John Cosgrove grew up playing football in the small Ulster village of Enniskillen, just north of the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. It was odd, he said, playing pickup soccer in the intensely nationalistic region. “There we were—kids pretending to be players from Manchester United or Arsenal. Kids of IRA men, yet … Read more
The character of 26th and Lyndale has changed little in the last few decades. The C.C. Club still has a decent breakfast and a better jukebox. Though Oar Folkjokeopus is gone, the ancient carpets in Treehouse records steeped so long in Oarfolk essence that a sniff can bring the old days back, as you wander … Read more
Since our yard has more creeping charlie than all the kudzu in Georgia, we’ve been seriously thinking about having our lawn treated. The problem is those little green and white signs that warn “This Lawn Has Been Chemically Treated—Keep Children and Pets Off for 24 Hours.” Leery of both the chemical industry and a massive … Read more
As heads bobbed lazily in Cedar Lake, the Mud Man hopped along, letting the regulars at Hidden Beach know, “It’s ready.” He greeted late arrivals with a formal welcome: “Good afternoon!” On the right day, when there’s just the right amount of water in the mud, the mixture sucks your feet in and produces hilarious … Read more
For decades now, cigarettes and hospitals have not mixed. Long before any clean-air act or tobacco settlement, there were islands of exiles—many of them standing sheepishly in scrubs—outside the whispering doors of the ER. Paradoxically, smoking persists in one place inside the hospital: the psych ward. There are reasons. When smoking is banned in psychiatric … Read more
On June 30, LouAnn Clarissa Kilpatrick was killed by a turtle just outside of Grand Rapids. The 66-year-old swerved to avoid hitting a turtle and died when her car careened off the road. Her tragic accident was a reversal of the usual state of affairs between turtles and humans. Each year, thousands of these reptiles … Read more
We’ve known for a long time that Minnesotans practice a kind of karmically correct stoicism. But who knew that Minnesota Nice was just a variation on one of the world’s most ancient spiritual practices—Zen Buddhism? You’re really going to send that medium-rare steak back to the kitchen? You’ll carry the black cloud of unnecessary confrontation … Read more
It didn’t quite rival the fever-pitch anticipation of Order of the Phoenix, but fans of Chris Ware’s work (Jimmy Corrigan, Acme Novelty Library) have been waiting since the original release date of November 2002 for Quimby the Mouse. Quimby chronicles the life of a long-suffering mouse, drawn in the style of 1920s and 1930s comic … Read more
Kessler has a talent for finding singularly larger-than-life women to write about. She previously told the life story of fast-living lady stunt-pilot Pancho Barnes in the memorably titled Happy Bottom Riding Club. Clever Girl has an equally juicy story behind it: the tale of Elizabeth Bentley, a seemingly straitlaced Vassar grad who wound up converting … Read more
We’ve taken our licks, and Garrison Keillor just keeps ticking. In fact, our resident superhero of literature is aging like fine wine. Honestly, he just gets better and better, and pretty soon he’ll have earned the comparisons that immoderate people (mostly on the coasts, you know) have been making between his writing and the truly … Read more