I have been known to construct an entire conversation between two people, playing both sides for maximum amusement. Putting words in mouths is an entertaining pastime and is easier work for an introvert than actually talking to strangers.
For this reason alone I tip my hat to the missionary who tore the knob off Clyde’s door this weekend. Clyde detailed his encounter in the comments attached to the Saturday entry, Bumper to Bumper. Say what you will about the evangelist’s theology, it does require boldness to profess your faith door to handle-less door. How does one muster the courage? Perhaps he had imagined how his conversion of Clyde would go – the greeting, the pitch, the resistance and the struggle, a key phrase uttered, a light goes on in the darkness, the opening of the floodgates, some weeping and the tearful conclusion. Maybe it does happen that way sometimes, I don’t know. But I wager when this fellow approached Clyde, he did not know Who He Was Dealing With. Still, you need an active imagination to succeed in this world. Why not use a little positive visualization and picture events unfolding in some way that benefits you? Fate will rewrite it soon enough. Sometimes you have to make stuff up and hope it’s at least partially true.
I thought of this while reading commentator Glenn Beck’s assessment of President Obama’s most deeply held religious beliefs. Beck has examined Obama’s underpinnings and finds them wanting. Since I doubt the president has time for a face-to-face, heart-to-heart theological discussion with a Fox News personality, Mr. Beck must have distilled this intensely personal information by filtering it through the heavy air of Washington D.C. at the Big Beck Rally this past Saturday. Opponents are so much simpler to defeat when you can handle their side of the conversation too. Trust me, I’m doing it to Glenn Beck right now and it’s very easy because he’s not saying a word!
In our media landscape today, whether you know what you’re talking about or not is hardly the point. The key is to get your version of the truth out there. Wrong or right, but especially if it’s amazingly, provocatively wrong, stuff takes on a life of its own.
One more instance of making things up – the head count for the Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial. Here’s how the numbers were presented in Felicia Sonmez’s Washington Post Story:
Estimates on the size of the rally have varied widely. According to one commissioned by CBS News, 87,000 people attended the event. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R), who also spoke at the event, told a reporter afterward that she thought more than 100,000 people had attended … Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), speaking at her own event following the rally, said that no fewer than 1 million people had been in attendance.
What, nobody went for a billion? Leave it to our own Michele Bachmann to top everyone in this random number generating derby. She even beat the event’s organizer, whose method was so exact he called it somewhere between 300 thousand and 650 thousand. Perhaps he relied on the crowd estimation technique I claimed to use back when I was a reporter – count the number of legs and divide by two.
Obviously the total was a moving target, so you can choose any number that sounds good for you. Remember there’s no penalty for making stuff up.
What’s the biggest crowd you were ever in?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons:
Wow, what an opportunity! I am off work this week on vacation after a grueling summer that lasted 3 years. An invitation to lie, call it the truth, and have no negative consequences while I have the time and internet access to attend to it. Soon I will run for political office. So here is my life story — call it “Crowd Control.”
When I was born I was one of 13 womb-mates. Very crowded. I was the only one who lived, of course. I had 390 cousins. Thanksgiving was also a crowd.
Then, I grew up as one of 30 children (My Dear Old Dad had only one wife!).
In Kindergarten I started in a classroom of 100 5 year olds all day kindergarten and the teacher was The Wicked Witch of the East.
In High School I was a musician and played in honor bands of more than 100,000 musicians per band.
I personally gave birth to 50 children, 49 of whom still live at home with me. They are all perfect, getting straight A’s in school and working part time to support me since my 150 husbands have all died of tragic diseases. The one who left home is now President of the USA.
I was once in traffic jam for a month, caused by a pile up of 1,000,000 cars in front of the Mega Mall. To survive I listened to 3 audiobooks per day.
I have Multiple Personalities and assume a new identity every day of my life.
And when I did not go to the Fair this year they broke attendance records.
Phew. This could be dangerous today given the blog crowd.
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wow jacque
you have lived a very full life
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Yes. And it appears there are no other liars responding today. Every one is so serious!
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Hey, got myself in blue finally.
your blog above is your best ever, at least for me. I am not a good tall-tale-teller but greatly admire those who can. Yours above is a crystal of lies.
GOOD VACATION. will we lose you on the blog?
(Sorry all–still fighting effects of yesterday and typing and ability to proofread are worse than usual.)
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Jacque: you did so well with the wit that the rest of us had to get serious. Balance. Balance in all things.
I had to laugh. Your dad called your feet “long fellows?” My dad called mine “gunboats.” At four I had no idea of what a gunboat looked like, but I figured I’d recognize it because it would look just like my feet.
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Will be in Bayfield at a cabin that touts wireless internet. We shall see.
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Steve, anytime we accidentally made a rhyme he would say that: You’re a poet
You didn’t know it
Your feet are Longfellows.
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When will you be running for office?
