August 8th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
I am a recovering entrepreneur. I couldn’t work for the man, I had to be the man. Every one of the attempts failed. I read in an in-flight magazine, that 25% of the population are “risk-takers”. All of the entrepreneurs come out of this group as do all of the criminals. I am not sure where I inherited the trait since neither of my parents were entrepreneurs, but my mother’s brother Eldon was. I was a juvenile delinquent. My first attempt was Draftech, Inc. a contract drafting service run out of my basement in our home in Coon Rapids. It was not long before I went to work selling office supplies and furniture for General Office Products. My second attempt was an energy management company “Office Environmental Systems”. My office was in the Allstate building behind the car wash on Division Street in St. Cloud. I was probably the only one in the state out there on straight commission trying to sell computerized energy management systems to owners of large office buildings. I sold three systems in three years and then back to selling office furniture.
Now I am able to help other entrepreneurs to “get the word out”. There is a family in Brooten, Minnesota making cheese curds on their farm. On Tuesday I drove to the Redhead Creamery. It reminded me of the movie “Field of Dreams”. I brought along a fresh loaf of St. John’s bread and the owners and I broke bread and wrapped the slices over freshly processed cheese curds. It was wonderful! The milk was still in the cows that morning. Simply Google “Redhead Creamery” and follow the MapQuest directions. Enjoy the trip and enjoy the curds. You should call ahead.
The APHC show this week is another summer rebroadcast, a repeat of the April 14, 2012 show from The Town Hall in New York City. Renee Fleming sings “The Scarlet Tide” the Punch Brothers play “Patchwork Girlfriend” and Heather Masse and Aoife O’Donovan team up for “Time’s a Hoax”. In the News From Lake Wobegon, Bud learns a lesson about friendship while putting the dock in the lake.
“You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give”. Eleanor Roosevelt.
August 1st, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
26 years ago I took a job in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was the General Manager of an office furniture dealership, Contren. The deal came with a company car and a “Motorola Brick”, a cell phone. The thing weighed about 5 pounds. It was very handy and when I came back to Minnesota for summer vacation, it even worked from the picnic table down by the lake. The only thing that you could do on the “brick” was to make or receive telephone calls.
Last weekend I was at Brother Brian’s cabin with my son and his family plus another friend, Joe and his family. One of Joe’s teenagers showed me how to download a video, taken on my iPhone, to YouTube. It took her all of five minutes. It is a miracle! If you want to see Joe’s son Joseph catching a bass and watch the body language of my grandson Willie as he waits for Joseph to land the fish, all you have to do is type “Gary Osberg Joseph’s Bass” in the queue on YouTube. Those folks at Apple are very cool.
The APHC show this week is another great re-run from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Special guests include Sheryl Crow, Martin Sheen, k.d. Lang and Heather Masse sings “Midnight Sun”. In the News From Lake Wobegon, Pastor Ingqvist counsels prospective newlyweds. Enjoy the show.
“Aside from the strictly moral standpoint, honesty is not only the best policy, but the only possible policy from the standpoint of business relations. The fulfillment of the pledged word is of equal necessity to the conduct of all business. If we expect and demand virtue and honor in others, the flame of both must burn brightly within ourselves…honesty begets honesty; trust, trust; and so on through the whole category of desirable practices that govern and control the world’s affairs.” James F. Bell
July 25th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good rainy morning from Collegeville,
Barby and I shared the very first Yukon Gold last weekend. I pulled a large weed that I had missed and the potato came with it. Even though I did not get them planted until very late, they are doing well. This year Kerry suggested that we get rid of the horseradish, so we had the farmer plow it under. With a lot of persistence on her part, the roots are dwindling. Now it is much easier to keep the weeds under control. I should have been up there last evening to run the tiller but instead I worked the MPR promo table at the last show of the Sunset Stages series on campus of the College of St. Benedict.
Robert Robinson and his group performed and they were the perfect way to end the season. Robert had all 500 or so folks on their feet singing the parts to his final number. He patiently taught the sopranos, altos and basses in order. When I left, there was still a line of fans buying his CD’s, autographed by Robert. Place this series on your calendar for next year. In early June simply go to csbsju.edu/finearts and the program highlights will be there. Three great organizations sponsor the event, Dr. Gustavo Pena and his new fitness center The Club on highway 23, D.J. Bitzan Jewelers and Collegeville Community Credit Union. Be sure to thank them when you visit their places of business.
The APHC show this week is another re-broadcast of a show originally performed June 30, 2007 at the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Special guests include James Taylor, violinist James Laredo, Sharon Robinson and Inga Swearingen. In the News From Lake Wobegon, the Hansen’s dove-breeding business goes awry.
“You are not merely here to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” Woodrow Wilson
July 18th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
The scene is the parking lot of the credit union after Walter White has withdrawn cash and handed it to Jesse Pinkman with instructions to buy the RV so that they can start cooking meth. Jesse: “Yo, Mr. White, tell me why you’re doing this?” Mr. White: “Why do you do it?” Jesse: “Money”. Mr. White: “There you go” Jesse: “Nah! Someone like you with a giant stick up his ___, at age 60, just goes out and breaks bad? It doesn’t make sense!” Mr. White: “I’m 50.”
