Category: Americas

Local Starchitect

Walked to Vladimir Ossipoff’s IBM Building. The facade has staying power compared to many facades of the 1960’s. He designed the open-to-the-elements Honolulu Airport, and airports at Kahului, Maui, and Kona, Big Island. I once met his daughter, but didn’t realize the connection.

UrgentCare

Ingested chemicals, including a legally prescribed controlled substance, to moderate coughs and let me sleep. Grateful for good care at UrgentCare almost completely paid by my insurance. Grateful I can get on a plane to New Zealand on Saturday, without alarming other passengers. Note: A few months later, an antibody test showed this was not… Continue reading UrgentCare

A Comfortable Place

I was transported. Soba noodles, Kirin beer, a restaurant where everyone, except us, was Asian. A lady from Fukuoka, a place I love and have visited many times, commended me on my hashi skills. Broth and flattery: my bronchitic cold was temporarily forgotten.

Polynesian Diaspora

Rode a city bus to the Bishop Museum. Traced the Polynesian diaspora, starting in Asia, fanning out through Oceania, ending up in places as far afield as Hawaii and New Zealand.

Getting a Head Start on Spring

Summer, fall, and the first few weeks of winter in Minnesota are wonderful. Also wonderful are the percussive sounds of a glycol/water mixture being sprayed at our plane in the depths of winter as we start a journey towards the tropics or a Southern Hemisphere summer. The meteorological definition of winter spans three months: December,… Continue reading Getting a Head Start on Spring

Guthrie Theater

It’s no accident the Guthrie Theater is close to our home. The theater moved to its current home in the Minneapolis Mill District in 2006 next to the Mill City Museum which had opened three years earlier. At the time, the choice of new location was brave. The Mill District was mostly derelict, and not… Continue reading Guthrie Theater

Butler Square

Nosed around the Butler Square building on a Downtown walk. In 1978, as part of an interview for my first American job, I had dinner here. I was appalled the men’s room had a floor-to-ceiling window: I could see everyone while doing my business, uncertain it was a one-way mirror.