Friday, March 26, 2010
Canada, Oh!
Tonight we got an email from our son, who is proposing a trip along the north shore of Lake Superior with his girlfriend Rebecca. This is, I suspect, primarily a re-creation of a trip he took with his father in 1996, but that trip was itself a re-creation of a trip his father and I took in 1979. He probably owes his existence to that trip.
I had taken a contract job in St. Paul that year and was having a great time in the twin cities. Tom remained behind in a house we shared with friends in Madison, and I commuted home on the Greyhound bus every other weekend. It was a hellish trip and I resented having to make it. In between, I made calls from a phone booth on 7th Avenue in St. Paul--Tom would leave messages with the operators to ask me to call. It was all a bit more personal in the pre-cell phone days, even in a phone booth on the 3M plant-side of the tracks in St. Paul ( the whole neighborhood smelled of Scotch tape).
By the time he arrived to pick me up in St. Paul at the end of the contract, our future was a question mark. We spent the next two weeks, meandering along the north shore of Lake Superior, moving and re-pitching our tent every night. We got good at it--it became less of an ordeal and more of a smooth process. We learned a little something at each stop.
We (I) learned that you can lose a lot of money playing gin rummy for double or nothing, especially after many Amaretto shooters. We had the opportunity to mine amethysts and learned that you can't pay rent with the proceeds. We spent time in a town with the largest incidence of twins in North America, and learned that they don't walk around arm-in-arm for the benefit of tourists. We learned that a small chipmunk can make a very large dent in a pot of macaroni, and that it is never a good idea to engage in a tug-of war with a skunk over a loaf of bread. We learned that baby moose are still plenty large and that border guards (even then) don't appreciate humor that involves weapons. Somewhere between Thunder Bay and the Mackinac bridge we also found our future again.
So yes, my son, you can borrow the tent, the stove, the lantern and the cooler. You are on your own for the Amaretto.
I had taken a contract job in St. Paul that year and was having a great time in the twin cities. Tom remained behind in a house we shared with friends in Madison, and I commuted home on the Greyhound bus every other weekend. It was a hellish trip and I resented having to make it. In between, I made calls from a phone booth on 7th Avenue in St. Paul--Tom would leave messages with the operators to ask me to call. It was all a bit more personal in the pre-cell phone days, even in a phone booth on the 3M plant-side of the tracks in St. Paul ( the whole neighborhood smelled of Scotch tape).
By the time he arrived to pick me up in St. Paul at the end of the contract, our future was a question mark. We spent the next two weeks, meandering along the north shore of Lake Superior, moving and re-pitching our tent every night. We got good at it--it became less of an ordeal and more of a smooth process. We learned a little something at each stop.
We (I) learned that you can lose a lot of money playing gin rummy for double or nothing, especially after many Amaretto shooters. We had the opportunity to mine amethysts and learned that you can't pay rent with the proceeds. We spent time in a town with the largest incidence of twins in North America, and learned that they don't walk around arm-in-arm for the benefit of tourists. We learned that a small chipmunk can make a very large dent in a pot of macaroni, and that it is never a good idea to engage in a tug-of war with a skunk over a loaf of bread. We learned that baby moose are still plenty large and that border guards (even then) don't appreciate humor that involves weapons. Somewhere between Thunder Bay and the Mackinac bridge we also found our future again.
So yes, my son, you can borrow the tent, the stove, the lantern and the cooler. You are on your own for the Amaretto.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Congressmen
Oh my. Say what you will about the health care reform bill (pause for editorial comment, "it is about damn time, and I am sure it would have been better if everybody had been participating instead of obstructing"), the political rhetoric has been astounding. Let's start right here in my home state where Congressman Ryan had a lot to say. As it turns out, so do I.
CR: This bill does not reduce the deficit.
Me: I thought the purpose of all was to provide affordable health care to average citizens.
CR: What kind of country will we be in the 21st century?
Me: Hopefully a healthier and more prosperous one.
CR: Do we want the government having a bigger role in making personal decisions?
Me: No, that is why it is a mistake to criminalize abortion, regardless of who pays for it.
CR: Our rights come from nature and nature's God, and not from the government.
Me: Are you referring to Gaia/Mother Earth--and is the Republican party okay with this view?
CR: When the government creates rights and is solely responsible for delivering these artificial rights...
Me: Wait, are we talking about guns now? Let's not go there.
CR: This bill is condescending--more Americans will have to depend on the government than themselves.
Me: You mean like those people who can't afford to retire after a lifetime of work because they are too young for Medicare and can't pay for health care? Those people? Or maybe it is the elderly at the end of their lives who watch their life savings disappear into the nursing home until they are on their last dime and can finally apply for Medicaid? Or perhaps you mean the people who would like to return to school and retrain for more relevant employment who are held prisoner by their employer-paid health insurance. "Let freedom ring" has a whole new meaning with affordable health care.
And Congressman "Baby Killer" Neugebauer? You should be ashamed of yourself. Bills don't kill babies, poor health care does.
Now sit down and shut up. There is serious work to be done.
CR: This bill does not reduce the deficit.
Me: I thought the purpose of all was to provide affordable health care to average citizens.
CR: What kind of country will we be in the 21st century?
Me: Hopefully a healthier and more prosperous one.
CR: Do we want the government having a bigger role in making personal decisions?
Me: No, that is why it is a mistake to criminalize abortion, regardless of who pays for it.
CR: Our rights come from nature and nature's God, and not from the government.
Me: Are you referring to Gaia/Mother Earth--and is the Republican party okay with this view?
CR: When the government creates rights and is solely responsible for delivering these artificial rights...
Me: Wait, are we talking about guns now? Let's not go there.
CR: This bill is condescending--more Americans will have to depend on the government than themselves.
Me: You mean like those people who can't afford to retire after a lifetime of work because they are too young for Medicare and can't pay for health care? Those people? Or maybe it is the elderly at the end of their lives who watch their life savings disappear into the nursing home until they are on their last dime and can finally apply for Medicaid? Or perhaps you mean the people who would like to return to school and retrain for more relevant employment who are held prisoner by their employer-paid health insurance. "Let freedom ring" has a whole new meaning with affordable health care.
And Congressman "Baby Killer" Neugebauer? You should be ashamed of yourself. Bills don't kill babies, poor health care does.
Now sit down and shut up. There is serious work to be done.
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