January 17th, 2020 by Gary Osberg
When the family moved from St. Louis Park to Upsala in
1956, I did get out of having to do “detention” at Park Junior High school. My
rebellious nature had already kicked in. That fall I started hanging out with
other “town kids”. Note: The Upsala school population was divided into “farm
kids” and “town kids”. For some reason one of us decided to steal a gas cap off
of a parked car. I am not sure which “genius” came up with this idea, but in
any case the prank turned into a project. Everyone in town was talking about it
and I am sure that old man Miller printed a story in the local press. Earl
Metzger was the local police and in time one of the “gas cap gang” confessed to
his parents and we all got busted.
We were gathered up and forced to reveal the
hiding place for the gunny sack of gas caps. All of those who were missing
their gas cap were told to come to Earl’s garage and sort through the lineup of
gas caps. We appeared in front of the Justice of The Peace in the backroom of
the fire hall. Justice Bernard Lunder sentenced us all to “six months of church
attendance”. Many years later I would visit Bernard at the nursing home and we
would talk about the “separation of church and state”. He simply laughed
and said he thought we would benefit. Not all of us learned our lesson.
The “Black Knights Car Club” was born a few years later.
The Live from Here show this week
is a rebroadcast. You can listen to old shows and check out what is in
store for future shows by going to www.livefromhere.org
and clicking on “Tickets”.
“It is unwise to pay too much, but it’s also
unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, all you lose is a little
money, but when you pay too little you stand a chance of losing everything
because the thing you bought is incapable of doing what you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It just can’t be done. So, when you deal with the low bidder, it is wise to put
a little something aside to take care of the risk you run. And, if you do that,
you can afford something better.” John Ruskin
January 10th, 2020 by Gary Osberg
Many years ago my Dad went to work as a dishwasher at Little Sisters of the Poor in
St. Paul. His boss was a woman named Maxine. They became real good friends and
her family referred to him as Grandpa Bill. Maxine and Dad never lived
together, but they ended up living in the same high rise apartment building
next to St. Paul Ramsey Hospital on University Avenue. When Maxine died, I
attended the funeral and Dad surprised me by asking me to sing “The Lord’s
Prayer” and “Amazing Grace” during the service. There was no piano, so I had to
sing “a Capella”. It was ok.
One of the pieces of furniture that Dad brought
with him when he moved into my house in Upsala was a corner unit with glass
shelves and a glass door that had belonged to Maxine. Her family had given it
to him.
After Dad passed in 2005, I had to clean out his room. One
of the items in the cabinet was a small green egg with silver decorations and a
seam abound the middle. I was curious to see what treasure was inside, but when
I pried it open, expecting to find a doll, what came out were ashes!
“OH MY GOD! IT WAS MAXINE”. I spilled a little in my haste
to put it back together and I quickly put it back in the curio.
A few years later, it happened again to someone
that was helping me to clean house. After that I decided to dig a hole
next to my Dad’s grave and bury the “egg”.
Live from Here
this week is a rebroadcast. The next live show is February 8th
from New York City.
“Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t
everything die at last and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?” From The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver
January 10th, 2020 by Gary Osberg
My son Erik is the “Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator”
for Otter Tail County. His job is to help spread the word about the
benefits of living and working in Otter Tail County, the county in Minnesota
with more lakes than any county in the state of Minnesota, maybe even the
nation. Last year he was invited to share his formula with rural folks in
Maine and North Dakota.
Two years ago the Super Bowl was held in Minneapolis, so
Erik came up with the idea for a party on the ice on Ottertail Lake. Last
year even I was drawn to the event. I booked a room in Thumper Pond in
Otter Tail and hopped on a shuttle bus to the party. Somewhere on
Facebook is a picture of me in my Mad Bomber cap yelling from the front row in
front of the stage.
This year the dates are Friday, January 31st and Saturday,
February 1st. Year three of the event promises to be bigger and
better than ever. The headliner is the Tiger Lilys (photo attached)
They are adding an official MN Special Olympics Polar Plunge on
Saturday, Feb. 1st www.otconice.com And here is a roll their socks down video. https://youtu.be/niOzcZg4gD8
Live from Here this week is a
rebroadcast. The next live show is February 8th from Town Hall
in New York City.
“It is not about having time, it is about making
time”. Erik Osberg
December 27th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
In April of 1977, I went on a retreat at the Cenacle
Retreat House in Wayzata, Minnesota. Sister Ten-Tie Saniel presented “Effective
Living” a seminar based on John Boyle’s “Omega Seminar”. They taught us the
importance of affirmations, “stating future goals in the present tense”.
I have formed the habit of repeating these affirmations every morning as I walk from my car to the office. It has made a big difference in my life. The six basic affirmations are:
- I am loved; therefore, I like myself, unconditionally as I was created. (Repeat five times)
2. I never devalue myself with destructive self-criticism. (Envision yourself doing something that you are very proud of)
3. I see love in others and have warm regard for all persons at all times. (Envision yourself doing something nice for somebody else)
4. I am easily able to relax and with every affirmation I become physically and mentally healthier. (Envision yourself doing something relaxing)
5. I am completely self-determined, inner directed by the spirit of love and allow others the same privilege. (Repeat five times)
6. I accept total responsibility for the consequences of my actions and reactions. (Repeat five times) You can add up to 5 more “goal specific” affirmations.
