Long time no blog

The real estate market in Minnesota would be picking up based on the very small evidence I have. This week two houses were sold by friends who had moved on to different jobs in different states. We are still praying that a few more friends can sell.

I've been thinking a lot lately again about what I want to be when I grow up. It seems that I've never shaken this idea that stories are what really matter. I watch modern America and the world and I wonder if we haven't lost the power of stories. Someone made the point in an article recently that we should take some lessons from the "Left Behind" series even if the theology is tragically flawed. The story brought people in and captured imaginations. Over the course of the past few months I have seen two of my kids devour "Eragon" and other books because they are still captured by the story in print. Not sure what that means, but interested.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick note because I wanted to post this week before Thanksgiving. A lot to be thankful for in recent days. Apparently through no fault or effort of my own I'm raising a "boy genius". We had parent teacher conferences this week and both the girls and the boy are doing really well in school. What's even better to hear as a father is that Cole's teachers really seem to enjoy him as a person.

This week we are headed back to Dickinson for a few days. It's strange to think that three or four years ago we thought we needed at least a week to travel that far and now we are willing to travel seven hours and it is almost a day trip.

Bait and switch

In today's Billings Gazette there was an article stating that Jon Tester did not get the seat on the appropriations committee he was promised. I'm sure somewhere in the fine print of that promise was the word eventually or someday get on the appropriations committee, but that didn't make the headlines when it was promised. It seems like the Democrats succesfully undermined one of Burns main selling points without having to really mean it. Would the Republicans have done the same - absolutely, but it just further shows that their doesn't seem to be a lot of room left for good guys in politics.

Also, it does make a difference. There are things that happen in committee that don't happen anywhere else, and although Max will keep the dollars flowing somebody just turned down the spigot considerably.

Election

If this blog is my practice session for becoming a pundit, today is pretty big mea culpa. I really did think Conrad Burns would win in Montana. Not that I'm a huge fan (though he is the lesser of two evils) I just thought at some point things would swing back that direction.

One of the things that struck me as I listened to rhetoric out here last night was how little was being said. A freshman Senator from Minnesota more or less promised to lower taxes on the middle class, make healthcare affordable, get troops out of Iraq, and make the world safer within five minutes of being elected. Of course, she can't do those things and their is no real plan, but as people we may have gotten to the place where the world is just too complex and the promise of a better way is enough.

I was actually a little disappointed when I went to the polls I didn't know more. In two years when I get the chance to do it again I hope I don't make the same mistake.

Winter coming

Since my last post was a little darker, I thought I'd take a moment today and ramble on about the fact that I don't think you can truly get to know Minnesota, particularly Minnesota natives until their is a little bit of winter in the air. Sure, Minnesota looks like a fun place to live with cool things to do in Minneapolis and all the lakes during the summer - but just wait until the four months of big freeze.

I notice the natives are starting to get a little gleam in their eye. They seem to know that those of us not from here are about to start complaining real complaints about not being able to feel limbs. Don't get me wrong, native Minnesotans complain too, but they seem to do it with a kind of glee, like complaining about having too much fun. Most Minnesota natives are much to passive aggresive to express their real joy that the frozen dark has once again returned to the land - and the rest of us are miserable.