alexandriacardinals

May 14

Salem

In keeping with the traditions of the trip, it was rainy day.  Thus, it was a good day for indoor art & culture.  Thus, Rose and & Dick dropped us here, a place we have enjoyed on previous trips . . .

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799.  The museum holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US.  Its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-two historic buildings.  The Peabody Essex ranks among the top 20 art museums in the US by measures including gallery space and endowment.  Once the Advancement Campaign is complete and the newly expanded museum opens in 2019, PEM will rank in the top 10 North American art museums in terms of gallery square footage, operating budget and endowment.  The PEM has more than 840,000 works of art and culture featuring maritime art and history; American art; Asian, Oceanic, and African art; Asian export art; two large libraries with over 400,000 books, manuscripts.  (Wikipedia)

[First, see the movie . . . ]

[Then wander out into the halls again and act like tourists.]

[This looks like a place for an overview shot.]

[The Super’s photo she took for FB . . . OK, the photo was taken by her tablet!]

[Into the art exhibits, browse at your own speeds . . . ]

[The Biddies added for perspective.  Wow, what vases!]

[I circled the room and ended back with these guys again.]

[A large room for figureheads.  (Though tempted, I won’t go there.)]

[What the h*** is it?]

[While perusing these rooms, there was a statuesque Asian woman in a long black dress who was posing in various places throughout for someone who appeared to be a professional photographer.  But there were also three small children with them – a family?  Anyway, she was quite striking, but I figured it would be bad form to try to take her picture.]

One of New Zealand’s cultural success stories over the past 28 years is the spectacular World of WearableArt® or WOW®. At the core of WOW® is an international design competition that attracts hundreds of entries from all over the world. The annual Awards Show presents the finalist garments in a theatrical extravaganza that collides at the intersection of fashion and art.

[At least The Biddies seemed as bewildered as me.]

[Now the following 10 WOW photos were taken by the Super.  They may make an interesting psychological study on how different sexes view the same exhibit . . . or maybe not?]

[Really, I haven’t a clue.]

[And now back to my stuff.  This house will be “addressed” when we get to the bottom of this page.]

[A tough bareback ride.]

[The multi layers of PEM]

[And two from the Super, of me with the whole lunar in my hands!]

[Me again . . . I think I could be a fan.]

[And a final two from the Super.]

[Me again, I have no idea but it was cool.]

[Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese house, was brought to America and re-erected at the Peabody Essex Museum.  Yin Yu Tang was formerly located in the small rural village of Huang Cun, in the hills of Xiuning County in the Huizhou region of Anhui Province. Huang Cun is approximately 250 miles southwest of Shanghai.  Though the exact date of its construction has not yet been determined, it appears that the house was built by the 28th or 29th generation of the family at the turn of the 18th century. Since the present living family members are of the 34th through the 36th generation, the house was probably built 175 to 200 years ago.  (pem.org)]

[Excited, but exhausted by, our tour of the world of art, we returned to our hosts’ abode where Dick reintroduced The Biddies to the fine art of cribbage and wine.]

[Ever the gracious hostess, if somewhat camera shy, Rosie returns to the kitchen to make sure all our wants and needs are tended to.]

[Good-bye for the day from the Super’s tablet.]

It’s not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on.  ~  Marilyn Monroe

Up Next:  Even more Salem.

June 30

[But we begin with Vinnie Rose . . . ]

[Who had to the 2:00 – 6:00 slot earlier . . . ]

[And we wanted to catch a little of Vinnie too, particularly since forecasts of a likely rainy afternoon never came to fruition – it was quite lovely!]

[The crowd began filing in about 6:15 for The Killer Vees 7:00 – 10:00 show . . . ]

[Run fast to get your glass of wine . . . ]

[And hors d’oeuvres . . . ]

[Plenty o’ kegs . . . ]

[And here they are!  The Super catches The Killer Vees, i.e., Tommy (the bassist) and Jeff (the drummer) are Bobby Vee’s sons; Matt (lead singer) is Bobby’s nephew, and Julie is Matt’s wife.  Unfortunately I did not catch the names of the keyboard player or lead guitar player (who is from Elbow Lake, which is a sanctuary city for musicians)?]

