The Agony of Defeat

Chicago Cub fans have long been the poster children for the suffering sports fan. The Cubs won the 1907 World Series and repeated in 1908. They were looking like a dynasty with Three Finger Brown and the double-play combination of Tinker to Evers to Chance, immortalized by a Franklin Adams poem.  Actually, that infield was no better than any other but the 2-2-1 syllable mix rolls off the tongue and fits the poem's need. And Harry Steinfeldt became a trivia answer. Then, placed under "The Curse of the Billy Goat" by a fan ejected from Wrigley Field when he brought his pet goat to the stadium, the Cubs proceeded to lose 7 World Series over the course of 108 years, finally breaking the curse with a World Series win in 2016. Ironically, they defeated the Cleveland Indians who had last won in 1948. They are still waiting.

The Red Sox, a close second in woe to the Cubs, were the most successful team in the early years of the World Series play, winning 5 times between 1903 and 1918. But in 1919, the Red Sox sold the Babe to the Yankees and as a result played thereafter under the "Curse of the Bambino".  Ted Williams, perhaps the best hitter in baseball history, never got a ring. The curse was finally broken after 86 years in 2004, the Sox avenging their 1946 and 1967 losses to the Cardinals. To make matters worse, the fans were punished with agonizing season ending losses. Think Enos F Slaughter, Bucky F Dent and Billy F Buckner.

So who's next in line for the pity party. 

I would argue it's the Minnesota Sports Fan. We are rarely surprised  by joy. It would be nice to be on the front end of the Wide World of Sports slogan occasionally. 

Metropolitan Stadium

I am old enough to remember when the Washington Senators moved  in 1961 to Minnesota and Metropolitan Stadium with vaunted pinch hitter Elmer Valo and a bunch of other over-the-hill players. Met Stadium, built in Bloomington in 1956 had housed the Minneapolis Millers Triple A team, a farm team of the NY Giants. It looked like a steel mill. A deal was almost made to lure the Giants to Minnesota, but San Francisco offered a sweeter deal and we ended up with the lowly Senators. But with the coming of Killebrew, Allison, Oliva, Battey, Versailles, Kaat and Pascual, we witnessed a World Series in 1965.  

Unfortunately, the other side had Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale.

1961 was also the inaugural season for Minnesota Vikings in that same Met Stadium, a season highlighted by a scrambling Fran Tarkenton engineered victory over the Chicago Bears in their inaugural game, however finishing out at 3-11. Bud Grant coached this team to 4 Super Bowls in the 70's, sadly finishing second in all four. And nothing but dashed hopes since then.

Hubert Humphrey Metrodome

In 1982, the Twins & Vikings moved downtown to the horrendous Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome, perhaps the worst baseball venue ever built - and not much better for football. But, finally, in 2010 the Twins got their own ballpark again, Target Field, still downtown but tucked into the Warehouse District, perhaps the finest fan-friendly ballpark in the majors.

Target Field

US Bank Stadium

The Vikings, of course, could not be slighted, so we tore down the Metrodome and put up a new Vikings stadium, a monument to Ziggy - US Bank Stadium - praised to the moon by football aficionados as the ultimate football palace. The Vikings had to play in the (new) Minnesota Gopher's TCF/Huntington Bank Stadium) for a couple years while construction went on. But the palatial digs have not improved outcomes.

Huntington Bank Stadium

Met Center

I can also remember when the NHL expanded to Minnesota in 1967 with the Minnesota North Stars and the new Met Center built in the Twins parking lot to house them. It looked to me like a Greek Temple compared to the Met. Minnesota legend Glenn Sonmor coached North Stars to second place in the Stanley Cup finals of 1981and they had the same runner-up result in 1991. Nothing since. 

The North Stars were spirted away to Dallas by Norm Green in 1993. Never liked that guy. And ..  Dallas Stars - really?

Xcel Energy Center

But we did get the Minnesota Wild in 1997 - and another new arena, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.  But 3 years without NHL - in Minnesota?  Someone should be fired. But on the other hand the Wild haven’t had a Stanley Cup sniff in 27 years,

Target Center

The NBA expanded to include the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989 and their spanking new Target Center Arena - of late declared antiquated I hear. Another build it or I will leave situation I suspect. I also remember the ABA Pipers and the Muskies.  TWolves - 35 years - no titles.

Allianz Field

And the Kicks, Thunder and now Loons in soccer now in the spanking new Allianz Field. No titles.

