Thank you for being interested enough to search for this Christmas letter and then to read it! Merry Christmas to you and yours from Vermillion, S.D.
As 2009 began, I was still living with daughter Heather and grandson Dylan here in Vermillion while she finished law school at the University of South Dakota. Her graduation in May was one of our family's two major events. We had a reception for Heather at our local church here and attended another one honoring her and three law school friends in Yankton later in the day. Heather spent June and July studying for the South Dakota Bar exam and began work in the office of a federal magistrate judge in Rapid City in August. Later that month she learned she had passed the bar exam and was officially an attorney! It had been quite a three years for her and an amazing achievement---not only completing her law degree but also raising the most wonderful little 5-year-old boy you can imagine. I spent August in Rapid City with Heather and Dylan until his daycare at the YMCA opened at the end of that month.
For some reason I decided to stay in Vermillion for at least another year, so here I am, five hours from Heather and Dylan in Rapid City as well as Jason and Allison and five hours from Holly, Nathan, Olivia and Audrey in Rochester and another hour from Ryan in St. Paul. I have a small one-bedroom apartment that is big enough for me. I keep busy enough covering high school sports for The Vermillion Plain Talk newspaper, playing piano for the opera class at the USD music department, and accompanying several USD vocal students at their lessons, rehearsals and recitals. I also play organ once monthly at a Lutheran church out in the country and sing the rest of the time with the adult choir at the Vermillion UCC church.
The other major event in the Knox family in 2009 was Jason's marriage to Allison Ronning, his girlfriend for some seven years or so. They scheduled their wedding first for Halloween, then decided he couldn't miss work that night, so rescheduled the event for the night before Halloween. The wedding party and almost all the guests came attired in costumes, so it was quite the unique wedding, held in a wedding chapel into which Allison's brother-in-law and his ranch crew had transformed his machine shop. Jason and Allison live in Rapid City, and he continues as manager at the Dublin Square sports bar and grill downtown across from the Radisson Hotel. If you're looking for somewhere to go on a night out in Rapid City, that's the place! Jason turned 36 earlier this month, a fact I can barely fathom.
Ryan is still in the Twin Cities, living in an apartment in St. Paul and continuing to do theater as much as he can across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Again this past summer he spent two weeks at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse in Bemidji, Minn., and he is already cast in roles in two shows up there in the summer of 2010. Ryan will be 34 next April. If these kids are becoming middle-aged, what does that say about me!
Jason and Ryan are the world's best and proudest uncles. (Ryan calls his job "uncling," and he and Jase are both excellent at it!) Besides Dylan, my other two grandchildren are the daughters of Holly and Nathan Perli in Rochester, Minn. Olivia is a second-grade student at a brand-new elementary school in northwest Rochester and will be 8 in April. Audrey will be 3 in January. Holly, who like Heather turned 30 last August, continues her work as a registered nurse in the transplant unit at Methodist Hospital/Mayo Clinic. The Perlis have a beautiful home on Rochester's north side, very convenient to U.S. 52, the main freeway to the Twin Cities and to I-90. Nathan, who worked hard all the while Holly was completing nursing school, finally got his chance and completed his graphic arts degree this past year. He also is a valued employee of a firm that installs cabinets in newly-constructed homes. His most important role is father to my two granddaughters, and nobody could that better than he does.
Personally speaking, one of 2009's highlights was singing the national anthem with a nine-voice men's group from our local church at the College World Series in Omaha. We went down there to audition in April, were selected, and then performed in front of 20,000-some baseball fans prior to the Texas-Southern Miss game on a Sunday night in June. Another highlight came in early October when I went to Minnesota to attend the Twins-Kansas City next-to-last game of the regular season at the Metrodome. The Twins had to win every game that week, and they did win that one we saw with Michael Cuddyer hitting a homer in the eighth for a 5-4 lead and Joe Nathan saving the game in the ninth. It was the first Twins game I had seen since 1994, so I got there just in time since they move to outdoor Target Field this coming April. Seeing a game there is one of my 2010 goals.
For Thanksgiving all of us except Ryan, who had to work, gathered at the new cottage in Blunt as guests of De Welch Knudson and her family. For Christmas we are headed to Rochester a few days early to "do Christmas" since Holly has to work Christmas Eve and Day at the hospital this year.
