Sports medicine has advanced far beyond expectations these past years. When I was playing sports, if you happened to sprain your ankle, the coach’s advice was to "walk it off." 

And normally, the ankle was better after a few minutes. Then came the advice to put ice on it, which is still the accepted method of treatment for a lot of muscle and tendon injuries.

When a pitcher hurt his elbow the conventional wisdom was to rest. If the arm didn’t get better, the pitcher learned to be "crafty" or wound up in the Southern Minny.

Then a left-hander by the name of Tommy John blew out his elbow and a radical new surgery was proposed. A ligament would be taken from another part of the body and put in the elbow. It worked and is now a common operation. Some pitchers come back from surgery throwing harder than before .

The next step is on the horizon. Our neighbor, the Mayo Clinic, has given priority to Regenerative Medicine. According to a Rochester Post Bulletin article, the clinic has figured out how to take simple skin cells and make it possible for them to grow new tissue in an organ. 

For example, they might replace damaged tissue in a heart. If this comes about in the next decade or two, how far behind is tendon regeneration? 

But, with what I have concluded, I have found that Mayo Clinic is  pretty conservative. It seems to me the clinic would not be headed down this road unless they foresaw a positive outcome.

Wow, what a huge impact on our society, but for now let’s stick with athletics. If a baseball player loses some of his keen eyesight, that could probably be fixed. 

Athletic concerns would probably play a very small role in the overall objectives of regenerative medicine, but let’s use them for an example. A Joe Mauer could probably play long after he would normally have to hang up his spikes.

If this were possible and from a layman’s viewpoint, and it looks like it would, who would be eligible for regenerative medicine? In order to qualify, would you have to bat .300 and hit 30 home runs? Be a 20-game winner if you were a pitcher? 

Who would decide? Baseball fans? Sports fans? U.S. citizens? Might you have to pay $10 in order to vote on a particular player? Would their club decide? Or maybe it would be done with money. Could the player afford it? Could he borrow the money against future earnings? Would this favor the rich player over the poor? 

These options would certainly favor the male athlete over the female. Is that fair? 

These questions can go on and on, as can the answers. And, if a book hasn’t been already written about these question, I’m sure one will be.

Regenerative Medicine will be a huge new challenge for the human race. The ethics involved are many and varied. 

If the procedure is limited, who will determine those eligible? For example, let’s assume a repaired heart will not be cheap. Can just rich people afford it? Can we have insurance for it and if we can, would Obamacare cover it? Will it be limited to the most intelligent? Will it just be available to those benefitting civilization and if so, who determines the benefit? This is just the very tip of the bio-ethical questions that will be raised.

The Mayo Clinic includes in its research a bio-ethics committee. They certainly have their work cut out for them.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"I was kicked in the head by a snake."

"How could a snake kick you in the head?" 

"Two of his friends held me down."

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: a temper is too valuable to lose.

I’ve learned

1. Sports teach teamwork, but so does moving a sofa.   

2. I don’t care about the pattern on a paper towel.

3. I maintain a landline to help me find my cellphone.

The news from Hartland

Man, leaving paint store, hit with fur coats.

Grandfather clock for sale — complete with black socks and sandals.

The Pall Mall opens for smokers.

Cafe chronicles

The cafe was situated on a one-way street. It ran north one day and south the next. The Heimlich maneuver was printed on a menu that advised getting a tetanus shot after using the silverware. The day’s special was a clean plate. The coffee pot was on and trouble was brewing. Paul Cyr of New Richland says that all coffee should be made strong. If it’s too strong, water can be added, but if it’s too weak, all a person can do is to gripe. I was at the top of the food chain, so I ordered a piece of pie. I considered getting dessert with it, but did not. One year, my mother made me a birthday pie —  cherry. I love cherry pie. Mom made a birthday cake, too. What’s the point of being a great cook if you don’t cook? The cake was for everyone. The cherry pie was for me.