And, at last, it is with great appreciation, and a joy to be a fan, I welcome women's pro-sports, the Lynx in 1998 and the Frost in 2024.  Our great success stories. We've expended a good deal of coin on stadiums over the years, but at least the addition of women's pro teams was with no stadium construction costs - the Lynx and Frost are willing to play in previously men-only venues. (See Target Center & Xcel Energy Center above)

So, I submit that Minnesota sports franchises have offered the most agony of defeat to their fans of any city, surpassed only by the aforementioned Cubs & Sox folks. (Cleveland may file a protest)

To wit, here's our return on investment: 

• Minnesota Vikings.  In 63 years, 4 Super Bowl appearances, all in the 70's,  all losses, the last 47 years ago. 
• Minnesota North Stars / Minnesota Wild.  In 57 years, advancing to the Stanley Cup finals twice. Lost both.
• Minnesota Timberwolves.  In 35 years, never a NBA finals appearance.  For those old enough, you will remember Minneapolis had a dominant NBA team, the Minneapolis Lakers in the 40's & 50's, winning 5 titles before Bob Short moved them to LA in 1960. (Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers - did you think a LA team would get a nickname like "Lakers" if it weren't inherited?) The Minneapolis Lakers had no arena of their own, rather played in the Minneapolis Armory and Minneapolis Convention Center bandboxes which probably made a move inevitable
• Minnesota Twins. In 63 years, 2 World Series rings. The last 33 years ago. And before that, as the Washington Senators, 1 World series win in 58 years, acquiring the moniker "First in war, first in peace and last in the American League."
• Minnesota Kicks / Thunder / Loons. Nada.  However, we did get another stadium built. Allianz Field.

But .. all this woe has been somewhat mitigated by great successes from the women's teams.

• Minnesota Lynx.  Our greatest success story ... 8 WNBA finals appearances and 4 titles in 25 years
• Minnesota Frost.  PWHL championship in the first season of the league's existence

Just for the record, here are the stadium outlays over the years:

You should check my math, but that's approximately $2.5 billion worth of stadium over the years.  Costs a lot not to be a cold Omaha. 

You of course realize that investing too much of your emotional capital in your favorite sports team is a prescription for unhappiness. So enjoy the game for the entertainment that it is. There are 30 MLB teams, 32 NBA teams, 32 NFL teams and  32 NHL teams. All but 1 in each league will be disappointed losers each year. All things being equal - which they are not - you have a 3% chance for the thrill of victory. It is only a game after all.  And, please, please avoid the lure of Fanduel et al which offers you a 100% chance of woe, not just emotional.

... I didn't get to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers saga. Perhaps we save that for another day.

Have you ever wondered why all our teams are Minnesota <this or that>?  Me neither.

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

How Can I Keep From Singing

My life flows on in endless song,

above earth’s lamentation.

I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn

that hails a new creation.

                                                           Robert Lowry

Most of my writings about myself hearken back to my childhood days in Lowry.  But life after Lowry started when I went off to college in the turbulent late 60's, a time familiar to some of you with still functioning long term memories. I matriculated into Augsburg with the optimism of the typical 18 year old and envisioned a direct, unhindered path to my life's goals - as if I had those figured out. But, as everyone discovers, life’s actual path is steeped in twists and turns.

In 1965, Augsburg tuition, room & board was $1600/year. Perhaps due to multiple family alumni, Augsburg granted me a $400/year scholarship, which if you can do the math, left a $1200/year gap.  

My folks would cover the gap, but I felt duty bound to contribute. Luckily, I was able to work for my father in his plumbing, heating & electrical business during the summer. I was paid minimum wage, $1.25/hr, substantially more than I was worth. After tax take home was roughly $200/month. As I was living at home my expenses were mostly stamps for letters to my beloved who went off to the west coast.  But the 3 months summer work still left a $600 gap.

I did some part-time "roadie crew" work with the college event setup crew, which didn't earn enough to cover the debt, so the next summer I took a job with Continental Baking Company, pedaling my bike to downtown Mpls and assembly-line production of Hostess products - twinkies, cupcakes, snowballs ...  [Be forwarned: If have any intent to ever again eat a Hostess product, refrain from reading that post.]   I doubled my previous summer earnings but expenses whittled it back to zero financial gain.  

The next year, sick of the greasy duds and slimy shoes from that assembly line bakery, I took a job in the Fairview Hospital laundry, walking distance from Augsburg.  [Read that account it you are ever tempted to drop out of school]

Upon my graduation, we moved to the farm for the summer (to be clear, we were married by then) and I had decided grad school was the next step on the journey, so in the fall we went off to Bozeman, Montana. Of course, that reopened the funding gap. I was able to get a standard slave labor grad student teaching assistant position that covered books & tuition and a little coffee money. Carol went to work for the local ophthalmologist, so we managed to live frugally but debt free. 

