A Memory

Cedar Falls High School, my junior year, a science class, strangely enough called Edible Plants class. It was a rather odd botany study where we learned what to eat in the woods. The old Grape Nuts commercial with Eual Gibbons, “Ever eat a pine cone? Some parts are edible, still sticks in my memory. Doug Holmes sat next to me in that class. I remember telling him about my last two summers working at Ingawanis Boy Scott camp outside of Waverly, IA. He in turn told me about his last summer at a Lutheran camp called EWALU outside of Strawberry Point, IA. In the conversation he suggested I apply.

One of the most pivotal moments in my life was that moment in time sitting in that science class. If I had not been there that day, my life would have taken a different direction. It was just a moment. Nothing flashed, or seemed out of the ordinary. It was not a recognizable moment of significance at the time. That conversation would take me to a place that would shape my life, my occupation, my vocation, my values, my beliefs, my church, many key relationships, my wife, my family, and so many other amazing directions.

Nor would have I spent the afternoon and evening with my sons eating out and enjoying comedian Jim Gaffigan at the Pantages Theater (opened 1916). Very ornate theater on Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis.