It's over for now. . .

Last year's seniors enjoyed last night's game. Tom Obert really likes this gig. Wonder why.

By Tom Obert
Cub Reporter Emeritus
Well, it's over (for now) . . . but it's also been a great ride so far! Our Little Darlings lost their first game of the season tonight in the championship game of the Courtney Walsh Memorial Tournament, 4 - 3 in OVERTIME to Crookston, the 2nd ranked team in the state.
It was a terrific game from a fans standpoint because it featured two relatively small, yet very speedy teams. As a neutral, unbiased reporter, I must report that our Cards have been battling the flu bug and had a very tough semi-final game last night against Faribault (while Crookston cruised to an easy win against an overmatched Morris-Benson team).
Nevertheless, I have to acknowledge that Crookston does have an excellent team - even if several of their players appeared to be 23-year old Canadians. The Cards were solidly supported tonight by a group of last year's seniors - as you can see, a couple months in college away from home has turned them into quite the rowdy bunch!

The Darlings don't have another game for a couple of weeks now. The cub reporter plans to lay low, write Christmas thank you notes, and see if he can still remember the way to the winery.

Big Girls Hockey Game Tonight!

By Tom Obert

Cub Reporter Emeritus

Our Little Darlings moved their record to 12 - 0 last night with a 5 - 1 victory over previously undefeated Fairbault in the opening round of their holiday tournament, now renamed the Courtney Walsh Memorial Tournament. It was a very physical game for our team, which was already fighting the flu bug (2nd line forward Ally Nielsen was too sick to play at all).

Faribault had several players bigger than anyone on our team, and they were very effective in clogging up our shooting and passing lanes around their net - and, in this reporter's humble, unbiased opinion, took every opportunity to pummel our little, under-the-weather, Abby.

Nevertheless, our team speed prevailed, and Kathryn Del Zoppo, who shoots the puck with the accuracy of an Annie Oakley, had another hat trick - Michelle Anez and Brianna Lind had our other goals. Although our power play was a little out of sync the entire game, this reporter did make a call on the Cardinals first penalty that we had them right where we wanted them - sure enough, Abby and Del combined for a beautiful short-handed goal. And, of course, Danielle was once again stellar in goal.

But now it's out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire. Tonight they play Crookston for the tournament championship - Crookston is ranked 2nd in the Class 1A state rankings, Alex is ranked 5th. Here's hoping all our girls are healthy tonight!

Photo: Classmate Professor Doctor Colonel Tom Kiehne (sitting with Ruthie, and next to the cub reporters-in-training (Bob had his telephoto lens)) was in-town for the holidays to see his folks. So, we took him to see his first ever girls hockey game. He was so impressed he called back to the University of Texas requesting a sabbatical from his winter professorial duties to follow our Darlings for the rest of the year! (Well, OK, Tom, and his older brother Jerry, retired in Florida, seem to have a real disdain for the winters of their youth and prefer to live and stay in warmer climes. I don't understand it, but to each their own.) Oh, and sitting right behind Ruthie is Carol Dittberner, who with her husband Dave, is related to everyone in Douglas County - Chris McCabe, of McCabe Camera Store fame, and uncle of our classmate, Chris McCabe, is a Dittberner in-law.

Luther's boy takes the plunge

Laura Torkildson of Kensington and Bryan Femrite of Farwell announce their engagement.
Laura's parents are Becky Torkildson of Fargo, North Dakota and Dave (Diana) Torkildson of Lake Park.
Bryan is the son of Luther and Iva Femrite of Farwell.
Laura is a graduate of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She has a master's degree in physical therapy and practices in several health care facilities across central Minnesota.
Bryan is a lifelong dairy and grain farmer. His operation includes the family farm near Farwell.
A February 2007 wedding is planned at Oscar Lake Lutheran Church in Farwell.

Thanks J.D.! Now pass the butter.

Jerry and Linda Deleski treated Mr. and Mrs. Trailboss to dinner at Red Lobster tonight. Jerry's Christmas note explained it was a thank you for running the blog. And he threw in a Starbucks certificate for late nights, reading email. Thanks a ton, Jerry and Linda. We enjoy doing this blog so it really isn't necessary, but we sure enjoyed dinner, nonethless.

Didn't we just write these, Bonita wonders?

Hello,

Well another year has sped by. It’s either our age or they’ve shortened the calendar as it seems like just a few weeks ago when we wrote last year's Christmas letter.

