Horse Manure Park

The COVID-19 chronicles continue. Yesterday Adam Schlesinger passed away. He formed the band Fountains of Wayne, had a big hit "Stacy's Mom," a song I always liked. He also wrote "That Thing You Do" for the Tom Hanks directed film of the same name. That's another great song. Schlesinger was only 52 years-old. Just a few days ago Joe Diffie, a huge country star from the 1990's also died from the virus. This is getting crazy. I am afraid it is only the tip of the iceberg. Not much happening these days. The snow is melting. The kids are zipping right along with their distance learning like pros. Normally this is an optimistic time of year -- spring!! -- after a long cold winter. But I think most people are feeling a bit of anxiety with this whole COVID-19 thing. Maybe "a bit" isn't strong enough. "a significant amount" is probably closer. We now have two cases in Crow Wing county. It is coming. I've been on a John Mellencam...

Not many folks blog anymore. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter dug the blogger's grave; Snapchat and Instagram buried it. YouTube officiated the services. But the world being what it is right now -- the first pandemic in over a hundred years and the entire country being urged to "Stay At Home," -- this seems like a good time to starting blogging again for a few reasons: My own sanity I like to write I can say anything I want and not have to worry about offending someone or getting into an argument with someone on social media. My first blog entry right here was on October 25, 2007. I didn't have much to say, just a few meandering thoughts... not much has changed in 13 years. Like most bloggers, I fell victim to the ease of other social media platforms. But I've decided to go back to the beginning, so to speak. Every now and then I explore other blogs (usually to find inspiration) and once in awhile I find something really interesting. One...

It seems this is a really good time to start blogging again. Maybe just jotting down my thoughts here as we wade through these unprecedented times, as a way of holding on to my sanity. I don't "promote" this site anymore like I used to; trying to come up with something "interesting" to write several times a week was just too much while trying to balance work and family. I'm not writing for an audience, just for myself. Being here in my own little blog world is far more healthy than going on social media and getting into arguments with people. I can't do that anymore. There is so much misinformation regarding this COVID-19 pandemic; conspiracy theories and an unlimited number of false, misleading claims. And everyone is an expert, especially if they went to the University of Facebook. I keep reminding myself that we are living in a truly historic moment right now; we will look back on this and say "Remember when?" someday. This is tempora...

I don't know which is harder to believe... that it has been four months since my last confession or that in 2009, I made 156 of these blog entries. There was a time when I couldn't wait to sit down and write about something. Now it is just so much easier to post a thought on Facebook or Twitter and be done with it rather than sit down and actually write an organized, well thought-out piece. Unfortunately, social media sites have become frothing-at-the-mouth political hotbeds. One must not even make a joke about something for fear offending or angering a friend or relative (or complete stranger). I have found it is much safer to keep my thoughts to myself (it is not as though I do not have an opinion!). Social media sites have become little more than arenas for folks to throw verbal barbs at one another, rather than engaging in intelligent discourse or debate. Everyone must prove their "rightness." No one is willing to listen to the other side. The older I get, the...

It is fishing opener in Minnesota. This weekend, along with deer hunting opener, are as close to state holidays as you can possibly get. But anyone who knows me understands that I fish and hunt about as much as I skydive and bungee jump. I am, however, always fishing to make my Bloody Mary recipe perfect and I am always on the hunt for something new and exciting. Okay, enough of the cute word play. I love my Bloody Marys year round, but we are getting close to summer and this refreshing cocktail will be hitting peak season soon. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to share with my readers something new I am trying with my Bloody Marys. Over the years I've experimented with all sorts of variations in my never-ending search for the perfect Bloody Mary. My attempts fail more often than not, but every now and then I stumble upon something brilliant. The following is one of those cases. The original recipe I'm sharing isn't mine (it can be found at www.thekitche...

A chilly April morning. Overcast skies. Snowing just north of us. Yesterday it was 70ºF. Go figure. This is a good time to sit inside with a cup of coffee and catch up a bit. We took advantage of a beautiful sunny day yesterday to get outside and accomplish a few overdue tasks. Most significantly (for me), I bought a new grill. I believe this is the third one I've owned since buying our house 16 years ago. I use and abuse my grills until they literally fall apart.  That's true for most things in my life. The first grill I bought, years ago, was a colossus: a four burner with BTUs the equivalent of a small sun. It also had one of those sidecar thingamajigs for boiling a pot of water or frying a pan of bacon.  It was a nice feature and a great selling point which I used exactly once .  Yes, I paid way too much for it. I was caught up in the excitement of being a new home owner... I could grill when and where I wanted on the premises of my very ...

Sinatra once sang, "Regrets, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention." I'm happy to say that  line applies to my life for the most part, although if I could hop in a time machine there is one thing I would change. You see, my children never met my parents. Even though the circumstances were far beyond my control, I have always felt guilty about that. I know this is irrational thinking. When I graduated from high school there is no way I could have known I would lose my mother in less than two years. Indeed, no one can see into the future (and that might be the greatest gift God has ever given us). But the guilt remains: Deep inside my psyche I fear I've cheated my kids. Because of this, I talk about my parents frequently with my girl and boy. I tell them stories all the time; things my dad would do or something my mom would say. At least once every summer we make sure to camp at "the farm," as we call it; this is where my parents liv...