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Last night I attended an event in the library at the Melrose High School.  “Stearns United” invited my son Erik Osberg to join them for pizza and conversation about the current state of affairs.  They had heard that Erik has chosen to run for the United States Congress representing Congressional District 7.  CD7 consists of 37 counties along the western side of Minnesota. 

I left my MPR tote bag at home and simply listened to the folks expressing their concerns about a variety of topics.  True, there was a lot of gray hair, but there were a couple of young folks, one who has just been elected to the chair of a local political organization.  Getting involved is the first step. 

Erik did a great job, and he learned a lot.  The election is not until November of 2026 so there are bound to be many more of these occasions.  I was reminded of my own venture into politics. I chose to run for the city council in Coon Rapids in 1971.  I was given slim chance to unseat the incumbent, but we did manage to pull it off.   I do remember having to bring Erik to a similar gathering in the fall of 1972 when he was only three months old.  Marcia and I were both to be there, and we could not find a babysitter.  I suppose he may have been “imprinted”. 

Tomorrow evening is the final concert performance for the season by the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Brad Lambrecht will be conducting “Symphony is Spain and Latin America” at Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University.  Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com  

Sunday afternoon at 4 you can enjoy “Take This Gift”, a performance by the Great River Chorale and GRC Treble Choir, directed by Mary Kay Geston.  They will perform at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud. Tickets at www.greatriverchorale.org    

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear”.  Mark Twain