Eric Bergeson

ERIC BERGESON: Open water

People love the water! Why else would they drive miles and pay millions to spend a few weekends per year on the edge of a lake? There’s something calming about a body of water, and not just a lake. People close to oceans or rivers say the same, at least when the waters aren’t stirred by floods and hurricanes. It seems that looking out at a body of water, churning or still, really mellows a person out.

By Eric Bergeson , June 21, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

THE LIST: Eli Young Band ... George Jones ... etc.

Eli Young Band - Thursday at Dakota Magic: The Eli Young Band will play at Dakota Magic Casino, Hankinson, N.D., on June 25. Recently nominated for the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Eli Young Band has a song on the charts with “Always the Love Songs.” Dakota Magic Casino is located just off Interstate 29 on the North Dakota/South Dakota border. Tickets/info: (800) 325-6825, ext 488.

By Staff reports , June 19, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

ERIC BERGESON: The only thing we have to fear is lack of fear itself

“People need to realize,” Hank said in a suddenly scholarly tone, “that the only thing we have to fear is the lack of fear itself!” Either that, I thought to myself, or we should worry about angry old men glued to their computers in their musty basements, longing for the days when they mattered.

By Eric Bergeson , June 14, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

ERIC BERGESON: Living things are beautiful to the extent that they are temporary

This is probably the most beautiful week of the year. The petals of the flowering crab blooms have started to drop while the lilacs are just opening for one sensual, scented week of bloom. Unfortunately, for most people this week is also the busiest week of the year. People are as busy as the bees on the blooms.

By Eric Bergeson , June 07, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

ERIC BERGESON: Prairie prosperity?

Forbes publisher, Rich Karlgaard, is optimistic about the economic future of the heartland
Times are changing, and for the first time in 90 years, they might be changing in our favor. Instead of seeing small farm towns as places from which to escape, the world may soon see them as places that have a competitive advantage. Who knows, in another 50 years the prairie countryside may once again have more people above ground than below.

By Eric Bergeson , May 31, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

ERIC BERGESON: Dandelions

instead of pouring chemical on our lawns to eradicate every last dandelion, perhaps it is time we learned to love the weed. Once you learn to love a weed, of course, it ceases to be a weed. You don’t have to pull it, spray it or curse at it. If we return to a child-like love of dandelions, our lives would be a whole lot easier and safer. Who knows, dandelions may even make us rich!

By Eric Bergeson , May 24, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

ERIC BERGESON: The true route to happiness lies in having the right toys

After years of cruel and unusual delays, during the spring of fifth-grade I was finally granted the birthright of every country-born male-child: A Honda 50 motorbike.

By Eric Bergeson , May 17, 2009

RELATED CONTENT

Talk about this topic

ERIC BERGESON: I want peace and a quiet conscience, and I am willing to pay for it

State budget shortfalls in Minnesota have squeezed school districts, nursing homes and local governments in a vise. The higher-ups in St. Paul don’t have an easy job, but the officials at the bottom of the food chain have it worse.

By Eric Bergeson , May 10, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: Mating rituals

In spring, when love is in the air, it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep
When the mating instincts kick in, animals do truly strange things. Sandhill cranes bounce up and down as if they’re jumping on the bed. Swans bob their heads. Mockingbirds imitate as many other birds as possible. And that’s just birds.

By Eric Bergeson , May 03, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: Boyle is a triumph of the ordinary in a world of phonies

There’s something about Susan Boyle. The British spinster with the astonishing voice has taken the world by storm in a single week. No need to worry if her career will be a success. Boyle’s already brought tears to the eyes of tens of millions of people. What more could a karaoke singer ever want?

By Eric Bergeson , April 26, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: Baseball's charm

Like good history, baseball entertains best when colorful, offbeat characters perform grand deeds.

By Eric Bergeson , April 12, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: There are a lot of unsung heroes in this flood fight –– I’m not one of them

All the way home, I pushed my feet against the floorboard to press my back into the ergonomic seat in the Ranger, which eased the pain a bit. By three a.m., I was home in bed, waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. Yes, there are a lot of unsung heroes in this flood fight –– but I’m not one of them. No, the big thanks for this one has to go to the kids.

By Eric Bergeson , April 05, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: The greatest dramas in the world aren’t on TV

After watching just a few animals in their taut life-and-death struggle, a drama that plays out a thousand ways big and small in every swamp, woods and field, I decided that the greatest dramas in the world aren’t on TV. Animals rule far more of the earth than humans, after all, and realizing our small place in the world is healthy for one’s perspective.

By Eric Bergeson , March 29, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: Large snowdrifts bring out the kid in us

What is so great about big drifts? If you don’t know, you have forgotten how to be a kid. Big snowdrifts allow kids to carve out tunnels and forts of amazing size –– or at least imagine doing so while riding past on the school bus.

By Eric Bergeson , March 22, 2009

ERIC BERGESON: Small towns can survive

So, what’s going to happen to our little prairie towns in these difficult economic times? For once, we rural folks may benefit from being so completely out of the loop.

March 15, 2009

The Northern Valley's most up-to-date site.