Vindicated!

      It doesn't have to be a matter of life or death or a serious matter, one likes to be vindicated even in the trivial. Yes, vindicated! This requires a bit of context.

      For many years Charlie, my son's father-in-law, my daughter-in-law's father, my granddaughters' other grandfather, you get the idea, came from N.J. to hunt pheasants with me. He'd fly to Minneapolis and then we'd drive together to The Little House On The Prairie. 

     On one of the earlier trips as we drove down highway 169 south of Jordon we stopped at that garish yellow building. You know the one that preceded by a half mile of yellow picket fence with a sign proclaiming Minnesota's Largest Candy Shop or maybe The World's Largest Candy Shot. If you've ever driven that section of 169 you know it.

     Inside the shop we bought an apple pic just out of the oven, the shop has its own pie baker. When it was time to sample the pie in The Little House, I cut slices. With Charlie's slice I offered a slice of cheddar cheese. "Cheddar cheese," Charlie said "no one eats cheddar cheese with apple pie!" Dumbfounded I said "I thought everyone did."  He'd never heard of such a thing but it was common in my family.

      Relatively recently the subject of cheese on pie came up in conversation. The upshot was that we must have a peculiar family. EURKA!!!  While reading a novel about immigrants preparing to leave Norway for America a large family picnic is held. Kristi, age twelve is the narrator and she says "mother always wants to have a slice of cheese on the pie." Vindicated, it's not just our family, it's a cultural practice Never mind that it's Gjetost on cloudberry. Cheese on pie came with my grandparents from Norway to America! So there! take that!

Takk for alt,

Al

With a little tractor like this Farmall B, my father farmed from 1941 until 1948, when he bought a slightly larger one. He succeed by spending countless hours on it.