The best State Fair in our state!

THE PRACTICING ECLECTIC: “Here’s a story from the State Fair just past:

“The Minnesota State Fair is large and full of things to see, do, and eat. It helps to have some strategies: Do not bring your Swiss Army knife or other weapons. Wear sunblock (and/or bring rain gear), drink often to avoid dehydration, bring money, wear good shoes or sandals, and sit down to rest often. A key strategy is to be open to new experiences, such as the new foods. I personally don’t like most of them (too spicy or weird) or the rides (EEEEEEEE!), though I did try the Afro Poppers, Lady’s Slipper Marble Sundae, Swedish Ice Cream Sundae, Peanut Butter Bacon Cakes (quite good), and Wrangler Waffle Burger. I confess to indulging in Big Fat Bacon, chicken wings and drummies, Nitro Ice Cream, and Sweet Martha’s cookies with milk from the all-you-can-drink milk place. (Lest you think I pigged out royally on one day, this was eaten over three visits of many hours each day.)

“Before I babble on about the Fair (ever notice how it becomes THE Fair?), I’m leading up to tell you about a unique experience. I was on the Sky Glider on the first day, when it began raining in late morning. The rain was light enough that I hoped it would stop after a short time. It did not. When the Sky Glider stopped briefly, I asked someone going the other way where they had gotten their poncho. They told me and even pointed helpfully. Then we went on our separate ways.

“Now, I often ask people where they’ve gotten food/hats/etc., but we’re usually on the ground. It tickled me to get a helpful hint when we were high in the air.”

Live and learn (Fun Facts to Know and Tell Division)

GREGORY J. of Dayton’s Bluff: “Subject: Floyd’s older brother Chris.

“I’ve been following the Minnesota Gophers football team for a long time. How long? Let’s just say I remember the two times they went to the Rose Bowl.

“Every year since then, and for many preceding those years, the Gophers played the Iowa Hawkeyes. And every year, the winner of that game takes possession of Floyd of Rosedale.

“And, of course, every year the media make a big deal of recounting the history of Floyd. The original Floyd was a real hog, but in 1935 it was decided that a scaled-down bronze statue of Floyd would be more practical. Minnesota Gov. Floyd Olson commissioned such a statue.

“I was able to see and photograph Floyd this year at the U of M building at the State Fair, during one of his rare visits to our state. It was more lifelike than I had expected.

“Don’t bother looking for Floyd at the 2025 State Fair. He’ll still be in Iowa, following the 2024 game.

“Despite all the publicity Floyd gets every year, it wasn’t until this year that I found out who the sculptor was who created Floyd. He was an Italian-American artist named Carlo Brioschi who had a studio in Saint Paul in the 1930s. His name seemed very familiar. I finally realized that Brioschi also created the statue of Christopher Columbus that stood on the grounds of the State Capitol from 1931 to 2020. I guess that makes him Floyd’s older brother.

“Fortunately I took photos of Chris before he vanished from the face of the earth.”

Now & Then

JOHN IN HIGHLAND: “Subject: What goes around comes around.

“On October 5, the University of Southern California football team returned to Minnesota for the first time in over 40 years. The Gophers put up a good fight back then, but lost, so this was a long-delayed chance for payback.

“Quiz: Who was the Gopher quarterback in 1980?

“Clue No. 1: He ran what was called the ‘Run and Shoot’ offense.

“Clue No. 2: His dad was the coach.”

BULLETIN BOARD NOTES: You’ll find the answer at the end of today’s BB.

Our trees, ourselves — Or: Till death us do part

HINDSIGHT: “Yesterday I went outside and walked to the end of our long driveway — a little shaky, but without my walker. I walked to the highway and turned back toward the house. In July, the electric company cut down 23 pines whose branches were too close to the power lines. We had known for a long time what the destiny of those trees would be. They had already been heavily trimmed twice over the years. I took the slaughter of those beautiful pines with grace and understanding, because as the electric company pointed out, this was for the electrical needs of everyone. I know, but still . . .

“We planted those trees 49 years ago. Our children had their own special trees and were photographed as they and their special trees grew taller. We had not planted the trees under the power lines, but not back far enough. The trees’ only error was that they grew so tall — 45 feet tall and still reaching for the sky. The company left a few remaining, not a problem yet. A neighbor had hauled the cut trees away. Did we ever think that 49 years later, the power company would still be hanging electric wires on wooden poles? No, it never crossed our minds.

“Anyone can see I’m over it now.

“Walking back toward the house, I looked toward the south and noticed an 18-inch-tall Norway pine to my right, set farther back, many feet from the power lines. I stopped on the road. Dare I walk off the road down onto the rough ground? I wanted to touch that young tree with its soft needles and lovely color. Then I scanned beyond that little tree, and I could see a whole line of them spread an equal distance apart and set back from the electric lines. I walked carefully and slowly toward them. I touched and stroked every one. There were 12 of them, roughly the same size and obviously planted. Sunlight landed on the; the trees that were gone would not block the sunlight so necessary for them to thrive. The loss of the original trees is there in me, but here were their babies, ready to take the place of their missing parents.

