Christmas: It’s the only religious holiday that’s also a federal holiday. That way, Christians can go to their services, and everyone else can sit at home and reflect on the true meaning of the separation of church and state. ~ Samantha Bee
Catching up on a few things that happened during the holiday season. The highlight of which was the multiple trips to St. Cloud Hospital for cardiac care – I have now visited St. Cloud Hospital more times than the local hospital (and then only as a visitor) in 21 years of local residency. ~ Me
‘White Christmas’ is the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ of Christmas songs. ~ Stewart Stafford
December 4
Christmas is a box of tree ornaments that have become part of the family. ~ Charles M. Schulz
[Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra with “That Song Called Life”. I need the full symphony photo to begin with for Facebook display purposes . . . ]
I was Christmas shopping and ran into a guy on the street. I noticed his watch and said that it runs slow. He said, ‘So does the guy I stole it from.’ ~ David Letterman
[Brad Lambrecht with his pre-concert Maestro’s notes . . . ]
[With the concert soloist, Clint Sevcik, also on stage . . . ]
We celebrate the birth of one who told us to give everything to the poor by giving each other motorized tie racks. ~ Bill McKibben
It’s always consoling to know that today’s Christmas gifts are tomorrow’s garage sales. ~ Milton Berle
[The crowd was still filtering in . . . ]
Christmas is such a carefree, low-pressure time—that’s one of the things I love about it. ~ Stephen King
[Greetings from the PAC . . . ]
Sending Christmas cards is a good way to let your friends and family know that you think they’re worth the price of a stamp. ~ Melanie White
[Thank you, Lee, a classmate in Senior College . . . ]
Dear Jesus: For Christmas this year I’d like to try following your teachings without having one of your followers call me a socialist. ~ John Fugelsang
[Well-known patrons on the other side of the PAC . . . ]
The ideal Christmas gift is money, but the trouble is you can’t charge it. ~ Bill Vaughan
[After the concert we came out into the atrium area where we heard some wild cheering. There was a younger boys basketball tournament going on and those not playing were watching the Vikings beat the Jets . . . ]
The office Christmas party is a great opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen for 20 minutes. ~ Julius Sharpe
[We were hoping to see the high school carolers but opted out after cookies and cider . . . ]
December 6
I bought my brother some gift wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping. ~ Steven Wright
[Tuesday Nightclub at the Garden Bar on 6th . . . ]
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. ~ Maya Angelou
[Joined on this august occasion (in December) by Annie O’Flynn onb the accordion . . . ]
Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip. ~ Gary Allan
[We seem to often appear simultaneously at the same venues . . . ]
My wife, like many women, actually likes wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of mental illness. ~ Dave Barry
[Ramen, a personal favorite of mine at the Garden Bar . . . ]
Nothing says holidays like a cheese log. ~ Ellen Degeneres
[That looks really good – have to make an appearance here again soon . . . ]
December 7
The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern temperate zone wiser and abler than his fellow who enjoys the fixed smile of the tropics. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The very fact of snow is such an amazement. ~ Roger Ebert
Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway. ~ Elsa from Frozen
The wind crooned softly as it dusted the snow against the windows, wrapping them in a thick and fluffy cotton blanket. ~ Soheir Khashoggi
Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers. ~ Kahlil Gibran
It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. ~ Dylan Thomas
December 8
No one looks at your hands to see how much they shake when you are interviewed to be a surgeon. The physical skills required are no greater than for writing cursive script. If an operation requires so much skill only a few surgeons can do it, you modify the operation to make it simpler. ~ Atul Gawande
[On the way to St. Cloud Hospital (an hour and a half trip) at O-dark-thirty to have the debris in my right carotid artery removed . . . ]
You can teach somebody how to be a brain surgeon, but you cannot teach them how to walk on a stage and make people laugh. ~ Ron White
[On the outskirts of St. Cloud with the skyline of St. Joseph in the distance . . . ]
I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but I had a bad habit of dropping things. ~ Gilbert Gottfried
[Temperature one degree above zero . . . ]
I do know that detachment is important. A surgeon can’t be weeping into the open wound. ~ Randa Haines
[At the hospital, on the banks of the Mississippi River . . . ]
December 9
I met the surgeon general – he offered me a cigarette. ~ Rodney Dangerfield
[The view from my hospital window. Ruthie stayed in the decorated building on the far side of the street . . . ]
She got her looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon. ~ Groucho Marx
[Still alive and but not kicking (that would involve oethopedics). Many thanks again to Dr. Ojo and his team, and to all the others involved from pre-op to post-op. A very professional operation . . . ]
I’ve got nothing against plastic surgery at all. I know lots of people, young and old, who’ve had it. The point about good surgery is you can’t see it. The important thing is not to go crazy – and not to go to a bad surgeon. ~ Suki Waterhouse
[Thank goodness Nimoy (“live long and prosper”) was here for caregiving when we got home! The PA’s said I could go to the girls b’ball game that night, but the supervisor said I couldn’t. Will be walking Monday though . . . ]
In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!’ ~ Dave Barry
Merry Christmas to EVERYONE, including the Radical Left Marxists that are trying to destroy our Country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is illegally coercing & paying Social and LameStream Media to push for a mentally disabled Democrat over the Brilliant, Clairvoyant, and USA LOVING Donald J. Trump. ~ Oy
There’s a lot more to life than how fat or thin you are. ~ Kirstie Alley
I’ve been lost in the wilderness since the middle of the last month (though some would say it’s been much longer than that). I awoke one morning and logged onto this blog only to discover that WordPress said it had been deleted! This began a multi-week exchange of emails (over a hundred) with WordPress trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it. I finally lost all patience with trying to deal with the “techies” and asked Ruthie is she could take over. After several more days of email exchanges it appears to be back. Ruthie had to have the patience of Job to accomplish this feat (and you thought I didn’t know my Biblical figures). Job later became the inspiration for the great rock and roll hit song, Get a Job by the Silhouettes (the best lyrics ever).So, now I have some catching up to do. ~ Me
But in Indiana it’s not like New York where everyone’s like, ‘We’re from New York and we’re the best’ or ‘We’re from Texas and we like things big’ it’s more like ‘We’re from Indiana and we’re gonna move.” ~ Jim Gaffigan (Did the Super hit me yet?)
November 30
I watch a lot of TV, I drink a lot of coffee, but you know what’s really addictive? Heroin. ~ Jim Gaffigan
Pie can’t compete with cake. Put candles in a cake, it’s a birthday cake. Put candles in a pie, and somebody’s drunk in the kitchen. ~ Jim Gaffigan
[The usual suspects gather for Wednesday night fine dining at Lure Lakebar . . . ]
I come from a very big family . . . nine parents. ~ Jim Gaffigan
Ever eat so much you feel sick? Isn’t that the best? ~ Jim Gaffigan
[Must wear their locator ankle bracelets whenever they leave the house . . . ]
I’m not a strict vegetarian. I do eat beef and pork. And chicken. But not fish ’cause that’s disgusting! How do you know when fish goes bad? It smells like fish either way! ‘Hey this smells like a dumpster, lets eat it!’ ~ Jim Gaffigan
It is a little embarassing when someone catches you watching the Food Network…”What are you watching?” “Uh, the Food Network…” “Well, why are you pants off?” “I like food…a lot. ~ Jim Gaffigan
December 2
There are really only two plays: Romeo and Juliet and put the darn ball in the basket. ~ Abe Lemmons
[As the high school basketball season begins, a momentary look back at Ella Grove from the 2020 state tournament as she blazed the trail for brother Grayson to become the next Cardinal star. The next day COVID shut down everything . . . ]
I’m blind, bald, and pale. I’m like a gigantic recessive gene. ~ Jim Gaffigan
[This was a prelude for the whole month when so many games were weather postponed . . . ]
[The first game of the year in a snow storm . . . ]
LeBron James still gets criticism. Jesus still gets criticized. ~ D’Angelo Russell
[The Cardinals were hosting Benilde-St. Margaret’s (BSM), a great opening game between two teams ranked in the top 10 in the class AAA state rankings. Here’s some action from the JV game . . . ]
He makes plays you can’t coach, and he makes plays that look like he’s never been coached. ~Bill Self
[Still the JV’s . . . ]
All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine. ~ Charles Barkley
[Like the front row at LA Laker games, the local celebrities . . . ]
You got to believe in yourself. Hell, I believe I’m the best-looking guy in the world, and I might be right. ~ Charles Barkley
[The JV has not lost a game since the 2018-19 season . . . ]
I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I’ve got a technique. It’s called just go get the damn ball. ~ Charles Barkley
[The varsity came out for warmups. Chase Thompson (3) is a 6’7″ sophomore who is also the quarterback for the football team; Bralyn Steffensmeier (11) is a junior who has taken over the point guard position from his brother Carter who graduated last year . . . ]
Yeah, Ernie, it’s called defense, I mean, I wouldn’t know anything about it personally, but I’ve heard about it through the grapevine. ~ Charles Barkley
[Our senior captains are Trevin Hoepner (0) and Jaxon Schoenrock (4) with 6’9″ junior center Grayson Grove (2). The aforementioned Ella Grove was at the game on support of her little brother . . . ]
Don’t call me son, unless you’re going to include me in your will. (When Adolph Rupp called him, “Son.”) ~ Al McGuire
A team should be an extension of a coach’s personality. My teams are arrogant and obnoxious. ~ Al McGuire
[It’s likely that Grayson will be favored to win all center jumps this year . . . ]
Our guys took Shop and Advanced Shop. Shop is when you make a chair. Advanced Shop is when you paint it. ~ Al McGuire
I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cab driver. Then they would really be educated. ~ Al McGuire
When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team. ~ George Raveling
[Schoenrock inbounds the ball as Thompson cuts to the basket . . . ]
I hate it. It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air. ~ Norm Sloan, commenting on zone defense.
