Veterans Day 2023

 

Thoughts on Freedom and Sacrifice

Veterans Day is always a day for remembering the price that our military has paid over the years for protecting freedom here and all over the world. (At least I hope that’s what we have been defending.) The costs in lives and treasure are very evident and painful.

The Price for Freedom is Always Paid

I am old guy now and as a vet who participated in several of our conflicts - ostensibly about freedom - I have been thinking more deeply about what freedom means; what have we been defending?  

It seems we Americans have a very broad definition of the word freedom - and a singular bond with it. People in most other countries are happy to just have the freedom of a peaceful, decent life. Not us, we think of almost everything we can - and cannot - do in terms of freedom. Here's an interesting local example:

A couple years ago the city of St Paul decided to centralize trash collection, a fairly common thing in most cities. At that time the residents were responsible for hiring their trash collector which, of course, meant that there were many different trash days and many different trash trucks beating up the city streets. Well, from the reaction of many folks you would have thought the city was going to come in and take their guns. 

By God, give me liberty to choose my own trash hauler or give me death!

             

. . . Or My Favorite Trash Collector!

Is this a frivolous expression of freedom? That is not for me to say but I doubt it is worth dying for. Which brings me to sacrifice. We know the sacrifice that the military makes but what about the rest of society? It occurs to me that we all pay a price, sometimes obvious and sometimes unnoticed, for certain aspects of our freedom.

Some sacrifices are self-inflicted. Once upon a time we went to the polls and elected our government representatives. Very simple.  Sometime, somehow, however, this freedom is now  expressed mostly via campaign contributions. $$$$, lots and lots of $$$$. You could say we put a "for sale" sign on politicians. In fact, money is so important now that members of congress spend up to 30 hrs/wk dialing for dollars. (I know, they could be doing their actual job but apparently our country doesn’t have any real problems that require full-time effort.) Anyway, their money solicitation has been made easier by the 2010 SCOTUS Citizens United ruling that "corporations are people." Of course, they aren’t really people but their money is just as good and is actually better. Why should a politician fiddle around with us individuals when they are free to grab a ton of cash in a single bag from a large corporation or a "dark" PAC? In 2022 (a non-presidential election year) we “citizens” gave about $16.6 MILLION for each of our hard-working senators and representatives. 

We have all sacrificed here; sacrificed the direction of our country to the wealthy and the corporations who now have a larger voice than we peons, er, individuals in running the country. For proof, look no further than the struggling middle and lower classes these last 30-40 years.

 

Thank Heaven for Free Speech!

Others are inexplicable. For example our freedom to “choose” our healthcare. Every other modern country has some sort of imperfect but decent, government-paid system that everyone can access. Not us, we fight to protect our private healthcare system which is provided by five or six giant insurance companies run by executives who make eight figure incomes. We also happily pay about twice as much as any other country and accept that 65% of bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses. There is also the likelihood that it will bankrupt the nation eventually. 

It's not just the 28 million folks without insurance who are sacrificing for this.  

Sometimes, sadly, it is  predictable. Thanks to the 2^nd Amendment (no matter how poorly written and misinterpreted it is) every living American is entitled to own any and as many - to the tune today of about 400 million - guns of their choice from a BB gun to an assault rifle. 

There have been nearly 600 mass shootings in the US so far this year. So what, we are not alone in mass shootings. There have been 18 in the UK – since 2000. France has had 12 since 2012. See? 

We had 48,000+ deaths by guns last year including over 6,000 kids killed or injured. Is there a relationship between our gun laws or lack thereof and these deaths? You be the judge but it seems like a heavy price is being paid by someone for "thoughts and prayers."

Kyle Rittenhouse and fellow teen patriot killing protecting Kenosha protesters with their assault rifles

Ironically, sometimes sacrifice is required for freedoms we don't even have. Probably the most fundamental right of all democracies is the election of their country’s leader. Not us. Through the ingenious - and convoluted - logic of the Electoral College the Founding Father’s relieved us of that responsibility. Interesting that a people who resist city trash collection will accept that just a few “swing states” get to choose their president. Presumably at some point that sacrifice will be questioned. Probably by the majority of voters.

There are many other examples of we Americans expressing our freedoms in “unique” ways. 

As recently as a couple years ago many of us, in the name of freedom, refused to wear a mask. It is, of course, an American’s right to deny that there is any common good for which to sacrifice. (Although not for those in the military.)

Many of us employ the 1^st Amendment to use religious beliefs to force other Americans to sacrifice their common civil rights. A belief that overrules a right. Hmmm

We apparently also have the right to harass and threaten friends and neighbors doing the jobs the country needs and the rest us cannot or won’t do - teachers, librarians, school boards, election workers and anyone else we disagree with.

I bet you can think of some other examples too.

Great sigh.

In the end, nothing in life is free. For every single choice and decision there is a price that must be paid. For all those freedoms we take for granted, someone is picking up the tab. If not you then a relative, a friend or a fellow citizen.

The ultimate price for your Freedom

I apologize for this long-winded way to say that no matter how important - or petty - the freedoms that we Americans enjoy, in the end they will be guaranteed by vets with their lives.

 

To my many vet friends a special belated thanks for your service, you are the best.

Some music to ponder the price of Freedom

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Tears for Fear (Geezer version!)

Rockin' in the Freeworld     Neil Young 

Out of the Cradle . . .

. . .To an Uncertain Future 

Please note: I started this before the tragedy that is the Israeli/Hamas terrorist mess in the middle east. I don't think it changes anything here and in fact might add more relevance. You can be the judge though.

A couple of recent articles in the paper regarding Biden’s plan to expand the border wall and the new surge in migrants (10/6 and 10/8 respectively) add more sadness to an already tragic but mostly ignored story. The wall may seem necessary, and perhaps it is, but in the end it will just be another thumb in the dike of a migrant flood. And it is a worldwide tragedy.

About 20,000 migrants have died since 2014 trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, many of them children. 

 Over 850 died just in 2022 trying to get to the US, again many of them children.

For me these news items are also particularly timely for another reason. I recently watched a documentary called “Out of the Cradle.” It was about how we humans evolved in Africa and then migrated literally around the world.  The similarities - and differences - between those early migrants and todays are striking.

If you stop and think about the courage and determination it took for early humans to leave the only home they had known for thousands of years and just start walking it is mind boggling. Imagine the first of our kind packing up the kids and heading north from the savanna of Africa. They had no idea what they would find or what they would do but curiosity or necessity drove them to seek a new life. Maybe they traveled a hundred miles, maybe a few hundred but then then they put down roots; most people didn’t live much past 30 so there wasn’t a lot of time to be traveling. Now imagine countless generations doing this over and over for the 50,000 years that experts say it took us to spread  all over the world. That’s bravery and persistence!

There are about 35 million refugees wandering around in the world today. (This doesn't count as many as 75 million others who are displaced or already migrated to other countries.)  Much like our distant relatives, todays migrants are looking for a better life. Or perhaps just a life safe from rampant crime or corrupt governments. Unlike their ancient ancestors who dealt with wild animals, deserts and mountains, today they must deal with (totally arbitrary) national borders and a modern world that neither trusts nor wants them.

It is not hard to envision large numbers of people on the move just in our country alone in the next 50-100 years. With hurricanes, flooding, drought and maybe even politics, a lot of people are going to be on the move here. Where are they going to move to? Who will buy their old homes? How will they pay for new ones? Will jobs follow? What about infrastructure like education and healthcare? Now multiply that by people all over the world – millions and millions - who will be on the move due to climate change and war. Where will they go?

We are - and will be - stuck with very difficult decisions. Will we condemn many of these people to death because we won’t allow them into our city, state or country? What will it take to solve this? Will we even try? 

I guess “we” is not quite the right word. A better word is "you." As with so many other problems, this old baby boomer will be leaving this one behind too as a “gift” for my children and grandchildren.

Sorry guys, good luck.

Music to ponder migrant life . . . 

A SAFE PLACE TO LAND   SARA BAREILLES JOHN LEGEND

REFUGEE   TOM PETTY

Giving the Equinox its Due

 

As many of you know I am somewhat of a fanatic about the two solstices; hate for the summer but love of the winter.

 

While pondering my navel recently - during my first bout of covid - it suddenly occurred to me that I have spent all my time pontificating about the two solstices and haven’t given any attention to the two equinoxes, vernal or autumnal. Lucky for you on this auspicious date I am about to fix that. (By the way, for you Latin scholars equinox means “equal night.” Duh.) In many respects the equinoxes are more important than the solstices. After all, not much happens on the solstice (if you disregard height of summer and beginning of winter) but the equinoxes have a lot going on.

