When I was old enough to venture downtown on my bike, one of my friends introduced me to the “junk drawer” at Ernie’s Pure Oil gas station on Plum St. (now Joe’s Mobil). Whether it was for a washer, nut, screw or bolt, there was a good chance you could find what you needed if … Continue reading "Spare Parts in the Junk Drawer"

I’ve ridden my bike so much around town this spring and summer that I’m probably now known as The Creepy Bike Guy. You can easily identify me. I’m the old guy on the electric bike with turn signals, wearing white crew socks, old shorts and a ratty T-shirt. Looking that fashionable, I wonder why women … Continue reading "Observations of the Creepy Bike Guy"

Candy, pop and 10-cent toys were on my mind every time I passed our neighborhood grocery store at the top of Centennial Street in the East End of Red Wing. Nearly every neighborhood in Red Wing had its own grocery store at one time or another. They were important in a growing community and even … Continue reading "The Grocery Store We Called Our Own"

Summer was waning. We had to get out of town, even if it was just for three days.  With COVID numbers rising again and Catherine still involved with too many things, there weren’t many options. So we decided to ride our electric bikes along the Root River. Our base would be Lanesboro. We intentionally took … Continue reading "Ditching the Drought to Ride the Root"

We live in a complex world where there are only two choices for everything. OK, that’s not technically true. But we view a lot of things in life in a binary way – on or off, yes or no, true or false, up or down, in or out, good or evil, win or lose, black … Continue reading "Simplifying Life with the Flip of a Coin"

The heat and humidity had been unbearable, the drought was dropping the river level to record lows,  the mayflies were hatching and the smoke from Canadian wildfires made the air unsafe to breathe. So I went fishing. First, let me remind you that I am not a sportsman. I rarely fish and I don’t hunt. Yet … Continue reading "Angling for a Whale of a Story"

Nothing much of note happened on August 1, 1967. Except that it was the first day Minnesota started collecting a state sales tax. The tax was three percent and that was huge. Suddenly, you had to pay three more cents for every dollar you spent on a lot of goods and some services. Pennies meant … Continue reading "Gaming That Pesky State Sales Tax"

Maybe it was the aroma of pine and the view of snow-capped mountains. It could have been the sound of the ocean or the sight of majestic canyons. It could have simply been the thought of eating that day’s catch of sunfish. There was always something in our thoughts and dreams that beckoned us to … Continue reading "Camping Reality Is Not The Stuff Of Dreams"

The pile of magazines on the coffee table needed straightening. It was cleaning day. As I squared up the edges of the three piles, I remembered reading that when magazines (periodicals) were becoming popular in the 1800s, wealthy people placed them neatly on their coffee tables so guests would think they were sophisticated. It didn’t … Continue reading "The Dilemma of the Modern Coffee Table"

It’s June, my favorite month. My fondness for June is because that’s when school ended and we kids were free to play all day, stay up late, and sleep in the next morning. I could also start earning money again mowing yards.  The days are their longest and the weather is usually the best combination … Continue reading "Remove Your Mask and Share Your Smile"