Here in Hartland

Hartland isn't small. It has a population of 315. You stuff 315 people into your house and tell me that’s not a lot of people. The vicious rumor that Hartland is small was started by 8,244,910 residents of New York City. Envy is a terrible thing. The Hartland post office has a large mail route that sometimes leaves our dependable rural carrier, Bradley Spooner, exhausted. It wasn’t due to a spike in jack-in-the-mailbox incidents. It was because the mail order brides had come in. It’s hard work stuffing them into mailboxes.

Six-layered Claire

I traveled from Red Deer, Alberta to Harlingen, Texas to Haines, Alaska. I flew to the cities and then traveled by car while there. Driving in the south is no problem for someone who drives in the north. Claire Floyd moved from Louisiana to take a job with the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines. She thought that the electrical plugs hanging from the grills of cars meant that the cars were electric-powered. She’d had no experience with engine block heaters. She survives Alaska weather by wearing six layers of clothes at all times.

Did you know?

According to Men’s Health magazine, the worst food in America is Outback Steakhouse's Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing.

A survey of adults found that 49% are unable to complete the line, "O Romeo, Romeo ..." from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with the correct answer, "wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Noah had two of everything on the Ark, except matching socks.

Lost and found 

Larry and L.K. Stevenson of Cedar Point, Texas were birding when nature called L.K. She and her husband spotted a small building that looked like an outhouse. The small building was some distance away, so L.K. hiked towards it while Larry continued to look for birds. Considerable time passed. Larry began to wonder about the whereabouts of his wife. He walked to the suspected outhouse and discovered it was a mere pretender. Larry hoofed it to their car to see if L.K. might have been waiting there. She wasn't and the car was gone. Larry fell into a panic. He'd lost both his wife and his car. Just as he was about to contact the police, his wife drove up. Discovering that the outhouse wasn't one, she’d walked to the car and driven to the nearest building containing a restroom. It was a hotel. She pretended to be a guest. She didn’t need to pretend that it was an emergency.

Come clean on Bath

Ed Jensen is looking for information and/or photos of Bath. Contact Ed at 507-684-2212 or P.O. Box 206 Ellendale, MN 56026.

Nature notes

“What makes a good Christmas stocking stuffer for a birder?” A birding group membership. State park sticker. Duck stamp. Field guide. Gloves. Warm socks. Hand warmers. Ice cleats. Travel packs of tissues.

“What is our largest owl?” A great horned owl is 22-inches long and weighs 3.1 pounds, a snowy owl is 23-inches long and weighs 4 pounds, and a great gray owl is 27-inches long and weighs 2.4 pounds.

Meeting adjourned

Treat another’s dreams kindly.

On Friday, November 2, Genie and I left Albert Lea and headed north on our annual fall sabbatical (I refer to this as “Deer Hunting,” Genie refers to it as “Extended Socializing”).

The sabbatical was from November 2 through November 19, with deer hunting allowed 16 of those 18 days. I hunted two to three hours in the morning for nine of the 16 mornings. Thus, you can see we did some extended socializing.

We stayed at the Palace Hotel outside of Cass Lake, Minnesota (325 miles from Albert Lea). The facility has a snack bar, a non-smoking dining room, a smaller casino with both fast and regular Bingo, and an 80-room hotel with a swimming pool, all under one roof. 

The rates are very reasonable. The food is excellent with good-sized portions. The employees all have that ability to make your stay enjoyable and they shine in doing just that.

Genie attended the Saturday “Does Only” Champagne brunch at Patrick’s in Longville with Sandy Roscoe, a former resident of Albert Lea.

We drove to Grand Forks, North Dakota to visit with Alex and Jack Knudson and had lunch with them at Perkins. They are both graduates of Albert Lea High School and students at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

We visited the Heidi DeBois (nee Morreim) family in Moorhead for lunch. (Hubby Isaac was at work and daughter Alianna was in school). Son Hutton showed us his new sister of eight months, Lainey, plus their well-mannered dog, “Bob.”

