A Challenging Moment in Time

When one of my nephews turned 40 earlier this month I realized, holy crap, high school was quite some time ago!

A clear memory for me – besides his birth on Elvis' birthday – was the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. 40 years ago today.

It was mostly a big deal to watch in school because there was a nontypical-astronaut teacher on board – Christa McAuliffe. I mean she was from New Hampshire, I believe, so no ties with Luck, Wisconsin. Yet there were some TV's on at school in the library and few other places.

I happened to be in typing class (yes, it was a thing) when the launch was happening. Then suddenly another teacher came in and told our instructor Mr. Lake something. Since we were approaching the end of class, he let us know. In a choked up voice because, well, it was a fellow teacher that gave her life.

I remember I had study hall the next hour and was grateful so I could watch the repetitive footage in the library. It still didn't seem real because it looked like one part of the shuttle was separating from the shuttle like it was supposed to.

I think it really did take the eyewitnesses a few minutes to realize what they'd just seen as well.

Up to that point, I sort of remembered to TV footage of John Hinkley Jr.'s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. But even then, after knowing my mom's account of JFK's assassination, it failed in comparison in terms of hype and memorability.

But 40 years later, I'd like to think positive moments in history were part of vivid memories, but instead we have weird things like 9/11, Covid, January 6th, and now... ICE in Minnesota. No political commentary here. Just praying for many nieces and nephews and family in the Metro.

It is, indeed, another Challenge-ing moment in time.

Young Love

Had a great Friday and Saturday in Minnesota to witness and experience young love. And it had nothing to do with any sports teams!

Yesterday we drove to our hotel in Eagan and took a shuttle to the Genesis Ranch in Rosemount, MN, for our nephew Eric's wedding. Despite a lovely weather drive over the Cities, the rain hit right when we arrived at the venue!

It was a gorgeous venue and they had to move everything under the rain protected pavilion where we were to just eat and later dance. It all worked out fine. And to see my nephew Eric so happy and in love was worth all of our rain-drenched hair for a family photo!

Everybody's looking at a different camera here but groom Eric and his momma my sister Romey are smiling so it's all worth it!

Here's my date and I after initial rain but ready sit for the ceremony and dinner.

And my other better half. My twin. Rainy hair. Don't care.

It was a great time. And this morning we got to meet up with Casey and Emily (who are about to celebrate their 2nd anniversary) for brunch at the Stray Dog in Minneapolis.

What a treat to see them and spend some quality time with them and...

See and snuggle and pet our number one grandpup Rey! She is the bestest!!

After seeing Casey and Emily's nice apartment with a clear view of U.S. Bank Stadium 💜💛💜, we got a nice escort back to our parking spot! 

After that is was just a 3 1/5 drive home and trying to catch what was an unusual summer-like day. Hoping Sunday is a repeat!

Many Smiles in the Minne-Apple

You win some. You lose some. But sometimes you have a weekend where everybody wins – eventually.

We arrived in Twins Territory and our hotel in midafternoon Saturday. I was excited we could see Target Field from our hotel room – as advertised!

Cool to be right in the heart of the atmosphere.

After we got settled, we headed to a nearby pub to meet up with Casey and Emily for some pre-game apps. A very short walk from there to the field.

So we had time for Robyn-forced photos!

There were even a few new props that got me excited!

Saturday was Military Appreciation Night at the field.

This included a unique flyover with military helicopters. Very cool.

Our seats were in the front row of a second-level section on the third-base line. Close to Jim's Cincinnati Reds' dugout. At least he had something to smile about. A pitching change for the Twins was a common occurrence Saturday night!

Still amazing to be there, win or lose.

And boy did we ever lose! But great to catch up with the kids for a few hours. And Jim had plenty to smile about with his victory!

Sunday morning was the breakfast of champions at the hotel. Pretty fancy for a continental breakfast, eh?

The stadium was just a mile's walk away so we headed over there so we'd have time to soak in the sights. Including the Bob Dylan mural. Holy amazing!

There's a big fun and games area for all ages on the north side of the stadium. This must be extreme bags because they're throwing coach pillow-sized bags!

Lots of music was rocking the pre-game area – including some beats from our Skol Line!

I can't describe U.S. Bank Stadium in simple teams. It's just such a unique architectural park. Just awesome.

 

Getting our game day faces on!

All the cool glass features had me drooling. I could spend hours taking pictures of this place.

And the Minne-Apple downtown skyline is reflected in the windows, too.

Inside the stadium, we got to walk around a bit and see the highlights – including the local FOX guys doing their pre-game broadcast.

Found our seats! See where the lady wearing the #43 jersey is standing above Bud Grant's name? Our seats were front row to the right of his name.

