Garrison Keeler/Wellstone

His tribute to Senator Wellstone. Scroll down on the left of the page till you come to Wellstone. Keeler is a magician of words!! Empathy, kindness, love of humanity and the greatest sense of humour of all time. I listened to this in the car on Sunday after mass. I think the man is a genius but I've said this before. Listen and enjoy!!

http://phc.mpr.org/performances/20021026/index.shtml

My apologies to Mr Keillor for spelling his name incorrectly!! I think I've got it right this time! :-)

Thanks, Louisa. I listened to the Wellstone tribute. Good old Garrison Keillor knows how to say the right things, doesn't he? He's been a favorite public radio personality of mine since I started listening to Prairy Home Companion many years ago. Keillor just prove that something can be both wholesome and entertaining for all ages!

I also want to thank you for this link! I'll put it among my favorites for listening enjoyment while I'm typing away here on the computer. I even looked up the March 2, 1996 performance of PHC in Anchorage, Alaska. You might enjoy it... here's a link: http://prairiehome.org/performances/19960302/

You are so welcome and thanks for the link Weezy, I will check it out. I also listen to the tapes whilst on the computer and every Sunday driving to the city. The music is pretty awesome too isn't it!! :-)

Yes! The whole program is enjoyable! Here in the US, at least, we've lost the art of listening. We seem to require so much more stimulation to hold our attention. The old days of radio are gone forever, but Keillor keeps our imaginations alive!

Well I can get pretty emotional about this guy but won't go into it. He's unique!! :-) I think every country is more or less glued to the visual now and it is a shame really.

Yes, when I was a child, I'd lie on my stomach on the floor, usually with crayons and paper, drawing pictures and listening to radio programs. It was so pleasant. Now the television is so filled with vivid images and drama that I am exhausted sometimes just watching a movie. In spite of all they hype, we are still not satisified, so the programs become more violent, my tense... I guess that is what is so pleasant about Prairy Home Companion... after watching it, I feel satisfied and wholesome.

First of all, thank you both so much for the links! I've listened to GK the few times I've seen him on PBS or found a tape at the library. I'm so glad to be able to listen on the web ~ doing dishes and folding clothes will never be the same again, thank God. ;)

Second of all, I agree with you both so much about mainstream American nowadays having to have so much stimulation. It seems the more we get, the more we need. Just the other day, I tuned in to one of those crime shows they show on the national networks (non-cable). I couldn't believe the amount of gore and nudity they showed!! Nothin' I haven't seen before on an R rated movie, but it was so surprising to see it on national TV that ANYONE can watch!

And every time I see one of those commercials for some type of hand-held game, the ones that show people being "bored" like it's a bad thing, I just want to scream! Now I hate being bored, too ~ I always have a book with me for times like that. But if I've forgotten that book, I've learned how to use my mind, my imagination to entertain myself when I don't have anything else to do ~ a much needed and seldom taught tool that we all should have. Or I just mentally go over my day and think of what I need to do next so I don't forget anything.

One of those commercials has a guy sitting in a dentist's chair playing with the suction thing, sticking it on his cheek and pulling it off, with an incredibly blank look on his face. The announcer says something like, "Have some time to kill? Then get these games you can download to your phone!" God, it's so distressing to see that because I feel it's feeding into modern youth's belief that not having a toy to entertain yourself every second of every day is bad. It's NOT IF you learn how to use your mind to amuse yourself! BUT just HOW are they going to learn how to use their mind to THINK when society is telling them they don't HAVE to put forth any effort in that department? That they're supposed to have constant outside stimulation?! What's WRONG with having to stand there for fifteen minutes, thinking of what you're going to get at the grocery store next, something creative to fix for dinner. Or how you might pick up a bouquet for your friend who's been feeling down and drop it off on the way home ("I wonder just what it is that's bothering Kathy? And I wonder if she'd like to come over for coffee tomorrow and get it off her chest...Yeah, I'll pick up some of that vanilla creamer she likes..."). Or just looking around you, taking note of the people nearby, watching what they do, thinking how nice their shoes look and wondering what they do for a living? You know, exercising that handy little imagination! And actually being a part of this world instead of being off in another one all the time.

Sorry about the soapbox, y'all! LOL! I think I had TWO of them under me. ;) This is something that really bothers me as Kenny's a product of that mentality ~ when he's in the house, the tv is CONSTANTLY on and if he doesn't have something to stimulate him all the time, he gets antsy and upset. And it has to be on something that moves quickly ~ I'm slowly but surely bringing him back down to earth so he can enjoy those Ken Burns specials on PBS or just sitting by the creek, not saying much. He's come a long way in the past four years, but still has a long way to go. I'm beginning to wonder if his problem ins't adult ADHD. And my nephews! ACK! But atleast one of them has pretty good thinking skills!