We drove to Baudette, Minn. for lunch with Carol Edstrom and attended the Holiday Craft and Vendor Extravaganza at Lake of the Woods School where she is a teacher. We brought her snacks to feed all the deer in her front yard at night. (Thanks to farmer Tim Toft of Beaver Lake for the corn on the cob deer food.)

We attended some of the Cass Lake Veterans Day November 11th activities. While in Cass Lake we attended the Lions Dinner at the Senior Center. The motto of “Land of the Free, Because of the Brave” gave this old veteran water in his eyes.

We attended Trinity Lutheran Church on Highway 2 just west of Cass Lake. They are most certainly a TLC church (Tender Loving Care). Wayne, the great organist, just before one service, played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” A member of the congregation, in a loud voice, said “Play ball!” and the service started. If you want to visit a non-stoic Lutheran church, Trinity is a must.

Mom and Dad members of TLC asked us if we knew their VIP wrestling coach son at NRHEG High School living in Ellendale. Shawn Larson, we look forward to the complimentary passes to a wrestling match this season.

Grace and Charlie, TLC members, invited us to go along with them for dinner at the Big Fish Supper Club on Highway 2 by Bena, Minn. The food was excellent and it turned out that I knew the hubby owner from years of deer hunting in the area. (He is part of the gang from Sleepy Eye, Minn. who helped us out of the woods during a blizzard.)

Charlie and I enjoyed reminiscing about the Big Fish back in the 1950s and 1960s. Did you know that Genie and I are stars on the Ron Schara TV show about the Big Fish?

Tom and Heidi in Housekeeping; Vernae in Bingo; Toni at the Gift Shop; Bill the casino tech; Rodney the casino floater; Becky the casino host; Christopher the casino cashier; Rickey in Guest Services; Kristin in Security; Josh, Robert, Reggie, and Sheryl in the Dining Room; Jason, Rebecca, Karin in the Snack Bar; Charlie, Jessica, Chris, Betsy, Kelly and Kortney at the hotel desk. Who are the aforementioned people? They are some of the many Palace employees who are all encompassing, providing courtesy to all the guests. I guess you could say they are the ambience and the amenities of the Palace.

A summary of the deer hunt is “no deer.” My little buddy Fritz visited me while at my deer stand. He sat up, talked to me in his squeaky voice, and enjoyed the birdseed I fed him. Fritz is a small mouse about the size of the end of my thumb. In conclusion, “One year closer to getting a deer.”

———

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.

The scurs made the most of the warm temps last week and managed to stay entertained. Will winter make a comeback or is it time for the robins to come back? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming cloudy with a slight chance of rain in the evening. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 30 – 35. Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain on Thursday. Highs of 45 and lows of 25. Partly cloudy and colder on Friday. Highs 30 – 35 and lows of 20 – 25. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of significant snow in the evening. Highs near 30 and lows of 20 – 25. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a slight chance of snow in the morning. Highs around 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy on Monday and Tuesday with high around 20 and lows near 10.  The normal low for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. On December 8th we will be down to 9 hours of daylight. The scurs will be keeping an eye on the calendar hoping the March weather continues.

Our fall drought continues to make folks nervous. The gauge at the Mall for Men tallied a scant .5” for the month of November and the gauge at the ranch wasn’t much better at .55”. To put matters into perspective, during the August through November timeframe at the SROC in Waseca, normal precip totals 13.25”.  At the SROC for those same months this year, they have measured  4.41”, making rainfall 8.84” below normal since July. We’ve faired only slightly better at the ranch at 5.6” in those same months. Bad deal, right? While it’s not a good deal, during those same months at the ranch in 2011, we had a total of  2.88” and at the SROC, 2.52”. In other words, we’ve actually had more rain in August through November this year! If and when this drought breaks, it could be sudden like last year, bringing us rain when we had to have it, replenishing our soil profile and causing many to proclaim the drought over. If you’ll also recall, we had little subsoil moisture going into last winter but we managed to get snow melt to count for something as soils were not frozen deeply. Plus soils were (and are) fractured from deep tillage and there were frequently large cracks in the ground where tillage was not performed. This allowed much of the moisture to penetrate rather than running off. It all added up and the rest as they say is history.  

