Author: Mark Peacock

This week I was able to do some catching up with Peter Kwong, who writes a regular column for the Burnett Sentinel and is a celebrity chef and restaurant consultant. I don’t get to see the Sentinel often but when Peter wrote for the Inter County Leader, his schtick was to play the ignorant immigrant with “so much to learn” about the USA. In the process of playing that out, Peter was able to show us ourselves in revealing ways and in ways we’d probably never thought about. It was brilliant. Over coffee this week at Pure & Simple (they have my “mangled” fairy tale books for sale) Peter caught me up on Chinese New Years. It is the Year of the Snake and Peter’s columns about that observance deal with the legend of the white and green snakes. It’s pretty complicated so it’s taken Peter two weekly columns of explain the whole story. I enjoyed our “catching up” and look forward to more in the near future.

Last night I read two stories at the Amery Area Public Library. Our host was Trevor Richards, who leaves soon to become the director of the library in Bruce, Wisconsin. Turnout was small–five people, including Trevor–but the response was very positive to my reading The Great Experiment and Little Red Hoodie. Those stories can be found in The First Gathering of The Break Time Stories and The Second Gathering of The Break Time Stories. LaMoine MacLaughlin was one of the attendees, which was an honor for me since LaMoine contributed a positive introduction to each of my story collections and took first prize for fiction/short stories from the Wisconsin State Arts and Letters organization and served as Amery’s first Poet Laureate to boot! Years ago LaMoine told me readings by writers never draw much of a crowd and sometimes I’ve found that to be true. In Amery, a 6 p.m. reading doesn’t draw many people, even with good PR and a history of reading stories at the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, as a fund raiser to help resurrect the old movie theater, and after several years of having my stories broadcast each month on WPCA-FM radio. However, long ago I decided in church that even if only one person showed up that I’d give them the best shot I could and I do the same for anyone who shows up for one of my story readings. Besides, reading my stories aloud is fun–and I know the author.

Living with someone who’s hearing impaired can lead to interesting conversations. Marina and I were talking about where we might go when living where we do no longer is viable.

Me: “Wherever you go, there are always hassles.”

Marina: “Yes, I agree. Wherever you are there are always assholes.”

Um, yeah.

Tonight’s WPCA-FM story was We Gotta Help Bomber! Bomber being the small town local hero who wound up being trapped in town by his big football win against the town’s hated larger rival. There always was someone–or many people–willing to hear yet again Bomber’s story of the big game. Bomber was big hearted but his work history consisted of a series of temporary local jobs so his retirement income was limited and when the out-of-town company bought his apartment building and raised the rent, Bomber faced being homeless. His friends at the coffee shop determined to help him.

We Gotta Help Bomber! is my most recent story and can be found in the Six Short Stories paperback and online in Another Four Short Stories. I agree with St.Paul Pioneer Press book editor/critic Mary Ann Grossmann’s assessment that my characters are interesting and well developed. How could I not? Seriously though, I listen to my readings of stories critically and I’m pretty much able to step back, especially after some time, as in the case of the Bomber story, and give a story some judgment. Some stories are better read on the page than heard, mostly because the dialogue gets complicated or the talking is between too many people and some stories work well both ways. As with some of my other stories, this story ends with a bit of a surprise twist: “As I said, no one ever said Bomber was stupid.”

My in-house Grandma to her Granddaughter: “Do you mean to tell me you bought those jeans new with all those holes?” Granddaughter: “Yes!”

And so this morning I led Grandma’s fingers to the hole in my shirt sleeve with my now scrawny elbow poking through. “Do you think it’s time to toss this shirt?”

It is one of my favorite shirts, but now the collar I had turned is all frayed (again) and the sleeve cuffs I had turned have separations and the right sleeve’s elbow has that nice juicy hole. I’ve looked around and have been unable to find anything close to this shirt. It’s brown with small black squares so it can pair with just about anything. It is flannel so it’s just right for inside in Winter or the shoulder seasons. Lately, I’ve worn it while at home but I’m aware of its condition so I change shirts if I expect to be out in public. Even tossing a sweater over the shirt can’t hide the flaws anymore. I gave myself a new shirt for Christmas this year but it’s a “close but no cigar” shirt. Yes, parting is such sweet sorrow and I’m afraid this old shirt/rag will have to go. Maybe it can live on as a dusting rag? I’m reluctant to find out.

