Ole Pappy
Mascot writer Scott Thoma had a unique experience as he covered a story for The Minneota Mascot this week.
His photo of a memorial marking, with geese flying over it (Page 2), was a moment he felt inspired — a moment in which prompted this writing:
By Scott Thoma, Mascot Staff Writer
Three miles north of Taunton on County Road 1 is the future 155-acre area that will be known as the Jim Meger Memorial Wildlife Management Area. At the site, locusts were buzzing, bees were bouncing from one wildflower to another, and the prairie grasses bent slightly in the mild breeze.
And smack dab in the middle of the grasses sat a large flat stone that will serve as a memorial marker for the wildlife management area. It will soon be engraved with Meger’s name, as well as the names of individuals and businesses donating to the wildlife management area.
I decided to drive out to the area this past weekend to take a picture of the stone to accompany a story about the Oct. 13 dedication ceremony in which Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to be on hand to say a few words.
The dedication of the Jim Meger Memorial Wildlife Management Area is part of the festivities for the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener hosted by Marshall this year on Oct. 14. Meger was a renowned wildlife artist from Minneota who passed away in 2011.
His paintings raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the preservation of wildlife. Once I located the area where the stone was placed, I wasn’t sure it had been worth the trip. Since the stone was still not engraved, there wasn’t much to see except some yellow wildflowers and prairie grasses surrounding it. Well off in the distance was the sound of honking geese. A glance to the south revealed the source of the noise; two separate flocks.
As the first flock crossed the county road heading east away from me, the second group followed 100 yards behind. I walked down into the ditch to get closer to the stone in order to take a picture. As I was about to click the camera, I could hardly believe my eyes.
Well off in the distance, but directly in my shot was the second flock of geese. I turned around to the east and saw the first flock barely visible now.
The second flock, as if directed by Jim himself, apparently turned back undetected and were now flying west. After taking the shot, I viewed the photo to make sure the geese were in the shot.
Even though they were several hundred yards in the distance, they could be seen just above the stone. It was as if Jim had painted them into the background of my photo. And it was as if the geese knew this would soon be Jim’s wildlife area.
LAUGH A LITTLE: What An Ugly Duck! A man was waterskiing when he fell into the river. As the boat circled to pick him up, he noticed a hunter sitting in a duck boat in the reeds. The waterskier put his hands in the air and joked, “Don’t shoot!” The hunter responded, “Don’t quack.”
And one more Joke ... Mortified doesn’t describe how Jane’s parents felt after meeting her boyfriend. He sported vile tattoos, swore and just had a hostile air about him.
After he left, the mother said, “Dear, he doesn’t seem like a very nice person.”
“Mom,” Jane said, “If he wasn’t nice, why would he be doing 500 hours of community service?”
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: As my Ole Pappy used to say, “You would not invite a thief into your home. So why would you allow thoughts that steal your joy to make their way into your heart or your home?” Ole Pappy used to say it wasn’t good to have unhealthy thoughts because too often they made their way into your mouth and that’s never a good thing. Thanks Ole Pappy!