This week Live from Here is a
rebroadcast. The next live performance is February 8th at The
Town Hall in New York City.
“It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls
while they are still rolling.” Mark Twain
December 20th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Five days until Christmas. I have all of
my shopping done and now I simply have to pace myself on the cookies and candy.
Children love Christmas, as well they should. As with most families, some
years, Christmas gifts were easy to come by and some years the budget would not
allow for much. The Christmas of 1956 was a memorable one for me. My mother had
to move from our home in St. Louis Park due to Dad’s inability to handle
alcohol. Her mother, Grandma Laura Ramlo, drove her 1952 Chevy from Upsala to
St. Louis Park, put Dad in the back seat and drove him to the VA Hospital in
south Minneapolis. She told them, “He is a veteran, he is a drunk and he is now
your problem, not mine”. She took us all back to Upsala to live above the
Ramlo Grocery in Upsala.
I am not sure what the reason was for our
ending up living in an apartment in Little Falls in December. It had something
to do with getting financial aid. That Christmas, Santa brought us six big
Tonka Toy 18 wheel trucks. There was a cattle truck, an oil tanker, a freight
truck and three more. This was a perfect gift for a family with five boys. I
was 13 years old and brother Bill was 10. We played with them no-stop. I am not
sure what my sister Kathie got that year. For many years I had the impression
that they were from some sort of social agency that served the poor. It turned
out that “Santa” was Dewey Johnson, a classmate of my mother’s from Upsala High
School class of ’37. Dewey’s cousin was one of the founders of Tonka Toys.
Dewey had already passed on before I learned the “rest of the story”, so I
never did have a chance to thank him. Perhaps you know of a family that has
come upon hard times and they could use a “Secret Santa”.
Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast. The next live
show will be from The Town Hall in New York City of February 8th.
“Peace on Earth, good will to
men.” Angel
December 13th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
In December of 1984 I was employed at Dayton’s Commercial
Interiors in downtown Minneapolis. My family was still at the home
that we had built on Cedar Lake west of Upsala. My daughter Kerry was 16
years old and her art teacher in Upsala was pushing her to produce a lot of
work. For Christmas that year Kerry presented me with a pencil drawing of
a Golden Retriever with a pheasant in its mouth. She had an uncanny
ability to make the eyes so very lifelike. She had reworked one of the
eyes to the point that there was almost no paper left.
I took it to Vern Carver Frame Shop near our office in
LaSalle Court across from the Dayton’s department store. One of my
co-workers begged me to have Kerry draw another one so that he could present it
to a client as a gift. Kerry tried but finally we had my friend Dave
Oswald print 130 copies and we sold them as limited edition prints for $25 or
$95 framed matted and glazed. I simply carried the original in my trunk
and if someone was interested, I would go back out and bring it in to show
them. We sold most of them. I have the original hanging in my
office.
In 2002, Kerry’s first born, Kaylin Marie, created a picture
of an angel blowing a horn. Kaylin was 7 years old at the time. I marvel
how she was able to capture the puffed up cheek on the angel. It
was a gift for Kerry’s mother Marcia. I borrowed it from Marcia and that
year I sent out the very first “Angel Christmas Card”. ( pdf
attached)
In 2008, Kaylin’s younger sister Christen created her first
“Angel card”. She was 5 years old. I have attached a jpg of this
year’s angel card drawn by Christen age 16. Merry Christmas and Happy
Holidays to you and yours.
Live from Here this week is once again live
from Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include Sara Bareilles,
Los Lobos, Sarah Jarosz, performers from West Side Story , Maria Bamford and
Dave Hill. Enjoy the show
“You must not think that feeling is everything. Art is
nothing without form.” Gustave Flaubert
December 13th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Good chilly morning from Collegeville,
It looks like the ice on the pond is here to stay for a
while. Do not go out there unless you are with a buddy and be sure to
check the ice often. We used to drag race cars across Cedar Lake west of
Upsala when we were teenagers. To my knowledge, no one ever went through
the ice, but we got away with a lot of stupid things as kids. One winter
we made a game of standing on the hood of a DeSoto, using it as a giant
snowboard as we were towed in the ditch behind a car.
My sister and one of my classmates both ended up in casts
after a toboggan run down a steep hill in the Burtrum Hills. After a
heavy snow we would make a party by driving into the Burtrum Hills with our old
cars and just try to get stuck. These were not SUVs, simply rear wheel
drive cars with a bunch of boys and snow shovels.
Here is one way to enjoy the winter and the ice in a safe
environment. https://youtu.be/iNuCXUkp2DE
Live from Here this week is a live show from
the Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include Pixies, Black
Pumas, Crooked Still, Aoife O’Donovan, Anthony Veneziale, Aneesa Folds
and Chris Sullivan of Freestyle Love Supremes. You can listen on
your radio, smart phone or watch it on YouTube.
