Last week I shared one of my mom’s recipes and I will do so again this week. She would make this in place of the usual Sloppy Joe’s, bar-b-q’s, slush burgers or whatever else they were called. Grandma Ann called them Gaucho Burgers; I don’t know if she made this up herself or she saw it in a magazine or cookbook. My sisters and I always liked these with homemade dill pickles and potato chips. I find the onion soup mix to be a little too salty, so I use a large onion chopped, and season with salt and pepper.

Gaucho Burgers

2 Pounds lean hamburger

1 Envelope dry onion soup mix

1 Can cream of chicken soup

1 Can cream of mushroom soup

Brown the hamburger and blend in the dry onion soup mix.

When meat is cooked, stir in the canned soups.

Serve on fresh buns.

Questions or comments:

marlisz@aol.com

It happened again. With twenty bales of hay left in the barn, I reminded myself to start looking for more. An endless, thankless job I would welcome anyone else to take care of for me. Down to two bales, I procrastinated, hoping the “hay genie” would magically appear with a couple hundred squares to tide my horses over nicely.

How many do you have for sale, is it covered, green, first, second or third cutting, and how much do the bales weigh? Oh, and is it this year’s hay or last? Seems like I’ve asked those questions a hundred times to various hay growers, knowing that maybe one in twenty or thirty might be on the up and honest side with their descriptions over the phone.

Driving an hour or two to “take a peek and smell” of my horses’ lunch before buying it was mandatory after I’d had a few bad batches delivered. And of course if it wasn’t a hundred and ten degrees, it just wouldn’t be worth it now, would it?

I had a “steady eddy” supplier a few years ago. Mr. Jones had baled hay for years and knew how to put up the best. Jones would call a week or two before baling and let me know the approximate date. I could then line up loading and hauling help, have enough hay for the whole year and be a very happy camper. When Mr. Jones started baling his beautiful hay in big round bales, he downright wrecked our tidy relationship. Begging and pleading for small squares was out of the question; he had defected to the other side!

“Second cutting, alfalfa/grass mix in fifty-pound bales,” the gentleman relayed ever so nicely. Sounded pretty good to me. “Okey-dokey, I’ll be there in about an hour to take a look.” Dusty, coarse, and two leaves of alfalfa to a bale just didn’t work. Not wanting to tell the fellow his hay “stunk,” I told him I had one other batch to check out and would get back to him. Never ever give out your name and phone number to a potential hay seller unless you purchase. Word travels fast and you’re recorded on the blacklist of fussy horse-loving broads.

“Perfect June grass put up tight in fifty- to sixty-pound bales.” Ohhhh, I could smell it through the phone! I’ll be right there! Dang if the guy wasn’t right; it was very nice, fresh, green hay today, but by the end of the week after it dried out, I would be able to lift the twines up to my neck and what was left of the bale would maybe weigh twenty pounds. “I’ll get back to you.”

“Brome grass, pleasantly mixed with one-third alfalfa: horse candy at its best!” Yahoo, this was it! “Sir, I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Please don’t consign it to anyone until I arrive.” Looked good, smelled good, decent weight, and he had plenty. “May I open one up to take a little peek?” “Well, Miss, this here hay is two dollars a bale and if I open one up I’ll never get the twines back on tight and won’t be able to sell it.” That’s about the time I spotted the snake head sticking out of a corner of the bale. “I’ll get back to you.” Where there’s one snake, there’s a whole lot more!

Second cutting, straight alfalfa, heavy squares. “Just set aside ten and I’ll pick them up later this evening and leave a check if you’re not around.” I knew this neighbor, and as much as I didn’t like feeding straight alfalfa, it would do for now until I could find some grass or a mix. Problem—BIG problem: I couldn’t lift the dang bales into the pickup! One fellow’s version of “heavy” and the next guy’s was unbelievable; these bales must have weighed a hundred pounds or more.

The only help I found on the farm was the guy’s dog, and the only ambition he seemed to have was burying my check in a hole around the corner of the barn.

Amazing idea—just totally amazing: cutting the bales open and stacking the hay in layers in the back of the pickup.

I should have known better when the bales “popped” as I cut the twines. Flake after flake, I wound up with a total of three whole bales stacked in a pyramid.

As I drove down the highway on the way home, a semi’s side wind blew out all but the bottom five flakes.

Here you go horse, find your own dang lunch from now on…

Emilysouthouse@aol.com

www.emilysouthousebook.com

www.facebook.com/theouthouse

Cruisin Broadway is back for the summer! from 5-9 p.m. downtown Broadway in Fargo

Bring the family for a fun evening outdoors at the “Nature Adventure” from 6-8:30 p.m. in Lindenwood Park in Fargo

5^th Annual Detroit Lakes Community Parkfest at 4 p.m. at the Detroit Lakes, Minn. Pavilion with a silent auction, Big Truck Hoot & Toot, live music, yard games and art exhibit.

