I can think of only one occasion when I truly regretted my Scandinavian reticence. One early September morning, more than 5 decades ago, I left the house with my dad on the way to the induction center in Fargo, ND to begin a 2 year stint in the Army. I shook my mother’s hand as I said goodbye. It occurred to me later that a normal person would have said goodbye with a hug and a kiss.
I returned from the service a somewhat more mature individual, even capable of hugging Mom now and then.
It’s 5 AM and unable to sleep. I saw you had written your column and read it knowing your words would bring me peace. You brought me from the fringes of fear back to knowing there are many good people in our world still. Thank you.
During grad school in the 70s, I woke each morning listening to Garrison on the radio and often went to PHC, in the days when admission was $1.50. When in 1980 the show went national, it came to the city where I then lived. Of course, I went. As the cast and crew was setting up, he was moving about on stage, getting things ready. The audience did not recognize him, of course, it being a show they had listened to rather than having watched. They needed his voice to know which person he was. I was watching him move about the stage, and just before start time he approached the microphone. The first words out of his mouth were, “I know the disappointment of seeing for the first time someone you have listened to on the radio.” Classic Garrison: the light, self-deprecating touch. For over 50 years, always a pleasure. Thank you for still writing and performing.
The Anger Caucus perplexes me as well. Once upon a time, an adult behaving like a spoiled toddler would be considered to be mentally I'll. We shouldn't eat an inedible meal that's been served to us at a restaurant, but we can point out the error with calm kindness - a hissy fit is not required. Yelling is bad for the digestion, maybe that's why the Anger Caucus is so angry.
I am not from Minnesota, I’m from Ohio. But I was taught good manners by my Pennsylvania parents and my mother always taught me not to complain because someone else had it worse. And how true that is. At 73 years old I am having a difficult time figuring out when good manners became obsolete. Those rude shouting elected officials did not have my mother for a mother or they would have grown up much differently! And what a reflection on their parents they are!
So good to hear you again. So glad you’re sending the giraffe crap back. Sometimes you just have to. Your voice was, and especially right now is indispensable. Would love to bump into you in New York sometime and take you out for a cup of coffee or lunch. I am 72 and I have been told often by my wife and a variety of other people that you and I will always be brothers from different mothers.
Midwestern modesty has its virtues. One need not be reticent, just not overbearing. Just recently, after Michigan had beaten Nebraska badly in football, I, a Michigan grad of many years ago, had a chance conversation with a woman, a Nebraska grad of similar vintage. Quite pleasant, remembering that football is only a game, and I was able to share my memories of a conference I attended in Lincoln, where the people were just about as nice as could be. Our world could be that way, if we work at it.
Garrison, this Friendship Report this morning is unlike others: introspective of mind, as always, while respective of the meal served, no tough the chew, eat it. Food it always is as the menu and the chef are two different things. I read The NYTimes today and find more bombs are sent while our salt is passed and we find it harder to p-off the chef who has made our meal a task. Nonetheless, the protein and salt abide. Here at our little city, next to theirs, we nod when we see you, the guy who told us stories that spring our youth and songs we may once have sung. The world could use more of these tributes, but fewer are the number in the aisles and pews. We can find those of like-kind on your shows and in your visits, nodding to you as you stroll by. Some of us may tip our caps, if we have one, as you pass by, and the eye-lock of our warm greeting is what we give. It beats a bad steak and tooth-twisting toast.
Some miles away today we find more and more shelling and death, but no smile, no tough steak, just this timeless hate and recurring deaths. As if there weren't enough.
Let's give back our smiles back to other smiles. And give back a poorly done steak with a kind request for betterment. How else can we better.
As another Minnesotan said the other day, I hope someone is finding a venue for your Prairie Home Companion Anniversary show here in Minnesota. We miss you!
Something someone taught me a long time ago. If the food is awful and the waitress is nice, don’t take it out on her by not leaving a tip. But let her know you weren’t happy with the food.
Yeah, the anger caucus. Israel is now at war but we have no ambassador in several countries in the region and top military posts remain vacant thanks to the anger caucus. Soon it will be threatening to shut down the government again, despite the deal made when the debt ceiling was raised. Democrats don't do these things. Nikki Haley got on TV and insisted we need to unite, but in her next sentence she said Biden was to blame because he gave Iran $6 billion. Israel was caught by surprise when it was divided, with its so-called "crime minister" working feverishly to undermine democracy. Let's hope the same doesn't happen to us before we get a chance to vote in some better leaders.
I too was a long time listener to PHC & never could really get into the replacement, which was not on a regular schedule. I did enjoy it when it happened, but probably because I knew of the performers out in the Music world.
