My favorite small town newspaper had two great entries from the sheriff’s report in June:

1:17 p.m., Grand Marais: Report of a loose collie mix with no collar downtown, between Boulder Park and the harbor. A deputy determined it to be the same dog she’s been chasing all spring but can never catch. The dog ran away from the deputy when it saw the squad car, and was still on the loose, somewhere downtown.

But here is my all-time favorite:

7:55 a.m., Grand Marais: Complaint about neighbors who started partying outside on their deck at 7 a.m., being very loud, dropping the “F-Bomb,” and taking off their shirts and showing each other their muscles. A deputy spoke with them, and they quieted down.

Instant classic.

While browsing for kid books the other day at Barnes and Noble in Eagan, I came across this three-book series by Gordon Korman about Mount Everest. I pushed my oldest to read them quickly so Dad could have a turn.

Being a huge fan of the mountain, I enjoyed this fictional account of the “SummitQuest” expedition. As Scholastic describes it:

They come from all across America to be the youngest kid ever to climb Everest. But only one will reach the top first. The competition is fierce. The preparation is intense. When the final four reach the higher peaks, disaster strikes — and all that separates the living from the dead is chance, bravery, and action.

Fun for young and old.

Everest Books on Amazon

From the February 1, 2008 Cook County News-Herald in Grand Marais:

James Lee Curtis, 63, Grand Marais, was convicted Oct. 26 of attempted murder with intent (not premeditated), and sentenced Jan. 15 to 153 months in the state prison at St. Cloud (minus 290 days credit for time served), and ordered to pay a $50 fine plus $87 in court costs and fees.

They must run a lean and mean court system in northern Minnesota…

While listening to MPR the other day, the commentators were discussing books for kids that are advanced readers. This book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, was one of the recommendations. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble for my oldest, although I really wanted to read it myself.

A fictional account of life on Alcatraz in the 1930s, the story revolves around Moose Flanagan, the son of a guard. Lots of great historically accurate descriptions of what life was like for the families of the workers who actually lived on the rock.

LOVED the ending too…

My parents have the Grand Marais newspaper sent to their home in St. Paul every week and pass it along to me after they read it. The Cook County News-Herald is a great small town paper and often has stories that make me smile. This week, though, they had a story that truly made me laugh out loud.

The November 30th issue had a story about the county website being upgraded to list property tax records online. There was some opposition to this, as the original proposal including the ability to search by property owner name. This was removed after reviewing other county policies in the state, but the final vote included two no votes:

“Commissioners Johnson and Fritz Sobanja voted against the proposal. Johnson said he couldn’t back the plan because of significant opposition he’s heard; Sobanja said he voted no as part of his ‘war against computers.’”

Where do I enlist?

Finished yet another book this week - The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell’s Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears, by Nick Jans.

I first became aware of the Timothy Treadwell story via Richard Thompson’s soundtrack to the Werner Herzog film Grizzly Man. I thought the movie was interesting and was anxious to read another take on this strange guy from California.

The movie contains a lot of the footage shot by Treadwell himself, which is rather eerie. The book goes into more detail on the attack of Treadwell and Huguenard, including the gruesome audio tape that is talked about in the movie (but never heard). I also found the sections about bear behavior and how to survive attacks very interesting.

I love Alaska and want to go back some day, but count me out from getting anywhere near those huge creatures.

Wow, two full books in a week!

I’ve had a strong interest in Mt. Everest (Chomolungma to the Tibetans or Sagarmatha to the Nepali) for a long time. Some of this was no doubt in part due to the 1996 IMAX film and Jon Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air.

My co-worker and I enjoy watching every television show we can find on Everest and followed the Rest of Everest podcast for some time. Needless to say, I love the new Everest ride at Walt Disney World and have “provide tech support at base camp for an Everest expedition” as one of my lifetime to do items.

Touching My Father’s Soul: A Sherpa’s Journey to the Top of Everest is written by Jamling Tenzing Norgay, son of Tenzing Norgay (who with Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the summit in 1953). It’s a quick read for 310 pages and provides a lot of background on the 1953 expedition, as well as the 1996 IMAX expedition (which Jamling accompanied). I also liked the Sherpa and Buddhist perspective that is absent in many Everest stories.

The internet provides additional insight into some of the places and organizations mentioned in the story:

• Hotel Yak and Yeti, Kathmandu
• Hotel Everest View
• American Himalayan Foundation, San Francisco
• Royal Geographical Society

Now I just need to find a place that will sell me a 3-D scale model of the mountain for a reasonable price…