Summer: Midway Point

Old Grade School Pals Tie the Knot
We all knew it was going to happen at some point, and sure enough, it did. Last year, Jesse Van Heukelom proposed to Kathy Brower along the beach in San Francisco, and this weekend, they were married. For those of you who don’t know, Jesse and Kathy were both classmates and very good friends of mine from my days in Willow Lake. The two were quite the couple ever since freshman year, even when Jesse moved to Michigan after 10th grade. But the two kept in touch and soon enough, Jesse had come back to South Dakota to go to college at USD with Kathy. June 25 was the big day, and we all gathered in Watertown for the wedding. I was serving as one of Jesse’s groomsmen, along with Brandon Hanson and three others. So, Thursday night I took off from the Cities and made it to Madison where I stayed with Amanda. I worried Amanda with my strange behavior that night. On my drive back, I gulped down 44 oz. of Mountain Dew and a big energy drink, plus I had just worked eight hours in 100 degree weather, plus I was going on little sleep, so I was acting very weird when I got to Madison. After a good night’s sleep though, I was myself again, and just in time, because that night was wedding rehearsal in Watertown. We made the drive down, ran through the wedding, and then ate supper before driving back to Madison. That night Amanda and I were sitting around and decided to go to the bar for a couple toddies, so I called Brad Feeney to join us. Turns out it was Feeney’s 24th birthday, and his girlfriend Molly Malone was there with him, so we all had a few drinks in his honor. Saturday was the big day. Back in Watertown, we spent the afternoon taking pictures and preparing for the big moment. Since I was part of the wedding, Amanda was forced to spend the day with my family, who she had never met. But everyone seemed to get along quite well. The wedding was a success, and the wedding party was picked up in a limo to go to the reception. On the way, we all enjoyed some champagne and beer, then stopped off at the bars for a shot or two. By the time we got back to the VFW for the reception, I was a little tipsy. Jesse and Kathy requested everyone in the party give a speech, so I stood up with the mic and made a complete ass of myself, telling some lame story no one could understand. Oh well. We danced the night away, and I was able to see many old classmates like Guy LaMont, Dusty Hovde, Ronnie Froke, Dustin Davies, Kyla Madsen, and many more. I spent the night at the Guest House Motor Inn (can’t beat $44 a night), and departed for Minnesota the next day, where I worked in the afternoon.

An Actual Day Off
It’s not too often that I’ve had a regular day off this summer where I haven’t made a trip back home, but Tuesday was one of those days. In fact, I opened Monday, so I had all Monday evening off, all Tuesday off, and didn’t work again until Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday I slept in a bit; I didn’t wake up until noon. Just when I woke up, Liz Burke called. Liz had arrived home in the Twin Cities for a week or so from Detroit and wanted to see everyone again, so Cooney, Patrick, Liz, and I went out for dinner in Hopkins. Afterwards, Patrick had to go back to work, but the rest of us made a trip to Best Buy. There, I used up the rest of my rent.com gift card by buying a couple great DVDs: “Dazed and Confused” and “Sideways.” Liz stopped by to see our apartment while Cooney baked a three-layer cake for games employee Amy Ronnei’s birthday party that would be held at our apartment later in the night. Around 5:30, I left for Minneapolis to go to the Twins game with Patrick. The Twins beat Kansas City 11-8, so my attendance record improves to 2-4 on the season. After the game, I drove back to the apartment, knowing that a very large party may be going on at our house. This was a party I really had nothing to do with. I’m not sure who planned it or how word got around. I was a bit worried that things would get out of control, but was relieved to walk in and only see eight or nine guests. As soon as I got home, though, things exploded. Car after car after car of people showed up at our door. People I’d never seen before crowded their way into our apartment. I was shocked when we counted 51 people in our small apartment, and that didn’t even include the people hanging around outside or the ones that had come and gone. I wasn’t exactly in party mode, so I mingled briefly and called it a night. Jason went to bed fairly early too, while Cooney kept things under control. I guess it wasn’t a total disaster, but hopefully next time we have a party, so many unknown people don’t show up.

