Author: Tim Johnson

The kayaks sat on top of our car. Tents, sleeping bags, cooking gear, food and everything else one needs for four days in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness were packed inside. The weather forecast was perfect, sunny days with temperatures in the mid 70’s. We anticipated fishing, exploring the lakes with our kayaks, summer evenings around a campfire and in general enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Unfortunately the morning our permit gave us permission to enter, we turned around and headed back to St. Paul. The entire BWCAW was experiencing the same extreme air quality alert that folks were experiencing throughout Minnesota, including St. Paul. The reading registered at 170 or in the color coded alert system, purple, which means very unhealthy for everyone, not just the elderly or folks with health issues. 

The moral of the story was pay attention. At least, that was what my dad suggested as the take away lesson. It was hard to argue with that conclusion. I was at a home town basketball game. I had a front row seat, a great spot to watch the game. The ball slamming me in the face caught me totally off guard. My broken glasses lay on the ground. All eyes turned toward me to see if I was OK. I was caught between shock, embarrassment and the sharp stinging on my face. As my dad later that night rightly observed, when you are sitting in the front row, it might be a good idea to pay attention to the game rather than chatting it up with your friends. You never know when an errant pass might be coming your way. 

My grandson’s shoe was missing. He is just 13 months in age and has been enjoying the value of upright mobility for the past month or so, making footwear important. On a warm sunny afternoon, the playground we visited was full of other children with either their parents or grandparents. The adults, like the children, engaged in the type of friendly conversation of people meeting for the first time.

On a sub-zero day, something more than anger is needed to get one to leave the warm comfort of home and join hundreds of protesters standing together by the steps of the State Capitol. Billed as a National Protest, with gatherings in all 50 states, this President’s Day event was both a rejection of the perceived authoritarianism of recent Presidential executive orders and an embrace of constitutional democracy. In his book, “Dare We Speak of Hope?,” Allan Boesak, South African theologian and a leader of the anti-apartheid movement, offers a quote from St. Augustine who said, “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the same.”

Building Community The winter landscape for the beginning of 2025, much like the winter landscape for virtually all of 2024,