“I went back to the house to find Grumpus. ‘I found the trees. Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing? How long has this been going on?’

“Grumpus smiled. ‘I’ve been doing this for three years. If I found a baby, I would let it grow maybe a year and then transplant it. During the last two drought years, I would go and water them all when you took your afternoon nap.’

“This is love. Trying to fix something that meant a great deal to his partner and to him. Knowing how much this hurt my heart. Not candlelight dinners for two old duffers plodding along, but an act of kindness so needed, especially during rough times. I am not a baby, but I cried yesterday for 12 proud little Norway pines all in a row, and for their tree farmer.”

Then & Now

THE HAPPY MEDIUM: “Subject: Do You Remember When . . . ?

“. . . Monday was THE wash day for mothers across America? I do.

“We five children were off to school before Mom began sorting the laundry, whites to darks, on the kitchen floor. She started by heating water on the wood-fired cook stove before she went to the barn to milk cows.

“Mom used the trusty Maytag clothes washer with an attached wringer. She filled the washer with the hot water and soap and placed the sorted white clothes in the water first. With those washed, she rinsed them, put them through the wringer, and carried them in her basket to the clotheslines set between the trees. This she did with each load of clothes until the very last was washed. Between loads, she drained the dirty water in buckets and dumped it outside, then added fresh hot water to the machine for the next load of wash.
Realize, she had to keep the stove going to heat the water. She carried in the wood and plunked another stick in the stove to heat the water. She followed this procedure spring, summer, fall, and winter, come rain or shine, with no air conditioning in the summer.

“Of course, wash day wasn’t the only task needing tending to. There were meals to prepare, bread to bake and maybe even a cake to bake. You get the idea: She was a master multitasker long before the term became the well used phrase of today.

“When we came home from school, the clothes were off the kitchen floor, and the last load of overalls was in the wash.

“By supper time, the meal she had prepared was ready. We children had the TASK of setting the table. We ate heartily whatever was set before us, and it was always so good.

“Just wondering, dear reader: Today, what do you do each Monday?

“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.”

The Kid and the kid

BIG EEK of Southeast Minneapolis: “Subject: Billy the Kid.

“The first book I ever read outside of school was a Big Little Book called ‘Billy the Kid.’ BLBs cost 15 cents. The copyright date is 1935, so I would have been 8 years old. That led to a lifelong interest in Billy.

“Jump ahead a few years, to 1943. A movie came out about Billy. It was called ‘The Outlaw.’ It starred a young actor, Jack Buetel, as Billy, and 19-year-old Jane Russell as his romantic partner. The movie was made by Howard Hughes. Jane was a discovery of Howard’s, and this was her first movie. Jane’s claim to fame was her abundant bosom.

“There were some steamy scenes between Jack Buetel and Jane Russell in the movie. Of course Billy has to die in the end: ‘shot down by Pat Garrett who once was his friend,’ as the song goes. But before that, the film is kind to Billy and shows the extenuating circumstances that led to his death — namely, his attempt to avenge the brutal murder of his employer, rancher John Tunstall, by a sheriff’s posse.

“Billy’s friend Pat Garrett was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in New Mexico. Lincoln is now a ghost town. The Middle Daughter and I visited it. Thomas Mitchell played Pat Garrett in the movie.

“Billy had become a renegade cow thief by this time. Every hand was against him — including that of the wealthiest rancher in New Mexico, John Chisum. Billy had once worked for Chisum.

“The Catholic Church had a list called The Index. On this list were books that Catholics were forbidden to read. Some movies were on the list, too. One was ‘The Outlaw.’ What should EEK have done? Go to the movie or skip it? What do you think EEK did?

“So how did the movie end? [Bulletin Board interjects: 81-year-old Spoiler directly ahead!] Billy didn’t really die, but escaped to Mexico with Jane. (You know who I mean.) Pat had arranged a fake burial so that Billy and Jane could live out their lives in peace.

“Oops! I’ve given it away. I did go to the movie — regardless of how it will affect my final resting place, up above or down below.

“You technocrats can call up the movie and enjoy it.

“WARNING: I’ll wait for you down below. We’ll have a good visit.”

Hmmmmmmmm — Including: The highfalutin pleasures

GEEZ LOUISE of the West Side reports: “I had just wheeled my cart out into the parking lot, to load my purchases into my car, when a bee settled on the handle of the cart. It looked different from the bees I usually see around the gardens in my neighborhood. It had a shiny black abdomen. I found my phone and did a search on ‘bee with a shiny black abdomen.’

“The search result told me it was a carpenter bee.

“Of course it was. I was in the parking lot at Menards.”

BAND NAME OF THE DAY: The Afro Poppers

The Gophers’ QB in 1980 was Tim Salem (son of Joe)

Your stories are welcome. The address is BB.onward@gmail.com.