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I might have the patience to spend 2 hours running on the day of the election. Otherwise, I don’t my temperament is conducive. I don’t tolerate fools wisely….. See story of my grandfather.
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This is the first time I turned into Radio Heartland since Dale’s last show, and thanks Mike for Prairie Sun right on time! The biggest crowd was definitely when President Obama came to town for that health care rally at the Target Center, it was crazy. The last Morning Show was a close second!
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obama was such a cool event in downtown st paul with the lines winding around block after block. all happy smiling faces. a great memory
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That was a happy time, when we felt we were on the cusp of a brighter future. How quickly that was lost.
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my favorite summation of this time is garrisons remar about the republicans being like people throwing curse words at the tow truck driver who is trying to tow the car out of the swamp after is was driven in there by the previous administration. beck and the boys do make noise. so did mccarthy
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And the State Fair this past weekend comes in third
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I have two responses to this provocative intro, Dale. I’ll give one and then come back when others have spoken and give the other.
For the purposes of this discussion, I want to say that the largest crowd I was ever in was the group gathered to hear Martin Luther King speak in Washington 40 years ago. My mother and I listened to the speech on a tiny Sony Trinitron TV in the sunny porch of our Wayzata home. In that limited sense, we were part of the crowd.
As much as I’d like to say I recognized the speech as one of the masterpieces of American oratory, I did not. The southern biblical cadence King used confused and distracted me. But I did understand that this man–so feared by white America–was being passionate and reasonable as he promised that a new day was coming for America. My own politics were as yet not well formed, and I wasn’t sure this man King would become one of my heroes, but I thought I liked him. It was a relief to note that this minister from Georgia was making intelligent and persuasive arguments. He was hardly goading a mob, which is what conservative critics had predicted.
My mother looked up at the TV. “Boy,” she said, “he sure knows how to get them riled up.”
When I looked across the room at my mother I realized I was looking across a vast generational divide. Her words were not blatantly offensive, and yet I could see the terror she felt about King. Her reference to “them” was as eloquent as the N-word. Her observation about “riling them up” betrayed the white person’s sense of blacks as terrifying and slightly subhuman figures.
My mother was afraid that something was changing in America that would never be the same again. And she was right. I saw the same thing and smiled inwardly. I remembering hoping that there would be a little more love and justice in America when we finally got to that place Martin Luther King said we were going.
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steve since i am not older than dirt my perspective on the 47 year old speech is different from yours, i was fortunate to have progressive parents in the 60’s who were able to explain in a simple terms the transitions we were going through to a 5 -6- 7 year old (examination’s got a little tougher in my teens).
martin luther king, the kennedy goldwater divide, the blacks treatment in the south and not being able to use the water fountains, bathrooms. the john birch society etc. it is going to be a while before the dream is complete. i am amazed at the numbers that want to have people and cultures fit into boxes. eden prairie has a big somalian population. they have very different traditions and it is interesting to see themin the classrooms with my kids and at the library in abundance, the city community events not so much as they seem to keep to themselves in myuch the same way the italians and irish did 100 years ago.
it will be nice when people are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. were we are able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood with all people and share our experiences and truths.
good start to the week steve thanks
now. my mom still like to discuss the inequities of the world and the
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my mom reads and listens like there is no tomorrow to all the political discussions of the day. she is incensed at the tea party misrepresentations and even more upset that it is allow to continue unchecked. it is like a cancer growing in our world today and the fear mongers make mccarthy like claims daily and there is no consequence for the pure wickedness of the intent. keeps her going and i love her for it. hope she and others like her can get the complacent masses to get off their asses and move in a better direction.
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My parents, both now deceased, were decent, loving people. They didn’t hate anyone, and they were occasionally appalled at acts of racist cruelty. But they both feared the stereotypes they were fed of black America.
I’m glad your parents espoused politics close to your own. That makes for more comfortable family gatherings. Until my dad gave up drinking, our family get-togethers resembled the fights Archie Bunker used to have with the Meathead about politics. But that reference might be too old to make sense!
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shut up meathead
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thta was inad is the irony of the whole deal. mixed among the hate is a huge group of people who are decent lovong people who just don’t to lose the world as they know it and the scare that the “others present” remember the star treck episode where the planet had people with a black and white stripe down the middle of their faces (frank gorshen i believe) and the ones with the stripe on one side or the other wer the superior race? or the hotel rwanda story where the thin nose blacks were different than the wide noses? incredible what we can do isn’t it. children of alcoholics often become either alcoholics themselves or just the opposite. the story evolves as we go along. i just hate that today there are rewards to the beck limbaughs (bush rove cheney ) rhetorical spewers of fear and hate and all in the name of usa and jesus christ.
enough, for monday.
