alexandriacardinals

September 15 (Friday)

After a week of sunny, hot weather, the big weekend arrived with forecasts of . . . stormy weather!

Hall of Fame

[Before the luncheon, the Super checks out the silent auction items for the evening’s Jeans & Jewels fundraiser.]

[Come and get it!]

[The one on the left is the Hall of Fame inductee; the one on the right still can’t believe he’s 70?]

[The Alexandria Area High School Carolers made their 2017-18 debut . . . ]

[They were terrific, as always.]

[Our table in rapt appreciation of their performance.]

[Missus Wicken displays the creds of a longtime news broadcaster.  Christine Reilly, master of ceremonies and chair of the Education Foundation, is behind her.]

[Take two, Patty, film is cheap.]

[Inductee Tom Halvorson]

[Go Cards!!]

[Inductee Michael Tisserand, with an “old” teacher and occasional member of the Fat Boys Walking Club, Harvey Kranzler.  Yes, another failure as a cub reporter, I didn’t get his photo at the event so had to check this one out of his Facebook page.]

[And Patty!  As a group, nonpareil induction speeches – Michael, who lives in New Orleans, and Tom, who lived at sea, really seemed to enjoy coming back to ye olde hometown and couldn’t quite believe the new high school.]

Jeans and Jewels

[ . . . later that day.  I have to point out that the original plan was to head out to the Grape Stomp after the luncheon, but Mother Nature had better ideas – a real gully washer in the afternoon.]

[Big turnout for the heavy hors d’oeuvres (yes, I always have to look it up), cash bar, i.e., adult beverages, and games of chance.]

[As initially reported on Facebook:  Well, boys and girls, she did it again. At the Jeans & Jewels annual fundraiser last night, the Super came away with a necklace and earrings, a load o’ cash, and 5 bottles of wine. The cash came from a 50/50 split with the house, and she didn’t realize they were calling out the ticket numbers for it. Someone at the table said they thought the last number was a 7. Ruthie said, I have a 7 as a last number. So up she went, and sure enough she was the winner!]

September 16 (Saturday)

Grape Stomp

[10:00am – that arrival time allowed us to see three one-hour music sets before I would head out for the Homecoming football game at 2:00.  The grape vines are attired in their formal gowns . . .]

[Certainly among the early arrivals at the Grand Stables Event Center . . . ]

[Our fellow music connoisseurs (yes, I always have to look that one up too), Karin and Dave Berg, stop for a visit with Harper’s Chord, who would be next on stage after the Salty Dogs, there now . . . ]

[You go, boys!]

[Greg, Erik, and Tom were in fine fettle, and, I am told, really had the full house joint hoppin’ in their 2nd set at 1:00.]

[Harper’s Chord up next.  We missed their first visit to Alex this year when we were at alumni camp, so it was great to see them again.]

[The Super readies for her Missing you at photo.]

[They have a second CD coming out soon – their first one has always held a place of distinction in the car stereo.]

[That’s Roger, Jill, and Micah, on bass – the fiddle player is new to us and don’t know his name.]

[Thought the song was appropriate for the iffy weather all weekend.]

[Well-known Harper’s Chord roadies]

[Then it was out to the Marquette Stage for BAT . . . ]

[Likely was not anticipating jacket weather at this time of year – he prefers to play in his bare feet.]

Homecoming

[The sky gives you the idea.  I told Brad it would be a last minute decision as to whether I would go to the game or not.  We took a chance.  I left the Super back at the winery – she said she was a big girl and could handle it.  I almost couldn’t handle leaving – first, I couldn’t find my car keys, and b), I couldn’t find my car.  When I finally found the car, there were the keys, on the console, the doors were unlocked, uffda . . . ]

[The first attempt at a team photo . . . ]

[And the 2nd attempt.  I had picked up a program at the gate but upon arriving at our seats I no longer had it?  So, I had no means then, or now, of identifyng the players.  It’s really fun being 70?!?]

[I believe it’s called a huddle – probably trying to remember where they left their cars?]

[Anyway, it was homecoming, and we were playing longtime rival, the Brainerd Warriors.  Last year we beat them at their place, 59 – 45.  We were 2 – 0 (this was my first game in attendance) and I believe the Warriors were 1 – 1.  We were not expecting a defensive struggle.]

