Loyal readers may have noticed much of February was without dispatches from this columnist. You may wonder, “How was your vacation?”
Well, since you asked, here are some musings:
Grateful our luggage didn’t end up in North Korea. With checked bags, you never know what to expect.
A couple years ago my wife mistakenly took someone else’s travel bag off the luggage carousel. While waiting in a long car rental line she received a call from a stranger who had her bag. Jeanne’s luggage and that of the stranger were identical including Viking Cruises tags.
In case you are curious, I can report the pickleball rage has reached Southwest Florida. I have long been a tennis advocate, but “the sport of a lifetime” is giving way to the “pickle.” The picklers are taking over tennis courts and even small empty stores from Florida to California.
The easy to learn, easy to play game isn’t appreciated by all. In San Francisco there have been complaints about the annoying “ping, ping, ping” from dawn to dusk. Hard plastic against hard paddles isn’t so soothing to noise-sensitive residents.
Not that downtrodden San Francisco doesn’t have more serious issues. Some wealthy Californians have had enough crime and dirty streets. They are in motion to elect city supervisors to restore the sanity.
Where is the “cavalry” for Minneapolis?
Word reached me that Anthony Edwards thought it was cute to shoot left-handed in the NBA All-Star game. Next year, why not bounce the basketball off his head? That would be most intriguing on three-point shots.
Time in the Florida sun boosted optimism for improving my golf game. I found “therapy” on the putting green near our rental condo (adjacent to the pickleball courts). It was there I refined my trademark approach of striking the golf ball with the toe of the putter.
Will I consistently two-putt next summer? Will the Vikings give Kirk Cousins a guaranteed three-year deal? Will Ant Edwards stop doing dumb stuff? Will the boys’ state high school hockey tournament be played in front of empty seats?
We enjoyed dinner at a popular Peruvian restaurant with another couple from back home. Mr. Minnesotan reminded me of a restaurant quip from baseball humorist and Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra who reportedly once said of a dining establishment, “No, I don’t go to that restaurant anymore. Nobody goes there. It’s too crowded.”
We talked about shopping while at dinner. Mr. Minnesotan is still (“tongue in cheek”) upset about the Dollar Store raising prices from a buck to a $1.25. A few days later, I was pining for something like a Dollar Store when $750 shoes sent me scurrying out of Saks Fifth Avenue with no purchases in hand.
I had the other couple laughing with stories about my thrifty (but charitably generous) Uncle John. We lived together years ago and one day I trashed a winter cap that had seen better days. Awhile after that I was dispatched to the downtown bus station to pick up John and his cousin. Sauntering out of the station door was thrifty Uncle John wearing my old winter cap.
Perhaps you’re curious whether I keep up with emails while out of town for extended times. The answer is yes. I can report there was nothing found in my private email account more curious than repeated donation requests addressed to “Janet” from Biden-Harris.
Although the solicitors don’t seem to know my gender or correct name, I draw no harsh conclusions about their campaign. Heck, even our own Amy Klobuchar has it wrong.
Signing off for now. Your amused and humble correspondent, “Janet.”