I had a happy Thanksgiving, and hope you all did too; I’ve just been enjoying spending time with family and friends this week. A few local observations:
- My parents saw Al Franken speak last week, and seems completely serious about running for the Senate from Minnesota in ’08. Gulp. And speaking of St. Louis Park native sons, Thomas Friedman seems to have suddenly, inexplicably, gone completely hysterical, either that or he’s doing his best Phil Mushnick impression. What, did Friedman and Krugman swap identities for a week or something?
- The Turkey of the Year is an inspired choice: the Vikings' horrible owner, Red McCombs. I'm going to the game Sunday, and am already looking forward to the we-need-a-stadium propaganda waiting for me on my seat when I arrive.
- Seems like every time I come home there’s some major local crime story that has everyone in Minnesota talking- whether it’s the Dru Sjodin kidnapping, the Audrey Seiler fake kidnapping, or the arrest of the two daughters of the state attorney general- really, it’s all very “Fargo.” There have been a few this time: that mass murder of six hunters in the Western Wisconsin woods last week still has everyone here reeling, while also shining the spotlight on the heretofore unreported feuds between white hunters and Asian hunters. On top of that, a girl was kidnapped from South Minneapolis the other day, triggering an Amber Alert.
- And I can’t even escape it in my own home: my sister is dogsitting a friend’s dog for the week, and it’s a little tiny white dog by the name of Bert. I liked him at first, but then I learned the truth: the dog had previously had a “brother,” named Ernie, until one day, years ago, BERT KILLED ERNIE. Yes, just shoved him down the stairs one day. Perhaps they should have been named Cain and Abel.
So of course I spent the entire weekend joking about how I shouldn’t stand too close to Bert at the top of the stairs, since he might try to push me. And of course, the obvious comparison was made to the bunny in “Monty Python.”
Still, nice to have a dog around the house again, even if does have a confirmed kill.
Posted by Stephen Silver at November 27, 2004 12:42 AM