[Grayson is an excellent free throw shooter . . . ]
They shot the ball well early. What comes out of the microwave hot doesn’t always stay hot. I know because I eat bagels in the morning. ~ Shaquille O’Neal
[As is Jaxon . . . ]
This year, we plan to run and shoot. Next season we hope to run and score. ~ Billy Tubbs
[Dawson Roderick (35) is a junior with an all around game as the usual 6th man . . . ]
Our offense is like the Pythagorean Theorem. There is no answer. ~ Shaquille O’Neal
[Chase is another good shooter . . . ]
You can say something to popes, presidents and kings, but you can’t talk to officials. In the next war, they ought to give everyone a whistle. ~ Abe Lemmons
[Chase with a lefthanded tip . . . ]
If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball. ~ Phil Jackson
[And then attempting a block in the lane . . . ]
In my prime, I could’ve handled Michael Jordan. Of course, he would have only been 12 years old. ~ Jerry Sloan
[Grayson at the line in the 2d half . . . ]
This is basketball, not figure skating. You don’t get extra points for the degree of difficulty. ~ Bobby Hurley
[This was a well played game by two very good teams. The score never deviated by more than a couple baskets either way. Now, a month later, BSM is undefeated and the Cardinals haven’t lost since this game . . . ]
December 3
Actually, the reason I look like this is because my father was from Sweden and my mother was Elton John. ~ Jim Gaffigan
[Maybe even better than the Post Office, doughnuts must be delivered every Saturday morning regardless of the weather . . . ]
I was a multi-millionaire from playing hockey. Then I got divorced, and now I am a millionaire. ~ Bobby Hull
Every day is a great day for hockey. ~ Mario Lemieux
[The boys hockey team hosted Orono the day after the basketball game . . . ]
Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive. ~ Stephen Leacock
I tried to talk my daughter out of going with a hockey player but, he’s a good kid. He asked me if he could marry Carrie before he asked her. I said: You want to what? I thought he was just going to ask for more ice time. ~ Phil Esposito
High sticking, tripping, slashing, spearing, charging, hooking, fighting, unsportsmanlike conduct, interference, roughing……everything else is just figure skating. ~ Scotty Bowman
[Both teams scored in the first minute of the game . . . ]
I hate when people litter. ~ Joe Thornton
[It got worse after the that. Basketball star Grayson Grove and classmates were in attendance . . . ]
Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re gonna hear about it. ~ Frank Costanza
[And then it was on to a holiday concert at the high school that evening . . . ]
At the Festivus dinner you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year. ~ Frank Costanza
When George was growing up his father hated all the commercial religious aspects of Christmas, so he made up his own holiday. ~ Jerry Seinfeld
“And is there a tree?” (Kramer). “No. Instead there’s a pole. Requires no decoration. I find tinsel distracting.” ~ Frank Costanza
George, Festivus is your heritage. It’s part of who you are. ~ Frank Costanza
And now as Festivus rolls on, we come to the feats of strength. ~ Frank Contanza
[These guys were really good and very entertaining . . . ]
They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway (on Broadway). ~ The Drifters
[On the way home from the concert, downtown Alexandria . . . ]
Last season he was a Pixie dust spreader on the Tilt-A-Whirl. ~ Cousin Eddy
There’s always somebody older, richer, more desperate than you. ~ Kirstie Alley
I wished for peace on Earth, goodwill towards men (and women), and several indictments for you know who. ~ Me
[Photo credit: Deb Trumm]
It’s time for the annual Christmas blog, the screed that’s always way too long as it attempts to reflect upon the things that occupied our time over the past 12 months. For the first time in two years we traveled beyond the boundaries of Minnesota, in both instances in conjunction with Ruthie’s Indiana University alumni status. Otherwise we seemed to find enough things to do in the more immediate geographic area. Then shortly after my 75th birthday, I decided I should have a stress test included with my annual physical exam. No particular reason other than it was an age milestone for someone who has had a surprisingly healthy life to date. Well, the stress test led to further tests indicating I had a carotid artery blockage and would need a triple bypass around the heart. As someone who had never had any surgeries before, I was moving quickly into the big leagues of modern medicine. I have since successfully had the carotid artery unplugged and will likely have the bypass surgery in the near future. In the meantime, with the usual apologies to Dave Barry, we bring you 2022, the year in review . . .
It’s the holiday season, so whoop de doo, and be of good cheer, ‘cuz SCOTUS was named, fun bunch of the year. ~ Me
*
January
Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. ~ Dave Barry
[Apparently nothing of note happened this month. We probably just sat around the house happy not to be masked at home . . . ]
February
Without Valentine’s Day, February would be well, January. ~ Jim Gaffigan
The humble baguette — the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world — is being added to the U.N.’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity. ~ Strib 12-1-22
[You’ll notice not much happened the first two months of the year with no thanks to COVID. So, friend Dave Anderson stopped in one day and taught us how to bake bread . . . ]
March
March 4th, the only day that’s also a sentence. ~ John Green
[A frequent expression of general application in this year of pandemic, politics, and SCOTUS . . . ]
Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and receipts for all major purchases. ~ Bridger Winegar
[As friends once again were able to gather for Wednesday Night Fine Dining at the Lure (a carryover from summer fine dining at the golf club) . . . ]
The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces. ~ Will Rogers
[The smiling happy faces of attendees at our Community Education movies at the theatre in Grand Arbor, alternating semi-monthly between foreign films and documentaries. It’s really hard to learn a new language every month!]
My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne. ~ Tina Fey
[Vaccinations on a regular basis – this one the second COVID booster (we got #3 in September) . . . ]
April
April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks, “Go!” ~ Christopher Morley
[We had never been to Lakes Area Theatre at its new location. Thoroughly enjoyed this play – then never got back to the theatre because there’s always just too much to do in the greater Alexandria metropolitan area . . . ]
Accept who you are. Unless you’re a serial killer. ~ Ellen DeGeneres
[You almost feel like part of the cast here . . . ]
The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating. ~ John Walters
[The Fat Boys Walking Club noshed together at the Alexandria Golf Club, just because . . . ]
I believe it’s a cook’s moral obligation to add more butter given the chance. ~ Michael Ruhlman
[The Boys of ’65 monthly luncheon date this month took place at the Nutcracker Cafe (with a Christmas theme) in Starbuck on the western edge of Lake Minnewaska. How can you pass on the luncheon special when it’s a beef commercial?]
A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into. ~ George Orwell
[The map plotted with all the restaurants we have dined at in this capacity . . . ]
I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical. ~ Arthur C. Clarke
[The table at which we scarfed down the commercial . . . ]
Don’t send funny greeting cards on birthdays or at Christmas. Save them for funerals, when their cheery effect is needed. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[The Garden Bar in downtown Alex set up for Tuesday Nightclub . . . ]
If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. ~ Steven Wright
[Said Tuesday Nightclub, the humanity attached to the above instruments . . . ]
If I studied all my life, I couldn’t think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of congress. ~ Will Rogers
[At Carlos Creek Winery with people who obviously enjoy wine (and/or a brewski) . . . ]
I think it’s always funny when somebody thinks you’re going to do something super sexy and then you don’t. ~ Olivia Munn
[As we’re inside, the weather outside still must be frightful . . . ]
There’s nothing simpler than avoiding people you don’t like. Avoiding one’s friends, that’s the real test. ~ Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), Downton Abbey
[Wednesday Night Fine Dining at the Lure with most of the usual suspects . . . ]
May
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer’s lease hath all too short a date. ~ William Shakespeare
[Run for the Roses fund raising event at the winery for Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]
Turns out you have a really fun time if you go to work every day and focus on being silly and funny and happy! ~ Hannah Murray
[The stable halves of the Boys of ’65 at the Lure . . . ]
I actually think of being funny as an odd turn of mind, like a mild disability, some weird way of looking at the world that you can’t get rid of. ~ Calvin Trillin
[The Boys of ’65, absent their above stabilizers . . . ]
A funny thing happened to me on the way to the White House. ~ Adlai Stevenson
[Maestro Brad Lambrecht of the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra addressing classicial music fans at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum . . . ]
I’m a classic example of all humorists – only funny when I’m working. ~ Peter Sellers
[Ruthie with BAT at the winery. Always a good time when he and Brenda come to town from Flora-Bama . . . ]
They’re great girls. They’re very funny, they’re very smart, they’re fun to be with. They’re very lively, as I think people can tell. And you know, they’re very confident girls. ~ Laura Bush
[Winery babes . . . ]
Stan Fields: “Describe your perfect date.” Cheryl: “That’s a tough one. I’d have to say April 25. Because it’s not too hot and not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.” ~ Stan Fields (William Shatner) and Cheryl Frasier (Heather Burns), Miss Congeniality
[Uncorked, but semi-corked for foot traveling through the wilds of the winery . . . ]
The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat. ~ Lily Tomlin
[One of two times this spring when we had to round up the babies and head to the basement under a tornado warning . . . ]
June
The castle grounds were gleaming in the sunlight as though freshly painted; the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake, the satin-green lawns rippled occasionally in a gentle breeze: June had arrived. ~ J.K. Rowling
[The Salty Dogs were playing here . . . ]
I don’t really need to be dirty to be funny. ~ Jimmy Kimmel
[Said Salty Dogs . . . ]
It’s hard to be funny when you have to be clean. ~ Mae West
[We were sitting too close to get them all in one shot . . . ]
To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer. ~ Paul R. Ehrlich
[This was our trip to Indiana University (IU), Bloomington, Indiana, for Mini-U – looks like everybody graduated after one week! See if you can spot Ruthie and me . . .
I gave a funny speech at my wife’s birthday party, and I’m thinking, ‘Hey, I’ve still got it.’ ~ Larry David
[In Biddle Hotel, our on campus lodging . . . ]
[Said Biddle Hotel with Ruthie and Rita, The Biddies . . . ]
If you think you have it tough, read history books. ~ Bill Maher
[In a courtyard of the Memorial Union, where our classes were held . . . ]
Coach: How’s a beer sound, Norm? Norm: I don’t know, I usually finish before they get a word in. ~ Coach (Nicholas Colasanto) and Norm (George Wendt), Cheers
[Janko’s Little Zagreb restaurant in downtown Bloomington, Indiana, with friends, family, and fans . . . ]
I drink to make other people more interesting. ~ Ernest Hemingway
[The Mini-U wrap up . . . ]
You’re only as good as your last haircut. ~ Fran Leibowitz
[The Super, on the right, entering Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]
July
Every July, I look forward to taping a Christmas show – in July in Nashville. In 98-degree weather. I love it. ~ Larry the Cable Guy
[I had never read the book. It became a must under the onus of SCOTUS . . . ]
Anyone who says that money cannot buy happiness has clearly never spent their money on pizza. ~ Andrew W.K.
