“Stones that stand still in the fields, their incredible patience, how nothing, not even the blades of plows can break their great concentration or make them change their minds that they never had…the freedom of stones.” —Tom Hansen

Chief Joseph Nez Perce said:”It does not require many words to speak the truth.” But then, these days, one has to wonder what is the truth. An example might be the ruins of the fire that occurred on Main Street and yet how it still stands in its crumbly way. This occurred on the coldest night of winter quite some time ago.

Is it all about the cost of taking it down? Who will be billed? And who will pay for it? Is it safe to say the buildings were not insured? Was the initial fire set as has been implied.

Over coffee the other day, I listened to a friend question the cost to the state for many of the residents in treatment and many repeat offenders. Is this a worldwide problem? We saw few intoxicated young adults while we were in Prague. They were rare. They weren’t stumbling out of bars in mid-afternoon either as I am told happens here. The few I did see out in Prague in the late hours were not stumbling or unable to function. A few were loud.

Are we discussing this in our schools, alerting students to what effect drugs and alcohol have on their lives? I hope parents are modeling behaviors that steers children in healthy directions. Skyler tells me teachers and counselors talk to students about what’s out there and cautions them.

Our other son received a whiff of tear gas that was a result of the recent”doings” at the University of Minnesota. I think I was talking to him on the phone as this action took place. I believe he was on top of a building and not one of the”students” keeping the street fire going as well as attempting to tip a car over.

Back in one our days while we were in high school, we took a bus from the Fox Hotel to the state basketball tournament. One of smaller suitcases contained several lemons and other ingredients that adversely influenced our movement. But that now is history, and I’m hoping it is not a problem these days.

Prior to the basketball tournament a major snowstorm forced us to turn around and go back to Albert Lea due to the deep snow. We ended up, many of us, spending the night in a hotel in Albert Lea on Broadway, and we had a glorious evening. The following morning we returned to Austin when the roads opened, and if I remember we watched a sports activity in the gym. Classes were canceled. This was 48 years ago.

It has been a joy to watch our own kids go through the school systems over the years. One of the highlights, for me, occurred when Skyler, our youngest, was in kindergarten at St. Augustine. At the end of the Christmas holiday Skyler informed me that he wasn’t going back to school. He was quitting.

“Why are you quitting?” I asked.

He replied,”We don’t have enough playtime.” I told Skyler I would stop at St. A’s and talk to his teacher. Skyler agreed to come along.

Skyler stood beside me when I knocked on the door. Mrs. Taylor greeted us. We had a private conversation in the hallway. I shared with her what Skyler shared with me:”not having enough time to play.”

After explaining Skyler’s plight, she responded by saying she would see what she could do. Skyler agreed to stay. However, 14 years later, he still insists there wasn’t enough playtime.

Now that the snow has disappeared, at least for now, I have been able to scoop out the dirt and gravel that has mixed in with the boulevard grass. I don’t think the mixed dirt and gravel is intended for the boulevard, but this is where it seems to end up on Kenwood, or what is now called Fourth Street.

As a small child I used to pick dandelions and those nice little violet wild flowers from the woods as a mother’s day gift.

Lately, I’ve been digging out dandelions with my father’s aging dandelion digger.

A gift I experienced myself, last Sunday, was a two-hour conversation with Russel Robinson at the Cedars.

And finally, congratulations to Matt for winning the Eberhart poetry contest this year.