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In April of 1977,  I went on a retreat at the Cenacle Retreat House in Wayzata, Minnesota. Sister Ten-Tie Saniel presented “Effective Living” a seminar based on John Boyle’s “Omega Seminar”. They taught us the importance of affirmations, “stating future goals in the present tense”.

I have formed the habit of repeating these affirmations every morning as I walk from my car to the office. It has made a big difference in my life.  The six basic affirmations are:

1. I am loved; therefore, I like myself, unconditionally as I was created. (Repeat five times)

2. I never devalue myself with destructive self-criticism. (Envision yourself doing something that you are very proud of)

3. I see love in others and have warm regard for all persons at all times. (Envision yourself doing something nice for somebody else)

4. I am easily able to relax and with every affirmation I become physically and mentally healthier. (Envision yourself doing something relaxing)

5. I am completely self-determined, inner directed by the spirit of love and allow others the same privilege. (Repeat five times)

6. I accept total responsibility for the consequences of my actions and reactions. (Repeat five times)   You can add up to 5 more “goal specific” affirmations.

This week Live from Here is a rebroadcast.  The next live performance is February 8^th at The Town Hall in New York City.  

“It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”   Mark Twain

Category : General

Comments Off on December 27, 2019

Five days until Christmas. I have all of my shopping done and now I simply have to pace myself on the cookies and candy.

Children love Christmas, as well they should. As with most families, some years, Christmas gifts were easy to come by and some years the budget would not allow for much. The Christmas of 1956 was a memorable one for me. My mother had to move from our home in St. Louis Park due to Dad’s inability to handle alcohol. Her mother, Grandma Laura Ramlo, drove her 1952 Chevy from Upsala to St. Louis Park, put Dad in the back seat and drove him to the VA Hospital in south Minneapolis. She told them, “He is a veteran, he is a drunk and he is now your problem, not mine”.  She took us all back to Upsala to live above the Ramlo Grocery in Upsala.

I am not sure what the reason was for our ending up living in an apartment in Little Falls in December. It had something to do with getting financial aid. That Christmas, Santa brought us six big Tonka Toy 18 wheel trucks. There was a cattle truck, an oil tanker, a freight truck and three more. This was a perfect gift for a family with five boys. I was 13 years old and brother Bill was 10. We played with them no-stop. I am not sure what my sister Kathie got that year. For many years I had the impression that they were from some sort of social agency that served the poor. It turned out that “Santa” was Dewey Johnson, a classmate of my mother’s from Upsala High School class of ’37. Dewey’s cousin was one of the founders of Tonka Toys. Dewey had already passed on before I learned the “rest of the story”, so I never did have a chance to thank him. Perhaps you know of a family that has come upon hard times and they could use a “Secret Santa”.  

Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast. The next live show will be from The Town Hall in New York City of February 8^th. 

“Peace on Earth, good will to men.”   Angel

Category : General

Comments Off on December 20, 2019

In December of 1984 I was employed at Dayton’s Commercial Interiors in downtown Minneapolis.   My family was still at the home that we had built on Cedar Lake west of Upsala.  My daughter Kerry was 16 years old and her art teacher in Upsala was pushing her to produce a lot of work.  For Christmas that year Kerry presented me with a pencil drawing of a Golden Retriever with a pheasant in its mouth.  She had an uncanny ability to make the eyes so very lifelike.  She had reworked one of the eyes to the point that there was almost no paper left. 

I took it to Vern Carver Frame Shop near our office in LaSalle Court across from the Dayton’s department store.  One of my co-workers begged me to have Kerry draw another one so that he could present it to a client as a gift.  Kerry tried but finally we had my friend Dave Oswald print 130 copies and we sold them as limited edition prints for $25 or $95 framed matted and glazed.  I simply carried the original in my trunk and if someone was interested, I would go back out and bring it in to show them.  We sold most of them.  I have the original hanging in my office.

In 2002, Kerry’s first born, Kaylin Marie, created a picture of an angel blowing a horn. Kaylin was 7 years old at the time.  I marvel how she was able to capture the puffed up cheek on the angel.   It was a gift for Kerry’s mother Marcia.  I borrowed it from Marcia and that year I sent out the very first “Angel Christmas Card”.  ( pdf attached)  

In 2008, Kaylin’s younger sister Christen created her first “Angel card”.   She was 5 years old. I have attached a jpg of this year’s angel card drawn by Christen age 16.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Live from Here this week is once again live from Town Hall in New York City.  Special guests include Sara Bareilles, Los Lobos, Sarah Jarosz, performers from West Side Story , Maria Bamford and Dave Hill.  Enjoy the show

“You must not think that feeling is everything.  Art is nothing without form.”  Gustave Flaubert

Category : General

Comments Off on December 13, 2019

Good chilly morning from Collegeville,

It looks like the ice on the pond is here to stay for a while.  Do not go out there unless you are with a buddy and be sure to check the ice often.  We used to drag race cars across Cedar Lake west of Upsala when we were teenagers.  To my knowledge, no one ever went through the ice, but we got away with a lot of stupid things as kids.  One winter we made a game of standing on the hood of a DeSoto, using it as a giant snowboard as we were towed in the ditch behind a car.

My sister and one of my classmates both ended up in casts after a toboggan run down a steep hill in the Burtrum Hills.  After a heavy snow we would make a party by driving into the Burtrum Hills with our old cars and just try to get stuck.  These were not SUVs, simply rear wheel drive cars with a bunch of boys and snow shovels.

Here is one way to enjoy the winter and the ice in a safe environment.  https://youtu.be/iNuCXUkp2DE

Live from Here this week is a live show from the Town Hall in New York City.  Special guests include Pixies, Black Pumas, Crooked Still,  Aoife O’Donovan, Anthony Veneziale, Aneesa Folds and Chris Sullivan of Freestyle Love Supremes.   You can listen on your radio, smart phone or watch it on YouTube. 

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”   Seneca

Category : General

Comments Off on December 6, 2013

My mother’s mother, Laura Ramlo, and her husband Bert, owned a grocery store in Upsala, Minnesota. Some of us called her Grandma Ramlo instead of Grandma Laura and some just called her Gram. They lived behind the store in small quarters. The bedroom didn’t even have doors. They heated the living space with a fuel oil burner that was in the dining room and it had to be filled often. The store was heated with a wood burning stove. The wood and the fuel oil were stored in the attached unheated warehouse. That was convenient. Gram was famous for her Thanksgiving dinners which were more like a feast. Owning a grocery store made it easy for her to offer turkey, beef and pork most years. Grandpa Bert would complain about her “raiding the stock” but he didn’t complain too hard.

My job was to fill the crystal water glasses with water from the cistern pump in the kitchen. The kids would sit at card tables in the living room. We would always sing the “Doxology” and express our thanks for the goodness in our lives and the food on the table. Every year, Gram would offer her apologies for the food, even though it was awesome. “I don’t know why I keep doing this, I just can’t cook anymore.” Not true Gram. I trust that you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving feast next Thursday.

Live from Here this week is a live show from Town Hall in New York City.  Special guests include Paul Simon, Vagabon, Anais Mitchell, Ryan Hamilton and Holly Laurent.  Enjoy the show.

“If more if us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” J.R.R. Tolkien author of The Hobbit.

Category : General

Comments Off on November 22, 2019

My cousin Tom is not a “Norwegian Bachelor Farmer”, he is a “Norwegian Bachelor House Painter”,  retired.  When I lived in Upsala, I owned a house that was built in 1892 as the Swedish Mission Church parsonage.  The siding is original cedar and as long as you keep it painted, it will last forever.  Tom lived with his folks in a house across the church cemetery. He was my designated painter.  His father died 17 years ago and his mother, Auntie to me, died six years ago.

Living alone has a few disadvantages, one of which is, if you fall and can’t get up, it will be a few days before someone comes to check on you.  On Sunday November 2^nd  Tom was taken to St. Cloud Hospital. It was discovered that he had a brain tumor that had caused a seizure that put him on the floor in his upstairs bedroom.  When I got to his hospital room on Monday the 4^th, he had the three nurses rolling in the aisle.  His personality had been effected by the tumor and he would not stop talking, calling the nurse whose name was Sara,  “Sister Sara”.  He remembered that name from a Clint Eastwood movie.