Both days are pretty cool although I must admit that I have a little less enthusiasm about the vernal one. That's because we all know what comes after it: The. Worst. Day. of. the. Year. (For celestial non-zealots that’s the summer solstice when it all starts heading downhill for those of us on frozen tundra.) Anyway, I thought I’d to try to give both these important days a little love. First, some science stuff. (I'm sure you know all this already but bear with me and don’t worry even if I could – and I can’t - I’m wouldn’t drag you into astrophysics or astronomy.)

It's pretty simple, just look at the picture above. Earth in summer (in Mpls) on the left – sun brightly shining 16 hours a day; fall equinox on bottom – equal days and night but heading downhill; winter on right -  yuck; and spring equinox at top – next stop, golf and bikini's! 

But wait, there’s more! Ironically, the earth is actually closer to the sun at our winter (southern hemisphere’s summer) solstice than we are in our summer. And, of course, there's our “tippiness” as we go around the sun that actually gives us seasons.

(Can you imagine what it would be like without the tippiness and seasons? It would basically be spring - or autumn - all year round, no hot days in summer, no cold days in winter and 12 hours of daylinght every day. Bor-ing! Of course it would suck to be in Alaska where it would be dawn or dusk all day, every day. Ugh.)

So what, Dear Leader, you might say. Well, I’m glad you asked.

Pretty much since the first cave man happened to notice that days got longer then shorter, then longer then shorter, etc. they started organizing their lives around these changes.

Behind every great man? 

"You know, Og, if you stopped hunting all the time with your hairy buddies and did more gathering maybe we could get a decent cave with a door and  get the kids one of those new fangled wheels to play with." 

Perhaps most important of the two, is the vernal equinox.

Imagine you’ve been sitting around freezing your butt off for months waiting for that magic moment when you can get ready to plant your delicious potatoes - but how do you know when? You check the calendar, of course! Well, okay first you invent a calendar which they did about 5000 years ago. (Without a YouTube either.)

Dear, did you remember to set the rocks back an hour?

Yup, sun streams through between the big rocks in the right place and bingo, it’s spring! Pretty soon they could plant their crops, the cavewomen will start wearing shorter furs (woo hoo!) and the damn kids will get out of the cave.

A lot of religions - maybe all of them – have incorporated at least some of these turning points into their beliefs (or vice versa.) For example, most ancient societies held fertility rituals in the spring. They’re still around in one form or another.

 

 Beer and girls! Beer and girls! 

(This was taken during spring break my senior year at UMD. It's not clear why girls didn’t want anything to do with us ROTC guys.)

 Although the autumn equinox is a big deal too. 

Before there was a Cub Foods or Lunds and Byerly’s, if people didn’t have a good harvest they may not live to see the spring so many societies had ancient rituals mostly around this time of the year to celebrate the harvest. For instance, there is the Higan in Japan, the Navaratri in India and those clever Christians in England created Michaelmas to get those pagans into church. (Sort of like they did with Christmas at the winter solstice, both with mixed results.)

This should not be confused with Thanksgiving which was created by the illegal immigrants at Plymouth Colony to keep the Native Americans from killing them by sharing their food with the same Native Americans who had shown them how to grow it.

These rituals change through the years but they are still with us.

 Nothing like fall Golf!

 Golf and nap! Golf and nap! 

(Women still want nothing to do with us. Huh. Could it be our magnificent physiques? Our excellent taste in clothes?)

So even with all our knowledge today about the earth and solar system, not much has changed. The spring equinox still signals thinking about the annual flowers. We celebrate the longest day of summer with pretzels and beer and start the harvest with the fall equinox. Finally, we beg the sun to return on the shortest day of the year. (Okay, probably only I do that but still . . .)

So, imagine if you will, the earth traveling at 67,000 mph through space around the sun. Then in an instant, at precisely 8:04 PM on Tues evening, it will pass that single point in space - at the equator - where summer turns into fall.

Next stop, Dear Leader’s Solstice S’mores party!  

S'mores and beer! S'mores and beer!

A very happy fall to you.

Spring Music 

Daydream   Lovin' Spoonful

Fall Music

Harvest Moon   Neil Young

The Seinfeld Post

 

 

A Post About Nothing

I've had some time on my hands during this recent stretch of hot smokey, weather and I got kinda cranky and bored. It's a very dangerous thing, me having time on my hands. It doesn't help that, along with a lot of other people, we recently had hail damage (new roof, car totaled.) We also found out - $2000 dollars later - that Dear Prudence has diabetes. Great. The pièce de résistance: just this week we discovered we have a cracked sewer pipe. Hey, no problem what's another 10 grand - ha, I laugh at adversity! With that said, let's get on with the hilarity.

