[For the Special Olympics at Arrowwood on beautiful Lake Darling this afternoon. It was an absolutely balmy 19 degrees ABOVE zero today . . . OK, the wind was uncomfortably strong, so we didn’t stay out for long.]
[The walk down to the lake. As you may recall from your readings . . . mostly from Facebook snowbird friends . . . the month of February was mostly below zero.]
[Looking back at Arrowwood. Why yes, it is a pretty day.]
[A hockey rink on the lake . . . but no signs of any plungers. I was duped! I was told they’d be plunging at 11:00 – but that was just a time for arriving, schmoozing, eating, and beveraging No one was going in the water until 1:00!]
[So inside we went (well, the Super was already there – she knew what was up!). Here the Super poses the Barrett Fire Department plunging as a team.]
[Our old buddy, Professor Miltich, was there to provide entertainment, so my time concerns were assuaged. A bloody mary also was good at assuagement!]
[Get ready to saddle up people!]
[The Anthony Miltich Fan Club . . .]
[In the midst of serious negotiations regarding the fee the perform at a three-year old’s birthday?]
[Hey Daddy, how much is a million dollars?]
[This is our group . . . ]
[As they were in relation to Professor Miltich.]
[We sponsored them – the League of Super Heroes, a/k/a, ASK (Acts of Sincere Kindness group).]
[Then we had to leave the Professor to catch the action on the ice.]
So, here’s the video. You can hear the wind. It was tough for us to walk out there without snow on the ice to provide some traction. Plus, I was shooting blind over the top of the crowd. Under these circumstance, unfortunately, the video of the ASK group didn’t come out (cold hands, bad blind aim):
[I hereby pledge that I, personally, will NOT plunge again next year!]
[And here’s the Echo Press photo, already up on Facebook.]
Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while. ~ Kin Hubbard
Up next: OK, this time the basketball sections (I think).
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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Great pictures! Looks like a beautiful day except for the wind. You could see how strong the wind was blowing my watching the fur flutter in the hats that that observers were wearing. Brrrrr!
alexandriacardinals 
Great pictures! Looks like a beautiful day except for the wind. You could see how strong the wind was blowing my watching the fur flutter in the hats that that observers were wearing. Brrrrr!
Jimi Hendrix is my favorite Super Hero.