After spring quarter, I couldn't get classes I needed during that first summer, so I took a 3 month job with the MSU's Plant & Soil Science Department. [Read Last Bus to Conrad for the story of that fiasco.]  That helped a bit with the expenses but the birth of our son put us back on the brink. 

Finally, advanced degree in hand I sat back and awaited the teaching offers from colleges to roll in. And waited, and waited ...  Perhaps from desperation but also from curiosity and a yen for adventure, we took a teaching job in Hamburg, West Germany. [Read about this adventure in  Brain Drain.]  Advice: you should only do such things when you are young, foolish and feeling invincible.

A year teaching in Hamburg convinced me to continue to teach, preferably auf Englisch, so back to the USA and another income-expense gap to manage. First for coursework at U of M, Morris to get Minnesota teacher certification. [Read Thistledew story.]  And then 7 years before a chalkboard (a story for another time) before a move to the software world for 35 years with Control Data; Honeywell; 2 startups - the 2nd acquired by PTC. [Read about the backend of those stints in A Tale of Two Startups.]  

I have now been retired for roughly 10 years and as a wise man said, 'He has had a happy life - which doesn't make for good stories.  What better way to reflect on gratitude than a hymn by a man named Lowry.  

As ear worms go, this one isn't bad.

1. Through all the tumult and the strife,
   I hear that music ringing;
   It finds an echo in my soul—
   How can I keep from singing?

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

Last Bus to Conrad

MSU

When I was a grad student at Montana State University and unable to get classes I needed in the summer session, I took a summer job with the school's Plant & Soil Science Department. The department was researching different varieties of winter wheat to see which best tolerated the Montana winters. Small plots of different varieties of wheat were planted and harvested and the kernels from each head of harvested wheat were rolled out by hand. The number of kernels were counted and carefully recorded to get the precise yield down to the kernel. 

Gallatin Valley

Most of the wheat plots were in Bozeman's Gallatin Valley, but one was near Conrad, north of Great Falls, near the Canadian border. Due to my maturity! i.e. married, I was the student hire chosen to accompany one of the professors on the 2 day trip to harvest that crop. 

The harvesting was done 'by hand' with the aid of small mini-reaper similar to the one the one pictured - only think smaller, more antique, a non-OSHA, finger hazardous, walk-behind version which required a 2nd person to walk alongside to bundle the cut stalks of wheat. Sort of an overgrown garden tiller with exposed flashing blades and a catch basket.

We left Bozeman in the early morning and arrived in the Conrad region in the afternoon and went to work. We had gathered several dozen bundles and I thought it likely we could finish and head back the same day.  But, when nearly done, for some reason, the prof decided we would should pack up and come back in the morning to finish and then head back to Bozeman. My argument to finish up was rebuffed. 

Conrad

Turns out the prof was an alcoholic so when we got back to Conrad and a hotel, we checked in and he disappeared. The next morning early, I had breakfast and was waiting in the lobby for him to come down. And waiting … No response to a knock at his room, so I became suspicious. I went searching the few Conrad "eating" establishments looking for him and eventually wandered back to the hotel lobby where he suddenly appeared, tumbling down the stairs, landing on his head, opening a gash in his skull. I managed to get the truck keys from him, load him into the passenger seat, got directions to the hospital where he was admitted for stitches and a concussion. The nurse asked if he had been drinking. Frustrated, I replied: "Does a chicken have lips?". 

I called the MSU department head and explained the situation and that he had a drunken prof in his employ - something he already knew but had neglected to clue me into. He said he would call the hospital and talk to his family. He asked that I retrieve the wheat that we had harvested and drive the 250 miles back to Bozeman. By now it was mid-afternoon. My predicament. Where the H was that wheat plot? I think it must have been divine guidance as I somehow managed to find that plot out in the Montana prairie. I decided harvesting the remaining wheat by myself was hopeless and so I made the executive decision that there were enough bundles for valid results - so I left the small amount of unharvested wheat for the crows. Getting the reaper, a heavy, cumbersome contraption, loaded into the pickup bed was the next challenge. But I finally managed to get the machine and the wheat bundles all loaded and tarped. I then faced another predicament. Where is the road home? i.e. where the H was Interstate #15?  I decided to just to just drive south on country roads, look for blue signs and hope for the best.  No cell phones or GPS of course.

I arrived back in Bozeman in the deep dark, exhausted, wishing I still had my old undergrad Twinkie harvesting job.  