[A lovely afternoon at Rolling Forks Vineyards up on the hill overlooking Lake Minnewaska . . . ]
Chaos in the midst of chaos isn’t funny, but chaos in the midst of order is. ~ Steve Martin
[The new patio at Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]
There’s nothing wrong with you that an expensive operation can’t prolong. ~ Surgeon (Graham Chapman), Monty Python’s Flying Circus
[Our first venture to Gathered Oaks for outdoor music – with Josie (who will be Dr. Josie in a couple years) . . . ]
Usher: Bride or groom? Wedding guest: It should be perfectly obvious I’m neither! ~ Four Weddings and a Funeral
[Sunday morning breakfasts at the Alexandria Golf Course, a treat all summer . . . ]
Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts. ~ Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. And if you do have to say it, make it really funny so I can screenshot it and save it for later. ~ Sabrina Carpenter
[Good heavens, back on the Theatre L’Homme Dieu patio again . . . ]
It’s funny the way most people love the dead. Once you are dead, you are made for life. ~ Jimi Hendrix
[Tuesday Nightclub at the Garden Bar . . . ]
Yes, I believe blue material is funny, but if that’s all you’ve got, you’re dead in the water. It’s not good. ~ Howard Stern
[Ditto . . . ]
They say Yogi Berra is funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays golf with millionaires. What’s funny about that? ~ Casey Stengel
I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early. ~ Charles Lamb
[Beautiful Anthony Miltich on a beautiful day with beautiful Lake Le Homme Dieu in the background at the beautiful Lure Lakebar patio . . . ]
It’s funny because it’s funny. ~ David Spade
You know you’ve reached middle age when you’re cautioned to slow down by your doctor, instead of by the police. ~ Joan Rivers
[A night, with selfie, at Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]
Trying is the first step toward failure. ~ Homer Simpson
[The Boys of ’65 back in action . . . ]
[Self explanatory, i.e., requires no further introduction . . . ]
This is our table. ~ The Super
[Said Summer Soiree . . . ]
Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money. ~ Jackie Mason
[It’s always nice when the theatre’s board president (backgound) and executive director (with bottle) pour for you . . . ]
I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that! ~ Tom Lehrer
[Be careful waving your number around at an auction!]
If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you. ~ Groucho Marx
[Holding down the fort at the Soiree. Incidentally, soiree is the French word for prepare to spend some money . . . ]
I’ve always found it easier to be funny than to be serious. ~ Molly Ivins
Let me entertain you and we’ll have a really good time. ~ The Super
[The Super is not averse to tracking down the bare-chested guys . . . ]
When humor can be made to alternate with melancholy, one has a success, but when the same things are funny and melancholic at the same time, it’s just wonderful. ~ Francois Truffaut
[Our next Indiana University related road trip. We were going to IU’s summer camp, Camp Brosius, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and had to show we were COVID free . . . ]
Certainly there are things in life that money can’t buy, but it’s very funny – Did you ever try buying them without money? ~ Ogden Nash
[Before entering camp, we like to tour the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin . . . ]
August
The month of August had turned into a griddle where the days just lay there and sizzled. ~ Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees
[Ruthie at Camp Brosius with former Hoosier basketball star John Laskowski . . . ]
Tell me I’m beautiful, it’s nothing. Tell me I’m intellectual – I know it. Tell me I’m funny, and it’s the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me. ~ Julie Newmar
[Our screen porch in Rappaport, our cabin at camp, where one and all met to discuss world events, play cards, hang laundry, and drink adult beverages . . . ]
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on somebody else’s path. ~ Joseph Campbell
[Being of advanced ages, we now rent a golf cart to haul our posteriors up and down from the lodging area to the lake front and dining hall. Otherwise, it’s like 70-something stairs . . . ]
The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed. ~ Eminem
[And yes, it’s a camp – we have field trips!]
I want to live my life, not record it. ~ Jackie Kennedy
[For one night at camp, all kids are taken away and adults enjoy fine dining together in the mess hall . . . ]
Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it. ~ Sai Baba
[This was “Clue,” a self-production by Theatre L’Homme Dieu. It was a hit all week!]
Due to budget cuts the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off. ~ Aaron Paul
Life must be lived as play. ~ Plato
However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. ~ Stephen Hawking
[Alexandria Golf Club, just because. I haven’t played golf since 2015, but I continue to eat here. One must maintain one’s priorities . . . ]
Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. ~ Plato
[A beautiful afternoon with the Cheese Bots at Rolling Forks Vineyards overlooking Lake Minnewaska . . . ]
Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. ~ Bill Vaughan
[The usual suspects cheering on the Cheese Bots . . . ]
Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. ~ Mark Twain
[Tuesday Nightclub – yup, they’re regulars on the schedule . . . ]
September
But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. ~ Stephen King
[Happy Birthday to me. It’s a beautiful day, let’s go for a ride!]
I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. ~ Steven Wright
[In Battle Lake, Minnesota, the setting for Jess Lourey’s Murder-by-Month novels. Here I’m being straddled by Chief Wenonga, the heart throb of the novels’ protagonist . . . ]
Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. ~ Grandma Moses
[The Nonfiction Book Club, accentuated by wining and dining and occasionally wandering off topic . . . ]
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
[Ruthie displays her new Norwegian vimple . . . ]
I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering. ~ Steven Wright
[Celebrating another successful season at Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]
There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. ~ Oscar Wilde
[At Theatre L’Homme Dieu, women hold up three quarters of the sky . . . ]
Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order. ~ David Gerrold
[The Cheese Bots at Rolling Forks Vineyards . . . ]
Life is like a trumpet – if you don’t put anything into it, you don’t get anything out of it. ~ William Christopher Handy
[Tuesday Nightclub joined by Annie O’Flynn on the accordion . . . ]
I’m trying to elevate small talk to medium talk. ~ Larry David
[High school classmate, Tom Kiehne, in town from Austin, Texas, for his induction into the Alexandria Education Foundation Hall of Fame, visits with Anne Riggs, our high school French teacher, at the Garden Bar. And yes, that’s Anne’s husband Bill on the trumpet in the above photo . . . ]
How sweet it is! ~ Jackie Gleason
[And here’s Tom with his Hall of Fame plaque (not to be confused with the plaque that was subsequently removed from my carotid artery) . . . ]
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
[Party on . . . ]
That it will never come again is what makes life sweet. ~ Emily Dickinson
[Tom with his fellow HOF inductees . . . ]
We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can. ~ Will Rogers
If I wasn’t a golfer, I would still be miserable – but not as miserable. ~ Larry David
[When I did golf, when we got to the 9th tee at the AGC I could see Lisa Grimes giving lessons in the practice area. I’d keep her swing tempo in her head and play beyond my abilities for the rest of the round . . . ]
Life’s more amusing than we thought. ~ Andrew Lang
[Hall of Fame inductees lead the homecoming parade . . . ]
Life well spent is long. ~ Leonardo da Vinci
[Tom wanted the whole weekend experience, so we went to the homecoming football game. We left at the half and thus missed Alexandria’s sophomore placekicker, Daniel Jackson, kick a 52-yard field goal, the 3rd longest in state high school history . . . ]
October
The clear light that belongs to October was making the landscape radiant. ~ Florence Bone
[Tom and Pam left for home the morning after the homecoming game . . . ]
I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it. ~ Charles M. Schulz
[Ruthie’s sister Rita in a cool little upgraded room in the Garden Bar . . . ]
I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. ~ Willie Nelson
[Taking Rita to the MSP airport for her trip home. A fresh snowfall highlighted our stop at the Weaver Road rest area before we hit the Twin Cities beltway . . . ]
The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination. ~ Carl Rogers
[After dropping Rita at the airport, the Super and I went to the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul before heading back to Aex . . . ]
Life is like a roller coaster, live it, be happy, enjoy life. ~ Avril Lavigne
[Inside the conservatory . . . ]
I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken. ~ H. Kyle Seale
[Has been reported as wondering about the origins of feather dusters and autoharps . . . ]
If someone else is paying for it, food just tastes a lot better. ~ Gilbert Gottfried
[On the drive home, we’d hoped to nosh at Krewe, a cajun/creole restaurant in St. Joseph. Krewe was not open, but we found Bello Cucina just around the corner . . . ]
I wish I were dumber so I could be more certain about my opinions. It looks fun. ~ Scott Adams
[There used to be several Bello Cucinas in west central Minnesota. This one in St. Joe is the last one standing. The owner said he can’t find chefs or staff to reopen others. I noted there is lots of staff waiting at the southern border. He sadly nodded . . . ]
What’s another word for Thesaurus? ~ Steven Wright
A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere. ~ Groucho Marx
[We were at the winery for the Cropdusters . . . ]
Love means having to say you’re sorry every fifteen minutes. ~ John Lennon
[Unbelievably, it appears we’re at the winery?]
Out with the old, in with the new’ is a fitting expression for a holiday that is based on vomiting. ~ Andy Borowitz
[The Fat Boys Walking Club wandered into a trail tunnel and discovered graffiti has been replaced by “Alexandria” by high school kids . . . ]
New Year’s Resolution: to tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time. ~ James Agate
[The Lure is back in play for the Wednesday Night Fine Dining Club . . . ]
My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I’m right. ~ Ashleigh Brilliant
[After another trip to St. Cloud Hospital we finally hit Krewe when it was open for lunch . . . ]
Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television. ~ David Letterman
[And subsequently brought home goodies from the bakery associated with Krewe . . . ]
There may be aliens in our Milky Way galaxy, and there are billions of other galaxies. The probability is almost certain that there is life somewhere in space. ~ Buzz Aldrin
[A picture perfect late October day . . . ]
I don’t expect to live forever, but I do intend to hang on as long as possible. ~ Isaac Asimov
November
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. ~ Emily Brontë
[The detritus from the Wednesday Night Fine Dining Club sends the proprietors ISO Japanese soccer fans . . . ]
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin
Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise. ~ George Gershwin
[Tuesday Nightclub were joined by Chuck Wencl on saxophone at the Garden Bar . . . ]
Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me. ~ Carl Sandburg
[Coming out of the Lure, as the Super was walking toward our car, I thought “Currier & Ives” Christmas card . . . ]
Art is the proper task of life. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated. ~ Confucius
[American Association of University Women meeting for Project Bookshelf at the Garden Bar . . . ]
Every time something pops in my head, I think twice about it and I do it anyway. ~ Gilbert Gottfried
[It’s great to be back at the Runestone Community Center to cover high school hockey . . . ]
Life is something to do when you can’t get to sleep. ~ Fran Lebowitz
[The 6:00 am Saturday doughnut run come hell or below zero windchills . . . ]
Love conquers all things except poverty and toothache. ~ Mae West
[Elsa Lee performing at the winery . . . ]
I did not climb to the top of the food chain to eat carrots. ~ Ron White
[The beef commercial luncheon special at Charlie’s Cafe in Freeport, Minnesota . . . ]
The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. ~ Helen Hayes
[The usual suspects gather at the winery for an afternoon with Elsa Lee . . . ]
‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving, a Wednesday to be sure; to keep fine dining going, four attended The Lure; we shared firecracker cauliflower, but had our own drinks; we had a good time, as surely me thinks. ~ Me
December
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~ Helen Keller
[First home basketball game of the year; first for me in a couple of years. May as well toss in a blizzard to get there!]
