So it goes...

On this Thanksgiving day, this may be the toughest year ever to ponder what to be thankful for. A year filled with wildfires, riots, protests, political upheaval and this horrible virus, to name a few make it seem like we should only be thankful that 2020 is nearly over. But still we push on. I know I am. In my own case, it is the good memories of past happiness that keep me forging ahead, wearing a mask, and trying to stay safe.  Of course Thanksgiving provides some of the best memories to draw from. The time of year when everyone is looking toward Christmas and taking a day off to enjoy a meal with those closest to them. Some of my vivid memories are: 1. The years at the Portland House  where our family split Thanksgiving and Christmas between my aunt Helen's house and ours. As my cousins started marrying and having kids of their own, things got too big and we split up. For the first few years we missed the big extended family, but as we grew in size and numbers, we replaced...

Thanksgiving has always been a little bit of the prologue holiday for me. The warm-up act before the headliner Christmas. The holiday with a dash of a letdown. I remember as a kid, appreciating the fact that we were all together as a family, but when all was said and done, what was the point of a big, delicious meal, if there was no gift exchange afterward. Of course, my thinking was antithetical to what Thanksgiving was all about, namely being thankful for everything. Your family, your house, your school, your government and even the food before you. As a kid, those holidays were always big affairs. Of course everything seems bigger when you're young. A couple of times we held it at my grandmother's community room at the Lexington Apartments on Jefferson Avenue. She had some of the affair catered and for some reason, my wife remembers the chef in charge of cutting the turkey had a missing finger, victim of his own knife skills perhaps. My cousins from White Bear Lake came ...

It was a zillion years ago, but my brothers and I used to have a sort of tradition on Thanksgiving eve. After dinner was over the three or four of us would go out to a local tavern and shoot pool. Sometimes it was the Grand Tavern (aka the old O'Connell's, on Grand Avenue) other times it was the Spot Bar. I also remember one time we ended up at the Highland Tap (aka the Highland Trap) which was a 3.2 joint serving only 3.2% beer and wine. A neighbor guy we'd grown up with was tending bar and thought it was cool to see the Landwehr boys all together. When we got there Paul and Rob would say hi to the locals, with Tom and me just along for the ride. We'd put quarters on the table and in the jukebox and spend a couple hours critiquing each others' shots, as brothers are prone to do. We were usually still in our Thanksgiving clothes, so were looking as spanky as we probably could. And as weird as the tradition sounds, I can remember thinking that I would always re...

Because it's that time of year that we celebrate all things we are thankful for, I would like to run down the list of a multitude of things large and small that I take pause at and consider myself lucky to have. I am thankful for: Not one but two good kids experiencing life in college - away from home. College years are some of the best memories of my life. I am living vicariously through them. Along those lines, I am also thankful for... An empty nest. It was weird for the first few days, then we sort of adapted to the quiet, and now have come to embrace it. CollectiveMKE - my church. We are a house-based church with a focus on acceptance and service. Cool people breaking the mold of conventional church. New jeans. A simple pleasure, one we take for granted in this country. My 95 year old house. It leaks a little and creaks a lot, but it is my haven.  A decent job. Big changes ahead with my boss retiring in January, but still consider myself extremel...

I have admitted several times that I'm not a big fan of winter. I do occasionally cross country ski and have ice fished a half-dozen times, but given my preference, I'll take any other of the seasons. Having said that, I do have to admit that I kind of enjoy this stretch from Thanksgiving until New Years. My son said that its nice because you always seem to have something to celebrate coming up or a break to look forward to. The reasons I enjoy the breaks are many and I'm sure you share a few with me. Extended time with close family . My daughter came home from college on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and left to go back today. I was saying to my wife how good it was to have Sarah around the house, even when she was only sleeping. I miss her so much. At one point her and my son were giggling and messing around to the point of distraction. I turned to my wife and said, "I miss that tittering between them."  Fun with extended family . On Thanksgiving we h...

In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving, I wanted to touch on some things I'm thankful for. 1. My Mother. She continues to amaze me with her strength and love in this, the toughest of years. 2. My Wife. She helps to run a tight (but fun) household. I am extremely blessed to have had her for 21 years (and counting). 3. My Sarah. Her academic talents, huge heart and strong faith are dizzying. I love her wit. 4. My Ben. His free spirit, compassion for others and his love of all things social, are my envy. 5. My brother Tom. I credit him with giving me my sense of humor and my love of all things outdoor. 6. My sister Pat. She's always got my back. She defends and supports me with a mother's furor. 7. My sister Jane. Her love of family and her kids is evident every time she opens her home to us. 8. My brother Rob. For teaching me how to live for and love today and quit worrying about tomorrow. 9. My sister in-law Jane. Her strength, perseverance and smile. W...

Well, another weekend goes in the books. It always goes too fast. We had a good one around here. Friday Donna and I went shoe shopping as a date. Jealous yet? Actually it was Nice to spend some time in a store together. I loathe shopping, but it is much more bearable when I have her along because she helps me pull the trigger on some purchases I would normally wait on (to find a "better deal" that I usually never find.) Saturday the two of us continued our date by going to breakfast at Blues Egg . The only way I can describe it is a gourmet breakfast. I had an omelet stuffed with Cale and sausage and cheese, and their stuffed browns, which are hash browns with a ton of good ingredients mixed in. It was amazing. We also got Monkey Bread which is a sweet roll type thing that is made of little bread ball nugget things. It was good too, but I thought next time we could stand for just the browns and monkey bread. The nice thing about the whole outing was, we took home 1/2 ou...