Carpenter Bash Plans Heating Up
As if three trips back to South Dakota haven’t made for enough driving, I’ll soon be returning once more to my home state. July 8-10 is the Second Annual Carpenter Bash on the Glanzer lawn. Last summer, I had the idea to show roommates Jason LaPlant, Travis Bolton, Patrick Lynch, and college friend Chris Ahrendt a taste of life on the farm. We arrived home and took in Korky’s Bar in Yale, a real treat for city boys like Travis and Patrick, who couldn’t believe it was just $3 for a pitcher. After attempting to sleep outside on the lawn, all but Patrick moved inside due to chilly temps. A very confused Patrick awoke under a lilac bush to a dog licking his feet. Saturday was spent drinking some brews, playing hours of goofy golf, eating some mom-cooked meals, and basking in the sun. Sunday we went to Carpenter for a city-wide (square block) dinner and concert, where a drunken Jason interrupted a Christian folk band’s songs. This year, some new faces plan to take part. Jason, Patrick, and Chris are all returning for their second bashes, while others are slated to make their Carpenter debuts. Amanda is considering attending, as well as Polish game op Igor Cyran and his Polish girlfriend Karoline. Steve Carlson, Brad Feeney, Molly Malone, Derrick Geiszler, Jake Drotzman, and others have also been rumored to be interested. Besides my friends, my parents plan to have some of their friends over, like Rick and Lori Hovde and others. Then, of course, Jordan and Peyton will be there, as well as Alex and his cohorts. Weather pending, it could be the wildest weekend in the 125-year history of the Glanzer farm.

Random Stories: Today’s Topic: Crossing State Borders
Last time I talked about my amazing donut stories. People were shocked that I had a donut story let alone moderately interesting decent ones. On to the next subject: the actual process of crossing the border from one state to another.

3. In 2001, Guy LaMont, Brandon Hanson, and I were leaving South Dakota for a week-long road trip to visit Jesse Van Heukelom in Mattawan, Michigan. Our first stop was the Twin Cities, a place we had never driven to ourselves, and were completely unaware that leaving at 1am to be there in time for the first pitch of a 1pm Twins game was ridiculous. When we got to the Minnesota border on 212, we decided to stop and make a big deal of it. I even remember laying down on a gravel road where I thought the exact border would be. We were so stupid.

2. No trip across a state border was more dangerous than on that same trip on the drive home. It was 2am. I was driving from Michigan into Indiana, when I noticed the Indiana sign ahead. I decided to pull over, even though traffic was heavy with semis speeding by. Brandon and Guy were both long asleep, so I woke Brandon up and told him to take my picture by the sign. A groggy Brandon took my picture, but I wasn’t pulled over on the shoulder that far and with speeding semis, it was a risky venture getting back into the driver’s seat.

1. And of course, the best state-crossing story of all was in 2004, when our spring break trip led us over the Utah border into Arizona. At the Arizona sign, Patrick Lynch leaped out of the van wearing his new coonskin cap and celebrated his first Arizona experience by cartwheeling over the official state line–right onto shards of broken glass and cactus prickles. Patrick tried to pick his hands clean, but the damage was done. Patrick’s painful entrance into the Grand Canyon State is the top border-crossing story I’ve experienced.

On This Date in Ryan Glanzer History
It’s been a while since I’ve pulled out an “On This Date” feature. To the archives I go. On June 28, 2003, Georgi Yanchev won Person of the Day as I battled a terrible summer cold all day at work. I had been sick ever since our departure for Cedar Point, and by this point I was going through two bags of cough drops per day. On June 28, 2004, Patrick Lynch won his 14th Person of the Day Award in one of the most exciting days in the past decade. On my day off, we met Twins stars of the past and present (Radke, Hrbek, Morris, etc.) at the Twins Fishing Derby at Lake Minnetonka. On the way home, we found a free big screen TV along the side of the road and brought it back to the apartment. As if that wasn’t enough, we broke into our neighboring apartment’s outdoor pool and swam. It was one for the books. So from one extreme to the other, June 28 is a day of highs and lows. (This was written with me thinking it was the 28th… of course it’s the 29th, but obviously the 28th is much more exciting anyway.)

Well, I have a few more hours left before it’s back at it at Valleyfair. Better enjoy it.