Be thankful for snail mail andfor glasses half fullI'm looking forward to the holidays, if for no other reason but to get the mail.It's the time of year when our rural mailbox holds the promise of something handwritten and personal. We look forward to the brightly-colored envelopes with seasonal stamps that stand out among the usual bulk-rate, white rectangular business envelopes.It occurred to me last month that one of the few remaining bright spots of birthdays at my age is getting birthday greetings the old-fashioned way.I received a small handful of cards in a delightful array of colored envelopes, with my name and address (the rural route that?s becoming a numbered street) penned on the front delivered by the mailman in our tin mailbox at the end of the driveway.I was reminded again that progress doesn?t always take the form of technology. Not to discount thoughtful correspondence that reaches me via e-mail, there?s really nothing like getting a "hard-copy" message to hold on to.My countertop was decorated with birthday cards propped up on their folded edges, and holiday snail mail will similarly decorate a designated wall in the kitchen as it arrives.A person can't do that with an e-mail, even if it's printed on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, even if it's on colored paper. It just doesn't have the same warming effect.I suppose this is the reason Hallmark continues developing its greeting card market, much in the same way newspapers can count on hard-copy subscriptions.As handy as cyber communication is, we simply can't prop our computer screens on the kitchen table or hang them on the front of the fridge.Be thankful... even if you have to look for reasonsI've never met Carman Oldre and I may never know her, but I was touched by her observations of life in Afghanistan where she's stationed with the Army. (See her information on this page).She's a classic example of the "glass-is-half-full" philosophy we should all consider adopting at Thanksgiving.She lives and works north of Kabul, in an impoverished area whose people have been at war for 23 years and have been left with nothing."This past year I have experienced sorrow, fear, exhaustion and disappointment," she writes. "The frailty of life looks me in the eye every day."Rather than see the hopelessness of the situation, Carman recognizes the joy of making small, important improvements where she's able. And for that she?s thankful.How about this for attitude: She has to walk three blocks on ice and cold to use the port-a-john, but she's thankful for toilet paper when it's available.There's a lot of hurt in the world...everybody hurts. Some people have bigger hurts than others.For people with "glasses half empty," these hurts can ruin the spirit of Thanksgiving and Christmas. With really nothing to be thankful for, why celebrate, right?I guess my response to this is simple: If you're looking for reasons to be thankful this year, read Carman's letter.Then, look a little harder.

It has been said that a woman?s home is a reflection of her personality. It tells people who she is and what she cares about. The home reveals the fundamental qualities of her soul. For men, it is a place to drop their underwear on the floor. For the past five years every single wall in our house was beige, a color that is NOT a reflection of my soul. Still, I refused to let the wall color suffocate my personality and I decorated the rooms in a manner that reflected my true self. Six months ago I decided to get the interior of the house painted. I deliberated at length. I brought home hundreds of paint samples. Its difficult and time-consuming to uncover all of the aspects of your personality and determine which of those aspects should be reflected in each room. It?s a very strenuous process. In the end, I figured it all out with a little help from my painter (Lisa). She observed and revealed some bolder aspects of my personality of which I was not aware. I?ve known myself for 52 years and I am Whispering Wind and Baby?s Breath. She knew me for 10 minutes and saw Baked Terracotta and Vintage Claret. It?s scary. As the painting progressed, I have to admit, I had a little identity crisis going on. The second day into the project I came home on my lunch hour and walked through the house to view my newly-revealed personality. I returned to my pickup, flipped down the vanity mirror, and asked the age-old question, "Who am I?" Since then I have "found my self" and as I walk through the house and view the rooms, I can truthfully say that I am far more interesting than I thought. If you decide to paint your house, stop by the library to get some ideas. Whether you?re Whispering Wind of Baked Terracotta, you?ll find lots of guidance here. There are also some fabulous sites on the Internet to help you make your choices. We can also provide you with excellent choices in new fiction this week. "Some Kind of Miracle" by Iris Dart. Cousins Dahlia and Sunny Gordon were best friends growing up, bound by a shared love for making music that was as pure, powerful, and radiant as the California sunshine. They promised they would stick together all the way to the top. But a darkness was already descending on Sunny, one that would ultimately plunge her into a nightmare of solitude and schizophrenia. After long years of fruitless struggle, Dahlia still dreams of making it in the Los Angeles music business. A lucky break has brought a composition she and Sunny wrote long ago to the attention of a powerful Hollywood producer. Dahlia must find her cousin in order to secure the rights to the song that will win her fame and fortune. But Sunny Gordon now inhabits a place of madness and despair, and her obstinate refusal to sign a contract infuriates Dahlia and strengthens her resolve. Dahlia will do anything to get what she wants ? even if it means moving her tragically damaged cousin, demons and all, into her own home. Yet selfish motives and greed are leading Dahlia somewhere she never imagined she'd go. For the first time since she was a girl she will have to put someone else's needs before her own, and her life will be unexpectedly transformed in the process. And sometimes, even when real life reaches its cruelest and lowest ebb, miracles do happen. The library will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and open regular hours on Friday and Saturday.