In the skies we continue to see Venus in the east as the “morning star” with Jupiter shining brightly in the east after sundown. During morning chores, Jupiter is just going to bed in the west. Last week made for a spectacular conjunction between the Full Moon and Jupiter in the early evening, with Jupiter just above the moon, The Big Dipper seems huge at evening chore time, low in the northern sky right over the main barn. If you’re looking for it and don’t have a barn you may be out of luck. The proximity to the horizon bends the light making it appear larger than when it is more overhead. It’s one of the easiest celestial features to see this time of year as a result.    

The small barn was declared officially cleaned on Saturday after the door was jacked up enough to allow entrance for the skidloader. Taking the roll cage off the skidloader is not an option. I don’t know too many dead guys who were glad they’d done it. Sure it could’ve probably been pitched by hand but what’s the fun in that? Sheep pack manure is some dense stuff and generally comes off in large, heavy sheets. It’s not the most pleasant to deal with in the first place, let alone using a pitchfork. There were 2 loads, 1 a standard size load and the last one was monster-sized. Probably should’ve made 2 plus loads out of it but wanting to get done and do chores kept me piling it on. Sheep are like any other livestock in that they enjoy freshly bedded pens and barns. The temperatures on Sunday went a long way towards drying out the condensation on the floor, giving the flock a place in out of the wind to sleep the new straw. 

The wetland is back on the radar once again. With all the dry weather this mid-summer and into the fall, the basin/pond area has not held water since late July. We graciously received approval to deepen it from the proper channels so we’re moving ahead with the project. One of the nicest things about it is the fact that water can be diverted from an area that drowns out on the adjoining field into the wetland. There should be more water available to the wetland and deepening it will allow additional capacity while the farmer will no longer lose crop to standing water. That’s the way it should work rather than the lack of cooperation we encounter all too often. Wetlands benefit us all by providing cleaner water in addition to habitat for wildlife.

Sunday we sold a group of three bred ewes to a loyal 4-H’er we’ve been helping. The ewes in the main barn weren’t too bad to deal with as they were already close to the building. The ewes in the pasture were a little more problematic in that they needed to be brought up to the small barn to catch the one we wanted out of a group of 20. Ruby to the rescue. It had been a while since I’d done much for training or used her for herding. No surprises though when we walked out to the pasture. She did what Border Collies have imprinted in their makeup from centuries of herding: made a great out run, circling the ewes and quickly gathering them into a group then headed them back to the barn. While she looks like she might be a China doll, Ruby’s actually pretty durable and built for speed.  Being more of a drover than a herding dog is handy most of the time as that’s what we need anyway. Within a matter of minutes we had the ewes by the barn as Ruby backed off as commanded, making them feel more at ease and safe to go in. Seeing Mrs. Cheviot carrying some hay into the barn didn’t hurt but we had to get them there first to find it.  

See you next week…real good then.

I don’t mind shopping, really I don’t. I just can only handle it in short bursts. 

Grocery shopping or swinging by Walmart for some items is no sweat. However, for one day a year, I bear down and join Michelle on a trip to Mankato to take care of all our Christmas shopping. 

That’s how I spent the Saturday following Thanksgiving, on an express shopping extravaganza to take care of all the gifts in one fell swoop.

Our goal is to finish off as much shopping as possible. Michelle is very prepared: she has a list of everyone we need to get a gift for and lists of possible desires of each of those people. This helps as we map out our plan of attack on the trip over. We generally hit Gordman’s and Kohl’s before lunch, and then the mall waits for us after we eat.

It doesn’t take long at the River Hills Mall for hunger to kick in and start to drag me down. Or maybe it’s the hoards of people shuffling through the walkways. And that’s when I see them: the men in the middle of the mall.

