Merry Christmas…In a Box! (The Annual Holiday Rant)

Posted On: December 18, 2017
Comments: No Responses The Amazon Christmas ad running lately features smiling, otherwise faceless boxes travelling from a robo-warehouse to a little girl. It’s a fine ad that no doubt brought prosperous smiles to some ad agency. And that…

Paddling Fearlessly, Hairlessly Into Life

Posted On: September 13, 2016
Comments: 3 Responses “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called Life,” sings Prince in Let’s Go Crazy. That’s familiar: “Get through it…” as I penned in my last post. But I would also…

Why are Danes so Happy?

Posted On: April 11, 2016
Comments: No Responses Last month, the United Nations declared Denmark the happiest country of the 156 they surveyed. For the third time. Since 2012. “Happiness” may be a worn-out word and hard-to-measure commodity. But the UN has cred.…

Closing Kozlak’s: Just Desserts?

Posted On: March 9, 2014
Comments: No Responses To paraphrase the song, everything old is dying again. In this case, it’s a venerable supper club near some swanky suburbs. After a three-generation run—from a family with deep roots in Twin Cities restaurants—Kozlak’s Royal…

Some Favorite (Danish) Things

Posted On: July 5, 2012
Comments: 2 Responses Ten days in a picturesque Danish fishing (and vacationing) village works wonders for the psyche and soul. At some point, I felt a groovy, easy feeling that rarely happens at home amid real world nonsense…

Countdown @ 19: Measured Panic

Posted On: May 17, 2012
Comments: 2 Responses Yee gads!  The BreakAway bus leaves again in just 19 days–this time for 5 weeks in Europe with the whole famn damily of 4.  We are, of course, in a calculated state of denial, which,…

The Annual X-mas Rant

Posted On: December 26, 2010
Comments: No Responses Christmas has come and gone.  Again. Beautiful; we still take a few days to BreakAway from our jobs, routines, and rat race.  With any luck, we even reflect, rest, and renew old ties. But the…

Sabbaticals? No! Stop the Growth!

Posted On: December 15, 2010
Comments: No Responses Why do politicians thrust themselves into worlds that work just fine without them?  Why do Republicans—who claim to favor unintrusive, small government—keep interfering without invitation?  The latest instance is taking place in my home state,…

Doc Abbott’s House Rules

Posted On: July 2, 2010
Comments: No Responses Doc Abbott was the eccentric proprietor of a picturesque promontory on Lake Superior—now owned by several generations of my (wife’s) relatives and called, simply, “The Point.”  His HOUSE RULES, which hang prominently in his original…

Remember the Sabbath?

Posted On: May 22, 2010
Comments: No Responses Remember Sundays? Back in the day, Sundays were a time for sleeping in, singing at church, brunching out, catching a game on TV, sneaking a nap, and enjoying Sunday supper—a peaceful prelude to the busy…