I have just started watching ‘Breaking Bad’ for the second time. After my own brush with the “Big C”, the show takes on a different angle. The viewer is torn between empathy for the high school teacher, with lung cancer, gone bad and disdain for his illegal activity and the lives he wrecks.
In my case, what I thought was a liver spot on my chin turned out to be “Lentigo Maligna, cannot exclude focal lentigo maligna melanoma”. I was visiting my doctor for a rash on my arm and he suggested that I have the dermatologist take a look at the brown spot on my chin. On May 12th Dr. Labine did a scrape and on the Friday of Memorial weekend, I spent the day at the St. Cloud Hospital Surgical Center. At 6:30 that evening they wheeled me out to Barby’s car and sent me on my way. I looked like Frankenstein. They had also cut into my neck to take out a lymph node just to be sure. The results are all good. No melanoma was detected. The lesson my children is: Get it checked out. Don’t put it off.
The APHC show this week is a rebroadcast of a show from June 4, 1994 celebrating the re-opening of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Special guests include the Everly Brothers singing “Blues Stay Away From Me” and Chet Atkins plays “Mystery Train”, plus music from Vince Gill, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mark O’Connor and an appearance by the Hopeful Gospel Quartet. The News From Lake Wobegon features the opening of the Whippets baseball season. Enjoy the show.
“No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.” George MacDonald
July 11th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good rainy morning from Collegeville,
The 29th annual Osberg/Hagstrom Golf Open was held last Saturday at the Little Falls Country Club. My mother’s sister, Leone, Auntie to me, married Duane Hagstrom, owner of Hagstrom Chevrolet in Upsala, Minnesota. Between the two sisters there are 10 of us children. This was the first get-together without Auntie. She was greatly missed. Auntie’s youngest, Kevin, is a very good golfer and for many years he and I won the best ball event every year. There was a time when you had to use at least one drive and one putt for each of the team members. Now there are no such rules. There is a traveling trophy with the names of the winning team engraved on a brass plate. Kevin and I are due. It has been a while. This year my sister’s husband Duaine led his team to victory. After golf we gather at my brother Bill’s house for a picnic and the award ceremony. We are fortunate to have tradition in our family.
Rupert showed up at the Sunset Stages event last night on the College of St. Benedict campus. Rupert is a performance act that just shows up on occasion. He was very entertaining. He crashed The New Standards, a trio from Minneapolis. They were awesome and this time the rain held off. I will have a table at next week’s event also. The Great River Jazz Collective will entertain beginning at 7:30. This is a free event and the root beer floats are only $3. See you there.
The APHC show this week is a rebroadcast of a classic from way back on November 23, 1985 from Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont College in Claremont, California. Special guests include Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins, Johnny Gimble, Peter Ostroushko and Butch Thompson. Tom Keith performs his version of “Turkey in The Straw” plus in the News From Lake Wobegon, Senator K. Thorvaldson’s mysterious love Laura comes to town to meet his family.
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
June 27th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
The forecast if for more rain, but there have been some sunny days this week. The farmers are having to deal with too much of a good thing. Replanting is not a good way to spend the day. Kerry and I are working the garden in Upsala together. It was featured as one of the highlights for a group of “walkers” that visited Upsala last weekend. The bad news in that the church cemetery lawn mowing service mowed the asparagus patch by mistake. I spoke with the young lady and she had no idea. For that reason, the picking season will be extended to July 18th.
In the February 27, 2006 issue of The New Yorker there was an article on pursuing happiness. It turns out that by nature we have been hardwired to emphasize the negative. Survival depended on being wary. The curious and unwary would be eaten by bears or tigers. “Call no man happy until he is dead” was a Greek saying. According to positive psychologists, once we are out of poverty, the most important determinant of happiness is our “set point”, our natural level of happiness, that is largely inherited.
Ready for the secret to happiness? Here it is: Happiness is equal to your set point S, plus your life conditions C, plus a bit of volunteer work, V. “H = S + C + V”. If you want a copy of the article, let me know.
The APHC show this week is live from the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Special guests include postmodern bluesman Keb’ Mo’, singing trio The Wailin’ Jennys, pianist Rob Fisher and Bensonhurst harmonizers The DiGiallonardo Sisters. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman will entertain us with skits galore. The News From Lake Wobegon will focus on the summer time. Enjoy the show.
The second presentation of Sunset Stages is tonight from the Darnall Amphitheater on the campus of the College of Saint Benedict. Keri Noble will be the star attraction. The show starts at 7:30. I will be working a table, so be sure to stop by to enter the drawing for a door prize.
“Let us be grateful to people who make happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom” Marcel Proust
June 20th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good foggy morning from Collegeville,
Rain, rain, rain. Hopefully today will bring some sunshine. The first Sunset Stages event had to be moved inside to The Colman Theater last night. Bill and Kate Isles were great. They met at Bill’s CD release party in 2001. She had heard him being interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio earlier in the day. Sitting down to a cup of coffee led to a marriage and a duet team. Besides Kate and Bill there is a fiddle player and a bass player who is 15 years old. Sarah has been playing with the group for a year. I was very impressed with her skill. The standup bass was taller than she is. Check their schedule on the web at billandkateisles.com Next week Keri Noble will perform on Friday night at 7:30, hopefully outside, in the Darnell Amphitheater on Campus at College of St. Benedict. See you there.
