At the ripe age of about 10, I went to my first lutefisk dinner.
I said, “This is my first time,” to the senior citizen in the line behind me.
“Me too,” he said as he confessed the smell had kept us away.
We looked around the room, with butter running down chins, at others chomping on the white, flaky hunks of lutefisk as they sighed with delight. Some were expressing their delight with sighs and utterances of great pleasure.
We got up to the table of food — rutabags, meatballs, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, cole slaw, and right in the middle, white lutefisk . As I was trying to get past the smell, two sturdy old ladies were pushing the senior fellow and I to keep the line moving.
I was in a quandary. Could this white, flaky, lye-soaked fish really taste good? I didn’t want to take too much and leave it on my plate. Yet, if it’s really good, I couldn’t go back for more. I had to taste it, so I put a small piece on my plate and nonchalantly popped it in my mouth.
Wow, the stuff was delicious! I filled my plate with four big pieces of butter-soaked lutefisk, two meatballs and mashed potatoes and headed for the first open seat.
‘Twas then I too had butter running down my chin as I sighed with delight while making utterances of great pleasure. I was most certainly a candidate for the clean-plate award. I even found room for a small helping of red Jell-O for my dessert.
As I left, the senior citizen who was in line behind me smiled and gave me a thumbs-up and said, “Wow, my first time, really good.”
To which I replied, “Why did you wait so long?”
In our peeping trips around Albert Lea, Genie and I think Greenwood Drive was one of the prettiest of the fall. Why? Because of all the red leaves and a red bush on the north end with orange leaves on the south end in front of the Domke residence. By the way, peeping is the mod word for looking at leaves.
How is this for a Saturday afternoon in December to start the Christmas activities? Board a coach bus from in front of Wok-N-Roll in Albert Lea leaving at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. Play Deal or No Deal for prizes on the way to Christmas by the Lake in Clear Lake, Iowa. Get a Convention and Visitors Bureau plastic bag, a Beanie Baby and greeting-card coupons for all on the bus.
In Clear Lake, tour the Christmas activities on main street. At 5 p.m., watch the lighted Christmas parade followed by fireworks on the lake. This can be viewed from the bus. Back to Wok-N-Roll in Albert Lea for a Chinese buffet. Help in singing, “We Wish you a Merry Christmas,” as you depart for your home by 9 p.m.
The cost is $30 per person, age 13 and up, $15 per child through age 12 accompanied by an adult. Reservations are needed with payment in advance.
Contact Bob or Genie Hanson at 373-8655 or Wayne or Bev Indrelie at 826-3267 to make a reservation. Receive $5 cash back per person if the bus is full.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. 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. Bob says if you enjoy his column, 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.