JULY 21 MONDAY in Dad's country

aw sheeeeeeet !!!!

There is something very special about prayer time deep in the Northwoods. Silence except for the chirping birds, the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze, buzzing of a bee annoying Sheba. The very presence of the array of different species of vegetation that surround this delightful little campsite speaks volumes on how I believe the Good Lord would like mankind to work and live together for mutual enrichment. The magical quaking Aspen, the oak, next to the maple, next to prairie willow, next to choke cherry, next to black cherry, then many kinds of evergreens and of course the ubiquitous birch. And we can't even get nuclear families to act like an ecosystem.

I had patients and bookwork until almost 3:00 . I had called Virginia Kressin and left message that I would stop by int he afternoon. When I got there she greeted me with a big hug and said she remembered her grandpa talking about Bertil ( my dad) .She works from home and has to answer phone calls so our conversations were stacatto. She really is struggling trying to get licensed to reopen her grandfathers resort business. She had to turn away 28 families so far this season who wanted to come with their families to relive old memories just like me. Its the %^*$#@! ridiculous health department rules that are making it financially untenable to start what would undoubtedly be a great business. If the cabins are over 400 sq feet (Most are 419 -30 )they each must have a shower or bath tub for sanitation purposes!. I guess you will contaminate the lake if you don't shower before hand and a group shower for all cabins is not allowed unless it it is considered a camp site ( 400 ft or less! Just another example of the maddening red tape that is stiffing American free enterprise.

She couldn't even let me park the casita overnight without a license so I'm back at the Tamarack Campground . Even got a fire going . On my way back I stopped at the Burnt Bridge Saloon to check it out . Still lookin for a Walleye Pike dinner, but alas only on fridays. They did however have deep dried Walleye cheeks for appetizer. I couldn't believe it. The best morsel of any fish is the little round cheek muscle right behind the eye. My brother and I used to fight over who would get it. Dad always got at least one as he probably caught the fish. Anyway I had never seen that before and they were delicious a whole great big basket full of fish cheeks with tartar sauce. Far better than any french fry or onion ring known to mankind and top it all off with some homemade gumbo which was weird but tasty. Another in incredible thing was what was on the TV across the bar. It was the championship cliff diving tournament somewhere in Spain. These crazy people (male and female) did all kinds of flips and turns as they dove off a platform high up on some cliff. They all lived to do it again.

oh, and guess who I ran into in the Woods