all that's past is prologue...

THIS is a bucket-list item fulfilled (and one of the few non-travel related entries on said list). The Saint Paul Academy Lower School does a Bazaar every spring and for many students it is the highlight of the year. There are things to buy (like a big jumble sale), games, face painting, treats — one year you could even pay to pet a puppy and the winner of the drawing got to keep a puppy! (I'm sure parents were thrilled). My first grade year, in the book section, were a few of the Maida's Little books (I think Shop, House, and Camp) which I probably bought for a nickel of my hard-saved allowance each. I fell in love with these books. Over the years, I slowly acquired a few more at various used book places; there used to be an especially good one in the Heritage Village at the State Fair. With the advent of the internet I could locate more, but the end of the series in general is very difficult to find and the books cost a lot. I recently got a few of Facebook marketplace for a ...

There have been a bunch of annoying "to do" things kicking around my trello list for a long while, but luckily on the last 24 hours I have taken care of two of them. I called the Ramsey County Assessor's offie to clarify homesteading. Years ago, you used to be able to split homesteading if you had two homes, and I knew that had been phased out (unless you are separated or divorced, which we are not). But I DID learn that, in cases like ours where a close relative lives in a home you own, you can file for homestead under a "Non-occupant co-owner/relative" status, so we did that for Winter Street. I wish we had known to do that years ago! We had also putting off taking the "Old Folks Drivers Ed" — you know, the course you can take when you are over 55 to brush up on your driving skills in your decrepitude — or more to the point, to get a car insurance discount. Last night while Beatrix and Patrick had tech/dress I started doing the modules, finishing it ...

I know I've been talking a lot about art events lately. But to be honest, seeing shows and exhibits is one the only ways I am coping with things right now, and I think it might help you as well. It has the added bonus of supporting local, grassroots economic efforts. It builds community; I can promise you that you will feel better when in a room with other people, experiencing art together. Felly recession-y? Many of the things I am recommending are free, or low cost. Seriously, give it a try! I'm presenting a short riff on the importance of preservation at Zeitgeist's new works this week. April 15 and 17  at Nautilus's space in Lowertown, at 7:30. A whole new take on the subject. Want a side of absurdism with your anti-facism? Ionesco's Rhinoceros , by Pangea World Theater , plays at the Southern through this weekend. Similar topic, different take. I've written before about my friend Dan Smith's show of his mother's work, which opens at the former Fi...

When I had an opportunity to get a pair of free tickets to Mean Girls last night, I hesitated. I was tired (so tired), and behind on work. But Patrick said "Of course you should go, it's your word for the year telling you something," and of course he was right. Beatrix was thrilled to go though they are unlikely to resurrect the Touring Broadway Awards to honor this production, it was tremendously fun to go and I had a wonderful night out with my girl. On the far other end of the ideological spectrum, last week we attended Rhinoceros by Pangea at the Southern, which runs through April 19. It's a long play, and Ionesco is a big lift for a lot of folks. But if you can make time in your schedule to see this show, I would do it — the design, direction, and the hard-working cast are all worth it. It's a show that is sadly very appropriate right now. Beatrix will beat my theater attendance record for the week by also seeing Alice By Heart at Stillwater HS tomorrow, an...

Democracy dies in darkness, and it's more important right now than ever in my lifetime to hold up the light. Lucy Kreisler Smith was a force. Born Jewish in Krakow in 1933, she had just started school when the Nazis invaded. Her childhood was spent staying one step ahead of death — escaping the ghetto, assuming a Catholic identity, constantly on the move and in hiding, amazingly both she and her mother surviving. Post-war she fled the Communists, moved to Paris with no money, and eventually married an American man. One baby and a divorce later, she settled in Saint Paul as a single mother and immigrant, continuing her life as a painter, writer, teacher, and social justice activist. Lucy passed on in July, 2022. Her art is a testament to how we all survive and move on. Few her paintings directly address the Holocaust. Instead, they consider everyday life, but a life inherently changed by emerging from the darkness — yet with that undercurrent ever-present. The art is gritty, and yet...

Like a true mama bear, I have been very focused on the short shrift my 17-year-old has gotten in her lifetime. Born in the 2008 recession, she saw a few years of hope before the first T presidency, then covid (and the ensuing reactions which, though prudent and warranted, made us all feel isolated and like we were going to die any minute), and getting covid, and distance learning, and George Floyd's murder, and the uprisings, and now the second T debacle and chaos.  And she's had a lot of changes at school, as well, with leadership changes and counselors changing and her class in particular missing out on any number of school traditions. And the upcoming college admissions uncertainty, including "the cliff" and the loss of international students and financial aid/Department of Education chaos. It's no wonder I'm kind of salty about it. But in a school meeting yesterday ("Looking ahead to senior year" — gulp!), in conversation, I began to realize the ...