Rock County?s CapitalThis article appeared in the Rock County Herald on July 4, 1884:An outline pen sketch of Luverne, and its surroundings, its advantages and its prospects as they appear to a visitor.The Land of Plenty, a pamphlet lately issued by the Chicago St. Paul Minneapolis & Omaha railroad company, contains the following in relation to Luverne which will convey to the distant reader an idea of the impression which our beautiful town produces on all who visit it. An attempt to give the distant reader a word picture that will convey to him a correct idea of Luverne, its beauty of location, its thrift and enterprise, and in general, the numerous points of advantage and superiority which have won for the town to distinction it enjoys of being one of the very best and most flourishing in southwestern Minnesota, would signally fail of doing justice to the subject. All who visit Luverne for the first time are invariably surprised at the growth it has already attained, the amount of business it transacts and the superior excellence alike of its business houses, its residences and its public buildings. The place must be seen to be fully appreciated. The corporate limits of the town embrace about 220 acres of land lying on a gentle slope to the south and east and the entire plat, which terminates on the east at the banks of the river, overlooks the magnificent valley of the Rock to the northeast and south and its natural beauty is heightened by fine groves of timber which skirt the stream and form a delightful pleasure resort at the foot of Main Street. West of the town the surface rises gradually from the river, and to the north the view is obstructed by the rugged outlines of the celebrated Blue Mounds, whose craggy heights rise perpendicularly from the valley, about three miles distant but so distinctly visible that they seem but a short walk away. Located at the junction of the main line of the Chicago St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha road from St. Paul to Sioux Falls with a line of the same road running down the valley, surrounded by some of the richest farming lands in the west, possessed of the advantages of excellent water power, and enjoying a profitable trade from a radius of from 15 to 20 miles, Luverne possesses advantages as a railroad and business center, together with advantages for manufacturing industries and opportunities for profitable business investments, which no town in southern Minnesota can surpass. Its growth has been of that gradual, substantial and permanent character which bespeaks stability and insures its future prosperity, and the town has already won prestige among Minnesota towns which excites the envy of its neighbors and the pardonable pride of its citizens. The ordinary lines of business are well represented. The corporation has built two school houses ? one at a cost of $11,000. There are four church edifices. The people are public spirited, and the lively business air of the place would do credit to a much larger town. Every visitor will be richly repaid by a visit to the Blue Mounds, an immense formation of jasper stone which forms a prominent object of interest in plain view from the town. A view from the Mounds is entrancing. At the base of these "Picture Rocks" the fertile valley of the Rock River stretches away to the banks of the stream, and as far as the eye can discern in either direction, a scene of unparallel beauty is presented. North and south the gently sloping valley, dotted with farm houses and groves of timber is visible to a distance of nearly 15 miles in either direction, and away to the west and east the view comprehends a stretch of fertile rolling prairies whose grandeur and picturesque beauty have few counterparts in all the far-famed West.(It should be borne in mind that the new railroad concerning which information is given elsewhere in this issue, has been projected since the above article was written. ? Ed)Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

Like beauty, chocolate has much to do with the eye of its beholder. Based on taste alone, chocolate is readily accepted by millions of people from all walks of life. We don?t have to be reminded that it?s a vegetable (a cocoa bean is a vegetable, isn?t it?) or that its countless devotees consider it to be a basic food group. Many of us were understandably pleased, but not surprised, when researchers at the University of Cologne, Germany, recently announced that three ounces of dark chocolate a day for two weeks lowers high blood pressure in adults. That pleasure soon turned to downright smugness when The Week magazine also revealed that Italian and Scottish researchers found that chocolate significantly raises levels of antioxidants, "chemicals that mop up heart-damaging molecules called free radicals." What should trouble any chocolate lover, however, is the news that came out of Paris, site of the European Chocolate