SIMPLE AS A SIDEWALK The first two courses of cut stone appear to come from stone quarries near Cold Springs, MN. The stone matches the grave markers that can be found in cemeteries in Maui. The trade name is Black Diamond Granite. Sailing ships from New England needed ballast to hold their vessels upright as …

We intentionally miss New Orleans, we swing off the heavily beaten path and head to bayou country. Little did we know we were headed to where alligator shows are filmed and have become the rage. A simple stop at a grocery store and a man named Charlie compliments us on our Sprinter Van Conversion RV …

As a carefree youth my early Junior High School experience came crashing down.I had received a failing grade in Spanish.It meant little or nothing to me.I had never met anyone that spoke this language called “Spanish”.At that young age I was convinced that my teacher was trying to teach me a language that was from …

Fredrick Manfred-Siouxland-My Friend He was a man that loomed large on the landscape. I was nearly a remedial reader when I first got to know him, he meant a great deal to myself and my family. Early recollections was my Uncle Mike (an archeologist/American Resources Group) and Fred Manfred would meet at Eagle Rock and …

I grew up in a small town in South Western Minnesota. I knew the out-of-doors, I knew the bounty of crops, birds, rivers, streams, beaver, muskrat, snapping turtles, river bottoms and sand pits. Throughout those years I utilized the spring water that flowed out of the earth like a gift from God. It was from …

I live in a weird and decadent culture. (For those friends abroad) I live in the U.S.A. Tonight I watched a TV show that is called something like “Survival-Butt Naked in the Wilderness”. It is meant to titillate the viewers into watching Americans naked in the woods and jungles. Butts, breasts and crotches blurred out, …

BIG GAME & HUMANITY We have always been hunters. We hunted the Savannah’s of Africa. We hunted the Fertile Crescent. After a few million years we decided to plant some shatter grains (Einhorn wheat) The origination of this wheat was very close to a place called Golbekli Tepe. Golbekli Tepi is the site of mankind’s …

Photo credit Todd Mejia The small town in which I reside was all a’twitter. The United States National Windsurfing Championships was being held in our town. At the beginning of the event was the National Anthem and Lt. Col’s from the Navy and the Army flew in, from various points around the U.S. to raise …

It was quite some time ago when I was at a destination wedding in Jamaica. The conversation I had was with an attractive young lady in the swimming pool, it led me to recollect our conversation.  She told me that she was the D.A. in ………(some big city in California)….. I don’t remember. What I …