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

I May Be Obsolete

At one time in this country, in the age of James J. Hill and the Great Northern & Northern Pacific westward expansion, railroads were a dominant industry, but their prominence faltered over time, I believe, because they defined themselves as "railroads" rather than "transportation companies", or even "land development companies". Railroads did not decline because the a need for passenger and freight transportation disappeared. Given a willingness to adapt and diversify, today you could be flying "Northern Pacific Airlines".  

When I was in college, preparing for that physics 101 class, a big decision was "Post" or "Pickett".  If you know what that's about, you are an old nerd. But if these companies had defined themselves to be in the "calculation" business, you might know who they are today.  

 

Sears & Roebuck had everything in place to become what Amazon is today. Warehouses, merchandise catalogs and distribution systems ready to migrate online. Why didn’t it happen? Complacency and unwillingness to change the business model, under the foolish assumption that continued success was assured and no competitor could possibly supplant the mighty mail-order behemoth. Well, we know how that turned out.

Change is hard. It’s far easier to keep doing things the way we always have. But the risk is to be left behind. Nothing is as constant as change.

In my lifetime I have said goodbye to: the red hymnal; collect calls; typewriters; coke bottle lenses; cameras; checks & cash (mostly); The Jolly Troll; vinyl & CDs (mostly); printed newspapers & magazines (mostly); Pong; telephone operators; hand-written letters (I mourn this); gas station attendants; human helplines; the Limbo; shyness; encyclopedias; my gallbladder; paper tickets, bills, receipts (most anything paper); airplane meals; outhouses; suits, wingtips & bow ties; hitchhiking; my baseball cards; Super Bowl hopes; my pitching arm; loved ones; TV dinners; cursive; plumbing repair attempts; my left cochlear nerve; 15 cars, a couple trucks and two houses; walking outside in Minnesota winter; riding in the back of pickups; downhill skiing; ladders; …. and (I hope) passwords and chargers will soon join that list. 

So, what’s ahead? Companies now disappear regularly. In particular, retail and restaurant chains are dropping like flies. Soon, I suspect the Mall of America will be the only surviving mall in MN and perhaps its future is an Amazon warehouse. 

What are the next casualties: Postal service? Programmers? Fiji? Miami? Stockbrokers? Radiologists? Empathy? Car steering wheels? Land lines? Printed books? Keys? Movie theaters? Credit cards? Cancer? Hard drives? The Middle Class? Cable companies? Social Security? Bowling alleys? Umpires? Privacy? Rule of Law? Most anything you can imagine AI or a robot doing? Dental drills? (I pray); 

And finally, on honest reflection, I think that me myself might be a prime candidate for the dustbin. I struggle to identify what value my declining skillset offers. Software - my Fortran/Cobol/Pascal/C++/Smalltalk/java programming abilities cannot compete with AI. Software Manager - is the SCRUM fad still in vogue? Software Architecture - anyone still on board with the GangOfFour? Math tutor anyone? Lowry niche historian? A tour guide of Twin City bike trails - in slow-mo? Cousin whisperer? Book reviewer? On-demand listener - no therapy included? A one-man medical experience advice panel? Genealogy enlightener & guide dog? Pundit wannabe? German math whiz? Household tech support analyst? Baseball nerd? Baked goods quality control engineer? Being quiet in the library?

Nothing there that isn’t yawn material, unfortunately. But I can still do a good day’s work as long as it doesn’t require too much strength or stamina .. and on condition I'm allowed a full week to do it. For the record, the list of 'able to do’s' grows shorter daily and the 'able to do well' list is now quite a short.

Ah, but there is this.

I still maintain a well developed sarcasm sense but it’s under-appreciated. 

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

Deep Thoughts Vol 8

Then they came for ... the Lutherans.

Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing.

I am always happy to see something medical in the crossword clues. Chances are I've experienced it.

I find myself rooting for Ukraine, Panama, Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Mexico.

On subjects about which there is nothing to say, it is wisest to say that.  Ludwig Wittgenstein

If you are voting against something, you should really understand what you are voting for as well.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.      Yogi

You can trap wasps in a jar without a lid because they don't look up.  Look up once in awhile.

Mitch McConnell is a little late to the show.

Most people would not argue too much against “cutting government spending”. But suppose the question was phrased as .. do you support “denying an elderly woman access to oxygen” or “letting half a billion dollars in food aid spoil” or “eviscerating spending that aids cancer research"?

I'm guessing each of you know at least one person who has been laid off recently without justification.

The Human Genome Project was funded by the Department of Energy's Health and Environmental Research partnered with the National Institute of Health, sequencing and mapping of the genes of human DNA and leading to endless medical advances.  Probably couldn't happen today.