I was thoroughly enjoying your column today, right up close to the end! However, your TDS kicked in once again, to my dismay. And even with some of the Commentors above. Also, along with the chosen MSM misrepresentations of & reinterpretation of actual events, etc., etc. T'would be more enjoyable if the politics were left out of it.
I’m originally from Wisconsin, but have lived in Montana for the last 26 years. Yesterday, I was in Billings (our state’s largest city with maybe just over 100,000 people) to have my vehicle’s check engine light diagnosed, and I had a few hours to kill at the dealership so I walked to a nearby BBQ/tavern for lunch. Now, this is a big deal because 95% of the time I follow my wife’s lead and eat a plant-based diet, but on these days when I find myself alone in the big city, I sometimes will order a hamburger or steak at one of the local restaurants. Well, when I found this particular rib joint after a quick Google Maps search, I noticed a number of one star reviews on Yelp when I clicked on the map pin. I hardly ever let these bad reviews dissuade me, especially when I don’t have any other options at hand, so I gave it a shot. I ordered a mix of baby back ribs along with the restaurant’s signature rib offering. I received two small cartilage filled end pieces of the baby back variety along with a stiff plank of the specialty ribs that were as tough as leather. I think they had been smoked a few days prior and had been sitting around waiting for someone like be to be offloaded on. Probably tossed into the microwave for far too long to reheat and then there they sat for ten minutes waiting to be picked up by the waitress, getting more dried up and tougher by the minute. I remember my mother’s pork ribs, sauerkraut, and dumplings - she was of Czech descent and the recipe was one my Granny would prepare - and my anticipation and excitement for this rare 100% animal protein treat was crushed after my first bite of stale cardboard.
When the waitress came to check on me, she did so with trepidation because even she knew this plate of food was subpar. She asked, “how is everything today?” and I responded......... “it’s good, thanks!”.
Concerning reticence, a friend once told me that as he’s gotten older it seemed there were two types of people in the world: Those whose primary regrets were things they did; and those whose primary regrets were things they didn’t do.
I have to say, that when I look back to my youth that, while I don’t regret being basically a polite person, my main regrets are all those people who I didn’t tell to go f...., um, well, let’s just say, “go jump in a lake” when I should have.
I can think of only one occasion when I truly regretted my Scandinavian reticence. One early September morning, more than 5 decades ago, I left the house with my dad on the way to the induction center in Fargo, ND to begin a 2 year stint in the Army. I shook my mother’s hand as I said goodbye. It occurred to me later that a normal person would have said goodbye with a hug and a kiss.
I returned from the service a somewhat more mature individual, even capable of hugging Mom now and then.
It’s 5 AM and unable to sleep. I saw you had written your column and read it knowing your words would bring me peace. You brought me from the fringes of fear back to knowing there are many good people in our world still. Thank you.
During grad school in the 70s, I woke each morning listening to Garrison on the radio and often went to PHC, in the days when admission was $1.50. When in 1980 the show went national, it came to the city where I then lived. Of course, I went. As the cast and crew was setting up, he was moving about on stage, getting things ready. The audience did not recognize him, of course, it being a show they had listened to rather than having watched. They needed his voice to know which person he was. I was watching him move about the stage, and just before start time he approached the microphone. The first words out of his mouth were, “I know the disappointment of seeing for the first time someone you have listened to on the radio.” Classic Garrison: the light, self-deprecating touch. For over 50 years, always a pleasure. Thank you for still writing and performing.
The Anger Caucus perplexes me as well. Once upon a time, an adult behaving like a spoiled toddler would be considered to be mentally I'll. We shouldn't eat an inedible meal that's been served to us at a restaurant, but we can point out the error with calm kindness - a hissy fit is not required. Yelling is bad for the digestion, maybe that's why the Anger Caucus is so angry.
I am not from Minnesota, I’m from Ohio. But I was taught good manners by my Pennsylvania parents and my mother always taught me not to complain because someone else had it worse. And how true that is. At 73 years old I am having a difficult time figuring out when good manners became obsolete. Those rude shouting elected officials did not have my mother for a mother or they would have grown up much differently! And what a reflection on their parents they are!
So good to hear you again. So glad you’re sending the giraffe crap back. Sometimes you just have to. Your voice was, and especially right now is indispensable. Would love to bump into you in New York sometime and take you out for a cup of coffee or lunch. I am 72 and I have been told often by my wife and a variety of other people that you and I will always be brothers from different mothers.