I can also admit now that I'm a hoarder. I hoard tons newspaper and magazine articles, thoughts on various books I’ve read and even some doggerel that I wrote as an angst-ridden young man - angst that life has beaten out of me. Much of which is of very minimal value. (I didn’t say I was a good hoarder.) Basically, I collect ideas for things to write about but then lose track of them. I have done this for years so of course Mrs Dear Leader finally had me get rid of suit-case size boxes of papers and junk. Now I hoard the same stuff - plus YouTubes on various topics - on my computer (take that Mrs DL!) I took this opportunity to use up some stuff I had been collecting. (Lucky you.) 

So this post really is about nothing - in particular - and not nearly as bubbly as my last one was.

Edumacation ‘R Us 

Hope Carrasquilla, principal of the Tallahassee Classical School in Florida, was forced to resign - and it's all Michelangelo's fault.

Hey, you can see his weiner!

The David was completed by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504. 

From a BBC article in April of this year, apparently she allowed an art class of 11 and 12 year old kids to view this famous statue and according to some parents, other “pornographic” items like Michelangelo's painting "Creation of Adam" and Botticelli's "Birth ,of Venus." (Yup, more carn sarn nudes!) 

"There is nothing wrong with the human body in and of itself," she continued. "Michelangelo would have done him wrong to sculpt him in any other way. I think it's wonderful." Said Ms Carrasquilla, a self-described conservative, as she was visiting the Accademia Galleria in Florence where the statue resides.

Oh yeah? Well, if Michelangelo wanted young people to see his creation then maybe he should have covered Dave's private parts with a fig leaf or something. We all know that art is the devil's work and meant for godless liberals. Next thing you know they will be brainwashing our kids about evolution and letting them read about slavery, gays, drag queens and other dangerous types! 

(Besides, I wouldn't hire that guy to paint my kitchen ceiling let alone a so-called work of art!)

It does raise the question, though, of what the parents expected when they decided to send their kids to a place called a "classical school." 

Paging Ron DeSantis, Paging Ron DeSantis, clean up in Tallahassee!

My take? Since parents obviously know more about education than the so called experts, I think everyone should just home school their kids - paid, of course, by taxpayer vouchers. That will solve a LOT of problems. 

(I also think there is some fertile ground here for a future post.)

Of course, Education madness runs in all directions . . .  

The Los Angeles Times brings us this depressing headline:

“California approves math overhaul to help struggling students. But will it hurt whiz kids?”

Essentially, because so many kids, especially those from less advantaged homes, are struggling with math classes and grades the powers that be basically want to redefine what math is and also forbid kids (well, the smart kids) from taking advanced math courses even if they are ready and want to i.e. before high school. You know, so the less math-inclined kids won't feel bad. Kinda like the "everyone deserves a trophy" thing?

Speaking as someone who is good at arithmetic but unskilled at anything but basic algebra this has the distinct odor of dumbing something down for political – and other - very poor reasons. Shocking, I know.

Education in America has a lot of issues. It definitely needs to greatly improve or we are doomed (see current political turmoil caused mostly by general ignorance.) It won’t help if we hold some kids back rather than help all kids be smarter better educated.  

PS - Poor math and reading grades are not just a California problem.

PSS - Many of these folks worry more about kids reading "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Of Mice and Men." Oh, boy,

PSSS - Maybe there's something to this not trusting more the education big wigs (this does NOT include teachers!)

A Book Review:

Augie's Secrets: The Minneapolis Mob and the King of the Hennepin Strip By Neal Karlen

Recommended by a neighbor who has lived in our Minneapolis 'hood forever (we call him The Mayor), this was a very interesting, true - according to the author - inside account of the well known Jewish gangster history of the Twin Cities from the 1930's to the early 60's. (And yes, The Mayor is Jewish.)

It's the story about Augie Ratner, the author's great uncle, and his "associates."

The current Augie's Bourbon Street Cabaret (he he) still stands on Hennepin Ave right where Augie established it in 1943.Then as now it's a bar that features "exotic dancers" - although now including hip hop music. (I can only go by hearsay on this.)

