By Scott Carlson
New beginnings
One of my nieces recently noted on Facebook that this fall she is starting her 14th year as a high school teacher.
My first reaction was, “No. That can’t be possible. That much time hasn’t passed, has it?”
But indeed, the years do keep flying by. My niece’s post also reminded me of how much I love September and the start of a new school year for millions of students across the country.
If I had my druthers, I’d start the New Year sometime in September when there is a real change in seasons and millions of people are embarking on new endeavors, whether educational or otherwise.
In this issue of the Bugle, we capture a bit of these passages of time and transitions. Freelancer Sarah CR Clark offers up a delightful story on what it’s like for two women to be judges at the Minnesota State Fair and Katrina Sweet talks about her experiences in 4-H in our latest “People in Your Neighborhood” feature.
Meanwhile, Sarah also gives us a back-to-school news update and Eric Erickson interviews Kirk Morris, principal of Como Park Senior High School, on what he’s anticipating for the new academic year.
And don’t forget those high school sports. Eric previews what is ahead for fall athletics at Como.
Meanwhile, on another note, Catherine Reid Day discusses in the latest Transition Town column how resilience is a part of the Creative Enterprise Zone in south St. Anthony Park.
Also look for, among other things, in this issue of the Bugle: a new Voices column, an update on what’s happening with the Luther Seminary lower campus development site and Dave Healy’s story on Mary Hayes retiring from St. Anthony Park Area Seniors.
Exercising discipline
We all know that success in any field is largely the product of hard work and discipline. Few people get by only on talent.
That’s been true for Como Park’s William Kent Krueger, the New York Times’ best-selling novelist of the Cork O’Connor crime mystery series.
“I’m very disciplined when I write,” Krueger told me in advance of a book signing he has scheduled Sept. 20 at Winding Trail Books (See story on page 7 of the Bugle for more details).
Seven days a week, Krueger gets up and writes from 6 to about 9 a.m., then has breakfast, takes care of business details and resumes writing again in the afternoon, typically for an hour to 90 minutes.
Krueger said that this routine discipline has served him well and he believes it has enabled him to largely avoid writer’s block. I find Kent’s advice inspiring and helpful as I contemplate what my own next book project might be.
Bugle photo gallery
A lot of the Bugle comes down to the written word with a variety of news, features and briefs captured in the written word.
But don’t forget about photos!
They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And we can always use more photos in the Bugle and our website, www.parkbugle
.org.
We are looking for photos from community events and activities and we run your pictures in “Photo Gallery.” You can even submit arty photos from around our communities.
Please send your photos to editor@parkbugle.org and put “photo gallery” in your subject line. Looking forward to seeing your pics.