[Better take two.]

[Karin joins the press coverage.]

[Thank you boys and girl . . . ]

[Of course, Matt is probably best known for his cover of Neil Diamond.]

[It appears folks on Medicare can still shake their respective booties!]

[One of our requested favorites.]

[The Owner leads the group through line dancing . . . ]

[Known for making sure sunlight does not fade the back of his cap . . . ]

[Escapees from Arizona.]

[You may recognize several of the dancers in the this one.]

[And a final pic set of the group really into it!]

[Our table mates tripping the light fantastic . . . ]

[A rousing good time was had by all . . . ]

[Dancing the night away.]

[And the wrap-up!  Happy 4th, everyone!]

If Mozart were around now he would write a killer rock song.  ~  Vanessa Carlton

Up Next:  Back to Salem?

May 13

Boston

[This is it!  We’ll be disembarking the Veendam shortly . . . for the last time.]

[Have you ever done a slow pass past a container ship?]

[And this is about it for Beantown.  Not that we don’t like Boston, we love Boston.  But we’ve been here a few times, most recently just a couple of year ago . . . ]

[We bid adieu to our fellow travelers.  Let’s do it again some time, kids!]

Salem

[We came down the gangplank just in time to be picked up by friends Rose and Dick McMullen, who live in the city put on the map by another friend, Jess Lourey.]

[The Biddies and I would spend a couple of days with the McMullens, reacquainting ourselves with the nearby lands north of Boston, beginning here with the Salem witch hunt cemeteries . . . ]

[OK, other than witches are buried here too.]

[A classic cemetery of the horror movie genre.]

[Well, The Biddies don’t look too scared!]

[They ran out of rope?]

[And now Rosie and Dick join the shopping brigade.]

[And whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy a little pain every once in a while.]

[The classic downtown streets of Salem, walking distance from Rose and Dick’s.]

[To the town hall . . . ]

[Where certain crafts were being displayed, included beekeeping . . . ]

[And here’s the photo The Super took, because daughter Jami is now a beekeeper.]

[Once Bewitched . . . ]

[Forever Bewitched!!!]

[I suspect Rose and Dick have done this a few times.]

[Back “on the road again.”]

[Catching up on stuff since our last visit.]

[The statue overlooking the town square on which the McMullen condo resides.]

[Crossing the square, heading directly toward our residence for the next two days.]

[The light blue building in the center, the 2nd floor, is the ultimate destination.]

[And then a little fine dining at Bella Verona, a cozy little restaurant back on the other side of the square again . . . ]

[Mmmm, penne!]

[My swordfish and salmon . . . ]

[A delicious consensus from everyone!]

Boston is actually the capital of the world.  You didn’t know that?  We breed smart-ass, quippy, funny people.  Not that I’m one of them.  I just sorta sneaked in under the radar.  ~  John Krasinski

Up Next:  More Salem

Paul passed away on Tuesday, June 27.  As a man who survived 12 or 13 heart attacks, he gave life an incredible run.  He used to joke that he knew all the paramedics in the area, and their families, because he had been transported or flown to St. Cloud  hospital so many times.  He was a big man in so many ways and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

May 18, 2009:  As previously noted, I have been “appointed” editor of this newsletter by our new president, Paul Donley.  Mr. Donley did this of course in the full knowledge that he would therefore not be responsible for a President’s Page.  Already showing signs of presidentiness!  ~  Me

The following was published in the Alexandria Golf Club newsletter in April 2009, an introduction of the new president to the membership.

Paul Donley, AGC president, grew up in Alexandria and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1964.  Although Paul was born in Minneapolis, by the age of three months he requested that the family move to Alex where he could become a big fish in a small pond.  The family acceded to his request.  His dad made Donley & Osted Plumbing and Heating an institution in Alexandria, and Paul did indeed become a big fish.

Though it pains me to admit this, Paul’s class of ’64 was a blockbuster class athletically, particularly when compared to the following year’s class, i.e., mine.  The guys in his class were considerably larger than those in the class of  ‘65 – I can only conclude from this that there must have been a food shortage in Alex in the 50’s and the town made a collective decision to emphasize the feeding of the older kids in the name of species preservation (you will find similar patterns of behavior among birds and higher mammals).  Anyway, Paul went on to become an all-conference tackle for the Alexandria Cardinal football team.