Trade Fair earlier this month. Apparently, Europe?s chocolate makers are now using words to describe their products that are normally reserved for fine wines. The words tossed around the fair included fermentation, fragrance, bouquet and palate. "Wine and chocolate terms are getting closer and closer," a French "chocolatier" told Reuters. "In chocolate as in wine you can find different flavors depending on the soil in which the cocoa beans were grown, how much rain they received and the fermentation process." This is more information than chocolate lovers need to know. We can?t adequately put into words why we even love people in our lives, so we most certainly can?t be expected to explain our love for chocolate with words normally reserved for vintage wines. We only know we love it. Using descriptive adjectives tends to take the fun out of chocolate and it also cuts into chocolate eating time. There is an element of danger in treating chocolate like wine, another product attributed with addictive powers. All sorts of problems could arise when chocolate becomes more than a comfort food or a daily staple in our diets. From the masses of chocolate lovers ? basically gregarious, happy, outgoing people ? chocolate elitists will surely arise and they will nibble, as opposed to gorge, on tiny pieces of chocolate with their pinky fingers extended. They will utter statements such as, "This Belgian chocolate is long on the palate" or "A bit musty and mushroomy, wouldn?t you say?" Because of its addictive attributes, chocolate will no longer be available to people of all ages. Some over-zealous government agency, such as ATFC (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Chocolate) will subject us to random breathalyser tests as we step from our cars or as we walk down sidewalks. "Sorry, lady, but you register at a four-candy bar level. You will have to come down to the station with us." As the addictive qualities and weight issues associated with chocolate become government concerns, prohibition could be a definite possibility. Few of us would be ready for a world where huge batches of chocolate are mixed in bathtubs and banned chocolate is sold behind the peep-holed alley doors of "melt-easies." At the very least, the consumption of chocolate will be banned in public places. Because of these reasons and many more, comparing chocolate with wine should be discouraged.

A veteran?s take of ?Holiday Cheer?As another holiday season approaches in our little corner of the world, we look forward to the warmth and love of family that comes with it. Food and family, gifts and reunions will fill our lives very soon. In this time we should try to put politics and opinions aside to think of those who will miss the holiday season this year.In 2003, we have more members of our community who have gone to serve their country in this latest war. They are doing their part to keep all of our families safe. The greatest cost is to them, their families, spouses, and children. The history of the United States is filled with holidays like this. Holidays with empty seats at the table and children that cannot understand why dad or mom is not there for them. Our servicemen have gone to all the corners of the globe to defend freedom and liberate countless people. They have given precious time out of their lives to protect their country.The war on terror is a new war against a new and more dangerous enemy than we have ever faced. This enemy fades in and out like a shadow on a cloudy day and loves to target civilians. The targets they like don?t have defenses and are filled with the sounds of children. This enemy is vicious and ruthless and just a handful of them can wreak havoc and bring fear to our country. The current crop of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are an all volunteer group, well equipped and trained, and very proud of their mission and how they are accomplishing it. During a recent interview with one of the survivors of the downed Chinook helicopter, the interviewer seemed to try to lead the soldier to make critical remarks about this war. She was obviously shocked when the young man pledged his support and spoke only of getting back to his platoon, his military family. He was a picture of this generation. The question has been asked when our servicemen have showed their character, "Where are they getting these guys?"As families gather and dinners are cooked this year we must realize that our safe holiday dinner, warm houses, and free lives come from one place only. Our freedoms are brought to us courtesy of those that have spent a holiday in the desert or the Argonne Forest, the Chosin Reservoir or the Mekong Delta. We owe everything to the men and women of the military, past and present. We also owe the parents, spouses, and children who watched them go to serve and defend their country.As you give thanks and prayers for your families and blessings this holiday season, take time to include in your prayers all who have allowed us to live this life we enjoy. They are one of our greatest blessings.Curtis M. Hendel

