Wannaskan Almanac

Song 8 falls under the second movement, “Becoming,” a word that can be interpreted as either positive or negative. Becoming cynical. Becoming ruthless. Becoming kind. Becoming generous. Read this segment asking whether the Song falls to one side or the other or partially in both. The title of the Song, “Endings and Transitions,” also merits consideration. What has ended? What do the transitions look like? On a journey such as this one, “endings” call to mind a dead-end road, and transitions serving as bridges between what has disappeared and what is yet to come. SECOND MOVEMENT BECOMING SONG 8 ENDINGS AND TRANSITIONS I clasp my legs to my heaving, hot chest             and pillow my muddled head on my knees                         sobbing into my dark nauseous center   ...

   Dear readers, I have not been granted any squibs this week to pass on today. I have learned that squibs only come to the detached mind. That's not a squib, merely an observation. My mind's been distracted by our upcoming month long trip to Provence.    I know it's hard to get excited about someone else's trip. I'm always jealous when someone else starts talking about an upcoming trip. I try to look like I'm listening but I'm not, being filled with envy. After their trip is over, I'm happy to listen to what a great time they had, up to five minutes. If the trip was a disaster I'll listen to the whole debacle. I might learn something.    Ennaways, we're going to Provence which is in the southeastern corner of France. It includes the Mediterranean coast from the big city of Marseille, east to Italy. The eastern section is called the French Rivera by English speakers and includes nice beaches, big yachts, and towns such as Cannes, Antibes, an...

Hello and welcome to a partly sunny with a high of 52 Saturday at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 28, aka National Bunny Day or National Drink Beer Day . You pick. How about that weather, folks? Wannaska got hit with all kinds of wet beginning last Friday, with rains pounding the region ever since. I happened to be out in the Big Woods east of Wannaska last Friday and Saturday with our WA poet-in-residence, Jack Pine Savage. We saw hail the size of quarters. The sandy area we were in happily sucked down all that water while mushrooms of ample varieties pushed their way out of the ground to get in on the good stuff. After supper, I took a walk outside to get my heart rate up and assess the damage. While we'd heard about flooding in Roseau, out there in the forest, I found only a collection of mud puddles. As twilight slipped through the branches of the changing leaves, I spotted a sign. Surely I jest. But, no, on the very next step, sure enough  - I spotted a ...

   Welcome to Friday with Chairman Joe.    Today in 1722 Samuel Adams was born in Boston. He was involved in the movement that to the American Revolution and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. In his day he was much more famous than his second cousin John who went on to become president. He was not a brewer, but a maltster. Also, if you knew what was good for you, you never called him "Sam," always Samuel. Boston Brewery gets that much right, mostly.    Samuel was born into a pious Puritan family. His father, also named Samuel, was active in politics, always on the look out to protect the Massachusetts Bay Colony against infringements of their rights by the mother country. Samuel's family hoped he would become a preacher, but after graduating from Harvard, he said he wanted to become a merchant. His father loaned him enough money to get started.    Samuel proved to be a poor businessman. He loaned half his stake...

An obviously frustrated Wadena, Minnesota, business owner on U.S. Highway 10, posted this sign in its window  in September 2019.     I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to a lot of things, I admit. There are more learned people than me who do surveys, rates and polls; many of them being governmental officials who, I’d guess, conjure up imaginary numbers to fill in the blanks or color the charts. An instance being, “The Unemployment Rate”.        Now, according to Google, Minnesota’s July 2019, unemployment rate was 3.4%. This link:  https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/state-national-employment.jsp will provide you additional information that I won’t have to paraphrase or necessarily understand to get my ignorance across. After all this is just an almanac entry by a guy who ‘has some college education’ and nothing official in the way of a degree or anything.       But someone,...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, September 25, 2019, the 39th Wednesday of the year,  the 268th day of the year, with 97 days remaining. Nordhem Lunch: Hot Ham Sandwich w/Potatoes & Gravy Earth/Moon Almanac for September 25, 2019 Sunrise: 7:14am; Sunset: 7:17pm; 3 minutes, 33 seconds less daylight today Moonrise: 2:41pm; Moonset: 6:14am, waning crescet Temperature Almanac for September 25, 2019                 Average        Record         Today High             61                 84                58 Low              40        ...

Finally it is September 24!  My family has been eagerly counting down the days, excitedly opening our Attika calendar each morning.  We have decorated the house with a tree, tinsel, and (of course) a sign warning George Washington to stay away.  Tonight we will put out cognac and vanilla ice cream as we wait for Santina to visit. I am sure that you have figured out that we are celebrating National Cherries Jubilee Day.  This well known holiday is celebrated every year on September 24.  Although I couldn't come across any official declaration from Congress or a Presidential decree talking about National Cherries Jubilee Day it is still an important day.  Actually I am quite pleased that this day is not soiled by politics.  Politics has really destroyed other days, such as National Chocolate and Boiled Peanut Cheesecake Day.  Don't wear a Ronald Reagan shirt to that one! Before we get into a recipe for cherries jubilee, it would be pertinent to ex...

Some months after a death, some people may recapture a sense of humor, even about the lost one. This takes the form of remembering funny incidents, grand faux pas, and jokes loved by the deceased. In some cultures (think Irish Wake), death is cause for a party. Well, maybe not exactly a party, but rather a chance to reminisce about the deceased with some, ahem, spirits and laughter.  I was married to a police officer for sixteen years, and that profession, too, had its own brand of humor when facing death and dire doings. Their humorous manifestations can be crude and tasteless, but no matter the tone, the expressions almost always have the impact of staving off the grim aftereffects of the dying, the maimed, and those driven crazy by too much exposure to the darker side of our species. Somewhere along the timeline after my brother’s demise, I experienced a light at the end of the tunnel of grief, and I began to remember all the happy times full of joy and laughter. That’s...

Love is eternal. Lovers have their 'best by' dates. Gas pump options: Premium/Regular; Debit/Credit; Car Wash: Y/N; Mute Annoying TV in Pump: Yes! Cornhole is replacing volleyball among young adults. It's far less sweaty and your beer doesn't foam up so much. If the secret of good cooking is fresh produce, then I need to learn the secret of reviving the wilted, the dried up, the rubbery contents of my vegetable drawer. Ah, the ecstasy when a YouTube video solves your problem. The agony when it leads you down a rabbit hole. Some people get mad when you try to compliment them. They also don't want to hear your remedies for their low self-esteem. Smart and funny is the best thing to be, followed by smart and serious, then stupid and funny, and finally, stupid and serious. The one downside to getting to heaven is the constant requests for good parking spots from your loved ones back on earth. @jmcdonnell123

Hello and welcome to a uniquely September 21st of a Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. How about that weather, eh? Today's a big day in history! Happy Birthday to author Stephen King , who's latest novel, The Institute , just released on September 10th (a Tuesday). Book club is currently considering King's 2011 novel, 11/22/63 , as a pick for our next calendar year. In college, I was a Dark Tower Series fan myself and delighted to see he wrote 4 more books since 1999. And on this day in 1937, JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit was published for the first time. What would the world be without The Lord of the Rings ? Shudder at the thought. Book club "normal time" resumed this week. We kicked off with a psychological thriller that I can happily recommend, The Woman In the Window , by A.J. Finn. I'm one of the turtles of the club so, really, if I actually finish the book before the discussion, I consider that a win. We had a book club first Tuesday night ...