One recent evening at a Walt Disney World resort called Caribbean Beach, the tikki bar was entirely empty. The only customer turned out to be an off-duty bartender. Like all other Disney World employees, bartenders here are officially called “cast members.” This particular cast member talked shop and flirted a little too loudly. He and … Read more
Minneapolis and St. Paul are self-confident enough, thank heavens, to recognize that the Windy City has some things to recommend it. Chief among them, the Chicago style hot dog, one of this magazine’s life forces. In recent years, there have been just two vendors in the Twin Cities from whom a hungry fellow can reliably … Read more
The other day, we noticed the streetlights on the Lake Street-Marshall Avenue bridge were lit during daylight hours. But just on the Minneapolis side. The Twin Cities appear to share responsibility for the bridge. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul cops cruise the span, and the electric company has the bridge’s faux-Victorian lamps on two separate … Read more
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, think of The Rake as a work zone. Slow down, give us a brake. We aim to fill the potholes, maybe add another lane. If it’s all going to a hot place in a hurry, we want to make the ride as smooth and enjoyable … Read more
On Nine One One, while the whole of America was in fear and shock from those true believers diving our own commercial airlines into our skyscrapers, Larry Kegan was unable to get his tracheotomy suctioned and he couldn’t breathe. The lack of oxygen caused him to have a heart attack and he was gone before … Read more
By Oliver Nicholson Things seem to be getting serious. She’s convinced her parents to ask you to dinner and you’re scared stiff. It’s not that the grub will be bad. Her mother has a great reputation as a cook. But how will you ever convince them you’re good enough for their little girl? First impressions … Read more
Before dreadlocks and cornrows, there was the Afro. The Afro was 15 percent hairstyle and 85 percent political statement. Armed with my Afro, I was a true “brother.” I grew my first ’fro in 1971. I was a bad–ass 13 year-old Denver kid just itching to help free the oppressed—Angela Davis, the Chicago Seven, even … Read more
The problem with being a mother is that the definition of success is too damned narrow. You’re either a good mother, or a bad mother. No in-betweens, no wiggle room. If we can accept gray areas in politics and potlucks, why not parenting? I say this, of course, as I bury another body in the … Read more
Thanks for Steve Perry’s honest assessment of the post 9/11 prettification. If the experience is edited down to the fiery explosions, a few brave men raising a flag, and a sweetly stoic wife, you’ve got a Bruce Willis movie. The horror that is the reality is, I suppose, depressing and therefore un-American. I worked across … Read more
I want to describe where we are trying to go with The Rake, and to beg your patience while we inevitably stumble on our way. Basically, we want to be storytellers. All the other stuff we’ll do will be to make room for more stories. I always envied my father’s ability to make up stories … Read more