The Cheap Seats

"I cried off and on all the way home."   My mother told me this piece of information a few years ago. Her tears came after she and my dad had dropped me off in Morris, Minnesota, where I began my freshmen year of college in 1985. My own sadness was momentary, of course, as I was about to embark on a fantastic four years of freedom, fun and friendship.   Fast forward 28 years from that late September day and press Play . . . again.   My son left for Boston University one week ago. For most of this summer my thoughts of his looming departure bounced back and forth between excitement and concern - excited for him to begin this next chapter of his life, but understandable concern for his safety, health and well-being so far away from home. Sure, I also expected a measure of personal sadness, but incorrectly assumed this would center solely around his absence. Dead wrong.   In the days and weeks leading up to his exodus, a noticeable a...

As an amateur observer, I make dozens of judgments daily. Most are harmless, others are crackpot-like and a few (if I do say so myself) have merit. Regardless of their categorization, these observations float in and out of my conscious mind in random succession all day, every day. In fact, here is a short list of the  Things I'd Like to See Happen that I've mulled over just today:   1. People Care More About Their Privacy : Social Media has overwritten the 10th Amendment's inherent implied Right to Privacy. And no one cares. If you don't believe me, troll Facebook, Twitter or Instagram any given hour and it is largely full of the mundane portrayed as glamorous, opinions expressed as facts and blogposts about personal observ...a...t...ions . . . Oh crap. 2. The Return of Jarts : So some idiot gets killed and we all have to suffer? I know it's been about 30 years ago since their ban, but the classic yard game is still m...

  When I brought you home, wow - have three years gone by? I expected a one-person cat, not some feline with a wandering eye.   And for a while you fooled me, systematically setting the hook,  rubbing, purring and well - just being you, reading me like a book.   Yes, I played hard to get, pretending you mattered little. Coming and going myself, outwardly seeming non-committal.   A stand-offish co-habitation, perhaps that's why you grew bitter. Just tepid water and dry food, with an infrequently changed litter.   And all along I thought, "The uncovered poop is pure bluster," a sort of "Look what I did," instead of all the hate you could muster.   But didn't I feed you on time, put a roof over your head? Much longer in that shelter, you would have surely been dead!   And I gave you a better name, than that ridiculous Boots. You became...

Back in the early 90's I lived in Minneapolis, a half mile east of Lake of the Isles. Almost every day after work I jogged over to the running path that circled it, occasionally looping south to connect with its sister lakes, Calhoun and Harriet. These lakes, and the mass of humanity that are drawn daily to them, are still my three favorite places in the Twin Cities. I haven't lived in Minneapolis for almost 20 years, having bounced between its northern suburbs and St. Paul since 1994. But fortunately, Isles, Calhoun and Harriet have remained unchanged with time - as are people's reasons for enjoying them. Some - like me - use them for exercise, primarily running and biking. Others use them as gathering places; to picnic, to play, to swim or be seen. The great majority, however, walk - either alone or with a partner. Two Sundays ago I made the trek to Lake Harriet for a lap or two. Harriet is the most popular of the three l...

If you are in the vicinity of my age or older, you probably remember a show called, That's Incredible! This show - one of the first reality TV programs ever - aired in the early 80's and starred John Davidson, Cathy Lee Crosby and Fran Tarkenton. That's Incredible! featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events. The show also featured people with unusual talents, as well as scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs. Individual segments would conclude with the studio audience shouting in unison, That's Incredible! Lame, I know - but let's not forget it was the 80's. Lame was in back then. Very creepy publicity photo from That's Incredible!   Why this forgettable show crossed my mind recently I have no clear idea. But it got me thinking about the opposite of what that mediocre program represented. That's Incredible! eventually (after the novelty wore off) degenerated into a series of silly segment...