October 7, 2010
Good afternoon from Collegeville,
Another stunning day of weather in central Minnesota. I am taking tomorrow off to till the garden and attend the homecoming game in Upsala. It is hard to believe that 50 years ago, I was sitting on the sidelines watching the game due to a back injury from a diving accident. The year before I actually did earn a letter as a junior. When I was a freshman, Upsala was a power house. No one scored on the Upsala football team for a whole season. The winning streak was something like 32 games. If my memory serves me correctly, the streak was broken in Royalton. Now Upsala is paired with Swanville and the “Cardinals” have been replaced by “The Patriots”. “The USA Patriots” to be exact. There are no lights on the Upsala football field, so the only game that is played in the afternoon, in Upsala, is the homecoming game. The rest of the games are played in Swanville under the lights. I still recall the smell of turf and sweat. Great times.
John Wooden would have been 100 years old next Thursday. He was college basketball’s most successful coach. His teams at UCLA had 10 national championships. From 1971 to 1974, UCLA won 88 consecutive games, still the NCAA record. If you Google “John Wooden”, you will be able to print out some his many quotes. One of my new favorites is “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
Why not set aside some time next Thursday to live that quote. Afterwards, you may want to stop by The Radisson Hotel in downtown St. Cloud to attend our “MPR Connects” event with special guest Chris Farrell, MPR’s Chief Economics Correspondent. You can register at www.mpr.org/stcloud. The event is from 5:30 to 7 PM.
The show this week is live from the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Barby and I will be there to celebrate my ten years of representing Minnesota Public Radio. We hope that you will be able to be there also. Special guests will include acclaimed acoustic folk/pop duo Storyhill, singer songwriter Andra Suchy and keyboard master Butch Thompson. Enjoy the show.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think of you.” John Wooden
Category : General 