[It’s like riding a bike – always wear a helmet!]

[Foreground to background:  Mike Kluver on camera, the referees, Grand Arbor.]

[Our first offensive play of the game.  An omen.  We threw a “pick 6” – they intercepted and ran it in for a touchdown (“6 points”).  I didn’t hear until later that we only had 10 players on the field on the time – count ’em, yup, only 10!]

[Like last year’s team, we had put up some impressive offensive numbers the first two games.  We lost a lot of the skill position players from last year, but the new guys are stepping right up.  Aside the opening pass, new quarterback, Mike Empting (12), has played very well and played well in this game.]

[He throws a nice ball and moves well (well, he’s also our free safety).]

[Here’s a key returnee from last year.  Cody Faber (33) is kind of all purpose everything – receiver and runner and kick returner.]

[And Empting is pretty accurate . . . ]

[Throwing on the run.  He was 18 – 26 for 210 yards in the game – our starting halfback was injured and did not play, and I believe our longball receiver was injured coming into the game and may not have played much.]

[Looking right as the Cards are driving down the field . . . ]

[Cody is usually the slot receiver but in this game played a lot of running back as well . . .]

[For yardage up the middle.]

[We subsequently scored on a 3-yard pass to Josh Wegner (from the newspaper) and then converted a 2-pointer on a flip back to Faber who passed to Wegner.]

[Brainerd had a 200-pound back, Charlie Geraets,  who I remembered from last year.  He scored on a 43-yard run and the Warriors led 15 – 8 after the 1st quarter.  The Cards came back in the 2nd quarter . . . ]

[And scored on a 4-yard run by Faber – tie game.]

[Then Faber scored on a 40-yard pass – the Cards were up 21 – 15 with 22 seconds left in the half . . . ]

[Amazingly, our squib kickoff, as I recall, was returned to around midfield.  With 2 seconds left in the half, from our 40-yard line, they somehow got a receiver behind our defense and scored to take the halftime lead.  The opening pick 6 and this final play of the half spelled doom for the home team.]

[The Homecoming Royalty was introduced at halftime.  I know Calley Richardson (red sneakers) from her exploits as a hockey and softball player.]

[OK, let’s roll in the 2nd half!]

[Empting passes us close . . . ]

[Then Faber scored on a 5-yard run . . . ]

[And we led again.]

[But Geraets scored again, and back came the Cards on a 24-yard run by Empting.]

[I had to leave then to check on the Super at Grape Stomp.  We led 36 – 29 at the end of the 3rd quarter.  But Brainerd scored 3 TD’s in the 4th to win 50 – 43 (kinda like the last team with the ball would win) – Geraets ran 43 times for 290 yards, repeatedly running over his left side.]

Grape Stomp

[The event center was packed upon my return.]

[The Salty Dogs were stage, at their feet a fan who appeared to be having balance issues.]

[And by now there had been enough product sampling that the dancers were hitting the floor.]

[Hi, Erik!  Do you have a agent?]

September 17 (Sunday)

[Last day of the Stomp, the sun was struggling to make an appearance for 4 hours of BAT and an hour and a half of Erik.]

[Brenda doing her best impersonation of the Super.]

[Toga!  Toga!  Toga!]

[The Super, foreground; BAT, background]

[Once he gets warmed up, he really rocks and rolls!]

[It was sunny, I’m looking at a small screen, the videos were out of focus.  Sorry ’bout that!  Think of them as being . . . artsy?  I think the audio’s pretty good.]

[He and Brenda return at the end of the month.]

[Back inside to help Erik wrap it up.]

[And we’re outa here until next September.]

[Despite the iffy weather, seemed to be a good turnout all weekend – Sunday seemed better than usual with the better weather.]

[And we bid adieu to the grape vines.]

[The Super’s spoils from the last day!]

[And we finish with a song written by Minnesota’s Nobel laureate . . . ]

[BAT, taken by the Super!]

A wonderful drink, wine . . . Did you ever hear of an Italian grape crusher with athlete’s foot?  ~  W. C. Fields

Up Next:  Depends . . .

