Kaffe Stuge

Started out for Ely early this morning and made it to Harris MN, a place I had never heard of. The sign on the highway had read Good Food at the Kaffe Stuge., which was all we needed to leave the interstate behind and drive the mile into town.

Three elder statesmen of Harris, decently clad in bib overalls, were having breakfast at a table, filling the air with ardently declaimed nonsense that had to do with tractors, combines, liquid manure, and the young man in town who routinely broke speed limits whenever behind the wheel.

“One of these days that sumbitch is gonna put that pretty car right through that fence and into a tree.”

“Yah, well, just so he don’t hit anyone else on his way in.”

BTW, Kaffe Stuge is Swedish for Coffee Shop.

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Reached the town of Ely MN about noon and found our way to Stoney Ridge Resort, where we will be staying. This area has so many grand associations with past visits that it has almost the status of a second home.

Today we rendezvous with daughter Kari and husband Jon. On my very first trip to the Boundary Waters Kari and her sister Sarah were with me, nearly a half century ago. In between there have been scores of visits with Robin and friend Rich Kaplan.

Each time there were changes. This restaurant had closed but another opened. The cinema was running movies or closed and waiting for a better moment to reopen. The friend who worked at a local outfitter had retired and a man who was to become a new friend had taken his place.

Today I may make my way down to the entry point at Lake One, where most of my trips to the interior began. I started to get into a mindset of “Well, maybe this will be my last trip here, blah, blah, blah.” But I caught myself and realized that – when had that not been true? Life is such an uncertain enterprise that each outing could have been the last … but it wasn’t. The only thing that makes sense is to enjoy today, anything else is really a waste of time.

There are two truths operative here:

• I am not immortal
• I am breathing

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