In February we went to Cocoa Beach, FL and endured some of their coldest days on record (wouldn’t you know!). Thankfully it shaped up and we were able to enjoy some sunshine, heat and FUN!

Bonita’s Mom, Rose, died in April. It was a blessing as she had advanced Alzheimer’s Disease and had been unable to communicate at all for the last couple of years. Nevertheless, she is missed.

Bonita had surgery on her right thumb (she’s right handed) to correct bone on bone arthritis in May. Wearing a cast from the tip of the thumb to her elbow for four weeks was a lesson in frustration to say the least. Dave tried to help with her hair. How did he do? Well, think of Groucho Marx and his brothers…you get the picture. At least he tried!

Dave did some fishing with his brother, Tom, and really enjoyed it. He told people about catching a BIG walleye which he then released. The reaction was “sure you did.” Lucky for him, Tom had a disposable camera in the boat and captured the moment on film. It really WAS big!

In August an Olson family reunion took place at the cabin bringing together any siblings who could make it and their children. Becoming reacquainted with our nieces and nephews as adults was special. Scott and Kristi enjoyed their cousins so much that they want to make it an annual event. I hope it will work out.

Bonita broke her toe in August and thought, as most people do, “big deal”. After seven weeks with no improvement she went the doctor. The toe had never lined up properly so it COULDN’T heal. After hobbling around in a boot for another eight weeks, she finally can wear a shoe again. Some advice, beware of little three year old boys on wobbly bikes AND don’t listen to people who say “just tape the toe to the next one, the doctor can’t do anything for it anyway.”

A big milestone was reached in September when we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Our kids threw us a terrific party! The party is over but the good memories remain. (A little bling is a good reminder too! J)

The grandkids are doing super. Brittney is 15, Cameron 7 and Lily’s 4. The stepgrands are reaching adulthood. Sheanne turned 21 (!), Tessa’s 20 and Tanner is 17. Just think from preschool to nearing the end of college. Sometimes our heads just spin. (Well actually they frequently do but we like to blame the grandkids).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, here's hoping for health, wealth and happiness for you and yours in 2007!

Love, Bonita and Dave

Merry Christmas from Mr. and Mrs. Trailboss

From left, Jennifer, Marcy, Maxwell, Danny, Stan, Kathleen, Missy, Emily

Here it is, Tom Obert's "Year in Review"

The trailboss was in his basement office drinking whiskey and enjoying big snappy chunks of leftover Christmas peanut brittle when Tom Obert's annual year in review chimed into the electronic mailbox. Blog duties come first, of course, so the trailboss set down the glass and wiped the brittle oils off his hands just long enough to post this annual Class of '65 blog feature. Gentle readers who are offended by these pugnacious liberal outbursts are reminded that there are equal opportunities for those who may take exception to Mr. Obert's candid observations. Peace on Earth, baby.

Post-Christmas photo: "I would like to return this duck," says Mr. Obert's long-suffering spouse.

Tom writes:
JAN 1 – We were in Indiana with Ruth’s family for the start of the new year. Congressman Mark Foley introduced legislation to prohibit gay illegal immigrant congressional pages from performing embryonic stem cell research.
FEB 4 – The Alexandria girls hockey team (a/k/a “Our Little Darlings”) won their first conference title ever with an 18-1-4 record. Rush Limbaugh is pardoned by an activist judge.
FEB 14 - You may have forgotten . . . but if you start with the last letter of Bela Lugosi’s first name and take every other letter, and then do the same thing with his last name, you get: a, e, i, o, u. So take your grandchildren out to an old Dracula movie, and then come home and teach them how to do vowels. Oh, and it was our 5th wedding anniversary, which is Sid Hartman bobblehead dolls.
FEB 25 – “Our Little Darlings” finished 3rd in the girls state hockey tournament. The double OT win against Totino-Grace in the section finals may have been the best game Tom has ever witnessed in any sport.

