Happy Trails, Al Lieffort. May you forever continue to “wang dang doodle” in New London!
[A really fun good-bye party and jam session at SAWA. Many of Al’s music partners over the years dropped by to play with him.]
[Hey, Wednesday, half-price wine night!]
December 17
[27 below zero wind chill – beautiful weather for a little early morning shoveling! A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!]
[Got this in the mail from John Stone. We didn’t have it. Typed on the back is “Thursday, April 27, 1961, 2:00.” Dad played in the men’s league at the Alexandria Golf Club, once a week, they walked and played 9 holes. It looks like the Park Region Echo truck was used in demolition derbies?]
[And from the Echo, our old golf buddy Bill Feriancek, a/k/a, Walleye Willy.]
[A joint presentation that was so much under appreciated. It was a brutally cold day, and I hope that was the reason for the poor attendance?]
[19 actors take on 42 roles – you need choreography to find your way to a mic when it’s your character’s turn to speak.]
[Unlike last year, there was a set this time – I believe the residue from the recently completed “Christmas Carol.”]
[And our community education fearless leader, Cami Pexsa, and her daughter Ali made successful stage debuts!]
December 18
~ The annual high school Christmas concert
[This is the BIG ONE. The one we wait for every year . . . ]
[And the kids never cease to amaze.]
[Concert Choir]
[The Rainbow Strings]
[Silhouettes]
[Well, I tried for an artsy shot. Had choir director Steve Deitz’s shadow on the wall!]
[The Carolers]
[The kids hit it out of the park, as usual, with two great finishing songs, Baba Yetu and Hallelujah Chorus.
[And they covered Baba Yetu just like this!!]
I hate the radio this time of year because they play “All I Want For Christmas Is You” like, every other song. And that’s just not enough. ~ Bridger Winegar
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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What a great theme… In Terra Pax. Looks like another successful event.