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SOMETHING SOMETHING*

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*A working title that was as good as anything else.

This week’s farming update from BEN

Spring is coming. The female cardinal is fighting with her reflection in our car mirrors. She did that last year too. (Remember when having that right side mirror was a big deal? They were not standard.)

The maple trees are getting buds on them. Crocuses are coming up. The chives are coming up. And the snow fence is falling over, so it must be time to be done with that. Fingers crossed. I saw a turkey vulture Friday morning and Kelly heard a killdeer.

Last weekend Kelly traveled to San Antonio for a work thing. Spent 12 hours in airports on Saturday. Had two layovers, three flights, and every flight was late for one reason or another. Left RST at noon, got to SAN at midnight. And then couldn’t get to the gate because there was some sort of medical emergency inside.

At least her luggage showed up! She had time to walk around Sunday afternoon. Saw the Alamo and did the river walk downtown.

Did her work thing, had supper with a co-worker, went back to the airport at 3AM, no trouble getting through TSA at that point, and was back in Rochester with no issues at 11AM Monday. She slept the rest of the day.

Man, air travel… I’m gonna ask you about that at the end so give it some thought.

Really haven’t done much on the farm this week. I’ve seen several posts from the Oat Mafia group on FB of guys out planting oats. One guy did it before the blizzard. Another guy remarked when he got to the field at 2:00AM it was 31degrees and a little wet. By 3:30AM and 27 degrees it was perfect. I read that and I think to myself, honestly, I am just playing at this farming thing… Yeah, they got 1400 acres total, and 300 acres oats, while I got 25 acres of oats, So, it doesn’t compare, but still… it’s hard not to compete. My equipment doesn’t do what their equipment does. I have to do tillage before I can plant. They’re doing no-till. I looked up some no-till drills. A brand new one, six feet wide, lists for $17,000. My current drill is 15’ wide. Ok, here’s a used no-till 15’ drill, 1996 model. $35,900. Whistle. That’s a lot of oats to make that pay. Plus having the field ready to plant last fall in order to plant this spring.

Last week I mentioned jumping through hoops at the local Farm Service Agency. Somehow, after 10 years, they decided the Hain Trust and me were not the same people. I had to get a lawyer to draw up some paperwork to show I am indeed part of the Hain Trust. And that made FSA happy and this week I got a nice deposit from them. Evidently, it’s tied into that Big … Bill the orange president created. Yeah, more bail out money since he screwed up all the markets. And this is how we’re saving money, right?

And the check from the corn I sold so I had a really nice bank balance.

Then I paid the first half of rent on two fields, $2000. And paid the diesel fuel and gasoline bill. $2300. And Farm insurance $1200 quarterly. And the monthly electric bill, and, and, and… easy come easy go! But hey, at least I could make those payments.

Working on a show at the college. We open in about 3 weeks and I am busy building stuff. I clean up as I’m working because I hate walking through sawdust and tracking it all over the rest of the shop. And that’s why I vacuumed up the remote for the dust collector on the table saw. And because I have a bag in the shop vac, I had to sift it to the top and fish it back out the hole. I knew it was in there because I turned it on while fishing it out, haha. I’m gonna add a board to it so I don’t do that again. This was the second or third time I’ve done that.

I took a walk along our creek last Sunday. Me and the dogs.

Bailey…
Silver Creek

I heard some sandhill cranes calling. A flock/siege/construction/swoop of 12 or 14 of them made a loop and head off south. I hope a few spend more time in our area. I thought of our Steve.

I had a lot of township business this week. Lots of phone calls and fact-finding. Relinquished my chair of the town board and don’t have to chair that board again for 4 years. And Thursday night was the annual meeting of the People’s Electric Cooperative. Supper was provided and it was… food. I wore sleeves and a jacket.  

As chair of the nominating committee I presented the election results and read the oath to the winners. And that’s over for another year. Shedding projects left and right!

WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST FLIGHT?

RIDDEN IN ANY KIND OF VINTAGE PLANE?

MILE HIGH CLUB ANYONE??