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My maternal grandfather and his brother were Republicans mid-last century. They would sit and discuss politics, much like Beck or Rush, around the dinner table. It Was Crazy Talk. From an early age I decided they were crazy people and that I did not ever want to be a Republican if that is what they acted like. Unfortunately they were not drunk. Just politically intense and insensible. My grandpa had a stroke the day Jimmy Carter was elected after getting so upset he elevated his BP. Spent the last three years of his life in a nursing home. I figure that is where Rush and Beck will get you.
And that really is not a lie!
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Sneetches.
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It was a magazine cover about Gay Rights that I first realized just how different were my Dad’s views on things from mine… a bit of heated discussion– I wasn’t brave enough, nor probably old enough– to put up much of a fight or persuasive talking points– and then we just never talked about it again.
Politics wasn’t huge in my family. A headline or article mentioned here or there was about it. That’s where I get my apathy from.
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I was raised in a Republican family. My paternal grandma liked Kennedy over Goldwater in the 60s and this caused a big stir in our family. I remember everyone was pretty incensed. My dad was a “card-carrying” Republican – like it was a badge of membership in a special society. To my knowledge, he never voted any other way. He just didn’t want to pay taxes. My mom was always afraid “the commies” were coming. I think she still is.
My mom watches Fox news and likes the Tea Party movement. (If it was protesters in the ’60s, she’d be sure everyone was on drugs and should bathe more often.) She admires Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman because they’re women in politics. She believes strongly that she thinks for herself.
I’m alone in my family. We no longer discuss politics. It’s sad. I really try to be positive about things but…
If you have a family with whom you can openly discuss your philosophies, political or religious, you are very fortunate. For me, it’s great affirmation to read these posts and I thank you all for being such thoughtful Baboons.
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Your mom’s use of the euphemistic “them” reminds me of the title a very progressive and inclusive church used for their cookbook “Those People at That Church”.
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i was at an event years ago to celebrate the new millennium at the disney parks in florida. it was going to be a big deal so instead of doing the usual park hopping for that day we had to choose which park to spend the day in and be there from 8 am when the park was proclaimed full for the day and 12)) midnight when the celebration began in earnest. we had a couple bottles of champaign to crack open at the magic time. there were big streetlight looking configurations attached to generators the size of tanks to be certain we could find our way out when the new millennium rolled in and the computers all shut down because of the change of century. it was shoulder to shoulder all day long and a festive occasion with lots of t shirts and happy new year hats and party favors with 2000 proclaiming itself as the landmark of the day. we hadd 4 kids at the time (5 today) and so the strollers and backpacks full of peanut butter sandwiches and cheetos were there to fortify the youngens. (in pre 911 days you simply went into the park, no backpack searches as there are today. we got our champaigne confiscated a couple years after 911 when we brought it and proclaimed we did this on numerous occasions. they didn’t seem impressed and told us to leave it or take it back to the car/hotel) when the clock finally struck 12:00 everyone had to have their place. our was on the ground in front of the riverboat in the magic kingdom. we sat cross legged next to other maniacs who kept their kids up way past their bedtime to share in the momentous occasion. everyone was in great spirits and then 30 minutes later the lights came on and like at a play or concert the lights make everyone stop their applauding and celebrating and simply start packing up and walking zombie like toward the exits.
still have those 2000 champaign flutes around here somewhere. enjoy the last week of summer all. the record setting crowd at the fair on friday i was informed i was a part of was well behaved and not very prvocative, just plodding along well spirited and having a nice time. figuring n going another time or two before its over.
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The Winnipeg Folk Festival is always good for a big crowd. I think there are often 20,000 or more there at any one time. My take on the numbers at the rally this weekend is that there were fewer people there than the number of people who live in either Fargo or Sioux Falls. I am not very impressed with them.
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the people of fargo or the beckies?
loved the winnepeg folk fest. haven’t been there in years.
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Oh, Fargoans are fine (although they have a tendency to forget that there are North Dakotans who live west of the Missouri River). Its the Becksters with whom I have no patience.
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not near as many cowboy hats there huh?
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Well, I think you can find a cowboy hat or two at NDSU in the Ag department. Of ourse, they wouldn’t have the same quality or character of the hats we have out here.
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i’m short. i don’t like crowds because i end up at arm-pit level of everyone else and i can’t see anything (i think this is where my fear of closed spaces comes from. or maybe i had a bad in utero experience, who knows?). so i stay away from large gatherings. but i remember when my cousin and i went to the “Depot” (the old Greyhound bus station) to see The Band (early 70s). the seating (or standing) was not assigned so when the doors opened the crowd (of about 50 million) pushed forward. very scary being carried along toward who knows what, but we made it in only slightly crushed and bruised and enjoyed the concert. i made sure that i never was in that situation again, though.
Happy, Hot Day All
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the depot and the band. great memories, saw frank zappa, ritchie havens, mason profit, the turtles (no it was the turtles acting as back up singers with zappa . one was the former child actor who played larry mondello form leave it to beaver). don’t you juut love that randy newman song short people. ?
you got that one mike?