Its too early. I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January. ~ Lucy (Charlie Brown Christmas)
The only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in. ~ Paris Hilton
[There was still danger involved in procuring the Saturday morning doughnuts. I woke the Super for this happy presentation . . . ]
[Another self explanatory . . . ]
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. ~ Pablo Picasso
[A wonderful concert enjoyed by all . . . ]
Life is too short to worry about anything. You had better enjoy it because the next day promises nothing. ~ Eric Davis
May you live all the days of your life. ~ Jonathan Swift
[The Christmas lights on Broadway . . . ]
Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students. ~ Solomon Ortiz
[The season opener for the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra (CLSO) with Maestro Brad Lambrecht presenting his pre-concert maestro’s notes . . . ]
Music is the soundtrack of your life. ~ Dick Clark
[The CLSO . . . ]
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made. ~ Groucho Marx
[Well, hello again to Tuesday Nightclub . . . ]
Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always come around to where you started again. ~ Stephen King
[The day a one inch snow forecast turned into a Christmasy six . . . ]
Simply enjoy life and the great pleasures that come with it. ~ Karolina Kurkova
Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans. ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau
Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. ~ Eddie Cantor
[On the way to St. Cloud Hospital as the sun was rising with the “skyline” of St. Joseph in the distance . . . ]
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. ~ Immanuel Kant
[The exterior temperature was a balmy one degree . . . ]
Life, if well lived, is long enough. ~ Lucius Anneus Seneca
[St. Cloud Hospital is on the banks of the Mississippi River . . . ]
Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things. ~ Kenneth Branagh
[The view from my hospital window. Ruthie spent the night in the lit up building across the street, designed to house families of patients . . . ]
Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act. ~ Truman Capote
[Dr. Ojo and staff at St. Cloud Hospital successfully performed a Carotid Endarterectomy. In recovery, they do ask if you’ve passed gas yet. A rite of passage. Nimoy (live long and prosper) was there to comfort me at home . . . ]
See, life is a journey and every chapter is very interesting. ~ Zeenat Aman
[A book signing at Cherry Street Books with Jess Lourey and Sara Stonach, both Minnesota based authors . . . ]
My life needs editing. ~ Mort Sahl
[This is the first time we met Sarah, and we had a nice chat . . . ]
Enjoy life… that’s what we’re here for. ~ David Faustino
[Jess has been a rather longtime friend now though we actually don’t see her much because she lives in Minneapolis and is quite the world traveler . . . ]
In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves. ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
[With my irregular sleep schedule since the surgery, I awoke very early one morning to find the babies all snuggled together . . . ]
Tonight’s December thirty-first, something is about to burst… Hark, it’s midnight, children dear. Duck! Here comes another year! ~ Ogden Nash
[With four days of snow forecast, it was time to make the first pot of chili of the season . . . ]
In Memoriam
We said our final goodbyes to two original members of the Fat Boys Walking Club . . .
[Paul “Rock” Fieldhammer died in Arizona on March 24 at the age of 79 . . . ]
[Bob “Weakie” Annen died on May 3 at the age of 84 . . . ]
[We said our final goodbyes to Merill Kiehne on July 11 at the age of 101. Merill was the last of the parental units for the Boys of ’65 . . . ]
[Grandson Tom lost his other grandpa, Ed Andrews of Noblesville, Indiana, on October 19 at the age of 86 . . . ]
[The photo above and the three below were taken on a family visit to our home on Lake Darling in 2004 . . . ]
[With Tom’s Grandma Fran at Carlos Creek Winery with Joey Dee and the Starliters . . . ]
[Ed was an avid golfer . . . ]
[Tom got a hug from grandpa on his graduation from Purdue in 2016 . . . ]
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. ~ George Washington Carver
I like reality. It tastes like bread. ~ Jean Anouilh
Well, stuff just keeps happening . . . ~ Me
Aging can be fun if you lay back and enjoy it. ~ Clint Eastwood
Here is bread, which strengthens man’s heart, and therefore is called the staff of Life. ~ Matthew Henry
November 26
Anytime a person goes into a delicatessen and orders a pastrami on white bread, somewhere a Jew dies. ~ Milton Berle
[Four coeds at a kegger in the Grand Hall?]
I judge a restaurant by the bread and by the coffee. ~ Burt Lancaster
[We went to the winery to see Elsa Lee. We were met by throngs of thousands for a Christmas market. We had to park on the field up the hill. Elsa was performing in the Grand Hall where all the crafts and stuff were on display. We settled in with Jeff James in the wine tasting building because there were tables and chairs . . .]
String theory envisions a multiverse in which our universe is one slice of bread in a big cosmic loaf. The other slices would be displaced from ours in some extra dimension of space. ~ Brian Greene
[We wanted to spend to some time with our “close personal friends,” who just happen to span three generations. Elsa Lee on the keyboard in the background is the same age as our grandson . . . ]
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. ~ Nelson Mandela
[And the “perfessor’s” (she is one at Alexandria College) dad is the same age as me . . . ]
The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread. ~ D. H. Lawrence
[I told her I was sending this picture to her dad showing her with 8 glasses of wine. She thought it “the greatest picture ever” (that may be a paraphrase) . . . ]
If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it’s hard to beat bread and butter. ~ Jacques Pepin
[Karin, Deb, and Ruthie reprised their well-choreographed “put bread in his jar and say man what are you doing here” during Jeff’s rendition of Piano Man . . . ]
A slutty girl is like the first piece of bread in a loaf, everybody touches it but nobody wants it. ~ Proverbs
My grandmother told me that her father used to ask her a riddle: What must you break apart in order to bring a family close together? Bread, of course. ~ Jodi Picoult
Let me warn you, if you start chasing after views, you’ll be left without bread and without views. ~ Nikolai Gogol
If the poor overweight jogger only knew how far he had to run to work off the calories in a crust of bread he might find it better in terms of pound per mile to go to a massage parlor. ~ Christiaan Barnard
Of course cake is not bread. Is this why Americans are fat? You confuse cake with bread? ~ Steve Adams
It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it. ~ M.F.K. Fisher
Life is not worth living if I cannot have pasta or bread again. ~ Monica Seles
With the bread eaten, the company breaks up. ~ Miguel de Cervantes
November 30
There is not a woman born who desires to eat the bread of dependence. ~ Susan B. Anthony
[The Super’s Christmas decor . . . ]
Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf. ~ G. K. Chesterton
[What fell out of my mouth costs more than all the TV’s in our house combined – as did, almost, putting it back in . . . ]
I try to eat healthily, but I love fried food and bad things. Give me a plate of bread, some oil and salt and I’m happy. But you can’t eat like this all the time. ~ Penelope Cruz
[Stopped at Cherry Street Books. This is the construction across the street – where the city fire occurred. Felt sorry for the guys working on the roof – 40 mph winds with a feels like temperature well below zero that day . . . ]
Breaking bread together is an opportunity for nourishment on so many levels. ~ Jen Schmidt
[Finally weary of Thanksgiving leftovers, the Wednesday night fine dining group regrouped at The Lure in awesome numbers . . . ]
If though tastest a crust of bread, tho tastest all the stars and all the heavens. ~ Robert Browning
If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him – the people who give you their food give you their heart. ~ Cesar Chavez
Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights. One that is both soul-satisfying and eternal. ~ Julia Child
The whole barrier exists because most people never come together and sit down at a table… join together, break bread together, and celebrate their differences and their likenesses. ~ Oprah Winfrey
It’s sort of like a tribe, a group of friends you see all the time. You travel with them, you break bread with them,.. You’re part of a family in a sense. That’s what surfing is or it used to be. It’s become a bigger family now that everybody is so interested. ~ Art Brewer
You are who you go to lunch with! Break bread with cool and you will become more cool. Conversely: break bread with dull and well, you can figure it out. ~ Tom Peters
I like L.A. It’s like a mini break. For a writer, it’s hilarious. Like the food. Where I come from, we eat chip sandwiches: white bread, butter, tomato catsup and big fat french fries. It’s delicious. Here, you order a creme caramel and the waiter says, ‘You know, that contains dairy.” ~ Helen Fielding
My mother missed having dinner with Lyndon Johnson because she couldn’t find the right hat to wear. While my father went off to the White House to break bread with the President, my mother, who’s not a things and stuff person, stayed at the hotel and tried on 10 different hats and missed dinner. ~ Emilio Estevez
December 2
People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned. ~ James Baldwin
[The season opener for the Cardinal boys basketball team . . . ]
I cast my bread on the waters long ago. Now it’s time for you to send it back to me – toasted and buttered on both sides. ~ Jesse Jackson
[Just lovely to attend in a blizzard . . . ]
I eat whatever I want. I like bread and cheese and wine, and that makes my life fun and enjoyable. ~ Gwyneth Paltrow
[As “Weakie” would say, our Cardinals were taking on one of those dreaded private schools from the Twin Cities metro area – the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights, ranked 5th in the state . . . ]
In the garden of our house, when I was three. My brothers and I had a jumping wall. I remember it as enormously high, but it was probably only about a foot and a half. ~ Juliet Stevenson
[The JV team (halftime score here) will also be fun to watch all year. With no height, they’re all between 5’11” and 6’1″ (the same heights as the varsity team in 1965, although I think a few on the current team can dunk), they had no problem beating Benilde-St. Margaret’s. They’re all good athletes who move the ball and shoot well. Of the freshmen, particularly impressed with varsity coach Forest Witt’s two sons, assistant football coach Russ Hinrich’s gangly 6-foot son Thomas (who looks like he can dunk now or will soon), and 6’1″ Myles Gray who looks and plays like he’s a senior.. . . ]
The only exercise I excel at is jumping to conclusions. ~ James Nathan Miller
[Action in the JV game . . . ]
We journalists tell the public which way the cat is jumping. The public will take care of the cat. ~ Arhtur Hays Sulzberger
I try to squeeze in a workout whenever I can, even if it’s doing squats with my 7-month-old in the kitchen or jumping on the trampoline with my 5-year-old. ~ Jennie Finch
[Lefty Mason again . . . ]
Oh I’ve done bungee jumping. Skydiving, I have motorcycles that I ride. I’m a little bit of an adrenaline junkie in that way. ~ Zachary Levi
[Junior Walker Hennen (25), 6′, running back on the football team . . . ]
I’m an adrenaline guy. I like to do stuff that gets my blood pumping, like roller coasters or jumping out of planes. I’m into all that crazy stuff. ~ Ja Rule
[Thomas Hinrichs (42), 6′ freshman, whose dad among other things is an assistant football coach and ran for a state elective office a few years ago . . . ]
I don’t want to be 70 years old jumping around onstage. ~ Alex Lifeson
[Myles Gray, 6’1″ freshman . . . ]
The word ‘aerobics’ came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it Jumping up and down. ~ Rita Rudner
[Notorious fans in the stands . . . ]
I had a lot of energy, and my mom decided to look for a place where I can spend the energy, because I was jumping on the couch and furniture, and I was jumping on the top of the things in the house. ~ Nadia Comaneci
[Back to young Mr. Hinrichs . . . ]
Jumping isn’t as important to my training as you might think; I’m only in the sandpit once a week. There’s a high risk factor of injury doing it, so instead, I rely on my progress in the gym to judge how far I’ll jump on the big day. ~ Greg Rutherford
[Deep bench, shuffling players in and out is a plus . . . ]
I love doing air squats or jump squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, burpees, crunches – all the basic stuff, but it’s all you need to do to keep it toned. ~ Candace Cameron Bure
[The gap closed a bit before the final score. An overall impressive win for the JV’s . . . ]
Fact about me – I love jumping over/into things. ~ Josh Gondelman