Nightlife:

24 Seven at Playmaker’s at the Hub in Fargo

Mary Marshall Quartet with Russ Peterson at 8:30 p.m. at the HoDo Lounge of the Hotel Donaldson downtown Fargo

Thursday, May 17 through Saturday, May 19

Run fast, run friendly at the Fargo Marathon with the annual Rock and Run event with live bands and plenty of activities for all ages; see more info at www.fargomarathon.com/

“Bugsy Malone Sr! at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Stage at Island Park in Fargo

“Becky’s Car” at 7:30 p.m. at Theatre B on Main in Fargo through May 19

Friday, May 18

“Plant it for the Planet” from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Lindenwood Park in Fargo

Nightlife:

The African Children’s Choir featuring the Young Africans in Our African Dream at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Grand Forks; free will offering

Lynryd Skynyrd in a sold out concert at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn.

Vince Neil at 7 p.m. the Venue at the Hub in Fargo

Acoustic Addiction at 8:30 p.m. at O’Kelly’s in Fargo

24 Seven at Playmaker’s at the Hub in Fargo

8^th Hour at Big D’s in Grand Forks

Boomtown at the Eagles in Valley city, N.D.

The Dead Beats at Lucky’s 13 Pub in Fargo

Face for Radio at Big D’s in Fargo

Fat Daddy’s at The Otter in Ottertail, Minn.

October Road at Dae Udder Place in Minot, N.D.

The SOL Band at Spirits Lounge of the Holiday Inn in Fargo

Anthony Chaput at 9:30 p.m. at the VFW downtown Fargo

Roosters at the Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson, N.D.

Carmen the Cactus at O’Leary’s in Moorhead

Face for Radio at 9 p.m. at Big D’s in Fargo

Poitin at 6 and 10 p.m. at Dempsey’s downtown Fargo

Sell out Stereo at JT Cigarro’s in Fargo

Skyline at 9:30 p.m. at the Windbreak Saloon in Fargo

The Vistas at the Pickled Parrot in Fargo

Dance to Classic rock n’ roll at 10 p.m. at John Alexander’s in Moorhead

Enabler, Remiss, Andrew Jonathan, Baltic To Boardwalk and more at 5:30 p.m. at the New Directions on Roberts Street in Fargo

Karaoke at the Moorhead VFW and the Teamsters in Fargo and Town Hall in West Fargo

Saturday, May 19

Clean & Green Spring Cleaning Workshop from 2-3 p.m. at the Fargo Public Library Carlson Branch

Fargo Birding Festival from 7 a.m. to noon at the Forest River Property on 76^th Ave. South on the Red River in Fargo; free

Nightlife:

Winds of Spring presented by the GGF Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. at the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks

Boys of Summer at 10 p.m. at Dempsey’s downtown Fargo

Rustic Ribbon at 9:30 p.m. at the VFW downtown Fargo

Dance to Classic Rock and Roll at 10 p.m. at John Alexander’s in Moorhead

27^th Mile Concert at 6 p.m. at the Red River Fairgrounds in West Fargo

Roosters at the Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson, N.D.

The SOL Band at Spirits Lounge of the Holiday Inn in Fargo

The Plowboyz at the Tri-lakes Roadhouse in Lake Park, Minn.

October Road at the Dae Udder Place in Minot, N.D.

Helena Handbasket at the Sidestreet Grille & Pub in Fargo

Helena Handbasket at the Fargo Marathon in Fargo

Fat Daddy’s at The Otter in Ottertail, Minn.

Face for Radio at the Garage bar in Moorhead, Minn.

Carmen the Cactus at O’Leary’s in Moorhead, Minn.

Boomtown at the Eagles in Park Rapids, Minn.

8^th Hour at the M&J Saloon in West Fargo

32 Below at Maxx’s in Ham Lake, Minn.

24 Seven at Crook’s Lounge in Rugby, N.D.

Karaoke at the Wild Rice, Bowler, O’Kelly’s, and Bordertown in Fargo

Sunday, May 20

Triple C Open Horse Show at 9 a.m. at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo

The 38^th Annual Art Olson Swap Meet & Car show at 8 a.m. at Bonanzaville in West Fargo

The Young Africans musical group at 9:15 a.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church in Fargo

MPR Minnesota Varsity Tour Concert at 3:30 p.m. at Concordia Christiansen Recital Hall in Moorhead

Summer Grind with registration starting at 4:30 p.m. at Dike West Skate Park in Fargo

Nightlife:

Nickelback at 6 p.m. at the Fargodome

Northern Comfort at 9:30 p.m. at the Windbreak Saloon in West Fargo

Jazz from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Red Raven Espresso Parlor in Fargo

Monday, May 21

Spectacular Hikes with Susan Wefald book signing at 4:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Fargo

Hot Dog Walk at 5 p.m. at Yunker Farms on South University in Fargo

Computer Basics 2 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Carlson Library in So. Fargo

Nightlife:

Karaoke at Chumleys, Rooters Bar,

Trivia Night at Rhombus Guys in Fargo

Weekly Jam or Open Mic at the Pickled Parrot, Jitter’s Coffee Bar in Fargo

Lo-Pan, Rotting Thought, and Benefactor at 6 p.m. at the New Direction downtown Fargo

Tuesday, May 22

Computer Basics 2 at 10-11:30 p.m. at the Fargo Public Library downtown Fargo

Reforest the Red from 4-7 p.m. at Lindenwood Park in Fargo

Innovate North Dakota Showcase at 4:30 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo