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Mike, what is the largest crown City Mouse has played for, or you in some other group?
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By steve’s reckoning, attending via media, the largest crowd steve, tim and I–and I bet others–was the walk on the moon.
I was in some rally on the Midway Plaisance at the U of Chi on 1964 that would have looked like a crown on the Mall in D.C. I do not remember exactly what it was for–some liberal political cause, and in 1964 the ere was grounds for lots of justified issues which today would be the status quo. It was surely the only such crowd I was at. Once at a Twins game with 45,000.
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I shouldn’t get to count watching TV as being in a crowd. I couldn’t resist the story. I marched in a crowd of perhaps less than 2,000 in 1966 to protest the Vietnamese war, which was then still quite popular (LBJ hadn’t lost Walter Cronkite yet!). We walked from the U of MN to Loring Park on a gloriously sunny day. I think Ben & Jerry were giving away ice cream at the park to reward marchers.
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Booby prize: my wife and I have three times gone to a movie on a week night in the mall theater here. When we bought the tickets, they said “Oh, we’ll have to start the movie.” That’s my kind of crowd.
Was at a 50th Wedding Anniversary yesterday in Lamberton and left of course in full flight or fight, like all crowds do to me. But family obligations rule. We have our son’s wedding in less than 3weeks. How am I going t handle it? It is outdoors in Balboa Park, so that will help a lot.
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i love my fathers face by leo kotke thanks mike
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me too
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Dale–was startled to see me in your starting post. Was hoping you were going to write the dialogue because in fact there was very little dialogue. I still cannot imagine a snappy or wry or pithy riposte. I was too focused on the fact that I was at that point only 10 miles short of 3000 outdoors miles for the year, which I did achieve right after finishing my cleaning.
I am imagining 25 Biublical bases I could correctly use to tell Beck how wrong he is to evaluate anyone else’s faith, most with the words of Christ.
I can tell I am still in some fight-or-flight.
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take your time clyde we have all day for your response. use jc’s words for beckies. please.
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Good Morning to All,
I don’t think I have ever been in a really large crowd. I supose Bachmann was thinking a million when she said a billion. Any one can make a mistake like that, but exageration like that seem to be the stock in trade of some people. I will not say who I am thinking of when I say that.
I would have liked to be in a very big crowd at some protest rallies that I have attended because certain politicans need to know there are a lot of people who don’t like what they are doing. In Bolivia a million people turned out to support the President, Evo Morales, and I think that was very empressive.
Oh wait, I must have been in a very large crowd like one of those that Jacque has mentioned. I must have forgotten that I was at Woodstock and there must have been billions of people there if every one was there that claims to have been there.
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that was you jim? i thought it may have been! sitting over there by jimi hendrix?
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Yes, I’m fairly sure that is where I was sitting now that you have reminded me.
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Yeah, I was there too. Sitting right next to Joni Mitchell…
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Morning all–
Seriously, I’m trying to come up with some fascinating crowd story and I can’t think of anything that stands out in my mind. I’ve done plenty of rock concerts… does that count? I attended one Vikings game; that was kind of crazy…
Here’s a State Fair tie-in story; I was there as a 4-H’er back in the ’80’s… Willie Nelson at the Grandstand and a thunderstorm; If I’m remembering correctly the show started before it actually started to rain and then people headed for shelter. I was in one of the entrance tunnels — in the crowd– when the downpour started and the people near the opening all tried to sqoosh back… that was scary but it all turned out alright.
Oh, but wait; foggy memories coming back to me. When I accepted the Nobel Peace Prize there was a huge crowd of admiring fans. And when I returned from my solo dirigible ride around the world and landed in Paris I was mobbed by spectators.
Not to mention my new TV reality show ‘Dairy Farmer Ben’— sheez, can’t even go out in public anymore…
(A nod and a wink to Jacque!)
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go ben go!!
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Okay, Dale’s post invites me to tell, or maybe retell, my other encounter with a man who was on a missionary journey. Now I will look like Dale’s description: “he did not know Who He Was Dealing With.”
I used to live right on Lake Superior above Hwy 61, just a mile and half southeast of the first tunnel at Silver Cliff. The people in the area told me there was a man going around door-to-door to start a new church in the neighborhood. (And, yes Dale, I think it takes much courage to do that, although many such persons think they are building up points in heaven by collecting insults and rejections.) It was a hot day, well, hot for the North Shore. I was in my front yard, hot, sweaty and dirty because I was cutting up and splitting 7 cords of wood for the winter heating season.
A car pulled in and a fervent-looking young man got out and walked up to me. I was splitting at that moment and thus was holding a double-bitted axe and had another axe, a splitting mall and wedges, and a chain saw right by me. He started his spiel, to which I listened for a few minutes and sort of argued with him, but it is my usual policy to just dismiss such people quickly. But he was not willing to be dismissed.
