steiner house in Kraainem, on the outskirts of Brussels.  The Steiner offspring, Brandon, Eric, and D’Arcy, hang on the wall behind him, all in fashionable white . . . ]

[Big house, on 3 levels . . . ]

[And from another angle . . . ]

[Pretty much looks like downtown Brussels . . . ]

[The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation’s capital Brussels.  However it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken on the outskirts of Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the palace as follows:  The Palace is where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state.  Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King’s Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King’s Military Household and the Intendant of the King’s Civil List. The Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits (Wikipedia).]

[The Parc de Bruxelles  is the largest urban public park in the centre of Brussels.  The area of the rectangular park is 13.1 ha (32 acres).  The main entrance is on the north side, opposite the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace of the Nation).  An avenue leads to the main pond, from which three other avenues offer views of three important places in Brussels: the Palace of Justice, the Royal Palace and the Place du Trône/Troonplein (Wikipedia)].

[The Super, Michelle, and Roy . . . ]

[It could be the Town Hall of the City of Brussels is a Gothic building from the Middle Ages. It is located on the famous Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium, opposite the Brussels City Museum. It is the only remaining medieval building of the Grand Place and is considered a masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and more particularly of Brabantine Gothic (Wikipedia).]

[Brussels is famous for lace (Roy in a St. Olaf cap?) . . . ]

[A street looking ahead into the Grand Place (coming in Part 2) . . . ]

[Shopping along the way . . . ]

What is it about maps? I could look at them all day, earnestly studying the names of towns and villages I have never heard of and will never visit…   ~  Bill Bryson (And seconded by the Supervisor)

Up Next:  Europe

August 22

*  As with Black Lives Matter (don’t get me started!), this doesn’t mean that other things shouldn’t be saved as well!  Please, save the whales, save public schools, save food stamps, save Ferris Bueller, but for purposes of this blog post it’s save Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . .

This is Paulina Sirota.  This was at Camp Brosius in 2013.  I had never seen this before.  I liked it.  Now it’s a common meme, of course.  And this is why this post . . . 

The Event

Join us ~ along with special guests

KEVIN KLING, DAN CHOUINARD, & JACK REULER as we celebrate 60 years of Theatre L’Homme Dieu

When: Thursday, August 20, 2020
Where: Theatre L’Homme Dieu ~ on our Field of Dreams!
Time: 7 pm – 9:15 pm
Attire: Resort-Elegant

Tickets: $100 per person ~ Includes a personalized bar, dessert, and entertainment

Activities: Entertainment and fundraising efforts including a live auction and an exciting fund a mission event where we’ll raise our paddles in support of Theatre L’Homme Dieu ~ Minnesota’s Summer Theatre!

Comfort + Safety + VIP Treatment! We’ve designed the Summer Soirée with comfort and safety in mind, and, as always – VIP treatment! Keep scrolling to learn more about what to expect.

We’ve designed the Summer Soirée with comfort and safety in mind, and, as always – VIP treatment!

The Summer Soiree will be an outdoor event with a limited number of tickets available.
Rather than one large tent, guests will be escorted to your special space – your Home
Base on the lawn of our Field of Dreams!
Guests will arrive to live music and we encourage a listening room setting until we’re
ready to start the program.
Guests will receive an email prior to the event to customize your personal, pre-set, Home Base Bar.
We honor you and your time and we are notorious for keeping a tight timeline. You will be kept busy during the duration of the event; there won’t be time for mingling! But just in case we respectfully request- for the safety, security, and in the spirit of courtesy for our friends and neighbors – please do not encroach on others’ personal spaces and seating areas.
We will have a live auction and fund a mission, however, no payment will be collected
that evening; guests will be invoiced the week following.
Masks are required until you are seated, and required anytime you are not in your Home Base.
Restrooms will be available.
Our commitment to you: You and your safety is our #1 concern.