Community Block Party from 5:30-8 p.m. at Jefferson Park in Fargo

Garden Series Session 3: Horticulture Gardens from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Fargo Public Library downtown

Nightlife:

Karaoke or Open Mic at Dempseys, JT Cigarro and Woody’s in Fargo

Red Raven Comedy Night at 9:30-11:30 p.m. in Fargo

Post Traumatic Horns at 8 p.m. at the Avalon Events Center Starlight Ballroom downtown Fargo

Wednesday, May 23

Veteran’s Memorial Celebration Picnic at 5:30 p.m. with a program at 7 p.m. at Bonanzaville in Fargo

Nightlife:

Skyline at 9:30 p.m. at the Windbreak Saloon in Fargo

24 Seven at 9 p.m. at Playmakers in Fargo

Songwriter’s Night at 7 p.m. at the Radisson Perspectives Lounge in Fargo

Karaoke at 9 p.m. at Rooters Bar and the Doublewood Lounge at 7 p.m. in Fargo

Open Mic at Rhombus Guys at 10 p.m. and Sidestreet Grille at 9:30 p.m. in Fargo

Band information furnished in part by FargoBands.com

Galleries Art Connection

James Wolberg: New Functional and Sculptural Ceramics through May 19

East Grand Forks Campbell Library

“A Year on the Plains” through May 25

Fargo Air Museum

Iraq/Afghanistan Exhibit

Hjemkomst Center

“The Seeds of Victory: Home Gardening Posters from the World Wars” on display through June 18

“The Boom: 1945-1960 in Clay County”

NDSU Memorial Union

“Faces of the Oil Patch” by Wayne Gudmundson through May 30^th

“Unfunny” new works by Lori Larusso through May 31

Plains Art Museum

The Green Line Series: An Environmental Art Installation through May 27

“Jubileum! The Screen Printed Art of
Miss Amy Jo” designer and printmaker through June 3

Project Flood Diversion through May 31

“Pizza is a Vegetable” Lori Larusso’s installation in the ongoing Art=Food installation series created for Café Muse through May 30

Rourke Museum

“Robert A Nelson: A Retrospective”

Jonathan Twingley Art Exhibit

Rourke Gallery

Of Memory, Bone and Myth: the 3^rd Annual National Juried Photography Exhibition through May 13

Jay Hopkins, Down Home

Seasonal Events

MSUM Planetarium Show, “Galileo – The Power of the Telescope” is shown Monday at 7 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday at 2 p.m. at the MSUM Planetarium in Moorhead through May 21

Mark Your Calendars:

May 25: Randy Travis at the Shooting Star Casino

May 31: Dean Torrence and the Jan and Dean Band at the Spirit Lake Casino

June 2: Collin Hay from Men at Work at the Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN

June 8: Tommy James and the Shondells at the Shooting Star Casino

June 18: John Fogerty/Poker Run at the Dakota Magic Casino

June 14: Texas Flying Legends Museum at the Fargo Air Museum

June 22: The Oakridge Boys at the Shooting Star Casino

June 29: Bachman & Turner at the Northern Lights Casino

July 14: Loretta Lynn at the Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, Minn.

Aug. 8-12: American Barnstormers at the Fargo Air Museum

Please send your event information for publication in the Metrolights column by Monday of each week to leybou@gmail.com or call (218) 284-1288.

UND invites the public to attend symposium:
‘Civility in Public Conversation,”
featuring retired U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan

Join “Community Conversations on Civility in Politics” with U.S. Sen. (ret.) and North Dakota native Byron Dorgan, with special guest Grand Forks City Councilman Hal Gershman, and moderated by Professor Curt Stofferahn, sociology department and chair of the University Senate, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, May 21, 2012, at the Chester Fritz Library, which is sponsoring  this event. 

From May 21-25, the University of North Dakota Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) will explore the current state of political and public discourse at its fifth annual “Symposia on Conflict Transformation” seminar.  Most events will take place at in the River Valley Room of the UND Memorial Union.

“We are hitting the campaign trail by engaging in one of the hottest topics of our time,” said Kristine Paranica, director of the CRC. “We are inviting our citizens to talk about why we can’t debate and engage without inciting riots and taking hardline and extreme positions; and why Washington has gone from a place where our representatives could have lunch and still fight hard for what they believe to be right, to large empty spaces where you can’t be seen talking to someone across party lines.”

The CRC would like to use the event to provide a better understanding of civility across the United States, in Washington as well as in North Dakota. On Monday, panelists from a variety of backgrounds will discuss the meaning and purposes of civility, with a noon event on successful civil conversations over school closings with Eric Burin.  Tuesday is all about our collective experience with incivility and approaches to civility, including a noon event with author Marc Decelle, “How Fargo of You.”  Wednesday, May 23 is all about the role of Media including a live radio show with host Jared Thomas, and a guided discussion for all citizens who participate.  Lew Bayer, Civility Experts of Winnipeg, will cap the week with a hands-on training on Civility as applied to organizations and the workplace including how to assess civility, how to overcome incivility to build a culture of civility.   