Nothing between us and our Vikings but a piece of glass. Yup, those pesky railing obstruct the view sometimes. So let's have a scared-of-heights Robyn plop down on the "safe" side of the glass non-railing.

Thank goodness we got there early enough for me to have plenty of time to get used to it. Thankfully!

Also, we got our shirts several years after, I'm sure, another quest for a Superbowl trophy fell short. Or went wide right. They pleadingly say: "Just one before I die." We are hopeless optimists.

Since this was the season home-opener, they did a lot stuff before the first kickoff. Including... wait for it...

Snow inside the stadium!! What?

Yup, they were representing Norse blood with that. It was time bits of foamy-type flakes that disappeared after impact. What a crazy cool thing to do now that we're back indoors!

I began to love my unobstructed view. 

Specially loved that we scored first (despite way too many red uniforms in the stands).

Totally reminded me of the Dome days and how loud we'd get it!!

And I was thrilled to finally get to participate in person with the Viking fan's SKOL clap. So cool!!

And we had plenty to SKOL about – including a Justin Jefferson 98-yard touchdown. I'll never top as one of the greatest plays we've witnessed in person! 

It was exciting to upset the 49ers with a nice win – and fun to have my Twins finally winning at the same time.

I guess everybody does win! Thanks, MN!

Silver Anniversary for the Silver Ladies

We're about to embark on our 25th annual sisters' weekend – aka Wild Women's Weekend (or WWW). But wait... it's only Monday. H-m-m...

Last fall during our 24th WWW, we decided we should do something big for our 25th. Because... why not? This tradition is longer than most marriages. And we've survived. So far!

So we voted on going somewhere with mountains. And someplace the majority of us haven't been. And we settled on the Great Smoky Mountains that border Tennessee and North Carolina. And decided to do it in the summer time.

And oh yeah, much longer than a weekend!

So here were are sleeping in a Park and Fly hotel in Minneapolis and we'll grab the 4 a.m. (gasp!) shuttle to the airport and fly out at 6:20 a.m.! First stop is Asheville, N.C., and from there we'll take our rental van westward to our place in the mountains. We're renting a house that will be our home base for the week. Well, almost a week. We fly back Sunday night.

Like I often say: Take the trip!!

A Break in the Clouds

This entire pandemic has had another cloud hanging over it that appeared on May 25, 2020, when George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in Minneapolis while being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. 

During the arrest, bystanders video recorded Derek Chauvin, a white police officer with the Minneapolis P.D., kneeling on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds after Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down.

Today, after a trial of several weeks and jury deliberation of 10+ hours, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

Like much of the nation – certainly all of Minnesota – I tuned into the reading of the verdict at 4 p.m. I was nervous. Could we count on the "system "to do the right thing? To service justice? I remember the Rodney King verdict well since I was just starting my newspaper career when that news broke. Police officers in L.A. beating up King mercilessly for 15 minutes – all caught on videotape as well, but the officers were later acquitted.

So today, I was hoping for a better ending. When I heard the first "guilty," I had a lump in my throat. By the third, tears in my eyes.

Tears of relief really. And sadness, too, that this is such a teeny tiny break in the clouds that hang over those who suffer this injustice and disrespect every day. There's such a long road to reach fairness and equity or even basic human respect. 

How embarrassing. How disgusting. How unjust.

I don't know about you, but I prefer sunny skies to tiny breaks in the clouds. It takes kindness first. It's such a little thing, yet so big all at once. Can we learn from this and do our best to be good humans? We can't be perfect, but opening our minds and hearts is a great start to being pretty good.

God, help us.

Play Ball, Please

The latest news ticker says this: Players vote down MLB's latest offer to play 60 games, sources say

Ugh. I just really want to see my Twins play this summer. I want road trip in my new vehicle over the Twin Cities and take in a game with my family. Like last summer.

Instead, I'm stuck watching Classic MLB TV. And even if watching the exciting Game 7 of our World Series Championship never gets old. It's getting close.

I think Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer summed up my feelings best in his tweet: It’s absolute death for this industry to keep acting as it has been. Both sides. We’re driving the bus straight off a cliff. How is this good for anyone involved? Covid 19 already presented a lose lose lose situation and we’ve somehow found a way to make it worse. Incredible. 

I completely comprehend health concerns. But at this rate, when I finally get back to the office in person, it'll be football season already. (fingers crossed) Guess I should order a Vikings mask and skip a Twins one altogether. Not that fashion has anything to do with my desire to see a game. But if you see me walking around the neighborhood with my Homer Hanky wrapped around my head, you'll know I'm desperate for anything resembling baseball.

Find the middle ground, boys. Your fans everywhere are waiting to say, "Play ball!"

Hills and Valleys

Because I sold my Gardening for Dummies book at a garage sale a few years back, I have no concept of what's growing in my backyard after we cleared out the dead stuff. These just seemed to pop up after 24 hours rain!