[We arrive.  Because of COVID protocols, the number of guests was limited to 60, each couple with individual tables (made on-site during the week by Jorge) and umbrellas (purchased for the event, cheaper than renting) . . . ]

[Another beautiful evening in Vacationland USA . . . ]

[Three of the fundraising stars, Glen Fladeboe, Phil Eidsvold, and Janet Baker . . . ]

[Prepping the stage (no novocaine required) . . . ]

[Performers Kevin Kling and Dan Chouinard, center cut . . . ]

[The smiling faces of Jan and Jim . . . ]

I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.  ~  Oscar Wilde (and Jan & Jim)

[Six familiar faces, hopefully not from USPS wanted posters . . . ]

I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theatre is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture.  ~  Laurence Olivier

[Mr. Chouinard warms up his nimble fingers . . . ]

It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!  ~  Wicked (For a leap of faith, see also:  The Cape  ~  Guy Clark)

[Judy and John . . . ]

[We believe they were purposefully seated behind us to keep us out of trouble . . . ]

[The right (or west) wing of the audience . . . ]

Actors are all about entrances, but writers are all about exits.  ~  Vincent H. O’Neil

[Those in the middle . . . ]

[And those on the left (east) . . . ]

[And the anticipation builds . . . ]

[A perusing stroll of the audience unearthed Marianne and Tim . . . ]

[I hadn’t seen them since the days of our joint enrollment in Senior College, so we had a lot of catching up to do . . . ]

[As the program then began, my perusing stroll days were over . . . ]

[Emeritus theater president Fred Bursch took the stage with TLHD executive director, Nicole Mulder, to welcome all with a brief history of TLHD and the soiree . . . ]

[I crashed the stage for photos from their vantage . . . ]

[And this is what they saw . . . ]

The theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it’s so accidental. It’s so much like life.  ~ Arthur Miller

As a panorama . . . 

[Self-ushered back to my seat, Nicole began as the event host . . . ]

[We lost our entire season to COVID, though Nicole was magically able to bring in two single night performances that we all enjoyed seated in or in front of our cars . . . ]

[Among the important news relayed:  Because of past successful fundraising soirees, we have been able to begin necessary “adjustments” to the campus with such as new gutters on the theater building, and land recontouring and tiling to drain water away from the building . . . ]

[Nicole noted that the recent 7″ rainfall, which in the past would created a swimming pool between rows 1 – 4 in the theater, did not breach the building!]

[Nicole always tells me I take too many pictures of her . . . ]

[So, of course, I continue to do so . . . ]

And now, ladies and gentleman, Kevin Kling and Dan Chouinard . . .

Minnesota’s storyteller . . . 

[He noted that this was first time since March that he and Dan had appeared before a live audience (I heard that!) . . . ]

Of course, we laughed and laughed!

[The VIP treatment . . . ]

Take it away, Dan!

[And he featured mostly music from the Greatest Generation . . . ]

[Which was perfectly lovely for the evening . . . ]

[And then Jack Reuler took to the stage . . . ]

[Jack is the artistic director of Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.  He has been with Mixed Blood since the very beginning. He founded the theatre at the age of 22, continuing work that began as a summer social-justice project, and has been the Artistic Director ever since. As artistic director, Jack works to realize Mixed Blood’s mission by providing vision, building financial stability, and ensuring quality programming (mixedblood.com).]

[He has also been involved with TLHD for over 40 years, in various capacities . . . ]

[So he regaled us with tales from those over 40 years . . . ]

[Which was great, as I was unaware of most of the history.  Thank you, Jack . . . ]

[Our table was lucky number 13 . . . ]

The theater is a great equalizer: it is the only place where the poor can look down on the rich.  ~  Will Rogers

[Time to raise some money!!  Phil stepped up to introduce . . . ]

[Glen as the evening’s auctioneer . . . ]

[We raised almost $140,000 . . . ]

[And you gotta follow Phil for his expressions . . . ]

[He loves doing this for TLHD . . . ]

[Oh, he broke some toes mountain climbing in Bhutan . . . ]

[Or he slipped on a dock – it was one of those two . . . ]

[Preparing to bring the first item up for auction . . . ]

[Can you guess?]

[Yessssss . . . ]

[A tub of sterile wipes . . . ]

[I believe it went for over $1,000 . . . ]

[And we were off and running . . . ]

[The excitement was palpable . . . ]

Bring it on!  ~  The Super

[Here are your menu options . . . ]

[The Super’s bid card . . . ]

[As darkness falls, the wrap up . . . ]

Drama – what literature does at night.  ~  George Jean Nathan

[A really fun evening, with accomplishments . . . ]

Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.  ~ Chinese Proverb

[A mellow sing along to the setting sun . . . ]

Heavenly shades of night are falling, it’s twilight time –

Out of the mist your voice is calling, it’s twilight time  ~  The Platters

Exit, pursued by a bear.   ~  William Shakespeare

Then everyone leaves, and you are left, each night, to your own devices with a crowd of interesting people – most of whom you don’t know – sitting in the dark.  ~  Anna Deavere Smith

[Many thanks to the performers, the setter-uppers, the cleaner- uppers, the participants, and the donors.  See you again next year!]