(* A/K/A Cleanup)

[The booted fence on the west side of Highway 29 between Glenwood and Alex . . . ]

[After a beautiful weather trip, we were racing to get home before the storm . . . ]

[Population 13,000+, depending on which side of town you come in from . . . ]

[As we head up Broadway, with a threatening sky to the north, I am reminded in this photo that our insect friends often commit mass suicide at this time of year by hurtling themselves into onrushing windshields.  We had to make many gas station visits along the way, not for gas, but to sandblast bug detritus from our means of forward vision . . . ]

[When we drove up our driveway we thought our flower beds were teeming with Monarchs . . . ]

[But . . .  Conditions for the Painted Lady butterfly have been favorable this summer—so advantageous that they’ve proliferated on the northern prairies.  The Painted Lady, which the casual observer can mistake for a Monarch butterfly, is not native to the northern Plains, but migrates here from southern locations.  In an ordinary year, one generation of Painted Ladies flits from plant to plant during the butterfly’s short lifespan, lasting from two weeks to a month. But this year, conditions have been ideal and two generations of Painted Ladies have flourished.  “They’ve been able to build up their population exponentially,” said Alex Knudson, an entomologist at North Dakota State University.  “Population explosions” in Mexico, for instance, can produce migrations to the northern United States.  As caterpillars, Painted Ladies feed on plants including thistle or soybeans. As adults, they like to eat a variety of plants, including asters, sage and sunflowers.  “Most butterflies are kind of incidental pollinators,” Knudson said.  But because the Painted Lady isn’t acclimated to the northern Plains, it isn’t equipped for the chilly temperatures that arrive when summer yields to fall.  “They’re not native species so they can’t handle the winter here,” Knudson said, “so when the first frost comes, they’ll die off.” (www.inforum.com)]

[I’ve always thought that anyone, or thing, who can flit deserves bonus points . . . ]

[Definitely flitters . . . ]

[Again, the Super (not me) decided a Bump’s carrot cake slice would be a perfect birthday accompaniment to the caramel roll . . . ]

[OK, let’s delve into the birthday booty, from sources far and wide . . . ]

. . . and continuing the next day.

[Thanks to all!!]

[And to all who share – Locally: Shelly, Larry, and Ken; nationally: Anthony Weiner and Beyonce.]

I’ve noted my fingernails and eyebrows seem to be growing exponentially faster with age than when I was younger.  That tidbit has absolutely nothing to do with what follows here, but my U of M Alumni Fall 2017 magazine came today and this was in it.

Men grow old, pearls grow yellow, there is no cure for it.  ~  Chinese proverb

Up Next:  Regular programming, trying to collate events of the concurrent Grape Stomp and Homecoming next weekend!

September 4 (THE MAGIC DAY)

OMG!!!  70!?!?

[Saved by . . . ]

An unplanned, great part of the trip was throughout the whole 3-day weekend, the Sirius XM Beatles channel played the Top 100 Beatles songs, as determined by a fan vote.  So, whenever we were on the road, the Super and I enjoyed the playing of the 100, several times over:

