Random thoughts...

It seems that I am on a tour of cities that start with "B" as I started yesterday in Bellingham, ended in Butte last night, and tonight I am in Bismarck. I am not all that intentional but that is just how it worked out. Only 328 miles left to home. Thank heavens. While the trip has gone well, I am tried of driving. I am pretty sure that I don't want to be a long hall trucker.

The truck has run well, and I am glad that I chose the one that I did. The mileage is decent, about 18 MPG so far and while it handles differently than my Honda Fit, it isn't too bad. You just have to pay attention all the time as gusts of wind or rough roads are really noticeable. All that wrestling with the wheel will no doubt help me buff up a bit so I can wear the sleeveless t-shirt that sometimes is the uniform of truckers. Don't wait up for that...

The radio has proved to be interesting. It is a simple AM/FM radio, so I haven't been able to supplement my entertainment with CD's of any kind, and I have to admit that it has been a long time since I have listened to the radio for 12-14 hours a day. More interesting is that AM radio comes in more clearly, probably because of the terrain. That worried me, because if I would have had to listen to conservative talk radio for that long I might not have made it. But the radio has been fun--strong AM stations have proved to be very musically diverse, surprisingly so. One set produced music from Taylor Swift to Springsteen to Madonna to Celine Dion to Boston and led up to the news with a Tony Bennett tune. Then after the news there was the farm market report. All things considered, not my normal listening, but enjoyable and it did make the time pass.

There was great light today, with huge white clouds and at first, white-topped mountains. The irrigation picture is by Livingstone, I presume. The mountains surrounding Big Timber ratchet up its appeal. I saw a sign on a commercial space in that town that was for rent--the rent was between 40 and sixty per square foot. That is 40-60 cents per square foot. Terry, Montana provided the slice of Americana on this Memorial Day. The sky turned a bit darker as I headed into North Dakota, and it threatened this elevator near Dickinson.

travels...

It has been a crazy few days as I have been on the road. I left Friday morning to fly to Bellingham to pack up and then drive back the rest of my "stuff" to my "home." Sorry for the quote marks but there is a certain vagueness to both terms, I guess. What is "stuff" and is it home?

None-the-less, with some help from friends I mostly packed and filled a 10 foot truck with this stuff, and hit the road early this morning. I think I drove about 780 miles today--the weather was perfect, and I had enough caffeine to probably drive even farther, but my eyes were tired.

Here are a few shots from the day, starting with the ritual of stopping at Starbucks to fuel the first few miles of the trip. It was foggy starting out and cool, in the 40s, a nice change from the 90s that Minnesota has been experiencing. A highlight was stopping off in Roslyn and eating at the Roslyn Cafe. The last photo is one that poorly or at least incompletely illustrates why they call Montana Big Sky Country.

A new addition

I kicked myself out of bed early today to drive to an auction. Like really early, say about 5:10 or so. It was way too early, though I guess it was really only about 45 minutes earlier than I get up most days. It must of been that it was on a Saturday, though it didn't help that it was damp and foggy, as the picture from in front of my apartment and the photo of the sun and the fog illustrate.

So what really motivated me? The auction posting had only a fragment of a description but it did list an Excelsior 5X8 printer--that was the sum of the listing, but it was enough to get me there. They had, if the auction bill was correct, a five inch by eight inch Kelsey Excelsior hand-operated tabletop letter press. It was worth the early hour to check it out, and I did.

But why, most of you are asking. I have always wanted to be a printer and if I had to choose an art form, I would choose to be a printer. I know, how weird am I, and just how big of a geek am I? Apparently my weird-ness and geek-ness knows no boundaries. I just like the printing process and always have. When I used to work at the paper, I used to love just watching the press fly, and that was a mere offset press. I used to lurk in the printing job shop where they had a beautifully restored Heidelberg two-color press, just so I could here the "thunk-sheesh of the press. Maybe I was deprived as a kid, but this was an artform that I wanted to play with. How odd--I leave for WA later this week to pick up the rest of my stuff and in that stuff is a printer that just plugs into a computer and is truly state of the art, and now I was happy to even learn of a 75-100 year old press that may or may not even work?

I was. And lo and behold, I am the proud owner of the aforementioned press. From what I can tell, it is about 85 years old. I was a bit cautious because it was pretty rusty and I know it was missing a few parts, like the chase, furniture, the rollers and of course, the type. But the price was right. I made the rookie mistake of coming in too early, and I was the only bidder at $25.00. I probably could have gotten it for $5.00 or $10.00 if I was more patient, but I also know that I would have bid up to about $150.00, for presses in this shape sell on E-Bay for around $400.00. So I cheerfully bid $25.00 and was very happy to win. I am on my way to being a printer! Soon, the East St. Germain Times, tomorrow the Chicago Tribune!!! Well, the goal is to at least be able to print my own business cards by summer's end.

