32 Saint Paul Almanac

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25 Random Things About Me
And Saint Paul
-ICHAEL-AUPIN
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UlL5. Once ,ou`.e been tagged, ,ou are suosed to ar|te a note a|th 2S ran-
dom th|ngs, jacts, hab|ts, or goa|s about ,ou. At the end, choose 2S eo|e to
be tagged. \ou ha.e to tag the erson aho tagged ,ou. lj l tagged ,ou, |t`s because l
aant to knoa more about ,ou. (l aas tagged b, r|mber|, N|ght|nga|e, ub||sher oj
the Saint laul ^lmanac.)
1. lhe frst thing l ever laiu eyes on in Saint laul was the useu-car lot with
the ski-chalet-looking offce on niversity ^venue, in the early 197us.
vhile it`s no longer there, l think it was on the avenue`s north siue, op-
posite the Superlarget.
2. My seconu earliest memory of Saint laul is waiting for the 16 Eus to
Minneapolis when it transferreu from the vhite Bear Lake Eus, coming
Eack from college uuring the uismal winter of 198u. vhile stanuing at
the corner of Sixth anu St. leter, l thought: Saint laul. vhat a uump.
3. By 199u, nearly all my frienus were living in Saint laul. So, l moveu
there on DecemEer 7, 1992. By 1999, all my frienus hau left.
4. l renteu a room in a crappy olu mansion on Summit ^venue owneu Ey
crazy people.
5. Saint laul is Granupa in his garage. Granupa uoesn`t want you
touching his tools or cleaning up his garageGranupa uoesn`t want you
messing arounu with his garage. Granupa woulu prefer that you just
go the hell Eack to Minneapolis, you with your hoity-toity ways, Erown
leather jackets, anu moonshine over l. Scott litzgeralu`s Eirthplace.
6. l was an extra in A lra|r|e lome Coman|on, greeteu }ohn C. Reilly at the
uoor, anu was serenaueu Ey Meryl Streep, whose affections l stole from
some lurching tall guy in reu tennis shoes.
7. l maue the acguaintance of a tall, Eeautiful oak tree in the Eack alley
of the Elock Eoruering Milton anu Chatsworth, Lincoln anu Goourich.
Man, can that olu girl sing!
8. Back when lhe Muuuy lig was Cognac McCarthy`s, l attenueu a me-
morial service for the late poet }ohn Lngman. Between our tears anu
laughter, it was an unforgettaEle night.
9. l tempeu at nity nitarian Church unuer the late Rev. Roy lhillips,
who constantly struggleu with column ueaulines for the church Eulletin.
February 33
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1u. lhe Eest Eurger in Saint laul (mayEe the entire fve-state area) is at
Casper 8 Runyon`s Nook on Hamline. Goou luck getting a taEle or spot
at the Ear. ^nu call your caruiologist frst.
11. l once was offereu a joint in lrvine lark.
12. Lenny Russo has transformeu Highlanu lark with his wonuerful
Heartlanu restaurant. l still miss Merriam lark`s laEle of Contents.
13. \es, l`ve Eeen up the Highlanu lark vater lower. \ou can see Min-
neapolis from there.
14. Lvery time l walk Ey St. laul ^cauemy anu Summit School`s spa-
cious playgrounu on Goourich, l think of lhe 2omEies` song Beech-
woou lark.
15. Summit ^venue haunts me. ^ confuence of past, present anu fu-
ture, it wenus like an arrow towaru the Mississippi, attenueu Ey tree gi-
ants who whisper of age anu ueath anu parting sau lovers who take fnal
lunches unuer their shaue.
16. l was a uramaturgy intern at the Great ^merican History lheatre
(now History lheatre) unuer Lynn Lohr anu Lance S. Belville in 1991.
17. ^fter six months of living in a one-Eeuroom Eehinu the ChatterEox
(now Costello`s), hearing gang-relateu gunfre, anu receiving infreguent
freelance assignments, l moveu from Catheural Hill to Merriam lark,
closer to Minneapolis.
18. l once ran into laul vellstone at the Hungry Minu. vhat`s the news
from vashington, Senator Goou! Goou! he Earkeu with a grin.
19. My frienus Sheluon anu lerin live on the Last Siue. ve like to grill their
garuen veggies, urink Spanish wine anu play Eocce in the Eack yaru.
2u. On the Elock where l now live, two Elocks south of Granu ^venue,
vCCO reporter lat kessler often stops to chat while he`s walking his
uogs, ShelEy anu Rupert.
21. l almost Eought a co-worker`s conuo anu moveu to uowntown Min-
neapolis.
22. lf it came uown to either lzzy`s or Granu Ole Creamery, l`m sorry. lhe
prize goes to lzzy`s.
23. l have washeu my clothes at the Launuromat on Last SelEy ^venue.
24. ln 2uu8 l met an amazing woman, just across the courtyaru from my
place. She loves St. laul anu seems to like me.
25. lhink l`ll stick arounu awhile longer.