MAR 7 – Tom was “elected” DFL associate precinct chair – he still has no idea what that means. Activist judges were determined to be at fault.
APR 10 – We spent a wonderful overnight with classmate Tom (and Eleanor) Ellis at their home in Wabasha, home of “Grumpy Old Men” and the National Eagle Center at the southern end of Lake Pepin. Tom, Mikko Cowdery, and this Tom talked into the wee hours of the morning, solving all of the world’s problems with a solid progressive agenda.
MAY 18-22 – Bill and Anne Gross, long-time D.C. friends, colleague, boss, and softball teammate, made their first visit to the Birthplace of America. They are the 30-year product of Tom’s matchmaking abilities.
JUL 2-28 – Rita came for a week & brought grandson Tom, who stayed for 3 weeks. Ruthie then took Tom home by train and stayed in Indiana for a week. Jack Abramoff financed golf trips to Scotland for Congressmen Bob Ney and Tom DeLay where they determined it was morally acceptable to perform medical research on gay stem cells.

JUL 11 –15 – Aunt Mary Kay and Uncle Tom visited from Arizona with three grandkids. We all enjoyed the hilarious play "Don’t Hug Me" at Theatre L’Homme Dieu.

JUL 15 – Thermometer hit 118 on lakeside deck. Al Gore is right! We started perusing lakeside property ads in Canada’s Northwest Territory.
JUL 23 – A cruise with the Skadsbergs on Lake Minnetonka. They somehow managed to overcome Tom’s male sense of indirection when he showed up on the wrong side of the lake. An activist judge ordered Ann Coulter to consume at least 2,000 calories daily, resolving that hunger has made her cranky.
AUG 18 – The class of ’65 Open was held at the Alexandria Golf Club – the other side won (nevertheless, our side looked very impressive in our golf attire). Gay illegal immigrants storm the country’s borders to get married in Massachusetts.
AUG 21-24 – Rose & Dick McMullen paid a visit from wherever they live now. They actually forced us to visit the Kensington Runestone discovery site for the first time in our lives. Hey, we live in the Birthplace of America, you know!

SEP 25–OCT 1 – All the Callecod girls (Ruthie’s Mom and sisters Rita and Faith) from Indiana arrived in time for a final spin of the season on the Moby Obie. Tom marched in the Alexandria homecoming parade on the 29th as the sole representative of the class of ’65! The Callecod girls proudly cheered his performance.
OCT 9-12 – “Marcus” Brown, our best customer from the East, arrived for his annual visit. The Moby Obie was already “to bed” for the season, but we did manage to have the course all to ourselves for a chilly round of golf at the AGC.
OCT 23 – Jeffrey Skilling won a 24-year, all expenses paid visit to Waseca, Minnesota, the very same locale where Tom struck out for the final out in Alexandria’s 12-0 loss to Bloomington in the 1962 VFW State Championship game.
NOV 7 – HALLELUJAH! We won! And Minnesota established two national firsts: The first Muslim U.S. Congressman, Keith Ellison, and the first U.S. Congresswoman from the Twilight Zone, Michele Bachmann.
NOV 21-27 – Jami, Dan, and grandson Tom arrived from Indiana in time to catch the Little Darlings home opener. They also began their grand search to become members of the landed gentry here in Vacationland U.S.A.
NOV 23-DEC 4 – Sister Gretch came to Alexandria to visit Mom for 10 days. Befitting her status as an infrequent traveler, her flight out from D.C. was the proverbial flight from Hell. The highlight of her visit was the water pump going out on Mom’s 20-year old Bonneville (Gretch’s wheels while here), flooding Mom’s garage. Merry Christmas, Gretch!
DEC 11 – As you know, the top 4 Republican candidates for president currently have 9 marriages, 5 divorces, and unknown numbers of extramarital affairs among them. An activist judge ruled that Mary Cheney best defines family-values.
DEC 12 – As we write this, it is the middle of December in Minnesota. It’s 40 degrees. There is no snow. It sucks! Nevertheless . . .

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

- Ruth and Tom Obert

Sara's Santa had the wrong glasses

Merry Christmas!

When our kids were little we had an annual Santa Party and this year we decided to revive the tradition for our three grandchildren and friends. The kids knew Santa was coming but when he actually walked in the front door, their eyes almost popped out. In this picture, he's reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" which would have been fine except Santa wore the wrong glasses and had a little trouble reading. The adults were in hysterics but the kids didn't mind and actually chimed in to help him out. Might try another "rent a Santa" next year.

Have a wonderful holiday and a happy and healthy 2007.

Sara

Merry Chaos from Kathy & Will

Mark and Karen Benson say "Merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas – Happy Holidays – Happy New Year!!

Karen writes: Time to send a brief Christmas note, since I supposedly have all this time now that I am officially retired! Can it really be less than a week until Christmas? My days seem to be filled even though I am no longer working outside the home. We think of each of you and truly enjoy hearing from you this time of the year.