[The varsity took the floor. Chase Thompson (3), a 6’7″ sophomore (grew 3 inches since last year), likely will be the Cards leading scorer this year – has a terrific 3-point shooting touch . . . ]
I broke my left arm when I was 8, at a friend’s house, when we were jumping off a balcony and throwing down dunks. ~ Josh Rosen
[The captains’ meeting at center court . . . ]
Not everyone wants to go to school. Some guys might be blessed with being 6’10 and running and jumping better than anybody, so they want to be a professional athlete. There’s nothing wrong with that. ~ LaVar Ball
[The pre-game shoot around. As you can see, they moved we old people to the north side of the gym. In previous years, the students sat here but since this section is directly across the floor from the visitors’ bench, they thought that not a good idea any longer (what if the old people get rowdy?) . . . ]
I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway. ~ Taylor Swift
[I suspect this is one of few times all year that 6’9″ junior Grayson Grove (2) will be challenged on the opening jump ball . . . ]
Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down. ~ Ray Bradbury
[Number 11 for the Red Knights (far left) is allegedly on the Gopher’s watch list. I think he’s only a sophomore by has the size, quickness, ball handling, and shooting skills (both medium and 3) to be a terrific point guard . . . ]
Ski jumping is just 10 per cent physical, 90 per cent mental. Some people can’t do that. It’s not just to do with the fear at the top. It takes a lot of guts to go off the top, but it takes 100 times more courage to jump off the end. ~ Eddie the Eagle
Bo Schembechler was the best after-dinner speaker I ever heard. He’d even have the old boys in the back of the room snorting and jumping up and down. ~ Keith Jackson
I was a tomboy who liked to play rough just like my two older brothers. That’s probably why I liked the athletic part of skating – especially the jumping! ~ Nancy Kerrigan
I love jumping. I have always loved jumping. I love watching jumps. I love doing jumps. ~ Nathan Chen
Trying to take money out of politics is like trying to take jumping out of basketball. ~ Bill Bradley
[Senior Jaxon Schoenrock (4) inbounding was also a receiver on the football team, and Chase (cutting here) was the quarterback . . . ]
I’m an athlete. Anything that involves running or jumping I’ve always been excited about, so basketball was exciting. ~ Pascal Siakam
[Grayson shooting (and making) freebies . . . ]
As a big man you may struggle to get much height when jumping for a ball – but by training with your defender team-mates you can develop a technique for making strong challenges in the air, making defenders uncomfortable and work on taking the ball down. ~ Adebayo Akinfenwa
[Jaxon shooting . . . ]
I have really good legs for jumping. I have terrible ankles for landing. I wasn’t as good fundamentally as John Stockton or Steve Nash, so I had to play like an athlete, in the air all the time, coming down in vulnerable positions. ~ Rex Chapman
[Junior Dawson Roderick (35), likely two years ago star Colton’s brother, good all-around game . . . ]
I’m someone who really thinks the game through, who has an IQ about the game, who studies the game, who knows a lot more than just running and jumping. ~ Grayson Allen
[Chase shooting . . . ]
I’m not limited to running or jumping or catching footballs. ~ Marquise Goodwin
[Dawson at the line . . . ]
When I was five-years-old I was jumping off two-story buildings. ~ Garrett McNamara
I always like jumping spiders. They’re just so darn cute. ~ Cheryl Hayashi
[Chase up with a left-handed layup . . . ]
I could always see as a kid that I was good at short sprints, running, throwing things far, jumping… anything that required a burst of power. ~ Chris Hoy
[Terrific first half, well played by both teams . . . ]
When I’m not working, as a family we are obsessed with jumping off rocks into the sea and doing dangerous things. ~ Nicola Walker (One of my all-time favorite actors, but I’m not going to jump off rocks with her!)
[Chase pulling a “Grayson” by going up for the block . . . ]
My husband says I’m a grumpy lioness. ~ Nicola Walker (Just because she is who she is . . . )
[Finishing with Grayson at the free throw, from which he is excellent . . . ]
My claim to fame has always been that iconic picture that ended up in ‘The San Francisco Chronicle’ of Bill Russell jumping over my head. ~ Johnny Mathis
[Final score – first thought, if the Cards had shot free throws as efficiently as the Red Knights, they could have won, but it still bodes well for the future . . . ]
December 3
Men are my bread and butter. It’s what I live for! I have no shame about that. ~ Fiona Apple (a discerning woman)
[By household law, the Saturday morning doughnut run. The feels like temperature was minus 17 . . . ]
It’s more fun to be playing hockey than doing anything else. ~ Connor McDavid
[Up next was the first Cardinal boys hockey home game vs. Orono . . . ]
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. ~ Warren Buffet
[The Anthem line up . . . ]
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ ~ Muhammad Ali
[The opening tip-off . . . ]
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. ~ Jimmy Dean
[The only highlight of the day – Orono scored on their first shot; the Cardinals did likewise. Both the Alex JV and varsity were in a little over their heads against the Spartans . . .
Swimming is a confusing sport, because sometimes you do it for fun, and other times you do it to not die. And when I’m swimming, sometimes I’m not sure which one it is. ~ Demetri Martin
[Basketball Cardinal Grayson Grove (the tall one) and friends were at the game. But I noticed they, like me, left after the 1st period when it appeared the outcome was not in doubt . . . ]
Whoever is happy will make others happy too. ~ Anne Frank
[Before this festivity that evening, we joined the Trumms for more fine dining at D. Michael B’s . . . ]
I’m doing exactly what I want to do, and I’m having fun doing it. ~ David Johansen
[The attending audience thoroughly enjoyed their performance. And I finally recognized (wrongly) the bass player, Jeff Engholm, as a member of the Fabulous Armadillos – instead of Collective Unconscious . . . ]
As a director, there is nothing more fun than seeing an audience screaming and jumping. You are the ultimate puppet master, controlling the emotions of the audience. ~ Fede Alvarez
Astronomy’s much more fun when you’re not an astronomer. ~ Brian May
Take life on life’s terms – one day at a time. And have fun while you’re doing it. ~ Joe Perry
In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard. ~ Billy Joel
Christmas is always the most fun. I start looking forward to Christmas before it’s even summertime. ~ Mariah Carey
[At long last, the Christmas lights on Broadway on the drive home . . . ]
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~ Confucius
December 4
As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both. ~ Bono
If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s gathering people together to do something fun. ~ David Grohl
[Clint is the brother of CLSO violinist Lesley Donahue . . . ]
I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun. ~ Thomas A. Edison
[The Maestro with the Maestro’s notes . . . ]
The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental. ~ Ken Kesey
Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party. ~ Jimmy Buffett
Most of the time I don’t have much fun. The rest of the time I don’t have any fun at all. ~ Woody Allen
If you have fun and keep a good attitude, people want to work with you. ~ James Marsden
The fun for me in collaboration is, one, working with other people just makes you smarter; that’s proven. ~ Lin-Manuel Miranda
Fun can happen on the interior. Nobody knows about it, but there are fireworks going on inside your spirit when you hear a great orchestra playing great music. ~ David Ogden Stiers
[Violinists Lesley and Greg Donahue appear on the far left side and have a close family relationship with the special bass soloist . . . ]
At the end of the day, if I can say I had fun, it was a good day. ~ Simone Biles
[Admitted recording the Vikings game while at the concert . . . ]
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. ~ Dr. Seuss
[After the concert, all matriculated to the atrium where great cheers were arising from participants in a boys basketball event cheering on the Vikings . . . ]
Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. ~ Mark Twain
Don’t ever become a pessimist… a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events. ~ Robert A. Heinlein
Poop humor is fun. If you do the toilet scenes well and commit to them, they can be really, really powerful. ~ Sandra Bullock
Up Next: Likely a slight hiatus while I have an overhaul of my right carotid artery. Andy Borowitz has graciously offered to fill in during my absence . . .
Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “practice”? ~ George Carlin
Another trip to St. Cloud Hospital this morning to see all my new close personal friends. Turns out all their old scalpels were dull and rusty so they’ve received a new batch and want to try them out on me a couple times. Seems my right carotid artery is blocked to such an extent that I may have a reason for not remembering anybody’s name. So that surgery will take place as soon as they let me know. It will take a couple of hours, a stay in the hospital, and then a few more weeks before they can do the heart triple bypass. In other words, I will be the first patient in modern (or even classical) medical history to have two major operations for absolutely no symptoms. Let this be a lesson to you – if you’re feeling OK, go to the emergency room as soon as you can!
My doctor is wonderful. Once, in 1955, when I couldn’t afford an operation, he touched up the X-rays. ~ Joey Bishop
On the way home we stopped at Charlie’s Cafe in Freeport (I’m the only person from Alexandria who’d never eaten there before). As luck would have it the luncheon special was the beef commercial – another really good chance to clog up some more arteries!
A psychiatrist asks a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing. ~ Joey Adams
[At the Cardiac Center in the St. Cloud Hospital . . . ]
I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places. ~ Henny Youngman
[And yes, the sculptor is Jane Seymour, the actor . . . ]
It’s kinda scary when a doctor asks your price range. ~ Tom Wilson
A doctor can bury his mistakes. but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
First, the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me. ~ Steve Martin
I’m not feeling very well – I need a doctor immediately. Ring the nearest golf course. ~ Groucho Marx
[Oh boy, we split the special and it was still plenty!]
I become faint and nauseous during even very minor medical procedures, such as making an appointment by phone. ~ Dave Barry
I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor’s office was full of portraits by Picasso. ~ Rita Rudner
[Put on a happy face . . . ]
Y O U R F L Y I S O P E N would be a fun chart for an eye doctor. ~ Greg Tamblyn
[Arriving back home to discover the city’s Christmas decorations had been “erected” the previous day . . . ]
After twelve years of therapy, my psychiatrist said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said: “No hablo inglés.” ~ Ronnie Shakes
General anesthesia is so weird. You go to sleep in one room, then wake up four hours later in a totally different room. Just like in college. ~ Ross Shafer
[Unperturbed by the morning’s events, there was a girls hockey game that night! The girls JV had another big win vs. the Brainerd-Little Falls Warriors . . . ]
The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter – he’s got to just know. ~ Will Rogers
[The first game for the pep band . . . ]
A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running. ~ Groucho Marx
[This is the hockey equivalent of playing catch . . . ]
According to hospital insurance codes, there are 9 different ways you can be injured by turtles. ~ Wall Street Journal
According to hospital insurance codes, there are 3 different ways you can be injured by a lamppost. ~ Wall Street Journal
[This is sophomore Julia Doherty (7) . . . ]
Is there a medical rule that requires doctors’-office personnel to treat you as though you have the IQ of a Cheeto? ~ Dave Barry
[Cardinal captains junior Kylie Lattimer (11) and Lauren Maras (9) meet the refs and the Warriors . . . ]
Minor surgery is an operation performed on somebody else. ~ Anonymous
[Freshman speedster Lillian Dutton (26) at this end of the line . . . ]
Why do they call it proctology? Is it because analogy was already taken? ~ Aristotles @AristotlesNZ
[Pre-game player introductions beginning with sophomore goalie Rachael Mohr (30) . . . ]
If I had taken my doctor’s advice and quit smoking [cigars] when he advised me to, I wouldn’t have lived to go to his funeral. ~ George Burns
[Joined by sophomore defense Emma Ramstorf (10) . . . ]
After a year in therapy my psychiatrist said to me, ‘Maybe life isn’t for everyone’. ~ Larry Brown
[Then senior defense Aubrey Porter (23) and sophomore Morgan Aure (17) . . . ]
She got her looks from her father: He’s a plastic surgeon. ~ Groucho Marx.