Thanks to the Internet, now I know. These are Lily of the Valley. I always pictured something else when I was growing up and my mom loved that perfume. Wasn't thinking tiny, delicate white bells. But they sure are pretty!

And since I was looking them up, I also learned that along with being the birth flower for May, they also mean sweetness, a return of happiness, purity of heart, you made my life complete, and protection from evil spirits.

I love that! And it is what we need right now. Especially today.

So much negative news coming out of Minneapolis right now. Murder. Riots. Looting. Fires. Racial divide. Anger. Grief.

I'm not going to get on any soapbox, but I will say that watching the video of the police officer kneeling on the gentleman's neck while he was already cuffed and begging to breathe just made me want to puke. I have no right to speak about the incident or the community reaction. I'm just going to pray for understanding and kindness and, just like the Lily of the Valley symbolizes, a return to happiness and purity of heart.

God, help us all.

Social Hours

This is my brain right now after two full days of a Digital Summit that focused heavily on social media – trends, content, platforms, you name it. The only thing that wasn't social was me.

I know. Hard to believe. I actually started to feel a bit old when I overheard a "girl" mention her father-in-law is 38 years old. Nope. I take that back. I didn't feel old. I felt ancient!

But not too old to learn. I pride myself that I as familiar (or even use) most of what was talked about. It was a very fast-paced two days. Half-hour sessions with either 10 or 15 minutes between. Believe me. My brain is full! Pretty cool and interesting speakers though.

Enjoyed hearing Randi Zuckerberg yesterday. Her brother is Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. Perhaps you've heard of him. She had her role at that silly start-up years ago, too. And now empowers female entrepreneurs. Very impressive.

Had the evening free last night so walked around downtown Minneapolis, since that's where the conference was  and where I was staying.

Got to bond with my fellow news girl Mary Tyler Moore! Yup. A random stranger took the goofy picture of me and didn't bat an eye.

I wandered a bit and found myself at the downtown Target and naturally found...

All kinds of Vikings and Twins goodies. This is SKOL coffee, which I did not buy. I failed to exercise willpower on a Vikings shirt (or 2) and a Twins license plate holder. What? They're cheaper at Target than at the stadium! (*me justifying*)

Today the conference ended at 4:30 p.m., just in time to head home in rush hour traffic. Certainly makes me appreciate driving in rural Wisconsin – even with the deer. Feels good to be home safely so I can rest my brain and body.

Honestly, other than blogging quick, I have no desire to interact right now. It's anti-social hour now!

Minnesota Welcomes Me

Worked this morning then headed to Minneapolis for a work conference.  And this is how Minnesota welcomed me. Dark clouds then driving rains, literally when I crossed the border.

Throw in some traffic jams and it was not my version of "Minnesota nice." Still, I arrived OK this evening, had an excellent Juicy Lucifer Burger at Hell's Kitchen downtown, and now...

Am enjoying some time in Twins Territory.  Figures I'm in Minnesota and they're playing in Milwaukee so I could've watched them on TV at home! Hopefully I can still bring good luck as long as I'm here.

Plus, I have a view of the Vikings stadium from my hotel room, so I'm finally feeling that Minnesota Nice vibe.

A Twinkie win tonight would be especially NICE. Just saying.

My Son Shine

Can you see the rainbow arc around the sun dog over the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport? Very cool. This is what happens when you have time on your hands and you're already locked into your parking ramp.

Why was I there so early?

First, thank the weatherman for being wrong. Sunny skies and no snow to hamper my drive over. Secondly, light traffic for a late Saturday afternoon. Third, my copy of the itinerary had Mr. World Traveler landing at 6:51 p.m. When I got to the airport, the time said 7:44 p.m. So I really had time on my hands!

Oh, and fourth, I was just really, really, slightly excited to see my boy again! So to pass the minutes I did walk around and got my steps in for the day...

But don't think I didn't ponder shenanigans. You really can't leave me unsupervised anywhere with time to kill. At least I kept my lips zipped before taking over the vacant Freedom of Expression Booth. So tempting. If only I had an opinion on something. Ha.

Then finally... this! Welcome home, sweetie!

So good to hug him again! And it was nice to have company on the long drive back to Wisconsin Rapids. A little over 3 hours with one stop for caffeine. Then the man who had been up for 24+ hours (like I had been when returned) stopped fighting the sleep, reclined the seat, and slept awhile. Can't blame him!

Jim, who had attended a surprise 80th birthday party for his uncle, waited up for us. Catching up was brief as it's really past everyone's bedtime in this house. We'll all sleep good tonight. From tiredness and just knowing we're all safely under one roof again.

Feeling blessed. Sweet dreams!