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” Seneca
November 22nd, 2019 by Gary Osberg
My mother’s mother, Laura Ramlo, and her husband Bert,
owned a grocery store in Upsala, Minnesota. Some of us called her Grandma Ramlo
instead of Grandma Laura and some just called her Gram. They lived behind the
store in small quarters. The bedroom didn’t even have doors. They heated the
living space with a fuel oil burner that was in the dining room and it had to
be filled often. The store was heated with a wood burning stove. The wood and
the fuel oil were stored in the attached unheated warehouse. That was
convenient. Gram was famous for her Thanksgiving dinners which were more like a
feast. Owning a grocery store made it easy for her to offer turkey, beef and
pork most years. Grandpa Bert would complain about her “raiding the stock” but
he didn’t complain too hard.
My job was to fill the crystal water glasses with water
from the cistern pump in the kitchen. The kids would sit at card tables in the
living room. We would always sing the “Doxology” and express our thanks for the
goodness in our lives and the food on the table. Every year, Gram would offer
her apologies for the food, even though it was awesome. “I don’t know why I
keep doing this, I just can’t cook anymore.” Not true Gram. I trust that you
will have a wonderful Thanksgiving feast next Thursday.
Live from Here
this week is a live show from Town Hall in New York City. Special guests
include Paul Simon, Vagabon, Anais Mitchell, Ryan Hamilton and Holly
Laurent. Enjoy the show.
“If more if us valued food and cheer and song
above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” J.R.R. Tolkien author of The
Hobbit.
November 18th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
My cousin Tom is not a “Norwegian Bachelor Farmer”, he is a
“Norwegian Bachelor House Painter”, retired. When I lived in
Upsala, I owned a house that was built in 1892 as the Swedish Mission Church
parsonage. The siding is original cedar and as long as you keep it
painted, it will last forever. Tom lived with his folks in a house across
the church cemetery. He was my designated painter. His father died 17
years ago and his mother, Auntie to me, died six years ago.
Living alone has a few disadvantages, one of which is, if
you fall and can’t get up, it will be a few days before someone comes to check
on you. On Sunday November 2nd Tom was taken to St.
Cloud Hospital. It was discovered that he had a brain tumor that had caused a
seizure that put him on the floor in his upstairs bedroom. When I got to
his hospital room on Monday the 4th, he had the three nurses rolling
in the aisle. His personality had been effected by the tumor and he would
not stop talking, calling the nurse whose name was Sara, “Sister
Sara”. He remembered that name from a Clint Eastwood movie.
Because I live in town, I usually was the first to visit
him. On Wednesday when I got there he was barely breathing. I put my hand
on his chest and said, “hold on Tom, your sister and brothers are on their
way”. We were sure that he would be leaving us soon. On Thursday he
opened his eyes and greeted his brother John. When I got there on Friday
morning he was wide awake and when the nurse heard me talking to him, she came
in and asked Tom if he was hungry. Tom asked for ice cream. I told
him that we all had given up on him and explained that as I understood it, if
he chose to live he would be facing some serious surgery with a high risk.
Tom usual dry sense of humor had returned. In his
words: “I have never died before, I don’t know how to do it”.
Tom decided to have the surgeries. He had a baseball sized tumor removed
two days ago. Last night Tom looked pretty rough, but he chose to fight
this thing and we are all hoping for the best.
Live from Here this week is a live show from
The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include “They Might Be
Giants”, Big Thief, Aoife O’Donovan, the cast of Betrayal, Marina
Franklin and DW Gibson. Enjoy the show.
“I have never died before, I don’t know how to do it”.
Tom Hagstrom
November 8th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Monday is Veterans Day. Building a
monument to honor our veterans requires dedication, commitment and a team to
get the job done. It takes an artist willing to spend the time researching,
designing and creating the paintings. It took a committed group of individuals
to share the dream and raise the money. And now the project is complete.
The Veterans Art Monument was
commissioned by the Minnesota State Veterans Memorial Association and consists
of five 8’ X 10’ oil paintings; each paying tribute to the men and women of the
five branches of the U.S. Military: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and
Coast Guard. The paintings are installed in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota
State Veterans Cemetery, located 7 miles north of Little Falls. Outside of the
Committal Hall there are five granite memorial stands with the names of many of
the donors and the veterans that they chose to honor. If you have never been to
the cemetery, you should make a point to visit. The Committal Hall is
open Monday thru Friday, from 8 until 4:30.
Besides being a memorial to our nation’s
military men and women, the paintings are educational tools which will help
citizens and future generations to understand the vital role that the U.S.
Military plays in maintaining our freedom and democracy. You can purchase a 24”
high by 29” wide limited edition print. I bought a copy of the Navy
painting and my coffee buddy paid for the framing. We donated it to the
American Legion in St. Joseph. We added a brass plaque to honor our fathers who
both had served in the Pacific during WWII. If you are interested
in buying one, send me a note.
“Millions of men and women have served. Many were wounded in battle. Many died
to keep us free. The least that we can do is to remember them.” Jack
Peck Veteran
Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast. The
next live show is November 16th.
“If you can do more, you should.”
Robert Redford
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