Augie, while not a gangster himself, was very close to the local ones as well as a lot of celebrities of the time. I can't describe the book any better than this blurb:

"Karlen brings back the days when Peggy Lee walked into Augies straight off the bus from North Dakota, when mid-century celebrities like Frank Sinatra visited Hennepin Avenue, and when the most powerful crime lords in the land checked their guns at the door when they visited Augies."

The history of our city was replete with crime and corruption that would make Chicago blush, most of it run by Jewish gangsters. The more important takeaway for me, however, is the widespread bigotry of the residents of our fair city that Augie - and anyone who wasn't white Anglo-Saxon protestant - endured most of their lives. And I mean blatant amd intense bigotry. Blacks and Jews were treated horribly by their fellow citizens, and the government for that matter for decades.

Call me "woke" (a preposterous word for a pretty simple concept) but it seems to me that we nice, liberal Scandinavians apparently were neither for a very long time.

"Demographics are Destiny" August Comte

Several years ago, a group of my moronic friends and I lowered the overall IQ of FL - no small task - by congregating there for a few days in March to play golf and party til the wee hours (almost 10:00 some nights!) Anyway, we also went to a spring training baseball game which are the only baseball games that I can actually tolerate.

As we were sitting there in the warm sunshine, drinking beer, and admiring the, uh, beach wear of some of the fans (of course, myself and a few of the guys actually watched the game too) when it dawned on me as I looked around that all I saw was white skin and gray hair. Now I grant you, this was FL in winter so of course FL is packed with snowbirds who are almost exclusively old, white people. 

Heading to the game

My point here is that at that time my main thoughts were: 1) if this is the fan demographic of baseball then it is in deep kimchee and 2) is this what we have to look forward to in the whole country?

Fast forward to an article in 7/23 in Strib: “World of Change is Coming in a Hurry.” It was regarding the impact of the aging population on the economy, social security/pensions, and society in general. Apparently by 2050 in much of the developed world people aged 65 or more will make up about 40% of the population. The US is lucky, we’ll only be up to 22%. That may sound okay but it ain’t because it means the whole country will be the same percentage then as Florida is today -"Death's waiting room." (Hey, don't blame me, I didn't think that up!)

Every day we see articles about the difficulty in finding workers for jobs, from hotel maids to teachers, veterinarians to police and firemen to the military. (And as we will see shortly, pilots.)

Police. Firemen. The military. Think about that for a minute.

Anyway, they can offer all the money they want (which is going to come from you and me) but it doesn’t matter if there’s no one there to take it.

And this. In 1950 there were over 16 workers for every Social Security recipient. Today it’s 3-1, in 2050 it will be 2-1. Boy, what a treat it will be for our grandkids to give most of their pay to support our kids. Terrific. 

As an aside, 2050 will be an important year for another reason. By then non-Hispanic whites - you know, the Olsons, Kowalski's, Schmidt's and Pedersons - will no longer be a majority in the US. We - well, not me but the fruit of my loins - will just be a plurality, the largest minority group. Tres Interessant, non?

So, anyone still doubt that we babyboomers are the luckiest people in the history of the world? I am reminded of the great tune by the Steve Miller Band, "Take the Money and Run." That's us!

And in Other News, More Demographics - or Just a Changing Society?

Trust me, I've been a pilot for over 3 months!

In a interesting item from Axios in July, in addition to facing a shrinking worker population, the airlines are finding that some pilots are turning down the opportunity to upgrade to captain. Now anyone that knows airline pilots knows that this is among the most important of goal$ for airline pilots - right up there with hoping to have only one marriage. I assure you that this is not the financial equivalent of declining to be the office manager, we are talking BIG bucks. (Of course, as an airline pilot and neighbor pointed out, it’s not as if the guys in the right seat - First Officer - are currently starving so there is that.) This means, of course, that we are seeing pilots with many fewer flying hours and experience as captains and we are also seeing the results of that with increasing pilot-induced incidents: 

More Incidents Due to Inexperienced Pilots (link)

While this is an older article it is even more applicable today with several recent incidents in the news.

In any event, I guess it isn’t just those so-called lazy millennials and silly Gen Z'ers that we older generation types like to bitch about. You know, those young'un's who want to work less and settle for less money in order to have a better quality of life. 

What all this means for the economy, on the other hand, is for someone who is not me to figure out. Good luck.