All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.  ~  Seán O’Casey

Up Next:  Well, I think the 1st football game was s’posed to have been last night?

August 20

The older I get, the more I realize it’s all just about food.  ~  Me

If you remember the pandemic, you’ll recall the quarantine began in March.  That was still winter.  There was no outdoor dining then.  Indoor restaurant dining was out of the question (and it appears it will be such for the foreseeable future).  With warmer weather came the option of eating outdoors.  The Super and I soon discovered we were then eating “out” as often as ever.  Wednesdays became particularly onerous.  Current and past members, and the cast and crew, of the senior men’s morning leagues at the Alexandria Golf Club have been dining together on Wednesdays for several years.  And now also on Wednesdays, we have the Alexandria Community Wood Fired Pizza night at the Methodist Church, each time sponsoring a local activity or association.  So we eat first at the AGC, then dash over to pick up a pizza (and a dessert pizza) for eating the next day.  Uff da!!

[Chef Pat addresses the hungry seniors on the AGC deck.  He always asks what we’ll want for the next Wednesday.  After the beef commercial this week, meat loaf is up next . . . ]

[So many thanks to Pat, and to our servers this year who somehow always manage to put up with us – Karli, Taylor, and Talia (the latter two now heading back to college) . . . ]

[And then my camera battery died . . . ]

[But continuing on with the smart phone camera . . . ]

[A good crowd of 16 . . . ]

Ask not what you can do for your country.  Ask what’s for lunch.  ~  Orson Welles

[This is Talia.  How she keeps all our orders straight is beyond me . . . ]

Ahhhh, commercials!

I went into McDonald’s yesterday and said, “I’d like some fries.” And the girl behind the counter says, “Would you like fries with that?”  ~  Jay Leno

Anybody who believes that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach flunked geography.  ~  Robert Byrne

[And then on to the pizza place . . . ]

[This evening was on behalf of the high school football team.  The idea now is to see if they can play in the spring . . . ]

[Nolan Morical (No. 5) is our star halfback.  He is a senior this year.  My guess is he’s being heavily recruited so I hope he can play this year . . . ]

[Our other star with his paddle in the oven is John Heydt.  John and Keven Jansen built the oven and created this program.  Kudos to them.  And John has a grandson on the football team (and also in 3 other sports) . . . ]

I want my food dead. Not sick, not dying, dead.  ~  Oscar Wilde

Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.  ~  Woody Allen

Fish is the only food that is considered spoiled once it smells like what it is.  ~ P.J. O’Rourke

Never trust a skinny cook.  ~  Iain Hewitson

[John was busy and thus always kept his good side toward me . . . ]

Red meat is not bad for you. Now, blue-green meat – that’s bad for you!  ~  Tom Smothers

You better cut the pizza in four pieces, because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.  ~  Yogi Berra

[This is a 6 1/2 minute highlight video of Nolan in action.  It’s worth watching the whole thing.  Just click on the first one that appears after you click on the URL below.]

https://www.hudl.com/profile/9892827/Nolan-Morical

[BTW, the last run on the video was the Cardinals first play of the year (happened right in front of me).  Just held Buffalo, with the top quarterback in the state, to a 3-and-out.  After receiving punt, Nolan took a hand off on first down and went the distance.]

[This was re-entered because the last photo is the one that automatically gets featured in the Facebook post . . . ]

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.  ~  Calvin Trillin

My mom made two dishes: Take it or Leave it.  Stephen Wright

Eating is the staff of life.  ~  Me

Up Next:  TLHD?

August 17

KILGORE TROUT LIVES!!

A truly terrifying moment is when you realize that people you went to high school with are running the country.  ~  Kurt Vonnegut

Your planet’s immune system is trying to get rid of you.  ~  Kurt Vonnegut

Once there was a time when I inhaled books.  It’s not that I don’t like them now, but I generally fall asleep after 3 pages (as evidenced by my abbreviated style of what I laughingly refer to as writing).  But in my generally CRS state of mind, I seem to recall that I’ve probably read all of Vonnegut (maybe before 1980) – but it was all back in a previous century of high school and college.  He was cool.  Then I married into an Indiana family and discovered Vonnegut was from Indianapolis . . . 