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian Dragons were not overlooked when the 2003 All-Little Sioux Conference roster was released last week.Adrian, which placed second in the league with a 6-1 record, drew five All-LSC selections.Senior offensive and defensive lineman Josh Winselman, senior running back-defensive tackle Trent Bullerman, junior quarterback-cornerback Levi Bullerman, junior fullback-linebacker Tony Sauer and junior receiver-cornerback Brett Block made the all-league team for AHS.Adrian senior Brandon Wolf and junior Casey Knips made the LSC?s All-Academic Team.League champion Russell-Tyler-Ruthton led all teams with seven all-conference selections.Sophomore Kyle Minett, seniors Joel Wiering, Scott Staniszewski, Nathan Blegen and Joe Wichern and juniors Adam Lingen and Ramsey Gravley made the team for the Knights.Minett was named the LSC Most Valuable Player of the year.Fulda drew four all-league selections in seniors Paul Clausen and Aaron Crowley, junior Jeremy Crowley and sophomore Tim Haberuan.Canby, Minneota and Dawson-Boyd drew three all-league selections each.Canby seniors Dave Monke, Joe Miller and Adam Hulzebos made the team. Minneota seniors Jason Stripling and Ben Derynck and junior Steffan Sticklestead graced the roster. D-B seniors Tim Cariveau, Justin Wager and Dan Prestholdt represent the Blackjacks on the roster.Ortonville senior Ryley Sammon caps the All-LSC roster.R-T-R?s Kent Mikkelsen and Steve Borchert were named the LSC Coach and Assistant Coach of the year respectively.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls? hockey team let a two-goal advantage slip away during Friday?s season-opening game in New Ulm.Luverne junior Natalie Domagala netted a pair of unassisted goals in the first 4:03 of the game to give the Cardinals an early lead.The Eagles, however, used a four-point performance from Tiffany Hoffman to edge LHS 5-3 in the end.New Ulm rallied to tie the game at two before the first period was complete and took a 3-2 lead when Hoffman scored her second goal of the game after being set up by Jocelyn Janni with 10:00 left in the second period.Luverne bounced back to tie the game at three when Chessa Ossefoort scored after being set up by Sadie Dietrich with 3:00 left in the second stanza, but New Ulm?s Liz Bode netted an unassisted goal one minute later to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead they wouldn?t relinquish.New Ulm received an insurance goal from Angie Sieffert with 4:35 left in the third period. Hoffman and Danielle Bode received assists for the game?s final goal.The Cardinals started the game on a promising note as Domagala found the net with unassisted goals at the 15:54 and 12:57 marks of the first period.Hoffman scored an unassisted goal at 11:57 before setting up a goal by Danielle Bode that tied the game at two with 7:00 remaining in the opening period.Although New Ulm outshot the Cards 40-26 in the contest, LHS coach Dave Siebenahler was happy with the way his girls played in the opener."I think we played very well," he said. "This probably was a game we should have won."Sara Schneekloth minded the net for LHS. She stopped 35 of 40 shots in her first varsity start.Luverne hosts Marshall for its Southwest Conference opener Dec. 4.

By John RittenhouseThree members of the Luverne High School football team were honored by the coaches of the Southwest Conference last week.Two Cardinal boys made the 2003 All-SWC Football Team, and another LHS boy drew honorable mention.Making the 22-player All-SWC roster for LHS are senior tailback-linebacker Tyler Elbers and junior linebacker Brad Herman.Roth Anderson, a senior offensive and defensive lineman, is an honorable mention selection.Conference champion Jackson County Central led all league teams by drawing six all-conference selections.Seniors Kent Scheff, Jon Hummel, Nick Lusk, Tom Nesseth, Jeremy Sirovy and Adam Weets made the team for the Huskies.Windom drew five all-conference selections in seniors Drew Zimmerman, Mitch Masters, Ashton Pankonin, Trevor Baloun and Brock Zimmerman.Redwood Valley landed four all-conference picks in seniors Bo Hagert, Travis Fluck, Tom Anderson and Trevor Wittwer.Pipestone seniors Matt Oye, Derek Hartke and Jimmy Delaney also graced the roster.Rounding out the All-SWC squad are Worthington senior Erik Erstad and Marshall senior Matt A. Fischer.Luverne?s Anderson is one of 11 players to draw honorable mention from the SWC coaches.JCC juniors Tim Ruby and Caleb Rossow, Windom juniors Brett Mattson and Will Schwalback, RWV seniors Jeremy Soupir and Seth Junker, Pipestone seniors Brian Kvamme and Jake Terry, Worthington senior Wade Tarphagen and Marshall senior Scott Mathiowetz are the other honorable mention selections.

