Chris Rasmusson

An off-blog exchange on lighting made me think of Chris.

In The Grove, the little town where I grew up, we had one gas station which was a general hangout - guys sitting on broken stools and stacked oil cases smoking Chesterfields, drinking Coca-Cola from 6 ounce bottles, swearing and spitting, telling lies about their lives and lovers. Chris was an employee. A really old employee. He did not own the gas station, he came with the business when Ev bought it, along with the old brown dog that laid by the door in the sunshine.

Every time Chris turned on the lights at dusk, every damned time, he said, "Let der be light, *click*, and der wuss." I think he'd been doing it for so long, for him it was part of turning on a lightswitch. One morning when the first customer, Wyman Hanson pulled up, Chris didn't come out to pump the gas, check the oil and wash the windshield. Now Chris was old and not one to hurry, but eventually Wyman became impatient and went in the see what the hell the hold up was. Chris was sitting there alone, sleeping, slumped in his chair behind the counter. Looking closer, Wyman noticed the cigarette had burned all the way down between his fingers. Old Chris, deader than a Danish mackerel. 

If I happen to have a guest that knew Chris, I still tend to quote Genesis when I flick the light switch. "And der wuss."

(Jeez, it's been so long, now I'm not certain it was "Rasmusson".)

The Growlery: Adding "Stuff"

The 1972 Galmozzi. Angelo Galmozzi didn't date or number his frames. I accepted the fact that this was a '72 because the seller thought it was. It. Ain't. It is possibly up to ten years older. The pictures of another 1972 and late 1960s Galmozzis have the bottom cable guides brazed on, no head badge and other subtle differences. So the carefully selected components are quite likely the wrong date. One way of looking at this is that that probably saved me a little money.

Really discerning eyes will note that I did find World Championship bar tape, and I rerouted the brake cables to the traditional Italian right-hand front brake setup.

The fishing books and equipment are a bit of a red herring; that is, I don't actually fish much, but I enjoy reading about it, particularly the fly fishing books. 

Bags and baskets. A folding table for company, which is as close to a workbench as I have out there right now.

The print I received from my daughter. And some old inherited rods and reels - the oldest pushing the century mark.

A magazine rack the Old Man made when he ran away from Ma and was living at the cabin by Geneva Lake.  It is a very inefficient use of space, but the size is about right ... and I had it. Which is sometimes the driver.

Resolutions

It's New Years Day, a day to make resolutions for the upcoming year, to change our lives for the better, and to reaffirm our bad habits. I try to keep my resolutions within the scope of reality, not to over reach. For instance, two years ago I resolved to eat more mustard. I took a pretty good run at that one early, but eventually lapsed back into my old butter and mayonnaise habits. Last year I resolved to drink more Stouts and Porters. I'm proud to say that I've done pretty well at that one, though I did backslide a little into the Ale world, particularly the IPAs, after my sidekick, The Judge went south for the winter season. Then the local liquor store started carrying MooJoos Oatmeal Milk Stout and I was back on the road to redemption again. I plan on attacking the Stouts with renewed vigor this year, but I don't have any other new resolutions. Any suggestions are welcome. And keep that self-improvement stuff to yourself. That usually only involves things that make it better for the people around you. I'm only interested in things that will make my life better. ;-)

Thanks to Gabriel for Woody Gutherie's New Year's resolutions.
 # 20. DREAM GOOD. # 26. DANCE BETTER.  Yep.

Res. no.1: Use more bar graphs and pie charts on the blog.

A Perfect Present

Christmas Eve:

Addy gave me a signed and numbered Adam Turmam 18 x 24" screen print of this. It's hard to see on this photo, but right under "Ride Gravel" in small letters it says "Southern Minnesota". I should have been suspicious when she said The Growlery needed some pictures. She was right. Now, all I need is a picture frame.

Thanks Addy, I love you.

Adding Growlery Capacity?

I have a weakness for fendered bicycles. It has become painfully obvious that they take up twice as much storage space. To deal that that I took a baby step; I removed the fenders from the white "Ghost of Elvis" Kvale. At some point a person doesn't need two fendered Chris Kvale bicycles. Another thing has also become apparent. I have no provision for miscellaneous storage. The smaller parts can be dealt with boxes in and beneath the bench. Where the hell do I put fenders, wheelsets, etc? I'm thinking maybe an overhead compartment over the door. An attic.

Merry Christmas Guys

(Thanks to Jonny Hamachi.)

