Days gone by, acts of kindness

It’s time for this journalist to write a column consisting of good old “bits and pieces.”

Our family had a fantastic Easter. Our grannies (my personal word for “grandchildren”) have insisted on a traditional holiday menu for team Zika the last  couple of Easters.The four boys have grown into big eaters and we now prepare two egg bakes for the main meal. Roasted asparagus and caramel rolls are the side dishes. Lisa makes the best homemade caramel rolls: the dough must be purchased at Morgan’s market. For dessert, it’s strawberry trifle–a combination of fresh strawberries, kiwi, yogurt, angel food cake and dream whip, layered in a huge pedestal bowl. Needless to say, there are few leftovers. 

Though tradition holds for the food, the days of scavenger hunts for hundreds of eggs are definitely over; our boys have outgrown the Easter bunny. The boys all receive a plastic bucket containing their favorite sweets: KitKats, Reese’s eggs and sweets I’ve never heard of like AirHead sour extreme and SweetTart ropes. They all receive a package of Hostess white mini donuts in their Easter buckets. 

Also in the buckets for each boy are plastic eggs with money. I go to the bank and get two-dollar bills and sleeves of fifty-cent pieces. The lady at the bank informs me they now keep two-dollar bills and lots of fifty-cent pieces on hand because they have grown to be in real demand. The eggs in each basket are filled with silver dollars, two dollar bills, and fifty cent pieces. The family is going on a trip to Alaska this summer, so Lisa and I put together a list of trivia questions about Alaska that each boy got to ask the group. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes - bet you didn’t know Alaska has three million! 

The Tuesday after Easter brought a visit to the Owatonna Hospital for a colonoscopy and upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. An endoscopy puts a camera down your throat for a little peek at your tummy; every senior citizen knows what a colonoscopy is. I decided to do both at the same time, my own “daily double.”

The results of the tests informed me it is time to change my eating habits. It’s time for high fiber in my meals every day. I am now a certified, educated, high-powered fiber nutritionist. Fiber in your diet can help lower cholesterol levels, prevent colon problems, reduce risk of diabetes, and prevent other major senior health problems. I returned from Wal-Mart this morning with apples, blueberries, pears, strawberries, bananas, cauliflower, potatoes, russets, and sweet, whole-grain bread, and shredded wheat. I’ll be trying to eat 25 grams of fiber every day. There were no Cheetos or cookie dough ice cream in my shopping cart today; it brought tears to my eyes. 

The Girl Scout cookie season is over. When we were teaching, Lisa used to buy them from students, causing our freezer to be full of cookie boxes. We’re no longer on the student-to-teacher sales pipeline, but next season I’ll buy a few boxes from a young lady selling them in front of a Waseca store. 

I saw a story on the news about a man who purchased the final 300 boxes of cookies in the stock offered by a group of girl scouts set up in front of a grocery store. He didn’t take any for himself: He told the young entrepreneurs to give a smile and a box of cookies to people passing by. I’m going to buy a few boxes next season, do the same thing, and learn from the man’s example of kindness. 

I remember Cabbage Patch Kids, My Pretty Ponies, Skeletor and action figures when our kids were growing up. I saw one the other day, the Dancing Cactus, a really neat toy for younger people. Check it out: You might want to get one for a young grandchild. 

We all know how non-native species can disrupt ecosystems. There are many examples of both plants and animals known for being “invasive.” European buckthorn and Eurasian millfoil are undesirable plants we are all aware of. Non-native insects, including the Asian beetle, also create major ecosystem problems. I’ve never regarded birds as invasive. Starlings and house sparrows are European and are non-native to the United States. I’d like to introduce you to the invasive parakeet, a bird flying around in large flocks in places such as Florida, Arizona, and Texas. The Monday parakeet  comes from South America, thousands of miles away. These birds were trapped and sold in the pet trade and purchased in pet stores. Some people found were apparently dissatisfied with their qualities as pets and unwilling to care for them any longer, so released them into the wild. The birds reproduced rapidly and now there are many of them. Because the bird is elegant and handsome, and doesn't compete with other birds for food sources, they are considered a beautiful and welcomed parakeet.

If you love ice cream and have a lifelong dream to own a Dairy Queen, the oldest one in Minnesota is now for sale in Rochester. 

Want to travel the United States for a year and visit every state? The Planets Peanut Company is now taking applications for two people to drive the Planters Peanut vehicle throughout the United States and promote their peanuts. Could be the job of a lifetime for a couple of adventurous young people. Applications are due by April 14. 

Did you know it is illegal to laugh in Hawaii? 

You have to keep it A   LO  HA!