GaryOsberg.com

Good morning from Collegeville,

Twenty years ago today, Grandma Ramlo passed away. She was 20 days shy of her 98th birthday. It was “Gram” who taught me unconditional love. With your parents, it is hard to get unconditional love. There is too often, some strings attached. Parents feel like the world is judging them based on what their offspring do and say. With Gram, I could do no wrong. This was not always the case. When I was a child she was tough. When we were living above her grocery store she often fed us lunch. The rule was that you had to be in your chair at the table by the time the noon whistle stopped blowing. Upsala was small enough, so that if you started running when the whistle went off, you could get there before it was done blowing. I remember the time that I forgot the rule and when I opened the screen door, she slapped me across the face with a “You are late”. For that reason, I am almost never late for an appointment. I miss our Saturday morning visits in the Pierz nursing home and the special bars that she kept in her freezer.

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from “The Chief”, an historic theatre in Bemidji. Special guests include prose poet Louis Jenkins and young singer-songwriter Sonny Johnson. The November Boys will join the usual cast of the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman. I have no idea about tickets. Maybe you should drive up there to see the Upsala/Swanville Patriots play in the high school football playoffs and buy a ticket from a scalper.

“The only reason you are happy is because you choose to be happy.” don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements”