Where were you at 6 p.m. Saturday, February 4, 2023?
I was at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church rural Albert Lea, ready to eat pizza and drink pop at a Valentine's Party.
At exactly 6 p.m. the great Ken Bertelson walked in with heated carry-out bags loaded with 22 pizzas from Domino’s in Albert Lea.
The carry-out order was placed with Cathy: it was easy to tell she is a reliable take-out order specialist. Why so? Because the delivery was exactly as ordered, including 100 napkins.
What is the best beverage to go with pizza at a church Valentine's Party with those attending from the ages of 4 to in excess of 44? (An interesting observation being that there were only 4 that admitted to being over 44.) Thus, the answer was pop.
Eight twelve-packs of pop were purchased from Hy-Vee in Albert Lea. (Mainly because the store had a “Buy 2, Get One Free” sale. In terms of pop usage, regular Coke was the most popular.
After pizza and pop, the great native of Norway (Bruce Stolaas by way of Glenville) led us in “grace.” Just as Bruce finished, a loud voice uttered, “Let the Norwegian Bingo games begin.”
And the 12 games began. Some of the more humorous events were when a person yelled Bingo after 3 numbers were called and the caller (me) agreed it was a good Bingo!! The integrity of the caller was questioned as it takes at least 4 numbers to get a Bingo!!
Another enjoyable combination was a table where folks from Tennessee were seated next to players from Ellendale. It was a table of the North versus the South! All concerned finally decided they were present for fun and not fight; the truce resulted in some merry times – once the games were over.
A young lady announced the slumber party celebrating her sixth party had been the night before, so her mom was very tired. At that point, Emma got a Bingo and was able to select a “red” hat as her prize. Emma is still very happy and Mom is still very tired.
After the 12 games of Norwegian Bingo ended, it was time for ice cream with toppings. (Whipped cream was an instant success.)
Door prizes were announced at 9 p.m. Phil Morreim was the winner of an apple pie; Eunice Bakken claimed 6 muffins. (Both prizes were from Perkins in Albert Lea.) Ken Bertelson was the winner of a “Fan in the Stands” Viking football costume.
Many thanks to Gillian, Jim and Holly for helping. Holly was surprised by finding a holly pin on the Bingo table.
An interesting story of human goodwill was when recycling at the recycling bins by Clarks Grove. I accidentally threw my black folder with all the information pertaining to the Valentine Party in the recycling bin. About 3 hours later, I discovered my error and rushed back, only to discover others had later put recycling in the same bin. I couldn't find my folder, and so was in a panic.
The next morning I'm at the office at 6 a.m., hoping someone can help me reacquire the black folder. Jay agreed to get Jimmy to see if they could find the folder; they promised to call that day with the result.
Later that morning a message was left on my phone: “We've found your folder.” My reaction was, “Wow!!”
Jay (the boss), Jimmy (the finder), and Jenny (the office staff member), you employees of Waste Systems made my day. I thank you.
— — —
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 New York. 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.