| Dayton's
Bluff District
Forum June 2005 Volume 18, No. 4 |
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| Goodbye, Sgt. Vick By Bob Holmes
Movies Return to the Mounds
Theatre The tentative schedule is as follows: “Some Like It Hot” (1959 – no rating) starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe. This classic comedy will be shown on Friday June 3rd and Saturday June 4th at 7 p.m. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939 – no rating) starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Everyone has seen this movie on TV but nothing compares to seeing the Land of Oz and the Emerald City on the big screen. Don’t miss this chance to go over the rainbow. Show times are 7 p.m. on Friday June 24th, and 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday June 25th. “Blade Runner” (1982 – rated R) starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer. Ford has to track down renegade androids in future Los Angeles. Director Ridley Scott’s dark and ominous vision of L.A. can only be truly appreciated when seen as a movie, not on video. See it at the Mounds on Friday July 15th or Saturday July 16th at 7 p.m. “The General” (1925 – no rating) starring Buster Keaton. This silent movie harkens back to the early days of motion pictures. If you missed it in 1925, you can catch it at the Mounds Theatre on Friday July 29th at 7 p.m. or Saturday July 30th at 1 p.m. and 7.p.m. All tickets are $5.00 and concessions are reasonably priced. The Mounds Theatre is handicap accessible. Come see these great shows in air-conditioned comfort this summer. The Mounds Theatre is located at 1029 Hudson Road, St. Paul, MN 55106. Call 651-772-2075 or visit http://www.moundstheatre.org for updates on films and show times. Garden Tour! ‘Greening Dayton’s Bluff’ is planning a number of walking garden tours in Dayton’s Bluff this summer. Tours generally consist of ten to fifteen Dayton’s Bluff residents and afficianadoes admiring our neighborhood’s beautiful gardens and getting new ideas for their own gardens. It’s a great way to get reaquainted with the neighborhood, get out of the house for a little light exercise, and meet your neighbors. If you would like to have your garden on a tour or if you would like to have one of these tours in your area call Karin at 651-772-2075. Home Tour Successful
Hamm's Brewery Receives Heritage Preservation Award The Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) and the Saint Paul Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) presented their 2005 Preservation Awards at this year’s 15th Annual Heritage Preservation Awards Program, held on Tuesday May 17 at Mount Zion Temple, located at 1300 Summit Avenue. Master of ceremonies was Larry Millett, author and architecture critic, and welcoming remarks were given by Mayor Randy Kelly and City Council President Kathy Lantry. The preservation awards recognize projects, individuals and organizations that enhance and celebrate Saint Paul’s history and promote preservation values and compatible design for a more liveable city. Two of the awards had special significance for Dayton’s Bluff. A yet to be rehabilitated Hamm’s Brewery is not a usual suspect for a heritage preservation award, but this year the Brewery Complex was awarded a “Vote of Confidence”-a quality preservation project having difficulty being fully realized. A core group of citizens and the Friends of Upper Swede Hollow were recognized for their advocacy and endurance in assuring that brewery buildings are preserved and the site is utilized to its fullest. Securing a United Way grant, researching and writing the National Register of Historic Places nomination, and educating the public are just a few ways this volunteer group has heightened awareness of an important site. While not honoring a building, a heritage preservation award went to the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, a new 27-acre park and natural area just east of Saint Paul’s Lowertown Historic District and at the foot of Dayton’s Bluff. Several local, state and national organizations have partnered to reclaim this land for a public park and for interpreting remaining historic resources. A focal point of human activity for thousands of years, the site was home to the ancient Hopewell tribe, and later, the Dakota, and was also the site of one of Saint Paul’s first breweries, as well as a busy rail yard. The St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission, created by city ordinance in 1976, serves as an advisory body to the Mayor and City Council on municipal heritage preservation matters. Neighborhood Sale Hmong Beliefs About Life