I told him that we had a church in the area and that I did not really think he was going to get any people to leave it or to get the unchurched to attend his. I think I was probably a little fervent sounding myself by then.
He went into a semi-loud rant about how that church was incorrect in its theology and the pastor was not really qualified to be a pastor and his mission was to save those people in that church who were surely on their way to hell with him as their pastor. Unusual for me, I stayed pretty calm and disagreed with him and told him he was wasting his time with me. But he persisted.
At that point he looked at what I was doing and asked if I was a lumberjack. I said, still holding my axe, “No, I’m the pastor of that church.”
He almost ran to his car.
That was the last we saw of him in the area.
Now I will go away and try to shut down my wound up mind and body.
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great story clyde, so all you parishioners aren’t headed to hell then?
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Only Glen Beck knows for sure.
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Great story Clyde! Love it!
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Well done Clyde! How often do we think of the right thing we should have said, but it is too late? Saying “I’m the pastor” while holding the axe . . . that’s perfect.
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Fun story, Clyde! From your description, I picture you as a young, buff Harrison Ford or Sean Connery all sweaty and looking manly while chopping wood. Yowser! Of course, both of those guys still look good and buff … and if you’re bicycling 3000 miles a year outside, I’m sure you still stack up pretty well, too.
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You forget that I look like Santa and at my last doctort visit they classifed me as Obese.
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Ah, but that is the joy of the internet, you can be whatever we imagine you to be.
I think the biggest crowd I ever saw was the one that gathered to admire my perfectly manicured lawn.
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I agree – great story. Somewhat presumptuous of that young man to say anything about who might be sent to perdition and who not…that’s the sort of theology I have little tolerance for (the “I know who is going to hell” variety – it gets into the theological hair splitting of who decides who goes to heaven and hell and when you are making assumptions about God’s decisions and…oy. Don’t send me there on a Monday morning…).
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Tee Hee
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This is a great scene for your movie, Clyde. All that remains is to write the rest of it.
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And I chopped his head off . . .
Jacque wants us to lie today.
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…Love.
Being small in stature and young-ish, I sometimes am shy of owning up my professional capacity, outside of my professional capacity. But to the big-haired buxom realtor who demanded of me, “Is your husband a doctor?”, I had no problem responding: “No, I’m the doctor.”
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Well done!
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and then did you chop her head off?
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Hi, Babooners…
I am mostly a lurker, but since I have to go back to teaching elementary music in the Northfield public schools next week I figured I’d better say something. We have a new wing opening at my school and we will have a bigger Crowd of K-5 kids than before. It is always fun to see them gather on the playground on the first day. Their classroom teachers are holding signs and they all manage to figure out where they need to be.
I have enjoyed Dale’s blog and your posts all summer. They are a happy and peaceful beginning to my day. Even if I miss a few days I always catch up. I’ll be on my screen porch with my laptop for another month or so until the mornings get too cold. My morning crowd (until my sleeping husband wakes up) includes Stanley the ground hog (who wants to eat my raspberries), myriad squirrels, several rabbits who like to take dirt baths in my new unplanted blueberry bed, goldfinches, cardinals, wrens, and hummingbirds. Sometimes a duck or turkey will wander through but not often. The most exciting day a few years ago was when 4 deer (including a buck) came by. I live in town, people! I live on a block with other backyards against mine! These deer seemed to know it was opening day of bow hunting season and that they would be safe in town….
Teacher workshop starts tomorrow. Wish us well.
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Elementary music teachers do important work – every kid should have a little music in their week (and day). I hope the school year goes well!
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My kind of crowd!
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holly welcome, your choice throw out balderdash with the baboons or hang with the friends of bambi on the front porch. i can see why you lurk. please feel free to throw two cents in anytime. say hi to thumper for me
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Beginning of school! Miss that part of teaching: so much promise at the start of each new school year. Always always, something made each year special–a student, a class, something I learned or accomplished. Wish two things for you:
1. such a year.
2. you do more than lurk.
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Thanks for the comment, Holly.
I’m glad to know the youth of Northfield are under your care!
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In my days of working at the Renaissance Festival it was sort of a game to try and guess that day’s gate count – which was easier than it ought to have been some days and based largely on how crowded certain parts of the site got at peak points during the day. I don’t know how many they let it on a given day there these days, but I can tell you when the gate count creeps up over 25,000 it’s crazy busy. I recall days of over 30,000 – not all there at once, I’m sure, but over the course of he 10 open hours in the day. Glad this is not a skill I have anymore.
Being in the very full Riverview Theater watching the very full Mall in D.C. on the big screen for Obama’s inauguration was pretty cool. Wish I could have been in D.C., but being with like minded folks in S. Mpls was a good second-best.
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Good luck for the school year! I hope you have lots of willing singers. Do you teach elementary band as well?