[This was May 1, 2011, in front of the new Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in downtown Indianapolis with Jami and the Super.  I seem to recall we also visited the original museum.  And, as you can see, I was an early proponent of the hoodie . . . ]

The Kurt Vonnegut Booklist

01	Player Piano	1952	(1,6,A)
02	The Sirens of Titan	1959	(1,6)
03	Canary in a Cathouse	1961	(2,4,A)
04	Mother Night	1961	(1)
05	Cat’s Cradle	1963	(1,6,A)
06	God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater	1965	(1,7)
07	Welcome to the Monkey House	1968	(2,4,A)
08	Slaughterhouse – Five	1969	(1,6,7,A)
09	Happy Birthday, Wanda June	1971	(3)
10	Between Time and Timbuktu	1972	(3)
11	Breakfast of Champions	1973	(1,7,8,9)
12	Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons	1974	(2,5)
13	Slapstick	1976	(1)
14	Jailbird	1976	(1,7)
15	Palm Sunday	1981	(2,5)
16	Deadeye Dick	1982	(1,9)
17	Galapagos	1985	(1,6,7.9,A)
18	Bluebeard	1987	(1)
19	Hocus Pocus	1989	(1,7,8,9)
20	Fates Worse Than Death	1991	(2,5)
21	Timequake	1997	(1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8)
22	Bagombo Snuff Box	1999	(2, 4)
23	God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian	2000	(2, 3)
24	A Man Without A Country	2005	(2, 5, 7, 8)
25	Armageddon in Retrospect	2008	(2, 4, 5, 6, 8)
26	Look at the Birdie	2009	(2, 4, 6, 8)
27	While Mortals Sleep	2011	(2, 4, 8)
28	We Are What We Pretend To Be	2012	(2,4)
29	Letters	2012	(2,5,8)

[This, and all remaining photos, were taken inside the museum . . . ]

[Since the photos were taken in a museum, there was always a sidebar indicating what you were looking at.  Thus, I am mostly freed from such undertakings . . . ]

[3rd woman from left (I heard he was into crossdressing then . . . ]

[OK, likely the young suited man in the middle above . . . ]

[The last word in Slaughterhouse Five. The sound “Poo-tee-weet” is a stand-in, a nonsensical noise made by birds that represents the fact that there is nothing intelligible that can be said about war or massacres (enotes.com).]

[Certainly descriptive of the Callecod family . . . ]

[A personal favorite – may be used as an effective emoji where appropriate . . . ]

[Unless otherwise noted, the artwork is Vonnegut’s . . . ]

[Once a moment’s gone, it’s gone forever . . . ]

[Must be some kind of hippie . . . ]

[So it goes. (How do you think it compares with the more recent, it is what it is . . . ?]

[As a soldier in WWII, he was a POW during the fire bombing of Dresden . . . ]

[An avid promoter of human kindness . . . ]

[‘Mr. Rogers’ as novelist . . . ]

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes . . . 

[His writing desk was too short?  I left him that message accordingly . . . ]

Unusual travel plans are dancing lessons from God . . . 

We are what we pretend to be so we must be careful what we pretend to be . . . 

[Jami left him a note . . . ]

[The Super perused for book club opportunities . . . ]

[Danny also left him a note . . . ]

[I think we left the bottom three . . . ]

[Brief histories, in brief . . . ]

1920: Alcohol banned in America, but not in Canada . . . 

1929: The Great Depression begins.  1939: World War II begins . . . 

1944:  He is captured by the Germans in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge . . . 

May 8, 1945: The war in Europe is over . . . 

November 22, 1963:  JFK is shot . . . 

August 11, 1974:  President Richard Nixon resigns . . .

1981:  AIDS appears on the U.S. . . . 

1992:  Bill Clinton is elected . . .

December 9, 2000:  That Supreme Court . . . elects George W. Bush . . .

March 20, 2003:  President Bush invades Iraq . . . 

November 11, 2010:  The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is opening in Indianapolis.

1 Billion Years A.D.:  The last tree on Earth dies . . . 

3.5 Billion Years A.D.: The sun . . . expands into a Red Giant and envelops the Earth . . . 

Poo-tee-weet!

[The basics, pretty sure I’ve read all of them . . . ]

[I think I did get a hat?]