The only way anyone can afford a house these days is to have bought it 20 years ago.

Think about this. Princeton and Yale began admitting women in 1969 with Brown University following in 1971 and Dartmouth in 1972. The lone Ivy holdout, Columbia University, did not admit women until 1983. 

He has had a happy life, the kind that doesn't make for an interesting story.                          Colum McCann, Author

Staying in is the new going out.

Have the Twins ever had a more fragile ballplayer than Royce Lewis? Bring back Doc Lentz.

We are now in an age where legislators bring bills to the floor with no expectation of passage or working in the public interest, but simply to score political points.

So of course I have to say something about eggs.  I like them over easy.

The proposal to evict Palestinians and turn Gaza into a resort area to rival the Riviera smacks of cruelty wrapped in thinly disguised self interest.

What do you suppose people who were alive B.C.E were thinking as each year got closer and closer to zero?

Maybe if there had been a Tesla in the Capitol Rotunda on Jan 6, there might have been more outrage.

Vaccines have eradicated or dramatically reduced numerous infectious diseases and saved millions of lives.  Polio, smallpox, tetanus, mumps, malaria, whooping cough, diphtheria ...  Measles & Rubella ... oops.

Here's the key to a successful diet.  If it tastes good, spit it out.

Saying no is OK. In fact it is at times necessary for your mental health. So have the courage to beg off. I once told someone, sorry there's a Gomer Pyle episode I don't want to miss.  But try not to be a jerk like me with your excuses.

When you start a trade war, what actually are you fighting for? And what does winning mean?

Minnesota High School hockey and basketball tournaments cause blizzards in alternate years.

The sound of IRAs crashing is not restful. The "Magnificent Seven" (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla) have shed nearly $3 trillion since their December '24 highs (Mar '25)

This should get your hackles up. Pure pettiness. The DOD has removed a web page dedicated to Pfc Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian and one of the 6 marines photographed raising the flag over Iwo Jima's Mt. Surabachi, all part of this administration's effort to erase any and all references to diversity in our history.  (This is just one of many removed pages devoted to minority service members, including Jackie Robinson-since restored)

A good poem can make your eyes water.

Make this your mantra. Between deep breathes. "Thank you, Lord, for this good life and make me aware of the needs of others."  

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

God Is Not Neutral

When I hear of someone who says God has directed their path, I am at the same time envious and skeptical. I am suspicious that the voice they are following is inside out rather than outside in. But these things are way beyond my understanding and I do not doubt the existence of spiritual gifts.

I will not claim a message from God for what follows, however, the Christianity of my heritage has taught me that compassion for the  least among us, the poor, the homeless, the persecuted, the refugee, tending to those lacking the basic needs to survive is fundamental to being a Christian. God stands for justice and compassion and against cruelty. 

Perhaps you believe the deluge of executive orders from Washington has nothing to do with you or your life. I suggest that both on a personal level and a compassionate moral level, you would be wrong.  I offer up a number of examples. Weigh in.  Vote Yea/Nay, approve/disapprove.  But as you decide, consider this. Imagine that God had the deciding vote when these proposals come to the floor. How would He vote?  

Here's a few guidelines to help you.

• Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  Matthew 25:40
• Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.  Proverbs 14:31
• So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Romans 14:12

Here's your ballot.

{Yea/Nay} 1. Gut Medicaid ($880M) impacting hospitals where the poorest 24% of the country and 2/3 of nursing home residents get their health care. Add to that cuts to SNAP (food stamps, $230B), Head Start & Meals on Wheels. Reference: AJMC

{Yea/Nay} 2. Layoff up to half of Social Security's 57,000 employees. Social Security administrator Martin O’Malley warned: “Social Security is being driven to a total system collapse.” Reference: NPR 

{Yea/Nay} 3. Massively cut NIH research funding to universities across the country as well as labs of Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and others .. derailing cancer, cardiovascular, neuroscience research - to highlight but a few. Gut the CDC … and fire those fighting the bird flu contagion.  Reference: NBC

{Yea/Nay} 4. Eliminate USAID which provides humanitarian aid - food supplies, vaccines, medical treatment to the most desperate people and allow food deliveries to rot on ships. Reference: NBC

{Yea/Nay} 5. Fire the top 6 military leaders including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and replace them with sycophants. Reference: NPR

{Yea/Nay} 6.  Cut veterans benefits and VA Medical Centers. Reference: NBC

{Yea/Nay} 7.  Incarcerate migrants in a 30,000-bed detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Reference: Immigration Impact

{Yea/Nay} 8. Side with Russia at the UN and threatened to abandon Ukraine unless Ukraine agrees to deliver extortion level $500B in rare earth minerals. Reference: BBC