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This was for Holly of Northfield.
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A little orchestra sometimes and choir. No band.
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my kids went to a school with a total population pre k through 12 was about 500 kids. the band and orchestra were pretty entertaining. i had a cello and trumpet playing kid who would often times be on stage with 7 or 8 others performing for recitals. band and orchestra, priceless. the older kids did carry it. i can see problems with out the couple of kids who had a clue as to what they were doing.
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clyde held his tongue and avoiding the fighting
when the young churchie approached and began reciting
fire and brimstone were the start of the rant
clyde held back for a while but we all know he can’t
the poor churchie left fast with no more biblical sighting
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Rock Bend Folk Festival entertains tens of thousands of peaceful, happy people every year! 🙂 TENS of THOUSANDS, I say! 🙂 You could be there and see for yourself!
Saturday & Sunday, September 11 & 12, noon until 10 pm.
Minnesota Square Park
St. Peter, Minnesota
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when is it? how much does it cost?
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FREE – FREE – FREE!! 🙂
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http://www.rockbend.org
The schedule is still open to slight change.
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I grew up in DC so had access to crowds. Went to some huge anti-war demonstrations with the mother of a friend. My parents were more conservative but agreed to my participation if I went with a responsible adult.
The crowd I remember most was the Bicentennial fireworks at the Washington Monument. There were so many people that when we left we just walked in the streets and all the cars were kept off them. The transportation system collapsed and some folks didn’t get home til 4AM. WE parked farther away and were able to get home. MAybe that’s why I am happy to have moved to Minnesota and sad to be represented by a woman who can’t count let alone govern.
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I’ve been to the fireworks on the Mall, but not for the Bicentennial. I was also living in Greater DC during the Million Man March, which I believe was the beginning of the end of the Park Service doing crowd estimation-too controversial, who knew!
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I know we’re way off tangent here but I have intimidated a few people in my life… I tend to get upset when teenagers drive through the farm fields.
My favorite story is the young couple in lust that I caught when I followed their car tracks across the hay field… the young man was all smiles and trying to be all ‘friendly like’ when I drove up (in my big red 4×4 truck). I wasn’t as happy to see him as he was to see me… the smile sort of melted off his face… the poor girl just looked scared. Probably of me; I was yelling after all.
Anyway I chased them out; across the field, up the road, back to the highway. You have to understand we have a mile long driveway, then a 1/4 mile township road, then the county highway; there’s just our farm and one other house back on this dead end road.
About the time the kid turned onto the highway and ‘gunned’ it, there was a little puff of smoke and an oil leak from his car. …he slowed down and drifted off to the side of the road about 100 yards from me. And I had to think, what are my moral obligations at this point?
I drove up to them, slowly got out and walked up to his window…. asked calmly if he needed to use a phone or something. He replied that he had a phone— OK, I’m done! He asked if I was going to call the police? I said no, but don’t come back kid. And I don’t think he has… unless he’s the one dumping brush and junk in the ditches of our township road now days.
So much for the timid MN, Norwegian…
Just gotta find the right button to push….
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We were on the bluffs above Two Harbors. So we had the same issue, but except for once or twice it just gave us funny stiories to tell a the dinner table, which meant at noon, of course.
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Clyde, is that area called Encampment Forest? Is that where the old growth white pines are? Lovely.
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No, Encampment Forest is right on the lake between the tunnels; land of the super-rich with names like Pillsbury and Dayton, most of whom made wonderful neighbors. As an adult I lived south of the first tunnel, right along the highway on the upper side.
I grew up straight west of TH. When you are driving through TH heading west on Hwy 61 and when you have the graveyard on your left anf Pierre the Pantless Voageur on your right, if you look straight ahead, you will see a road rising up a bluff about 1.5 miles ahead, right before the highway veers to the left.
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Oh! I have a friend who lives about 9 miles in that direction on App Road.
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Encampment Forest does seem like the “land of the super-rich.” I thought the area was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in the ’90s and protected with easements, then partitioned for allowable development – but I don’t know any details. Thanks.
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EFA is a private preserve. There are about 100 summer homes hidden in those beautiful pines, some sumptuous indeed and some rustic, along the lake and up in the bluffs. They are protective of the land and their privacy, but they are a good group, keeping those pines and land the way they do. They were a problem about the Hiking trail, which they finally let go along the back edge of their land, which goes quite a way back. Many kids get summer jobs there in various ways. My daughter used to be a summer nanny for a few weeks for three very good kids. They would take her on some excursions–a common story for teen girls in TH. You often hear tales of rich people being cheap, but I have never heard a single story about EFA people being that way. Occasionally they came to the Castle Danger church and every so often a very large check would appear in the collection plate. The game was to pick them out in TH, many of course we knew and they were active in various ways in the community. They dressed like “us,” but their jeans and T-shirts fit perfectly. My sister worked at the DQ in TH for 7 years and got to know a few members. One man at the end of every summer would give here a $100 tip, back in the early 60’s. My wife got to know many at the library, some of whom did nice donations to the library. Yes, a fine group of folks.
