She was the last to know it was raining. I headed home from somewhere. Somewhere else someone had said, “Rain, rain go away, come again another day.” This was another day. The windshield wiper activity made me think of my mother. She was the shortest one in my extended family. I teased she was the last to know when it was raining. I was a foot taller than my mother when she … [Read more...]

I met the day with the wonder of a Labrador puppy. I walked down the trail at Brookside Park. I was a happy camper after seeing a couple of yellow-crowned night herons, hearing barred owls calling and finding a debit card lost by someone named Laura. There were a couple of sheriff’s deputies pulling their boat out of the channel. I gave the lost card to them. I’d finished … [Read more...]

What’s all the yellowing about? It’s about American goldfinches. They are turning a brilliant yellow. Dandelions are spring to some folks. The yellowing of spring. Is a group of dandelions called a pride? Mark Twain said, “In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” It’s good to see turkey vultures back and checking the expiration … [Read more...]

I built a bridge once. I’ve been to Jerusalem. I picked up newspapers from a smiling vendor without a stand. Stacks of papers rested upon the ground. Large rocks held them in place. He had 14 children at last count and was 81. Each morning, he’d hoist me high to prove he was strong enough to sell me newspapers. He claimed his longevity, strength and happiness came from four … [Read more...]

There are two kinds of people — those who were born in March and those who wish they had been. My birthday is on St. Urho’s Day every year. Making another trip around the sun gives me cause to reflect upon what I’ve learned during this wonderful life. Goals are adjusted. Life is a series of things you didn’t expect. Back in the used to be when I was as smart as I’d ever be, … [Read more...]

We’ve all had near-death experiences. Eating your sister’s cooking, trying to break Joey Chestnut’s hotdog eating record, smoking an “It’s a boy” cigar, drinking milk that’s past its expiration date, driving a car whose oil should have been changed, eating suspicious school lunches, or buying a red car after a study found it’s pooped on most often by birds (green cars are the … [Read more...]

A friend suggested we try paintball. I declined. Here’s why. I liked Roy Rogers better than Gene Autry. I liked Gene Autry better than Hopalong Cassidy. I liked Marshal Matt Dillon more than the other three. I wanted to visit Dodge Center, Minn., because I thought it’d be like Dodge City, Kans., where Marshal Dillon plied his trade. That would have been great. I got a … [Read more...]

I was playing the part of me. I’d spoken at a thing in Alaska. My wife had accompanied me. I’d had a swell time. We flew home and landed at MSP Airport at a reasonable time. I remembered where our car was parked and we headed home. Because we’d been gone for a spell, my wife said we needed things. We stopped at a large mall in the Twin Cities because they had things … [Read more...]