{Yea/Nay} 9. Eliminate support for Climate Change mitigations. Reference: Sabin Center

{Yea/Nay}. 10. Forbid all diversity and equality efforts, defining them as discrimination against whites. Reference: Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

{Yea/Nay} 11. Give tax cuts to the wealthy while raising taxes on the poor and middle class and increasing the deficit by at least $4.6T  Reference: CBPP 

{Yea/Nay} 12. Layoff tens of thousands of federal workers from USAID, DOD, DOJ, Homeland Security, FEMA, NOAA, Consumer Protection, Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Health & Human Services, Department of Interior, Small Business Administration, Rural Development, Rural heath initiatives, Rural airport funding and EPA by 65%, an agency that delivers health benefits that outweigh its costs, authors say, by more than 30 to 1. Reference: ABCNews

{Yea/Nay} 13. Eliminate the Department of Education and the education grants it administers along with its support for disabled students and fighting discrimination against them.  Reference: NBC  

{Yea/Nay} 14.  Pardon Jan 6 insurrectionists including Proud Boys, Oath Keeper leaders along with convicted criminals such as the 6 who nearly beat an officer to death and an operative of Silk Road, a dark web marketplace for illegal narcotics and weapons.  Reference: ProPublica  

{Yea/Nay} 15. Layoff National Park employees, wildfire fighters, ... Reference: KGNU  

{Yea/Nay} 16. Institute 25% tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada that will cost families an estimated $1700 per year and negatively impact farm income - and likely slow the economy and affect Wall Street. Reference: APNews  

{Yea/Nay} 17. Take away the power of the purse from Congress and give it to the unelected world's richest man.   Reference: APNews  

{Yea/Nay} 18.  Slash the independent Postal Service and move it to the Department of Commerce which would then put vote by mail under the control of the President. Reference: Democracy Docket

{Yea/Nay} 19. Cut the IRS by 50% because we can save money by not collecting taxes or auditing. Reference: CNN

{Yea/Nay} 20. Let's just ignore any cyber threat from Russia.  Reference: NBCNews

{Yea/Nay} 21. Halt all aid to Ukraine.  Reference: ABCNews 

OK, tally your votes:   ____ in favor.  ____ opposed.  

Consider it your credit score when you face Saint Peter.

Full Disclosure.  My ballot:  0 Yea.   21 Nay.

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

Quaking in Our Boots

We Minnesotans tend to be pretty smug about the safe, sheltered, inland surrounds we call home.  Oh, we have our freezing temps, wicked blizzards and an occasional tornado, but no hurricanes, wildfires, landslides, volcanos, mudslides,  floods (rarely), locusts, or earthquakes.  

Oops, earthquakes.

On a July 1975 morning, I was working at Hoplin & Nelson Hardware in Lowry, Minnesota, when the floor started quivering and shelves rattling. What the heck? Alas, an earthquake, lasting several seconds, a 4.6 on the Richter Scale, which of course is peanuts compared to the 6's & 7's California experiences. (Remember, each 1 point increment in the scale represents a 10x increase in intensity). But the "Morris Quake" as it became called, was the strongest quake ever recorded in Minnesota. The epicenter of the quake was in Steven's County, near Morris, about 25 miles from Lowry. In Stevens County, plaster cracked and pictures fell off walls. In the town of Morris, two homes suffered damage to their foundations. In Lowry, the hardware store lost some depression glassware. So bravely, in the face of death, I picked up a broom. Actually, nobody died and few were injured. An A&W manager in Morris got some notoriety after the seismograph he built out of a coffee can, an erector set and a cheap pen was the only one to capture the Morris quake.

Turns out Minnesota does indeed have a fault line in it, the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone, stretching from Big Stone and Traverse Counties on the Dakota border to Duluth. but seismic activity in Minnesota is extremely rare. Only 20 moderate quakes have been documented since the Civil War. Alexandria had a 3.6 in 1919, Brandon a 3.1 in 1920.

So it seems we should expect one every 50 years or so.  We're due. Pay attention to your pets. They're earthquake bellwethers.

'64 Pope County tornado

Another natural disaster might have cost me my future bride. In 1964, she was driving a tractor pulling a hayrack on County 24 with her grandfather and brother riding the rack when they were faced with with a tornado approaching Pelican Lake. Carol and Larry took cover in a culvert under the county road and Grandfather Thomas crouched underneath the hayrack. Apparently he wanted to see what would happen. The tornado's path took it across the lake and did damage to Scott’s Resort about a half-mile from where the threesome were huddled.  But nobody died.