Since retiring in May I have been busy! The day begins with coffee and the paper, then off to walk or exercise, back home for breakfast and my shower. It is hard to believe that by then it is already noon!! Golfing, quilting, playing bridge (started a Duplicate Group), piano lessons, reading, time up north -- are a few of the things that manage to fill my days. In September I went to the AARP Convention in Los Angeles. Seeing 23,000 people over 50 in one place and Elton John were the highlights.

I appreciate being able to spend more time with the grandkids. Of course they are great. Jakob and Jenna are 9 years old and in 3rd grade. Jack is 5 years old and in kindergarten. They are active with soccer, basketball, football, swimming, dance, etc. Jenna being a strong Benson woman can hold her own with those 2 boys. They spent 10 days at the lake with us. (No parents!) Mark and I needed 10 days to recover, but it was such fun.

Mark continues to work at the nursing home. He has been at Skaalen for almost 28 years. He thinks he will work a couple more years. The only building project this year is the adding of a hot water pool to the Rehab Unit – exercise for arthritics. He continues to love spending time at his farm in Westby…..hunting deer, turkeys, pheasants, or whatever; planting food plots; planting thousands of trees; building two ponds; etc. He is truly a farmer at heart.

Reba, our 14 year old Brittany will have to share her space with a new puppy. The puppy, a French Brittany, will be born the end of January, so will arrive here some time the end of March. I hope Reba adjusts to a new puppy (or rather I hope I adjust to 2 dogs!!!).

Our kids will be here on Christmas Day and then we will go north for about 10 days of skiing and relaxing. Julie and her family will be there for part of the time. We have many things to be thankful for this Christmas and accept the things that we cannot change.

As always if you are in Westby, Manitowish Waters or Stoughton, stop and see us. Hope all is well with you and your family. May the peace and joy of this season be with you throughout the year.

Sincerely,
Mark and Karen

Merry Christmas from Patty Ziebarth Kolodjeski

Just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
Patty Ziebarth Kolodjeski

Holy Molie, Who's the Goalie?

By Tom Obert, Cub Reporter, Nashville, Indiana, December 20, 2006

Thanks to the fine on-site coverage of the CRIT, we have been able to follow the exploits of the Cardinal girls hockey team while on our Indiana roadtrip. Before we left home last Thursday, our stalwarts upended St. Apollo/Cathedral/Herdans, et al by the score of 6 - 0. That made their record 9 - 0 as they headed to Moorhead to play the Mighty "Big School" Spuds on Saturday. Last year the Spuds handed our Cards one of their two regular season defeats by the score of 4 - 0 - but as the Moorhead paper noted, Alex had outscored their first 9 opponents this year by the combined score of 79 - 8! That means, of course, that we have been properly highlighting the scoring exploits of our star juniors and tri-captains, Abby Williams, Kathryn Del Zoppo, and Ashley Holmes - but we haven't noted enough the work of their fellow junior star, Danielle Justice, in goal. Danielle had 5 shutouts going into the Moorhead game, and, according to at-the-game coverage by the CRIT, was responsible for the 5 - 2 win against the Spuds.
The Mighty Spuds apparently had a 2 - 1 advantage in shots-on-goal, but Danielle was spectacular in turning away 39 shots. The CRIT said in one instance Danielle stopped a shot by the Spuds star player, lost her goalie stick, was handed another stick by on in-ice teammate, made two more stops with that stick while teammates retrieved her goalie stick. So here's to Danielle - a player who is so petite that we believe her goalie equipment weighs more than sh e does . Last night the CRIT reported the Cards moved to 11 - 0 with an 8 - 0 victory over Willmar - back-up goalie Nickie Hvezda pitched this shutout. Abby and Del had two goals each while their freshman linemate, Michelle Anez, had a hat trick. We hope to be home in time for the girls holiday tournament after Christmas.

