I Now Have Cable TV in My Garage!

For a mere cost of $15 paid to my friends at Mediacom, I can now multi-task in style. Evenings spent processing birds and cleaning guns out in the garage can now be enjoyed with the addition of football. Throw in the cold adult beverage of your choice, and this man-scene is complete.

Woot!

Never Forget

And to think there are some, even in our own government, that deny this happened the way it did. God help us.

Dakota Rail Trail - A Beautiful Bike Ride

My wife and I were looking to get in some exercise, and decided to take advantage of the new Dakota Rail Trail. What an outstanding ride! We entered on the trailhead at St. Boni where there is ample parking and a nice picnic area.

We had just intended to get in a quick work out, but the day was beautiful, the trail outstanding, and the scenery evoking of too many memories of growing up in Mound that we ended up doing the full 27 mile trip to Wayzata and back.

Best parts about the ride for me:

• Going through Mound and seeing how much that town has changed and cleaned up


• Crossing the Seaton Channel on the same bridge from which I used to jump in my younger days. Ditto the Lafayette bridge.


• Going past the Spring Park A&W where I used to work flipping burgers as a summer job in junior high. The trail goes right past the drive-in and has to be a huge boon for their owner (the same guy that owns it when I worked there!). The place was packed.


• Going past the old Lafayette club; site of many school dances and DU banquets.

There's not much at the Wayzata side for refreshment, which is too bad - after cranking over 13 miles, we could have used a Gatorade. But this really was the only thing that was disappointing.

I will definitely look for opportunities to get a lot more miles in on this beautiful new trail. Well done!

Minnesota Dove Opener 2009

In the middle of all of dad's funeral arrangements, I snuck off to the duck camp to participate in the 6th Minnesota dove opener. You might wonder why I left in middle of everything, but really needed to do it for my own closure reasons. I needed to be up there alone and feel the finality of dad being gone. It may not be what you'd do, but it is pretty much exactly what I needed.

I was the guest of my buddy Don and his KrugerFarms.com outfit, and we hunted a couple of spots of his in nearby Starbuck.

Dove hunting means a ton to me. I was part of a small team that aggressively lobbied to get dove hunting reinstated in Minnesota after a 60 year hiatus. While many other groups tried to do the same thing, our approach was much different. We leveraged some of my marketing and direct response background, and were able to create a strong groundswell at the constituent level. It was a new approach, and we were fought the entire way by an incredibly well funded anti-hunting / animal rights machine.

The end result was the bill passing by one vote in the legislature, and this signing by Governor Pawlenty. It remains one of my more proud moments.

So why fight that battle? Simple. Hunting as a lifestyle is dying. The complexities of kids' schedules, myriad time distractions, fractured homes, urbanization, and the methodical battle against hunting by the animal rights lobby have very quickly eroded the ranks of those who hunt. Our numbers decline, our average age continues to rise, and our future remains bleak.

But dove hunting is a great pursuit to introduce kids to the outdoors. It is done when the weather is warm. Doves are abundant and offer many opportunities. There's not the need to sit still or remain quiet. It doesn't require a lot of expensive gear. So while I don't have any children of my own to introduce to this lifestyle, I felt it important to do all I could to provide others with an easy "gateway" introduction to hunting and the outdoors, and keep that way of life alive.

Here's the end result. Judge for yourself.

Dad the Feature News Obit of the StarTribune

This process has been one of dichotomies - at nearly the same time I've felt humble and proud, alone and surrounded, peaceful and anxious, cheerful and sad. However, I have been feeling a lot of closure these last couple of days. I think there are a couple of driving reasons for this: the outpouring of love of family and friends, a beautiful service, a celebratory Irish wake, and even little things like my church playing All Creatures of Our God and King as the entrance hymn yesterday.

Now, to add to the list, the StarTribune got around to featuring dad in their news obituary. You can access it by clicking this link.

I'm not sure these past days could have gone better, and that's a testament to a lot of people that loved my dad being on the same page and working hard, as well as us being the recipients of a massive amount of prayers.