But Paul wasn’t just about brawn.  In fact, the most impressive item in his high school resume was being named president of the state student council.  In that position, Paul was able to parlay a couple out-of-state convention trips – not bad for someone who was a self-described small town plumber’s kid.

Paul matriculated to Concordia College in Moorhead, from which he graduated in 1968 with a degree in elementary education.  He continued his football career at Concordia and was named to the all-conference team.  As a freshman, he played on the Cobbers’ national championship team.

Paul began his career as a 6^th-grade teacher in Burnsville in 1968.  After teaching three years, he became the elementary school principal – the youngest principal in the state at age 25.  During this period, he found time to receive a Masters Degree in school administration from the University of Minnesota in 1971.  After eight years in Burnsville, he returned to Concordia for a year, before returning to K-12 education in Mounds View where he spent 18 years, ending as the director of operations.  He ended his career in Wayzata where he was the human relations director for nine years.

But enough about Paul.  Merry also had a distinguished career – 22 years as a teacher in Burnsville, plus she raised two sons (OK, Paul allegedly helped).  Theirs was a courtship that you only read about in . . . well, golf club newsletters.  They met at Concordia and got married two weeks after they graduated!  (Yes, I had the same thought – Merry obviously skipped several grades.)   Son Michael is 35 and played on a state championship football team for Burnsville – he and Chris have two sons, Jack, age 4, and Nick, age 2, and a baby girl is expected before this column hits the presses.  Son Scott is 33 and played hockey and was captain of the golf team at Burnsville – he claims to be a confirmed bachelor.

Upon his retirement, Paul whisked Merry, a big city girl from . . . The Cities, away from the bright lights to the lakeshores of Alexandria.  Merry appears to have made the transition with considerable help from quilting and golf.  Paul’s final claim to fame is that this summer he will compete in his 40^th consecutive Resorters’ Tournament – this is believed to be the record unless someone can produce DNA evidence to the contrary.

As president, Paul wants to focus on membership, both active members and recruiting new members, and to give a sense of ownership about the club.  He hopes the arrival of this newsletter coincides with the opening of the 2009 AGC golf season!

[Editor’s note:  On December 3, 2008 over steaming cups of Caribou coffee, club president-elect Paul Donley tendered the position of editor of the Alexandria Golf Club newsletter, and I, Tom Obert, rather foolishly, accepted.  Mr. Donley made this offer in full recognition of my total lack of professional credentials and extreme penchant for silliness. [Dame Judi Dench (74) recently proclaimed, “I get sillier as I get older.”  A great woman.]  I accepted in full recognition that the position doesn’t pay much – somewhat less than six figures – but I will have the opportunity to negotiate performance bonuses if I should ever be awarded a Pulitzer Prize or a Nobel Prize for Literature. Of course, we both know that Paul, no fool he, solicited for an editor to relieve himself of the onerous task of the monthly president’s column.  I expect to do full investigative reporting on such issues as why do all old men have the same funny-looking swing and how do “mature” women play 18 holes of golf in less than two hours.  And I eagerly encourage input from the membership regarding stories for the newsletter.  The “publisher” has requested that this be fun.]

A PHOTO ALBUM

August 31, 2010 with Merry

August 3, 2006 at the Resorters with his high school buddies Barry Bauer, John Fahlberg, and Darrell Maloney

April 18, 2007 with fellow board members and superintendent Donnacha O’Connor checking the course

October 24, 2007

April 16, 2008

April 18, 2008

April 16, 2009 first round of the year

June 13, 2009 at Cardinal Athletic Foundation tournament

August 22, 2009 club championship

June 16, 2012 Cardinal Athletic Foundation tournament with Dave Dittberner and Dave Rogosheske

August 28, 2012 at the Tuesday Senior League steak fry with Karin and Dave Berg

When he joined the “zipper” club

July 17, 2012

With school superintendent Terry Quist when he was named to the Education Foundation Board as, I believe, executive director

March 31, 2013 in the buffet line with the Super at the club