Beatles Countdown 1. A Day In The Life 2. In My Life 3. Hey Jude 4. Abbey Road Melody 5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 6. Here Comes The Sun 7. Strawberry Fields Forever 8. Something 9. Let It Be 10. Yesterday 11. Eleanor Rigby 12. Blackbird 13. Hey Bulldog 14. I Am The Walrus 15. Norwegian Wood 16. Across The Universe 17. Here, There And Everywhere 18. Penny Lane 19. Dear Prudence 20. Sgt. Pepper’s… 21. I Saw Her Standing There 22. Help! 23. Tomorrow Never Knows 24. Nowhere Man 25. All You Need Is Love 26. Revolution 27. Don’t Let Me Down 28. If I Fell 29. The Long And Winding Road 30. A Hard Day’s Night 31. Rain 32. All My Loving 33. Come Together 34. For No One 35. Get Back 36. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away 37. Ticket To Ride 38. I Want To Hold Your Hand 39. And Your Bird Can Sing 40. And I Love Her 41. Day Tripper 42. I’ve Just Seen A Face 43. Paperback Writer 44. Oh! Darling 45. She Loves You 46. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 47. Two Of Us 48. Eight Days A Wheel 49. Twist and Shout 50. Heater Skelter 51. We Can Work It Out 52. I Feel Fine 53. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) 54. This Boy 55. Back in the USSR 56. Hello, Goodbye 57. Things We Said Today 58. I Will 59. You’re Going to Lose That Girl 60. When I’m Sixty-Four 61. The Night Before 62. The Fool on the Hill 63. I Should Have Known Better 64. You Never Give Me Your Money 65. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 66. Got to Get You Into My Life 67. Taxman 68. Within You Without You 69. Do You Want to Know a Secret 70. Can’t Buy Me Love 71. Please Please Me 72. Michelle 73. Girl 74. Ballad of John and Yoko 75. Drive My Car 76. Lady Madonna 77. You Can’t Do That 78. Yellow Submarine 79. Birthday 80. I’m Happy Just to Dance With You 81. Octopus’s Garden 82. Good Day Sunshine 83. You Won’t See Me 84. Anna (Go To Him) 85. Magical Mystery Tour 86. P.S. I Love You 87. I’m A Loser 88. From Me To You 89. Love Me Do 90. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 91. Please Mister Postman 92. She’s A Woman 93. Roll Over Beethoven 94. You Really Got A Hold On Me 95. I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party 96. She’s Leaving Home 97. I’m Only Sleeping 98. Rock And Roll Music 99. Thank You Girl 100. Boys

The planned, ungreat part of the trip is that I thought when I got home I’d do a selfie holding my unwrapped, still totally cellophaned, Beatles LP, “The White Album.”  But I couldn’t find it – lost in the ether after 40+ years?  It’s probably worth $2 – 3 million by now!!

[We had morning time in New Ulm – it was a short drive to Glencoe, our next destination.]

[An older gentleman (look who’s saying “older”) passed by as I was taking the photo.  He said I should have seen the place in its heyday.  I said if only I had that capability . . . ]

[The place did have a rathskeller!]

[Some sort of government building . . . ]

[Yup, that’s what it was . . . ]

[My guess, at one time the high school, or the combined junior and senior highs.]

[On the middle school boulevard . . . ]

[And now going up the hill to visit Hermann the German . . . ]

[There he is, in all his splendor.  We had stopped by the previous day on our way into town, but half the population of Germany was there.  We were first visitors this time on an early holiday morning . . . ]

[The last time we were here, he had just completed a major makeover – kinda like Big Ole in Alex.]

[Nice overlook of the city . . . ]

[More historic buildings . . . ]

[And back at the German mall – no shopping desired by the Super?]

[And this is the historical society museum – cool building!]

[No doubt containing Wally Pickle and the Dill Pickles and Whoopee John Wilfahrt . . . ]

[Hermann from a different angle . . . ]

[We’re heading to the high school . . . ]

[Brand, spanking new as of 2016 . . . ]

[Cathedral of the Holy Trinity from afar . . . ]

[Where “Weakie” went to school . . .  yeah, I thought the same thing, the school looks too new!]

[Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, close up . . . ]

[Apparently there are two sheets of ice in here . . . ]

[One of them Olympic size.]

[I thought it looked like an old football stadium.  Upon further review, I’m pretty sure gladiators fought here.]

[On the road out of town heading to Glencoe . . . ]

[Not really sure . . . ]

[Lafayette, we are here!  Population 504.]

[Population 1,399]

[From the beginning, the final destination for my birthday lunch . . . ]

[“The Bumpster” is 2nd from the left and the founder of Bump’s.  He always said the Fat Boys had to go to Glencoe someday for a Bump Burger. So, I did.  The restaurant is now run by his daughter and son-in-law, and in statewide voting by a Minneapolis TV station, its beef commerical was voted best in the state.]

[The award-winning beef commercial, borrowed from Yelp . . . ]

[We stopped in town for directions and were told the place is always packed.  It was.]

[The Super made me do it . . . ]

[The Super also decided I should have a Bump’s caramel roll for my birthday cake . . . ]

[And the Bump Burger, worthy of its pre-game buildup!]

