At the sports bar, how many shots does it take to make up for a lack of touchdowns, if your team is having too many three-and-outs, not three for ones? Read on:
— The Pack offense appeared to be back in week one of the preseason, when the home team racked up 51 points, but in the game just the other night, the scoring numbers were way down. To the point that one of the bartenders at Dick’s was pouring a number of shots ordered by one person for his crew that was greater in number than all the points scored by both teams, and the time of that order was well into the fourth quarter! This low-scoring affair really champions the Big D jersey worn by one man, of a slightly different era, that of defensive back Charles Woodson, (who fittingly has his own brand of wines, although limited edition).
— Along those lines, an email message from a deprived guy noted this: If you’re like me, for the last nine months, you have been “looking forward to your fantasy …” This would involve a squad, according to the message, of not the Swedish Bikini Team, but of some burly, sweaty guys striving to make it on your fantasy FOOTBALL draft.
— To recap another event where people tip a few, that being PepperFest, it was well past call afterward at a local bar, a trio of guys were trying to get that last drink, to no avail. The comeback: Oh Maggie, you have known me forever, cut me some slack. The comeback to the comeback: My name’s not Maggie. With that route gone, they suggested that they could sweeten the pot and sweet talk her at the same time, by singing some Ed Sheeren. When that didn’t go, the pot was sweetened again by saying they’d play that song for her on the jukebox. With that not working, they bought a frozen pizza to go, but when ordering a second, had to count all their pennies to pay for it.
— There was temporarily a new option on the taxi scene. A guy was asking for $5 per person to take you home. When asked about it and this potentially good deal, he added that this was only for PepperFest weekend, and possibly other major holidays. Bottom line? See you on New Years Eve. In the meantime, there are a couple of area people who have volunteered their services for giving a ride for cheap after last call. Talk about community service!
— On the service theme, the Ragnar several-state marathoning to benefit a cause came through the village just when PepperFest was at its peak, taking its runners right past a point only a block from the festival sponsoring park itself, with a directional sign spelling out the route for those legging it volunteers and positioned at one of the main intersections used to get to the fest itself after parking. For several years now, Ragnar has arranged to take people through this area, with each runner going a marathon-like distance, then passing the torch so to speak, to another runner. This running goes 24 hours and entails hundreds and hundreds of miles over several days. I don’t know which is more taxing, the wee-hours running or the rapid fire pepper eating in the contests nextdoor.
— On Friday night at PepperFest, the group of area youngsters who constitute the band Yam Haus had a following of loyal teeny boppers right up, front and center by the stage. That large group doubled when many somewhat older people filed over to the music area, but stayed to the back. There was a lot of speaking from the mic about the Hudson area by the lead singer, who especially referenced attending Houlton Elementary School.
— While we’re going Old School, there recently on late night TV was a roast of Bruce Willis, where he laughed hardily on the jokes made at his expense. That flies in the face of the experience of a friend out in California, who has met the actor while serving at Starbucks, and says he is really into himself and wears that on his sleeve, not someone who could laugh at himself. Will the real Bruce Willis please stand up?

The elections are here again, with many connections to political signs being at the forefront (more on that down further in this story), and all this came to mind again when my mom pointed out to me that back in the day, the First Lady posed nude.
Is that necessarily a problem? Frankly, I would be more concerned about the shirts and their political messages on immigration that Mrs. Donald has worn in recent times, not whether she takes off the shirt again. It should be noted, the bare-it-or-not rule is different for the now aging ex-governor, Jesse “The (Former) Body” Ventura.
With that said, I thought I would weigh in on the idea of posing nude, and what some local people I know who are models have to say about the topic.
And, I save the best over-the-top example of a shoot gone wrong for the end of this listing.
— XXXXX1, did a lengthy photo spread while nude, requiring more than one day of shooting, but emphasizes that it was all classy, not any type of “spreading.”
— XXXXX2, did a photo shoot in her late 30s semi-nude for a Calvin Klein ad — that ironically is her last name — but at the last minute scuttled it, fearing what her dad would say.
— XXXXX3, has on rare occasion done and will do nude photo shoots if required, but does not prefer to do so.
