GaryOsberg.com

One of the disadvantages of being the oldest boy in a family raised by a single mom, is that no one was around to teach me how to hunt and fish. Besides, I was too busy with my life of crime. First the “gas cap gang”. We stole most of the gas caps in Upsala, just because. Of course we got caught and Justice Bernard Lunder sentenced us to 6 months of going to the church of our choice. When Bernard was staying in a nursing home in Sauk Rapids, I would visit him and remind him that it was unconstitutional to sentence someone to attend church. He would respond that he knew that, but we needed to be punished and the village of Upsala did not have a jail anyway.

Later I was the youngest member of the `Black Knights Car Club’ in Upsala. We met at an old chicken coop behind the house that Ma rented from Tena Johnson. `Punk’ Maus donated a 36 Chevy Coupe to the club, but we had no tools so some of us did a little shop lifting. We had some good intentions. I remember paying old man Miller, the printer, to print some cards that the members were to hand out to stranded motorists that we had aided. He made me pay the bill up front. That did not end well either. We got busted and most of the gang got six months of probation.

This week the APHC with Chris Thile is back in New York City to wrap up the live broadcasts for the year with another show from The Town Hall. Special guests include Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Marina Franklin. Plus: a hot-off-the-presses Song of the Week and a few musician birthday highlights from Chris Thile and the band:
(singer Aoife O’Donovan, Richard Dworsky on keys, drummer Matt Chamberlain, guitarist Chris Eldridge, Alex Hargreaves on fiddle, and bassist Tim Lefebvre) There will be a selection or two for the holidays plus scripts and scenes performed by the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Serena Brook, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman. Tune in on your local public radio station or on your smart phone or watch live (Saturday, 5pm – 7pm Central Time) at prairiehome.org!

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John Wooden