Reckless behavior seems to run in my wife’s family. Many years later Aunt Othelia - yes, that WWII Nurse Othelia - stood calmly gazing out their living room picture window of their farm home near Evansville as a tornado rippped apart the grove next to the house. 

So there you have it, both my future bride and I facing down near death experiences.  

Well, that might be slight hyperbole.

Be careful out there.

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin

Old Friends

Old friends, 

Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fears 

Paul Simon

                                            

One of the difficult parts of growing old is .. you lose friends, leaving the memories. I lost my good childhood friend Davey Chan in 2022. He was a gentle soul. I miss him and still think of him often and remind myself of the endless stories he could spin. Author Philip Pullman wrote, “After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” 

As adults we did not live near each other but he read this blog and would email his comments. (One of my posts was ghost written by him  Big Time Tales)  Plus, we shared a love of baseball so naturally we became email pen pals, sitting on virtual Cheers stools.  

His one post in no way exhausted his story bank. So this is in tribute to the great story teller. 

Dave , this is your old buddy Davy Chan. Big Time. Been reading your stories on Lowry. Pretty darn accurate.

Dave, do you remember Lloyd Quist, the 6th, 7th and 8th grade teacher and principal?  He had his pets. He had a 1952 green Dodge car and at noon hour he would drive around Lowry holding the pets. Looked like he was letting his pets drive his car. I was in 4th or 5th grade this happened almost every day. One day some of the kids plugged up his exhaust pipe with a potato when he left to go home. You cannot believe what it sounded like it was missing sputtering and making all kinds of noise. But he drove it to where ever he lived. 

Dave,  do you remember Boo Johnson? His dad was a herdsman for Doc McIver across from Smizek’s farm. Anyway they had an old Studebaker with suicide doors in the back. The doors had the hinges in the back of the door so they opened front to back - dangerous. Boo was always driving around. We would do any thing to go for a ride. I suppose he was about 15. One day he was giving some of us a ride. I was in the front and 2 of the Logan kids were in the back . He always drove recklessly fast and we went around a corner fast and one of the back doors on the ditch side opens up and one of the Logan kids went rolling down in the ditch. Big laugh but he could have easily gotten killed. The last time I rode with him there was me and Johnny Logan. It was at night and he played chicken with a school bus. Drove right at it on the wrong side of the road. I got so scared thinking he wasn’t going to turn off. That was about 30 feet from death’s door - the last ride for me.  He also put a spike on the railroad tracks. Almost derailed a freight train at the crossing in Lowry. Soo Line sent a railroad detective to find out who did it. He confessed but I never found out what penalty he got .. wasn’t long after that he left town. 

When Hayenga boys - Jerry, Tubba and Roger moved to Lowry they brought rubber guns to town. They were a Buntline Special shaped gun made out of wood that shot strips of rubber made from inner tubes. You cut out a rubber strip about 1 half to 3 quarter in wide , and the width of InnerTube and you tied 2 to 4 knots in them.  The more knots you tied the more power you had and the farther you could shoot. It would go about 20 feet but if you tied too many knots they would not stretch on the gun and break. Awful tough on the fingers but we were always trying to get the max out of them. We would go up to the Lumber Yard and look for scrapes of  1x6 pine boards. Either good old BIll Thompson or Gust Hanzlic would saw them out for us kids. We would have the gun pattern drawn out on a 1x6. They must have sawed about every kid’s gun that played RubberGuns. We did that every summer. Almost every kid in town played, young and old prob 7 to 16 years old. We almost always played in Bud Molanders Equipment combines and so forth good hiding spots we would choose up sides. Even amount of kids on a side. When you got shot you were done. The team with someone left won. We played all summer long  almost every day. 

In the evening us guys would play a game on bikes called Ditch. This was a individual game every one for himself. Each guy would take off and drive his bike when you saw another guy you would try and catch him. You had to get within one bike length and overlap his rear wheel to make a capture. The last guy not captured won the game. But it was a dangerous game to play in the dark. You rode through yards and all over trying to get away. You had to watch for clothes lines. One time Gary Thompson hit a clothes line and it took him right off the bike. Lucky he did not get hurt.. too bad. 

Lowry also had a Pee Wee Midget and Junior Legion Baseball Team for the kids in town and kids from the farms in the area. We guys had lots to do in the summer time. Four or five of us figured out different ball games to play like 500. A hitter would hit fungoes to a group of fielders who would fight to catch the ball -100 pts for catching a fly ball, 50 pts for on the first bounce and 25 for a grounder. First one to 500 got to be the hitter for the next round. Hoppy and Big Time would spend a lot of time trying to perfect our curve ball. 

