Today’s joy, of the street music variety. An older woman rhythmically walking a pitbull down a park path this morning, a little strut to it, the dog pulling on the leash, her headphones over stocking cap (for it is October now), singing loudly with an accompanying...
It’s May, and this northern city is finally greening. The buildings, the built world, are the same, but the infrastructure of trees, dozing during the winter months, is rousing. Spring has moved northward on its own mysterious, rhythmic, and dependable calendar. It...
It’s almost axiomatic now to think unpleasantly about downtowns. They’re this, they’re that, they’re the other thing. Unappealing, worsening. Here’s a contrary view, from my desk in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota on a regular old Tuesday morning, a cold spring day....
History can be inspiring, profound and amazing. Also fun. Want to tell a good story at the Thanksgiving table? Try these tales about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. First, some vocabulary. This week, start casually dropping these terms into conversation. A...
Seek and find this remarkable view of downtown Saint Paul, from the public dock on Harriet Island. (Directions below.) Go at the end of the daylight one of these cool fall evenings. The sun goes down, somewhere over toward the Cathedral, and the skyline comes up...