You know, I've complained about a lot of things in my life, but being bored has never been one of them! I'm always amazed when someone says they have nothing to do... what in the heck does that mean? I not only have many things to do that I don't care to do, but I also have so many things that I want to do, but can't seem to find time for.

I have to admit I have trouble sitting still with nothing to do. I've always entertained myself with a clipboard and paper... writing limerics, doodling pictures, making lists.. anything to keep my mind occupied when waiting somewhere. When I get up in the morning, I'm at the computer, watching the news on TV, writing in my journal, or looking through seed catalogs. I have crossword puzzles in the bathroom, for goodness sake. My computer desk is cluttered with little sheets of note paper with all manner of info on them, and if left to my own devices after a dinner out, you'll find me making aluminum sculptures out of my baked potato foil!

Dennis, on the other hand, is much more centered. He can sit for an hour looking out the window smoking a cigarette and drinking his coffee...even in the dark! If I ask him what he is thinking about, he often says "nothing"... how can anyone be thinking of nothing! When he is in that sort of meditative state, I swear I could dance around the room slathered in strawberry jam, and I doubt he'd notice.. which is probably a good thing, come to think of it.

I don't think I'll ever be able to think of "nothing", but I sure could take a tip or two from those people who can just sit quietly and contemplate. I swear, if I had an open casket funeral, I wouldn't lie still unless they tucked a clipboard and pen in the liner!

So, maybe I should look at myself a bit closer when I start talking about our society being over-stimulated.

Oh, no, Weez ~ you just demonstrated my point exactly. Dennis may say he's thinking of "Nothing", but I'd bet there are cogs and wheels in there turning. "Nothing" is just a typical guy response meaning "A whole bunch of stuff that's hard to explain in words, but it's not anything you'd be interested in anyway." LOLOL!

You sound like me ~ don't really like to sit and just think of "nothing" ~ but you CERTAINLY don't DO nothing! You find things to do that are creative and exercise your mind. "...anything to keep my mind occupied when waiting somewhere..." That's what I'm talking about ~ occupying your mind in a creative way.

When someone reaches for non-creative stimuli like TV, video games, etc., all the time to keep them entertained, they don't develop critical thinking skills, those problem solving skills one needs so badly in life. THAT is what I fear will be sorely lacking in the next generation. Because of the early overstimulation, I'm afraid they will be constantly looking OUTSIDE of themselves for the solutions to their problems and won't even know to look inside where the answers are.

This message was edited Tuesday, Oct 29th 2:58 PM

To me nothing or the process of thinking of nothing is important. I need this meditation time. It is a quiet way of regenerating the mind, of finding out what is really important; a need to be 'alone', to observe, to understand. This world is way too fast for me, so I surround myself with people and an environment that is similiar to my own. I once lived in a super fast paced world, but no more. What is the hurry? Why speed to the next red light? Why eat supper in 10 minutes? What is important is friendship. We are such a social 'animal', that we wilt without friendship. I don't know if anyone has read the book "The Well-Placed Weed" by Ryan Gainey. Not a great gardening book by any means (although he is a great gadener), but, throughout the book are pictures of his table settings showing the time and effort that goes into preparing for house guests. The flower arranging, the food itself, and the care says to his guests, "Thank you for coming, I love you all". There is no hurry; a hurry would not fit this table. Well time to cook supper. What I can I do to make it unforgetable?

Just finished watching the Wellstone Memorial on C-Span 2. 3 hours and many speakers. The family (2 sons) spoke well of their parents. I hadn't known of his wife's work with spousal abuse. She had recently gone national with her work. Seem like they were very decent people. The Memorial turned into a pep rally for Walter Mondale. The Wellstone family wanted it that way. Quite a moving 3 hours of tribute to the Wellstone family concluded with Sen. Tom Harkin bringing all out of their seats several times, urging the attendees to help elect Walter Mondale.

Does anyone know where I can listen to Garrison Keillor in the mountains of Western NC?

Woody wish I could give you that info. We get the broadcast relayed from the local station. But you could always go to the link I gave above and listen to the 'up to the minute shows' and then some. Golddog I watched the memorial too and found it very moving but became a little uneasy as the politics entered the scene, then that changed as I started to enjoy, albeit openmouthed, my first experience on the campaign trail so to speak. I thought the Wellstone boys were pretty marvellous considering they had just lost a mother, father and a sister.