38 thoughts on “SOMETHING SOMETHING*”

  1. My very first flight was in a six-seater Piper Cub over the Grand Canyon. I was in the eighth grade on a long family vacation out west. It was pretty cool. I still remember the feeling as we were flying along with trees and ground underneath us and then suddenly we went over the edge and there was the Grand Canyon underneath us. A little bit of stomach bibble for a minute, but otherwise fine.

    I flew in an open air bi-plane in Africa. I’m pretty sure the plane itself was not actually vintage (although I don’t know for sure), but it looked vintage. So I’m gonna count that.

    And no mile high club for me — not even any risqué dreams while flying along.

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  2. First flight was one-way from Los Angeles to MSP in the 50s when my parents had not yet started going broke. Didn’t fly again until 1969 when the Army sent me from California to Missouri. After that, a life in the air began. Now, I take trains.

    Vintage plane was probably one or the other of the C-123 planes that I sometimes rode as a passenger in Vietnam.

    If there’s a parallel to the mile-high club that involves an Amtrak sleeping car….

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  4. First flight was in the mid 60s back to MSP from Seattle. We took the Great Northern out, it was a grand adventure (I suppose that plane is vintage today😃). We also rented a Toyota while out there. My conservative 6’4″ dad did not love it.

    I flew a lot in the 90s, but never in this century. We’ll see if I get to keep that record.

    No mile-high club for me! I was never good at flying and usually just hoped to land with my stomach and head still in one piece. Never got sick on a plane either, just mostly wretched. Winning!

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  5. First flight, summer of 1967, from Des Moines to Mpls – I think we were in the air for all of 45 minutes… This was to visit the college roommate I’d shared a dorm room with the previous year. I remember she took me to Southdale, the Old Log Theater, and the Lincoln Del for hot apple pie with cinnamon ice cream.

    No vintage planes, and no Mile High Club.

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  6. 1973? I was 9 yrs old. Flew out to Maryland to visit my oldest sister who had just moved out there.
    Probably first flights for my parents and my grandmother.
    I don’t remember much except the took me to the cockpit and the pilots talking with me. And I remember visiting DC.

    Been in some small Cessna’s, and a couple helicopters.

    I’m betting tim will have a story…
    And waiting for somone else to surprise us with their adventures! Jacque? PJ? Bill??
    Who will admit it 🙂 ?

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    1. No mile high for me–the discomfort, embarrassment, and germs are more than I can contemplate. However, in 2004 following a trip to Italy, Lou and I were held on the tarmac in Frankfurt for hours. At one point we were marched into the airport and sniffed by German Shepherds. Then we were marched back to the plane to wait some more. The seatmate next to me was visibly masterbating. When the trip was over we found out that there had been a major incident in Spain and all flights in Europe were held for some time while they figured in out.

      I heard several stories of the mile high club from a former book club member (Waaaay before Blevins) who was notorious for her sexual choices. Her stories involved the bathroom, which I think, is far too small for that.

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  7. No flights with my parents. First one was probably the flight to San Francisco from Minneapolis with Robin in the early ’70s. Later in that decade, when I worked in advertising, I flew quite often.

    No vintage aircraft but once in a small float plane over Canadian wilderness.

    Recalling my most recent flight in economy seating, where there wasn’t even room enough to bend down and reach the floor, the notion of Mile High Club makes me laugh.

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  8. Valdor Lund

    (Hopefully a picture will appear)
    When I think of vintage aircraft, I think of this. It’s in a cemetery in Barrett, MN where a branch of my ancestors settled. The story goes that Valdor Lund, the local boy whose stone this is, went off somewhere and learned to fly, then came back with an airplane of his own. He was giving rides to some of his friends showing off with some fancy maneuvers —loop the loops and such— whereupon one of the wings came off. Judging by the inscription on his marker, this was in 1931.