— XXXXX4, she and others have often posed in skimpy bikinis when needed, but as far as being nude in front of the camera, they draw a line.
— XXXXX5, she has posed for Playboy and fitness magazines, but downplays it, and just considers it a job, while rather emphasizing that primping and preening in front of the camera for up to 12 hours is hard work!
— XXXXX6, the photos were OK, but in what could be a local theme, were in the wrong end of a bathroom, (could have been a better choise of venue).
— XXXXX7, while a prominent model and actress, even in early days when she first got going, she will not consider posing nude — although the bare midriff in her YouTube series is impressive.
— XXXXX8, and the promised finale, there was a late October photo shoot in a cold river up north where the model, literally, got chased briefly by a big animal that resembled a beaver. And that was not a scripted part of the photo shoot. But still deliciously cheesy.
But again evoking racy images, including that of the First Lady, there is the election connection. There has long been a sign along the freeway in the town of Hudson, saying We Support Trump. I have to cite the Bob Segar song Love To Watch Her Strut, where it says we “do respect her butt,” in making this comparison: Remove the first letter and it could say We Support Rump. As he most certainly does. But now a more tame message has taken its place on this fanning sign, backing a local Republican candidate.
With Trump related material, there is always Reality TV. And two Hudsonites recently strutted their wares.
The longtime North Hudsonite has been on American Pickers. Known locally simply as Swanee, he has a three-car garage full of cars and their parts, almost bigger than his house, and he long has organized some of the best classic car shows in Minnesconsin, with the venues being in St. Paul and Duluth. Someone I know someone who said she saw the episode hit the air a couple of months ago. I found out from the horse’s mouth that this was on the docket in spring when visiting him to get an assessment of the resale value of a couple of mag tires, and he knew all the details — unfortunately down to a couple of custs in the sidewalls. All the better for hagling.
The other prominent Hudsonite was a chef at San Pedro, which serves a particular variety of food, Caribbean, as its claim to fame. He was invited to sweat it out in front of the cameras in a show where someone with an expert specialty hits the ground running and has to prepare a different style of meal — one with which he is quite unfamiliar.

The six-hour drive on Interstate 94 between Milwaukee and The Twin Cities has become an annual road trip for Mark Minor, although it doesn’t seem that long when his favorite tunes are playing — especially when they can also be found at each end of the tour like bookends, and incorporate music he sings himself with a song circle, and his cousin chimes in once picked up near the Wisconsin border.
That break from the action has been fashioned into a yearly pilgrimage to meet up with Jeanie Conant, and its never been a Gopher vs. Badger thing. Each year he takes in the multi-day Irish music festivals in each city, a whirlwind since they happen only a week apart, with the first being this weekend in St. Paul. And it was a trip from Milwaukee to see his cousin in Hudson, that got the ball rolling. After 17 years, he would hear and see the Twin Cities version of the festival. Again.
The Milwaukee Irish Fest — of which a photo of Minor and a buddy taking in one of their bands just happens to be on the cover — was founded by two brothers in a prominent Milwaukee Irish family, Ed and Chuck Wood more than 35 years ago. The event grew into the world’s largest Irish festival, lasting four days, boasting 30 music stages and dozens of food and gift stands on a shore of Lake Michigan fairgrounds. There are plenty of Irish sports, too, both on the water and off, and also team tug-of-war. When he lived in St. Paul, Minor had watched their fest grow from a one-day event at the St. Paul Armory near the Capitol, to a three-day affair at the University of St. Thomas, to an even bigger extravaganza at Harriet Island, having a lot of the same activities as in Milwaukee, and also plenty of Irish merchandise, such as compact discs and mementos. Admission has always been free.
The Chuck Wood Celtic Song Circle was founded by Minor and his friends in summer, 2010, and incorporates Celtic music, as well as that of Ireland, Scotland and even Wales, Cornwall from the predominantly Celtic western Britian, Cape Breton in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Irish communities in the United States. The members also sang in-concert in the Milwaukee Irish Fest Song Circle. “We felt it would be fun to branch out into singing the songs of the ‘other’ Celtic nations in addition to the usual Irish and Scottish bill of fare, such as Loch Lamond and Whiskey in the Jar.” That latter song was even covered by the metal outfit Metallica, causing a local friend who knows his way around a guitar to say this is his favorite song by the group, among hundreds.