Yesterday, I took the service at Wolf Creek United Methodist Church. I pastored there previously, from 1997-2008 and then again from 2018-2024 so they know me and I have experienced their embrace and generosity. It’s a small congregation that works together well and values the importance of each person under its umbrella. They have survived pastoral mistreatment and recovered well; they have my respect. Even in the face of losing key members, the congregation has embarked on new ministries, including a quilting group that is open to just about anyone.

So yesterday the place was nicely filled and we had a good service and coffee hour afterwards. It does feel good to be welcomed back warmly. I am grateful.

Yes, I am scheduled to read a couple of stories on Thursday, February 20th at 6 p.m. at the Amery Area Public Library. This will be my second time to read my stories at the Amery Library. I am present in Amery the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. via radio on WPCA-FM (91.3) and in the past I’ve read from my stories at what was then the Northern Lakes Center For The Arts. The date of the Library reading needs to be firmly confirmed but I’m told the date most likely will remain as scheduled. Amery’s Bowman Collective has all my books and Marina’s Seeing Eye Dog book available for sale.

Last night I had the privilege of chairing the caucus of the Georgetown Township, where I live. This was my second year at the privilege and it went well. We had four positions to fill: a chairperson, two supervisors, and a treasurer. The turnout was small, which is too bad for our experiment in self-rule, and the nominees for the open positions were few. It’s a lot of work to serve one’s fellow citizens and, yes, the positions are paid–but not much. Townships deal with keeping up the roads and seeing to it that we have fire protection. (The latter is no small item; fewer people are available for volunteer fire and first responder duty so small fire departments and ambulance services are trying to stitch together webs of shared departments.) There are zoning issues and building permits that need approval prior to going to our County. And sometimes there is a shouting match, such as a recent dispute over wake boats/wake boarding and the damage they can do to shallow lakes, especially. In this instance, the shouting was not directed at the Town Board members, unlike the anger unloaded by people upset about their property re-assessment and its higher value reflected in their property tax.

I have respect for those who serve us despite the negatives involved and I am struck by the importance and even the symbolism of this simple democratic process: we gather together, we nominate people we choose as those who will serve us, we vote to determine who those people will be, and then we move on with the jobs that need to be done. It’s government from the bottom up!

Today has been bitterly cold. As I write this on January 19th, tonight’s temperature is projected to hit 19 below zero with a high tomorrow of minus 8 degrees. The cold cut down attendance at Parkview United Methodist Church in Turtle Lake, a town about half an hour east of my home. I served for 4 1/2 months as Parkview’s Interim Pastor. They have always been most gracious and welcoming to me and know the people well enough to be able to call them out by name during sharing times in the worship service, as well as before and after the service. So the crowd this morning was not a crowd but we had a worthwhile experience together and ended with a rousing hail to “This Is The Day The Lord Has Made!”

Next Sunday I’m at Wolf Creek United Methodist Church. Service time is 8:15 a.m. and for years now Marina has been amazed that I am able to function effectively at that hour. Maybe somewhere in my distant ancestry there were farmers?

One of the women at Parkview ordered Marina’s book from Amazon and said she loved it! When she finished, she donated the book to the church library for others to enjoy. Marina’s book, Gretel and Andy, God’s Gift; The Lives of Two Seeing Eye Dogs. also can be found at Bowman Collective in downtown Amery, Wisconsin. The Collective has all four of my paperbacks, as does Kenneth Larson in Luck. Pure and Simple, the home of great wild rice soup, has my Some Mangled Fairy Tales, as does St.Croix Health’s pharmacy/gift shops.  Polk County’s Information Center also has all four of my books.

Daughter Hannah called just before the cold hit to see if we might need anything to prepare for it. Daughter Britta and her husband Mark took the trouble to trek to our place for some visiting and to bring us a “care package” of home-made lasagna and some cookies and our Portugal based son, Aaron, phoned his usual weekly check-in this afternoon. Marina and I feel cared about, blessed and are grateful.

And so yesterday afternoon Marina gave her encore presentation of her book, Gretel and Andy, God’s Gift; The Lives of Two Seeing Eye Dogs, as the Osceola Senior Center. It was a potluck, so the good food and good people were there, as well as a few of Marina’s swimming pool buddies. I read a selection of the book in Gretel’s voice (not falsetto) [I Go To The Zoo] and a section of Andy’s [I Go Shopping] and then Marina took questions. Per usual, she did a great job and also per usual, she left people wanting more. She has a compelling way of speaking that draws people in. I am very proud of her.

