Goofy football halftime shows & riding a ship to the end of the earth ....

Who in the world comes up with this stuff?

Sunday was a day for me to clear my head. I read two articles in "Shooting Times" and one in "The Atlantic." I completed clearing my deck of old snow, and sat outside there for a long time with a cup of coffee. I watched downhill ski racing on television for a bit, and kept the set on so I could periodically glance at the so-called "Pro Bowl" while I browsed through a few early editions of "Norwegian-American Studies (and Records)" that I acquired last month.

I watched part of what I think could have been the most idiotic halftime show in the history of football halftime shows. The television was on mute. When I saw what was going on, I left the television on mute.

On stage, apparently singing (mute, remember) were a woman who looked like a stripper and a man just stepped out of the "hood." Surrounding them were dozens of women doing a hula-type dance, dozens of men doing a Hawaiian war dance and still other women prancing around in a go-go dance fashion. Some people were swirling kite-like things in the air above the "confusion of dancers." I'm not certain, but I think my mouth was hanging open as I watched. Maybe all halftime shows are that bad, and I just wasn't aware of it. (Who ever watches them, anyway?) I wonder if the people who come up with such goofy stuff moonlight as members of Congress.

Other than that .... well, my head still needs more time and sunshine before I dare to run the maze ....

There's a full moon out tonight. Under one like it, I once rode a ship ....

Here's a full-moon story: (Remember, all my stories are true stories.)

One night, well after dark, I went up onto the deck of ship I "just happened" to be aboard. The moon was full, and the sky was cloudless. I crossed over to the prow, slipped under the guard chain and seated myself so I was straddling the very tip of the ship -- one leg starboard, one leg port, as a sailor might say. There, I rode the ship.

The ship was moving at 15 to 20 knots, virtually slicing the water, which flared and flew away with florescent wings. It was possible to hear the water being torn apart. I lit a cigarette, my eyes looking down at the ocean to where the ship cut through the water. Then, after a few moments, I looked up at the shining moon. Then looked down again. Then looked up again. Music was being piped over the ship's speaker system. The sound of the music was strong and clear. A song by ABBA began to play. "Knowing Me, Knowing You." The moments became transcendental. As the song concluded, I finished the cigarette, dismounted my steed and returned below deck.

I have seen the full moon any number of times since that night, have smoked cigarettes, have heard "Knowing Me, Knowing You." But, I have never since sat on the prow of a ship slicing its way through the "wine dark sea" on its way to the end of the earth.

Music Note: Currently listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd ....
Specifically, "(pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd)" ....
(Can never get enough of "Free Bird")

Guns & Norwegian liquor

Sunday was a good day, at least in terms of the way I measure them. I drove 250 miles to go to a gun show. Then, I drove 250 miles to return home, having spent only about $50 to purchase an old, new magazine (clip, to the uninitiated) for one of my pistols. I like to have at least two magazines per pistol, and it is not always easy to find spares for some older models. I doubt I would have made today's trip a few months ago when the price of gasoline was ranging around $4.00 per gallon. A man must always be practical ....

This weekend, I also was able to obtain Volumes 1 – 10 of the Norwegian-American Studies series, and at a reasonable price. Published by the Norwegian-American Historical Society, these first ten books were produced between 1926 and 1938. As you might imagine, there aren't a great many of these older publications floating around. I've been working at acquiring the entire series (35 volumes) for four or five years now, so I consider myself fortunate to run across so many being sold as a unit. This acquisition will take care of my reading needs for a (brief) while ....

Just to offer a taste of the Norwegian-American Studies series and maybe to drive you up a wall, here are some of the essays/papers contained in Volume I:

-- Health Conditions and the Practice of Medicine Among the Early Norwegian Settlers, 1825-1865 by Knut Gjerset and Ludvig Hektoen

-- The Norwegian Quakers of 1825 by Henry J. Cadbury

-- Norwegians in the West in 1844: A Contemporary Account by Johan R. Reiersen and translated and edited by Theodore C. Blegen

-- An Emigrant Voyage in the Fifties (that is as in the 1850s) by H. Cock-Jensen and translated by Karen Larsen

-- Reminiscences of a Pioneer Editor by Carl Fredrik Solberg and edited by Albert O. Barton

Sound exciting? It is if you want it to be. All right, time to move along. Today, we will just wander the country of snow and cold, and skip San Francisco. It's time for a bite of lutefisk (think fjord) and sauer kraut (to satisfy the other part of my being), the taste buds first taunted by a bolt (or two) of icy Aquavit .... and, maybe later, a bit of room-temperature Bache-Gabrielson .... life truly can be sweet ....

Music Note: Currently listening to Neil Young .... fantastic stuff ....