By John RittenhouseThe game was played two months ago, but Curt Schilling remembers what transpired as if it happened yesterday.It was Sept. 19, and it was homecoming night at Hills-Beaver Creek High School.The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots were taking on Edgerton in a non-conference football clash in Hills.The Patriots were clinging to a four-point lead with less than four minutes left to play in fourth quarter. As quarterback and one of the leaders of the team, Schilling was just trying to make a play that would help lock up H-BC-E?s fourth consecutive victory to start the season."It was a fourth-and-eight situation, and we had called a pass play," Schilling recalled. "I couldn?t find anyone open to throw the ball to, so I started scrambling. I noticed the whole left side of the field was open, so ran for the first down marker. Just as I reached the marker, I got hit right in the knee by someone?s helmet or shoulder, and my foot was planted in the ground at the time."While Schilling, an Ellsworth High School senior, laid on the ground in pain for five or 10 minutes after impact, he didn?t immediately know the extent of the damage to his knee.After sitting on the bench with ice wrapped around his leg as the game progressed, the H-BC-E quarterback realized that something was wrong."I didn?t know how serious it was right away, but I knew something was not good," he said. "After sitting on the bench for a while, I picked up my helmet thinking that I was going back into the game. I took one step, and I just about fell over. I sat right back down because I knew I wasn?t going back into the game. I knew right then that something seriously was wrong."A trip to Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls confirmed Schilling?s fear that something was terribly wrong.Schilling was diagnosed with a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, tears in the medial collateral ligament and tears in the meniscus.The damage meant Schilling?s senior football season was over, and, even more important to him, his last high school basketball season was in jeopardy."They say it takes about four months for a torn ACL to completely heal after surgery. The MVL heals on its own, and they scraped away cartilage damage to the meniscus," Schilling said."Looking back at it, that was a pretty disappointing time. It was disappointing for me and the whole community of Ellsworth. All the support the Ellsworth community showed me during that time really meant a lot. All of the cards and prayers I received were really something. It was kind of overwhelming."The feeling shared by Schilling and the community members of Ellsworth were based on the prospects of the upcoming basketball season.Ellsworth, a program that lost four starters to graduation from a 2002-03 team that placed second in Class A last season, did not need to lose another player to injury.Some area fans believed Ellsworth would emerge as a surprise team that could make a run at defending its Section 3A title this winter, but those expectations were based on the return of a healthy Schilling.Although he won?t be on the court to start the season, Schilling is eyeing a comeback this winter.The EHS athlete is currently doing rehabilitation work that is required after ACL surgery, and he thinks returning to the court before the projected fourth-month healing period is a possibility."The surgery was a complete success, and it feels pretty good right now," Schilling said. "Everything is going really well, and my trainer thinks so, too. He told me in the 17 years that he has been a trainer, and of all of the ACLs he?s had to deal with during those years, that my (recovery to this point) is the best that he?s ever seen. They say it takes four months to recover from ACL surgery, but I think it will be a lot earlier than that. I hope to be playing anywhere between late December to the middle of January."Schilling?s optimism stems from his rehabilitation work at Avera McKennan?s Sports Medicine Orthopedic Institute, where he spends a lot of time these days.Shortly after his Oct. 6 surgery, Schilling has returned to Sioux Falls for three hours of rehabilitation work four days each week with his trainer.His workouts started with riding stationary bikes, and they now include doing single leg presses, taking power walks, working on a trampoline and back-pedaling."It?s really tough work," Schilling admitted. "I can really feel it the next morning. I really don?t feel pain any more. Everything seems to be going well."It?s going so well that Schilling might be able to reach some personal goals with a successful return to the basketball court.With 1,718 career points, Schilling could become Ellsworth?s first 2,000-point scorer if he?s playing basketball like he wants to be in January. Schilling also needs to collect 150 more caroms to reach the 1,000-rebound plateau.Achieving those personal marks would be outstanding accomplishments, but Schilling is more concerned about having the Panthers perform well as a team."My big goal is to make it back to the state tournament," he said. "I?m looking at things in the long term right now. The first thing I want to do is get healthy again, and the next thing I want is to get back to the state tournament. That was the best experience of my life, and we would like to get back there again."