GaryOsberg.com

The snow has missed us again. I recall winters in Upsala that were amazing. Maybe it was because I was a child, but the snow piles seemed huge. In fact, I have seen pictures of the area around Grandma Ramlo’s grocery store that are proof positive. In Upsala there was a “Dead Man’s Corner”. It was the first 90 degree turn as you drove north out of town. Many cars ended up in that ditch. I doubt if they even refer to the corner that way anymore.

Entertainment in Upsala was a “do-it-yourself” project. After a big snow storm, we would take to the Burtrum Hills in our cars and blaze paths through the snow drifts. I recall us boys tying a hood from a DeSota to the bumper, getting into the hood and riding the surf in the ditches. It is a wonder that none of us were killed. Now, my son takes the time to bring his children with him ice fishing. Walleye Willie caught his personal best through the ice on one Sunday and he speared his first Northern the next Sunday. Proof positive is attached.

The APHC show this week is a look back to the October 22 broadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats perform “Wasting Time” and “Out on the Weekend,” Anäis Mitchell sings “Why We Build the Wall” and “Clyde Waters,” and John Hodgman shared a few thoughts on beards and septic systems. Plus there will be Chris Thile’s Song of the Week, “Dates”. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will share a few new Grandparent names and Bertrand Falstaff Heine will review this season’s snow tires. Plus, there will be a rollicking medley of Swedish fiddle tunes. Tune in Saturday at 5 CST or Sunday at 11 am on the MPR News network.

I will be working the table at Escher Auditorium at The College of Saint Benedict tomorrow night. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble will take the stage at 7:30. I hope to see you there. Tickets at www.csbsju.edu/wow

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau