âWater is the best of things,â wrote the Greek poet Pindar, and surely he was right.
I grew up on water. Just a stoneâs throw from the Ottertail River, I would spend my summer days fishing for panfish and pike in the morning, and swimming all afternoon. By mid-July my skin was so dark, visitors to our little Scandinavian community would ask my mother if I was adopted.
âNo,â she would reply, âbut he is half fish, just like his grandpa.â
Grandpa Ralph was the one most responsible for my early love of water. Each year, as summer approached, he would take me downtown and tell the barber to shave my head. âThat much,â he would say, indicting ¼ inch with his thumb and forefinger. Then he would turn to me and wink, âYou will swim like a feather and dive like a stone.â
Second Amendment Sanctuary — really? - Winona Post > Article winonapost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from winonapost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.