Sinclair Lewis Days Photos (Finally), and Philadelphia

Friday, July 29, 2011. I generally add something to the Sauk Centre Journal on Sunday. That's not going to happen this week, since I plan to be on my way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday. The plan is for me to help my son-in-law and #2 daughter at a trade show there. ("Trade Show in Pennsylvania, Ecclesiastes, Software, and Schedules," A Catholic Citizen in America (July 26, 2011))

If all goes well, I'll be back somewhere in the second week of August. So there won't be anything new here next weekend, either. After that: I hope to be back to a more normal schedule. Also getting some rest, but that shouldn't affect the S. C. Journal.

There's something I wanted to get done tonight - what was it? Photos. Right.


Folks get ready for the parade, often starting Friday morning. July 15, 2011.


Sinclair Lewis Days Parade went along its old route, past my house, this year: Minnesota's government shutdown made closing Highway 71/Main Street impossible. July 15, 2011.


Coborn's grocerymobile, or whatever it's called, is one of my favorite parts of the parade. July 15, 2011.


Sauk Centre's fireworks are for Sinclair Lewis Days. I've yet to see the show from lakeside. Still, the corner of South 9th and Ash gives a pretty good view. July 15, 2011.


More fireworks, obviously. July 15, 2011.


Sinclair Lewis Days, downtown. I hope the weather is better next year. No storm would be nice. July 16, 2011.

That's it for now. I've got a bit of preparation - and a good night's sleep - yet to do. See you August 14, or thereabouts, I trust.

Sinclair Lewis Days Parade, and Storm Photos

Sunday, July 17, 2011. Another storm is coming as I'm writing this, about 10:40 p.m. - but the Sinclair Lewis Days parade did not get rained out. There was even a (comparatively) refreshing breeze now and then. Since the Minnesota government shutdown made it impossible to close Highway 71, the parade went along it's old route, more or less - right past my house.

That made it possible for me to get much of it recorded on YouTube, via my webcam. (Small Town America: Minnesota) The videos are at Apathetic Lemming of the North on YouTube. Or, rather, all but one is. I'm hoping that it's caught in a buffer, somewhere, and will eventually show up.

About last Sunday's storm. My house was without power for about 21 hours - with telephone, television, and Internet connections coming back a few hours after that. The Sauk Centre Herald has done a good job of covering the storm, and the cleanup. I'll be back, with more photos, as I get them ready.

Somehow, between the storm and the heat, I've been a little off my game this week.


Green clouds, part of a tree in the street, and lots of wind. July 10, 2011.


Candles, and a battery-powered radio. That was about it for amenities Sunday night and Monday. July 10, 2011.


Nobody hurt. Not one, that I've heard of. Remarkable, under the circumstances. July 11, 2011.


These trees were on South 9th, near Ash. July 11, 2011.


Cherry-pickers - lots of activity around town. July 11, 2011.


I don't know if a city crew got that tree trimmed, or if it was someone in the neighborhood. From what I've heard, it wasn't State of Minnesota employees who dragged debris off Highway 71/Main. July 11, 2011.


South Main - folks had been cutting downed trees into manageable chunks. July 11, 2011.


Same thing, another angle. July 11, 2011.


South Main - this light pole had been snapped off. July 11, 2011.


Yes: That's a house, under the tree. July 11, 2011.


Curb damage. July 11, 2011.


Nobody hurt - remarkable. There'd been more to that tree, before I got there with a camera. July 11, 2011.


Quite a few folks were working with front-end loaders. July 11, 2011.


More of the same. July 11, 2011.


That truck had been taller, Sunday afternoon. July 11, 2011.


Repair crew's truck. July 11, 2011.


And news media. July 11, 2011.

I've got more - including quite a few photos of pickups hauling greenery. But this is enough for tonight.

Sauk Centre Storm July 10: No Power, No Internet, No Injuries

Tuesday, July 12, 2011. A bit after 8:00 p.m., Sunday evening, the lights went out at my house, here in Sauk Centre. That would have been about 8:15 p.m., according to a KARE article. Power was back about 5:20 p.m. - more or less - so we were without power for only about 21 hours.

Folks east of Ash Street had power restored many hours earlier - which is just as well, since that's where Coborn's is. I was there, buying 40 pounds of ice, yesterday - and my wife was back for more, later in the day. Refrigerators and freezers have good insulation these days - but not that good.

Storm, straight line winds rip Sauk Centre (KARE)

Warning Sirens Silenced by Storm in Sauk Centre (KSTP)

A KSTP Television truck was in Sauk Centre yesterday afternoon. KARE may have had a team here, too - they've got two pretty good photos.

So do I, but they were in my camera until power was back, Sunday night: and I had some catching up to do, from those 21 power-free hours.

I'd have written something about this, and gotten it online, yesterday evening - but this house didn't get a data connection (telephone, television and Internet) until somewhere between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m. last night: at which point my #2 daughter and son-in-law phoned in, and I did catching up with him until my brain turned to tapioca. At which point I got some needed sleep.

Sauk Centre's missing hundreds of trees, and there's a fair amount of property damage - but as far as I've heard and read there were zero injuries and zero deaths. That's incredibly good news, considering how many trees came down on houses or vehicles.

Those photos I took? I've got them in my computer now - but each takes a little fixing before it's ready to put online, so it'll be later today - at the earliest - before I get those out. I've got a little video, too - but that'll have to wait, too.

Sorry about the delay, getting this written - but things have been a little, ah, interesting here.

Still, as we say in Minnesota: It could be worse.

Independence Day, 2011

Monday, July 4, 2011.

Crisis Drill, Utility Work, and Independency Day

Sunday, July 3, 2011. This week started out with lots of sirens going by my home. Sauk Centre's emergency responders had a sort of crisis drill at the athletic field, behind the high school. I didn't time it, but I think they were there for the better part of an hour: starting around 6:00 p.m. or so.


I'll say this - from a distance it looked real. June
27, 2011.


Ambulances were ferrying 'injured' folks out - not as fast as you see in the movies, but this is a (simulated) real-world situation. June 27, 2011.


No, it's not a picnic. June 27, 2011.

Then, on Thursday, a crew came out and pulled up a utility pole on South 9th near Ash. Last week they took out a tree, now a pole: Sooner or later they'll run out of things to pull out or cut down.


Neatly done - one utility pole, pulled up, swung over, and stowed on the truck. June 30, 2011.

Tomorrow's another day. Specifically, it's Independence Day. The Fourth of July. I hope you have a good one.


Now I know what that inflatable flag reminded me of - one of those air mattresses I've seen at beaches. July 3, 2011.

My plans for Independence Day are pretty simple: wake up, and see what happens after that. Have a safe and happy Fourth!