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  9. My first flight was 1980-81, in my early 20s. I flew from MSP to Detroit to meet Husband, who had driven ahead for a work event. From there we took a road trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

    I was so excited for that first flight. I always wanted to fly and still love it, even though the experience has certainly become less pleasant. As long as I can have a window seat…

    Never flew as a kid; my mom would not go on an airplane, and never has in my lifetime. She told me she went on some two-seater type airplane for a 10-minute ride with a girlfriend and was terrified. No one could convince her that flying on a commercial jet would be safer/less scary.

    Not sure about vintage, but Husband had some rough flights on small planes when he used to travel for work.

    I hate to sound naive, but I had to look up mile-high club, which answers the question about my membership.

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  10. Flown in 4 seater, 6 seater, and 12 seater planes, counting pilot and copilot in all instances, all across top of Alaska.
    Like you, Ben, I will be bleeding money for a month to rent new apartment and get new bed, etc.
    Clyde

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    1. is you old bed just ready for replacement?
      youve been downsizing and living skinny for the last fistfull of years. i guess now its time to plan for you
      ill bet we could organize a moving day if you can give us a little notice

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  11. I’m not sure what the mile-high club is either. I don’t have time to look it up, but I will later.

    My first flight was from MSP to New York tri-something airport (I think). My parents put me on a flight when I was 14 years old, and sent me to New York to watch my uncle graduate from Rensselaer with an engineering degree of some kind. I think it was a Master’s, but I’m not sure. I’m also not sure why they sent me, except that they just didn’t like me very much. They sent me alone, which was a Very Big Deal. I loved it! I loved the independence. I loved looking out at the clouds below the plane, and the earth far below. Some people moved so that I could have a window – now I know how nice that was.

    I’ve flown six times in my life. Each time I fly, I like it less. I’m happy staying home right now, especially with the state of air travel and our souring world relations. I would go to Great Britain, but not right now. I’d take the train to places in the U.S. before I’d fly.

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  12. In 1953, at the age of ten, I had my first major solo travel adventure. My mother was sending me to attend my uncle John’s wedding in Ireland by myself. The plan was for me to spend a couple of weeks in Plymouth, England with my mom’s sister, Bridie and her family. My uncle Christie would meet us there, and would travel together with my cousin Sean – Bridie’s oldest child – to Drogheda, mom’s hometown. We took a bus from Plymouth to Bristol to catch the flight to Dublin.

    I traveled alone from Nykøbing to Copenhagen by train. At the central station in Copenhagen I was met by a family friend who made sure I got on the right train to Esbjerg. At Esbjerg I boarded the ferry to Harwich in England. From Harwich I caught a train to London where I was met at the station by auntie Bridie. She and I then traveled together by train to Plymouth where she lived with her husband, Peter, and their three children.

    Kind strangers along the way kept asking where my parents were and were astonished that I was traveling alone. They all looked after me, and handed me off to other strangers along the way.

    The crossing of the North Sea was rough, and I got terribly sea sick. I recall begging the stewardess responsible for my cabin to please throw me overboard. I thought I had a better chance at surviving if I swam the rest of the way.

    I had looked forward to flying and I can remember being very disappointed at the actual experience. I remember thinking “this is just like a big bus, and if we don’t speed up soon, it’s going to take us forever to get there.” I also remember my ears getting all plugged up during the flight, and it took days for them to return to normal hearing.

    Looking back, I’m amazed that apparently there weren’t any rules or regulations that prohibited a child from traveling alone like that.

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  14. Back from the No Kings Protests, Baboons. They were windy and “refreshing.”

    I think my first flight was during grad school to attend a wedding in Princeton, NJ, so it would have been around 1979. There was little about it that was remarkable, except the novelty of the experience.

    My brother-in-law had an old plane, however, I do not know if it was old enough to be vintage. I do know it felt very flimsy. At the time sister and her husband lived in the very western part of S. Dakota where sister’s novels are set (Camp Crook, SD). BIL had the plane at a local small airport. We flew over to Devil’s Tower Wyoming, and flew around it. The top was covered by beer cans and other detritous. It was a fun flight.