God's blessings continue to shower us.

The Daily Puntometer

While the Twins have dropped three of their last four, our insipid hero has been absolutely en fuego, raising his batting average to a whopping .221 During this massive run we've been treated to a triple, successful sacrifice bunts and a patented Punto slide into first base (safe!).

At this rate he's set to make his 2007 BA of .210 a complete aberration.

Dad's Funeral Recap

I am so proud of my family! The funeral for dad was one that was so beautiful, and so filled with love and laughter. My dad would have been so very happy with it.

Highlights:

• Fr. Kevin McDonough presided over a beautiful service, and gave a remembrance of dad that made us all so proud. Fr. Kevin is such an incredible man, and we were so blessed that he did us this honor.
• My brother did the readings, and the whole time all I kept thinking of was how professional he was - his reading was graceful, dignified, and heartfelt. It is easy to go through the motions in that role, but the last thing my brother ever does is go through the motions. I admire and respect Kevin so much.
• My brother-in-law Artie wrote and delivered some incredibly beautiful and personal intentions. Like my brother, his delivery was impeccable, and his messages ones that dad would have loved. Moment of the funeral - Artie speaks about sharing times with friends and loved ones over a good steak and glass of whiskey, and Fr. Kevin utters an impromptu "Amen!" in the middle. Artie has been such a huge help to my mom, and also my family. His humor, kindness, and love are a blessing to my family, and I cannot thank him enough for all he does.
• My sister and my wife brought up the gifts, and you could not find two more beautiful women to conduct those honors. Their outer beauty is only surpassed by who they are inside, and that came out time and again in this process. Their support for mom has been tremendous, and mom would have struggled without their loving contributions.
• The music at the service was gorgeous, and the Tenor's rendition of "The Unclouded Day" had lumps in throats throughout the church.

After the service, many folks joined us at Jake O'Connor's for an Irish wake in honor of my dad. The place was absolutely packed, and drinks and stories of my dad flowed easily. Here are some photos:

A sample of the crowd after it had thinned out later in the evening- cousins at right and my brother in the middle of the photo
















My loving aunt and cousins

















Dear friends Margaret and Jonathan, with my wife



















Me and my cuz.

















A shot of whiskey was kept on top of the bar in honor of my dad. As my brother and I closed the place down, I had it with one final toast to him.


















Buddies from high school, and my cousin who came all the way up from Louisiana. It is safe to say, that given the guys in this photo and our proximity to the bar, the BS meter was likely in the red.

The day after we lay dad to rest at a beautiful new mausoleum in Excelsior at a beautiful private service.

Overall, this has been a hard process filled with a lot of emotion and a lot of work, but it has also been one of laughter and celebration, just as my dad would have wanted it. And at the end of the day, that's what makes me proud. This beautiful family of gifted individuals closed ranks, rolled up their sleeves, and executed a celebration for my dad that he would have loved. It was so wonderful to see how it came off.

And through it all stood my mom - a beacon of love, strength, courage, dignity, and beauty. Words cannot express my admiration and love for this incredible woman. She's given her family yet another example of how we should express our love and our loss. Despite my middle age, she still teaches me so much. My love and respect for her is immeasurable.

Sincere thanks for all who prayed for us and supported us. This process has showed us how much we are loved, and we are indebted to return that love to all of you. God bless and keep you all.

Funeral Update

I think all of us are suffering from exhaustion - not only from the stress, but it feels like there's always something to do. Sleep is tough to get. But through it all we remain on track. Pretty much everything is done, and with my brother coming into town yesterday, we're now all here. All hands are on deck.

People have been amazing. Food, calls, hugs, cards. It means so much to us to look around and see something (be it a card, plant, or some amazing roast beef) to remind us that people are thinking of us, praying for us, and that they care.

We meet with the priest today to finalize the ceremony. Beyond that, it is pretty much done. I'm proud of what we've pulled together, and feel dad would have loved it.