Loring Corners
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I’m not exactly sure what she’s looking for, because I didn’t find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there either. #TurtlePower
Flower Vase
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After work, I picked some flowers from my “garden.” I’ve never had flowers nor arranged them before, made more obvious by the improvised vase (below).
Ears Wide Open
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For all the wonderful music my iDevices can pump out, there’s no replacement for live music, especially outdoor music. I was excited to soak up the summer sounds of the 70-member Medalist Concert Band from my lawn chair near Minnehaha Park. My former Pride of Minnesota Marching Band director Jerry Luckhardt directs this ensemble, and one of my buddies has long held a chair in the band. Great work guys!
This past week, I’ve been thinking about the sounds of our lives. When you pause to listen, you realize there are many hundreds of sounds during one’s daily routine–tones, rhythms, sound effects–that confirm life is humming along. Aside from the obvious ones, here are some I’ve noticed lately:
- the sound of a pop tab breaking the seal of an aluminum can with carbonation escaping and bubbles settling. I can tell the difference in the pitch between a regular soda can, Red Bull and Monster drink.
- the sound of someone’s gait, sometimes accentuated by the taps of their soles
- the musicality of some phone numbers
- the perforation of a paper-wrapped straw
- the patter of fingertips moving at different speeds on keyboards
- the hydraulic sound of landings and takeoffs from office chairs
What subtle but recognizable sounds have you noticed lately? If you don’t recall anything notable, better keep your ears wide open!
Don’t Stop the Music, performed by Jamie Cullum
Eat Street
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Eat Street is a commercial district in Minneapolis, formed in the late 1990s to promote the international variety of restaurants along Nicollet Avenue South within three blocks of 26th Street.
July Snowballs
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Typically a spring flower, these snowball shrubs (aka Chinese snowball viburnum) are surprisingly still blooming in the July heat. And just like my hair, they’re slowly turning white.
Hamel Rodeo
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“Well, I never,” as my great grandma Angie would say. This wasn’t my first rodeo. It also wasn’t the first time I’d seen bulls, calves, and horses in roping, barrel racing or bull riding events. Neither was it unusual to see Border Collies; after all, we had three dogs of that breed growing up (and incidentally all inherited the same name). My cousins Karen and Mark joined me at the “World’s Championship Hamel Rodeo” in Hamel, Minn.
It was, however, the first time I’ve seen Capuchin monkeys riding Border Collies that are herding sheep. And, that indeed, is a sight to see.
Maple Bacon Long Johns
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We had a Big Ten birthday celebration in Hopkins for my friend Joe with Gopher friends. Dinner was good, but no one could resist dessert: maple glazed donuts with applewood smoked bacon from YoYo Donuts.
Metro Transit
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Several months ago, I was walking down Marquette Avenue with my iPhone and was startled by the imminent possibility that I was about to be hit by a bus…on the sidewalk. Turns out it was just a clever piece of architecture. I haven’t had an opportunity to ride the bus lately, but remember my college years of taking the 16A along campus, downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul’s Midway, as well as the 6 to Uptown.
I was quite proud of my first Metro Transit ride on my own, from Minneapolis to suburban Wayzata (13 miles). Most often, I’d head to the Target on University Avenue and the Rainbow or Cub Foods grocery store. Fortunately, I had a 21 meal/week plan in the residence hall, since I could only buy as much as I could carry. Other Metro Transit adventures my freshman year of college involved spontaneous trips to Uptown, where we’d enjoy frugal fun nights walking along Lake Calhoun, flipping through racks of used CDs at Cheapo, browsing the shelves of the nearby used bookstore, and eating a midnight snack at McDonald’s.
Fireworks
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