[It was a half-pounder, so we split it . . . ]

[And from the exterior, just off Highway 212 . . . ]

[Good-bye, Glencoe . . . ]

[And then on the road for home, with all the places betwixt and between . . . ]

[Population 14,178]

[Hometown of Alexandria’s internationally-renowned, Deb Trumm . . . ]

[Population 2,432]

[Brooten has an airport?]

[Next stop – Alexandria . . . ]

If you survive long enough, you’re revered – rather like an old building.  ~  Katherine Hepburn

Up Next: The aftermath . . .

September 3

[After overnighting in Worthington, the plan was for a little more sightseeing, then heading northeast to New Ulm via Highway 60, and then spending the night in New Ulm.  First up, drive by Mom’s old house in the morning . . . ]

[Downtown Worthington . . . ]

[Swing by El Azteca again . . . ]

Strange . . . but true

[This is Larry (with Laura, obviously).  Larry was born in Worthington and lived in the house located one picture below this one.  That house was about 4 blocks from where Mom grew up.  Near as we can figure there was at least a few years overlap between the two families before Mom’s moved to Minneapolis, but they didn’t know each other then.  When the McCoys moved to Alex some 30+ years later, they bought the Obert house (that we built in ’49-50-ish) in 1967 and have lived there ever since.  The house has had the same phone number for 68 years.  And then to cap it off, Larry and I have the same birthday!]

[McCoy house in Worthington . . . ]

[Obert house in Victoria Heighs, Alex, c. 1950 . . . ]

[Obert/McCoy house mid-60’s, yes, we added a 2nd floor in the early 60’s.]

[Back to current times, we returned to Pupuseria & Restaurant Crystal (remember it was closed on Saturday) to pick up some Salvadoran pupusas for the road.]

[Adios, Worthington!]

[On Highway 60 to New Ulm, passing Brewster, population 473.]

[Highway 60 parallels a railroad track – there are grain elevators every couple of miles.]

[Maybe the Heron Lake water tower?]

[Another nice mid-sized town.]

[And back to the little guys – population here is 87.]

[And we’re at the next overnight destination . . . ]

[This is “Weakie’s” (3rd from the left) homtown.]

[Some nice TOPOGRAPHY heading into town.  The city has a population of 13,522, very Alexandria-like.]

[Displaying the German heritage.]

[We were looking for a place to lunch on the pupusas we brought from Worthington . . . ]

[This was a little park at the base of the road into Schell’s Brewery . . . ]

[Unfortunately, we should have eaten the pupusas when they were hot and fresh!]

[Heading out of the park . . . ]

[And there’s the little covered picnic area where we noshed . . . ]

[The road up to Schell’s.  It was a Sunday on a holiday weekend.  No chance to find parking anywhere near the place, so we didn’t partake.]

[A park . . . it says so on the sign.]

[Our windshield sticker was good to the end of the month . . . ]

[Hot summer day, holday weekend . . . ]

[Why was everything closed?]

[A unique natural swimming pool – never seen such before?]

[And working our way back to town . . . ]

[“Weakie” has been eating here for 70 years – always gets the b-b-que ribs, french fries, and cole slaw . . . ]

[We ordered wine – our server noted that people here drink beer, not wine!  Ha!]

[We split an order and opted for hashbrowns rather than fries . . . ]

[Well worth the long considered visit – the cole slaw was the best ever, crispy and vinegar based!]

[A nice trend we’ve noted in cities this size – downtown corner art.]

[It’s a clock, it’s a musical clock, it’s a big musical clock with wooden people that pop out of it. … New Ulm’s Glockenspiel is a 45-foot-high musical clock tower with performing animated figures; carillon with 37 bells.  (www.roadsideamerica.com]

[Where we just dined . . . ]

[Across the street from where we just dined . . . ]

[New Ulm history . . .

[One of these is a real person . . . ]

[Cool building with a supposedly cool restaurant?]

[Again, German heritage . . . ]

[“Weakie’s” favorite radio station because it’s “junk” spelled backwards (I believe for New Ulm Journal?).]

[We will do a final tour of New Ulm in the morning before heading to Glencoe.]

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.  ~  Groucho Marx

Up Next:  Birthday, the actual day!