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| John with Sophie turning the pages to "That's Why They Called Him Roy." Paul's sister, Jean (John's mother) is standing, in white. |
Today's special event, a Memorial to Paul at his brother's Alexandria farmhouse, naturally included a re-reading of one of Paul's classics. Paul's talents live on, we learned today, when his nephew, John, served up his own creation in the true spirit of his departed Uncle Paul, and did him one better by accompanying himself on the guitar. The poetry is in fun, but remarkably, it is quite historically correct, a fine retelling of many parts of this endearing man's life, who left us too soon, but is fondly remembered by so many.
That’s Why They Called Him Roy
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| Mary Jane and Ron. Ron led a short program. |
Paul was born in Nelson, Minnesota.
He was the youngest of the Strandberg clan,
John, Jean and Bill,
You’d of thought Evelyn had her fill,
Especially before they invented the minivan.
Growing up on a farm in the country,
Paul had it rough as the baby brother,
He was the youngest and the smallest,
And definitely the Paul-est,
With tough siblings and a stoic mother.
Paul has always been a unique king among men,
The unlikeliest MP that there ever has been
A kind, sardonic smarty-pants and cheap as can be,
Got the British crossword in a minute or three.
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| About 75 really nice people gathered. |
From when he was in government,
Back to when he was a boy,
That's why they called him Roy
As soon as Paul, learned how to read,
He learned a troubling thing.
His given name of Paul,
Unfortunately meant small
Instead, he chose Roy -- cuz it meant King.
As he got older Paul came into his own.
Engaged in his own brand of nonsense.
His sister’s dolls he hung,
Rowed into the lake and sung,
Both Jean and the Bible camp, they took offense.
Paul has always been a unique king among men,
The unlikeliest MP that there ever has been
A kind, sardonic smarty-pants and cheap as can be,
Got the British crossword in a minute or three,
From when he was in government,
Back to when he was a boy,
That's why they called him Roy.
Family tradition took him down to Carleton,
He was smart, but not so focused scholarly.
Softball was where it was at,
Played and lorded over Rottblatt,
Still managed to leave with his degree.
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| Paul's classmates, Mike, Stan and Mary Jane. |
This drinking, smoking, hippie-music listener,
Was drafted, ended up in basic training,
A most unlikely of MPs,
Tracking down AWOL escapees
Found military values weren’t ingraining.
After he escaped the Army, he found he tested well,
Got the highest LSATs in the state,
Had choices of where to go,
Went on down to Chicago,
3 years later he was a law graduate.
Paul has always been a unique king among men,
The unlikeliest MP that there ever has been
A kind, sardonic smarty-pants and cheap as can be,
Got the British crossword in a minute or three.
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| Elizabeth reread Paul's poem -- delivered originally at the 95th birthday party for his grandmother Edna. |
Back to when he was a boy,
That's why they called him Roy
After his time in the Windy City,
Paul came back to Minnesota
Began his work in government,
An employer he never forewent,
Focused between Wisconsin and the Dakotas,
As a grownup, he took his Lutheran thrift to heart,
He watched his pennies, nickels and dimes,
Who knew that a rusty Honda civic’s
Odometer had seven digits,
Miserliness was among Paul’s crimes.
Paul and Michael Jordan both loved playing basketball,
And they have something that they shared.
When jumping through the air,
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| Paul's eldest, Mark, with fiance Kate. She's an Illustrator, he's an attorney. They live in Portland. |
But Paul’s self-bite required - emergency repair.
If you ask Paul’s friends that if he just had one wish,
They all could chime in for him
It was a lead pipe cinch
A vertical jump, just one more inch,
To get him that much closer to the rim
His sporting extended to the fantasy world,
And his beloved Boca Chica league,
In the few weeks the Clips were winning,
Paul’s gloating and his grinning,
Gave the other owners a fair dose of fatigue,
Paul also traveled to some far off places,
The government decided he was just the man,
They weren’t just content
To fix agriculture on this continent,
Paul had to join Borat in Kazakhstan
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| A brunch was catered to the neat, classic farmhouse near Lake Geneva, home to Paul's brother and sister-in-law. |
That trip was not his only foreign adventure
His taste for travel was not deprived,
He accompanied son Mark,
On a mad Korean lark,
Got lost, ate crazy food, but still survived.
The farm was always a happy refuge for Paul,
He loved to drive up for weekends there,
Quietly placing spite and malice
While drinking coffee by the chalice
He and Evelyn made a contented pair.
Paul has always been a unique - king among men,
The unlikeliest MP that there - ever has been
A sardonic smarty-pants and cheap as can be,
Could get the British crossword done in a minute or three,
From when he was in government,
Back to when he was a boy,
That's why they called him Roy
