Fort Alexandria hosts big sing

Mikko Cowdery, with Patty Kakac, charmed the crowd this week on another beautiful free concert night at the famous Fort Alexandria. Above, the bashful cub photographer took a shot in the rear. (That's his camera bag and shoes in the foreground.) Notice, third row, left to right, what may be David Overly, Brian Berglund, Sara Sevey Smith, Ruth Helie, Harland Hoffland, and others too obscured to identify, but possibly Lorlee Bartos, Mark and Karen Benson and Sue and Karl Tegland, taking in the night air. We looked everywhere, but could not spot Diane Hoffman or Betty Larson, although both are said to be in town and are music lovers but may have been missed in this view of the crowd. Earlier, Paul Strandberg was rumored to have given the warm up monologue, doing a bit that went, "You know you're a Lutheran when. . ."* The trailboss will be in Alexandria this weekend to visit his mother (she's doing really well, they say) and to verify this secondhand information. Reports Monday.

*Full text of Strandberg's Monologue:
You know you're a Lutheran when

*You hear something really funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can;
*Donuts are a line item in the church budget, just like coffee;
*The communion cabinet is open to all, but the coffee cabinet is locked up tight;
*All your relatives graduated from a school named Concordia;
*When you watch a 'Star Wars' movie and they say, "May the Force be with you", you respond, 'and also with you'
* It takes ten minutes to say good-bye.