Miracle On Ice - the 40th Anniversary

Saturday was the 40th anniversary of "Miracle on Ice", the unexpected and amazing defeat of the Soviet Union hockey team by the US at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. It was a VERY big deal at the time, and it still is because it was a fairy-tale come true. Those things don't happen often. 

Here's a copy of the cover of "Sports Illustrated" celebrating
the "Miracle on Ice" from 40 years ago on the 22nd of
February. 

The team of 20 kids, many from my homeland, here in the Frozen Northlands, coached by Herb Brooks, also from my state, pulled together and became a team instead of a disparate group. That's what has to happen in team sports - individual goals and backgrounds have to be buried for the greater good. It can work well, but it can also be a problem. 

The full team from 1980 is in this photo, with coaches and
all the players. There were a lot of these boys who went on
from their college and Olympic careers to become professional
hockey players. 

For these boys, their training and their learned responses of trust in their fellow players and in what the Coach was telling them worked. It worked well. They managed to pull out an amazing win that we're all still celebrating today - 40 years after the fact. That's impressive. Keep in mind that the game against the Soviets wasn't the final game, just one of the hardest. The US had won a very difficult game in the prior level against Sweden, and they still had to win over Finland before achieving the Gold Medal. The Soviets were a powerhouse, though, comprised of mostly professional hockey players with lots of international experience. They were the expected winners and the USA managed a true miracle beating them on the ice that day. 

Brian Suter (l) and his son Ryan (r) were both members
of Olympic hockey teams. Brian has had several interviews
over the past week regarding his time with Herb Brooks
and the Miracle on Ice team. 

Training to rely on the person to your left and your right is done for team sports, and also for the military, in family dynamics (both good and bad) and in some jobs where that reliance on others is necessary for success. It can be beneficial, but also constricting. The best thing about the US Olympic team was that it was a team for less than a full year. That allowed the teamwork to develop, but also allowed the team to break apart at the end, remain friends, and bond over an incredible experience. 

So I'm going to continue enjoying the 40th anniversary of a great hockey game, and I'll hope I'm still around when it comes to the 50th anniversary in another ten years. Won't THAT be the celebration - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

An Accomplished Wednesday Despite the Licensing Center

Wednesday was a crazy busy day, but I actually managed to get everything completed, including getting new tab stickers for the next year for DH's car. That's actually a bit more major than you might think. For most of my life, getting new tabs has involved driving to the closest Licensing office of whatever city or county I am in, standing in a short line, and getting in and out within 15-20 minutes. It's not that way in the Frozen Northlands any more and that's created some serious lines and issues. 

The Licensing Center looks pretty tame, doesn't it? But it's a
super busy place. In fact, they just received approval from the
City Council to expand with new building on the grassy pod
to the right. That will double the size of the place. 

The majority of people in the USA haven't had much of an issue changing over from their standard driver's licence to what's called the "enhanced" version. This new style of license allows for airline transportation and identification, and streamlines transportation outside of the USA. It's a security thing *sigh*. My state is one of a few who have had issues instituting the "enhanced" driver's license. It's a software thing and a privacy and identity thing and it's a total mess. 

You would think it would be easy. The basic information is already in the system, all that's required is some software changes and expansions. You wouldn't believe the amount of fighting between the state government and the federal government over the issue of producing driver's licenses that are required for airline transportation. (Check out the article from 2017 here.) The software itself has been an open bucket for millions of state dollars, has caused the firing or replacement of several top level people directly associated with the development of the id, and has created super-long lines at the Licensing Centers because they are using antiquated software instead of more streamlined procedures. 

Since the middle of last year, the lines have been
massive to get new driver's licenses, change auto
registrations and titles, and get new annual tabs
for cars. Waits of up to two hours have been
reported. Not fun! 

I knew that I had to be at the door when they opened at 8:00 am to get in and out quickly. I pulled into the already-full parking lot at 7:45 am and found everyone sitting in their cars waiting for who knows what. I'm used to standing outside doors - I do it every morning at my gym. I got out, started waiting in front of the door, and when the door was unlocked 15 minutes later, I was the first one in, and the line was stretched out behind me with more than 50 people waiting their turns. 

Our new "enhanced" driver's licenses should be available in October. I'm not looking forward to trying to get one. (Additional information in this short article here.) Apparently I'll have to provide my Social Security card (which is probably somewhere in a drawer) and two items proving residency in my home. I've lived in my home since the 1980's, I wonder what they'll consider valid proof. Maybe I should bring them a baby snapping turtle ... 

Hmmm - have a great Thursday. I'm going to plug in some photos and some links for you to check out if you're interested in our small 'tornado in a glass' issue with ID's, and then head out to the pool. I'm really looking forward to my swim. I'm listening to "Wolfsong" while swimming, and reading "Ravensong" on my phone app, and since I adore TJ Klune's writing, I'm a VERY happy person right now. 

Ferns - They Grow Wild Up Here

My husband is a fern whisperer. Where nothing else might grow in our various yards - side, upper, back and front - our ferns grow like wildfire and take over so quickly that they are almost an alien population taking over the earth. I don't know how he does it, but they grow and populate and expand and grow some more. At the height of the summer, they are easily waist high and a solid phalanx against the grass. 

