My New Favorite Blog

It's such a shame that in all my days chasing around music boys in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I never ran into Bon Iver. He was probably busy hanging out with cool guys while we band geeks were lucky to mix with the "jazzers." 


Perhaps that allows me to like him more from afar, with the new discovery of Boniverotica. The humor blog was dreamt up by a trio of friends Alice Warren-Gregory, Anna Sawyer and Alex Finkel from Boulder, Colorado, and went viral within a couple days of launching. Here's what happens when hipster girls imagine the perfect dude with comedic genius.


Some of my faves:

 "I am out back by the shed, tending to our chickens - Clara and Jack, and little Myron, who is lame. Bon Iver is waiting patiently for my return. While he waits, he is darning my socks."

"Bon Iver is sitting cross-legged on the floor, his brow furrowed. It seems he and the jigsaw puzzle have come to an impasse. We’d bought it secondhand, and the box had been lost, so we were left to guess what shape the pieces would take. We weren’t even sure they were all there. I suggest he take a break for a bit and clear his head. ‘I can’t,’ he says, ‘I need to make something whole today.’"

"Our trip to Eagle River took twice as long as the map said: because Bon Iver begged me to pull over for the apricot stand, the Indian village, the typewriter museum."

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than Feminist Ryan Gosling's Hey Girl Meme. 

Ice Candles

I was lucky enough to spend a day in northern Wisconsin a couple days ago before getting back to St. Paul. I arrived on a rainy afternoon after a warm couple days that were a huge help in getting the lake ready for summer.

My uncle, cousins and I walked out to take in the giant plates of ice drifting in the lake, called candles. My uncle explained that the ice would pick up speed and drift with the wind until it crashed into the shoreline, breaking it up even more as it continues to thaw. This has often led to shore and property damage.

Within minutes, the ice that was 200 feet in front of us had crept towards his own shore line, and we were witness to the unassuming power of the seemingly tranquil lake. The water was so pure you could see all the way to the bottom, and the ice moved so smoothly it was surprising to realize how fast it was traveling. 

I grabbed my camera and caught it on video just at the moment the ice began to crash into itself in a tinkling chorus.

Here's a great explanation on lake ice melt I found at the University of Minnesota website.

That quickly decided for me that I wouldn't be doing a polar bear swim for that trip.

More Trampolining

Want to see a video of me jumping off a trampoline just because?

Too late.

Trampoline Park!

I woke up in St. Paul yesterday after being in New York, but the midwest is no less dull. I'm visiting my cousins, which means lots of fun activities. Like going to the trampoline park!

 It was a first for me. And parents, take note. This is a brilliant idea for any high-energy kids or high-energy friends of kids in your life. Just take them here and let them work it out.

 They have a general jumping area, where accidents are avoided because you are only allowed one person per square (see other rules in the photo below). Pictured above are basketball hoops where you can dunk like magic, as demonstrated by my amazing cousins. Or if you're like me and not athletically inclined, you can stay just as awkward, but with jumping. (Seriously, just because I couldn't even make it into the short hoop should not discourage anyone else from being a basketball genius with trampoline aids.)

 I had much better luck jumping into the big foam pit. It was much more straightforward- just fall in.

The real niche I found for myself which I failed to capture on film was dodgeball. It turns out I'm something of a dodgeball master after avoiding it for years. I teamed up with three of my cousins and we were unstoppable- undefeated for four games in a row. I tried to take it easy on the little kids on the opposing team, but man, it was satisfying to not be the guy taking all the hits like I used to in the old days of elementary school.

Just 30 minutes of jumping for me, and man, was I beat!

A Day in the Park

Photos from a lovely day in Central Park with my beautiful friend from college. Enjoy!

A Strange Feeling

The past few days I woke up early, feeling restless and weird. Uncomfortable.

Yesterday marked one year since I lost one of the incredibles in my life. My lovely aunt died at 68 after a 12 year battle with breast cancer. She was amazing. She touched everyone in her life who crossed her path, right down to strangers in grocery store aisles who became friends by the time they reached the check-out.

I was lucky enough to not only know her, but be enmeshed in her life since I was born. I even lived with her during a time in my troubling high school years when I couldn't exchange greetings with my parents without an altercation. She treated me like a daughter, curfews and all. She is pictured above at my high school senior recital 13 years ago.

For years, I was there when the lumps were present, when they were removed, when they were back but stabilized, when they had spread, but didn't seem to affect her. She was always wildly optimistic and had exceeded doctors expectations every time. She didn't want us to worry, because she always felt fine. So in a way, we didn't.

At the end of the road, I wasn't there. I didn't see the last harrowing months or painful final days. I didn't go to the funeral. At the time, it just wasn't feasible, but thinking about it now, I don't know how I would have coped. I didn't know how to face losing her. Even now, I'm not sure if I did the right thing.

Her life was full, overflowing at times. She was an English and drama teacher, but even busier in her retirement with community involvement, writing, and spending time with her children, grandchildren and hundred closest friends.

A few years ago, I was involved with a fundraiser for Locks of Love and donated my hair in her name. Here are a few words I wrote about her for the benefit.

Two weeks before cutting my hair, my mother and I visited my Aunt Sue.  She answered the door with a naked scalp, grinning despite ongoing chemo treatments as she currently battles with breast cancer.

Her husband had just bought her two synthetic wigs for her birthday – a salt and pepper coif for her grandmother days and a blond bob for when she feels sassy.  She usually wears the blond one.  

“I didn’t need anything fancy,” she said.  Though acrylic, the wigs nested in her office with quiet poise.  They stayed on their respectable Styrofoam mannequins during the rest of my visit and she opted for the beanie I knitted to keep her head warm.

Telling her I would be donating my hair to Locks of Love made her beam with pride.  That look was worth more than four years of snarls and countless bottles of shampoo.  When it was time to finally make the cut, I was more than ready to pass on a foot of my hair to someone who can put it to better use.

We will all experience moments in our lives when we fall ill.  For those fortunate enough to be healthy, it’s up to us to reach out and support each other in times of need.  I am grateful to Locks of Love for providing this opportunity to help so many others.  And to one particular woman in my life whose strength will always inspire me, I donate in your name.  

Sue, we love and miss you every day, but know you're still with us and always will be.