Who was that unmasked woman?
Grandma Jody writes: “Can you believe it?
“Please send a letter to the editor at the San Francisco Gate to get an apology to Senator Amy Klobuchar and the people of the Great State of Minnesota!
“This is why we STILL have to march!”
Everyone’s a copy editor
Kyo of Mendota Heights: “The rewriting of history continues. From yesterday’s Parade magazine…
“I don’t think Truman would have thought Eisenhower fit either definition of predecessor found in Merriam-Webster.
“(Definition of predecessor. 1 : one that precedes; especially : a person who has previously occupied a position or office to which another has succeeded. 2 archaic : ancestor.)”
This ‘n’ that (responsorial)
Vapid in Vadnais: (1) “Coffee filters can be obstinate. I learned a trick early on that works well: Take one bunch and flip it inside-out. Then flop it back into original position. They separate easily. Just what I need while waking up.”
(2) “Engagement story: I met this cute dark Italian man at our place of employment. He was a driver, and I was the receptionist. We began dating on New Year’s Day (hockey game in the evening, 1973). It wasn’t necessarily an activity I would have chosen, but in those days, it wasn’t OK to suggest an alternative activity. As I write this, I find that I can’t remember where we parked or if it was bitterly cold, but I vividly remember finding our seats and discovering that a large group of his friends were already there. AWKWARD!
“The relationship seemed like a very good one; both of us were satisfied with it. We spent a lot of time at his parents’ farm in Wisconsin. They raised vegetables for market and sometimes had calves or piglets. We helped with the picking on Friday nights for market on Saturday.
“One lovely day in June, we were picking strawberries. The sun was shining; the sky was blue. I suspect our lips were redder than usual due to all the luscious berries that didn’t make it into the basket. We chatted between mouthfuls.
“He called me ‘Mrs. C___.’
“Somewhat tartly, I responded: ‘I’m not Mrs. C___.’
“He grinned and said: ‘Well, do you want to be?’
“I did.”
The Permanent Family Record
Winter Carnival Division
Mike Whisler of Eagan: “Subject: 100 years ago:
“These photos are of my mother’s aunt, Margaret Carlin. I am told she was Winter Carnival royalty around 1917. The photo of her standing in the Stutz Bearcat was taken in Duluth, at Morgan Park. The others are by the Ice Palace. [Bulletin Board has just now learned that there were two Ice Palaces in 1917 — one at Rice Park, the other at Town & Country Club.]
“Written below the photo showing the four people is: ‘Margaret – Lorin Solon – Royal – Josie Coner – Carnival St. Paul 1917.’ Solon was a star football player for the U of M and an All-American in 1913 and 1914.”
Life as we know it
Outhouses and Porta-Potties Division
Kathy S. of St Paul: “My experience with outhouses was mostly at a cabin up near Aitkin owned by a relative of a relative. It was clean and well maintained, but it was an outhouse. And there were flies!
“My parents rented that cabin for vacations two summers when I was around 6, and it was the site of some great home movies. In one, our mom was bathing in the lake using a bar of soap — and embarrassed when Dad filmed her. It was also the site of wonderful Fourth of July parties at which we saw our extended family, out to our second cousins. Because of those parties, the older members of my generation met each other. Because they ended, younger ones met us at funerals and/or weddings.
“Many years later, I ran up and down the steps of the Cathedral to photograph the high-school graduation of a nephew. And, since I was there, I also photographed two other grads who were his second and third cousins. I think he vaguely knew that they were related, though I don’t think it meant much to him. But the parents of the grads seemed happy to get the pictures.
“That cabin was so close that, even though it seemed like a long trip to me, it was really do-able for folks living in the Cities. And it was the site of treasured memories — including the year when our aunt’s friend kept lighting stick matches so we kids could blow them out. I remember that because the cabin (with its ‘junky’ old Fiestaware) had a gas stove lit via matches — and the women thought they’d run out of matches. Crisis! Eventually they took the matches away from the friend, but I enjoyed the guilty pleasure while it lasted.
“Memories of the parties our parents and aunts threw for the extended family make me want to have similar gatherings, if only to get the kids together. I very rarely entertain, but some things just need doing. Because they’re matchless.”