I continue to write a column every sixth week for my former employer, the Custer Chronicle. Also in 2009 the Capital Journal in Pierre, another former employer, asked me to begin writing a column there, so I send them one every two weeks. I continue to keep busy producing via e-mail The Midweek Update, a compilation of news, sports, gossip, etc., for present and former Pierre area residents, enabling them to keep track of each other. The last time I checked, the mailing list was up over 2,000.
I must admit that I am a Facebook addict as well and check it regularly throughout each day for new "status reports" and "posts" from hundreds of people. I can claim that I get a lot of news for The Midweek Update via Facebook, and that is true.
Oh yes, there are Oliver and Winnie, the dogs who were here in Vermillion with Heather, Dylan and me from May 2007 until last summer. I miss them, too. They are in Rapid City with Heather and Dylan, and they added a little kitten, Charlie, this fall. I'm pretty much committed to Vermillion until next summer, but then we'll see, but I hear Rapid City calling. By that time I will be 71 1/2 years old, so I'm game to move only one more time!
My only brother, John, and his wife Linda continue to live in Onida, our hometown, which has been their home all of their married life. They are both now retired, but they play golf regularly, and John this year assumed head coaching duties of the high school golf teams in Pierre. Their daughter, Jayne; her husband, Clark Kraemer, and their two children, Allyson and Justin, are in Rapid City, another good reason to move out there eventually.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The 2008 Parkie Awards
Although the new year is already a month old, this is my first chance to visit with you since 2008 ended. We can't let the old year slip into oblivion without bestowing our annual Parkie Awards.
These have been a yearly ritual everywhere I've written newspaper columns over the past 30 years. There is a chance a couple of the recipients of a Parkie consider it a high point of their lives. There are more who didn't appreciate the distinction. Whichever the case, they're all worthy.
You have to first understand that sports plays a huge role in my daily life. Who plays when? What games are on TV? No wonder that most of what I remember from the year past has to do with sports, and so do most of my pet peeves. That's just the way it is, so bear with me.
Nevertheless, the 2008 Parkies go to:
Quote of the Year award: to the late Christopher Emmett, who said, after Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine refused to stay his execution by lethal injection, "Tell the governor he just lost my vote."
Sports Play of the Year award: to the Giants' Eli Manning, who escaped being sacked by a crowd of Patriots, scrambled back and fired a desperation pass downfield where Tyree made a miracle catch, keeping the team's Super Bowl-winning drive alive and breaking my Patriot heart in the process.
You Said What? award: to the film producer who, after he chose a site in western Iowa at which to film a movie entitled "South Dakota," explained, "We found the perfect South Dakota in Iowa."
Basketball Shot of the Year I Did See award: to USD's Rane Mergen, who grabbed a rebound and fired a successful length-of-the-court shot at the DakotaDome to beat the halftime clock against Augustana.
Basketball Shot of the Year I Didn't See award: to the Pierre Lady Govs' Steph Paluch, who was in position to rebound Drew Miller's missed three-point shot and tip it in at the buzzer to beat Watertown in the state "AA" semifinals.
Twist the Language award: to the once-legendary pitcher Roger Clemens, who said to a congressional committee about his personal trainer's claims that Clemens used steroids, "He misremembered."
Welcome to the Club award: to an honest Sen. John McCain, who said aloud early in the primary campaign, "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should."
You Lived Up to Your Hype award: to USD freshman Louie Krogman, who led his White River team to the state "B" title despite incredible pressure and high expectations and who earned a starting spot on his college team, all in the same year.
College Play That Changed the Season award: to Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, whose last-second touchdown pass play beat Texas and changed the dynamics of the college season nationwide.
Never Give Up award: to the amazing Tampa Bay Rays, who in Game 5 of the American League championship series were only seven outs from the World Series with a 7-0 lead but lost, but who then in Game 7 beat the mighty Red Sox 3-1 to win the pennant.
You Took My Breath Away award: to the hundreds of Chinese drummers whose synchronized performance at the Olympics opening ceremonies left me speechless.
Welcome Back award: to "Friday Night Lights," the wonderful NBC-TV show which refuses to die.
There's No "I" in "Team" award: to the NBA pro superstars who, first of all, gave up their summers to willingly represent the USA at the Olympics, and then who displayed amazing camaraderie and teamwork in melding into a true Team USA.
I Wish We Could Run That Play Again award: to whoever called the particular play in the first quarter of the first game of the season on which Patriot quarterback Tom Brady was lost for the year.
The Most Relaxing Hour of the Week award: to CBS-TV's "Sunday Morning," the only TV show worth getting up before 8 a.m. on a Sunday to see.
I'll Watch Golf Again When You Get Back award: to Tiger Woods, the only good reason to stay inside on a summer afternoon to watch people play golf on television.
Now What Am I Supposed to Read First award: to long-time Argus Leader writer/columnist Terry Woster, whose Sunday column was for years the first thing I always turned to in the Sunday paper.
Worst Singers in the World award: it's a tie---to the contestants on "American Idol" and to the people the Cubs get to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.
Explain This to Me award: to NFL and college football officials who will call unnecessary penalties on players who celebrate touchdowns but who do nothing to the 300-pound oafs who sack quarterbacks and then prance around the field doing dances and calling attention to themselves.
Did She Say What I Think She Said award: to the one and only Gov. Sarah Palin, who during a campaign interview, explained that she has foreign policy experience because her state is the first one Russian planes fly over on their way to the U.S.
How Will You Ever Survive award: to Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, who faces the daunting task of getting by on $10 million per year instead of $16 million.
The Knox Parker award: to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who named one of their twins Knox. (I receive computer-generated mail address to "Knox Parker" all the time.)
We'll Miss You Each Day It Rains award: to the Metrodome, which is about to begin its last year as the Twins' home. Outdoor baseball will be great except when we drive 10 hours to see a game that is then rained out.
Tell Me What I Am Seeing award: to the idiot sportscasters who, the instant some graphic appears on the screen, stop in mid-sentence to read to me what I am reading.
Sports Moment of the Year award: to the USA's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team, who, on the first Monday night of the Olympics, lifted us off our couches as anchorman Jason Lezak chased down the trash-talking Frenchman and beat him at the wall to win the gold medal. (Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones swam the first three legs.)
You Are the Woman award: to Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt who with her bare hands knocked a raccoon off her deck as it was about to attack her dog.
Your Dad Would Have Been Proud award: to young Luke Russert, who eloquently eulogized his dad, NBC's Tim Russert, at the funeral and then went to work on the network during the campaign.
The New TV Show I Don't Miss award: to "The Mentalist." If you call me, don't bother me from 8 to 9 on Tuesday nights!
The Worst of Luck to You award: to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers or Angels who, with any luck at all, will fail yet again to buy the pennant.
I'll Never Forget Where I Was award: to that moment at 10 p.m. on a Saturday in August when a group of diverse people gathered from a wedding reception, from a college reunion and from off the street to crowd into the bar at the Crossroads in Huron to watch Michael Phelps swim to his eighth gold medal at the Olympics.
Newcomer of the Year award: to Twins centerfielder Carlos Gomez, who had huge Torii Hunter shoes to fill but who became a fun guy worth driving 400 miles to see play.
Image of the Year award: to the individual faces of the crowd in Grant Park on Election Night as Senator Obama gave his address.
Photo of the Year award: to Brian Madetzke's shot of the Custer State Park buffalo roundup with one of the cowboys carrying an American flag in the midst of the thundering herd.
Call Yourselves State Champs award: to Darin Smith, Cody Hart, Isaac Parsons and Jared Foote (and Jared Fischer, who ran in the prelims) pf Custer High, who sped to victory in the state "A" medley relay.
Keep Trying award: to the Custer Breakfast Club, who had a great idea for using a beautiful part of town to entice visitors to stay in Custer. There will always be naysayers, but keep coming up with good ideas!
Be Careful What You Wish For award: to the Chronicle's Jason Ferguson, who last February said he would jump into his friend's swimming pool in Arizona if the Giants won the Super Bowl game.
Boob Tube award: to my new 8-month-old Lab pup Winnie, who sits entranced in front of the TV set and watches the pictures change. Sort of like me!
You Are the Man award: to CHS senior Jared Foote, who last spring shocked the world, not to mention his fellow competitors, by winning the Black Hills Relay's 400-meter special event against the state's best.
