Is This The Bottom?
Posted at 4:48 AM on March 3, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(18 Comments)
We have a ticket give away for this coming Sunday's International Women's Day performance by Susan Werner and Cheryl Wheeler at the Cedar Cultural Center!
This is the first ever presented-by-Radio Heartland event at the Cedar.
Susan and Cheryl and great songwriters and hilarious people to boot.
We'll record it and put it on the air as a concert later this month.
We have four pairs of tickets to award to Radiio Heartland listeners.
You ought to be there.
Read the rules.
Enter to win.
Have a great time.
And speaking of optimism and the future, this reassuring note from Congressman Loomis Beechly came late yesterday.
Dear 9th Districter,
Representing all the water surface area in Minnesota as I do, I am well aware, as are you, that every lake has a muddy, murky bottom. Sometimes, when you've been out fishing for a while and there's been some roughhousing and you get pushed out of the boat by your so-called "friends", you get a chance to have a good, close look at that lake bottom. Probably it's a better look than you ever wanted to get. When you're sinking down to the place where the water stops, it's not always clear when the exact moment is that you've found it because it gets a little iffy with all the weeds and things. But when you finally do get there, there's no mistaking it. It's smooshy and icky, and when your bare foot sinks into it, you can't help but wonder if there's something lurking in there that might take a chunk out of your toe, and it makes you want to push off as quickly as you can so you can get back up to the surface, where you can breathe and also get back at those jokers who pushed you in.
I'm writing to tell you our economy is like a Minnesota lake, and the fact that it's been feeling cold and uncomfortable lately, and our heads are full of pressure and our eyeballs feel like they might explode at any minute - that's a sure sign that we're almost at the bottom, so let the latest troubling news be a positive signal to you that soon it will be time to curl the mud between our toes and launch ourselves off the somewhat solid earth of the lake bed towards the air and the light.
Of course the top of the lake is frozen right now so we don't want to go flying up there too fast or we'll do ourselves more harm than good.
But the point is this: Things are about to change. I can feel it. If you can hold your breath just a little bit longer, everything will be all right. There is a huge demand in our emotional economy for some Spring right now, and the market will always find a way to provide what the people want; whether it's a potato in every pot, an Amish Fireplace, a new car, the next big Ponzi Scheme, or something hopeful to believe in.
I believe in the bottom. It's nasty enough right now to be the truly awful worst it can get. And a bottom is as much a part of a Minnesota lake as the top, so let's be grateful we have one.
Now push!
Your Congressman,
Loomis Beechly
PS - Anyone planning to vote absentee for me in 2010, it's not too early to start doing your paperwork! Let's be sure we get everything filled out just right this time!
Comments (18)
Hi, Dale! How are you planning to celbrate Square Root Day (3/3/09)?
Congressman Beechly, thank you for your optimism and the brilliant analogy using our Minnesota lakes. since we have so many bodies of water in this state, i would guess that most all of us are in the water and either sinking, reached bottom, have pushed off, or are back on top and ready to leap out. we retired last year, so i think we are still sinking. but we've got this little farm, we have three goats pregnant and we'll have kids and milk soon and we have enough money to feed us all. but if things don't improve, i can say "would you like fries with that?" so we're optimistic.
i worry most about your younger constituents - in college or just starting out. our "kids" don't worry about the future; are human kids worried or optimistic?
Good morning, all! :-)
Loomis doesn't say how long we'll have to keep holding our breaths, but I'll still vote for him - he's a damn good writer!
Might you play Tom Waits, Hold On? First I thought of "How Long", but I don't think I've ever heard you play The Eagles in my whole life.
I hope he's right and it's not just spring fever
how about Woody Guthrie's This Land ..
also, if you played the Muppets Rainbow song last week I missed it and I'd love to hear it !
Congressman Beechly had better do more work on his bailout plan. That boat still needs more bailing and the boat might be needed to rescue Beechly. I don't think he is a very good swimmer and I think he could easily get in over his head.
Bottomless lake? Did Congressman Beechly consider that???? Muck and weeds don't sound so bad in comparison.
Bringing to mind Lake Baikal...isn't it the deepest lake in the world? I can never remember how it compares to Lake Superior...Superior is larger in area? Never mind...I long to hear the Lake Baikal song, then Carla (spelling?)'s Quarter Moon song about Superior.
Good morning all...above zero here in Mahtowa township. I hope.