To learn more and register to reserve your seat, call 701.777.3664, email und.conflictresolution@email.und.edu or go to http://conflictresolution.und.edu

Anything Goes Community Rummage Sale

& Flea Market

Saturday, May 19 | Alerus Center

Over two hundred vendors will be on hand selling their no longer wanted treasures.  Items being sold range from clothing and jewelry to furniture and knick knacks.

Time: 8 AM to 3 PM

Courtesy of Greater Grand Forks Convention and Visitors Bureau

Greater Grand Forks Symphony Presents: The Winds of Spring Saturday, May 19 For many of you, this will be the first time you’ve ever seen or heard a bassoon up close.  It’s a rare instrument played a rare talent….Peter Kolkay is traveling the world to change the way people think about the bassoon.  He’ll be joined by Grand Forks’ “Musician of the Year”, Michael Wittgraf, in a duet concerto.  The concert kicks off with The Symphony’s own extraordinary principal trumpet, Mark Nelson.  And what better way to end our season than with the genius of a Mozart Symphony?!

Time: 7:30 PM

Address

Empire Arts Center
415 Demers Avenue
Grand Forks, ND 58201

Courtesy of Greater Grand Forks Convention and Visitors Bureau

A Good Yarn Knitting Group

Presented by Grand Forks Public Library at Grand Forks Public Library

Do you knit or crochet? Join A Good Yarn Knitting Group at 7:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Bring a project to work on while visiting with other yarn lovers.

Mystery in the Library!

Presented by Grand Forks Public Library at Grand Forks Public Library

May 21, 2012 5 – 8:45 p.m.

Join other fellow sleuths and solve the disappearance of Sherlock Holmes. The library will provide the clues, and the suspense. Measure your deductive reasoning and win fabulous prizes!

Game On: Wii!

Presented by Grand Forks Public Library at Grand Forks Public Library

May 7- May 28, 2012

Game On! – Wii will take place every Monday from 4-5:30 p.m. in the meeting room. The library has two Wii consoles and two Wii balance boards. Sign up to play Wii games or exercise on the balance boards. This program is for all ages!

Dear Savvy Senior,

What can you tell me about three-wheeled bicycles? I’m 67 years old and would like to take up recreational bike riding but don’t trust myself on a two-wheeler.

Unbalanced Bonnie

Dear Bonnie,

Three-wheeled bikes – also known as adult tricycles – are a great cycling option for older boomers and seniors, especially those who have concerns with their balance or stamina. Here’s what you should know, along with some tips to help you shop for one.

Safer Cycling

If you’d like to take up bike riding, but worry about falling, an adult tricycle is a smart option to consider because of the stability it provides. With a tricycle, you can ride as slow as you want without ever losing your balance and you can put both feet on the ground while seated, which is very reassuring for many older riders.

In addition, adult tricycles are also made with a low “step through” design making mounting and dismounting much easier than a traditional bike; they come with big tires that ensure a smooth ride; have raised, ergonomic handlebars that are easier to reach and grip; and offer oversize seats (some even have backrests) for comfort and support. And, other than the frame, tricycles use the same standard components as traditional bikes do, so replacement parts are readily available, and repairs are not an issue.

Types of Tricycles

There are literally dozens of different types of adult tricycles to choose from with prices ranging anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. To help you figure out the right kind of tricycle that meets your needs and budget, here’s a breakdown of the different styles and costs, along with some popular models to checkout.

Upright: If you’re primarily interested in a leisurely ride around the neighborhood for pleasure, fitness or running errands, upright trikes are a good choice. These are traditional upright-positioned tricycles that come with rear cargo baskets and limited gear options usually ranging from one to three-speeds. Some popular models in this category include the Schwinn Meridian Adult Tricycle sold at Walmart and Target for around $270, the Sun Traditional 24 trike (see sunbicycles.com) that retails for around $375, and the Torker TriStar three-speed (torkerusa.com) which costs around $500.

Recumbent: These are the lower-to-the-ground, stretched-out frame tricycles that allow you to recline with your legs positioned in front of you. Available in various styles, recumbent trikes are very comfy, easy on the back and aerodynamic which make them ideal for long rides. See terratrike.com, sunbicycles.com, industrialbicycles.com, trailmate.com and bikemania.biz for a nice variety, but be aware that recumbent trikes are more expensive than upright models, typically ranging between $800 and $2,500.

Tandem: If you plan to ride primarily with your spouse or another partner, you may want to get a tandem tricycle that comes with two seats (front and back), or you can get a double seat tricycle with the seats side-by-side. You can find these types of bikes for around $1,000 to $2,000, at the same websites that offer recumbent trikes.

Folding: If you like to travel or if you have limited storage space, tricycles that are designed to fold up to fit in tight spaces are another popular option. The Adventurer Three-Speed Folding Trike which sells for $390 at adventurebikes.com, Kent Westport Folding Tricycle sold at Target and amazon.com for $300, and Walmart’s Port-O-Trike 3-Speed Folding Tricycle for $400 are three good folding trikes to consider.