I Wish I Had Been There award: to the Roddy boys---Luke, who stole the ball, and Jake, who made the basket---as Custer beat Red Cloud in the Lakota Nation Invitational second round in December.
The Oscar for Best Actors award: it's a three-way tie---to (1) punters who feign being run into by potential kick-blockers, (2) soccer players who writhe around on the field in supposed agony after being run into and (3) big men underneath the basket who flop to the floor and draw charging calls. You're all a bunch of phonies, and the refs are dumb enough to fall for it.
How Hot Is It award: to Mitch McLain (as General Custer), Dave Ressler (as a cavalry soldier) and the other welcomers who, dressed in 19th-century costumes, greet bikers, tourists and other Custer visitors in the heat of the summer tourist season.
You Make Life Worthwhile award: to (it's the same each year!) my kids and grandkids.
These have been a yearly ritual everywhere I've written newspaper columns over the past 30 years. There is a chance a couple of the recipients of a Parkie consider it a high point of their lives. There are more who didn't appreciate the distinction. Whichever the case, they're all worthy.
You have to first understand that sports plays a huge role in my daily life. Who plays when? What games are on TV? No wonder that most of what I remember from the year past has to do with sports, and so do most of my pet peeves. That's just the way it is, so bear with me.
Nevertheless, the 2008 Parkies go to:
Quote of the Year award: to the late Christopher Emmett, who said, after Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine refused to stay his execution by lethal injection, "Tell the governor he just lost my vote."
Sports Play of the Year award: to the Giants' Eli Manning, who escaped being sacked by a crowd of Patriots, scrambled back and fired a desperation pass downfield where Tyree made a miracle catch, keeping the team's Super Bowl-winning drive alive and breaking my Patriot heart in the process.
You Said What? award: to the film producer who, after he chose a site in western Iowa at which to film a movie entitled "South Dakota," explained, "We found the perfect South Dakota in Iowa."
Basketball Shot of the Year I Did See award: to USD's Rane Mergen, who grabbed a rebound and fired a successful length-of-the-court shot at the DakotaDome to beat the halftime clock against Augustana.
Basketball Shot of the Year I Didn't See award: to the Pierre Lady Govs' Steph Paluch, who was in position to rebound Drew Miller's missed three-point shot and tip it in at the buzzer to beat Watertown in the state "AA" semifinals.
Twist the Language award: to the once-legendary pitcher Roger Clemens, who said to a congressional committee about his personal trainer's claims that Clemens used steroids, "He misremembered."
Welcome to the Club award: to an honest Sen. John McCain, who said aloud early in the primary campaign, "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should."
You Lived Up to Your Hype award: to USD freshman Louie Krogman, who led his White River team to the state "B" title despite incredible pressure and high expectations and who earned a starting spot on his college team, all in the same year.
College Play That Changed the Season award: to Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, whose last-second touchdown pass play beat Texas and changed the dynamics of the college season nationwide.
Never Give Up award: to the amazing Tampa Bay Rays, who in Game 5 of the American League championship series were only seven outs from the World Series with a 7-0 lead but lost, but who then in Game 7 beat the mighty Red Sox 3-1 to win the pennant.
You Took My Breath Away award: to the hundreds of Chinese drummers whose synchronized performance at the Olympics opening ceremonies left me speechless.
Welcome Back award: to "Friday Night Lights," the wonderful NBC-TV show which refuses to die.
There's No "I" in "Team" award: to the NBA pro superstars who, first of all, gave up their summers to willingly represent the USA at the Olympics, and then who displayed amazing camaraderie and teamwork in melding into a true Team USA.
I Wish We Could Run That Play Again award: to whoever called the particular play in the first quarter of the first game of the season on which Patriot quarterback Tom Brady was lost for the year.
The Most Relaxing Hour of the Week award: to CBS-TV's "Sunday Morning," the only TV show worth getting up before 8 a.m. on a Sunday to see.
I'll Watch Golf Again When You Get Back award: to Tiger Woods, the only good reason to stay inside on a summer afternoon to watch people play golf on television.
Now What Am I Supposed to Read First award: to long-time Argus Leader writer/columnist Terry Woster, whose Sunday column was for years the first thing I always turned to in the Sunday paper.
Worst Singers in the World award: it's a tie---to the contestants on "American Idol" and to the people the Cubs get to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.
