Caution: Think Before You Compliment

Tonight I was in the checkout line at the supermarket when I looked down the lane to the young woman (20ish, I’d say) bagging groceries and thought, “I like her nose ring.” I have always liked nose rings, and I’m not shy to compliment someone about them (or most anything else I like).  My wife has a little stud nose ring that I’ve thought was cute since the day I first saw her.  This girl’s looked similar: just... Read More

Textually Active: Piper Watch in Minneapolis

Welcome to what I hope will be a semi-regular installment of Someone Tell Me the Story: ”Textually Active”.  The idea is pretty simple: I text some friends some prompt, and they text me back, then I post their responses on the blog.  If that sounds like the worst idea ever, do consider that I have some really funny friends. The prompt from Textually Active #1 came while driving through Minneapolis-St. Paul yesterday: ——————————————————————- Me:... Read More

When in Wisconsin…

Yesterday I drove through Wisconsin with my wife and mother-in-law between a family cabin in Minnesota (10 minutes, by the way, from the town that inspired Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon) and their home in Wheaton, IL.  We stopped at a standard drive-to-and-from-the-cabin place for the half-Norwegian, half-Swedish Thorwall family called The Norske Nook in the small town of Osseo, WI.  Yes, it’s a Norwegian restaurant. Which brings... Read More