[Now that would be fun . . . ]

1959:  Kurt Vonnegut publishes The Sirens of Titan . . .

PEACE!

Feb. 11, 1950:  KV’s career as a fiction writer is born . . . 

POO-TEE-WEET!

So it goes.  ~  Kurt Vonnegut

Up Next:  Back to the archives . . .

 

August 15

Compromises are for relationships, not wine.  ~  Sir Robert Scott Caywood

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

The moon and Venus were indicative of what would finally be a lovely weather weekend.  We’ve been having good weather mid-week but weather most foul on weekends . . .

[The Super began the day, as she usually does, by raking the lake . . . ]

[It’s a task she obviously enjoys . . . ]

[I have no explanation . . . ]

[I think she talks to the turtles . . . ]

[And then it was off to L’Etoile de Nord winery . . . ]

[Owned and operated by our friends Polly and Dave . . . ]

[About 14 miles north of home . . . ]

[We were last here about a month ago and wanted to bring them some wine bottle packing boxes . . . ]

[A couple glasses of their tasty Marquette, a sleeve of Ritz, and Havarti cheese from Redhead Creamery in Brooten . . . ]

[A view of Lake Irene . . . ]

[So, what’s not to like?]

[For perspective, Irene is 639 acres (a nice size), about twice as big as our neighboring Lake Cowdry and our camp lake in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin . . . ]

[There were a substantial number of boats out fishing at midday . . . ]

[Back inside for . . . refills?]

[All the tables are outside for COVID . . . ]

[The Super’s parked car through the screen window . . . ]

[Pretty much the same view from outside . . . ]

[Settling up with Dave – as they say in the Brit mystery TV shows, we also bought 4 “take away” bottles . . . ]

[A fond farewell to the Star of the North . . . ]

[And exiting by way of entry . . . ]

[Checking with the locals, is that what’s colloquially known as Beer Belly Bay?]

[And past Lure Lakebar, well-attended on a lovely day . . . ]

August 16

By the following morning, the moon and Venus had flipped positions . . . 

[This was wine pick-up day at Carlos Creek Winery . . . ]

[This huge backyard deck was new to us – quite an addition . . . ]

[Our guy Anthony Miltich was playing for the pick-up parties . . . ]

[We sampled two of the wineries differently styled merlots – approved of both . . . ]

[Our usual music partners Dave and Karin visit with Anthony . . . ]

[We had to relinquish the deck to the next group of picker-uppers, so we moved up to the Marquette Stage with Karin and Dave for Josie Nelson . . . ]

[Josie believed to be in her 9th or 10th year of performing here . . . ]

[And then she was off to her senior year of pre-med at Concordia College-Moorhead . . . ]

[And she just this month hit the magic twenty-first birthday . . . ]

[And maybe because of that . . . ]

[Her mom & dad . . . ]

[And both grandmas were there to keep an eye on her . . . ]

[Good thing, too.  Her fan club (Karin, Dave, the Super, and me) bought her a bottle of Carlos Creek’s finest . . . ]

[For her decade of keeping us entertained . . . ]

Happy Birthday, Josie!!

[As we departed, we visited with the Nicole Mulder, her dad, and husband John . . . ]

[Nicole, of course, is the executive director of Theatre L’Homme Dieu, and Dave and I are both board members . . . ]

Grape Stomp info:  http://www.ccwgrapestomp.com/

[We came home and our new neighbors were still moving in.  We caught a glimpse of their “2nd car,” a 1952 Dodge.  Well, that led to some stories as the Obert family once owned back-to-back ’52 Dodges . . . ]

[These cumulonimbus cloud shots are really from the 15th . . . ]

[Just liked the idea of finishing with them.]

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

Up Next:  Maybe now Vonnegut . . .

 

August 14

Hope springs a kernel.  ~  William Shatner on Boston Legal

[Two years later we were back in the great American Southwest.  I must have been experiencing an aversion to water.  Back to Tom and Anne’s place in the Hills of Lakeway, Texas . . . ]

[Their place from the outside . . . ]

[And from another part of their outside.  Their place was our inspiration for tile floors with in-floor radiant hear and for finished garage floors . . . ]

[Fredericksburg, Texas, as I recall . . . ]

[Yup, in the Texas hill country . . . ]

[Then just a hop, skip, and a major leap to Tucson, Arizona.  Sue Detrick was a colleague of the Super’s with the Department of the Air Force . . . ]

[Lotsa prickly stuff in this area . . . ]

[We were heading for a car climb of . . . ]

[Mt. Lemmon . . . ]

[When life hands you Lemmons, make a desert . . . ]

[You have to drive well past Osakis to get a landscape like this . . . ]

[Rather clear why the original pioneers blew right on through . . . ]

[At least one doesn’t have to rake leaves in the fall . . . ]

[I wonder if this air quality cleared during COVID?]