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Wow, Krista, a friend on the App road. I know who App was.
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even you have a point of saturation huh? good story. i think that may qualify as one of the smallest crowds gathered to gether. within one or two anyhow.
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I’ve been trying to remember all day the true answer to this question–the largest crowd. I imagine it was a State Fair crowd sometime through the years. In college at Iowa State University I worked in concessions at CY STevens where they had rock concerts and sports events. Those were large crowds. But the largest amount of business in concessions came from a concert with the James Gang. There were only 7000 there, complete with the blue haze of cannabis and lighters. Those 7000 ate everything in the joint–every hotdog, chip, bun, every kernel of popcorn, every candy bar. Closing down that night–piece of cake. Even the cake was gone. That is my most memorable crowd.
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Sounds like they had a major case of the munchies! I remember one of the episodes from “That Seventies Show” (which I loved) and Hyde had baked up several batches of “special” brownies to sell at some interesting event. Red and Kitty had accidentally gotten into that batch, marveling at how tasty they were and how awesome of Hyde to bake brownies. Naturally, they got silly and then started eating everything in the house. Funny stuff …
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I’m canning tomatoes and tomato soup today. My father-in-law, who is 90 yo, loves it for a Christmas gift. At age 90 he gets whatever he wants. Here is the recipe.
Okie’s Tomato-Basil Soup
Makes 1 gallon and then some. To can the soup I make 3-4 batches of this (I got 16 quarts from 3 batches yesterday and today.
2 gallons tomatoes–I use a mixture of Rutgers, Brandywine, and Roma
Juice half of the tomatoes (cut in pieces and run through a colander to remove pulp, skins and seeds. It should be about 2 qts.)
Peel and chop the rest of the tomatoes
Put 1/4 c. olive oil in the thick bottomed pan, sprinkle 1/2 tsp sugar into the oil so the onion carmelizes.
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
2 c. of a variety of peppers (whatever is around, red, green, banana and hot)
1 zucchini–optional
1 c. water
1/3 to 1/2 c. flour
Basil.
I chop the veggies in a the food processor.
Carmelize the onions to a golden brown in the oil. Add the other vegetables, one vegetable at a time until they are soft. Add the juice. Add the chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least one hour. Thicken with mixture of water and flour.
To can, pour into sterile jars. Cover with sterile lids. Bring to a boil in a hot water bath and boil for 45 min. Remove, then enjoy in the winter.
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I thought I was the only one who had people named Okie in her family.
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Thanks Jacque. This has been re-posted on Kitchen Congress.
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Thank you and Okie thanks you.
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Greetings! I keep trying to think of some big crowd event I would have attended, but Dad would have avoided those events and usually I do as well. I remember attending a Packers game once (pre-season game — actual game tickets are impossible to get; and season tickets are passed down in folks’ wills). Growing up in Green Bay during the Lombardi era was a special time, so I was a football fan and thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of actually being at a game. You know, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd sort of thing.
While working at Pillsbury, I got to attend a Twins game in the Pillsbury suite complete with food and drink. That is awesome! You can either be in your bubble throne of specialness or get down with the crowd. I didn’t care much for baseball, but the food and libations were excellent!
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Largest crowd I was in was supposedly the Shanghai World Expo this past July. But the day we went had a lower reported attendance than average (approximately 350,000 visitors) due to the incredible heat (high of 40*C). We set out at 5pm to get the discounted ticket price, and to beat the crowds and heat (it was still 38*C with humidity so thick you couldn’t see where the sky started — I was utterly and completely miserable).
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mn in sudbury, they just didn’t tell you thst you can never see the sky in shanghai anymore. 100 degrees in china is hot. the trade shows are in the big new convention centers where they in my experience crank up the air, just like the hotels that cater to the americans. they are uglier than the ugly americans when it comes to fuel conservation and polution control. i looked up the world expo and it looks like a giant epcot from disney with countries and chinese provinces doing the song and dance to show how they can appeal to you. only in china would they have that run for a 6 month stint, the individual exhibits likely couldnt keep up with the doors opening in the heat. been a while since you stayed in kl huh? its that hot there half the year isn’t it? enjoy sudbury and the seasons. someone gave me the formula for discomfort and that is to add the temp and humidity together . if it equals 145 it is uncomfprtable. unless ther is a 30 mph wind and some shade.
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tim,
Bringing in China’s behaviour to justify U.S. policy (or vice versa) makes it a race to the bottom. Certainly not saying that you were doing such, just that I increasingly find myself obligated to defend China to Americans, and to do the same when Chinese people criticize America.
