Thursday July 4, 2019

July 4th, 1999 Bob Dylan and Paul Simon made headlines in Duluth, the same night over 20 million trees were knocked down by straight line winds in the Boundary Waters. The 30 miles long and about 10 miles wide storm cut through an estimated 500,000 acres. The derecho, an uncommon type of storm that produces powerful straight-line winds over long distances, did damage from the eastern Great Plains all the way to New England. Wind speeds are believed to have peaked at 90 miles per hour, causing damage worse than a F-1 tornado, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

July 4, 1999 was same night when Palmvilleian Sven Guyson and his daughter Heidi Guyson slept in their tent outside a frat house in Duluth, following the Dylan and Simon concert headlined above and chronicled below:
 
                                           The Raven: 
      Northwest Minnesota's Original Art, History & Humor Journal
                                  Volume 8 Issue 3, 2004
  
Excerpt from "In Search of Albert Woolson",  July 4, 1999

 "[Sven and Ula] savored their beers, alternately sipping and talking about their weekend thus far.
 
They talked about the unbelievable rains northern Minnesota had been that year of 1999, and how Sven had to set his tent up in the mud in Ula’s son, Leif’s yard where they were camping, where the water flowed down the slope of the yard and actually rippled in places and the mud and grass squished out beneath their feet, and the ground was so soft they pushed the tent stakes in with their hands, rather than need a hammer.
 
And what of the adventure on the aerial lift bridge over the canal?
 
“Vasn’t dat a heart stopper, eh Sven? “ Ula asked.
 
“Yust ven me daughter ‘eidi said, “‘Da, vouldn’t it be scary if da bridge lifted right up to da sky ven ve vere on it?’”--and yust den, da bridge operator hollered”,
‘ALL PEDESTRIANS MUST CLEAR THE BRIDGE!’
 
“And da buzzers vent off and da crossing arms dropped ‘cross da ends of da bridge, vit der bells ringing and der lights flashing, ‘eidi t’ot fershure ve vas going to go right up to da sky, eh Ula? I t’ink she got sort of scared for a few minutes, eh?”
 
“And der ve vere--no camera! And vit a big steel bowat coming too! Uffdah! Ven vill ve ever learn? The two old men ve are!” Ula laughed and snorted.
 
The two men got to wishing Sven had brought more beer...
 
“Vere’d you ever learn to play foos ball like dat, Ula? You vupped Inga bad, spinnin’ dem handles like dey vere too hot to hold onto. She never had a chance,“ said Sven.
 
“At Dunwoody Institute, ven I vas down dere,“ said Ula. “Ve played it all da time. But Sven, I’ll pay for it on da vay home den eh? Inga don’t take to losin’ too vell. Remember da time I leg 'restled her at Bethel Bible Camp? She didn’t speak to me for two veeks! She fed da dog better’n  she fed me. I don’t know vat got into me at dat foos ball table. I’m a dead duck.“
 
“Leg 'restling, eh? I oughta try dat vit’ Hulda cause I can’t get her to shut-up for five minutes. Dat voman talks my fool head off, “ replied Sven.
 
The two men savored the solitude of the cemetery and the last few sips of their beer in reflective silence, each pondering the Paul Simon/Bob Dylan Concert they had come to see in Duluth.
 
“Vasn’t Dylan something den, eh?” asked Sven, noting Ula had fallen into a funk thinking of the long ride home and Inga not saying a word to him, the whole 273.4 miles.
 
“ Shure vas, Sven, “ said Ula. “And dem ‘svenska flickas’ dancing in da mud too, den dere. It reminded me of Voodstock, it did.“
 
“You vere at Voodstock, Ula?” exclaimed Sven, quite surprised at the prospect he had finally met one person out of the purported hundreds of thousands that had been there. “I had no idea! You never mentioned it before!“
 
“No, I vas in da Navy ven Voodstock happened,”said Ula. “But dem girls yumping ‘round in da mud tonight and all dat great music reminded me of vat I imagined it vas like. Vat about dem two dancing in front of us, den Sven, eh? Dey vas somet’ing, eh? Eh? 

And der I vas, vit Irritated Inga. She voodint move a muscle to da music. I seen you, Sven, dancin’ your big feet off. I visht I could’ve yoined you. I tell you, I did a little secret toe tapping...”
 
“Paul Simon didn’t look so tiny t’rough dat lady’s binoc’lars,” said Sven. “She vas nice to let us yuse dem, den. And did you hear Dylan talk?”
 
“Ya shure, he says 'bout a dozen vords and everybody’s amazed,” Ula said. “I’ll be amazed if Inga says a dozen vords to me in da next two veeks...”
 
The two men stood up from the stone cold bench and placed their empty beer cans in front of them on the hard surface of the path--then smashed them flat with their right foot in one decisive movement, as though they had done that before, together like that. 

They picked the dripping cans up, gave them a shake, then put them in their pocket."


Feels like a storm comin' on... Heide slept right through it.