I am CuTRis

I left home at 9:15AM on Monday, July 23, 2007 . I picked up my travel partner and we were on the road by 10:00AM. We arrived in Sauk Centre, MN at noon. The Bear Trap was closed being it was Monday, so we ate at McDonalds. We also toured the location of my parents’ (former) cabin. After a brief stop at Fleet Supply, we continued on to Detroit Lakes. We got gas and went to the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge . It was 97 degrees Fahrenheit, with high humidity. As an added “bonus,” the deerflies were out in numbers that were greater than I ever remember. I had camped in this refuge when I was eleven-years-old, with my Boy Scout troop 500 (on a canoe trip). I remember it being ruggedly beautiful, and full of old Indian burial mounds and houses. On this day, we limited our outdoor activities and opted for the auto tour. Several hundred deerflies accompanied the car as we drove along. We returned to Detroit Lakes, MN and got a room at the Budget Host Motel. We ate at Country Kitchen and s...

I have a single stalk of corn growing on the deck of my condominium. It is in a large pot. I didn’t intend to grow corn, but Dave had to start his corn in pots, because the ground squirrels dug up the corn kernels before they could germinate when he put them directly in the garden. He had extra plants, so I planted some of them in Neng’s garden but the squirrels tore them apart. Dave still had extras, so I put a couple more in Neng’s garden –which were destroyed by squirrels in short order. I kept one to grow on my deck. My corn stalk is on the very edge of my north facing deck, so it gets “sideways” sun for a short time in the morning and evening. I don’t know how well it will do, and I even found a squirrel on my deck this morning! Just as a farm dog is different from a family pet, my corn is not so much a crop, as it has taken on the role of a plant-pet. Its close proximity to my living space allows for a more intimate knowledge of the corn’s personality than one gets from a field o...

Do you ever wish it was easier to view wild animals in the wild? There is a good reason that it is often difficult. It’s just thousands of years of being hunted/shot at when they show themselves that has allowed the wary animals to survive and reproduce, while those that were careless perished.

What if you were destined for greatness (sometime in the future)? What if you never realized it? Are some people filled with the talent and skill, yet never afforded the opportunity? Are others presented with the opportunity, but never possess the skills and talent? Do some people achieve greatness due to circumstances? Certainly we have seen leaders who have achieved greatness in a particular area, due to circumstances. Neither Ulysses S. Grant, nor William Tecumseh Sherman were particularly great in “regular,” peacetime life, while both proved to be exceptionally talented militarily. In Mark Twain’s, Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven, an interesting concept comes up, as illustrated by this quote, "Oh, a LOT of people WE never heard of before - the shoemaker and horse-doctor and knife-grinder kind, you know - clodhoppers from goodness knows where that never handled a sword or fired a shot in their lives - but the soldiership was in them, though they never had a chance to show...

Cutris arrives in a late model sedan and walks into the bookstore using the rear entrance. The setting is quaint yet posh, complete with little crackers, meat spreads and various cheeses and crap. Cutris complains that the bread is too small. Then Cutris demands that both New York and Chicago style pizzas vie for his attention before he gets annoyed! Pizzas are brought in, and Cutris is much appeased. Forty-nine readers stand in line, waiting for Cutris to sign their books. Just then, KXLF Radio announces that Cutris is doing a book-signing at Deward’s Discount Books & Stationary. Soon, 8,227 people are in line. The Tonight Show people call. Cutris fakes an English accent and becomes his own agent, Dirk McCoy. McCoy’s two associates, Dingus McHarold and Billy Two-Shots arrive with musical instrument cases, and the people at the store are sorely afraid. McHarold and Two-Shots give Cutris a guitar and ask him to jam a couple of his songs while they accompany him. KXLF announces the...

Someone has been putting those annoying post-it notes on the cars in the parking lot where I live. They advertise, “Make $CASH$ blah blah blah…” I have an idea for one of my own… Learn how to kick the asses of people who put post-it note™ messages on your car! Ask me how!!! http://cutris.blogspot.com/

This last weekend the weather was fantastic. I spent a lot of time outside too. On Saturday, after going to the Farmer's Market, I attended the Hmong Festival in St. Paul at Como Park. It was amazing how many people were there, most of them being Hmong. Later that same day, I attended the International Festival in Burnsville, which was also well attended –though the venue was a bit smaller. Sunday, I went to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, for my annual trip to see horseracing. There are so many things going on in the summer, and so little time!