Back in business

PLEASE NOTE: The permanent new address for this blog is here.  More below about this change….  Now, Forward!

A Political Convention:  Our local Senate District had its convention April 23.  I attended, and my thoughts afterwards can be read here: DFL District Conv Apr 23 2022  (“snip” it was very worthwhile.  Downside, somebody who was there has tested positive for Covid….)

The Blog’s Vacation:  The counter notes this blogpost is #1,795 in a series that is beginning its 14th year.  You may be one of those who have endured them all, since I began in Spring, 2009.  They are all archived, and word-searchable.

They were hosted on an old frame, and there was inadequate memory so finally it said, in the way tech says it, “I quit”.  Of course, I didn’t have a clue, except I couldn’t access the blog to edit or add.  It is sort of like saying I was living in an old house, and it needed major remodeling, and an addition, to accommodate all my junk!

[April 30 update and correction from my web adviser, Jody: Your old site did not run out of memory. It ran out of hard disc space for the database. Memory is how much energy the site uses to access. Hard disc is the literal megabyte space allocated to the site — which you outgrew and we moved it to solve the problem. (Though I am sure something else is amiss)]

So…I had to rename it (not actually, since the words have been part of the blog since the beginning, but because I needed a new Internet address).  It will take time for me to get used to this, but this may be the last change, at least for me.  Thirteen years is a pretty long run, I think, for this kind of venture.

Ukraine:  I noted a short commentary on Jews in Ukraine, and asked one of you who I thought might have some information.  Joyce came through with a very interesting article, which led in turn to curiosity about the “Pale of Settlement“, which I plan to write more about.  Judy sent a recent paper on Jewish history on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range: project_muse_851938-4   While not about Ukraine, the paper on the Iron Range is very pertinent to the conversation.  It is forwarded with permission.

On 82:  Wednesday I’m 82.  That’s sort of a boring number, granted.  On the other hand, my 80th birthday came in 2020 when people were finally waking up to the fact that Covid-19 was a major problem.   My big event was taking a solitary drive and taking a photo of a street sign for 80th street in nearby Cottage Grove.

The last four years have been eventful, to say the least.  Within weeks of my 78th birthday came the surprise diagnosis of a major heart problem.  I came through that.  Then last Fall came the Colon Cancer, and resulting surgery in February.  I came through that, too, and the follow up appointment last Thursday continues positive.  I was Stage 2, it hadn’t spread, and the tentative analysis is that it may not be genetically related to the family.

So, on I go.  The daily schedule includes a 2 1/2 mile walk.   I think it was Satchel Paige who said, memorably, “don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.”

My first photo in this new blog is of that street sign.  A fellow saw me taking the picture, and thought I was up to no good.   I told him about the impending birthday, and that ended the conversation.

I remember my friend, Les, who 22 years ago said that the 70s were really good years, and they had been.  This was in 2000.  I was 60; four months earlier, on my 60th birthday, we had been at Auschwitz.  Les died in 2003, not quite making 80….  On the road of life, for all of us, there are ups, downs and reminders that our lives are temporary.

I still think “The Station” is the best commentary on life.  Here it is, again: The Station001

80th and Kimbro Ln Cottage Grove MN May 2, 2020

I will try not to wear out my welcome.  Have a great day.

7 replies
  1. James Knauss
    James Knauss says:

    Happy Birthday Dick! I also turned an unremarkable 82 about 4-weeks ago. Also survived colon cancer about 8 years ago. Still going strong. Thanks for all your posts.

    Reply
    • dickbernard
      dickbernard says:

      sure nuff – that was a LONNNNNGGGGG time ago! 64 years. For me, frankly, it beat hauling wheelbarrows of dirt at the construction site for the new church down the block. But once there, I went straight on through. It was a great experience for a kid whose high school class was 8 students.

      Reply
  2. carole lewis anderson
    carole lewis anderson says:

    Happy birthday! It just keeps being more and more adventurous, even if the body tires more easily.

    Reply

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