The tower rises from the heart of West Seventh, defining and defying the passage of time and the lay of the community.  The Schmidt Brewery is the West End to many people because it rises like an old oak from secure roots to dominate the skyline longer than anyone can remember.  Its endurance is remarkable because it cannot be ignored yet somehow has been neglected,  too big to care for and yet too important to imagine life without.

That’s how the Fort Road Federation, through the help of the City of Saint Paul, came to acquire the property for redevelopment.  Decades of tireless work by many people, led by City Councilmember Dave Thune, has reached another turning point for this symbol of a community and its endurance.  After years of planning and haggling it has a new owner and, soon, a new use.

I toured the site as member of the Federation’s Board of Directors.  I’d like to show you one small but vital part of this great site, the Rathskeller.  It is one of the hidden jewels of Saint Paul, soon to be uncovered once again.

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For those of us in Minnesota, there is little to talk about today except the extraordinary weather.  From 102F yesterday to a predicted 48F tonight, we’re in the middle of a 54F drop in about 35 hours.  This is what can happen in the middle of a vast continent.

The heat wave hit people as many different ways as we coped with a small emergency.  The strangest effect was to highlight the awkward hot days at the end of the school year, the time when summer beckons to the kids before they can laze their way through the heat of the day.  Oppressive heat  made the classrooms warmer, recess drippier, and the slow progress of the day a bit heavier.

To me, it made the odd stillness at graduation time more pronounced.  My kids are getting older and they are not little anymore.  The day they move on is coming closer.

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Memorial Day is a special holiday, and not just because it honors those who gave their lives for our nation.  It was a spontaneous holiday that came about because it seemed necessary more than politically expedient.  There was little official about it until long after it was part of our national calendar.

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Stop for a moment and look around you.  In front of your nose might be the aroma of coffee from Sumatra steaming inside a mug made in China.  The table  you are sitting at may be from South America or Canada.  Your clothes could be made of Egyptian cotton.  What do all of these things have in common, other than your life?  Nearly all of them spent some time in a metal box, 20 feet by 8 feet by 9 and a half feet tall.

Containerized cargo has changed the world more than any other technology over the last 30 years, maybe or maybe not excluding the internet.  Yet few people stop to consider this phenom and what it means

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