April 22, 2011
April 22nd, 2011 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
Spring is having a hard time getting out of the gate. I am supposed to have the Yukon Gold potatoes planted by today, Good Friday. Not going to happen. I thought about going up this afternoon, but the forecast is not that great. I am a fair weather fisherman and a fair weather gardener.
I decided to go to Chamber Connection today because it was held at the new ReStore which is a retail home improvement outlet that sells donated new and used building and home improvement materials. The ReStore is located at 2801 West Saint Germain Street. The Grand Opening is May 25th, but it is open now for donations on Wednesday and Thursday from 10 AM – 6 PM. ReStore is operated by Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. Check it out.
I met a new fan of Minnesota Public Radio this morning. Diane Larson owns the Copper Corte next to Angushire Golf Course and she is the owner of Saint Cloud Camera and Photo located in Copper Corte. The staff is very knowledgeable about high quality digital photography. My son has taken up both still photo shooting and video production with an emphasis on the world of sports. It is a very fascinating hobby and with the software that is available the output is spectacular.
Laura Hansen, poet and owner of Bookin’ It Bookstore in Little Falls will be a guest on “The Story” with Dick Gordon this evening. The show airs from 9:00-10:00 PM on KNSR 88.9. Listen for Laura’s NPR Driveway Moment story near the end of the show. She and Dick discuss the poem by Sam Walter Foss, which is included below. I usually do not include a lengthy poem, but I must.
The show this week is live from the Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include innovative and magical guitar duo, Brazilian born brothers Sergio and Odair Assad and old friends Robin and Linda Williams, up from the Smokey Mountains of Virginia. Enjoy the show which will include a New York celebration of William Shakespeare’s birthday. He would have been 447 years old.
The House by the Side of the Road
New England poet Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) evokes the age old image of
a humble house where the weary traveler finds a welcome – a house such as
Baucis and Philemon’s – to remind us that we are here to help one another
along life’s journey. Friends are “help-mates” to each other.
There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that swell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by;
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears
Both parts of an infinite plan;
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by;
They are good, they are bad, they are weak,
They are strong,
Wise, foolish – so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat
Or hurl the cynic’s ban? –
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Sam Walter Foss
Category : General 