Grandson Willie, age 5, joined the Osberg men’s fishing trip earlier this month and if you can get your hands on the Wadena newspaper you will see a picture of myself and Willie with a couple of smallmouth bass that we caught on a lake near Walker. We stayed at Brindley’s Harbor Resort on Leach Lake and a good time was had by all. A cold front had come through on Friday, so we had to work hard. If you have time, go to my son’s website: theoutdoorreport.com for a story on Erik’s first gig as a fishing guide. Funny stuff.
The APHC show this week is live from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. Special guests include Ivy League country singer Robbie Fulks, mezzp-soprano Jennifer Rivera, public radio’s only in-house blues singer, Hilary Thavis and vocalist Lynn Peterson. Note: The absence of a female singer last weekend was noticeable to me anyway. Enjoy the show.
“If you can do more, you should.” Robert Redford
June 13th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
June 6, 1989 was the last day of school for my son in Charlotte, North Carolina. The school day ended at 2:30 PM and at 5:30 PM he left in his 1972 rust free Olds Cutlass Supreme for Minnesota. He had earned the money to buy the car by waxing office building floors during the middle of the night for a company owned by a woman who also hailed from Minnesota. I am not sure how he found the job. The Olds was hard to start when the engine was hot, so I told Erik not to shut off the engine if he was stopping for a short period. Very early the next morning he called and told me that he had run over a dead deer and when he was dragging it out from under the car, he heard a knock in the engine. He was calling from the Big Foot gas station in Shelbyville, Indiana.
I told him that I could not afford to have him take it to an Olds dealer, but to stick tight and I would think of something. He called back to say that he had met a backyard mechanic who offered to help. The timing gear needed to be replaced. I ended up wiring $400 to Western Union and Erik spent the evening fishing with the mechanics son and slept on their couch. The next morning he headed up the road to meet his Uncle Geoff at Denny’s for breakfast in Chicago.
The APHC show this week is live from the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri. Special guests include innovator and preservationist Pokey LaFarge, banjo player, guitarist and songwriter, Joe Newberry and guitar heavyweight Steve Wariner. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman will entertain us with skits and stories. The News From Lake Wobegon will focus on the summer time. Enjoy the show.
“It’s widely known that among salesmen; as among fishermen, about 25 percent of them wind up with 75 percent of the winnings. And evidently it’s so much the flashy presentation or the persuasive personality that brings in the big money as it is the systematic perseverance in finding and following up leads” University of Chicago’s Industrial Center
June 6th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
70 years ago today, Aymer Nelson, a farm boy from Upsala, was going ashore on one of the beaches in Normandy, France. Today, Aymer lives in an apartment at Mother of Mercy in Albany. At age 102, Aymer still does his daily exercises to ensure that he stays fit. I called him yesterday to thank him for his service and for his part in liberating France. Aymer also was at The Battle of The Bulge, one of the bloodiest of the war. I asked him if he had been wounded and he said that a 88 mil shell landed behind him, but it was a dud. He is truly part of “The Greatest Generation”.
Today is also the 25th anniversary of my son Erik’s epic journey home from Charlotte, North Carolina in the rust-free 72 Olds Cutlass Supreme that he purchased with monies earned waxing floors at night. Next week I will tell you the rest of the story.
The APHC show this week is live from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Special guests include the First Sisters of Rock and Roll, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart,
folk musician Greg Brown, gospel grandmaster Jearlyn Steele and blues singer Hilary Thavis. Plus, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman will entertain us with a variety of skits. The latest news from Lake Wobegon will wrap things up.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with the cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
May 22nd, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day. This national holiday honors the men and women who have died in military service to this country. The first “Decoration Day” was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston, West Virginia. Another Decoration Day was celebrated in Waterloo, New York on May 5, 1866 to honor those who had died in the Civil War. The name “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become common until after World War 11. (source: Wikipedia)
When I was a youngster in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service at the school followed by a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I graduated in 1961, the practice died out. Then in the 80’s, Lorna Koehn, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary brought back the Memorial Day Celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children, each holding a bunch of lilac flowers. The parade ends at the City Park, where the children still wait in anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21 gun salute. They make good whistles. After that, one of the civic clubs serves a picnic lunch including “Bee Bop A Ree Bop Rhubarb Pie”.
Be sure to take the time to honor those that you know who have served. If you meet a service member, simply put our your hand and say “Thank you for serving”. They deserve our respect no matter what your position is on war.
The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Special guests include the masters of ballroom perfection Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, eclectic vocalist Heather Masse, and the staff blues singer Hilary Thavis. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will entertain and of course Garrison will spin tales from Lake Wobegon. Enjoy the long weekend and enjoy the show.
“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” Thomas a Kempis
Category :
General 
Comments Off on August 8, 2014 