Wannaskan Almanac

   A Friday Welcome from Joe McDonnell    On this day in 455, an angry mob stoned Emperor Petronius Maximus to death while he was fleeing Rome. This Petronius was one of a handful of emperors at the end of the Roman Empire who had short and violent reigns. Petronius had murdered his predecessor, Valentinian III, who had ruled for  just two years after Petronius helped him murder his rival, the general Aetius. Petronius must have thought it was his turn, and after murdering Valentinian, he married Valentinian's widow. His big mistake was canceling the betrothal of Valentinian's daughter to the son of the Vandal king down in North Africa.    The barbarians were at the gates of Rome at this point in the Empire's decline and fall. The Empire survived by playing one barbarian tribe off against another.. The Vandals were originally a Germanic tribe who had moved south and taken over the Roman colonies of Spain and North Africa. The Visigoths, also Ger...

        The doe hesitated at the edge of the recently mowed acreage. Dew sparkled in the grass. Birds twittered as they fed happily at the bird feeder nearest the house. Several pairs of Canadian geese took their sentry positions along Mikinaak Creek, their goslings at their feet.        Other than birds, no human two-leggeds could be seen. There was nothing threatening on the wind. The doe was confident all was well to enter the yard with her valued new prize, her doe fawn, born earlier in the week. This was its debut.        One of the doe's ears moved rearwards; she ever so slightly moved her tail, when the fawn burst out from behind her, all legs, tiny spotted body, little head, speeding beyond the safety of her mother, blinded by the sheer wonderfulness of it all.        The doe was super conscientious. All of her senses were on high alert although her neighbors indica...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, for May 29, 2019, the 22nd Wednesday of the year,  the 149th day of the year, with 216 days remaining. Nordhem Lunch: Hot Turkey Plate Earth/Moon Almanac for May 29, 2019 Sunrise: 5:27am; Sunset: 9:15pm; 1 minutes, 50 seconds more daylight today Moonrise: 3:40am; Moonset: 3:54pm, waning crescent Temperature Almanac for May 29, 2019                 Average        Record          Today High           68                   90                80 Low            46              ...

Bonjour!   Ma femme et moi sommes actuellement en France. We are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary by taking a trip to Paris and then proceeding on to a tour of Israel. I would include pictures of this trip for you but even I know that you don't pause during your vacation to write a blog post. That would raise eyebrows in a bad way. And we are trying to raise eyebrows in a good way...you know, so we can have another happy 25 years! Being in love and in Paris, I thought it appropriate to share a poem about Paris and love. Enjoy! Paris at Night by Jacques Prevert Trois allumettes une à une allumées dans la nuit La premiére pour voir ton visage tout entier La seconde pour voir tes yeux La dernière pour voir ta bouche Et l'obscuritè tout entière pour me rappeler tout cela En te serrant dans mes bras. translation Three matches one by one struck in the night The first to see your face in its entirety The second to see your eyes The last to see...

Sometimes we long to repeat the past – or to continue it, as is the case at the opening of this segment of “Song 5: Threshing.” But we don’t always get what we want; in fact, often we get something distinctly different from our wishes. It’s all about the ever-changing characteristic of constant moving and shifting when two people; nothing stands still; everything is impermanent. This segment explores all that and more.  Song 5: Threshing – Segment 3 The sound below, slow halting steps coming up the ladder with grunts and wheezing breath             This is not Jani! This is not her breath! “Who are you!?” I try to sound threatening             but my voice cracks and gasps betraying me No answer as this hidden one climbs up “Get off my tower!” I shout with more success “Your tower!?” pants a voice from halfway up I know this voice but ...

Young parents are told to savor every moment. But there's nothing quite as savory as their child's high school diploma. My piles of stuff may not bring me joy, but they do bring me comfort. And while waiting for joy to arrive, there's nothing like an old National Geographic. You're a generous soul, but no one may know it, If you don't have the cash to buy stuff and show it. Lying awake in bed at night is a form of rest. It's the anxiety that wears and tears. My friends say this world just happened. They don't realize the prep time it took for God to appear such a spur-of-the-moment guy. @jmcdonnell123

Hello and welcome to the first Saturday of Summer Vacation! Today is May 25th. That's right. Parts of Wannaska country are already starting the summer vacation countdown which means one glorious thing for kids out there: School is over. Warroad hosted commencement last night, featuring four senior class speakers. The class of 2019's motto, "Our lives are before us, our pasts are behind us, but our memories are with us forever," resonated as they shared memories, inside jokes, and many thanks to all the adults in their lives - parents, teachers, administrators, lunch staff, custodial staff and bus drivers - who navigated them through the halls of Warroad from Pre-K through Grade 12. The Valedictorian gifted his peers and the crowd with three solid takeaways: Be honest, be kind, and be yourself. I can still recite them, which is one hallmark of an excellent speech. (I hope he joins Toastmasters in college.) Admittedly, I was a little wary of the number of spe...

   Friday Greetings from Joe McDonnell    On this day in 1624, Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians, supposedly for $24 in trinkets. The island was actually sold for the value of 60 guilders according to a letter written by a local merchant to the offices of the Dutch West India Company back in Amsterdam which managed the affairs in the colony of New Netherland.    The letter  doesn't say exactly who made the deal, who exactly it was made with, or what was exchanged for what other thing. Such vagueness ushers in myth which may contain truth or at least something resembling truth. We need something solid to hang our jokes and songs on.    Peter Minuit was director of the colony so we can say he was responsible for the deal. The 60 guilders were worth $24 back in the early 19th century when historians first did the conversion. Now they'd be worth about $1,000 or the cost of one square foot of Manhattan real estate...

Post: Summer 1994 A wife questioning her husband, suspecting me. “Who is all going to be there and what kind of ‘Editorial Meeting’ is this going to be?” she asked of her husband, while she looked me in the eyes, scrutinizing my every facial expression and hand gesture for any one of the FBI’s Twelve Signs of Truth Omission: 1.) Darting eyes 2.) Rapid blinking 3.) How long my eyes are closed. 4.) Looking up to the right 5.) Eye shift from left to right. 6.) Looking down to the right. 7.) Eye movement when smiling 8.) Face touching. 9.) Pursed lip actions 10.) Excessive sweating. 11.) Blushing 12.) Head shaking  (All of which are why I’ve learned to always wear sunglasses and an ear bud to such interrogations to counteract suspicion.)  She stepped away from the kitchen counter that she had been leaning against to close the gap between them, and lowered her head to catch hubby’s gaze toward the floor. Funny how your childhood comes back to a person during ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, for May 22, 2019, the 21st Wednesday of the year,  the 142nd day of the year, with 223 days remaining. Nordhem Lunch: Hot Beef Earth/Moon Almanac for May 22, 2019 Sunrise: 5:34am; Sunset: 9:07pm; 2 minutes, 21 seconds more daylight today Moonrise: 12:06am; Moonset: 8:38am, waning gibbous Temperature Almanac for May 22, 2019                 Average        Record         Today High            66                   90               51 Low             44                ...