After the buoys of summer are gone

I walked out onto the Carson's Bay docks. An odd, flat pontoon boat was cruising into shore, sending up a series of ripples in the quite water.
"What's this boat for" I asked like a novice, to the boatman.
"We're bringing in the buoys and docks, just like we've done since the 1800s" the man stated. He was friendly. A Deephaven city worker with an assistant for the fall task.

" With a Yamaha outboard motor?" I asked.
"...ya... suppose not." He responded.

Speed Bump

Well folks, I paid my (standard) 142.00 fine. Saturday I drove down the same stretch of 101. The new posted speed limit - 40mph. I know, I know, I know. Still, I felt modestly vindicated. 30mph - harmph!

Cottagewood Road, A Temporary View

The old white farmhouse that stood here is gone. I never saw the inside of the house, but it harkened back to 19th century era Cottagewood. The property was puchased recently for a price in excess of 1 million (my recollection is 1.4). The house was leveled. Soon a new house will occupy the space looking out onto Carson's Bay. I will say,there have been some lovely homes built in this area in the past few years, I look forward to seeing another. I may post a few photos of the ones I really enjoy, admire, ...and I may exhibit a bit of ownership envy!

Note: - We just made the last payment on our 92 year old cottage (.75 acre lot), in Cottagewood. The dogs are happy too.

Speed Trapped!

Let me begin by saying that I was guilty of speeding. Guilty as charged. 15 miles over the limit...45 in a 30. This sounds worse than it was. This newly opened stretch of Highway 101 is four lanes wide. 30 mph is difficult to maintain downhill between Highway 7 and Minnetonka Boulevard without braking. But 30mph is the law and I shoulda known.
On Saturday the weather was sunny for the first time in many days, and I had a song in my heart and lead in my foot. I was driving to buy pumpkins and halloween decorations for my quiant abode. No kidding. I was pulled over, into a quae of other drivers waiting for their speeding tickets. I did not protest. It was simple and straight forward. Here’s my license and insurance Officer. Thank you officer. Drive away slowly.

As a service to my fellow motorists here are some (selected) fees for driving offenses: Effective July 1 2007 - Minnetonka.

Parking violation (city ordinance) 34.00
Careless driving without an accident: 175.00
Fail to obey a stop sign or semaphore: 125.00
Fail to yield to an emergency vehicle: 175.00
Wrong way on one way: 125.00
No valid drivers license: 175.00 (I think offenders get off cheap on this one)
Driving after suspension: 175.00
Expired plates or tabs: 95.00 (here’s your bargain)
Drive (sic) without headlights: 115.00 (note it is plural, does one count? Note: Don’t worry my car has both but my VW bug keeps having one go out about every 4 months).
SPEEDING: 142.00 (how did they come up with this number?) Should be 141.95.
Speeding 20 mph or more over the limit: 209.00 See previous comment.
No seatbelt: 100.00
Possession of a small amount of maryjane (dates me) 125.00

Happy trails!

Halloween @The Garden Patch

Just outside downtown Excelsior on Highway 19. The Garden Patch. This Minneonkascenes foto is from 2006. Great place to take the kids or yourself - I do.
Lon Chaney Jr's distant wolvian relative sits, and expresses his frustration. He cannot let it all "hang down" or jump and shout until after midnight. Tough call for a teenwolf with ADD.

Significant Others....

"Scientist: We'll be marrying robots within 50 years
Science fiction lovers take note: Robot marriages could be the wave of the future. At least that’s what one scientist believes. David Levy, an artificial intelligence researcher at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, believes humans and robots will be mingling in just under 50 years, and not just mingling, but developing intense relationships leading to both sex and marriage. His newly released projections predict robots will become much more complex and life-like, with programmable attitudes and behaviors. This customization, he says, will allow humans to create the perfect mate without fear of rejection."
This was excerpted from the "MediaLife" Web site.

Note: Star Trek was a science fiction TV series that has so embedded itself into our psyche that people think it was real. Many people, through a media based mythology, that we have actually traveled to other planets and galaxies... thus the bland response to anything done by our space program. People also believe that cyborgs in in body suits are real.... with the advent of cellphone addiction and other mechanical human attachments this may be closer to the truth. (IMHO)
Now - back to the internet!

Just Off Vinehill, Carson's Bay

Faking it

"Good morning Mr. Leitch, have you had a busy day?"

This is the cleaners at 101 and Minnetonka Boulevard. They also do taioring, as the sign indicates. I have always liked the sign... my photo is still not as welcoming as the little sign.