When you own the float, you get to pick the Queen

Hi Stan,
I was really wondering where these "back to the sixties" pictures were coming from. I think I have figured it out. Kathy Sherry is the culprit.
As for the picture of the float, that is me sitting in the back. Claudia's Dad worked for or owned a dairy in Alex and that is how we were chosen to ride on the float. The parade was in Glenwood. As for the first picture, I picked Sandi as the person laying down because of her hands, and after thinking about it I figured we were in Kathy Sherry's basement because she is the only person I knew back then with a pool table (it was a bumper pool table), which would mean that Kathy was the one taking the picture. I still have no memory of the event.
Paula

I'm the dead one on the floor, says Sandi

Hi Stan,

Paula had sent me an e-mail last Thursday about the photo on the blog, as she thought I was the one on the floor. I am pretty sure it is me as it looks like my profile even though the top of my head is cut off.
Originally, I had thought it was taken in Claudia's basement, guessing that by the BB hoop in the background, as I recall they had a big rec room in the basement. I remembered a party or sleepover when we were goofing around, and I do remember playing dead.
I remember another time we did this at Paula's. We were always goofing around. (I also posed for a similar picture years later on a trip to Edinburgh Scotland with a girlfriend from my nursing school days. I guess that was because I remembered doing this before.
A few of us in the travel group had gone to an old graveyard at night, which was near the Univ. of Edinburgh Medical School, and where, according to rumor, the med students dug up cadavers...apparently this was a common practice in the 1800's. We had been told that Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Bodysnatcher", was based on this, so were intrigued and decided to have an adventure! This was after frequenting a few pubs!
So we roamed around this spooky old graveyard with flashlights after the pubs closed. I never got a copy of that photo...too bad, we could compare! That was a memorable trip, as the next day I was "pickpocketed" while on Princes St., looking for an art supply store, as we were going to return to the graveyard to get some rubbings from some of the old headstones. I guess I must not have been very alert after the previous night's escapades!

Even before I saw Kathy's challenge about the photo, I had noticed the pool cues and realized Claudia didn't have a pool table in her basement, so that got me thinking, and I remembered playing pool at Kathy's.
In fact, I think it was bumper pool. (I had written Claudia, Paula and Terrie about this but no reply yet, so the heck with them...I'll submit my guess! I was even going to share the wine. I am pretty sure it is at Kathy Sherry's house and either Kathy or one of her parents took the picture. ( I wouldn't know because I was playing dead!) As for the occasion, it could have been a birthday, or maybe a Christmas party. It was definitely winter, as I remember walking around her neighborhood and there was snow and Christmas lights.
Of course the other clue is sweater and slacks. Along with this memory, I have associations with the movie West Side Story....either the same night or prior to this, as we were singing some of the songs---I think Kathy had the album. It's possible I might be blending several memories here, but that is what I remember. (but don't ask me where I put my car keys)

Sandi

Christmas greetings from Lorlee!