and Death Hmong believe that the proper burial and worship of ancestors directly influences the health, safety and prosperity of the family. This effort goes directly into the funeral process. The Hmong traditional funeral process usually requires more than five days to conduct the ritual ceremony before sending the deceased person away. Often the funeral ceremony takes place inside the family home of the deceased. The dead person’s corpse or body would be hung at the center wall of the house until being taken out to be buried. Through the long funeral process many rituals were done: animals slain-especially cows, chickens and pigs, and incenses and spirit money were burned. A traditional Hmong funeral is common for people of all ages. Children usually attend the funeral ceremony to learn about the process and rituals. In addition, relatives and guests are cordially invited to attend the funeral for both emotional and resource support, and mourning. Close relatives are mandated to attend. Hmong believe that long ago people came to life from the soil, and when they die their bodies or corpses should be buried back into the ground to become soil again. Therefore, Hmong do not believe in cremation. Traditional Hmong believe that life and death are consistent. They believe that when someone is born, one is taken from the spirit parents known as the “Ob Niam Txiv Kab Yeeb”, or a couple that gives babies to married couples - inducted through ritual into the world of living. It is believed that when a person dies, that person must be sent back to the spiritual world to be with the ancestors. If not properly sent back, the soul of the indecent dead can cause harm to the living family. Such harm can be physical injuries and/or mental illness; this can be identified by a shaman ritual ceremony. Traditional Hmong believe a person has three souls: The first one returns to heaven and comes back to guard the family. The second one returns to heaven and comes back to earth as another human being or other living thing. The third one remains at the gravesite. It’s believed that Hmong come to the world of living through a life visa. When the life visa expires, the person’s life will end and it’s already predetermined how the person dies. In other words, when the person applied for his/her life visa, he/she only applied for the life visa for a specific length of time. It’s also believed that the time in the spiritual world is much longer than in the world of living; one day in the spiritual world is equal to one year in the world of the living. In today’s funeral ceremony, the process has been shortened due to economic reasons and people’s availability. But it still takes three straight days to complete and attracts a large crowd. Sometimes the lengthy process and large crowd create disturbances and become a nuisance to neighbors. Currently the Hmong community in the Twin Cities is working hard to find suitable locations to accommodate such a lengthy and crowded funeral ceremony. At the same time many of the young Hmong Americans are becoming Christians and moving away from the traditional practice of funeral ceremony. We are doing something this summer that some of your kids might be interested in. It’s for girls and the description of the program is as follows: CREATE YOUR OWN MUSIC - Fee $50/Participation limited to 16 girls, ages 11 to 13 Cost of the workshop includes all supplies and lunch. Schedule: June 28 to August 5: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 11 am to 1 pm; August 15 to 27 Monday through Saturday, 11am to 5 pm; August 27 - Hearing Girls - Performance. Create your own music with “Hearing Girls”. Spend the summer exploring the sounds of Indian Mounds Park. Become an expert listener as you learn how to capture sound with a mini-disc recorder and then transform it into music using a computer. Invent and play your own musical instruments and create “sound art” using your body and your voice. Maybe even write a musical composition for the wind and a chorus of trees. Composer Michelle Nagi will collaborate with a group of girls to help them understand the sonic ecology of Mounds Park and Dayton’s Bluff through creative listening and sound play. At the end of the summer, the Hearing Girls group will present an exciting and totally original multi-media performance in the park. Each girl will contribute to the show by writing and performing music, making instruments and helping out behind the scenes. This is a hands-on, performance-oriented workshop designed just for girls. No musical training or special equipment is needed. At the end of the summer, each girl will take home a journal full of notes, drawings and photographs from the workshop, plus an audio CD. Michelle received the McKnight Fellowship grant to do this program. She is from New York and will be staying here for the duration of her program. A Bold Journey Through Time Long before TV had survivors, fear factors and amazing races, it had bold journeys, or more specifically, a program called “Bold Journey.” Back in the 1950s, in glorious black and white, “Bold Journey” took viewers on weekly real life adventures all over the world. There weren’t any phony competitions to see who would get booted off an island, who could eat the most disgusting thing, or who would get home first. Almost fifty years ago this was being done for real and the results were much more authentic than today’s so-called reality shows. On Saturday June 18th, many of these “Bold Journey” programs will be shown at the Mounds Theatre. At 1 p.m., see what sort of bold journeys women were taking a half a century ago. Then at 7 p.m. watch some of the men’s adventures. These shows are fun for the whole family and are surprisingly interesting and relevant even today. Many of these half hour segments contain the original commercials from the show’s only sponsor, the Ralston Co. They give whole new meanings to words corny and low-tech. Tickets for either the matinee or evening show are $5. The Mounds Theatre is located at 1029 Hudson Road, St. Paul, MN 55106. Call 651-772-2075 or visit www.moundstheatre.org for more information. Tristan Christ and his “Illusions of Reality”
