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Just when I vow to step back, take a deep breath, for a few hours view politics from afar, knowing (and not exactly forgetting) the horrors of so many lives: the refugees and other homeless humans, those mired in death and starvation in countless deadly military/gang/thug actions around the world—it gets personal in various ways. For starters, personally terrifying in the way fascism, communism, capitalism, all creep up and into, if not… Read More
Published August 6, 2023: Like the majority of the world’s population, I’m struggling to stay healthy within a cracked, if not broken, healthcare system. American healthcare is not rated particularly high on any world systems’ charts—although far from the absolute bottom. We’re too expensive, too inequitable, too disjointed. It is absolutely all about the money in corporate-healthcare America—but hey, that’s capitalism. This is a post about healthcare in Minnesota. Where one can… Read More
Cousin Audrey’s youngest daughter, Terri, is the lure that will always bring me back to MInnesota…even if Robert and Marsha permanently decamp to Florida some day. Terri seems to be a center around which the extended family of Hahns, Nesets, Tacks and more can revolve. Audrey is nearby in a nursing home but no longer able to be active physically or very present mentally. The eldest son Randy died some years ago,… Read More
One should only eat walleye in Minnesota at a cousin’s house. Oh sure, some number of restaurants serve walleye but, even though good-enough, it won’t taste like it does at Terri and Brian’s. Truth About Walleye And Their Taste (deepwaterfishery.com) The walleye has white flesh. It has a less murky taste than bass. Fish fillets which are fine and flaked have a sweet, thick, succulent and mild flavour. These terms basically describe… Read More
Oh oh…woke up this morning thinking about work and New Mexico and real life…In a good way. I’ve breathed in my Minnesota air, eaten sour cream raisin bars and walleye, hung out at ‘the old place,’ seen family and friends, driven lots of miles, and, did I mention all of my new shoes (Bender’s, Grand Rapids, great shoes). Refreshed and well-shod I can go home. Here’s a big fat album of the… Read More
We’ve just returned from a 400 mile round trip between Grand Rapids and Roseau—or the Minnesota of lakes and woods to the Minnesota of Lake of the Woods. I managed to check into the one motel room in Roseau last night with faulty internet service so my commitment to a daily travel blog was stymied. Now to catch up. It’s time to let go of my tree obsession and write about something… Read More