First the good news
So here we are – late December 2006. Time for the annual recap of life at 3211 Culver Street accompanied by the annual proviso to feel free to throw it in the trash NOW if you so desire.
And the good news, right up front. I just had my 2 year check-up and it was “negative for any findings of breast cancer.” I have decided that “negative” is my favorite word in the English language.
I have been at the same job now for almost 10 years (the longest tenure of my career). I try to punctuate the work days with trips and play days since I won’t be able to retire any time soon.
Twice to Amarillo, TX – and you may wonder why anyone would go once, let alone twice. Amarillo is the home of the Panhandle Plains Museum where my photo “Closer Than They Appear” was included in a show of works inspired by Palo Duro Canyon.
There it was – on the wall with works by real and famous artists – with its little plaque “Lent by the Artist”. What a heady experience. Adrian and I took a 4 day meandering jaunt to see it in June taking in scenic canyons and gardens on the way. She had been with me when I took it and was almost as proud as I was. I flew there in September just for the day with a Dallas arts group. So I got to feel like a jetsetter as well as an artist.
October in New England is simply breathtaking and I was pleased to be able to spend 5 days visiting there with David and Joan. Mystic Seaport, Edith Wharton’s house, Deerfield, Litchfield and lots of other “too cute for words” towns. On the last day, we were only 20 miles from Vermont so decided to make it a 3 state day by driving those 20 miles, crossing the river and coming back through New Hampshire. When you live in Texas, a three-state day is a rarity.
Overnights to Patsy and Joe’s ranch at Gustine are wonderful breaks from the City. 125 miles and you feel like you are in a different world. Always good food and good times and I can find pecans and vegetables fresh from the source – though a late freeze wiped out the peach crop – Darn.
A weekend in Minnesota (in January) to visit family for the infamous Christmas Bingo. I was lucky to get in and get out without freezing or getting snowed in --- and ended up with some pretty nice things rather than the absolute leftovers they send me in years I am not there.
Day trips to the museums in Fort Worth, gardens in Mineral Wells and the picturesque town of McKinney….and at my doorstep, several visits to the Great State Fair of Texas where I make good use of my season pass.
Next year, when I will have completed my 6th decade, I will be able to get in free every Thursday. There are some perks you get with age.
The bathroom is finished – new window, fabulous large banana leaf wallpaper (you feel like you are in a jungle) but most wonderful is the new towel cabinet, deep enough to store things rather than tall, very shallow drawers that fell on your feet. I have signed on to work on the 2007 Dallas Mayor’s race so there will be continued progress since those fees go to remodeling. Next on the agenda is to rewire the rest of the house and perhaps refinish those wonderful 1927 oak floors.
The drought made gardening a challenge, but didn’t deter a gardening fool like me. Exercise is recommended for survivors so I take that as my prescription to try and do it every day. (Hmm – maybe I will have to write off all the expense as a medical deduction). I just ordered paw paw trees and am going to order olive trees when their new shipment arrives in January. When there isn’t enough gas to ship food thousands of miles – I will be ready.
Kito’s (the bird) vocabulary continues to expand, but my favorite is “I love you” in response to “Kiss Kito”. One is never sure what they will mimic. I am trying my best to teach it “You are My Sunshine” without success, but it picked up “I’ll have to put you back” after I said it just once after a particular hard nip to my neck.
There is no Frog report this year (Kiss a Thousand before you find your handsome Prince). The bird can say “I love you” and the cats nuzzle me at night, so who needs the perfect frog – I mean prince.
After just a year and a half, my nephew has gotten a promotion and will be leaving the Dallas area for Atlanta – so there goes my plan for having someone to push my wheelchair in my old age. His mother (my sister) and his brother and wife visited Dallas over Thanksgiving on a whirlwind trip. Next year, we all may head to Atlanta.
I won’t gloat over the election since I think both parties are corrupted by lobby money, but -- face it -- it can’t get any worse. I have hopes that with respect to energy and pollution, science rather than special interests will once again prevail..
So, I wish you health, good luck and love. I wish all of us and the world - peace.
Lorlee

Definitely "Grade A!"

To get you in the mood for the Lost in the 60s challenge issued below, the trailboss dug into the archives for this easy-to-identify Polaroid shot. Please note the date embossed on the bottom of the photo. Claudia and Kathy are seated on the front of the Northstar Milk float, who's that in the rear seat? Paula? Anyway, are you in the mood now? Read Skadsberg's challenge below, then get to work on her challenge. --TB

 

"Lost in the 60s" challenge issued

Hi Stan,
Great to see those Christmas photos and notes coming in!
A bottle of wine to the one who can guess the identity of the 5th person (the one lying on the floor) in the black and white photo posted earlier. Also guess the setting and the photographer :-)
Let's see, what wine was popular in the 60s.... Thunderbird? Mogan David? Cold Duck?
Merry Christmas,
Kathy Skadsberg

++++

Okay, I'll guess it's actually Kathy lying on the floor holding a crysanthemum. I'm done.

Sara

Merry Christmas from the Deleskis!

Pictured are Jerry and Linda Deleski with Brian, Jodi, son-in-law Larry and the closest thing they have to a grandchild: Miss Bernie B. 

Crash! went her computer... eventually she found us

Hi Stan,
My computer crashed last week and I lost all email addresses and all my bookmarks, so I hadn't checked in on the blog for a couple weeks. I could not remember the address for the blog (what is happening to my 59 year old memory) but today I found a blog search website where I found it listed. I was surprised to see that picture you posted. You are right - that is Gloria, Claudia and me. I am pretty sure the fourth person standing up is Theresa Wadsworth and my best guess for the person laying down would be Sandi Pennar. But to tell you the truth I have no memory of what we are doing or where we are doing it. I wonder if Sandi or Claudia would remember?
I ran out of time and did not get a Christmas letter done. Our family has had a pretty good year. Kids and grandkids are all doing fine. Gary and I celebrated our 35th anniversary by going to Hawaii (for the first time). We spent time in Honolulu and Maui and we really liked it although we only saw the sun for one day, the rest of the time it was cloudy or rainy but warm. I was really moved by Pearl Harbor.
The other big challenge has been dealing with my Dad and his health issues. He has been in the hospital five times since June. He had to move out of Windmill Ponds (assisted living) and into Knute Nelson. Sad to say that as of May 2006 he is no longer a greeter at WalMart and he really misses being there with all the people.
Dad is adjusting to the nursing home and has at least kept his sense of humor. Other than that Gary and I are both still working with no immediate plans for retirement. Merry Christmas to you and all the blog readers.
Paula (Widstrom) Hanson

Christmas greetings from Sara

Hi,

This photo was taken on the Disney cruise we took last July which was beyond any expectations we had. The entire family was able to go except for our daughter (unfortunately) and everyone had a great time on St. Maarten, St. Thomas and the Disney island in The Bahamas which was the best beach of them all.

