Opinion

Dogs and humans have been working together for thousands of years. Until somewhat recently though, dog breeds as we know them didn’t exist. In the mid to late 19th century, people began focusing on creating written breed standards for dogs bred with a specific purpose in mind. There are now over 300 different breeds throughout the world bred for jobs ranging from hunting all day to herding livestock to warming our laps. Understanding what a breed’s original job was can help avoid behavioral difficulties.

My Daughter Friends have asked why I haven’t written about my four-year-old daughter. Some know me as a dotting dad and conjectured that I was too deeply in love to make fun of her.

Contrary to popular opinion, God does like to keep his nose out of other people’s business. On occasion he just might prod a bit, only to get things moving in the right direction. Such was his intent with the Great March for Community Newspapers and his hope that the mighty throng would head back up the shore to occupy the Peter Mitchell mine near Babbitt and the taconite plant, railroad and ore docks in Silver Bay. He may have been the almighty but he certainly wasn’t pushy. He was very adept at allusion, gentle innuendo and quiet suggestion. Never intrude on someone else’s free will was his motto, but he certainly wasn’t averse to a good clue when it was necessary. He dropped a hint here and there about the need to help the residents of Lake County most affected by the mine closure. He might’ve nodded a wee bit when a fellow named Foggy, who lived in a tiny house near Kane Lake, got worked up about the mess Larry Goncalves started by shutting down the mining operation. Foggy said it just wasn’t fair that during a phone call to investors one person could put five hundred out of work and cause havoc across entire communities. God sat back smiling as Foggy began to urge his fellow marchers to consider taking over the mine, taconite plant, railroad and docks as a bit of a wakeup call, a poke in the eye of a CEO who thought he was king.

I get impatient when I am driving through town and drivers are too nice. They pause when they have the right of way. They stop when there is no stop sign. They wave unnecessarily. They defer to someone who is in a bigger hurry than they are. Many of these drivers are over 60 and drive old pickups. Yes, I am ashamed to say this. Can you believe I am anything but touched and comforted by their exemplification of everything I say I stand for? They are not in a hurry. They are focused on others. They are friendly. They are safe! What part of me could possibly be so critical?

Our housing difficulties in Lake County are magnified in Cook County, where over 70% of the housing parcels are “improved seasonal recreational properties.” It was interesting to listen to WTIP’s special news program (now available at the WTIP website) that brought in four panelists to discuss the issue. Panelists included Cook County’s HRA (Housing and Redevelopment Authority) Director, the Cook County Administrator, the EDA (Economic Development Authority) Director, and a City Councilor and local contractor. I was in Grand Marais with friends and they all tuned in. I got to be part of the lively discussion that came after.

Forrest Johnson “What we have here is a failure to communicate,” said the warden to the inmates in the movie Cool Hand Luke. Yes, we have a failure to communicate in 2022 America.

Forrest Johnson I just got off the phone with our German exchange student son and I am again amazed at how little we Americans understand about the notion of the Common Good. Yes, we often talk the talk, but words aren’t action, and we fall at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations when it comes to taking care of each other and our children.

The Perfect Cookie INGREDIENTS: The busy summer days have yet again come to an end as we ease into fall, and now it’s time to accept the cooler days and earlier sunsets. Something about fall urges me into the kitchen that I’ve left abandoned all summer.