We began a new chapter in life today when Lacey came for the first time to clean our place . What a difference! Everything sparkles! I find it a pleasure to see people do just about anything extremely well. Mid-cleaning, I absented myself for a mens’ meeting that took up the topic of people who don’t do much of anything well, especially when it comes to people other than themselves.

And as I write this, we–finally–have some snow falling. What a contrast to Los Angeles, where what Marina and I knew has disappeared in flames. Fortunately, the Getty Villa has been spared (so far). It was there in Mr. Getty’s seldom visited home that I had an arts education. It was a cheap date: no admission charge but you had to make a reservation because parking space at the house was limited. Each of my visits featured a tour led by a different docent, who usually came from a University faculty, most often UCLA. Seeing Greek and Roman sculpture through the eyes of different people illuminated new and different aspects of the art form, and learning about the mercury process involved in gilding Louis IV furniture gave me a “by the way” observation that my future boss said instantly focused his attention on what I might bring to the job he eventually hired me to do. So, thank you, Mr. Getty, for sharing your house and your personal taste in the fine arts. I pray that the Getty Villa (which had no sign out front to announce its presence, as I see it has now) will continue to be spared from the flames.

Tonight’s WPCA-FM story broadcast was my first short story, Conversations In Absencia, a tale found in The First Gathering Of The Break Time Stories and as an ebook, Four Short Stories. Charlie is a WWII veteran with several pals that gather in Winter at a downtown Duluth, Minnesota coffee shop and on Charlie’s boat, Absencia, when the lake is unfrozen. And they talk. They argue. They care about each other. Charlie hates cowards and bullies and calls Adolf Hitler a great example of both because Hitler committed suicide instead of taking the consequences for what he did. As I listened to the story broadcast, I was struck by the similarity to today: one of the guys opines that the veneer of civilization is very thin; Germany was not an undeveloped country but its people responded to demagoguery and the promise of national glory. Germany would be great again and Hitler would lead them into greatness. Conversations was written almost a decade ago. How did those story characters know what the public discussions would involve today?

The debut of Marina’s book, Gretel and Andy, God’s Gift; The Lives of Two Seeing Eye Dogs, back in October was so talked about that many of the Osceola Seniors Club asked for a return engagement of sorts, so that takes place tomorrow. For the book debut, I’d asked two of our adult kids to read small bits of the book, so daughter Britta, a former radio host, read in Gretel’s female voice and son Aaron, visiting from Portugal, read in Andy’s voice.Unknown to me until I saw them, those two rascals appeared wearing dog ears and black noses. Neither Britta nor Aaron will be with us tomorrow, so I will pinch hit as both dogs–but no black nose or floppy ears. Marina will do her usual compelling talk, off-the-cuff and always very good and without a script.

Marina and I had a quiet Christmas and New Years. Christmas Day we were at daughter Hannah’s and enjoyed all three grandchildren being home at once. It’s the college crowd now, with Klara finishing up at River Falls, Erik at St.Olaf, and Hans at Youth With A Mission that will send him to Colombia this month for evangelism work. Right now there is plenty of snow in Louisville, Kentucky, so he may very well shoveling snow! Colombia will be very different. Daughter Alice and her family hit town between Christmas and New Years and it was great to visit with our three growing (amazingly rapidly) grandchildren.

Christmas Eve we did something different and took in the candlelight service at St.Luke’s United Methodist Church in Frederic, Wisconsin. Marina and I also have taken to baking cookies together and I must say that the results have been quite good and have not lasted long. And as Marina feels I can use some help with house cleaning, we have our first venture with cleaning help when Lacey comes this week. Gotta explain: I do all the outside, including cutting trees and log splitting, as well as mowing the beach and handling repairs at the Luck house, and we do a lot together like cooking, so I get behind on things like dusting and other stuff Marina can’t see. Having an outsider come clean is something we are not used to so we are “tiptoeing” into this.

Later this month I’ll chair our township caucus, a gig I did last year and at least this year I’ll have an idea of what I’m doing. My major task: remember to call for nominations three times. Unfortunately, usually there is no competition for the seats on the board and it is a bit of a thankless task and plenty of work, but somebody has to do the mundane work of seeing to it that our local roads are plowed in Winter and maintained, as well as approve zoning changes and property development. Georgetown Township has several lakes within it and if you know lakes and the people with property on them, there is always a fight going on somewhere. Our Board members must deal with that and, somehow, our people manage to do that with patience, even in the face of angry and very loud and very vocal constituents.