Though the press was cheap, it is not cheap in the long run. Rollers are about $125.00, the chase is $80, and a set or two of type is probably $160.00. But fundamentally the press is in exceptional shape. The rust is simple surface rust and it maintains almost all of the original green and black enamel and it even retained the gold lettering that adorned the press when it left Connecticut that long ago. I think that I can easily restore it to working condition, which would make it a $1,200 press. That might be fun, and there also are those business cards which will now cost about a five hundred dollars for 50 or 60 of them. It also further anchors my apartment, as it is very heavy--not as heavy as a kiln I once helped to move, but you certainly want to tighten your belt and pull up your pants before you lift its 100-plus pounds!

I know, a totally mindless and meaningless post, but it was a good day, and it was well worth getting up before sunrise. I am sure I will share more adventures of Jason, Boy Printer, as I figure out how to make all this work.

Evening in Minnesota

Idyllic, bucolic, picturesque, serene...

The Mississippi River near sunset, about a mile from my house.

Auctions and other things

It was a beautiful weekend after a long, and frankly, a crappy week. Many appointments, meetings, and lots of thoughts to fill my week.

This weekend dawned brilliantly, with a bright blue sky and a warm sun, things that us in North Central Minnesota have not seen for a week and a half. It was the opening of fishing season, so no doubt the Walleye "god" smiled on the state. We can't figure out a state budget that protects most of us, but we do make sure that the walleyes and the leaches meet on some weird destiny....

But I went to an auction. I can't fully explain why I love auctions as much as I do. I like them in the rain and and the sun, but this weekend's was near perfect. The weather was stellar and I even have a bit of color. The company was great, the auction food of a perfectly presented sloppy Joe hit the spot, and I even bought a few things that will become treasures. Including one of the kerosene lamps pictured above. I have to light my deck somehow! Plus, the light was great, whether on 35 year old Christmas cactus that was for sale or on the johnny jump-ups.

All in all, a good transition weekend.

Numbers and a celebration

One of the really great things I get to do as a dean is observe faculty in the classroom. It is a task (and a gift) that I don't take lightly. It is a great, important space, and I am continually impressed with what I see and learn in these classrooms.

A few weeks ago, I was observing an English as a Second Language class and they were talking about the meaning of words that indicate an amount or how many. Next they talked about how to make plurals, like one deer, two deers, one fish, two fishes. Not really, but you get the idea, and it did confirm once again that English has to be the most confusing language to learn, and it made me think about how we measure those words and phrases like "a lot" or "many" or "some."

I think that this has been important to me today because I learned that Dick Stroede, a good friend, a mentor and one of the best souls I have ever had a chance to know and to learn from, passed away from pancreatic cancer, surrounded and comforted by his family. As I reflected on this loss, I was struck at once how many numbers are associated with his passing.

Yesterday, I was literally on my way to Ohio to attend commencement at Defiance College but about 100 miles into the trip, a friend called to tell me that he was struggling and would not be at graduation. It would have been his 45th commencement at Defiance and he so wanted to be there. And hundreds wanted and wished him to be there, too, for he was to be honored and showered with love and praise, for all of us knew that he would not be at his 46th ceremony.

What, I wonder, is the measure of a man but the number of people that he can and does touch in his life? If that is the case, then Dick met that measure and then some. His family, the pair that he and his wife made for 49 years and 11 months, and his two children are the start. The bunch of close friends who sang and played and taught and laughed and no doubt cried and grew old together and shared countless memories knew his measure. So did the crowd of faculty colleagues from a five decade career who treasured and, to continue the theme, counted on him for good humor, steadfast friendship and many other things both large and small. Thousands of students sat at his feet and learned from him in many spaces, including classrooms, halls. churches, auditoriums, orchestra pits, and choir lofts. Tens of thousands heard the millions of notes that he played, sang and directed over the span of his career, for much of his life was closely tied to the numbers that make music work. One can only imagine the incredible number of souls he touched in all these ventures in his 70 years on this earth. That he continued to teach and to reach out and lead and comfort with his blog, http://www.maestro-anewadventure.blogspot.com even as he faced challenges and obviously numbered days just confirm all of this.

I am but one of those he touched, and I am saddened by the loss of this soul. I grieve, but I also know that I (all of us) should really celebrate a life that did touch so many people. I am sitting here with a simple meal of good bread, cheese, a great pear and a very large glass of wine and it comforts me. Music is playing loudly and it moves and touches me. And I can't think of one single way better to remember and celebrate an important meaningful life.

Rest in peace...