Bde Maka Ska

When I moved to Minneapolis in 1964, I was encouraged to ride around and see all the lakes located right in the city.  For the past four decades, I’ve been privileged to live just a couple of blocks from one of the largest of these wonderful  places.  When I...

Super Bowl LII

Truth in advertising:  I do not watch football, collegiate or professional.  One reason is that I seldom can tell where the little ball is or why lots of large men are falling all over each other.  For years, I’ve secretly suspected that the game was made up as...

A Walk-about with the Blind Boys of Alabama

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) has recently begun airing a new program launched by National Public Radio (NPR).  It’s called 1A and its host is Joshua Johnson.  Joshua has eclectic tastes in both subject matter and guests, so I always benefit from hearing bits and...

The Reluctant But Grateful Gerbil

Two weeks of this January have been so far below zero both in actual temperature and wind chill that I have had to walk at my local YWCA.  My days begin with an early morning walk of about a mile and a half, rain or shine.  I walk in the street rather than on the...

Wasting Precious Time

When I sobered up after nineteen years of serious alcoholic drinking, the first coherent thought I remember having is: “What a waste of valuable time.”  What I meant by that lament was simple–though I had lots of ideas about literature, I had not...