Explain This to Me award: to NFL and college football officials who will call unnecessary penalties on players who celebrate touchdowns but who do nothing to the 300-pound oafs who sack quarterbacks and then prance around the field doing dances and calling attention to themselves.
Did She Say What I Think She Said award: to the one and only Gov. Sarah Palin, who during a campaign interview, explained that she has foreign policy experience because her state is the first one Russian planes fly over on their way to the U.S.
How Will You Ever Survive award: to Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, who faces the daunting task of getting by on $10 million per year instead of $16 million.
The Knox Parker award: to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who named one of their twins Knox. (I receive computer-generated mail address to "Knox Parker" all the time.)
We'll Miss You Each Day It Rains award: to the Metrodome, which is about to begin its last year as the Twins' home. Outdoor baseball will be great except when we drive 10 hours to see a game that is then rained out.
Tell Me What I Am Seeing award: to the idiot sportscasters who, the instant some graphic appears on the screen, stop in mid-sentence to read to me what I am reading.
Sports Moment of the Year award: to the USA's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team, who, on the first Monday night of the Olympics, lifted us off our couches as anchorman Jason Lezak chased down the trash-talking Frenchman and beat him at the wall to win the gold medal. (Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones swam the first three legs.)
You Are the Woman award: to Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt who with her bare hands knocked a raccoon off her deck as it was about to attack her dog.
Your Dad Would Have Been Proud award: to young Luke Russert, who eloquently eulogized his dad, NBC's Tim Russert, at the funeral and then went to work on the network during the campaign.
The New TV Show I Don't Miss award: to "The Mentalist." If you call me, don't bother me from 8 to 9 on Tuesday nights!
The Worst of Luck to You award: to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers or Angels who, with any luck at all, will fail yet again to buy the pennant.
I'll Never Forget Where I Was award: to that moment at 10 p.m. on a Saturday in August when a group of diverse people gathered from a wedding reception, from a college reunion and from off the street to crowd into the bar at the Crossroads in Huron to watch Michael Phelps swim to his eighth gold medal at the Olympics.
Newcomer of the Year award: to Twins centerfielder Carlos Gomez, who had huge Torii Hunter shoes to fill but who became a fun guy worth driving 400 miles to see play.
Image of the Year award: to the individual faces of the crowd in Grant Park on Election Night as Senator Obama gave his address.
Photo of the Year award: to Brian Madetzke's shot of the Custer State Park buffalo roundup with one of the cowboys carrying an American flag in the midst of the thundering herd.
Call Yourselves State Champs award: to Darin Smith, Cody Hart, Isaac Parsons and Jared Foote (and Jared Fischer, who ran in the prelims) pf Custer High, who sped to victory in the state "A" medley relay.
Keep Trying award: to the Custer Breakfast Club, who had a great idea for using a beautiful part of town to entice visitors to stay in Custer. There will always be naysayers, but keep coming up with good ideas!
Be Careful What You Wish For award: to the Chronicle's Jason Ferguson, who last February said he would jump into his friend's swimming pool in Arizona if the Giants won the Super Bowl game.
Boob Tube award: to my new 8-month-old Lab pup Winnie, who sits entranced in front of the TV set and watches the pictures change. Sort of like me!
You Are the Man award: to CHS senior Jared Foote, who last spring shocked the world, not to mention his fellow competitors, by winning the Black Hills Relay's 400-meter special event against the state's best.
I Wish I Had Been There award: to the Roddy boys---Luke, who stole the ball, and Jake, who made the basket---as Custer beat Red Cloud in the Lakota Nation Invitational second round in December.
The Oscar for Best Actors award: it's a three-way tie---to (1) punters who feign being run into by potential kick-blockers, (2) soccer players who writhe around on the field in supposed agony after being run into and (3) big men underneath the basket who flop to the floor and draw charging calls. You're all a bunch of phonies, and the refs are dumb enough to fall for it.
How Hot Is It award: to Mitch McLain (as General Custer), Dave Ressler (as a cavalry soldier) and the other welcomers who, dressed in 19th-century costumes, greet bikers, tourists and other Custer visitors in the heat of the summer tourist season.
You Make Life Worthwhile award: to (it's the same each year!) my kids and grandkids.
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