One Morning after Halloween there was a clanging noise heard in town coming from the water tower. Someone hung a life size dummy from the top of the water tower hanging down about half way down so when the wind blew you could hear it hitting the tower. Chester Bennett, then Mayor, suspected who did it. Gary Thompson was always doing something to get into trouble.

Dave, do you remember when Lowry had a gang. Called themselves Midnight Raiders. They wore IH implement straw hats from Bud Molander's and red bandanas. I was to young to be in the gang, had to be age of Tuba, Jerry Zavadil or GaryThompson. I remember when Jimmy Smith and John Femrite were sleeping in a tent at Smiths and Tuba and Jerry Zavadil and Rodney Stivland threw a whole pack of Black Cat Firecrackers in the tent.  Did they fly out of there. Cal came out and chased them. Anyway they all got away because it was dark.  Tuba said Rodney got so scarred he ran all the way home, about 2 miles . 

Dave, my uncle Fred drove a supply truck in WWII. They hauled supplies into Burma. Fred always said over the Hump into Burma. They called themselves The Red Ball Express. My other uncle Oliver I always heard was a supply sergeant. He sent home so much war memorabilia. Did I ever take you up to my Grandma Chan’s above the bar and show you all the atuff ! Had a big display case. He sent home a whole German SS uniform. Black StormTrooper Boots and all. Stuff looked like it never was worn. 2 beautiful sabers in the scabbards. Rations that the Germans ate. Must have had at least 35 different German knives and daggers they carried. Had every thing imaginable. Even sent home a brand new MI Carbine Rifle plus 1500 rounds of ammo! Sent home 2 brand new Italian 6 mm Rifles that still had Grease in the barrels - never been fired. I use to sneak the MI out and take it out by Horse Lake in the Dump Ground .I eventually shot up all the Ammo. There was even a dummy grenade and a 45 automatic pistol. I use to live up there admiring all those treasures. I asked uncle Vic if he ever killed anyone but he would not say. Clarence and Phil never would talk about it either. My Dad stayed home and ran the bar. He never passed his physical, was almost blind in one eye.

Note: 5 Chan brothers served in the army during WWII.

Dave, my wife passed so it's just me and my Golden Retriever Sadie. In my last email I left part of my story out. About the Christmas lights Bennie and I use to try shoot them out with a 22 rifle . Never could hit any in the dark. And, oh yes, if you were from Lowry you were a Leghorn. Dave. couldn't believe it, but Chuck Thompson actually hit a home run. He played first base. Lowry even played Willmar but got smoked bad . You remember Myrtle Benesh?  She always kept score of the game in a score book. I use to go to a game once in a while with them. She never missed a game because she was score keeper. We went to either Melrose or Freeport when Lowry was playing one of them in a night game. Frank and Myrtle were my great uncle and aunt. Frank use to chew Copenhagen Snuff. They drove a 1949 old gray Dodge. Frank had a coffee can between them in the front seat and he would spit in the can. Nearly made me throw up. Yes That was the good old days 


Dave I think the school janitor was Carl Anderson. He lived in the big White House on the corner across from Iver Femrite's. After him it was Arnold Rundgren. Dave, if you got a chance to work in cafeteria, you got your lunch paid for for the week  When you went down to the lunchroom in the basement there was a pipe that was in the ceiling about a foot down. Every guy that came down the steps fast would try to swing on the pipe. Kenny Hagen missed it and landed on his back and head. After that no more pipe swinging. The room where the bell was was the sick room. If you got sick teacher would take you in there and take your temp. When Asiatic flu came everybody was getting it. I told teacher I was sick she took me into bell room and took my temp. She left for a few min. I took thermometer and put it on the radiator. When she came back my temp was 103 sent me right home. Dave, do you remember how certain kids would bail out of the swings into a snowbank-dangerous. When I was in second grade, Miss Rollofson from Barrett would have you line up in front of door after recess. I came running up to line up put my hand through the glass on the door - 16 stitches almost lost use of right hand. Lucky, could see tendons in arm.

Dave, do you remember when you walked on the sidewalk on the south side of the bank. There was a steel grate over a window well that allowed light into the bank basement. It was about 5 feet deep. I would check this 2 or 3 times a day. Half of the time there was money on the bottom. I would go home and get a long stick and I’d chew a piece of bubble gum to put on the end of the stick and I’d fish out the money - sometimes up to 50 cents I’d get out. To this day I think Howard Lysen would throw money in there because their store was across the street  He would like watching kids trying to get it out.

I have lots of stories just have to remember them Dave. 

Big  Time

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