Because I live in town, I usually was the first to visit him. On Wednesday when I got there he was barely breathing.  I put my hand on his chest and said, “hold on Tom, your sister and brothers are on their way”.  We were sure that he would be leaving us soon.  On Thursday he opened his eyes and greeted his brother John.  When I got there on Friday morning he was wide awake and when the nurse heard me talking to him, she came in and asked Tom if he was hungry.  Tom asked for ice cream.  I told him that we all had given up on him and explained that as I understood it, if he chose to live he would be facing some serious surgery with a high risk.

Tom usual dry sense of humor had returned.  In his words:  “I have never died before, I don’t know how to do it”.   Tom decided to have the surgeries.  He had a baseball sized tumor removed two days ago.  Last night Tom looked pretty rough, but he chose to fight this thing and we are all hoping for the best.

Live from Here this week is a live show from The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include “They Might Be Giants”,   Big Thief, Aoife O’Donovan, the cast of Betrayal, Marina Franklin and DW Gibson. Enjoy the show.

“I have never died before, I don’t know how to do it”.  Tom Hagstrom

Category : General

Comments Off on November 15, 2019

Monday is Veterans Day. Building a monument to honor our veterans requires dedication, commitment and a team to get the job done. It takes an artist willing to spend the time researching, designing and creating the paintings. It took a committed group of individuals to share the dream and raise the money. And now the project is complete.

The Veterans Art Monument was commissioned by the Minnesota State Veterans Memorial Association and consists of five 8’ X 10’ oil paintings; each paying tribute to the men and women of the five branches of the U.S. Military: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The paintings are installed in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, located 7 miles north of Little Falls. Outside of the Committal Hall there are five granite memorial stands with the names of many of the donors and the veterans that they chose to honor. If you have never been to the cemetery, you should make a point to visit.  The Committal Hall is open Monday thru Friday, from 8 until 4:30.   

Besides being a memorial to our nation’s military men and women, the paintings are educational tools which will help citizens and future generations to understand the vital role that the U.S. Military plays in maintaining our freedom and democracy. You can purchase a 24” high by 29” wide limited edition print.  I bought a copy of the Navy painting and my coffee buddy paid for the framing.  We donated it to the American Legion in St. Joseph. We added a brass plaque to honor our fathers who both had served in the Pacific during WWII.   If you are interested in buying one, send me a note.

“Millions of men and women have served. Many were wounded in battle. Many died to keep us free. The least that we can do is to remember them.”  Jack Peck  Veteran

Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast.  The next live show is November 16^th. 

“If you can do more, you should.”  Robert Redford

Category : General

Comments Off on November 8, 2019

One of our favorite restaurants is connected to a nursing home.  Drakes is part of Country Manor in Sartell.  Last Saturday evening the special was pot roast dinner.  I chose that and I was not disappointed. It reminded me of “Ma’s” roast beef dinner.

Each family has the one or two meals that everyone looks forward to.  In our family, it was “Ma’s roast beef”.  She always put on a very special roast beef dinner.  The meat was very tasty, the mashed potatoes were perfect and the gravy was “right on”.  There was many a time that the four brothers who lived near Minneapolis would gather at Ma’s apartment for her roast beef dinners.  After she passed on, there was much discussion at the dining table about what cut of meat one should ask the butcher for.  Since Ma raised six kids as a single parent, we know that the meat had to be “affordable”.  Brother Craig always claimed that it should be “the eye of the chuck”.

I went to Byerly’s and they said that normally they would cut steaks from the “chuck eye”, but they would be willing to simply provide the cut as a roast.  The balance of the recipe, as I understand it, is to sear the meat in a roasting pan on all sides, slow roast in a covered roaster with water added and roast it for a long time.  Adding onions, potatoes and carrots is an option.  The finished product should be a roast beef that will flake at the touch of the fork and not break the “piggy bank”.  I suggested that the next time all of the brothers are on a fishing trip, Erik should cook a roast beef dinner in honor of Ma.

