Pat's Blog

  What a wonderful country we live in! For the first time in my life, I negotiated a tax refund from the Feds and the State of Minnesota. I can't tell you thrill. I simply overpaid on my estimated taxes and thus was eligible for the refunds. Pleses join me in a shout out to those who got my refunds back to me within twenty-four hours of E-filing. Hey, what a treat to see the protesters marching through downtown Duluth yesterday. All media was following and filming for the evening news-casts. Suspicions confirmed.....the total protester count....28. That's it, twenty eight bodies made the local news headlines. Next time, the intellectual news folks really need to set down some guidelines......like not pandering to such a miserable turnout of malcontents. Coverage should be limited to those folks who can field a group of say more than 10 percent of our population, which would be about right. Anything less is a joke........the remaining 90 percent of us just don't care. It's wake up time, let's grow up !!!!!!

Just a reminder, the Midwest Polka Palooza starring The Chmielewski Funtime Band and The Frank Bucar band with great singing and dancing, will be held on Sunday April 29th. 2012. At The Shrine Building in Hermantown We will kick it off at 1PM,and rotate bands every hour. If you enjoy The Midwest Polka Party, Saturdays 8-10 AM, please come and show your support---bring a friend or two as well. Many KDAL personalities will be there to teach you how to dance the Hambo,mazurka,waltz,chicken dance, polka, and, the lowdown boogaloo. We will see you there!!! 

This past weekend we were all treated to a real taste of old fashioned Duluth love and hospitality.Were you impressed with the reaction of our so called progressive citizens to a group of eleven individuals excercising their rights under the constitution to assemble and speak out about their beliefs. Perhaps those guarantees should not have applied to those who thought it was their right to assemble and share their message during the holiday spectacular at Bayfront festival park. It was someone else who wrote that Duluth has a lot to learn about the love we need to share. Thikk about your own feelings, and do the right thin. Love wins every time!!

 Today was a wonderful day. Yesterday was also. This blog is only a dream expression of the blogger, and does not represent in any way the management of these broadcast properties or any of it's employees. You may enjoy the author daily between 5AM and 9AM on 610 KDAL AM.

Tuesday is election day. Are you better off than you were say a couple years ago?  Are you happy or overjoyed with the proposed tax increases? Are you concerned with the power weilded by certain special interest groups or PAC'S, in our city who endorse only those who promise to vote the way they are instructed ? If so, you better smile put on your best go to meeting clothes,and cast your vote just like you have for years. Or,....Do you have a slight concern, that you are not better off, that you seem to be in fact losing ground, that you cannot keep up with the demands of every group asking you to support their cause? Whichever it is, you must do whatever you can to send a message to those who want to represent you. So what is your message,citizen? Happy or angry? Some will stay at home and like the huge army of unemployed,and could really care less, because nothing changes for them, except the date they can pick up their next box of food from a food shelf.

This past weekend we decided to get out of town and spend some time along the South Shore. We rented an overnight rustic cabin in Cornicopia. Rustic in that while in came with Color TV, there was no sound. We decided that a fire would be neat, because there was no way the temp would rise above 65. the furnace had been rigged to run only five minutes out of each hour, and the fan ran for the remaining 55. However after pulling up a mattress to the fireplace, we curled up in heavy blankets and with the scent of burning wood just drifted off to a peaceful thirteen hour sleep. There is a lot more to tell about Corni, and I'm convinced that this little spot in the road is the unsung paradise on earth. So many adventures, so much peace and quiet, so much to share about Ehlers General Store, and tne Fish-lipps Bar-Restaurant. I'll tell more later. And what better way to usher in Old Man Winter than to visit the several remaining open apple orchards in Bayfield. At days end we stumbled into Hausers Orchard and Gift Store. We featured Jim Hauser on KDAL prior to the Applefest. All were on their way with closing up the old farm and making plans for a well deserved rest. We were the last visitors on the last day of operation until next Spring. We did splurge a little at TheBayfeld Apple Company, and along with the other goodies and treasures we purchased  a bottle of Hard Apple Cider from The Erickson Orchard shop. This stuff packs a 5% plus alcohol kick, and smells of strong drink rather than the sweet scent of apples. Anyway, once again I suggest you get out of the daily hastle, and get somewhere so you can soak up the goodness of what this North Country has to offer. Why do we wait so often when it's right there to enjoy. Oh, and by the way, you can forget calling the kids from Corni there's no cell service where we were. Almost drove me crazy. What did we do back in the day?

Looks like Bentlyville is progressing right along.

What a delightful weekend!

By now, Autum is at it's height. Next, the passage into Winter.

Please enjoy the simple message of this blog. Have a delightful weekend and make the best use of your time perhaps communing with the little creatures which roam our vaunted woodlands.

Please enjoy these beautiful days of autum. Thank you.

Earlier today, we had an opportunity to drive up to Two Harbors. It was a great day for a drive, but also a chance to listen to the locals talk about their jobs, the type of work they do etc. This has been one rough summer for most of them, because of the statewide furloughs. This downtime meant no work on the state hiways, detours that were poorly marked, a huge hit to the tourist business, and no good words for politicians. The anger is apparent in these folks, and appears to be e reflection of what is happening throughout the country. The whitehouse had better come up with something in the way of a jobs program that makes sense to the average guy on the street or give up making a try for reelection. The anger runs deep, the distrust is for all politicians. The recent concern in the latest plan expressed by the president appears to be nothing more than a call to union members in construstion, building trades,education,teamsters and others, to get out the vote. The people of Two Harbors and the rest of us poor suckers will wait for fourteen months until the next election to exact a ration of reprisal for the inaction and lack of leadership in Washington. Ask Jim Oberstar about reprisal, he knows, but didn't see it coming.