May 2025 Recap!
Running and funning <<im wunderschönen Monat Mai>>
Running and funning
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Running and funning ~~
im wunderschönen Monat Mai
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im wunderschönen Monat Mai ~~
Hallelujah, happy June dear Reader.
How are you? Did May feel extra long to you too? Not complaining! One of my favorite (and certainly most unexpected) benefits of sending out this monthly newsletter is that I sometimes get replies from folks who I haven’t seen or spoken with in years. While it’s never expected, it thrills me to my marrow to see those responses come in.
Technically April…hiking among Big Sur redwoods! Taken with my Pentax 35mm film camera.
Well, when last we spoke, Leah and I were finishing up our April with a flight from San Francisco. The very next morning (May 1) I was motoring my way up to Duluth for work. My colleague Tom and I were sent there to record audio and video for the MPR show Big Books and Bold Ideas, where host Kerri Miller interviews an author in front of a live audience. This particular author, Peter Geye, had recently released a historical novel titled A Lesser Light, which takes place in and around Duluth. [See the end of this letter for all links]
Leah, Adam, Lacey, and me at Canterbury Downs
The following day was the start of Kentucky Derby weekend! Now, as you recall, I am not a gambler, so why is the Derby worth mentioning? My sister Lacey and brother-in-law Adam have hosted a Kentucky Derby party at their home in West Fargo for several years in a row. They do it up! I’m talking food trucks, a couple of kegs, an inflatable bounce house for the kids, and a giant outdoor tent with seating for the 100+ folks who inevitably show up, in their fanciest Derby apparel: big silk fascinators and floral dresses, bright colors and straw hats. This year, though, we had a little break in tradition when Lacey told me they were planning on driving to our vicinity for the Derby. Our local horse track, Canterbury Downs, was hosting a Derby watch-party, with prizes for best-dressed, an open bar, a smorgasbord, and live music (Pit Bull impersonator, say what?). Not only did Lacey and Adam drive down, but Adam’s sister and her husband drove in from Little Falls, and my sister Lara, her partner Chris, and my niece Hailey flew in from Virginia Beach! Leah, Churro, and I joined them all, staying at a VRBO in Shakopee. Spending a couple of nights with family is a great gift, and I had a blast at the Derby Party.
Lara with Chris at Minnehaha Falls on Derby weekend. Also taken with my Pentax film camera.
Later, my colleague Tom and I again set out to Pillsbury House and Theater—a community arts center only three blocks away from George Floyd Square—to record a panel discussion on how the community has changed over the past five years. It was a powerful discussion. [Video link below]
The next weekend I ran my 50k in southeast Wisconsin at the Ice Age Trail Races. Leah and I both took that Friday off to make the 4+ hour drive with Churro. Our good friends and old 3RUN2 running buds Tommy (“T-Storm”), Mark (“EZ”), and Mike (“Suggs”) were running too, so we met for a quick chat at the starting line.
“EZ” Eisenman, “T-Storm” Crawford, and “River Rocks” Sauvageau at the 50k starting line
The race was a bit warmer than I wanted. At the race start it was around 63 F and sunny. I would say ideal conditions for a race are 40s to low 50s with cloud cover, but hey, you can’t control the weather. The way the course is set up, I would get to see Leah and Churro (and Lily—EZ’s spouse) at least three times during the race: at mile 13, mile 22, and the end at mile 31. I was feeling pretty good through the first 17 miles or so, but as the temps rose throughout the day, I started to really slow down, get tired, and doubt whether I could finish. By the time I hit mile 20, as I was slowly (oh so slowly) climbing yet another in a series of hills, I was determined that I would tap out at mile 22. People drop out of races all the time, especially when the weather isn’t cooperating. It happens. In fact it happened 61 times in the 50k that day. When I saw Leah at mile 22, I told her that it wasn’t “my day”; that I was done. She looked at me and said “No you’re not, you only have nine miles left. It’s hot but everyone else is slowing down too. You’ve got this.” She had more certainty that I could finish than I did myself, and that was all I needed. I ended up finishing the race in just over six hours (a full hour longer than my last 50k finish, way back in 2019, but still good enough for 9th place among M40-49), but now with the clarity of hindsight, I am happy that I didn’t quit until it was quittin time. The training continues though! Leah and I are currently working towards our next goal: the Afton Trail Race (25k for her, 50k for me) on July 5th.
Two reasons to complete a race
Obligatory finish line pic by Kristine Hinrichs (8:22:51 was elapsed time from start of the 50-mile race, not the 50k)
Leah’s birthday is in the third week of May. We celebrated the night before with an excellent meal and cocktails at a restaurant called Colita in Minneapolis. The food was superb but a highlight for me was that we were seated eight feet away from Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober!
Stolen from the internet
I knew it was him the moment we walked in (hard to mistake a 6’9” redhead), but you’ll be happy to know that I was able to restrain myself from asking him to sign my jersey. We also celebrated by going bowling at Memory Lanes in Minneapolis. We had a couple of cheap drinks, and a plate of fried pickle spears and tots. I highly recommend bowling at 3pm on a rainy Wednesday.
HBD Leah!
We were invited to tour Lake Minnetonka on Memorial Day. Thanks to Leah’s aunt Terri and uncle Sean! We were joined by Leah’s dad and stepmom, as well as her stepsister.