Live from Here this week is a live show from The Town Hall in New York City.  Special guests include Common, Gregory Alan Isakov, Aoife O’Donovan, The Fates from Hadestown, Serena Brooks and Tom Papa.  Enjoy the show on the radio, by streaming it on your MPR Radio app or by watching it live on YouTube. 

“Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven.”  Betty Crocker                         

Category : General

Comments Off on November 1, 2019

Next Monday, October 28^th,  I will reach a milestone.  Twenty years representing Minnesota Public Radio in central, western and southwestern Minnesota as well as Sioux Falls and Sun Valley, Idaho.

After spending 23 years selling office furniture and 6 years in the office equipment industry I was laid off by the agency that represented Xerox. They simply decided that they didn’t want to be a Xerox agency anymore.  The owners didn’t like the new contract that Xerox had presented.  So they didn’t need a sales manager.  The night before I got laid off, I had supper with my son at Byerly’s near the place where I was rooming with my cousin and I told Erik that I would keep the old house in Upsala, but I was planning on moving to Minneapolis, since I had my dream job as a sales manager with a great product and I would be making a very good living.

Instead, I ended up spending the summer of 1999 painting old buildings in the Upsala area. I drove to Randall and went to the back room at Bermels Shoes & Boots, the local Red Wing boot dealer. I picked out a good pair of sturdy work boots and started climbing ladders. My first job was the Post Office in Upsala and then I did an out building on my cousin Dave’s farm. Per my brother Bill’s instructions, I used oil based primer and latex paint. He let me use his power washer. The two buildings that I did the summer of 1999 still look good. The boots are in pretty good shape too.

In August I read an ad in the St. Cloud Times for a “Development Officer” for Minnesota Public Radio. I didn’t know what a “Development Officer” was, but it turned out to be sales. A perfect fit. It took two months and seven interviews to get this job, but it worked out well. Compared to “slamming boxes for Xerox”, this is more fun than it is work. I may shoot for 25.

Live from Here this week is a live show from the Town Hall in New York City.  Special guests include Paul Simon, Mavis Staples, Rachael Price, Janeane Garofalo, and Brian Platzer. Enjoy the show.

“It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul” From the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley.

Bonus quote:  “Toddler’s Creed:  If I want it, it’s mine. If I give it to you and change my mind later, it’s mine. If I can take it away from you, it’s mine. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine. If it’s mine, it will never belong to anyone else , no matter what. If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine. If it looks like mine, it is mine.”

Category : General

Comments Off on October 25, 2019

Some were “summer kids”, not “village kids”.  They were kids who’s parent or parents grew up in Upsala and they were sent to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa during the summer.  Some stayed for a few weeks and some stayed for the whole summer.  In one situation that I knew of, the son was getting into too much trouble in the “cities” and they thought hard work on a farm would be a better way for him to spend his summer.

Larry was a “summer kid” and he ended up marrying one of the Upsala beauties.  She was chased by all of the boys but Larry won her heart.  He was also one of the eight couples that camped on our lakeshore on Cedar Lake west of Upsala every fourth of July.  He was a fun loving fellow. One year he decided to make sure that my son Erik and I had a chance to experience grouse hunting.  This is the story that I share every MEA weekend, because it means a lot to me and I know Erik had a great time too. 

MEA weekend is a special time of the year. Many a father/son(daughter) combo head for the woods or ponds to bring home the “bacon” in the form of grouse or duck. Larry, a friend of mine who died way too young, knew that I had never taken up hunting, but he wanted my son and myself to experience a weekend of grouse hunting, up north at “the shack”. He invited our friend Ron and his son Matt, my son’s best friend, to join him and his son Danny. So there were three dads and three sons along with a black lab, “Bear”. We formed two teams and I was the “bird dog” on the DADS team. Bear went with the boys.

The first day we brought back 17 grouse and Larry fixed a meal of grouse with wild rice and cream of mushroom soup in the giant iron skillet that hung from a nail in “the shack”. It was one of the most memorable feasts of my life. I trust that you are doing something special with your family this weekend. I   

“Remember, it’s not about having time it’s about making time.”

The Live from Here show this week is rebroadcast.  Next Saturday, Paul Simon will be one the guests on a live show from Town Hall in New York city. 

Category : General

Comments Off on October 17, 2019