The 12 Pounds of Christmas

I’m just dreading the next trip to the doctor for my two to five year annual check-up.   It’s not the snap of the latex glove and instructions to bend over that has me worried. It’s the look on his face when he checks my chart and says, “Do you know how much weight you’ve…

Springing off to Springdale

Linda and I have a mixed marriage.   She was raised Catholic and I, of course, grew up in the one true faith..Lutheranism.   Alright, don’t get your choir robes all in a bunch..I’m just kidding.   I appreciate the traditions of all denominations but some of them can get pretty tight which, among other…

I Remember 1968, Too, Tom

There have been two times in my life that I was truly afraid this country was done for. The first was in October of 1962 when President Kennedy had ordered a naval blockade to stop Soviet ships that were carrying nuclear weapons into Cuba. The two great superpowers had finally brought the world to the…

An Offer the Vikings Can’t Refuse

“Just when I think I’m out they pull me back in.” *Michael Corleone, Godfather III   It’s probably not a good idea to compare myself to a mobster..even if it’s a movie mafia mobster… but I know exactly how Michael Corleone felt when, in spite of his best efforts at going straight, he just couldn’t…

The News Blues

I feel like an ostrich lately: burying my head in the sand to shut out the world. I know, I know, ostriches really don’t stick their head in the ground to escape things but..they do sometimes duck into the bushes to hide or just lie down and wrap their useless wings around their body..apparently trying…

Christmas Collectables

In my 32 years at Keloland I guess I did stories on just about every kind of collection you can imagine. From caps, cars, tractors, (both real and toy) beer cans, dolls, Elvis, Avon, trains (both real and toy)McDonalds stuff, Vikings stuff, Packers stuff, clocks, dishes, pheasant feathers, outhouses, barbed wire and hundreds of other…

Cold Blooded Bells

I was awakened early this morning by a thumping noise coming from the basement followed by a faint sound that reminded me of the bell that teachers use to call kids in from recess. There has been a little criminal activity in our part of town lately and my first thought was, “there’s a burglar…

A Thanksgiving Wish(bone)

Besides gorging on fantastic food to the point of explosion, Thanksgiving Day in my youth was always exciting because after the feasting, there was a chance the adults would choose me to be one of  the kids to pull on the turkey wishbone and maybe..just maybe.. have the larger section snap off on my side…

Baking With Kim Ode

“Honey..do you care if I drive up to Brookings for the day?”   “What’s in Brookings?”   “Well, I’d like to spend some time with Kim Ode…a gal I’ve had a crush on for 25 years.”   “Oh, well go ahead then.”   That’s sort of how the conversation went between Linda and me last…