Again, Marina’s book and all four of mine are available in downtown Amery at Bowman Collective and in downtown Luck at Kenneth Larson’s shop. Both of ours also can be found online at Amazon.com and in bookstores. Marina writes as Marine Heide Peacock. In addition, my Mangled Fairy Tales can be found at Pure & Simple on Highway 8 and in the gift shops at St.Croix Health Clinics and Hospital. The Polk County Information Center also has all four of my books.

 

Tonight’s WPCA-FM story broadcast was a tale called The Driveway. Revisiting it after time away, I found I liked the descriptions of winter, snow and ice and the reality of the struggle to ascend a very difficult driveway out in the woods with few neighbors nearby. It’s a scenario I know well from our 20 years with a difficult driveway on the west side of Bone Lake. To create a story from reality, one throws in a young and pregnant city girl, a worried mother whose warnings are no help to a person feeling vulnerable, a young professional husband with one foot still in the big city, and a wood stove needing fuel to match the results of simply turning up a thermostat. The Driveway was the second story of the 27 stories I’ve written and I think it reads well. In fact, I’m a bit relieved; I’ve wondered if some women might read the story as a put-down of a female. I don’t think so though, as she learns she is tougher than she–or her mother–thought.

I think The Driveway was appropriate for tonight’s weather, which has light snow falling and the thermometer falling, too, as the wind rises. But, hey! That’s why we live here! I spent most of today installing a vanity and sink at the Luck rental property. The vanity/sink package was heavy; the box said it was a two-person lift. I’d assembled the parts needing assembly in the downstairs Mexican Room, but then had to get the load up the hill to the car. The solution: a sled that’s a legacy from my son Aaron. Instead of whizzing down hills on the sled, however, I’ve used it to sled firewood to the house from the stacks at the back of the property. The sled worked fine for the vanity/sink, too and served well for sliding the load from the car to the kitchen door of the Luck house. This project is one that I didn’t look forward to tackling, but it turned out well and was a definite answer to fervent prayer.

Last week Marina and I enjoyed lunch with our son John at Stillwater’s Lowell Inn, a place that’s still as elegant as it was more than 40 years ago when Miss Alice, then in her 90’s I think, wearing an evening gown, greeted her guests personally and graciously. We had lunch there when Marina’s Tanta Paula visited from Berlin and there were several occasions when, following libations and fondue in The Matterhorn Room, we somehow managed to navigate the country roads back home. Back then, the roads to Stillwater WERE country roads and the town was “way out there” from The Cities. How things change in a few decades! What was then a quaint downtown now has become a concrete canyon and visitors cram the sidewalks, many intent on jaywalking, apparently as a challenge to see how close they can come to getting run down by motorists slow-crawling through town.

Our family was busy for Thanksgiving and we are not up to producing a large meal and hosting many people, so we decided to do something new for us and partake of Bone Lake Lutheran’s Thanksgiving meal. Bone Lake Lutheran is about two miles up County Road I from us and we figured we might meet some people we knew and perhaps make some new acquaintances. And that’s what happened. We secured a place in the far corner so that Andy, Marina’s Seeing Eye Dog (and the hero of her book about him and his predecessor, Gretel) had room to lie down. Several people made the trek to the back corner to visit with us and we met fellow Bone Lakers Deb and Rick, who live down the coast from us. It was a new experience for us and worth doing! On top of all this, the meal portions dished up by the good people of Bone Lake Lutheran were more than generous.

Around here we call the Thanksgiving season “Holy Week”. Much of life grinds to a halt as deer season runs its nine days. (Yes, yes, I know there are more limited seasons for deer like bow hunting and some others.) The men I know enjoy being outdoors and having a break from their usual duties, while some women like the idea of “Doe On The Go”, which involves shopping–a sort-of getting even, I suspect–but an activity that boosts local businesses. And some families rely on deer hunting success to fill the freezer with meat, no small thing when you look at the price of beef and pork these days. I used to schedule coffee with the few guys I knew that didn’t hunt and we had our pick of many tables in any restaurant we decided to visit.

I receive updates from the United Methodists and various ministries that demonstrate the pressure on clergy to offer meaningful Advent and Christmas programs, events, and sermons and I must say that it feels good this year not to have to produce anything. We have a small Christmas tree in the window–Marina got it for a dollar years ago–and our two stockings hang from the loft stairway railing. Marina’s stocking is larger than mine. I won’t make a wisecrack about that. My stocking dates from my childhood. It was large enough then for perhaps some walnuts, a small candy bar, and an orange or apple. Post-war, that was very good. And since those long-ago years, I find I have been very blessed in life, even by the difficult times.