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  15. first time flying was my uncles little piper cub 4 seater with a bunch of cousins. flew over corn fields and was very unimpressed.
    mile high experiences were highlights of my youth. i had a stewardess call me back to the back of the plane then slide us into the bathroom for a mile high moment. she left and before i could follow or lock the door the next passenger came in and was surprised to see me in there after someone just left.
    another time my hot date waited for quiet time and lights out on an evening flight and semi secretly pleasured me under the blankets we had for sleeping. one flight attendant walked by and pretended she didnt see anything. it was a little self conscious moment but i got through it. it was an enjoyable trip all around in my memories

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  16. I took my T-6 WW2 plane trip in part to honor my Dad. He serviced that type of plane during Korea. The P-51 Mustang was his favorite. Whenever we visited the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, we lingered at the displays of those types. He loved the engines and swore that he could break them down and rebuild them blindfolded. I believe it.

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  17. My very first plane ride was in a 4 seater flown by my licensed pilot Sunday School teacher. He took us on a short flight over our hometown. I was probably in 5ht or 6th grade.

    My first commercial flight was in June 1970 shortly after HS graduation. I was part of a group of students attending a 6 week summer school program in Germany. This was when Northwest started flying the 747. There was one flight a week and we flew standby to NYC. People were making a big deal about how big the plane was and there were two aisles, etc. I entered the plane and thought “what’s the big deal?”. Our flight from NYC to Germany was on a DC8 – that’s when I appreciated how big the 747 really was.

    I have flown on many types of commercial aircraft – from 50 passengers to over 300. Only once have I traveled in business class. My travel friend upgraded us from coach to business for a flight from LA to Japan. Our seats reclined flat and we had full size pillows and a comforter which afforded us a lovely night’s sleep. Wish I could afford that for all my overseas trips.

    I am definitely not a member of the mile high club!

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  18. Nearly all my airborne experiences have been work-related, so any mile high suggestions would have been terribly inappropriate.

    First trip was to San Francisco for a conference. I remember our erstwhile leader Dale being there that year, along with Jim Ed, so I queried Google’s AI tool, as one does, to see whether my memory was true. I got this…

    Live Session in San Francisco (1989)

    During the 1989 Public Radio Conference at the St. Francis Hotel, Connelly and Keith performed a live “Showcase” session. These sessions were designed to demonstrate their unique brand of sound-effects-driven humor (mastered by Tom Keith) to station managers from across the country. The “Harp-Playing Cowboys” was often a staple of these live performances because it allowed Keith to show off his ability to create complex “western” soundscapes alongside the absurd visual of a harp.

    Legacy of the Skit
    Audio Collections: This skit was later included in several “best-of” collections from The Morning Show, such as the CD sets released by MPR.
    Tom Keith’s Sound Effects: The humor relied heavily on Keith’s vocal sound effects, mimicking the “plink” of the harp strings and the crackle of the fire.

    While specific live session recordings from the 1989 San Francisco conference are rarely published for the public, this exact skit was a “greatest hit” for The Morning Show and can be found in several places:
    MPR Audio Collections: The skit is featured on the “The Morning Show: Classics” and “The Morning Show: The Early Years” CD and cassette collections. You can occasionally find these through the Minnesota Public Radio Store or at local Twin Cities libraries.
    “The Best of The Morning Show”: It was frequently included in the “Best Of” pledge drive specials. You can check the Minnesota Historical Society’s MPR archive for digital transfers of shows from May 1989.
    YouTube & Fansites: Fans of the show often upload these skits under titles like “Cowboy Harp” or “Tom Keith Sound Effects.”

    Memorable Moments from the Skit
    The Sound Effects: The highlight is Tom Keith’s incredible mouth-made sound effects—the delicate “pling” of the harp strings juxtaposed with the crackling campfire and lowing cattle.
    The Dialogue: The cowboys complain about how the “desert air” is hell on the harp’s soundboard and how hard it is to find a tuner in the middle of a cattle drive.
    The Live Performance: Performing this in San Francisco in 1989 was a strategic move to show other public radio stations that MPR had “high-concept” humor that worked perfectly for the medium.

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