MARILYN HAGERTY: December arrives with sights, sounds, tastes of Christmas

• Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty

Talk about it

Dear Shirley,

The traffic will be pretty heavy this morning and there may be a bunch of egg shells around the Blue Moose in East Grand Forks. The Chamber is holding its annual EGGStravaganza. It’s a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, pancakes, juice and coffee. They were selling tickets up until Wednesday.

It runs from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. They have assigned Karl Bollingberg, Mike Pokrzywinski and Jim Richter to the grill. Servers are Jim Galloway, Craig Amiot, Bryan Lee, Jeff Westrem, Coleen Tweten, Chris Wolf, Brian Johnson and Chris Semrau.

Lighter duty of serving coffee and clearing dishes along with entertaining guests goes to Barb Schultz, Torrie Enget, Ron Galstad, Jeff Wilson and Jim Satrom.

These are all people who take active roles in the Chamber, Shirley.

There’s a feeling of Christmas all over Grand Forks now. The Myra Museum grounds are looking bright for the holidays. Well, the lights are going on all over the city.

And there are special events. We have a Second Wind Band here made up of people who used to play and others who always wanted to play but didn’t have time. So they get together for regular rehearsals at Popplers Music Store. Then they go out and perform at nursing homes and other places.

On Monday, they will present their annual Christmas concert at 6 p.m. along with performances by students of Don Craig, the director. The half-hour concert is at Popplers, and the musicians invite the audience to stay and enjoy holiday food and conversation.

The calendar for December is peppered with joyous events, Shirley. There’s a St. Nicholas celebration coming up Tuesday at Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Center. The lunch is free and the music is merry. Those who come are asked to bring a friend and non-perishable items for the food pantry. Or they might bring socks for residents of Northlands Rescue Mission.

The stores around here are busy, busy. I went into Kmart the other day and there were lines at all the checkout counters. I suppose it’s the same down there in Tucson. Did you go out on Black Friday? I was in Bismarck, and I went to bed!

The night before Thanksgiving we stopped in at the Toasted Frog in Bismarck — the offspring of our Toasted Frog in Grand Forks. I noticed a very nice painting behind the bar done by Mark Lundberg of the Frog here, and it was entitled, “The Mothership.” The Bismarck version is much like the Grand Forks Frog on North Third Street. It will be a year old on Dec. 7.

I was home a few days and am now back in Colorado. I need to be with Carol and the family out at the ranch. She has met the challenges of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, with courage and flashes of good humor. Now the chips are down. We’ll keep in touch.

Love from your sister Marilyn, watching the December sun rise on the high plains of eastern Colorado.

P.S. You are never alone, lost or abandoned in the Denver International Airport. They have 300 volunteers who take their turns as hosts. They wear Stetson hats and leather vests and jeans. They will help you find your way around.

One of them, Judy Spelts, said travelers are usually in good moods. They seek directions for shopping. Many wonder where to find the chapel. And this time of year the skiers start showing up from all over.

Reach Marilyn Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or by telephone at (701) 772-1055.