magic show will be coming to the Mounds Theatre on July 1st and
2nd. Both shows are at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults
and $7 for children. Tickets may be reserved by emailing
tickets@christmagic.com or calling the Mounds Theatre at
651-772-2075. Space Available for National Night Out The people of Mounds Park United Methodist Church would like to partner with folks interested in putting together a great event for National Night out, August 2. We have a parking lot to share and a heart for our neighbors in Dayton’s Bluff. In 2003 and 2004 we put on a Carnival for the neighborhood near the end of August. This year we would like to combine that fun event with National Night Out. We are looking for partners to join us in the planning and implementation. We would love to jump start Block Club activity in the area. To join the effort, please call Beth Mueller at 735-0178. Thank you!CLUES Facility: A National Model for Service By Stacy Opitz, Public Relations Coordinator
Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio (CLUES) is making history as one of the first Latino-led agencies in the United States to provide an integrated array of health and human services at one location. The new CLUES facility, located at 797 East 7th Street, will house four of CLUES’ five core services and a bicultural and bilingual primary health care clinic, HealthEast Salud Integral (slated to open this summer). This ‘one-stop shop’ is increasing access to a wide array of services and drawing Latinos from a four-state region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Western Wisconsin). The CLUES integrated model of service is becoming a national model for how to best serve the Spanish-speaking Latino community throughout the United States. Latinos will be able to access behavioral health, medical and social services at one convenient location in the heart of the St. Paul’s growing Latino community. CLUES is a client-driven agency committed to building upon the strengths and assets of our community. The agency works to strengthen families and individuals and to foster economic success, wellness and self-sufficiency within the Latino community. In 2004, CLUES has over 32,000 client visits. Through the CLUES Latino Learning Institute, 569 volunteer tutors provided 9,293 hours of instruction to 2,416 adult learners. Additionally, the Employment Department helped 297 individuals find and retain employment for at least 90 days with an average wage of $9.04 per hour. As Minnesota’s only provider of dual diagnostic behavioral health services for Spanish-speakers, CLUES had a total of 6,500 client visits in our Mental and Chemical Health Departments. CLUES is Minnesota’s premier Latino social and behavioral health services agency serving the community for 24 years. Our mission is to “enhance the quality of life of the Chicano Latino community in Minnesota.” At three sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the agency provides a continuum of five core services: Mental Health, Chemical Health, Education, Employment and Elder Wellness. Recent recognitions include: * 2004 - Ranked among the top 25 Hispanic nonprofits in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine * 2003 - National Healthcare Affiliate of the Year - Helen Trías Rodríguez Award National Council of La Raza * 2002 - Outstanding Community Organization of the Year Award - La Prensa de Minnesota For more information, contact Stacy Opitz by phone: 651-379-4212 or email: sopitz@clues.org. St. Paul Farmers' Market
Opens 150th Season The one-hundred-and-fiftieth season of the Saint Paul Farmer’s Market began on the last weekend in April. One week later, even the unseasonably cold temeratures and intermittant rain could not keep the hearty souls of St. Paul produce shoppers away from this much-beloved institution of the milder months. The Farmers’ Market, perhaps best known for its abundance of locally-grown vegetables, was brimming this weekend with early-season offerings of another sort. Flowers were to be found in abundance: potted, ready-to plant, in hanging baskets, and in beautiful bouquets. Also available were less showy numbers like ivy and pussy willows. Though some of the flora were looking a little put off by the rain and the cool temperatures, healthy, vibrant plants were the norm. According to Don of Pflaum Farms in Farmington, this is already a great time of year to plant the heartier perrenial herbs and even some vegetables. “They’re ready to go in the ground.” Other favorites, like tomatoes and basil should wait in the safety of their pots for more consistently warm nights before planting. Besides words of advice, die-hard Market shoppers were also greeted by the luscious smells of blossoms, and the aromas of hot coffee, doughnuts, meats, soaps, and of course the freshly-baked organic breads. ‘A Toast to Bread’ is a local oraganic