Electric: If you need a boost from time to time, electric tricycles are hybrids that have pedals and an electric motor, so you can exercise when you want or you can sit back and let the trike do the work. Some good options include the EW-88 electric trike at electricwheelstore.com for $1,200, and the Cabbike 3 Electric Tricycle offered through cabbikes.com for $979.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

By Ryan C. Christiansen

Harv Hegvick never expected it to end this way. After 13,088 days as an employee for American Crystal Sugar Company, Hegvick stood by on Aug. 1, 2011, as replacement workers walked into the plant in Moorhead, Minn., to do the work that he and others had been doing day in and day out for decades. On that day, approximately 1,300 union workers, members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, were locked out of American Crystal Sugar facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa. The workers’ contract had expired after they overwhelmingly rejected what became Crystal Sugar’s final offer during labor negotiations.

That Crystal Sugar would completely sever ties with the union that day came as a surprise to Hegvick. Labor negotiations typically don’t end this way. “I expected by the last day or two of the negotiations that things would break loose,” he said, “and that somebody would come up with a plan. That was what I expected. I felt that they would get together in a month or so and hash things out.”

But that never happened, and it left Hegvick bewildered about the past and what it all meant. “Over the last several years, I thought that we had a really good working relationship between the management and the union,” he said. “There hadn’t been any major difficulties. It was a decent place to work, we didn’t have any major issues, and we all, for the most part, tried to do a good job. We tried to make sure it kept going and tried to produce a quality product for Crystal and its customers.”

It’s no wonder Hegvick is a little dazed. In an age when changing jobs and careers every few years is the norm, Hegvick is the exception. A boiler house foreman since 1983, Hegvick said he started working for Crystal Sugar on Oct. 1, 1975, as a cleaner in the boiler house. He worked his way up to the position of fireman in 1978 and then to foreman five years later. “I worked steady,” he said, and in 35 years and 10 months had never been laid off. As the senior operator in the boiler house, he’d been planning on training last fall to become the chief boiler house engineer when the former chief would retire earlier this spring. The new position “wouldn’t have made much of a difference” financially, he said, but it would have meant a more regular work schedule for Hegvick, who’d been working rotating shifts his entire career. “That was the plan,” Hegvick said. “The plan changed.”

The former chief retired early in September after the lockout, and now Hegvick is collecting unemployment. He only just started working part-time at RCC Western Store in the West Acres Mall in Fargo, N.D. “I’m still getting unemployment,” he said, “but it’s not going to last forever.”

But working in a western-style clothing store has nothing to do with working in a boiler house at a sugar plant. The skills he learned while at Crystal Sugar aren’t exactly transferrable. “Most of the people you talk to in the [Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (CEP)] or in the unemployment office cannot understand that people have been as long with one corporation as we have,” Hegvick said. “They can’t even fathom that we’ve spent 30, 35, or 40 years working for one company. The other thing that they don’t understand,” he said, “and that most people will not understand, is that the jobs we’ve done, they are either industry- or factory-specific. It’s not like you can go downtown and find a job doing what you were doing. I do believe that we need organized labor for jobs like that, but not everything is black and white.”

Hegvick sympathizes with the middle managers at Crystal Sugar, too. After working alongside them for 35 years, he can imagine what might have been going on inside their heads when replacement workers took over. “You would almost think that they would think, ‘Is this going to work?’” Hegvick asks. “’Are we going to be able to get done what we have to do with all of these new employees that have no idea what’s going on in this factory?’ All of these employees that were here up until then, most of them have been here forever, and most of them know their jobs, and if the managers had been there any length of time, they had worked right alongside us for most of their working lives and most of our working lives. I have to think that they wondered, ‘How is this going to affect our production? How is this going to affect our factory? Are we going to come to work and the place is just going to be a disaster? Is it going to be one mess after another?’ I’m thinking that they would have had to think that way, because if I would have been there, I would have certainly wondered that myself.”

Despite his exasperation over the situation, Hegvick said he’s amiable with everyone involved. “If I see [a Crystal Sugar manager] at a restaurant or whatever, I will not avoid them,” he said. “I will go talk to them, I will shake hands with them, and I will ask how things are going. I don’t hold any personal grudges against any of them individually. I just talked to one fellow the other day and it was okay. It was no problem whatsoever. We just talked about stuff, including Crystal Sugar. We didn’t have any issues.”

Hegvick said what he misses the most about working at Crystal Sugar is the people. “We were involved with each other a lot because we spent a lot of time together,” he said. He still remains in contact with a lot of people by phone, because “I care about them,” he said, “and I talk to them on occasion. I call them up to see what they’re doing or whatever, and I just hope that none of them get depressed, and I hope that none of them lose hope. They’ve got to have a positive attitude. They’ve got to keep looking ahead and looking up. They can’t let themselves get dragged down. That includes me, too. If you’ve got a network of people to talk to, then hopefully something will come out of it some way or another.” The hardest part about not having a job, he said, “is when you don’t have a real purpose every day.”

One of the ways Hegvick keeps his spirits up is through square dancing with the L&M Squares of the F-M Square Dancers Association. He has also been a horse show announcer for many years, working the microphone at the fairgrounds in West Fargo, N.D., at high school rodeos, and a few times in Valley City, N.D. He’s also been involved in horsemanship with the F-M Mounted Posse and the North Dakota Appaloosa Horse Club, and he’s a trustee for the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. For the most part, these activities don’t pay anything, he said, “But it’s something to do. I get out and I talk to people. That’s one of the things I do, whether they’re Crystal Sugar employees or not. I don’t have much of a problem talking to people.”

