Row, Row, Row Some More

Last evening I took the smaller of the two Norse prams out for a bit, just out to the end of Artist's Point and back. I liked the fact that I could place my feet just right for pushing off of the stern seat. After about 35 or 40 minutes out, however, there was about two or three inches of water amidships. Since we have gotten no rain now for a month or so, the boats have been high and dry on the boat-slides there at North House and could probably use a dunking. There were a couple of streams of water pouring back out where the floor planks join the transom when I pulled her up on the beach. Dryers are done. Gotta go.

Rowing with Rain & Kris & Ben & Miles

After having a campfire down on the beach last night, and musical beds last night on the hottest night of the year, and after a couple of great pony rides on Frisky the Magic Pony, and Mary just wiggling and eating constantly, Ben Cervenka came over for a visit, and then about 4:30 we headed off to the harbor to take the Batteau out in the rollers coming on over from Michigan. Rain and Kris really got the boat moving and Ben too. Miles (three going on four now) was sitting up in the bow cuddled up with Ben and singing his rowing song out on the wind. The Professor came sailing by and showed us the bungie-ties he rigged to hold the oars back in the thole-pins. That really helped. We stayed in the harbor, but we went around both ways before we decided to head in for smoked salmon, whitefish and trout, and some creamed dilled herring. Damn, that was good. What a nice weekend with the kids!

The LOONNNG GOOODDBBYYYE

So there it is. The last show of How to Talk Minnesotan the Musical was yesterday afternoon. It's so transitory, that live theatre thing. We struck the set last night, it took about 2 1/4 hours to demolish the illusion of the Lost Walleye Lodge. I was surprised how much more time and work it was doing a musical than a play. These nice folks who came yesterday said, "that sort of silliness is just what we need right now." It's funny how material as irrelevant and vapid as that becomes popular in hard times. "The Grapes of Wrath" it isn't, but there is a certain value to celebrating our ordinary understated customs and ways of thinking and talking, traditional foolishness the way it used to be. To quote Lucy Humde, "That's just the way it is, so we do it." I sure enjoyed singing those sweet harmonies and sort of "dancing" in the show. It was fun. Goodbye until we meet again, Miller Johnson, part of the Muskies.