Fellow travelers
Including: Our pets, ourselves
Crazy Dog Lady writes: “I have spent a lot of time on road trips — some lasting days, others only a couple of hours. I am often overly optimistic about my navigational abilities and often am SURE I know the way to get to my destination. That is probably the reason I have spent so much time being lost.
“I have to say that being lost has been a great gift over the years. I have seen a lot of scenery and towns (and dead-end streets) that I would never have experienced had I actually known ‘how to get there.’ I have also met a number of really friendly and helpful people trying to get me back on the right road, but usually the person I find to ask directions has an answer like: ‘Sorry — I am not from here’ or ‘I have no idea’ . . . but still — I did get to interact with someone new.
“Usually I have a dog or two traveling with me, but they don’t seem concerned at all about where we are or if we just wasted an hour going in circles on back roads; they just are happy to be going somewhere and anticipating the possibility of sharing some road-trip snack — like a bit of a cheeseburger or a cheese puff. Oh, to be so joyful and open to life as they are!
“With the advent of GPS and all the smart-phone apps, it’s really getting difficult to become lost. My husband, Ol’ Dave of Forest Lake, uses all these devices when he goes out, but I have put it off, still enjoying the adventure of being lost — and thankfully, so far, finding my way back.
“Spring is coming, and the open road is calling. Can’t wait to go to one of those places where I KNOW how to get there and don’t really need any refresher directions or electronic help.
“But if you are on a back road this spring and you see someone looking anxious and in a panic — that will be me. If I ask for directions and you don’t know the answers, just make something up. I probably couldn’t get more lost or confused anyway — and after all, it could be fun!”
In memoriam
Better late than never, we bring you this note from The Divine Mum of Crocus Hill: “Amazing obit story on the 105-year-old journalist who broke the news of World War II. It contains these great lines: ‘Ms. Hollingworth was never so happy, she often said, as when she was roaming the world equipped with little more than a toothbrush, a typewriter and, if need be, a revolver. Embedded long before the term was applied to journalists, she slept in trucks and in trenches, at times buried up to her neck in sand for warmth on cold desert nights. She once held off an armed Algerian policeman by threatening to hit him about the head with a shoe.'”
Our birds, ourselves
Ask Al B Division
Rutabaga55: “I have a question for BB’s Official Ornithologist: Should we not be feeding bread to wild birds?
“I recently saw a photo of a goose with the condition called ‘Angel Wing.’ I read up on this disease and the awful effect it can have on birds, and learned that it is never a good idea to feed bread to birds because it leads to poor bird nutrition — a cause of Angel Wing.
“I would appreciate Al B’s expert opinion on this practice.”
BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: That’s Al B of Hartland, our Official Ornithologist — whose expert opinion we, too, await.
Our theater of seasons
Rusty of St. Paul: “I saw a USPS letter carrier today (January 23) on his route in shorts and with a hoodie on.
“I had three thoughts: January Thaw, Climate Change or the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl. I pulled over, rolled the window and asked. ‘Have to take advantage of this whenever we can!’ was his answer.
“So he didn’t really answer which of my possibilities were correct, but an answer nonetheless.”
BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Maybe he thought it was a silly question?
Asked … and ANSWERED!
The Doryman of Prescott, Wisconsin: “Subject: An abundance of response
“As the old guy, hunched over his walker, was slowly shuffling his way to the exam room at my eye doctor’s clinic today, the greeter inquired with a cheery ‘How are you this morning?
“‘TERRIBLE’ was the gruff response as he channeled an older, angrier Winston Churchill.
“The young woman tried to block with ‘I’m sorry to hear that’ but he wasn’t done yet. As he inched away, we learned of his arthritis, diabetes, knee problems and the early stage of Parkinson’s.
“The audience was unanimously grinning and howling silently as our collective bellies jiggled with compassion for them both.
“I’m sure the poor, well-meaning technician retreated to a less provocative, ‘health-neutral greeting for a while after that.”
Band Name of the Day: Cute Dark Italian Men
Website of the Day: The Ice Palaces of the St. Paul Winter Carnival
Bulletin Board 