This is another running-of-the-words column, fact or fiction, you decide.
When in Geneva, I had some business to conduct at the bank. As I parked the car on the north side of the bank, I noticed my red car was one of four red cars in a row followed by a black car and then two more red cars. I pointed this out to one of the lady bank employees. She politely informed me a fellow bank employee drove a red car and usually parked on the north side of the bank. When leaving the bank, I observed the only red parked cars on the street in either direction were cars I had observed.
My conclusion was this had to be a random parking of red cars. I was back in Geneva the next week, same thing, parked red cars in the same area. My new conclusion, and the right one, I’m sure: All the natives know about the color code in parking red cars on one street, dark on another, white on another, and so on.
In an effort to cut back on the littering of aluminum cans, Quebec, Canada has a 20-cent deposit on every can sold. Do you suppose this would help our littering problem in Minnesota? Yes, this is a fact!
Did you know U.S. Highway 65 starts or ends in Albert Lea, depending on which direction you’re going? All of us old-timers can remember when U.S. Highway 65 continued north of Albert Lea through Geneva and Owatonna to Minneapolis.
Did you know Tums were invented by a pharmacist whose wife suffered from frequent heartburn?
When is a room key not inserted to open the door to your hotel? When you touch the lock with your room key, a green light comes on and you turn the handle to open the door. Ramada Inn of Albert Lea is an example of this.
If you purchased an insurance product or made an investment with Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) 20-40 years ago, you might recognize one of the following names: Dave Clayton, Rochester; Bob Goetz, Austin; Bob Hanson, Albert Lea; Larry Johnson, Janesville; Paul Proft, Owatonna; Gary Worke, Waseca.
The six retired agents plus spouses recently met at Paul’s residence in Owatonna. As far as we could figure, in total the six of us were the agent for about 12,000 people during our careers. The six of us agreed, retirement is a lot easier! As usual, things change. The name AAL was changed to Thrivent Financial Company, a faith-based company.
It’s a free world to pretty much do your own thing as long as it is legal. T.C., the Twins’ bear mascot, is being challenged for the mascot position by a very fast-moving gray squirrel.
My grandfather lived on a farm by Hope, Minn. Many times he told me the story of Jesse James and his gang robbing the bank at Northfield. The citizens knew the gang was coming to rob the bank and they were waiting. Jesse and some of his gang managed to escape with some of the gold stolen from the bank. They followed rivers and lakes trying to get away from the posse and back to their home territory of Missouri. At Fountain Lake in Albert Lea they realized they didn’t have enough horses. On the east side of the lake, they carefully cut the sod away from a tree, dug down about 3 feet, buried the gold, cut the initials JJ into the tree about a foot down, replaced the sod and followed the Shell Rock River south. The gang never made it back, and the gold has never been found.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.