Midwestern modesty has its virtues. One need not be reticent, just not overbearing. Just recently, after Michigan had beaten Nebraska badly in football, I, a Michigan grad of many years ago, had a chance conversation with a woman, a Nebraska grad of similar vintage. Quite pleasant, remembering that football is only a game, and I was able to share my memories of a conference I attended in Lincoln, where the people were just about as nice as could be. Our world could be that way, if we work at it.
Garrison, this Friendship Report this morning is unlike others: introspective of mind, as always, while respective of the meal served, no tough the chew, eat it. Food it always is as the menu and the chef are two different things. I read The NYTimes today and find more bombs are sent while our salt is passed and we find it harder to p-off the chef who has made our meal a task. Nonetheless, the protein and salt abide. Here at our little city, next to theirs, we nod when we see you, the guy who told us stories that spring our youth and songs we may once have sung. The world could use more of these tributes, but fewer are the number in the aisles and pews. We can find those of like-kind on your shows and in your visits, nodding to you as you stroll by. Some of us may tip our caps, if we have one, as you pass by, and the eye-lock of our warm greeting is what we give. It beats a bad steak and tooth-twisting toast.
Some miles away today we find more and more shelling and death, but no smile, no tough steak, just this timeless hate and recurring deaths. As if there weren't enough.
Let's give back our smiles back to other smiles. And give back a poorly done steak with a kind request for betterment. How else can we better.
As another Minnesotan said the other day, I hope someone is finding a venue for your Prairie Home Companion Anniversary show here in Minnesota. We miss you!
Something someone taught me a long time ago. If the food is awful and the waitress is nice, don’t take it out on her by not leaving a tip. But let her know you weren’t happy with the food.
Yeah, the anger caucus. Israel is now at war but we have no ambassador in several countries in the region and top military posts remain vacant thanks to the anger caucus. Soon it will be threatening to shut down the government again, despite the deal made when the debt ceiling was raised. Democrats don't do these things. Nikki Haley got on TV and insisted we need to unite, but in her next sentence she said Biden was to blame because he gave Iran $6 billion. Israel was caught by surprise when it was divided, with its so-called "crime minister" working feverishly to undermine democracy. Let's hope the same doesn't happen to us before we get a chance to vote in some better leaders.
Lovely reflections. Good to see you back, sir.
I too was a long time listener to PHC & never could really get into the replacement, which was not on a regular schedule. I did enjoy it when it happened, but probably because I knew of the performers out in the Music world.
I was thoroughly enjoying your column today, right up close to the end! However, your TDS kicked in once again, to my dismay. And even with some of the Commentors above. Also, along with the chosen MSM misrepresentations of & reinterpretation of actual events, etc., etc. T'would be more enjoyable if the politics were left out of it.
I’m originally from Wisconsin, but have lived in Montana for the last 26 years. Yesterday, I was in Billings (our state’s largest city with maybe just over 100,000 people) to have my vehicle’s check engine light diagnosed, and I had a few hours to kill at the dealership so I walked to a nearby BBQ/tavern for lunch. Now, this is a big deal because 95% of the time I follow my wife’s lead and eat a plant-based diet, but on these days when I find myself alone in the big city, I sometimes will order a hamburger or steak at one of the local restaurants. Well, when I found this particular rib joint after a quick Google Maps search, I noticed a number of one star reviews on Yelp when I clicked on the map pin. I hardly ever let these bad reviews dissuade me, especially when I don’t have any other options at hand, so I gave it a shot. I ordered a mix of baby back ribs along with the restaurant’s signature rib offering. I received two small cartilage filled end pieces of the baby back variety along with a stiff plank of the specialty ribs that were as tough as leather. I think they had been smoked a few days prior and had been sitting around waiting for someone like be to be offloaded on. Probably tossed into the microwave for far too long to reheat and then there they sat for ten minutes waiting to be picked up by the waitress, getting more dried up and tougher by the minute. I remember my mother’s pork ribs, sauerkraut, and dumplings - she was of Czech descent and the recipe was one my Granny would prepare - and my anticipation and excitement for this rare 100% animal protein treat was crushed after my first bite of stale cardboard.
When the waitress came to check on me, she did so with trepidation because even she knew this plate of food was subpar. She asked, “how is everything today?” and I responded......... “it’s good, thanks!”.
The Midwest in us. It’s just how we are.
Taking Trump with a grain of salt doesn't seem to help.
Good morning Garrison,
Concerning reticence, a friend once told me that as he’s gotten older it seemed there were two types of people in the world: Those whose primary regrets were things they did; and those whose primary regrets were things they didn’t do.
I have to say, that when I look back to my youth that, while I don’t regret being basically a polite person, my main regrets are all those people who I didn’t tell to go f...., um, well, let’s just say, “go jump in a lake” when I should have.