Microblog

Discovered Fawkes Alley Cafe, hiding at the end of an alley. I learned it’s located in a building that originally housed the Fawkes Auto Company car salesroom when it opened in 1911. The cafe is a nonprofit that supports the community by mentoring its employees and funding youth soccer for underrepresented communities. My Americano, served in a ceramic cup, was near-enough perfect.

Dwight had delicately suggested my dress shirts were getting a little ratty, so I visited Nordstrom Rack at the Mall of America but left empty-handed, resolving to buy them online. I recovered from my shopping fail by picking up Japanese Kit Kats from Ebisu, exercising unusual restraint around the LEGO store, and greatly enjoying the Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam, mash, and veggies at IKEA, on special for $2.99.

Cycled on a rail trail from Hopkins to Excelsior on Lake Minnetonka with a friend. At 318 Cafe in Excelsior, we refueled with coffee and the best ever apple coffee cake, warm from the oven. Energized, we cycled back to Hopkins.

On our Sunday morning walk, the low sun drew out long shadows, bringing to mind Haruki Murakami’s exploration of the subject. I’d recently read both “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” and its core-story reworking, “The City and its Uncertain Walls.” In both novels, the protagonist is detached from his shadow, making me wonder: how long would it actually take me to realize mine was gone?

On my walk, I was distracted by the sound of raindrops on corrugated iron coming from the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill. Behind me, a Halloween fun run was underway, following the Mississippi before crossing Stone Arch Bridge. Some runners were wearing fanciful costumes, and a bystander carried a handwritten sign: “You’re running better than the government.”

Waiting for the train to pass on my way to my Friday gig, I used a slow shutter to contrast the train’s dynamic streak against the huge, immobile mass of the stadium and the static, cloudless sky.

As is often the case, I learned something about English in the classroom today that I only knew intuitively. A few specific verbs, like stop, remember, and quit, change their meaning when followed by an infinitive versus a gerund. ‘Stopped to go’ and ‘stopped going’ have different meanings. In fact, that difference might even make the bathroom gerund example in the photo nonsensical.

Tonight, two accomplished artists we’ve seen before at the Dakota: Dee Dee Bridgewater accompanied by Bill Charlap. Their performances were relaxed, low-key, and wonderfully spontaneous. They focused on The American Songbook with no set list, leaning heavily on scat and improvisation.

​The rain decided it was a day for a skyway walk. With almost 10 miles of these elevated pathways, I find it best not to plan a specific route. Instead, I set a target: today, the convention center. But the circuitous skyway system had other plans, offering me my city from many different angles.

Cycled with a friend to St. Paul. Stopped at Cosetta’s where we admired their enormous display of cakes and pastries, and selected a couple for ourselves. Followed the Mississippi on the return and admired the fall colors.

A Mississippi backwater on our Sunday morning walk offered impressions of the season.

Joined a huge crowd in downtown Minneapolis to assert government is for the people and must adhere to the law. (Over 100,000 attended the Minneapolis rally. Nationwide there were more than 2,700 rallies with over 7 million attendees.)

Cycled over to the U for an appointment deep in a sub-basement. Since I was early, I popped into a Caribou Coffee, certain their brew would be better than hospital coffee. The crew members had posted profiles answering questions like their pronouns, how they “spark chain reactions of good,” their secret talents, and their favorite Caribou products. I enjoyed an espresso and a slice of coffee cake, amidst the cheerful hum of students excited about life.

Cycled part of the Luce Line with a friend, starting at Theodore Wirth Park and going to Medicine Lake. A circumnavigation of Medicine Lake added more mileage than we bargained for. Here, we’re cycling a boardwalk across wetland. The rail track is on a trestle. Later, my friend sent me a map showing we covered significantly more ground on a similar ride back in 2021. I guess we’re not exactly spring chickens anymore!

Matchbooks are an uncommon sight these days. These were on the mantelpiece in our unit at Bluefin Bay to light the log fire. We never did light the fire. Maybe next time.

The sun was rising over Lake Superior as we walked to Coho Cafe to fuel up for today’s hike.