I know I ended April on a sour note due to some writing shortcomings, I want you to know I’m not going anywhere, at least for the time being. I’ve been spending some time doing a post-mortem on my ambitious National Poetry Month posting schedule, and while my poetry posts did not do well in terms of readership, my essays and “notes” are faring better. I’ve got a big anniversary coming up in June that I know I’m going to write about. And I made a bonkers video to hopefully drive some more traffic to my Substack.
This month I’ll leave you with another short video, as I teased last month. In April, we had a very talented artist join us in the Current studios in downtown Saint Paul. My colleague and neighbor Evan shot and edited the video and I recorded/mixed the audio for this. I hope you enjoy, until next month…
Links:
P.S. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. I just want to dedicate this month’s newsletter to a dear friend who lost one of his dear friends in May. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, buddy. Sending love and only positive thoughts.
February 2025 Recap!
Mad as the mist and snow
Bolt and bar the shutter,
for the foul winds blow:
our minds are at their best this night,
and I seem to know
that everything outside us is
mad as the mist and snow.
—William Butler Yeats
What a wild ride February has been. America, it seems, is exhausted. How are you, dear reader? The yoga teacher in my wants to remind you to take extra time today (and every day if you are able) to just breathe. Maybe that’s right now; this moment. Just close your eyes and take three deep breaths. I’ll wait…
Great start. Let’s keep it up!
I’ve been looking for service opportunities this month. And writing; writing has helped. I stole my good buddy Tommy’s idea and volunteered for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Orientation takes place in early March, and I hope to be building homes in underserved neighborhoods by the time you read my next newsletter (which, thank you, by the way). I volunteered to review grant applications for PFund, a local foundation “which helps build more equitable communities for queer people in the Upper Midwest”. While looking for opportunities in the veteran hospice space, I came across an organization called Grace Hospice. There are opportunities at Grace Hospice to perform legacy work (helping people write their memories), pet therapy (I’m looking at you Churro!), patient companionship, and vigil work as well. I had a nice conversation with their volunteer coordinator Bryan, who told me they currently don’t have any veteran volunteers, which I found shocking! Orientation for Grace isn’t until April, but I’m eager to help out in that space as well.
[Quick aside: a number of years ago, I recorded an a cappella group called the Threshold Singers, which sings at the beds of hospice patients. Here’s one of their songs:]
So what? I hear you asking. Do I hear the dreaded bells of “virtue-signaling” ringing across the land? [That’s what “They” want, by the way, to turn us against each other with labels and buzz words. Don’t fall for it, friends. Use your brains, use your hearts.] Here’s the reality: I have time to spare, and my conscience can only rest when I know that others in my community aren’t needlessly suffering.
My favorite picture of my grandma Helen. Unknown date, likely early 1940s.
If you had told me a month ago that I’d be spending my writing time in February working on various genealogy-centric essays, I simply wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here we are. It started, as I thought about my grandma Helen (Thue) Sauvageau in early February—she passed away in February of 2017. As I thought about her, I created an account on FamilySearch and pretty quickly started finding information about the Sauvageau and Thue side of the family (my dad’s folks). It’s pretty wild, but I was able to track the Sauvageaus back to Marcé-sur-Esves and Poitou-Charentes, France in the 1640s. I traced my Grandma Helen’s grandparents to Møre og Romsdal and Hallingdal, Norway in the 1860s.
Helen Sauvageau’s parents: Albert Peder and Inga Olive (née Braaten) Thue. Prior to 1953. According to Dad, this was taken at their old farmstead near Kindred, ND.
My mom’s family was a bit harder to trace, but I’m making some progress there. I wrote a little about my research and findings regarding her maternal grandmother, Edna Celina (née Melsness) McGough here.
In the process of that research, I registered for an account with Newspapers.com, which features a wealth of digitized newspapers from around the world. Cross-referencing these with family tree sites, military drafts, and census information has allowed me to feel closer to my long-gone ancestors than I ever imagined. I had no idea, for instance, that my great-grandfather Arthur Lemke’s brother Albert died in a house fire which started when he fell while smoking a cigaret [sic]!
February was a good month for adventures in Classical music. For my birthday, Leah got me tickets to a Schubertiade performance by the Schubert Club, featuring local band Kiss the Tiger at a Saint Paul bar called Amsterdam. As a big Schubert fan, it was great to hear some new and traditional takes on his music.
Schubertiade at Amsterdam featuring Kiss the Tiger
I got to record my second opera in February: Snowy Day, as performed by the Minnesota Opera. Joel Thompson composed Snowy Day in 2021, based on the 1962 children’s book of the same name by Ezra Jack Keats. It was a lovely opera, and since I was recording it for work, I got to see it four times (during rehearsals) prior to the opening night recording. Check out a promo from the production below!
Then, back at MPR HQ, I got to record audio for countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and pianist John Churchwell, as they performed music of Robert and Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Korngold. I’ll likely post a video of that in the next month as well.
Something fun
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Something fun 〰️
Something fun that we did in February was taking Churro to Pug Night at Unleashed Hounds and Hops in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Beer and pugs: what could be better? I counted about 40 other pugs, and of course dozens of other breeds. We even met another fawn pug named Churro and talked to her parents for a while too.
The Human Caterpillar of pugs named Churro
Churro giving strong “can we go home now” vibes
Until we meet again, dear reader, keep breathing!