bakery, tucked into Dayton’s Bluff at the corner of Bates and Third. They bring their exceptional quality foodstuffs to downtown St. Paul every spring and summer for the benefit of the Farmers’ Market-goers. Row upon row of crusty artisan breads nestle alongside confections like sweet rolls and the crunchy cinnamon twists. These treats and more are available in the tiny storefront restaurant -- there’s no need to wait for the Market to open. Still, for those readers who haven’t made the trip, it may be well worth your while. The market not only provides the highest-quality produce, most of it grown within the limits of the Saint Paul Suburbs, but it prices are often unbeaten by the likes of Rainbow and Cub. The Downtown location is just a few blocks away from Dayton’s Bluff -- a pleasant drive, walk, or bike ride down the Sixth Street Bridge and a quick right turn will get you there. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is the opportunity to talk to neighbors and the growers of the food you buy, and the great freeling of shopping outdoors- a little different, a little special, and a lot of fun. Downtown St. Paul: 5th and Wall Streets April 30 – November 12 Saturday 6am - 1pm Sunday 8am - 1pm June 4th - October 29th Friday 12pm -5pm South Saint Paul: 600 Marie Avenue July 6th - September 26th Wednesdays 3pm - 7pm Maplewood: Aldrich Arena May 4th – Oct. 26th Wednesdays 8am - 12pm For more information, visit http://www.stpaulfarmersmarket.com by Jefferson Fietek Recent Dayton's
Bluff Events
Car-sharing Comes to the
Twin Cities Car-sharing gives people the freedom to get around in a car, without the headaches and expenses of car ownership. HOURCAR makes a fleet of cars available to Twin Cities residents and businesses for hourly reservations. Members can go online or call to reserve a car to run errands locally. Cars equipped with onboard computers record the time and distance that a member drives, and he or she is billed at the end of the month. Car-sharing spreads the fixed costs of car ownership across several people, making access to cars more affordable. Simultaneously, car-sharing makes plain the per-trip costs of driving, which causes people to use transportation more efficiently. The first six HOURCAR vehicles will be located in Uptown and Loring Park in Minneapolis, and Lowertown in Saint Paul. The HOURCAR fleet is comprised of 2005 Toyota Priuses, gas-electric hybrids with excellent fuel economy and low emissions. Applicants are screened for a clean driving history, agree to a set of Member rules, and attend a new member orientation where they learn all of the how-to basics of sharing cars. There is a one-time $150 application fee for Individual Members. Household memberships are also available, with additional members joining for a reduced application fee. Members may apply today and car-sharing operations will begin in June. For more information on HOURCAR, or to apply online, please visit http://www.HOURCAR.org.
Batter
Up!
Oliver
Dayton's Bluff: A Brief History By Steve Trimble The sadness that is felt in our community is overwhelming. In the wake of the recent and tragic death of Sergeant Vick the residents of Dayton’s Bluff need to pull together and do their part to make Dayton’s Bluff a better place to live, work, and play.
You can donate to the fund set up for the
education of
Sergeant Jerry Vick’s children. Send donations to: City and County
Credit Union, Sergeant Jerry Vick Fund, 144 East 11th Street, Saint
Paul MN 55101. The warmest April in recorded history broke out, leaving me to wonder when the other shoe would fall. Instead of gently unwrapping from their cocoon-like existence into fully formed adult leaves, the buds on the ashes and elms awoke with a start and busted free, not bothering to take the time to unzip their mummy bags, but extending their powerful arms obliterating their winter encasements. If, on that certain morning I had been a leaf, I might have done the same thing and destroyed my house with my powerful arms. Instead, I obeyed some sort of calling; not what I would consider a powerful life-changing event; but who knows? Who knows when a simple decision, like the decision between taking a right or a left will change the course of a life? Not often, I think. That morning I left my house to walk around Mounds Park. As I started out, I attempted to clear my thoughts; or at the very least, not to discriminate between them, labeling one as good or bad, if that’s ever really possible. The purpose of this particular walk was not a fat reduction program. It was not a hurried walk. It was a stroll. It started out as a nicotine walk as I thumbed my Bic igniting my Camel. Ambling down 3rd Street I noticed the proportionately spaced Dairy Queen trash on the boulevard. I imagined the litter bugging sweet-toothed vandals as artistic emissaries on a mission to make some socio-political statement by decorating the street with Dilly Bar sticks and red plastic spoons according to the rule of the golden mean. The Dairy Queen Vandals must be a real entity; evidence of their existence can be easily seen. They don’t hoard their garbage in one spot like the garbage truck gangs. No, these modern day Robin Hoods buy treats from the Queen and distribute