Being laid off has had a significant financial impact on Hegvick, however. Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), he is eligible to retain his health insurance for up to 18 months, but he has to pay his own premiums, which eats up a great, big chunk of his unemployment checks. “I’ve really had to watch my finances and spending,” he said, “which isn’t all bad,” he offers, “but I haven’t been able to go as many places. A couple of times I would have liked to have traveled to Bismarck or to do some different things, but I just couldn’t afford them.” Fortunately, Hegvick said, he lives alone. “I don’t have anybody depending on me at all,” he said. “It’s just me.” He pays rent, but he doesn’t have a vehicle payment, he said, “and so I’m okay, but there are a lot of other ones who are far worse off than I am. If they’ve got younger children or if they’ve got a spouse that doesn’t work, and if they have to pay for health insurance, that’s just about gonna kill ‘em.” Hegvick said because he never expected his employment to end this way, he never kept a nest egg. He never felt the urgency. “People should realize that just because you’ve got a job that you’ve had for over half your life, it may not always be there,” he said. “There is always going to be the chance that you’re going to be walking the street, or that the business might close down, or that the business might make drastic changes. Don’t let yourself get tied down to one particular lifestyle or one way of doing something,” because, “it’s quite a shock to the system,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to have to go and look for a job at age 58. I’m too old to start a new career, but I’m too young to retire.”

So far, the lockout has lasted over nine months, and “a lot of people have moved on, a lot of people are looking for other jobs, and a lot of people have retired,” Hegvick said, “but everybody has to make their own decision about what’s best for them. I really did not expect it to last this long,” he said, but he still holds out hope. “I hope, for the most part, that this can be resolved for the betterment of everybody concerned.”

When you get to Peter’s gate, or you’re about to get handed a shovel to scoop coal in hell, just decay in the ground or be reincarnated as a jack rabbit in south Texas, or whatever you believe happens to you when you pass on… will you look back and say, “Well, I’ve done about everything I wanted to do in life, it’s been full and rewarding, so I guess it’s time to go? Think about that one.

So, what do you want to do? Sky dive? See the Grand Canyon? Visit Norway? Scuba for treasure off the coast of Florida? Visit an old friend or relative you haven’t seen for years? Many people sit around and think about things like that… but most never go for it. There are a hundred excuses why they don’t, usually money, time, too lazy, don’t know how to start or just put it off… indefinitely.

Here’s the deal- Wanting to do something you’ve always wanted to do and NOT doing it, can really be a depressive sub-conscious drag on your life. Whereas PLANNING and looking forward to doing some of these things can give you something happy to look forward to in life… and make you a happier person.

Think about this. When you wake up in the morning with something you are looking forward to; you seem to have more energy and are in a positive mood for the day. The same goes for having a long-range trip or new experience to look forward to.

Have I just been lucky? Sure… But a person can make their own luck too. Work your rear off, get a good education and you end up with a good paying job, that’s making your luck. Planning trips and doing adventures helps you make new friends, see new places and have a lot of interesting things to share with friends… Some of which will say to themselves, “boy they’re lucky” so make your own luck!

Darlene and I made many, many motorcycle trips all over the country (before we even had enough money to do it) and the adventures were unforgettable! Once and a while we ate dust, got hailed on, rained on, drove in temperatures of 37 degrees and as high as 109 degrees. Most of the time… we were lucky. But we made most of our luck planning and watching the weather and if we saw clouds ahead, we’d wait it out or go around it. See what I am getting at? It’s kind of like…If you check your tires before a trip, you will have a better chance of NOT having “bad luck” and having a flat tire 100 miles from nowhere. Or another example might be: Dress up cool, take a bath, buy your mate a gift, dinner and maybe a movie…you’ll stand a better chance of getting lucky.

So, I hit a big slot machine jackpot several years ago and made a lot of money, well… If I hadn’t made the decision to gamble, I wouldn’t have hit it big would I? So I guess I made my own luck there. Now, if I would have made the decision to spend all of my paychecks every week on gambling and lost everything I had… I still would have been making my own luck.

Back to the original thought: DO SOMETHING in life, “go for it”, accomplish something, make your own luck, have fun, and set some good examples for others. Make plans to accomplish some of the things you want to do in life. Make that “Bucket List” and start in on it… THEN, when the end is near, you will have something to look back at, and hopefully… something to look forward to… one final adventure in your life.