The two older kids learned how to snorkel but the little guy refused to go into the water until the day before we had to go home. Once he was in, we couldn't get him out.

While we were on the trip, Disney celebrated the release of "Pirates of the Caribbean" by having fireworks, a pirate show (and Mickey flying back and forth between smokestacks) as well as showing the movie. When we got to the Disney island, we found The Flying Dutchman waiting for us.

Tyler (the little guy) had never heard of Mickey Mouse, etc., but really got into it when he saw the characters walking around the ship. The night before disembarkation, the kids got one last time with Mickey et al and just when it was Tyler's time to be with MM, they closed the line as it was time for all the characters to go to bed. Tyler had a complete meltdown so MM let him come up and spend a couple of minutes with him. Super kid in that costume.

The next morning at breakfast Tyler had another meltdown when MM and all the other characters were absent from the restaurant. I was talking to another passenger (from Minnesota, actually) and laughing about this and she mentioned that her daughter woke up that morning and declared that she wasn't leaving the ship. Period. Another kid, another meltdown.

Merry Christmas to all,
Sara

Lost in the 60s

Found this photo in cyberspace. That's Gloria and Paula and Claudia, I think. Not sure who the other two are. Guess? -- Trailboss

 

Some week, junior senior cub reports. . .

By Tom Obert
Cub emeritus

This has been some week around the ole home town.

We just received the note below from Mikko Cowdery, the guy I like to call the poet laureate of Douglas County.
Don Kelly, husband of DFL activist Edith, a journalism colleague of Dad's, who wrote a monthly letter to the Echo espousing the liberal point of view on all matter of subjects, died on Sunday at age 84.
Two acquaintances from the golf club, Ed LaFave (82) and Wayne Lock (71), also died this week. Regular golf partners, Jerry "Doc" Hanson and Erv McWilliams, are also dealing with health issues - Doc had a stroke in Park Rapids last weekend but appears to be doing fine now. The last we heard about Erv was that he was hospitalized in Minneapolis with a possibility that he might need a leg amputation (long time infection problems).
And now in today's Cardinal Connection, we learned that basketball player Sarah Weaver was injured in last night's game in Fergus Falls - the game was delayed 30 minutes while she was taken to the emergency room with what was diagnosed as a severe sprain to the lumbar region. Sarah has always been my favorite player because of her hyperkinetic energy - Sarah was also sister Gretchen's favorite player from her one game as a fan.

Subject: lies and damn lies from mikko
Dear Friend - If you're getting this note, it's because you are among the people we love. First of all, to quote Mark Twain, The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
I went to the Alex emergency room last Saturday with chest pains, but they could find nothing conclusive. So we made an appointment to have further tests at the St. Cloud Hospital cardiac unit, starting at 8a.m. on Tuesday.
Again the EKG, x-rays, and blood tests were inconclusive, so I took an echo-stress test which was also inconclusive. I didn't want to go home without knowing what the symptoms meant, so I asked for an angiogram. This test discovered three clogged arteries on my heart, which were repaired then and there with stents.
The prognosis is good. And for the price of a new Saturn, they left me feeling like a new man. Just got home yesterday - and wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and kicking. Tudy and I plan to take it easy for a couple of days, but we'll be in touch.
Love ya. - Mikko

Re: Obert's title

Jim Clifford weighs in on Obert's lament that the title, "cub reporter," is no longer suitable for use on this blog.

Hizzoner writes:
While Lorlee's point is well taken, I'm a bit reluctant to agree that Tom O. should be designated with a totally lofty title. How about this for a compromise: Cub Reporter Emeritus! The cub designation speaks to his being forever young in the minds of many, and quick as a cat to get to the important stories of the day. The Emeritus designation serves to set him apart from itinerant writers and other pretenders. The title, as a whole, also avoids elitism and trappings of aristocracy.