[Then sophomore Alena Maras (2) joins in . . . ]
Whiskey is by far the most popular of all remedies that won’t cure a cold. ~ Jerry Vale
[And finally senior Lauren Maras (9) . . . ]
The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet, and the cause and prevention of disease. ~ Thomas Edison
[And we’re off and skating . . . ]
When I was born I was so ugly the doctor slapped my mother. ~ Rodney Dangerfield
[This figured to be another close low scoring game. It was . . . ]
My doctor told me I shouldn’t work out until I’m in better shape. I told him, ‘All right; don’t send me a bill until I pay you.’ ~ Steven Wright
[Lauren on the faceoff to start period 2 . . . ]
The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: It’s a girl. ~ Shirley Chisholm
[And now Lillian on the draw . . . ]
[Julia Doherty (7) battles along the boards . . . ]
My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already. ~ Milton Berle
[Julia ulimately scored unassisted for the first goal of the game . . . ]
Your face tells a story and it shouldn’t be a story about your drive to the doctor’s office. ~ Julia Roberts
My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother. ~ Wilma Rudloph
[Lauren once again appearing all over the ice . . . ]
I recently went to a new doctor and noticed he was located in something called the Professional Building. I felt better right away. ~ George Carlin
[Starting to look like some previous games with the Cards winning the shots-on-goal game but losing the shots-in-goal game . . . ]
When a man goes through six years training to be a doctor he will never be the same. He knows too much. ~ Enid Bagnold
[Emma Ramstorf (10) scored to pull the Cardinals within one . . . ]
My eldest sister Beth is a doctor who studied at Harvard and Columbia and played basketball for Harvard. She set the athletic and academic standard for the rest of us to follow. ~ Amy Wambach
[Then junior Sophia Korynta (22) scored to tie the game . . . ]
Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm. ~ Hippocrates
I mean some doctor told me I had six months to live and I went to their funeral. ~ Keith Richards
Time is generally the best doctor. ~ Ovid
[Tie game at the end of regulation. I’ll note the Cards lost sophomore Kennedy Ellingson in the previous game to a broken collar bone, but two players from the swim team are now playing, and the team is hoping for the return of senior Ella Westlund in the near future . . . ]
I wasn’t into sports when I was younger. I was one of those kids who always tried to get a note from the doctor to say I had a cold so I didn’t have to go play hockey in bad weather and be miserable. ~ Eliza Doolittle
[The beginning of the 8-minute overtime period . . . ]
The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman. ~ Jonathan Swift
[These two teams will always be battling for supremacy in this section . . . ]
November 23
Twas the night before Thanksgiving, a Wednesday to be sure; to keep fine dining going, four attended The Lure; we shared firecracker cauliflower, but had our own drinks; we had a good time, as surely me thinks . . .
When we are sick, we want an uncommon doctor; when we have a construction job to do, we want an uncommon engineer, and when we are at war, we want an uncommon general. It is only when we get into politics that we are satisfied with the common man. ~ Herbert Hoover
The patient is not likely to recover who makes the doctor his heir. ~ Thomas Fuller
Saturday we got an email from friends that Elsa Lee would be at the winery that afternoon. That was nice to hear – we did not have a scheduling conflict so were delighted to appear for one of our favorite performers . . .
Remember: Always walk in the light. And if you feel like you’re not walking in it, go find it. Love the light. ~ Roberta Flack
[I had concerns about backlit photographs . . . ]
Music makes one feel so romantic – at least it always gets on one’s nerves – which is the same thing nowadays. ~ Oscar Wilde
[But those backlighting windows really added an artsy touch . . . ]
My music is my expression of what I feel in a moment. ~ Roberta Flack
[We have made light of John’s (on the left) continuing request for Elsa to learn some Roberta Flack songs. Some day, perhaps. Elsa already has a fabulous repertoire of songs from our era . . .]
Walking in the dark, seeing lovers do their thing. That’s the time, I feel like making love to you. ~ Roberta Flack
Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words, killing me softly with his song. ~ Roberta Flack
I couldn’t believe Clint Eastwood was calling me (re: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face). I almost passed out! ~ Roberta Flack
It was unexpected and breathtaking. The transition from my life in Washington as a teacher into this kind of attention was surreal. ~ Roberta Flack
I didn’t try to be a soul singer, a jazz singer, a blues singer – no category. ~ Roberta Flack
I hope that one day we will be seen for the people we are, not for our race, gender, age or nationality. ~ Roberta Flack
I sang it about soldiers, then, later, about gay men. It touches me deeply every time. I used to perform this song at Mr Henry’s and people would be totally silent. I knew it moved them. ~ Roberta Flack
The first time ever I saw your face I thought the sun rose in your eyes. ~ Roberta Flack
Aging can be fun if you lay back and enjoy it. ~ Clint Eastwood
[All 75+ and still kickin’ it!!]
I didn’t want to let women down. One of the stereotypes I see breaking is the idea of aging and older women not being beautiful. ~ Annie Leibovitz
[Are released on their own recognizance for a couple hours every other Sunday. During such time, they must not attempt casting fraudulent votes, attend any religious services contrary to their beliefs, and never drink white wine with fontina cheese . . . ]
November 20
Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre. ~ Gail Godwin
A high school production that came under assault by the local morality police. Fortunately each of the four performances drew wonderful crowds. I’d like to express my appreciation to the local denizens for doing such. And as usual the kids did not disappoint – they were terrific! ~ Me
There’s no real theatre without taking risks. ~ Haris Pasovic
A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it. ~
Alfred Hitchcock
Theatre is immediate gratification. ~ Chita Rivera
You need three things in the theatre – the play, the actors and the audience, and each must give something. ~ Kenneth Haigh
The theatre, when all is said and done, is not life in miniature, but life enormously magnified, life hideously exaggerated. ~ H. L. Mencken
All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That’s what makes theatre live. That’s why it persists. ~ Stephen Sondheim
The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. ~ Stella Adler
Make them laugh, make them cry, and hack to laughter. What do people go to the theatre for? An emotional exercise. I am a servant of the people. I have never forgotten that. ~ Mary Pickford
Primarily, I am a prose writer with axes to grind, and the theatre is a good place to do the grinding in. I prefer comedy to ‘serious’ drama because I believe one can get the ax sharper on the comedic stone. ~ Gore Vidal
I want my audience to be constantly captivated, bewitched, so that it leaves the theatre dazed, stunned to be back on the pavement. ~ Francois Truffaut
I have the terrible feeling that, because I am wearing a white beard and am sitting in the back of the theatre, you expect me to tell you the truth about something. These are the cheap seats, not Mount Sinai. ~ Orson Welles
There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn’t give a damn what goes on in between. ~ Thomas Beecham
[A major selling point for the production was how well the orchestra, down in this pit, synced with the acting, singing, and dancing on stage. Amazing.]
I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged. ~ Peter Brook
[What was apparently the crowd size for each performance . . . ]
Free speech means the right to shout ‘theatre’ in a crowded fire. ~ Abbie Hoffman
For the theatre one needs long arms… an artiste with short arms can never make a fine gesture. ~ Sarah Berhhardt
Rock ‘n’ roll will never die. There’ll always be some arrogant little brat who wants to make music with a guitar. ~ Dave Edmunds
The musician is perhaps the most modest of animals, but he is also the proudest. It is he who invented the sublime art of ruining poetry. ~ Erik Satie
Up Next: Looks like girls hockey as we head into Thanksgiving . . .
School is a lot like toilet paper. You only miss it when it’s gone. ~ Unknown
Game 3 of the Cardinals girls hockey 2022-23 season. The Cards were hosting the Roseau Rams, a traditional hockey power that somehow is just inside Minnesota on the Canadian border. In the time since these teams moved up to class AA, the big school class (Alex because of size, Roseau to not always having to compete in the same single A class as neighboring Warroad), they have had very competitive games. On this night it would be no different . . .
Private schools have diversity, mum. There are millionaires, billionaires. ~ Tom Leopold
Getting to know your Cardinals . . .
There are three good reasons to be a teacher – June, July and August. ~ Unknown
[A highlight of this evening was running into some old hockey friends. After missing a couple of COVID years, I had lost contact with the hockey community. But Abby Williams (middle) dropped by for a chat with the first of her two daughters. The photo below was taken in 2010, the subjects were all stars on the 2008 state championship team: Kat DelZoppo (left) and Abby formed two-thirds of “the best line in the state” and Danielle Justice (right) was the star goalie. I also learned from fans that senior Ella Westlund, injured in the state soccer tournament, hopes to be playing in a couple weeks; and two swimmers from the state tournament will be changing into skates soon as regular shift defensemen . . . ]
My dad could always find the bright side. Whenever I brought my report card home from school, he’d say, “Well, at least I know you didn’t cheat.” ~ Greg Tamblyn
[And because I had no place else to stick it (“I heard that”), here’s the “Alexandria” trail tunnel under Nokomis Street where the Fat Boys walk. I believe high school students did this to cover graffiti . . . ]
His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy. ~ Woody Allen
[Cub Reporter on the job at the Runestone Community Center (RCC), a/k/a, the hockey rink . . . ]
In California, some high schools are requiring students to wear uniforms. They say uniforms create a safe, stable environment. Like the post office. ~ Jay Leno
[Heights and weights for the players are generically 5’3″, 120 pounds . . . ]
[I arrived in time to see the final period of the JV game . . . ]
[Player down in aisle 3!]
[Junior Kaija Niblett (39) . . . ]
[The bench skate by and fist bump . . . ]
[Following a Cardinal goal . . . ]
[Room with a view . . . ]
[Yay! We won!]
