This past June, I walked the streets of Nicollet aware of an extraordinary flurry of activity. Garages were cleaned and decorated, tents and tables popped up on lawns, and harried parents conveying carloads of provisions looked as if they were mounting a major relief effort.
This is my first “green” column. Before sitting down to write, I took a couple tranquilizers to slow my respiration which will lower my output of carbon dioxide and thereby reduce my carbon footprint. I mounted the treadle mechanism from an old sewing machine under my desk, cut a hole in the desktop and ran a discarded fan belt up to a recycled generator that is now powering my computer.
Along with the welcome chirps of returning robins, spring brings an unpleasant sucking sound I hear every April 15. That’s when the government extends a vacuum hose from the treasury to my savings account to siphon off more of the nuts I’ve squirreled away. The pattern is so predictable, I give it little more than a passing thought. I simply frown and bear it.
I doubt there was a kid in the 1950s who didn’t believe household robots would become as commonplace as family pets. My friends and I were mesmerized by the mechanical marvels on TV and in the movies. We knew there were two basic kinds: malevolent ones that would fry you to a crisp with their […]
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