Then Chuck Wood and his family, friends of Minor and his group, lost their mentor to cancer last November. This caused the song circle to rename themselves after Wood following an unanimous vote.
“Over the years that I’ve attended the Minnesota Irish Fair, I’ve listened to and met many fine musicians and singers,” Minor said. They include both traditional and American Irish music. “Since I’ve been going there with Jeanie, we have greatly enjoyed Gaelic Storm, The Screaming Orphans, The High Kings, Eileen Ivers and Katie McMahon. Joan Diver and the Screaming Orphans and Katie McMahon, who was the principal female singer withe Riverdance, are friends of mine, as are the High Kings.” One of them, Finbarr Clancy is a cousin of Minor’s and Jeanie’s.
“I introduced myself to Finbarr after one of their shows that (2010) fest, and I told him about my genealogical discovery revealing our being cousins through one of his Clancy aunts having married a Butler of the Butler family of County Tipperary where the Clancys also hail from,” Minor said. Finbarr replied, “Well, you know what? I’m married to a Butler woman!” That is his wife Grainne. “We hit it off right away and (Finbarr and I) have been close friends ever since. We get together at every Irish Fest that they are booked for, and we had a grand visit a few years ago at the Minnesota Irish Fair with cousin Jeanie joining us.”
Gaelic Storm play a mix of Irish folk favorites and songs they’ve written themselves, “all with a robust pace and wonderful rhythm,” Minor said, adding The Screaming Orphans perform in similar fashion, singing good and LOUD, hence their name. Eileen Ivers is another Riverdance alumnus, a fiddler who plays her signature blue violin with gusto. Katie McMahon, who accompanies herself on the harp, has an operatic quality to her voice and beautiful Irish lilt. As for The High Kings, they give great energy to many of their songs, which include the traditional Irish and some American numbers, and even a pop song, The Boys Are Back In Town, perhaps best known for the rendition by a rock band made up of Irish men, Thin Lizzy. “Fine musicians all, they also sing in beautiful harmony. “Jeanie and I love hearing them in concert, and this is one of the reasons we always return to the Minnesota Irish Fair! And a bonus for me, most of the folks come to perform at our Milwaukee Irish Fest, held just a week after the Minnesota Bash. What fortuitous timing!”
“My fondest memories of the Minnesota Irish Fair are the incredible national and international performers who I met and became friends with, which include The High Kings and Katie McMahon. We’ve become tight; for a period of about 15 year’s I didn’t attend the Iirsh Fair, as I had moved home to Milwaukee in late 2001, I was out of touch with some of them,” Minor said. “But when I came up to visit Jeanie and went with her to Irish Fair in 2015, we saw that Katie was scheduled to perform on the main stage.” After a half-hour walk to get to the platform, she saw the now newcomers approaching and yelled out a hello. “We hadn’t had any contact whatsoever in those years, and picked up right where we left off with our friendship, as if it were only a few days or weeks since we were last together,” Minor said. “She recognized me immediately and warmly greeted me! I have become gray of hair and white of moustache in the interim years and she still knew my face right away. Katie, by the way, still looks stunning, as much so as the day we met at that earlier Irish Fair those fourteen years prior! We had a lovely visit after her concert in which Jeanie and I enjoyed her charm and our conversation about Irish music and the Irish Fair,” Minor said.
“I introduced Jeanie to Katie and they connected and became fast friends. We look for each other every year now, as we make it a practice of attending the Irish Fair every year when I come for a visit.”
She’s not the only who has made an annual ritual. “A couple of years ago I treated Seamus Kennedy, a splendid guitarist, singer, raconteur and humorist from Belfast, Northern Ireland now living with his family in Annapolis, Maryland, to a beer after one of his shows at our Irish Fest. We talked a lot about Irish music as well, also the U.S. Naval Academy which also calls Annapolis home,” Minor said. He has a local friend who gets them tickets to the Navy Midshipmen’s football home games. “Seamus is a good friend and drinking companion, and a whale of an entertainer,” Minor added.