My kid drives me nuts. For three years now he goes to a private school. He won’t tell me where it is. ~ Rodney Dangerfield
[The scoreboard says they did good . . . ]
I never did very well in math—I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn’t meant my answers literally. ~ Calvin Trillin
[The captains/refs meeting prior to the varsity game. Card captains are junior Kylie Latimer (11) and senior Lauren Maras (9) . . . ]
To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. ~ A. A. Milne
[The starters have been introduced (see roster) and the rest of the team are joining them . . . ]
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week. ~ Evan Esar
[The national anthem – current instructions call for placing your hand over your heart. I’ve been standing for the anthem for 70 years – this hand over the heart thing is a recent addition that I, as a veteran, choose not to follow . . . ]
[The white uniform version of “The Long Gray Line” . . . ]
[Middle of photo with hat – the father of the aforementioned 2008 state champion goalie . . . ]
Take your risks now. As you grow older, you become more fearful and less flexible. And I mean that literally. I hurt my knee this week on the treadmill, and it wasn’t even on. ~ Amy Poehler
[And play begins . . . ]
Be so good they can’t ignore you. ~ Steve Martin
[Up close and personal with Lauren Maras in the background . . . ]
[Lauren faces off . . . ]
[Freshman Lillian Dutton (26) does the same . . . ]
Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good. ~ Malcolm Gladwell
I have never been jealous. Not even when my dad finished fifth grade a year before I did. ~ Jeff Foxworthy
Education is when you read the find print; experience is what you get when you don’t. ~ Pete Seeger
[A legacy: Sophomore Julia Doherty (7) wearing her older sister Anna’s number . . . ]
[Another legacy: Sophomore Morgan Aure (17) wearing her older sister MaKenna’s number . . . ]
I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book. ~ Groucho Marx
The United States of America has more monolingual experts on bilingual education than any other country in the world. ~ Roberto Bahruth
[Ms. Doherty again . . . ]
[Cards trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone . . . ]
We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk, and the next twelve years telling them to sit down and shut up. ~ Phyllis Diller
Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup? ~ John Mendosa
The advantage of a classical education is that it enables you to despise the wealth that it prevents you from achieving. ~ Russell Green
[Fun, speedy game so far with the Cards holding a shot advantahe after two periods . . . ]
[But it all depends on the bounce of the puck! The Cards lost the game and are now 1 – 3 to start the season. But they have played three very good teams, outshot them all, and have held them all to under 15 shots per game. It holds them in good stead as the season rolls on . . . ]
Catch you next time! ~ Kat and Abby
Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only that the cat died nobly. ~ Arnold Edinborough
The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. ~ Steven Wright
In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter, we are alive. ~ Stephen Leacock
And so it’s begun. The winter sports season. Alex girls hockey hosted the Trojans from Wayzata. If you’re unfamiliar with Wayzata, its a Twin Cities suburban high school whose campus dwarfs those of many major universities. Last year the Trojans were the host team and handled our Cards, 5 – 1. This year the game went down to the final 7.6 seconds when the Trojans took advantage of a Cardinal siege on their goal to get a breakaway goal for a 3 – 2 victory. Very entertaining game between two evenly-matched teams, with the Cards holding a 25 – 17 edge in shots-on-goal. We look forward to a fun season with a schedule loaded with teams that would give the Wild pause . . .
Hockey belongs to the Cartoon Network, where a person can be pancaked by an ACME anvil, then expanded – accordion-style – back to full stature, without any lasting side effect. ~ Steve Rushin
Getting to know your Cardinals . . .
[This is senior Lauren Maras (9). She’s a team captain who at the team captains/referees meeting at center ice before the start of the game stood a head shorter than the others. Nevertheless, she has been a player of substance since her freshman year (I remember the boys-on-the-rail talking about her when she was in middle school) and was a key contributor in our state tournament run two years ago. As this was a close, highly-contested game throughout, it seemed like she was on the ice for every other shift in the final period . . . ]
People don’t know how fantastic women’s ice hockey is. People don’t know how fantastic hockey is in general. ~ Hilary Knight
[Classmate fans . . . ]
[The goalie cheer since . . . forever!]
Long intros are cool because there’s a little bit of anticipation, you know? ~ Miranda Lambert
[The 2022-23 Alexandria Cardinals girls hockey team . . . ]
In any other context, ‘icing’ is a great and exciting word: The proverbial icing on the cake, for instance, is a bonus – a wonderful thing on top of another wonderful thing. But in hockey, icing merely results in the referee’s raising his right hand, as if swearing an oath to the deity of downtime. ~ Steve Rushin
[A jersey number was missing in this line up. Senior Ella Westland, Number 19, a key member of this team was hurt in the state tournement soccer game a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea what her prognosis is but hope she is able to play soon . . . ]
[The team discussion concerning post game dining . . . ]
[The student fans attempt to listen in . . . ]
Whenever we skated my dad would not let us on the ice without hockey sticks, because of this insane fear we would become figure skaters! ~ Norm MacDonald
[It’s decided then – Papa Murphy’s Pizza!]
Field hockey is my strongest sport, and if I lose a game, I take a long, hot bath and moan about it. ~ Emma Watson
[The opening face-off, involving the aforementioned Lauren Maras (9) at center . . . ]
[And away we go!]
[Less than two minutes in, the Cards lit the lamp . . . ]
[A goal by sophomore Julia Doherty (7), a legacy whose older sister Anna (also No. 7) was a past Cardinal star . . . ]
[Proof it took less than two minutes to score . . . ]
[Two more future stars, sophomores Morgan Aure (17), same number once worn by her older sister MaKenna (now playing for Wisconsin-River Falls as is last year’s Cardinal goalie Jordan O’Kane), and Emma Ramstorf (10), who also saw plenty of ice time last year as a freshman . . . ]
You watch a hockey game, and the hand-eye coordination and the speed is really miraculous; how those [girls] track the puck alone, just following it with their eyes. ~ Liev Schreiber
[Face-off in the Cardinals’ zone . . . ]
[After the 1st period, the Cardinal were looking good . . . ]
I am addicted to hockey now. I’ve seen it on TV, but to be there? I had no idea that white people were having so much fun without me. ~ J. B. Smoove
[Ms. Maras charges after the 2nd period face-off . . . ]
[Cardinals in the offensive zone with sophomore forward Tayler Treat (8) and sophomore Kennedy Ellingson (3) . . . ]
To me, a hockey player has to be every sport rolled into one: ice skater, baseball player, football player, etc. It’s just incredible to watch! ~ Vinnie Paul
[Offensive zone face-off with junior Sophia Korynta (22) and sophomore Cadence Ellingson (14) . . . ]
[Again with Morgan Aure (17). She seems pretty speedy. Coach Arola once described her sister MaKenna as having insane speed . . . ]
I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play hockey, especially when there weren’t equal opportunities as there are now. But at times, it was challenging. ~ Hilary Knight
[Lauren Maras readies for an offensive zone face-off . . . ]
Hockey should have some appeal. It’s a good game in that is full of action, very quick, and it can be high-scoring. ~ Casey Eastham
To win the game is great. To play the game is greater. To love the game is greatest of all. ~ Bob O’Connor
Women are playing [hockey] because they love it, not because they’re trying to be a woman in a man’s game. ~ Cammi Granato
People would say, ‘Girls don’t play hockey. Girls don’t skate.’ I would say, ‘Watch this’. ~ Hayley Wickenheiser
[This was the period the Cards let the game get away from them with bad penalties. Once they killed off a power play only to take another penalty immediately after. Twice they had power plays but then took penalties to negate those player advantages . . . ]
So that’s why I played pro men’s hockey, that’s why I played softball and hockey at the same time, that’s why I’m not afraid to speak up – that’s just who I am. ~ Hayley Wickenheiser
[But to start the 3rd period, like the 1st period, the Cards scored early on to tie the game at 2 . . . ]
[The first varsity goal for Morgan Aure (17) . . . ]
This is your moment. You’re meant to be here. ~ Herb Brooks
[Just a bad break. Looking forward to the rest of the season. The Cards are a fun team to watch, still with a lot of youth. Two freshmen played regular shifts and showed well: Jersey Severson (21) and Lillian Dutton (26). Next up long-time rival Fergus Falls who have won their first two games by a combined score of 19 – 1 . . . ]
The most important thing you learn as a sports photographer is anticipation – not where the action is taking place, but where it’s going to take place. Not where the subject is now, but where they’re going to be. ~ Lawrence Schiller
An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing. ~ Samuel Smiles
Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity. ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
[This is Krewe, the restaurant in St. Joseph, that we somehow didn’t find open in three separate visits in one week . . . ]
Still, he thought, it’s an adult’s body we got here, no question about that. There’s the pot belly that comes with a few too many good steaks, a few too many bottles of Kirin beer, a few too many poolside lunches where you had the Reuben or the French dip instead of the diet plate. ~ Stephen King
October 17
Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want. ~ Gael Greene
[Every other Monday we go to a Community Ed movie. After the movie we have a discussion and then go to dinner at Longtrees. On this day, Ruthie & I ate lightly – I had the meatloaf dinner (on the left) and Ruthie had the carnivore special, ribs and chicken (on the right), which yielded one more meal for me and three more meals for her . . . ]
October 18
Wait. Why am I thinking about Krispy Kremes? We’re supposed to be exercising. ~ Meg Cabot
[Ruthie had to take her car to St. Cloud for servicing. I went along so we could have lunch at Krewe in St. Joseph. Well, guess what? Krewe is closed on Tuesdays? So, here we are again at Bello Cucina, just around the corner from Krewe . . . ]
I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them. ~ Nora Ephron
[The day’s special was a pasta buffet – with a deal on Bloody Marys . . . ]
Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner. ~ Sophia Loren
I love you like a fat kid loves cake! ~ Scott Adams
Humor keeps us alive. Humor and food. Don’t forget food. You can go a week without laughing. ~ Joss Whedon
[Church of St. Joseph viewed through the window . . . ]
What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow. ~ A.A. Milne
[A smile on the way home from the Freeport water tower
October 19
[The first layer of ice appears on Lake H2Obert . . . ]
Bachelor’s fare: bread and cheese, and kisses. ~ Jonathan Swift
[What could be more fun than a trip to St. Cloud Hospital for an angiogram? We arrived the evening before the “procedure” and dined at White Horse on St. Germain Street . . . ]
In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in the water there is bacteria. ~ David Auerbach
We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie. ~ David Mamet
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~ Luciano Pavarotti
October 20
I don’t share blame. I don’t share credit. And I don’t share desserts. ~ Beverly Sills
[The hospital event – bypass surgery is in my future . . . ]
First, we eat then we do everything else. ~ M.F.K. Fisher
[And after we packed up and headed for home, we once again missed the 2:00 lunch closing time for Krewe. Uff da!!]
October 22
Work is the curse of the drinking classes. ~ Oscar Wilde
[Oktoberfest at Carlos Creek Winery. A lovely late October day, we spent over 4 hours outside enjoying the music of the Federales and the Cropdusters. The Federales were up first, from Minneapolis their first performance in Alexandria . . . ]
Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer! ~ Martin Luther
You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline – it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but in the very least you need a beer. ~ Frank Zappa
I’d tried to straighten him out, but there’s only so much you can do for a person who thinks Auschwitz is a brand of beer. ~ David Sedaris
Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer. ~ Tom Robbins
I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer. ~ Abraham Lincoln
[A native Alexandrian in the foregound . . . ]
I like my coffee black, my beer from Germany, wine from Burgundy, the darker, the better. I like my heroes complicated and brooding, James Dean in oiled leather, leaning on a motorcycle. You know the color. (“Ode to Chocolate”) ~ Barbara Crooker
[The “who can hold a full beer stein the longest” contest . . . ]
Beer’s intellectual. What a shame so many idiots drink it. ~ Ray Bradbury
There are more old drunks than there are old doctors. ~ Willie Nelson
All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. ~ John Gunther
[Among the fare available from the food trucks, we opted for brats!]
A man who lies about beer makes enemies. ~ Stephen King
[This is part one of a panorama shot . . . ]
I want a beer. I want a giant, ice-cold bottle of beer and shower sex. ~ Nora Roberts
[This is part two . . . ]
Millions of deaths would not have happened if it weren’t for the consumption of alcohol. The same can be said about millions of births. ~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana
And … and what is civilisation if it isn’t people talking to each other over a goddamned beer? ~ James S.A. Corey
120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. ~ Sam Harris
Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer. ~ Ellen Kushner
[And, I believe this was the full beer stein race . . . ]
Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science. ~ Yann Martel
[Where the food was . . . ]
I mulled over what he had told me as I savored the Scotch. Not bad, really — like a beer that’s been in a brawl. ~ David Justice
[The brat eating contest, emceed by Michael Right, the longtime voice of Alexandria . . . ]
Depth perception and beer obviously weren’t related. ~ Katie McGarry
It was never wise to challenge fate to a ‘Hold my beer’ contest. ~ Yasmine Galenorn
According to Chesterton, tea-drinking’ is ‘pagan’, while beer-drinking is ‘Christian’, and coffee is ‘the puritan’s opium’. ~ George Orwell
[Beginning the switchover from the Federales to the Cropdusters . . . ]
[We had a nice visit with the Federales (yes, named from the Townes Van Zandt song, “Pancho and Lefty”) after which they gave us these free “merch'”, a couple of CD’s . . . ]
To say that members of Congress have egos is like saying that I like cold beer. ~ Michael Fanone
[The Cropdusters setting up . . . ]
We conduct business meetings so much better on beer. ~ Rachel Bergsma
One more never ends. ~ Anthony T. Hincks
In this world, there are only a few things more available than gasoline: coffee, soda and beer. Oh, and bad advice. ~ Foster Kinn
A warm beer is still a good beer, despite what modern country singers say. ~ A.D. Aliwat
A flash of inspiration struck him with all the force and brilliance that ideas have when they’re traveling through beer. ~ Terry Pratchett
Most cultures made beer before they had an alphabet. ~ Matthew Weiner
Life is nothing but some bubbles in a pint. ~ Viraj J. Mahajan
Modern civilization owes its existence to beer. Hunter-gatherers individually lacked the time and resources to create a raspberry pilsner, so our nomadic ancestors were seduced into an agrarian lifestyle that might someday evolve into local microbrews. I am not sure if teetotalers minded the goats while others were busy getting plastered or if they were cast out of the tribe for being dull. ~ Thomm Quackenbush
[Last seen wandering the grounds at Oktoberfest muttering something about the attacks on democracy, public schools, and still and forever, Hillary Clinton . . . ]
Beer, brewed in cauldrons the size of houses by machines and then served cold. It has no soul. It isn’t worthy of the name. ~ Jim Butcher
[Kinda Halloweenie in mid-afternoon . . . ]
The refrigerator was one of the main things my mother prayed to. She said that a cold beer could make you love a refrigerator. ~ Jennifer Clement
I also liked they Belgian brewers are notoriously rebellious and mock Americans’ obsession with categorizing beers by style; I saw them as arrogant expressionists ensnared with creation, not categorization. ~ Lucy Burningham
American beer drinkers had been conditioned to believe they were choosing Anheuser-Busch’s beer, but that was only half true; Anheuser-Busch had left them few other options. ~ Josh Noel
Education should not be intended to make people comfortable, it is meant to make them think. ~ Hanna Holbom Gray
This was our last chance to spend some quality eating time with Ruthie’s sister Rita before we sent her packing back to Indiana . . .
Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships. ~ Winona LaDuke
October 13
After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. ~ Oscar Wilde
[We decided to spend Rita’s last night eating at home before all the in-house food rotted from lack of attendance at home during meal times . . . ]
Popcorn is one of the only situations in which you eat the result of an explosion. ~ Demetri Martin
I get way too much happiness from good food. ~ Elizabeth Olsen
He was a bold man that first ate an oyster. ~ Jonathan Swift
[As we will note in later photos, this confirms that Rita did indeed go on-line to confirm her next day’s flight and pay for checking bag #2 . . . ]
October 14
The journey, not the arrival, matters. ~ T. S. Eliot
[Driving Rita to MSP down the usually dreary I-94 . . . ]
Once a year, go somewhere you’ve never been before. ~ The Dalai Lama
[Interesting cloud cover from come and go snow flurries . . . ]
Screw the caviar, I want to travel the world! ~ Hostelgeeks
A hotel room all to myself is my idea of a good time. ~ Chelsea Handler
Backpacking is the art of knowing what not to take. ~ Sheridan Anderson
Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterwards. ~ Tina Fey
Eating is always a decision, nobody forces your hand to pick up food and put it into your mouth. ~ Albert Ellis
[The forever potty stop at Weaver Lake Road on the way to the Cities . . . ]
Adventure without risk is Disneyland. ~ Douglas Coupland
[This is Rita at MSP airport. Happily engaged in the process of returning home to Indiana after a week with relatives in Vacationland USA. The happiness was short-lived, however, when she got to the outside check-in (that’s two hyphenated words in one sentence) which requested she pay for checking bag #2. Rita promptly advised she had checked bag #2 on-line (another hyphen) the day before and had paid for it by credit card. Naturally, the checker-inners could find no such record and told her she would have to pay (again). Well, harumpf, harumpf, harumpf, Rita and I entered the airport in hopes of finding resolution to the bag #2 situation. By then I had to leave since Ruthie had already been parked on the curb for 15 minutes. Ruthie & I were staying in the Cities for a visit to the Como Park Conservatory before heading back to Alex. We called Rita from Como Park – now they weren’t going to let her on the plane because it was overbooked. Ruthie shouted into the phone, which Rita had on speaker, that they better get her on the plane because they’d “eff’ed her over enough already” (which the airport staff heard). Now we couldn’t leave the Cities lest we’d have to pick up Rita again. Rita later called to say they were going to get her on the plane – maybe in 1st class – and she did get an aisle seat in coach (which also usually costs extra), if not 1st class. She made it home, some the worse for wear . . . ]
What a lovely thing a rose is! ~ Arthur Conan Doyle
[And then it was on to the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul . . . ]
If you really screw up, send roses. ~ Letitia Baldrige
It is the food which you furnish to your mind that determines the whole character of your life. ~ Emmet Fox
[The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory . . . ]
No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere. ~ Sheryl Crow
A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms. ~ Zen Shin
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. ~ Gertrude S. Wister
I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong? ~ Willie Nelson
A woman should be like a single flower, not a whole bouquet. ~ Anna Held
Earth laughs in flowers. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful. ~ Luther Burbank
Flowers don’t tell, they show. ~ Stephanie Skeem
Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. ~ Walter Hagen
[A school boy said this statue was “inappropriate.” Ruthie wanted to have a discussion with his parents . . . ]
Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes. ~ Clare Ansberry
If I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden forever. ~ Alfred Tennyson
We’re all golden sunflowers inside. ~ Allen Ginsberg
Destiny may ride with us today, but there is no reason for it to interfere with lunch. ~ Peter the Great
[The following nine photos courtesy of Ruthie . . . ]
Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them. ~ A.A. Milne
Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair. ~ Susan Polis Schutz
When the flower blossoms, the bee will come. ~ Srikumar Rao
The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life. ~ Jean Giraudoux
It’s so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that’s what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower Is to bloom. ~ Alice Walker
A weed is but an unloved flower. ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I don’t want to be stinky poo poo girl, I want to be happy flower child. ~ Drew Barrymore
[George Clooney’s Facebook profile photo . . . ]
The intellectual is a middle-class product; if he is not born into the class he must soon insert himself into it, in order to exist. He is the fine nervous flower of the bourgeoisie. ~ Louise Bogan
Life is fair. ~ Stephen King
[Heading for home, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds was appropriately nearby . . . ]
Fair is whatever God wants to do. ~ Leif Enger
Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf. ~ Lewis Mumford
[We weren’t on the road home yet, but this was the sky all day. We had several hard downpours on the way home . . . ]
Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal. ~ Voltaire
[We had hoped to lunch at Krewe, the cajun/creole restaurant in St. Joseph, but it closes at 2:00 (re-opens at 4:00 for dinner) and we got there at 2:01! If Krewe is closed when you get there, there’s always Bello Cucina! The one in St. Joe is the last one standing. We have been to the ones in Glenwood, Alex, Fergus, Morris, and Marshall, all now closed. The owner said he can’t find chefs or staff . . . ]
Large, naked, raw carrots are acceptable as food only to those who live in hutches eagerly awaiting Easter. ~ Fran Lebowitz
I don’t eat lobsters, shrimp, or crawfish because I don’t eat anything that looks like I should step on it. ~ George Carlin
[The daily special was beef stew soup . . . ]
A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. ~ Barbara Johnson
[Ruthie thought these may have been nuns from St. Ben’s college across the street . . . ]
Give me liberty or … a jelly donut! ~ Homer Simpson
[The next five are Ruthie’s ambience photos . . . ]
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if not has not dined well. ~ Virginia Woolf
Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity. ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
I’m at the age where food has taken the place of sex. In fact, I just had a mirror put over my kitchen table. ~ Rodney Dangerfield
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people. ~ Orson Welles
He who does not mind his belly, will hardly mind anything else. ~ Samuel Johnson
My mom made me two dishes: take it or leave it. ~ Stephen Wright
[Outdoor dining (weather dependent) at Bello Cucina . . . ]
How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex. ~ Julia Child
I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick, not wounded: dead. ~ Woody Allen
I don’t always wear underwear. When I’m in the heat, especially, I can’t wear it. Like, if I’m wearing a flower dress, why do I have to wear underwear? ~ Naomi Campbell
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