Gee, our old La Salle ran great!
The Radio Years Division — including: Ah, the smell of it!
Pooh Bah of Rochester writes: “Bloomington Bird Lady’s submission on ‘Let’s Pretend’ brought back some good memories.
“My sister and I were devoted fans and listened attentively every Saturday morning. That memory is accompanied by another one: Our very German grandmother made kuchen (coffee cake) every Saturday morning and often did at least one pan of ‘gooey rolls.’ Is there a better smell than baking yeast breads laced with cinnamon and butter?
“While the memory of ‘Let’s Pretend’ is wonderful, sadly neither of us considered hot cereal an acceptable food group, so we would graciously donate our portions to the Bird Lady from Bloomington.
“While Saturday had ‘Let’s Pretend,’ Sunday afternoon was packed with mystery stories: “Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons,’
“‘Boston Blackie’
“and ‘The Green Hornet,’
“to name but a few. We would listen to those as we sat quietly in the back seat on Sunday-afternoon drives with Mom and Dad.
“Glad to have Bulletin Board on Sunday, but I still miss the daily servings!”
Another Frances: “Oh, yes, I remember the Saturday-morning ‘Let’s Pretend’ radio show. We would take a break from Saturday-morning house cleaning to ‘watch’ with our imaginations to the tales of trolls and giants, Princes and Princesses. It would be the highlight of this 7-year-old’s week when the static didn’t keep us from hearing the familiar Cream of Wheat song and the fairy tale to follow.”
In memoriam
John in Highland writes: “My dear wife, Margie, passed away in June. Since then I have heard from many of her friends who commented on her joy in making crafts (wooden animals and decorations, catnip pillows, etc.) and giving them to others. Several people said that they have ‘pieces of Margie’ all over their houses. I only have to look around our front porch to know what they mean.”
The Permanent Family Record
The Gram With a Thousand Rules: “Subject: Love.
“The new mothers flew in from Australia and Colorado to introduce us to our youngest great-grandsons. My favorite of all the dozens of photos I snapped is this one, when 7-month Thomas reached up and grabbed his Mum by the ear and gave her a big smooch.”
Our birds, ourselves
Deb Peterson of Eagan: “Mama Robin built her nest in the ladder that hangs on the shed at Portage Lake. During the Fourth of July holiday, we watched as all four babies hatched.
“I waited until mama was off her nest looking for food and got this photo as all four looked up hoping for breakfast!”
Live and learn!
The Retired Pedagogue of Arden Hills writes: “A headline on the front page of the Sports section in Saturday’s Pioneer Press read: ‘Old but gold? Twins land Colon as likely starting pitcher.’
“John Shipley began his article with: ‘Looking for pitching help, the Twins went to a reliable source on Friday, agreeing to terms with amaranthine right-hander Bartolo Colon. . . .’
“I’m certain I’ve never heard or read that word anywhere before, least of all in a sports context.
“My copy of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) lists these definitions: ‘amaranthine ‘1 a: of or relating to an amaranth (‘amaranth 2 a flower that never fades’) b: UNDYING’
“Mr. Shipley could not have found either word in The Random House Thesaurus College Edition, because I checked there, to no avail.
“I never thought I’d be expanding my vocabulary by reading the sports pages.
“My education continues.”
Great minds . . .
Local Journalism Division (No-Brainer Subdivision)
Donald: “Subject: Joy of Juxtaposition.
“It’s somewhat unusual for both Twin Cities dailies to use exactly the same material in exactly the same location, but when it happened in Wednesday’s editions, it was a no-brainer.
“The front pages of the Sports sections in the two papers featured the same photo from the Miami Herald: a colored picture of Miguel Sanó as he ‘hits a run-scoring single’ (Pioneer Press) or ‘blooped an RBI single’ (Minneapolis paper) in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s All-Star Game. The Pioneer Press’s photo covered more than half the page, while the Minneapolis paper’s picture was across four columns and just above the fold.”
Then & Now (responsorial)
In reply to our Tuesday headline — “Do you have a theme song? Hers was ‘Time to Say Goodbye'” — here’s Stinky Bananalips of Empire, Minnesota: “Just last night I was talking about theme songs.
“I was watching Stephen Colbert. He had on the ‘Morning Joe’ guy [Joe Scarborough]. (I know of that show, but have never watched it.) While they were talking, my hubby came home from walking the dog, and I said: ‘Look, it’s the “Morning Joe” guy. Look at that amazing hair!’ My husband said he never used to have hair like that, and I countered with: Maybe he’s a fan of ‘Ancient Aliens’ and wants to be like Georgio. (That guy has some gravity-defying hair that I’m SURE he uses alien technology to style.)
“Then they talked about Joe’s next career being a rock star. That explains the hairdo — but I liked my theory better.
“Of course Joe and his band closed the show with their new song — I think called ‘The Monkey House.’ The chorus was ‘Welcome to the monkey house.’ Catchy tune; had me dancing around the kitchen — and I did tell my husband it should be our new theme song.”
Band Name of the Day: Trolls and Giants
Website of the Day, from Double Bogey Mike:
Bulletin Board 