And Finally, (great sigh of relief by readers) Travel Ain't All it's Cracked Up to Be

I've got a great idea, let's drop off 5000 people in Venice and Amsterdam!

I am a big believer in travel, especially outside the comfortable confines of the US of A. Not only or even mostly because of the sights but to learn how other people live, how they do some things better than us and some things worse. You know, broaden one's horizon. To do that you need a passport and while 55% of Americans have one, a large majority are held by those with incomes over $100,000. (Duh!) That's unfortunate because of lot of people of less fortunate means might get the most benefit from it. (There is, of course, the little matter of affording to travel.)

Anyway. Mrs DL and I have been fortunate to make several trips to Europe over the past several years and generally had great experiences. It didn't take long, however, for good old, eagle-eyed DL to note the huge throngs of people everywhere we went. Yes, we visited mostly the same places everybody else was visiting - and the crowds sucked. In fact, our experience at the Vatican and the Louvre were so horrendous that I swore I was never leaving my house again. (Spoken like a proud old curmudgeon.) This also seemed to confirm one of Ped's Postulates: "Anywhere you might want to go will have too many people making it not worth going." 

That's true from an Eagles concert to the Eiffel Tower.

Well, it turns out that many Europeans finally agree (as have some Asian countries.) Yup, many of those cities and sites that live by tourism are trying to restrict the flow of tourists to a simple flood from a total deluge (and, of course, make some money on the entrance fees.) Who can blame them? You know, actual people live there too. 

Tourist Overcrowding  (link)

So, it's another great paradox of life or perhaps even a Corollary to Ped's Postulate: too much of good thing . . . is bad for someone somewhere. A cynic's alternative might be: there is nothing so good that we humans can't screw it up. 

My advice, if you want to enjoy the sights go in January (or go where they ain't.)

On a positive note, I don't think we have to worry about being the Ugly Americans anymore. (Well, I mean we still are the worst dressed but not worst behaved.) In my opinion, certain Asian travelers have stolen our crown and good riddance to it.

Say Good Night, DL

Well, I warned you, don't let Dear Leader get bored! Luckily, I am astute enough to know that I have overstayed my welcome so goodbye. No, please, don't thank me, really, it was nothing. (Besides I have to go look for a part time job. )

See you in the fall.

Can't leave without some appropriate tunes . . .

Take the Money and Run   Steve Miller

Another Brick in the Wall    Pink Floyd

See You in Sept    The Happenings

A Minnesota Midsummer’s Dream

Okay, the worst is over, at least for me. The traumatic Summer Solstice that I dread so much has come and gone, its damage is done. It’s time now to relish the short time left until the first flakes of winter arrive.

"Up North"

You know, I'll bet you get this a lot too: "How can you  live in Minnesota with those winters?!" I know I've heard that from people in other states and countries ad nauseam and I'd like to say, "you know you can always put on clothes to stay warm but you can only take off so much to keep cool until the neighbors call the cops." Instead I now have a rote response: "I have literally been around the world and visited all but two continents and I have never been anywhere better than Minnesota between the months of May and October. (okay, mid-October.) Yup, that leaves six months that are, uh, less great - hey, no place is perfect! - but's it's these magnificent hazy, lazy days of summer that keep me here. In my opinion, if you will forgive some projecting, I think that's why a lot of us live in Minnesota. In my particular case, and despite any issues we may have here today, also living in the Twin Cities. There are many reasons why but let me share just three.

NOTE: I know there are a lot of people who enjoy mukluks, parkas, slippery sidewalks and sliding down hill on boards. I hope you will bear with me.

Ha, I’ll bet you thought I was going to mention golf first. Well, guess again!

On my daily walk, Cedar Lk, 1/2 mile from my house

One of the best things about summer here in general is the fact that it never disappoints. (Well, almost never - thanks a lot Oh Canada!)) We freeze our butts off - up to which we are in snow - during the very loooonnnnngggg winter months. Begging, pleading, praying to make it to the point where we only need an overcoat and gloves and soon thereafter to turn on the air conditioner - at which time we start whining about the heat (but that’s for a different post.) Still, we may not always know when it will come but it always does - the Carly Simon song "Anticipation" comes to mind.

