These are the musings of a diverse dude. We'll discuss sports, politics, family, music, hunting, fishing, and of course, all things that hold the interest of yellow dogs and those that patrol with them.
On my way home last weekend, I stopped by St. John's University to see how my alma mater is holding up. It has been a couple of years since I've been on campus, and this was the first time in ten or fifteen years that I've been up there while the students were around.
A couple of observations from this walk down memory lane:
From the minute I got out of my car, I was overcome by a palpable sense of "home." I just can't explain it any better than that. Despite being almost 25 years away from physically being a part of campus, it felt like a good portion of my soul never left.
I was touched at how much this place meant to me. While I only spent four years there, they were incredible years. Years in which I grew into a man, years in which I grew intellectually and spiritually, years in which I met and made the best friends that I'd have in my life. It is amazing how that little segment of time can have a ripple effect through a lifetime.
I forgot how incredibly beautiful this campus is. From the Abby Church to the stadium to the smallest and most insignificant of buildings, it is simply picturesque. Additions made through the years, either buildings or landscaping, have only added to its beauty.
I felt really bad for the students that I met. When I came out of college in 1987, we had ourselves a recession, but nothing like what the class of 2011 will be called to endure. Thankfully, youth is the antidote to pessimism, and hopefully things will get better soon so this next generation gets to experience the blessings that I and others in my generation were lucky enough to enjoy.
If you happen to find yourself on I-94 just west of St. Cloud, definitely pull over. Even if you do nothing other than run in and get yourself of delicious loaf of that famous Johnnie Bread, it will be worth your while.
Billed as The Dukes of September Rhythm Review, a band featuring Michael McDonald, Boz Skaggs, Donald Fagen, and a majority of the band from the 2009 Steely Dan tour held court on the final day of the Minnesota State Fair. The weather was miserable, with times of heavy rain and strong wind, and judging by some of the missing seats, kept some folks either at home or sheltered in the grandstand. Regardless of the weather, the show was quite good.
Here's a set list to the best of my recollection:
Everybody's Gone - Think I may have the title wrong on this one. All three shared a chorus to start things off. Don't Mess Up a Good Thing - Michael McDonald soared his blue-eyed soul to take this old Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure song to an awesome place. Outstanding. Shakedown Street - Fagen gave a pretty honest treatment to perhaps the worst Grateful Dead song ever. Not sure why it was selected. Yuck. You Never Can Tell - Boz did a traditional run at this Chuck Berry classic, but chose not to go after the high last line of the chorus. It sounded funny that way (although the background singers hit it for him), and could have been better. I Got News for You - Michael McDonald absolutely tore the place down with this song. Somewhere, Ray Charles was smiling broadly. Green Flower Street - Great treatment by Fagen. Very true to the original, save for a great piano solo lead-in. Miss Sun - This is my favorite Boz song, and hands down the best part is the sexy female backup singer improvisation at the end. I was wondering how that part of the song was going to be handled, and sure enough one of the female backups came down to take on an interplay with Boz. Unfortunately, their mic levels were not at all aligned, and instead of a breathy, sexy back and forth, she dominated the conversation. Too bad. I Keep Forgettin' - A solid performance by Michael. Rock Steady - One of the background singers took on this Aretha song, and did pretty damn good with it. I know I wouldn't want to cover the Queen of Soul, but she really held her own. I was impressed. King Harvest - Fagen started out a trio of covers by The Band, and all three were really lacking. Given their backgrounds, band, and personal catalogs, covering The Band made zero sense to me. Rag, Momma, Rag - The second miss, this time with Boz at lead vocals. You Don't Know the Shape I'm In - McDonald's stellar vocals made this passable. I Live the Life I Love - Another backup singer handled lead vocals on this old Muddy Waters tune. Cadillac Walk - Boz's voice hits stride with this Mink Deville classic. What a Fool Believes - While the song sounded dated, it did get some folks to their feet to build to the finale. I.G.Y - For some reason I did not expect Fagen to play this. Not sure why, but it surprised me. He totally knocked it out of the park, and more people got on their feet. Lowdown - Boz's biggest hit had even more people dancing. Takin' It to the Street - This Doobies' classic my McDonald had literally everybody up. Reelin' In the Years - Given the band make up, they've been playing this for over a year now, and they crushed it.
Additional random notes:
Fagen was way more lucid than he was last November. He knew his lyrics (save for one small error on I.G.Y), and cracked himself up on the lead lyric of Reelin' while fighting through the wind and rain - your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast.
All the guys looked really good. They looked their age, yeah, but they still looked good.
I was really awed by the greatness of Michael McDonald's singing. Why he didn't have a significantly bigger career is beyond me. He's kind of like the US's version of Great Britain's Paul Carrack
Despite the lousy weather, it really was fun. I recommend the show.
I spent last weekend with Fuzzy, his kids, and a couple of Yellow Dogs in search of either some geese or doves. Given a reliable scouting report, we decided to forgo geese and spent Saturday morning in pursuit of doves. Unfortunately, a big NW wind the days leading up to the hunt likely moved many of them off to warmer climes. That meant a trip to town for blueberry pancakes, a long and much needed nap, target shooting, some fun ATV riding and copious amounts of college football.
The following day found us on the lake in pursuit of some Canada geese, but again things were a bust (as you can likely tell by the picture of the Yellow Dog and my buddy Ben). We saw a handful of birds, but nothing gave us any kind of look. The day was salvaged by a trip to Cabela's on the way home, so all was not lost, but in terms of the game bag, things were a little light.
My first week at the new job is nearly complete. I’m exhausted by the amount of what I’ve needed to learn and by the amount of work I’ve done, but I’m energized by the opportunity that is ahead of me. The culture of this company is aligned with what is important to me (respect, professionalism, frugality, passion for the customer, fun) and my boss the CEO and I could not be any more on the same page.
It is hard – there’s so much to do. But that’s also the fun part as well.
I was going through our formal home inspection, and was able to get some video of the place. It was originally built by Ryan Longwell of the Packers (now with the Vikings), so there’s a touch of a brush with greatness, I guess.
In the distance, just across the river, you can make out Lambeau Field. The Yellow Dog wanted to walk over there and take a poop, but I wouldn’t let her. We need to be charitable to our new neighbors.
Last Thursday we held our 6th annual banquet for Delta Waterfowl. Since Fuzzy and I launched this, I’m proud to report that we’ve generated over $150,000 for Delta’s vital waterfowl research, production, and conservation initiatives.
It’s a lot of work, but it is quite rewarding, and we quickly grew to be the most profitable chapter in the state of Minnesota, and one of the best in the nation as well. While we’ll lose that title this year (we were off slightly in attendance and profit), it has been a great run, and I’m very proud of the results that the chapter has developed.
With the move to Green Bay, I now step down as chapter chair, so it will be up to someone else to pick it up and drive it to the next level. With a great community like this from which draw, I’m supremely confident that the momentum will continue.
I'm a 40 something, married, Catholic, Republican, ecommerce guy from the frozen state of Minnesota; a state where we complain about the weather to each other within it, and brag about it to others outside of it.
