Thanks to Jackson Knudson, a Universtiy of North Dakota freshman to be; he gave Genie and I a free train ride on the Union Pacific Railroad from Albert Lea to Hope and back. The car we were in was built in 1953. (In 1955, I rode in the same type of car as a Navy enlisted man.) We rode looking ahead. While coming back, rather than turn the train around, we rode backwards. The purpose: train safety education.
The train conductor informed us that we were only going as far as Hope because then, he could announce, “Hope is just ahead.” If we went further, he would have to announce, “We’re beyond Hope.” The train conductor went by the handle of “Sly Fox.”
The train ride brought back memories as a youngster staying at my grandparents farm by Hope. The Rock Island train went by their farm at 90 miles per hour. (The top speed was 49 miles per hour of the train Genie and I were on.) I got to see the Rock Island going through Hope at full speed, and was able to grab a mail bag off a hook for a mail car. This was sorted by two mailmen doing the same thing at each town on their way to the Twin Cities main post office.
There is now a powerful bug zapper for purchase. It has trouble distinguishing bad bugs from good bugs. It is so powerful that low-flying ultra-light flyers are possible targets. Has anyone seen Mark Sorenson of Geneva lately?
With all of the rain and hot weather, there are mushrooms in all the shaded areas here at Beaver Lake. Some are very small, the size of a marble. Some are very big, the size of a basketball. Some are round on top, some are flat. Some are yellowish. Some are orange. Some are white. I’ve been told mushrooms fried are very good just so long as they aren’t poisonous.
In trying to find out the poisonous versus the non-poisonous, I had no luck. ‘Twas then I got the idea of frying in peanut butter a few of those that looked alike and feeding them to a pesky raccoon who raids our bird feeders. If, after a few days, the raccoon did come back, then it was safe for us to eat that variety. Now I had a good plan until Genie mentioned there might be more than one raccoon!
According to “Good Morning America,” there is now a DNA test for dog poop. Get a saliva swab from the suspected dogs and for a fee, and a company will tell whose poop is whose. (They can also do the same thing with humans.)
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 36th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.