Of course, some are better than others but they are always great. Most northern states might try to make this claim but other states aren’t Minnesota or the Twin Cities. Want to go sit by a lake? Drive half an hour in any direction. Like world class summer entertainment or food? A nearby big city has it. Want to fly non-stop to some great vacation spot? Ditto above. Want to visit the greatest of the Great Lakes? Hop in the car, head two hours north to Hwy 61 and you’re on one of the most beautiful drives in the entire world. Is all this worth the pain of our winters? You'll have to judge for yourself but I believe that if one has to live where there is a real winter then this is the place to be in summer.

Next, yes golf is another reason that I love summer here.

 

  No escaping it, all of these guys have
really gotten old on me

I have bored you enough with past stories about golf so I will restrain myself. We fools, er, golfers are blessed with a ton of great courses here in Minnesota - and they do not require selling your first born child to play them like so many other places. I will only say that very little can beat standing on the first tee of any of a plethora of beautiful Minnesota courses, surrounded by your (mocking) buddies with the soft morning sunshine and a light breeze on your face. Ahhh. 

(Then, of course, you knock one into the woods!)

Golf in Minnesota, like summer here itself,  has a short shelf life making it that much sweeter when we play. 

(Yeah, since we have been going south in the winter I can play pretty much all year round but nothing compares to playing here with friends.)

Now for my number one reason. (You better sit down and prepare yourself, this might shock you.)

But first a back story.

When we moved to our humble little abode in the Bryn Mawr area of Mpls some 13 years ago the place needed a little love, inside and out. Okay, a lotta love. Outside, Mrs Dear Leader took over the job of giving our weed-infested garden new life and did so with great success. I, of course, took over managerial duties.

Garden when we moved in

Garden today. I can't take all the credit. (Okay, I just water it.)

Now to further digress, we also decided we wanted a patio. First, we put up a wooden privacy fence. When we started our neighbors weren’t too thrilled but I assured them once they got to know us they would be very happy. (I might have also suggested that sometimes I liked to sunbathe naked.) They were great neighbors after that. “Were” because the creeps recently moved away - although replaced by a great younger version of them.

Hang in there this is actually going somewhere . . .

Keep in mind I like to think of myself as thrifty - although Mrs. DL might use a different word with a kinda mean adjective attached. 

So another neighbor had a bunch of flagstone left over from some project just sitting there. Light bulb goes off above thrifty Dear Leader's head. They have a young son who, unbeknownst to him, looked like he could use piano lessons. Mrs DL teaches piano. Eureka, trade lessons for flagstone! It worked out great; we got a crash course on how to lay a patio and the kid turned into concert pianist.  Okay, not really but he's great on "Chop Sticks." Anyway, it's a little uneven (the patio, not the kid) but it has character. (Both do.)

Untapped potential patio

Potential Tapped

In conclusion, despite my reputation as a very cosmopolitan metrosexual (a term I hope I understand correctly) I am a simple man; my favorite thing in summer (and don't laugh) is simply sitting on our little patio. 

Who you looking at?!

On every decent day after my evening bath (like the ones my mom had to fight with me once a week to take but which is now a daily ritual I can't miss) with my faithful dog Prudie,  I head out to the patio. Then, with cocktail in hand and playing tunes from my wasted youth just loud enough not to disturb (I hope) my neighbors, we sit in the shade of a couple majestic oaks, a soft evening breeze and clouds drifting by like young men without a care in the world. All to ponder the wonder of Minnesota summers. Well, I ponder summer, not sure what Prudie is pondering. (Perhaps her metrosexual human dad?)


                                       

It simply doesn't get better than this

Then after we've pondered a while, Mrs DL usually joins us or maybe a neighbor wanders over. I can honestly say this is why I live in Minnesota.

Besides the relative brevity of summer, my time on the patio on these lovely summer evenings is getting more precious for other reasons too. Prudie and I are both in the "late autumn" of our lives so who knows when our patio days will be . . .   Nevermind, all the more reason to enjoy them now! (As Mrs Dear Leader says, there's no need to borrow trouble.) 

Anyway, I apologize for this long-winded way to say that I think our summers more than make up for our winter and is the reason that I live here (most of the year.) And it will almost certainly be from whence I head to the Big Golf Course in the sky. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your beautiful Minnesota summer doing all the things that keep you here.  Remember, the days aren't getting any longer, you know!

Summer Tunes - I couldn't decide on one . . . 

Summertime and the Living is Easy   Ella Fitzgerald Louis Armstrong

Hot Fun in the Summertime   Sly and the Family Stone

And you cannot talk about summer without this . . .

Summer Breeze    Seals and Croft