These men are all shapes, sizes, and ages. They are sprawled on various benches, couches, and massage chairs in between stores. 

Some are surrounded by bags of previous purchases. Some are in as comfortable a position as you can attain on one of those seats, trying to close their eyes and rest. 

Some look like the zombies on The Walking Dead, with that glazed-over look in their eyes and a slack jaw that would indicate a state of catatonic confusion.

Let’s face it. Whoever decided to put these seats in the middle of the mall was brilliant. Any man who has been shopping with a woman knows an argument will inevitably occur about whether to buy something or not based on the price. 

The female wants it, the male doesn’t. “Do we really need that?” or “That’s too expensive” are common refrains in this situation.

However, by removing the man from the equation, the woman is free to just buy whatever she wants, without that vital input we men provide. And men are lured to these oases like a fly to manure. 

The addition of massage chairs was even more brilliant. Now, not only are the women spending more in the stores, but the men are also spending money on the chairs!

I’ve found myself among these other gentlemen from time to time, when the wear and tear of too much shopping in one day has taken its toll. That vacant look is almost contagious; it doesn’t take long to join in the group of mindless men, gazing at absolutely nothing.

When Michelle rejoins me in those situations, I don’t want to ask what she got. If it means a couple more items crossed off the list, that’s what counts. And thus, the mall has won again!

In all reality, I do enjoy this day with Michelle. It’s a good time together with my wife and helps me appreciate all she brings to my life. Even if I am more tired than after a week with teenagers in my classroom!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is alacrity, which means moving quickly and with great speed, as in, “The shoppers moved with alacrity during Black Friday to avoid becoming black and blue from collisions.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Nora Newman, 92, passed away Monday, November 26, 2012, at Mercy Hospice in Johnston. She was born May 11, 1920, in Freeborn County, Minnesota, daughter of William and Belva (Russ) Patschke.

Nora served in the United States Army for three years as a nurse until her honorable discharge in 1946. She worked for the Veterans Administration in Des Moines, retiring in 1980. She was a member of Iowa Unit WBCCI and Highland Park Lutheran Church.

NRHEG School Board

By REED WALLER

Staff Writer

Remodeling drawings on view

Plans for the remodeling of the New Richland High School kitchen, cafeteria, commons area, and main entrance will be on view at the NRHEG New Richland Media Center Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m., following the district’s annual Truth in Taxation Hearing at 6:30. The public is invited.

Visitors will be able to examine and discuss details of the upcoming improvements to the building, which includes an expansion of the cafeteria into what is now the south portion of the Media Center, to create an expanded Commons area, and a redesigned kitchen, plus a more secure entryway to the building and redesign of the office and services area.

Recovery from aneurysm attributed to prayer

REMARKABLE RECOVERY — John and Lucille Nechanicky are grateful for Lucille’s remarkable recovery from an aneurysm in May, a recovery they attribute to prayer. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

The word — aneurysm.

It is not a nice word, considering what it entails. Many of us may know what it means, and less of us might know how to spell it. 

It is a hard word to spell and it is hard to think what it would be like to experience it, and then live with the condition.

Webster's Dictionary will define it as a dilation of a section of an artery due to a weakness of the artery wall, often resulting eventually in hemorrhage.

To Lucille and John Nechanicky, it is much more than that.

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

We've done the turkey bit for Thanksgiving and it was traditionally good to please the appetite, but just around the corner is another tradition. The annual Wild Game Feed to be exact.

This year it will be held in Geneva this Saturday, December 1.

This annual event is held under a heated tent in the parking lot at Geneva Bar & Grill. It draws sportsmen and women, as well as those who don't hunt, to partake of the wide array of food prepared from wild game donated by many of the local hunters.

This event started 25 years ago when Judy Thompson suggested that "her men" empty the freezer of wild game they had shot. The wild game was prepared and served in hopes of raising funds for the cancer cause