Reunion

Stan, Linda, Rick. Mark (standing) put us together.

Thirty-five years ago, Rick and Linda left Minnesota after 10 years of working and living in Minneapolis. He was a professor at Augsburg College while she raised their two youngsters. The family eventually returned to their home state of California where their son is now a math teacher in Santa Monica and their daughter is finishing a PhD at Stanford.
A mutual friend, ex-Minnesotan Mark Rikess, staged a surprise reunion this weekend and we had a wonderful time talking about partying through the 70s.
It may be 35 years, but Linda well remembers the magic of a Minnesota Christmas and the excitement of new snow -- morphing into the long slog and bitter cold of the endless dark winter. She doesn't miss that. We agreed that we still look great and feel just as healthy as we were back in the day when Linda would take out her little tobacco pouch and zig-zags, then deftly roll her own cigarette.
She could still do it, she thinks, if pressed.