This photo of ostrich ferns could easily be from my yard, but it's not.
They grow abundantly and they can be up to four feet tall. The
photographer, Peter Dzuik, was married to an acquaintance of mine,
and has photographed Minnesota plant life for many years. 

I originally came from a much dryer climate and ferns were exotic mysteries. We would travel to garden centers and carefully purchase hanging baskets of ferns that we would hang in our kitchens or bathrooms or places where we got high sun. We would faithfully water the plants and they would, eventually, grow to drape over the sides of the hanging pots, only to die back and then never come up again. 

Bracken ferns like sandy soils and we certainly have that to
offer. They are a bit more horizontal than the ostrich ferns, which
leads me to think that we have ostrich rather than these. Still,
we could have either. I've not studied our ferns closely enough
to tell for sure. 

The first time I saw a fern in the wild, while DH and I were hiking through one of the state parks up here, I stopped short and couldn't stop looking at the little plant with amazement. DH looked at me like I had lost my mind - perhaps he was right. That's always been in question. He shook his head and proceeded to explain to me that ferns growing wild up here in the Frozen Northlands was normal and expected. I had never lived in a climate that had humidity levels supporting ferns. It was magical. 

Maidenhair ferns are often sold as houseplants because they
drape attractively over the sides of their containers. We get
those growing wild up here too, but I don't have any of them in
my yard or my house. 

I think the yard is populated by either ostrich ferns or bracken ferns, and I'm leaning toward ostrich ferns. These can easily grow to four feet high and that's about right for what we have growing in our upper side yard. Whenever DH wants to cover an area of vacant dirt, he transplants ferns and they take over within a year or two. I'm already seeing the growth of ferns he transplanted into our newly landscaped areas late last year. Soon I'll reside in the middle of a fern ocean. 

The only plant I have living inside of my house is a philodendron. I
nicknamed it the "Immortal Philodendron" because it truly never
dies. We purchased our house late in 1986 and the realtor said
she watered the plant when she remembered, but it wasn't
frequent. I also water it when I remember, I've repotted it once,
and I've never done anything else. The fact that the plant still
lives after more than 30 years of indifferent care astounds me. 

I'm off and running - have to get my swimming in. I think I'll use my "Free Bagel with Cream Cheese" coupon today, pick up my free cupcake on the way to work tomorrow, and have my free pie on Friday morning since Friday is my actual birthday. If I space out the free food a bit, I may not be wearing it all on my hips for long. LOL Happy Wednesday to all and I'll be back tomorrow. I'll leave you with pictures of ferns. 

Outside Dreams

Yesterday's spring snow was weird. The dividing line bisected my city, so that my home got lots of flakes but none sticking, where my shop had enough for my staff to scrape off and brush off their cars at the end of the day, and the southern suburbs actually got three inches or more. It was bizarre, but I didn't mind the fact that I didn't have to shovel. Spring snow is always wet and heavy snow, and I wasn't really in the mood to deal with it.

One of my favorite places to go is the Como Zoo and
Conservatory. This wonderful zoo is still no-charge, but is
extremely popular and well funded through donations. They
are constantly rebuilding and expanding their exhibits. The
polar bears got a new home/exhibit a few years ago. Polar
bears are perfect for our winter weather, but they need the
colder waters for our hot and sticky summers. 

I was out in it, though (between housework and writing), so I thought I'd look for some reminders of things that we can do outdoors when the weather gets nice once more. Here's a quick photo blog for all of you on this Thursday morning.

The other major attraction in Como Park is the
Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. This wonderful
building opened in 1913 and, again,
is no charge to the public. It's many rooms of plants along with
koi fish winding through waterways create a world of delight. 

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is in the far western
suburbs (you drive past Prince's studio to get there - no, it's not
purple). Although the spring is usually sparse since the plants are
just waking up, the summer and the autumn seasons are filled
with color and texture. It's a great place to spend a day with
a camera. 

Nearby, next to the St Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, is the
Gibbs Farm of Pioneer and Dakotah Life. This cool working farm has structures
from the 1800's through early 1900's furnished appropriately. It is a working
farm, so livestock is cared for and there are events throughout the summer.
You can just see the roof-line of a soddy on the left - that's a log structure built
into the prairie soil with a soil roof. It's almost invisible. 

As a final offering today, I present Historic Fort Snelling. Located on
the bluffs overlooking the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi
Rivers, Fort Snelling was built in the early 1820's. It was an active,
staffed fort for more than 120 years, and the Fort Snelling National
Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 180,000 soldiers and
is still actively used today. The restoration of the Fort brought it back
to the appearance it had in the 1820-1830 era. 

If you are interested in additional information on any of these locations, I've embedded links to pages in each caption that you can follow. I'm looking forward to a few seasons without snow so that I can take advantage of my "day off" time and maybe visit a few outdoor places over the summer. Today, it's still too cold, though. Happy Thursday to all! Do you have special places in your city/town that you love to visit? Share with me in your comments. I love to explore.