Simple story: I purchased a sports coat from J.Crew. It fit well enough, if only I were 4" taller.. the sleeves were too long. I took it to an alterations shop where the woman behind the counter frowned at me. "Cannot be done."
I said that all I wanted was the sleeves shortened about 2 inches, or I couln't wear the jacket at all. It was just for casual wear. - She was adamant. No, it could not be done. I left and went down the road about one block,to the shop in the photo. I explained my fashion predicament. "No problem." She replied, standing in front of a clothing rotisserie.
It was done at the end of the week at a very reasonable price. The moral to the story: one place wanted my small job, one place didn't.

Jimmy Hutmaker 1932-2007

You Can't Always Get What You Want Lyrics
 » Rolling Stones

I saw her today at a reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need

Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh...

And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
Sing it to me now...

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
Oh baby, yeah, yeah!

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"
I said to him

You can't always get what you want, no!
You can't always get what you want (tell ya baby)
You can't always get what you want (no)
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Oh yes! Woo!

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby!
Oh yeah!

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

You can't always get what you want (no, no baby)
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need, ah yes...


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Twin Cities Marathon 07

The streets were quiet for the Marathon. I don't know why. But there were a lot of mysteries at the race. How did the lead runner Antonenko break away from the pack to a finish with a six minute lead over the next runner? He was quoted as asking "Why weren't they running?"
Wommen's winner Svetlana Ponomarenko also ran almost unchallenged. Breaks between runners under 3 hours often amounted to minutes rather than seconds.
Why were there so few spectators? This is only my personal observation, but this is the fewest spectators I have ever seen in many many years. Perhaps the bulk of the spectators were not concerned with the foreign winners. (This is not an olympic-quality American runners choice). I am told this by experienced competitors that other races are better for American runners. So spectators may show up later, to cheer on their friends who run at a slower pace than the elite runners. None the less the streets and the Thunder Sticks were pretty quiet. I left after 3 and one half hours.
With early warmth and humidity the race was a battle of attrition among the later runners.

NOTE: My edit-blog function is not available until Tuesday. Lousy old computer.

Twin Cities Marathon Men's Open Winner - Mykola Antonenko

We were postioned at the 16.5 mile mark when the lead runner came by. Was there some mix up? Ukrainian runner Antonenko was already so far into the lead it looked as if there were a mistake. He blew by us by with a solitary intensity. He would continue unchallenged till the end. His winning time was 2:13:54, 6 minutes ahead of the next runner.

Twin Cities Marathon Women's Open

Photo is of Race Card #F9. The smile is because the finish is near for this top finisher.
Winner Svetlana Ponomerenko ran unchallenged, except for the extreme humidity, and race temperatures reaching the mid eighties.
2 hrs.34 minutes.



A tight pack at 16.5 miles - don't look back!

A Bridge Over the Bay - Thursday 6:30am.

Coffee. Grays Bay.

My Twin Cities Marathon 2007 Coverage

Minnetonkascenes 2006 photo
A note to runners and running fans:

Minnetonkascenes will wander away from the Lake again to cover the TC Marathon. Frankly there is very little coverage of it, so I am providing a little.
I will be assisted by an accomplished and recovering Marathoner, Dave K. His Marathon PR is 2:28. He will provide the painful and experienced insights that I cannot.

Coverage will be posted Sunday evening.

Soma Records, Surfin Excelsior

Surfin In Excelsior
1962

“In February 1962, Ray Colihan booked the Beach Boys at Big Reggie’s Danceland (Excelsior) for $400, before anyone had ever heard of them. Between the time they were booked and the time they arrived, however, they had a big record out that was #1 on WDGY. Thousands of kids showed up, and Colihan was afraid they would tear down the roller coaster.”
St. Louis Park Historical Society

I have wondered how the Twin Cities could have been so awash in the “Surf Sound” back in 1963-65. We’re mid-continent. I got a hint when surfing the St. Louis Park Historical Society Web site.

Pre-dating the wave that would be the British Invasion in 1964, The Cities music was fused with twangy surf guitars, tom toms and a unique garage band sound.

The Above Photo
This CD was an effort by Simitar Entertainment © 1998 Maple Plain, to save and publicize the local recordings of Soma Records (defunct).

A partial list of tracks:
• Foot Stompin - by The Underbeats
• Surfin Bird - The Trashmen
• Run, Run Run - The Gestures
• Little Latin Lupe Lu - The Chancellors
• Let the good times roll - The Del Counts
• Liar Liar - The Castaways
• You Dont Want me - The Corvettes
• Turn on your love light - The High Spirits
• Olds-Mo-Williams - Gregory D and the Avanties
• Summer Place - The Titans (very surfy)
• Cold 45- The Four Wheels
• Howlin for my Baby - the Accents