Tom “Road” Blair

Website: www.tomroadblair.com

Exactly why a certain media mouthpiece continues harping away about how Moorhead is boogie-man-shaking- in-our-boots-petrified that should the majority of voters in North Dakota lose sight of their future and pass Measure 2, half of Moorhead is going to pack up and move west, is not only ridiculous, it borders on stupidity. No, I take that back. It’s not only stupid but insulting to believe that Moorhead residents who have invested their futures in Moorhead, bought their homes, started families, and enrolled their children in schools where they have roots, friends and an excellent educational system, would just chuck it all away for the benefit of possibly seven years with no property taxes. Because dollars to donuts, eventually North Dakota will most definitely have higher everything else in taxes, probably fewer services offered, worse infrastructure and most definitely a much larger chunk of the proposed Diversion debacle to pay for. This particular afternoon radio talk host actually lives in Moorhead. Guess that only shows how “in touch” some of our local media are with the people in their own home town. Maybe if he showed up at more meetings involving your City Council and city business leaders, you’d know no one but apparently your friends and other people you seem to know would even consider such a drastic move as “worth while.”

North Dakota has more problems in the western portion of their state than they can begin to deal with now – among them, the hiring of new law enforcement personnel and trying to hang on to the ones they already have, which, by the way, they aren’t. Why? THEY DO NOT PAY THEM ENOUGH – not to stay in places where they are desperately needed. Not to mention, there is NOWHERE for them to live if they are able to hire new personnel. Know what else? The new hires cannot afford the housing if they do find somewhere to live! Walk into the Wal-Mart in Dickinson and you might notice that even groceries are scarce – yes, even at the local Wal-Mart store, which is the only place most can afford to shop because the hometown grocer has hiked all the prices on everything else. And if Measure 2 passes, all these problems will only be exacerbated by the lack of funding coming in from once-paid property taxes. And since Fargo, within Cass County, has more of the population than the rest of the state, do you really believe the problems out west will only penalize those living out west? Doubtful. The two largest colleges are in the eastern portion of the state. Most of the towns out west only have one high school. Fargo has three. Somehow, I just don’t see that avalanche of needing extra money stopping at the little Missouri.

Sure, it sounds like it is going to be great not having to pay property taxes…until the crap hits the fan and it all starts to fall apart, which it will. But I do not believe for one split second that people who have already made their home in Moorhead are that short-sighted. Even if some may be tempted, they will still wait a good while after the stop payment on property taxes happens to see precisely how this is going to affect Fargo before the “swarm” of folks move out of Moorhead. So stop with “the sky is falling” in Moorhead, for Pete’s sake!

Yes, Moorhead definitely needs to change – starting at the top with the Mayor, who has been sitting on the City Council dais since 1986 – that’s twenty-six years. That’s a long political career if ever there was one. Mayor Mark Voxland is a very nice man. He’s probably a good electrician, too. This is not a personal attack against Mark Voxland. Simply stated, the stark truth is that Moorhead needs fresh ideas and new leadership that can leapfrog us from the same lily pad it has been floating on for over twenty years. We have plenty of brain power and leadership in Moorhead. What we need is for those who have the good old boy network in their pockets to move on, retire, go to the lake – just move on so that those who have the initiative will take the first step forward. Moorhead will be forever spinning its wheels if those who now hold the power do not relinquish it soon.

AND ONE MORE THING…

There still continues to be no concrete answer from the Moorhead School Board about why they are so reluctant to videotape the meetings for playback so that the citizens of Moorhead can view their meetings. My understanding is that there are a “couple” of folks now sitting on the Moorhead School Board who are “not too keen” on having the meetings taped. Really? And why might that be? It can’t be because of “camera shyness” – for Pete’s sake, you ran for the position you now hold!

Personally, I don’t really care who is not so “keen” on the idea or wants the meetings taped or not. The point is that this is a PUBLIC meeting, with citizen-elected representatives on a board who were—remember this – elected to their positions. Those not wanting to have the meetings video-taped for the benefit of the public (who not only pay for their time to be on this board, but would like to know what issues they have voted on and how they each voted) should resign and allow us to find representatives who will comply with having the meetings taped. Between the obligations that most parents have with full-time jobs, children with schedules for school, sports, church, and friends, it is dang near impossible to squeeze family dinners into some nights. So for those who do not have time to go to the meetings, yet would like to stay informed and on top of what is happening within our school district, being able to record a school board meeting would be a great advantage. Every other board in Moorhead has complied and is willing to do this. So…what seems to be the Moorhead School District’s problem? And please don’t blame it on money or not being able to find a couple of thousand dollars in the budget. No one is buying that excuse any longer.

Questions or comments for Soo Asheim can be sent to: sooasheim@aol.com

All letters need to have a complete names and phone numbers for verification (phone numbers will not be printed). Anyone wanting to speak personally with Soo may call 233-8604.

Two years ago, when I told people I was applying to go back to graduate school, people would sometimes tell me how “brave” I was.

I appreciated the compliment, but I never thought it was particularly true. I was more lucky than brave. Unlike a lot of people in their 50s, I was in a position to roll the dice; I had no real obligations, other than some financial ones that weren’t really onerous. I was single, my kids were older and didn’t really need me anymore and, while I loved my job, I was looking at exchanging it for something I knew I’d love as much. “Bravery” implies that there would be some risk in the decision and the risk was actually minimal; the only real downside was that I could flunk out and I was reasonably sure that wasn’t going to happen.

So, on the morning I left Fargo-Moorhead, it was all sunshine and roses – well, not roses, since it was January – and I could look forward to a real adventure. It was an amazing feeling.

