A small correction, GK. Nina’s is on Selby and Western, not Grand and Dale. You of course opened your bookstore downstairs, now sold, relocated and remained. Nina’s abides, welcoming as ever. I might stop by on this wintry MN day.
I feel I must comment on two items: One, Sandy and Bob Beck's
Tallahassee, Florida. Powdermilk biscuits do, indeed give one the fearlessness needed in most any situation.
Two, Genny's story about snapping at her husband and your acknowledgement of the sensitivity to one's beloved's tone. My own beloved and I , nearing 56 years of bliss, frequently snap at one another but more often than not the outcome is a worn out sounding "l love you" that is truly much more heartfelt than it sounds.
I must add, too, that I wish I had the financial means to subscribe because I know I miss a lot of gems and homily from your presentations, GK! I do appreciate the bits and pieces though as a freeloader.
Thanks for decades of good cheer paired with gentle-but-firm realism.
Please let Laurel Hill know that the practice of naming storms was inspired by George R. Stewart in his classic ecological novel, STORM. To make that point that the ecosystem was the protagonist, he named the storm but left most of the human characters unnamed. He named the storm "Maria(h)" so he also, quite by accident, named the wind. Stewart was the first historian and novelist to write from such an ecological point of view - STORM was published in 1941. It's also been recently republished by the NY Review of Books Press. GRS is currently being rediscovered. So, Laurel, thanks for asking; and Garrison, thanks. Just thanks/
Bu the way, Laurel, we lived in Lowell just about the time I discovered Stewart. Small world.
On one of the foreign news programs on the WORLD Channel the other night I saw a segment about an Israeli archeologist who has been excavating for several years at a town called Bethlehem in southern Israel, close to Nazareth, which he believes was the actual birthplace of Jesus, rather than the one in northern Israel which has been the traditional location.
In the late 80s, you did a monologue which began with a LW shopkeeper trying to recall a joke. The story evolved into that of how Father Emil came to be a priest and why he walked the streets of his town every evening. It ends with the shopkeeper remembering an awful but very funny joke about the Norwegian farmer who comes home soused and whose wife won't let him in. He ends up in his pig pen.... I had a tape of this monologue which, unfortunately, got borrowed. It was, I've long thought, your best, getting right so much about 'our towns' and the people who make them. Any chance it might be in your archives? Could you rerun it?
Excellent, as always, GK -
A small correction, GK. Nina’s is on Selby and Western, not Grand and Dale. You of course opened your bookstore downstairs, now sold, relocated and remained. Nina’s abides, welcoming as ever. I might stop by on this wintry MN day.
You are so right. Grand and Dale never had a coffeeshop but it did once have a drugstore and a Mexican restaurant.
I feel I must comment on two items: One, Sandy and Bob Beck's
Tallahassee, Florida. Powdermilk biscuits do, indeed give one the fearlessness needed in most any situation.
Two, Genny's story about snapping at her husband and your acknowledgement of the sensitivity to one's beloved's tone. My own beloved and I , nearing 56 years of bliss, frequently snap at one another but more often than not the outcome is a worn out sounding "l love you" that is truly much more heartfelt than it sounds.
I must add, too, that I wish I had the financial means to subscribe because I know I miss a lot of gems and homily from your presentations, GK! I do appreciate the bits and pieces though as a freeloader.
Ssndy and Bob Beck: Thanks for sharing this delightful love story...it made my day!
Dear Garrison,
Thanks for decades of good cheer paired with gentle-but-firm realism.
Please let Laurel Hill know that the practice of naming storms was inspired by George R. Stewart in his classic ecological novel, STORM. To make that point that the ecosystem was the protagonist, he named the storm but left most of the human characters unnamed. He named the storm "Maria(h)" so he also, quite by accident, named the wind. Stewart was the first historian and novelist to write from such an ecological point of view - STORM was published in 1941. It's also been recently republished by the NY Review of Books Press. GRS is currently being rediscovered. So, Laurel, thanks for asking; and Garrison, thanks. Just thanks/
Bu the way, Laurel, we lived in Lowell just about the time I discovered Stewart. Small world.
On one of the foreign news programs on the WORLD Channel the other night I saw a segment about an Israeli archeologist who has been excavating for several years at a town called Bethlehem in southern Israel, close to Nazareth, which he believes was the actual birthplace of Jesus, rather than the one in northern Israel which has been the traditional location.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/was-jesus-born-in-a-different-bethlehem/
https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2021/12/10/o-little-town-of-bethlehem-2/
Garrison,
In the late 80s, you did a monologue which began with a LW shopkeeper trying to recall a joke. The story evolved into that of how Father Emil came to be a priest and why he walked the streets of his town every evening. It ends with the shopkeeper remembering an awful but very funny joke about the Norwegian farmer who comes home soused and whose wife won't let him in. He ends up in his pig pen.... I had a tape of this monologue which, unfortunately, got borrowed. It was, I've long thought, your best, getting right so much about 'our towns' and the people who make them. Any chance it might be in your archives? Could you rerun it?
All the best,
Peter Kinder