their paper banana split trays to the poor. The houses fortunate enough to border the Queen’s castle are adorned with all manner of half eaten chili dogs, blue slushy matter, and Dilly Bar tongue depressors; all matted and pressed tightly against the gnarly chain-link fence. As philanthropic and civic-minded as these Dairy Queen Vandals are, they are also practical. Interested in spreading their artistic visions in the most efficient manner, they never stray far from the office. From the Jackson Pollockesque splatters on the fences of neighboring houses to the minimalist (a single upside down ice cream cone) on the lawn of a small bungalow on Forest Street, the DQV would change artistic styles as they ran out of materials. They would most likely have to wait for another warm day before they could raid the Queen’s trashcans. And the red spoons, I forgot about the shiny red spoons. What a bounty for a dirt-faced-sandbox-dweller to find the Queen’s most prized culinary implement; the unequivocal symbol of the dairy food group. If Pavlov had one of these red spoons, he surely could have collected enough saliva to fill his dogs’ water dish. Suddenly, I was nearly blown off my feet by a tremendous concussion wave emanating from the stereo system of a slowly passing monster truck. My only regret was that the window was rolled up, not allowing the driver to share the full impact of his distortion filled music. I could only wonder what musical treasure I missed; what lyrically rapping, thought provoking message had been lost to me; what sweet violence, what misogynist masterpiece had eluded my ear. I guess one could say that I abandoned my attempt not to discriminate between my thoughts to considering all of them as good. I took a right on Earl and crossed 3rd at the light. Everything was good. I let my legs carry me as if the rest of my body was merely rolling along atop some peculiar automated conveyance system; a steady, even pace allowing my thoughts to ramble. On this leg of my journey, I came as close to not thinking as I ever have, so there’s not much to report. From 3rd to I-94 I glided on my conveyer. If feeling can ever be divorced from thinking, this was it. I gazed at the multitude of giggling newborn leaves being tickled by a gentle breeze. I took a bath in the solar radiation. I put my shrinking, burning cigarette in Earl Street’s gutter attempting to fulfill the sweet-toothed vandals’ artistic mission. What right did I have to impose my artistic vision upon somebody else’s? It would be like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. I turned abruptly retrieving my burning butt. Everything was still good. Crossing the Earl Street Bridge over I-94 afforded me an unobstructed view of downtown St. Paul. From there I could see the First National Bank Building, the Wabasha and Robert Street bridges, and the Mounds Avenue Bridge I would have to cross if I were to complete my circuit. I can still remember how excited, when I was a kid, to see the red numeral one glowing atop the First National Bank Building as we returned from Camp St. Croix just across the Wisconsin border. Did that signify St. Paul as the best city? I thought so. I did not vary from my strolling gait. Halfway through my walk I started thinking a little more, losing that meditative state. I became aware of my legs as agents of my locomotion. My thoughts were still light and easy. I was not thinking of mundane things, such as trying to find a job, or mowing the lawn or paying taxes. As I passed the Indian Burial Mounds I felt a small wave of collective guilt over how our ancestors treated the Native Americans. Initially, history praises the winners in a conflict; then there comes a backlash. I thought of living in those past times as sometimes harsher, but often simpler. I became acutely aware of my surroundings, the most scenic and pleasant part of my walk; better, in my opinion, than the art of the DQV – sorry guys. I thought about how different the place must have looked without streets or houses. I admired the city’s attempt to honor the memories of those buried in the mounds with a plaque and an iron fence designed to prevent desecration. As I gazed at the mounds I felt a shudder of mortality. Did the souls buried there feel protected or imprisoned by those gates? Was I just being silly? The path started to level off, relieving the slight strain in my thighs. I resisted the taunting nature of gravity urging me to run downhill. Once again I was able to forget about the fact that I was walking. The Dairy Queen Vandals hadn’t gotten around to decorating Mounds Park. Perhaps the garbage truck gangs had won that round. I was glad. I can take only so much art. Only when I got to the bridge leading to Mounds Blvd did I begin thinking of things I had to do. The effortless walk was coming to an end. Soon I would be coming to 3rd Street again where my thighs would be tested again; where gravity would be holding me down instead of urging me forward. Soon I would, once again, be assigning value to the things I see and touch. As I reached the boulevard in front of my house I looked down to see the daily trash I would be picking up. Before I went back into my house I thought about how nice it was to walk around