Greetings Heartlanders:
Congressman Beechly's assessment of our economic situation is quite apt -- but that murky bottom kind of holds you down for a while longer than you might think. I don't think there's any quick or easy way out of this, even with the stimulus package.
Barb, as to human kids, they reflect their parents ideas and situation generally. We're holding on by the skin of our teeth, but we're hopeful, as always. We have fun, share love and hugs and focus on the positive aspects. We don't stress about money (although we should), so the kids have fun being kids. My oldest is in Marines, so he's taken care of while he's in military.
While we're on the murky bottom, let's make mud pies!
Good Morning Dale and fellow heartlanders……
The song, Poor Man's Shangri-La made me think of The Subdudes, “Poor Man’s Paradise” on Street Symphony.
I’m not sure if you have that disc or not but if you do it's a good one....
Thanks for the Zydeco....it's so fun to boogie in the morning!
I just love the Colorblind James Experience. Sorry the band is no more and its leader is no longer with us, but thank God for public radio and RH for being a vehicle for us to enjoying their entertaining kookiness.
I love Kermit and "Rainbow Connection" -- thanks, Dale. Do you by chance have "The Frog Prince" sound track? It was the FIRST Muppet movie made, I believe (I was a teenager at time). There's a song the frogs sing about how wonderful it is to be a frog and live in the mud! "It's ever so jolly just being a frog" is the chorus lyric, I think. Fun song ... just a thought.
I sincerely hope we are nearing the bottom. I fortunately am treading water and floating along fine for now. But the uncertainty definitely gets to me at times. My husband works at NWA/Delta, and we have become used to uncertainty. Right now it looks like his job will be here for a while, but we tend to find out little tidbits about the changes on a weekly basis, and it is just a bit wearing to have so much uncertainty in our daily lives.
I work for a small business and just keep hoping every day that I will be able to get into the building.
But life must go on. I am continuing my own education in project management to increase my marketable skills. No matter the economy, it is a good idea. Plus the President asked us all to increase our education, so I'm doing my part. Life goes on - my knee still needs to be replaced so I can stay healthy and strong to work to pay the bills. The groceries and mortgage need to be paid for.
As for the young kids (human ones), I know my daughter worries. At 24, she still lives at home, and works retail. She tried college, found out that it wasn't for her so much, but now realizes that retail probably is not where it is at. She wants to move away from home, but realizes that in this economy it will take more than a retail job to do that. So, back to school this fall, more on the technical side (photography and graphic design), but still pursuing a degree for the resume. But she worries how this is going to be paid for.
It is a tough time, but what doesn't kill us just makes us stronger. We will be a strong, healthy, robust nation on the other side of this crisis. We just need to believe and have faith in ourselves and our fellow Americans. And we need to support each other - which we Heartlanders do - one goat kid, human kid, billy or nanny or "adults" alike.
Dale - you read my mind apparently as I just thought of "City of New Orleans" after reading a mention of Woody Guthrie, which always makes me think of Arlo. Thanks for playing Steve Goodman's version. Willie Nelson's is good too. One of my favorites.
Thanks for the ticket give away! I definitely prefer filling out an electronic form rather than scrambling for the phone. Leaping over the sleeping dog to get to the phone does add an air of excitement but Safety Officer Rafferty would not approve!
Good Morning!
Thanks Dale for trying to find the Claudia Schmidt tune I mentioned yesterday. I'll see if I can dig up something else on it since it's a great tune.
Great idea for the concert at the Cedar! I will look forward to hearing it on Radio Heartland if I don't make it over there in person.
As for Loomis Beechly, he offers some great advice and insight. It feels like I am influencing the programming telepathically this morning as a tune pops into my head and then appears on the show. That being the case I look forward to hearing the tune I'm thinking of right now...
Have a great day everyone!
Greetings again -- I just have to share the link to the Muppets version of "The Frog Prince." I guess it's on YouTube -- try this http://jaypgreene.com/2008/11/14/pass-the-clicker-the-frog-prince-muppet/
My large family listened to this album every day after school for a while and we each took a role to play -- I was Sweetums, the ogre. Don't mind me ... just reminiscing ...
Happy Square Root Day! I'm celebrating with Pi. Yum
I've been having to work early the last week or so, so have missed being on the blog during the show, but wanted to let all your Heartlanders know that I'm still reading later in the day and I love it.
For anyone interested in more Square Root Day, there's a nice blurb on mentalfloss.com, with other celebration ideas. I think I have to go home and bake a carrot cake in honor of the day!
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock