Minnesot-ahhhh...

Hal writes:

I left on Thursday evening and headed north. Within 10 miles of leaving Platteville I was routed because of road construction. I read recently that people in the United States are not very patient any more. So instead of grumbling, I took the time to enjoy the beautiful country side that I would not have seen had I not been routed away from my normal path. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like for a young man my age to be one of the first non-native Americans to cross this area. He (let's call him "Bill") (only his mother calls him William) would not have had the luxury of an air conditioned vehicle traveling at good speeds on paved roads with Michael Buble playing on the CD player and a compass on the dashboard. Wow, Bill, you are far more adventurous than I have ever been.

After driving for 250 miles in 5 hours (that an average of 50 mph for non-math people) I ended up at Shell Lake, WI. I was able to spend some with Anna's mom and the Cardwell pets, but Molly the dog was the only pet to give me positive attention (the birds just squawked at me). Kat was off playing at camp so I didn't get a chance to see her. I couldn't stay very long because I was eager to see Lake Superior in the daylight but it was nice to stop and stretch my legs for a bit.

I spent Friday morning visiting the new Two Harbors High School. The new school opened this past fall. I won't get into all of the pros and cons of building a new "high school" (6-12 grade are there) but needless to say it is a beautiful building with a view of Lake Superior on the second floor and Mr. Nyberg, the principal, has one key that serves as the master key for everything (a hall director's dream). In addition to spending time in my dad's classroom, I was also able to stop and chat with a few of my high school teachers. Wow, what a lack of respect these high school students have. Seriously, I couldn't imagine saying/acting the way these kids did. Even some of the less than scholarly classmates I had didn't act like this. What the heck happened in the last ten years? "When I was their age..."

During the afternoon I drove around Two Harbors. Things have changed since I lived there. Two houses that belonged to families of my classmates had For Sale signs (Luke's and Molly's) and I have memories of being in each of them. Both the elementary school and the high school I attended are now empty. The area north of 16th Avenue has expanded and has more houses (which destroyed the tree fort Paul, JB, and I built in the summer of 1993). Bud still works his lawn to perfection across the street, but Vi is not longer with him. The businesses on main street and 7th avenue have changed. The curriculum at THHS has changed. The number of gray hairs on my dad's head has, well, you get the idea...

Later that evening was the retirement party for my dad and other retiring teachers from the district. (Little known fact: the THHS school district is one of the largest in the country, about the size of Rhode Island, and employees teachers at several schools.) This year six retired: Carol Boyd (classmate's mom, my teacher for French and various English courses), my dad, Sandi Gredzens (art teacher, did not know her), Bill Hermanson (homeroom teacher in high school, 9th grade speech teacher, his son Tom and I played basketball together), Linda Hoffman (health education teacher, most difficult class of my high school career), and Al Vanderziel (my 8th grade homeroom and English teacher, retiring after 43.5 years of service). There were also retired teachers in attendance that I had during my time in the school system: Arnie Overby, Bill Arntsen, Marlene Frahm, Gene Magnuson, Winston Norby, Joan Gunsolus, Dennis Herschbach, Bill Tranah, Dave Rossetter, Jim Udovich, Tom "Coach" Swanstrom, and Jan Hockman among many others in attendance that I did not have as a teacher.

A photo of my parents and I. I figure that this gives me "favored child" status for a least two weeks for attending. (My sisters will take over that role when they are in Minnesota for Father's Day.) Below is a photo of my friend Melanie with her husband Dean and baby Zac.

On Saturday morning my parents and I got up early and went to Lou's for breakfast in Barnum. Although I don't go as nearly as often as other family members, Robin still knows my usual (breakfast sandwich, hashbrowns with cheese, biggest glass of milk she can find). In the afternoon I went to my cousin Kylie's high school graduation party and a saw a number of my relatives (from mom's side) at the event. I only got one "thinking of having any kids yet?" and that was from my cousin Fawn who is less than a month older than me but already has two children. (UWP married men wanting children update: I'm currenlty at 3%, Mike is around 12%, Nolan is 100% and Matt is ?%.) After the grad party I stopped to see my grandma for a little bit, then my Mom and I kayaked around Little Hanging Horn lake. My mom likes to go along the shore to spy on the cabins and see who is around, so it's a workout. That evening my parents and I went to eat pizza in Moose Lake and then saw RV at the theater.

This morning I got up early and drove to Wavelry to see Anna. I was glad I had a chance to see her today so we didn't have to go two weeks without seeing each other. We had a fun afternoon in Waverly and did some shopping Cedar Falls and ate at the Texas Roadhouse. Mmmm... meat... (and cinnamon flavored butter for the rolls). Then back in the car once more to complete my three state road tour and got back to Platteville.

I'm glad to be out of the car!