Oakwood Carolers

It's been many years since we've had a brown Christmas. We may not have any snow for Christmas this year in Oakwood, but we do have the neighborhood kids out caroling and plenty of cookies on hand to reward them. A Partridge In a Pear Tree beats Trick 'R Treat any day. (My daughter is 26 and says this is the first non-white Christmas in her memory. It just ain't right.)

I can't do first names with all these kids, but last names from the left:  Utz, Heinz, Heinz, Cookle, Heinz, Utz. I think.

Not only were we treated to the Christmas spirit in song, they gave us a loaf of Hawaiian fruit bread from Tobi Utze as they left. Still hoping for a little snow. 

The 1410 Growlery: 12/21/2011

The view as I enter. The walls are Benjamin Moore GN-77, an obsolete code paint that was in a rusty can that has been in our basement since we moved in 25 years ago. As one might expect, the paint has a lot of clumps and bumps. It gives the walls "character".            Also, a good leather chair for company.  Between the wood chair, the leather folder and the ottoman I can seat three.  One for solitude, two for company, and three for society.  Should be enough.

The Peter Mooney is in the future location of the work bench. To the right, Lorna's little mixte.

The Ghost of Elvis. I'm seriously considering removing the fenders. How many fendered Chris Kvale bicycles does a man truly need? The bike hangers are just plumbing -  floor flanges, 12" pipe, end caps, covered with foam isolation jackets.  

Galmozzi and McLean. Tomorrow, Odean, God of War is coming over to patch my ill measured holes behind the McLean. He will work for really good beer. In true light the "orange" walls are actually burnt sienna - a brick red brown. The plywood will be covered by my old board fence, which is 3/4" x  7" redwood boards which will be planed down to  1/2" and stained to match the door.

The day before yesterday I visited Dave Forland and bought another of his old $25 chairs. Lorna claimed the other one I had for her sewing room. The ottoman will be eventually be covered with brown leather. And I think I need more shallow bookshelves on the wall behind the chair - just in case I need to read. We have a killer wi-fi router which will blast a signal down to The Growlery, but I think I'm going to resist that temptation for now.

As you can see, I'm slowly getting things fixed up. Next, baseboard and ceiling, then lay down the vinyl flooring. Then next summer, refurbish and trim the windows and door. 

Growlery is a State of Mind

A photo from Silky Jack - his Growlery, a nook where he can curl up to read, play his banjo and monitor the computer. It has been my observation that banjos are often banned to faraway corners. Also cigars.

Another Growlery?

By definition a Growlery was a place to get away from the women, particularly when the occupier was in a cranky mood. So the question is, can a single woman have a Growlery? Apparently so, Judijudijudi sent me this picture today. Maybe she needs a place to get away from her cats.

A Warm Snap ...

It's pushing 50 degrees right now. Nice weather for ice fishing? There is a skim of water over the ice that set up last week. It is people like these gentlemen that are decimating our fishing gene pool.

Phone photo by Lorna B. ...................... from shore.

A new attitude about biking in Minneapolis?

A close member of my family lives in Minneapolis and works in one of the western suburbs. Last weekend she finally gave in and for the first time in years she temporarily parked her bicycle and bought an automobile. Even in Minneapolis the combination of distance and weather made bicycle commuting too difficult. The following is from yesterday's Minneapolis Tribune. I assume the photo was taken earlier in the year.

"The number of bicyclists in and around Minneapolis has soared in the past year, signaling that a decade-long cultural shift in transportation and urban design is gaining ground.

The number of people burning calories instead of fuel to turn their wheels increased by 22 percent in the past year and by 52 percent since 2007, according to data to be released on Friday by Bike Walk Twin Cities, an advocacy group.

The numbers are still low compared to car usage. But, experts say, they are big enough now to make an impact on health, air pollution and traffic congestion.

"It's become a cultural phenomenon, and part of the identity of many people who reside [in the Twin Cities]," said John Pucher, a professor of urban transportation at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "Minneapolis is one of the most successful [biking] cities in the United States, which is incredible given your weather."

The trend is also producing new attitudes toward commuting and -- in case you hadn't noticed -- a need to share the roads no matter what the weather.

"I'm going to ride in the tire track, right where the cars are," said Jill Hamilton, 48, as she described how she handles her bike commute to downtown Minneapolis on snowy days. "My mindset is: I'm sharing the road, too."

The fact that Hamilton is riding -- Minneapolis has more female riders than the national average -- and doing it in the winter is evidence that millions of dollars invested in biking lanes and trails are resulting in a transformation of the city, Pucher said."  continued