China doesn’t yet have, I think, the concerted fuel conservation and pollution control standards that many parts of the so-called developed world have. And “official” parties such as the Expo are about as fun as a corporate fundraiser.
On an individual scale however, we were blown away at the sheer numbers of electric bicycles on the streets in Shanghai (we were very tempted to bring one back, but could not think how). And of course there are many many people in Shanghai picking through trash for recyclables. It’s a very socioeconomically-driven model of conservation, but I think solutions can arise where they are least expected.
At least, I hope so.
In contrast with Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur (and Singapore) are rapidly cooled by thunderstorms when it gets hot in a hurry. I had never previously experienced 40*C heat!
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mn in sudbury, i agree with you that the people of china are not the offenders, it is the scale of the community and the complete lack of leadership at the governing levle to try to implement pollution controls. alongside the electric scooters are the small gas scooter and buses s that shoot out the clouds of smoke from the exhaust pipes. i think the electric bicylces and scooters are so successful over there because they are free if you can find an plug anywhere you stop. no gas needed.
the people collecting anything recyclable is truly amazing. i saw building that were obviously proclaimed ready for demolition and rather than call the demolition crew they would let the locals come and take first the windows and doors then the bricks and boards then anything else worth gathering.
the temperature of 40 vs the 36 everyday in kl must be humidity realted. i know china can be very humid and that makes 40c unbearable. is it less humid in kl?
i apoligize if my sweeping statnements about ugly americans and chinas disregard of pollution standards seems seems brash. i am often embarrased by the ugly american abroad and the insistance that the world do it the american way, i am also sad to see the progress without resposible social conscince found in china, indonesia, and other rapidly developing countries. the electric bike can be found on ebay but it is expensive. if you are handy the kit is pretty reasonable. i think i will look into importing them next year. a good opportunity.
what kind of doctor are you?
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OT: Someone asked me for my method for marinated baked tofu last week. I’m finally getting around to posting it.
For what it’s worth – this is more method than recipe. This is the first time I’ve ever written it down and I don’t follow a recipe. You will have your own marinades and your own favorite veggies.
14 oz package of extra firm tofu (not silken) I use Westsoy.
1/2 to 1 cup of marinade of your choice
Olive oil
Open the package of tofu and drain the liquid. Place the tofu on a plate with another plate inverted on top of it. Use something heavier on the top plate to weight it down. Place the stack in the refrigerator and press the tofu for at least 1/2 hour. I usually let it press for an hour.
Make a marinade. I use all different kinds: Italian with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pesto or herbs; or honey-mustard with red pepper flakes; or curry. I make 1 – 2 cups of marinade so I have some around.
Remove the tofu stack from the refrigerator and drain the liquid off. Place the tofu on a hard surface and slice it into 1″ squares about 1/2″ thick. Place the cut tofu into a deep, covered container and pour the marinade over it. Mix it up well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I usually do this a day ahead and leave it in the marinade for a day.
Preheat oven to 375. I use a recycled aluminum pizza pan. I’m certain there are better choices. Spray your chosen pan with olive oil cooking spray. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pieces of tofu from the container and place them on the sprayed pan, spreading them evenly in a single layer. I reserve the marinade sauce and use it for sauteing later. Bake the tofu for about 1/2 hour and check it. Turn the pieces for even baking. Bake again for another 15 – 20 minutes and check again. It should be golden brown but don’t let it burn on the corners. Remove, cool and store in a glass, covered container.
I use it with sauteed veggies, for example:
1-2 T olive oil
3 or more cloves of crushed or minced garlic
1/2 – 1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 – 2 cups sliced zucchini
1 – 2 cups broccoli
1 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1 – 2 medium tomatoes, quartered and chopped
Reserved Italian marinade with basil pesto (about 1/2 cup)
Saute the veggies in olive oil over medium-high heat. I always use a big saute pan and add veggies in the order given. Add the reserved marinade, then add the baked tofu. Mix well and heat it all for a few minutes. Serve with brown rice, quinoa or orzo. It will provide several helpings and leftovers!
Jacque, thanks for the tomato soup recipe! I canned tomatoes on Sunday. I got 13 quarts out of 30 lbs of paste tomatoes. I made some tomato “juice” using a Squeezo that was given to me many years ago. That will work well for your soup!
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Thanks Krista! I’ve transferred this method to Kitchen Congress.
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Winding down the evening with a small revelation: Licking vanilla ice cream out of the pint makes it taste less like alcoholic vanilla essence out of the bottle and more like ice cream (compared with my usual method of eating it with a spoon). Who knew!
Entertaining myself and pushing the comments towards the magic number “100”.
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i will try the ice cream and report back
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Dale, I have to say that although I miss you sorely on MPR, you’re even more amazing now that you hold your own editorial leash. Kudos on expanding your voice.
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Thank you Pedro! I also miss being on the radio, but I’m very grateful that you followed me here. Your kind words are much appreciated.
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