my neighborhood. It has been quite a year for Saint Paul’s recycling program - marked by many improvements! In October of last year, plastic bottles (with a 1 or 2 and a neck) were added to the program, and residents began to sort materials into only two categories: Paper & Cardboard in one blue bin and Bottles & Cans in another. In January, pop and beer boxes were added back into the program. And now, recycling is being collected every week on your collection day, which is Tuesday in Dayton’s Bluff. Why all these changes? Eureka Recycling, Saint Paul’s nonprofit recycler, has implemented these changes (based on the results of a study conducted in 2001) to increase the amount of materials you recycle, putting us all one step closer to a waste-free tomorrow! If you have questions about Saint Paul’s recycling program, please call the Recycling Hotline at (651) 222-SORT (7678). by J. Wittenberg The snow was falling lightly as I arrived at the home of Cris Tibbets, a diverse talent, who welcomed me with a curiously strong cup of coffee and a place by the heat grate to warm my old rubber boots.  Ere long, I was ushered upstairs into the attic office of this Dayton’s Bluff artist, who may also claim the titles of web designer, illustrator, animator and author. His web design/animation business, titled CTIB Design, Inc. has been run mostly by word of mouth. Now I’ve always felt that any business that can sustain itself this way must be one of steadfast quality and integrity; adjectives one may find rarely applicable in these present times; where the almighty Profit is so gargantuan. Based on the feedback from many of Mr. Tibbet’s clients, it would seem they are more than pleased with his talent and integrity. Not surprisingly, Cris prefers to work with smaller businesses when he can, allowing a greater interaction with genuine people on a more personal level. By and by I learned that this designer had worked at larger firms and ad agencies in the past, in editorial illustration, web design and layout, but his talents inevitably outgrew such institutions. And thus it is today he can offer ad agency quality work without the exorbitant expense, or the fuss and red tape that often entails working with the larger firms. To review all the creative services which Mr. Tibbets offers, you may visit his web site at www.ctib.com Mr. Tibbets keeps abreast of the most recent technology and is pushing the limits of his medium. This I know, for beyond his commercial work, Cris is working upon his own personal art; one largely created upon the computer. One ongoing project titled “The Robots of Paradox” involves an experimental format which stretches the boundaries of imagination into a realm once thought impossible for the PC. Here, one can take a sojourn into what Mr. Tibbets has described as “the bowels of America’s psyche.” I soon learned this work in progress, an animated graphic novel on the web, is composed of text and retro sci-fi images depicting what the world looks like today viewed through eyes which can see what is at the heart of the media monster. A monster that wields more power and malignant influence than most are cognizant of; an entity which seeks to permeate the mind with the poison of tainted capitalism, and where control of the brain adds up to record profits. Dare I conjecture that Mr. Tibbets has some political satire in his art? These robots you see are all around us. They have “gradually infused themselves into the very fabric of our world.” They clog our roads, they “spend their days hunched into some cubical or work niche producing and distributing stuff to be purchased by other robots who in turn produce other stuff for other robots in an endless loop of material consumption.” And of course, when they return home, they sit in front their machines, “for more of the daily programming which reinforces all that the robots have become.” A very gloomy picture you say? It makes one ask what the world would be like without the media? Without all that is connected with this? What would we do? How would we know what to do? It makes one ask if the sagely citizens of St. Paul have an inkling of what is being fed to the viewer over the waves. Besides all this innovative artistic work, Mr. Tibbets is also an author of a self-published book titled “Coffee Dreamer,” which he describes as “a picture book with prose, a children’s book for adults.” When I first opened this tasty little tale, I was struck by the humor, and the otherworldly illustrations, which vividly animate the story of a man’s metamorphosis that leads him into a surreal sphere of slipping into caffeine dreams “after 1,443 cups of exceptionally good coffee.” I laughed out loud while reading it, which has more often than not proven a book to be well worth its salt to me. I would happily recommend this gem to anyone. Alas, this nugget is out of print until it blesses the world with a second printing. If it is unfortunately left to obscurity, then may it be discovered perhaps a century hence, in a more enlightened, future age. Community Recreation Center 800 Conway St. Director: Jody Griffin — jody.griffin@ci.stpaul.n.us JUNE & JULY 2005 EVENTS Crime
Prevention Corner
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