How Much? Not As Much As I Thought

I was curious, because that's the way I am. Having had the snowstorm earlier this week and now the melt and freeze, I wondered, "How much snow does my city really get, compared to others?" After all, I think we get more cold weather than lots of snow, but I could be wrong. So, I Googled it (because the internet is the 'Holder of All Answers') and found the following. Wow! Saint Paul wasn't even close to number one (Youngstown, Ohio, if you're curious, with 395.1 inches average). Nope - Saint Paul was all the way down at #68 with 46.4 inches, average. If you're curious about where you live or places you've heard about, here's a link to the list of the Top 101 cities with the highest average snowfall in a year (population over 50,000). You can autosort on either ranking or alphabetic city listing.

The plows come out to clear and salt the streets anytime there's at least a inch
of snowfall. It really doesn't take a lot of snow to snarl traffic, especially on
the freeways and in intersections. 

What amuses me is that Denver isn't even on the list. Yet, I've lived through some really nasty snowstorms in Denver that shut the city down completely. Which got me wondering. "Why does a similar snowstorm shut Denver down but not my own city?" It comes down to one thing - we know snow. Denver knows snow as a short, serious and severe pain in the neck. The Twin Cities know snow as something to clear away, move into large piles, and clear the roadways. The plows are out on our streets if there's as little as 1"-2" of snowfall. They are clearing and salting to make transportation safe and efficient. We're a model of Scandinavian/German efficiency, which makes sense when you consider that we were settled by immigrants from those areas of Europe. Snow doesn't phase us, it's an inconvenience.

There's a 28 minute documentary on Swedish Immigration
to Minnesota produced in 2011. Here's the link if you're interested. 

Other cities send teams up to the Twin Cities to learn from us. We, in turn, are always on the look-out for new and better materials to use in our annual battle for traffic supremacy against the lowly snowflake. One of the newer things we are using is cheese brine. Yes, the cast-off products from cheese production are very salty and Minneapolis is using the brine in some of its salt trucks because it's environmentally friendlier than other types of salt for the roadways. The negative is the smell. Apparently it still smells like cheese. I haven't experienced this myself, so can't swear to it. But the morning newscasters have mentioned it when talking about their early morning drives in to work.

Using cheese brine on the roads has been one of the salting methods
used in Wisconsin for a couple of years.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here's a
short NBC News story about the use of cheese brine in our
northern states. 

Looking at other lists on the database, I found the category for Top 101 Cities with the coldest winters. That's where my area shines with six in the top ten (Minneapolis was #20 and Saint Paul was #21). So I'm going to bundle up and head out to the pool. I'll offer you the main link for the Top 101 Cities comparison categories. It's rather fun to see where, or if, your city qualifies for some of the many lists. Happy Friday to all!

One Positive Step-One Step to Go and a Look at Minnesota

Yesterday afternoon the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Freedom to Marry bill to allow same-sex marriages in the state. Now the bill goes on to the Senate where it is expected to pass. I'm not counting on anything until we've achieved true success and the bill is signed into law, but we've taken one more very important step in the right direction.

The first battle is won but the war still rages on. One more
hurdle to pass.

I was on my computer last night sending an email to my Senator and urging him to vote in favor of the bill. I'm not 100% sure when it comes up in the calendar, but the session is winding down so I expect it to be soon. I really want this signed into law before the end of the legislative session this year. I want to be living in a state that acknowledges civil liberties in the manner of our heritage.

Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes. This is one from
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on the border with Canada.

Minnesota has a proud heritage of being at the forefront of liberal ideals and causes. We have had serious movers and shakers coming from the ranks of those who lived in this land of 10,000 lakes. So as I move into a weekend and salute mothers tomorrow, I thought I'd take a little time to celebrate my adoptive state.

I've loved Prince for many years - so talented (and not too
bad looking either).

Famous musicians include LaVerne, Maxene and Patti Andrews (The Andrews Sisters), Bob Dylan, Judy Garland and Prince Rogers Nelson

E G Marshall left a large legacy of film roles behind him.

Actors include E.G. Marshall, William Demarest, Jessica Lange, Jane Russell, Wynona Rider and Kevin Sorbo.

F Scott Fitzgerald - such a pretty boy.

On this weekend of "Gatsby" (new movie) opening in the theatres, authors from Minnesota include F Scott Fitzgerald, Garrison Keillor, Sinclair Lewis, and in a related publication - Charles Schultz of "Peanuts" fame.

Hubert Horatio Humphrey was Vice President under Lyndon Johnson and
ran for President in 1968 where he lost to Richard Nixon.

And of course I can't ignore the politicians - both good and bad from my adoptive state. These include two vice presidents - Hubert Horatio Humphrey and Walter Mondale, an infamous senator Eugene J McCarthy, and a Supreme Court Justice - Warren E Burger.

Walter Mondale was Vice President under Jimmy Carter and ran
for President in 1984, losing to Ronald Reagan.

Are there others? Of course there are. Like any state in the union, we have had our famous and our infamous people and I'm sure there are many that you could add to my small sampling above. In fact, I can think of at least four more actors right now. But like all lists, this must come to an end. Have a wonderful Friday...