commentaries

As of the end of this month I will have owned my house for seven years. It remains, let’s just say, sparsely decorated. I have a bad habit of buying frameable posters and failing entirely to frame them. Many are in a pile on one of my chairs. It is not the way most museums would...

I always wondered what that day would be like. Turns out, that day was a drippy, cool Wednesday, just last week. And that day changes my life. That day, last Wednesday, I was asked to transfer from the Farmington Rosemount Independent Town Pages to the Woodbury Bulletin. Today,...

I couldn’t figure out, early Tuesday morning, why my cell phone kept buzzing at me. The alarm was set, but it wasn’t 7 a.m. yet. Still, the doggone thing kept going off every few minutes. I picked up the phone. I opened my Facebook app. And then I figured out what the problem...

Early Tuesday evening an unmanned rocket lifted off from its launch pad and streaked toward outer space. Then, about six seconds later, it blew up and crashed back to earth in the kind of enormous explosion that would make Michael Bay sit up and say, “It was OK, I guess.” I...

There are days when this job feels like a job. And then there are days when it feels like I shouldn’t be allowed to have this much fun and call it work. The latter was kind of how this past Saturday was for me, as I spent most of my day at Farmington High School, snapping pictures...

I was in the bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recently. I wasn’t there just for the bathroom. I was actually taking a plane somewhere. But it was a sign at the restroom door that got my attention. It said that the people in charge of the bathroom and, presumably,...

Back on Aug. 1, I made a then-startling observation after looking at my calendar: I didn’t have a day off — a day to stay at home and do whatever I wanted to do — until Sept. 14. Granted, August is pretty much a blur. I was busy here at work. I was busy getting my volunteers...

I feel like I might, on occasion, come off as something of a cuddlephobe. I’m not. I’m all for cuddling between two consenting adults. I’m even OK with group hugs if everyone’s into it. Let’s not get crazy, though. I even enjoy it myself if I have the right person with...

In years past, I’ve gone on at length about my gardens. I love gardening, but this year my personal circumstances left me with no space — or time — to cultivate a full garden. That was unfortunate last spring, as I had a whole lot of seeds left from last year, and I really wanted...

Most of the time writing this column is a pretty solitary activity. I sit alone in my office at home and type on my computer. I like to write on a computer, because I need to know the box I spent a bunch of money on is good for something other than Facebook and looking at videos of...

Drones are a pretty big deal these days. The military uses them to spy on people and blow things up. Amazon wants a fleet of drones to bring you books or beef jerky or whatever. And last winter a brewery called Lakemaid proposed using them to send beer to ice fishermen and fisherwomen. That...

It’s really amazing how much can happen in just a couple of weeks. I left work on Tuesday, Aug. 19, knowing that I was headed for my annual stint at the Minnesota State Fair, and the American Legion Auxiliary National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. What I didn’t know, two weeks...

The Minnesota State Fair, our annual statewide celebration of gluttony, personal-space violations and aging rock stars, wrapped up its run this week. It’s a remarkable event, our Great Minnesota Get Together. In the span of just a few hours you can ride a burlap sack down a huge...

We’re a culture that loves superlatives. Maybe more than we love anything else ever. We label up-and-coming basketball stars the next Michael Jordan while they’re still in high school and declare athletic events instant classics just because neither team embarrassed itself. Stores...

I’ve been accused a few times recently of having a too-idealistic view of the world. Or maybe that’s not really an accusation. It’s not like it’s bad to see the good in people around you. Unless you’re a British judge on a reality show. Then it could kind of ruin your whole...