John Warren's Blog

My B-day today. Big deal. I do remember when my birthday was a big deal to me: balloons, cake, ice cream and a few gifts. But best of all, another year older. Oh, boy! That much closer to getting my driver's license, being in high school, becoming a teenager, etc.

Birthdays took eons to come around. Now, you turn around, and there's another. Milestones that were important, like turning 16, 18 or 21 were something you looked forward to. Oh,boy! Now milestone birthdays are not approached with such enthusiasm.

Well, I'm not saying anything here that's not been said before. When I was a kid, I remember sitting in the back seat of the family car when we drove past this "old folk's home" in south Minneapolis frequently. There was a sign on the top of the building that read "Let us remember the aged, for yes, even you are getting old". I used to chortle at that sign while riding in the Ford Country Squire station wagon.

Oh,boy!

The first sign of Spring, harbinger of warmer weather has been seen! And no, I'm not talking about the first robin spotted, or anything blooming.  It's the opening for the season of the Dairy Queen on East Central! The lights are on, the posters are up and the marquee beckons! With any luck, the only blizzard we'll have to experience between now and May will have Oreos or Butterfinger chunks in it

If you're looking to get out of the house with your family this weekend, but at the same time stay out of the cold, head to the DECC for Fun-Fest. It's a taste of summer, just when cabin fever may be setting in. Activities and fun include petting animals from the Lake Superior Zoo, demonstrations from the Duluth PD's Tactical Response Unit, sports demonstrations and a whole lot more.  There's even a full carnival in South Pioneer Hall. A great way to escape the winter doldrums for awhile...Saturday and Sunday February 27&28. 

Mother Nature is teasing us! Mid 30s for days and now night time lows just above zero. At least we missed most of the snow. I can't wait to awaken the covered sleeping giant pictured. If the roads stay dry, I just may have to bundle up and do it!

Winter still has a way to go, and it got me thinking about vehicles that have gotten me through the snow and cold over the years. It really wasn't that long ago that 4 wheel drive was not that common. In 1966, the Olds Toronado and Cadillac El Dorado introduced front-wheel drive. Considered experimental by some, front-wheel drive was not really accepted by the motoring public until the early 80s. All-wheel drive? Unheard of!

Over the years, I've had a few winter beaters that I'd drive when storing nicer cars to protect them from the ravages of salt and sand. All rear-wheel drives clunkers. It seems hard to believe that there was a time you could buy a car for $50-$100 that would actually get you through the winter. But it was possible. In Ely, I paid 35 bucks to an old guy for a '59 Chevy station wagon. Yeah, it was dented, rusted and ugly. The "eyebrows" above the headlights were rusted through, but he patched 'em up. Did he use plastic body filler? Bondo? Nope. Cement! But it started every morning without benefit of garage or tank heater, and it made it up the hill to the radio station. It even got stolen once. In the middle of the night, I  heard it start up (rusted exhaust). I looked out the window just in time to see it fish-tailing down Camp Street in the snow. Couple of days later, I got a call from the nearby town of Winton. The car had been found.  I told the officer I'd pick it up later that day. There was a second of silence on the line..."Uh, you really want it back?" Heck Yeah! I drove it until April when it started to smoke bad. Ended up giving it to a guy who wanted to enter a demolition derby.

I've had a '65 Galaxie, '62 Fairlane, '66 VW, '55 Pontiac among others. All of them performed valiantly and never left me stranded. And they were fun. A new dent? So what. Parking lot door dings? Who'd notice. Rust? Already there. I never thought I'd have to worry about one getting stolen, but.....

Simpler cars that you could keep running with whatever you happened to have lying around. Try that today.

Valentine's Day can for me can be stressful, and not just because I'm trying to find the perfect gift or trying to come up with something original. No, it's because this time of year I hear people talking about "Valentimes" Day, with an "M" rather than an "N".  It's just one of those things that grate on me a little bit. I hold my tongue and don't correct them. What's the point. I know it's no big thing, but I have to wonder if these people ever even looked at the February 14th cards, or listened to the jewelry/floral/restaurant ads that appear arround the first of February. Oh well. I'm not going to let it ruin the "holiday". Happy Valentime's Day!

I'm not a huge fan of award shows, but I do watch some of the Oscars and I did watch most of the Grammy Awards on Sunday, mostly because my wife, Connie, wanted to see it. While watching the show and the subsequent entertainment-type shows and websites for the next couple of days after the show, it hit me: When did the Grammy Award Show become a show about everything BUT music?

Sure, there were artists performances, but they seemed more intent on going over the top in execution. The songs themselves took a back seat. And what's with all the lip-synching? I guess it's hard to sing when you're swinging from the rafters in a bed sheet like Pink did, or constantly running up and down stairs among robot-like soldiers like Beyonce did.

But the biggest focus on the Grammys seemed to be fashion. The red carpet, best and worst dressed; the whole "Who are you wearing?" thing. Fashion is a fleeting thing, and some songs become classics and endure for decades. Is the focus of the show misdirected? Instead of the usual awards, maybe the show should give Grammys for Best Dressed, Best Lip-Synching and Best Pyro-Technics During a Performance. That's pretty much what the show means now.

I see that Renee, our web guru has changed the picture above my blog to a left-handed person. This shows me two things: 1) She pays attention to detail, and 2)Someone actually read the previous blog! Thanks, Renee!

I noticed the picture above my blog has a picture of someone's hand with a pen writing the name of my blog.  One thing, though...I'm left handed and the picture is obviously a right-hander. But, if it were a left handed person like me at the top of the blog, you couldn't read the name of the blog, because the hand would be in the way. Or the ink would be smeared from dragging my hand across it.

It's tough being a lefty in a right-handed world. I had teachers that tried to force me to write with the other hand. Couldn't do it. Certain portable desk-chairs are set up for right handers only. In restaurant booths or banquet tables I usually have to apologize to someone for banging my elbow against theirs.

I realize it's not the worst affliction. In fact, it's not an affliction at all, just an occassional inconvenience, like when I have to find a left-handed screw driver.   

Now that our January "thaw" is behind us and we're back in the throes of winter, Spring fever is starting to gnaw at me more every day.  As some of you listeners know, I moved to Duluth from Florida where I spent about 8 years. Before that, there were 10 years in California, and before THAT, another 3 years in Florida. So winter was something I hadn't dealt with for awhile. I was no stranger to cold and snow, however, having grown up in Minneapolis and spending several years on the Range.

One thing I did forget about, though, was the anticipation of warmer weather in the Spring. Something to look forward to that keeps you going. One Spring, my wife Connie and I were visiting relatives in Minnesota when we lived in California. I couldn't believe the flurry of activity. "Let's go boating!" "Let's go on a picnic!", etc. People were running around with golf clubs and tennis rackets and talking about the bar-b-cue that night. Whew!

That's when I remembered. First, you have to get in as many outdoor activities as you can during the all-too-short warm months. And, all that pent-up anticipation that you've stored up all winter finally can be released. I bought an old motorcycle this fall. I can't wait to get on it again.  In places like California, you take the climate for granted after awhile. I found I was riding my motorcycle less and less as time went by. Thinking "there's always tomorrow", or waiting for it to get a couple of degrees warmer. A friend of mine is a real golf nut. He moved to Florida to be able to play year-round.He's lived there for about five years now. I asked him recently how his golf game was. He hadn't played in almost 6 months. It was always too hot, or there were too many tourists on the course, or traffic was bad.

I remembered how great it was when the warm weather started to break and you could do some of the things you really loved again. things that you had spent the last 3 or 4 months daydreaming about. The anticipation makes sitting through winter worth it. Kinda.