[And now it’s Sun City Grand, Arizona, with old D.C. buddy, Bob Gilbert, and Diane.  Bob said he never has to mow . . . ]

[Minnesota tourists . . . ]

[Bob said it rained here once in 1938 . . . ]

[Old golfing buddies, with the emphasis on “old” . . . ]

Many thanks, you guys!

[And then, amazingly, we ran into Basketball Dan in Scottsdale.  There must have been a basketball tournament in the area.  Anyway, this was considered the chi-chi restaurant in the day (name forgotten in the fog of time), and we sat outside to be away from smokers (both of them extremely sensitive such).  But there was a smoker outside a couple tables away and a complaint was registered.  I believe the response was, “You must be a couple of Minnesotans . . . “]

[The view from the hotel window, where I have no idea . . . ]

[Downtown Phoenix, the temperature was . . . hot?]

[And finishing again at Uncle Tom’s and Aunt Mary Kay’s place in Desert Mountain . . . ]

[Remember the Echo would put your picture in the paper of you reading the paper in some faraway place with a strange sounding name . . . ]

Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.  ~  Albert Einstein

Up Next:  Hope you’re a Vonnegut fan . . .

August 13

This time, I think, I’m finally wrapping up the magical year of 2004.  I’d forgotten all this stuff . . . 

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.  ~   Carl Sagan                                   (Editor’s note:  So, here it is . . . )

[Visiting friends Tom and Anne Kiehne in Austin, Texas, overlooking Lake Travis at some obviously fine dining establishment . . . ]

[And another view of the lake (a/k/a the Colorado River) in the other direction . . . ]

[Downtown Austin as seen from where I’m taking the picture from . . . ]

[Self-explanatory.  Did I mention Tom was a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas?]

[Waiting for more fine dining with the Kiehne family at . . . the Oasis?]

[And now we’re in San Antonio (same state as Austin) with Dick and Sandy Dush.  Sandy and the Super were long time office mates in the Pentagon.  Dick, as I recall, a retired Air Force colonel . . . ]

[Their backyard . . . ]

[Their frontyard . . . ]

[Downtown San Antonio as seen from the place from which I took this shot . . . ]

[Whoa, something tells me we’re not in Texas anymore . . . ]

[OK, this is another clue . . . ]

[Yup, Gooseberry Falls  (not in Texas) . . . ]

[Gooseberry Falls State Park is a state park of Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior . . . on scenic Minnesota Highway 61.  The park surrounds the mouth of the Gooseberry River and includes Upper, Middle and Lower Gooseberry Falls (Wikipedia).]

[The Minnesota Legislature authorized preservation of the area around Gooseberry Falls in 1933, and the area was officially designated Gooseberry Falls State Park in 1937. The rustic style resources in Gooseberry Falls State Park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1934 and 1941 (Wikipedia) .]

[An ‘island’ or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water (Wikipedia).]

[The Super is on the land and, thus, is not an island . . . ]

[Split Rock Lighthouse . . . ]

[Split Rock Lighthouse is a lighthouse located southwest of Silver Bay, Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The structure was designed by lighthouse engineer Ralph Russell Tinkham and was completed in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service at a cost of $75,000, including the buildings and the land. It is considered one of the most picturesque lighthouses in the United States (Wikipedia).]

[Noted as among the most picturesque delegates at the Duluth DFL state convention . . . ]

[The Real Deal . . . ]

[The timing of this post is such that it’s occurring in the same week we lost Adrian Ledermann at age 83 (second from the left sitting next to Shelly Karnis).  Adrian was a long time chair of the Douglas County DFL in addition to being just an all-around good guy.  We will miss him . . . ]

[Duluth as seen from (well, you know the drill) . . . ]

[The North Shore is one of the Super’s all-time favorite places . . . ]

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher.   (Sorry, I thought it was funny . . . )

Up Next:  2006 . . .