Now, a year and a half later, I’m closer to the adventure’s end than its beginning. And it’s been an amazing ride, in so many ways. I’m in the last leg of the journey. The upcoming semester will be taken up with researching and writing my master’s thesis, so I’m basically done with what most people would recognize as the conventional “school” portion of graduate school. I won’t be sitting in any more classrooms (except for the class I teach as a teaching assistant). It’s basically going to be all homework.

And that’s fine; I’m ready to do what the last three semesters have been preparing me for.

But it’s been great good fun to look back on what a learning experience it’s been. College certainly ain’t the real world, and I had been briefly worried about that, but it’s been refreshing to discover the ways in which that’s a good thing.

Probably the biggest difference between this experience and the real world – and this is something that can be scary if you’re not prepared for it – is that for the first time in many years, my success or failure is entirely my responsibility. Out in the real world, if the boss doesn’t like the way you look or you have a vicious co-worker or somebody else screws up and blames you, your career can be derailed for reasons you really can’t fight.

But here, the only thing I have to fight is my tendency toward procrastination and laziness. It’s on me. And my age, with its attendant lack of third chances (I count this as a second chance) has been a great motivator to get things done.

The other happy lesson I learned was that I could deal with a workload that can only be described as brutal. A classmate and I were talking the other day and she put it in terms I hadn’t really thought of; it’s not really harder than undergraduate college work, but it’s more intense. The amount of reading is amazing. I think in my case it helps that I had some professional experience. I actually found the stuff interesting, because it spoke to experiences I’d had over a 30-year career. I could relate. In fact, I often felt like kind of a nerd, because I’d be fascinated reading things that would put any normal person into a deep coma.

And of course, if much of my experience has been shaped by my status as an older student, it’s been great good fun to hang out with people who are half my age or younger. To a person, my classmates have been wonderful. I’ve made some great friends. Although I’m temperamentally much closer to them than may people my age (some would call it immaturity), I had some slight fear going in that I would be the odd man out. Hell, as I often tell them, I’ve got neckties older than they are. But they’ve shown a great deal of respect for my experience and my ideas and that’s been wonderful. It probably helps that I offered them a deal: I told them that if I ever came off like the know-it-all older student, whoever could get to me and kill me first would get whatever remained of my financial aid.

And, speaking of that know-it-all older student, I like to think my experience here has been helped by a certain amount of humility on my part. I know a lot about journalism, but I recognize that there’s just as much I don’t know. And that’s not just a matter of the technology, which is light-years ahead of where it was when I started in the business. Ideas have moved on as well, and learning new ideas is always exciting. While I’ve had a moment or two when I’ve given a “well, back in my day” speech – we were talking about the Internet one day and I realized I was the only student in the class who remembered the time before it existed – I’ve usually only done that when it was germane to the discussion. After all, I’m not here to sermonize to my classmates; I’m here to learn from them, and my professors, and I’ve learned much more than I ever could have had I not kept my mouth shut.

So, while my time here is closer to its end than its beginning, and I still have much work to do, it’s been a truly amazing experience. If you ever get a chance to do it (and you really want to) I highly recommend it. I feel more alive than I have in years and a chance to feel that is not something anybody should pass up.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, once said there are no second acts in American lives. Fitzgerald may have been one of the greatest wordsmiths ever, but he was dead wrong about that. In fact, if you’re lucky and aware, the second act can be much better than the first.

And that’s been the best lesson I’ve learned.

Aaahhhhh Afghanistan….The land of enchantment! Just kidding.

This past week has been another interesting one. It is funny how different our cultures are and some of the things you see here. In some ways, this place is where the US was about 50 years ago, so it is like going back in time.

One small example of this is the lack of safety standards. There is no Occupational Safety & Health Organization here, or common sense in some cases. Next to our living quarters, we are getting a new building built for our post office, exchange store, and a few other support elements.

A few days ago I went outside to see how the building was coming along and see what the construction workers were doing. What I saw almost floored me in laughter. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were two dudes standing on a single 2 x 6 board stretched across some scaffolding over forty feet in the air. The board was bending downward and it looked like it was about to bust. Right in front of my eyes, I was just waiting for these guys to fall and go weeeeee all the way to the ground.

To top it off, they were not wearing any harnesses, hard hats, and the scaffolding was shaking like a Floridian in Fargo in the middle of January. All I could do was shake my head at the complete stupidity that I was seeing.

The Afghans have this thing in their religion called “Insha’Allah” which is translated to “God willing.” It means that anything and everything that happens is an act of God. So if that board would have broken and those dudes would have fallen to the ground, then it was meant to be. But since it didn’t, it was God’s will to let them live that day. I’m a believer in “God’s will”, but I’m also a believer in Murphy’s Law. You know, “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” This is a mindset that many of us as Air Force Advisors are trying to change here.

If the perfect plan is put together to accomplish something, including all safety precautions and foreseeing unforeseen circumstances, and that perfect plan still fails, then that is “Insha’Allah.” Not just stupidity and waiting to see if something bad is going to happen. Unfortunately, we do not see much for the perfectly planned plans here, so we will continue to scratch our heads everyday and ask ourselves-

“Did that just really happen?….Yep, it sure did!”