The Royce Files

The Red River finally crested at 36.99 on Sunday afternoon. With the temperature rather warm (about 50 F), quite a few Fargoans greeted the crest in downtown. It was nearly a no event even though this crest ranks in the top 10. Advanced forecast had predicted a crest near 38. At noon yesterday the river appeared to be a bit more than 2 feet below the Island Park dike downtown. So CNN would probably declare "Flood Over" and remove their equipment from town. However, I did nott see CNN this year. Preparations for this year were well in advance of the crest. Sandbagging opperations stopped 5 days ago so I never took the chance to volunteer since I was planning on doing that the end of last week. Now the watchers are on duty ensuring flood protection holds. I was out west of the Go this weekend and saw a considerable amount of overland flooding until before Oriska. This land is pretty flat and when the snows melt it just heads o...

In a little over 24 hours the Red River of the North will reach major flood stage in the 'Go. That is about 30 feet above its normal elevation. Forecasts thus far predict a crest on the weekend at just above 38 feet. This of course could change, like we saw last year. Thus far, both cities straddling the river have been amassing sand bags since 2 weeks ago. Salvation Army disaster relief units are in town parked not far from my home. Then this previous Sunday Bethel Evangelical Free Church hosted a pre-flood prayer meeting. Bridges have closed. Now the call for volunteers has gotten louder. Most colleges in the area are on spring break. The sand bag convoys have begun to run down the major thoroughfares. It seems normal now albeit a bit warmer than the previous fight. So we are on the brink waiting to hear whether it will get worse. Fargo flood information site .

My town has been doing a St. Patrick's parade for a few years now. We don't exactly got a large population of Irish. I think I know a handful of directly Irish in town. Most of us are indirectly Irish in some way. According to my family tree, I've got a great grandmother who has Irish ancestry and perhaps a great great grandmother too.  Many just become a wee bit Irish to join in the libations. On to the parade. I took a few pictures. Unfortunately the best part of the parade happens in the first 5 minutes- with the historical reenactors, bagpipes, and the marching firemen in full dress. I missed that all because of a train. I couldn't cross into downtown until it passed. The rest of the parade is a bit ho-hum. Just people wearing green and occasionally throwing sweets with a few mascots thrown in for good measure. The man who usually jigged the entire route in a green tux passed away last year. It appeared his entire family came en-mass to walk or ride in the parade....

1st of March a holiday? I must be crazy. How can that be? I think I'll try to make you see. A kind of memory of a former day. Of Washington and red coats and that road they call the Pulaski Expressway. In the recent past, it was decided to recognize Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski with a special holiday. It seems only Illinois and parts of Wisconsin observe the 1st Monday in March. Other places seem to enjoy remembering his death in October but mostly east of the Mississippi. There are plenty of other things that have been named to honor the Polish born Pulaski. One of course is the Pulaski Expressway in Chicago. Then are lots of cities and counties named after him. The forest fire management tool called the Pulaski is not named after him. Polish-Americans derive great pride from his exploits with George Washington and the colonial army. I believe he may have saved George's life once. He also had a nice mustache. On to other things: how about ...

The U.S. tried and tried but the mad hockey nation of the great white north upended our dreams to take home the gold medal in men's ice hockey. Thankfully that team didn't come out and smoke cigars and drink alcohol after they received their medals. And I might add theie national anthem is actually quite good. In honor of the victory, I give you this Canandian catchet of an Ice Hockey stamp which was released prior to the last year that Canada hosted the games (Calgary). I was near those grounds in 2001. In fact I was just a stones throw from the downhill skiing area when I heard rumors about 9-11. I was camping at a KOA adjacent to the facility. It really was surreal. Anyways, congrats Canada on getting a bunch of gold to add to your GDP. That gold should stimulate your economy quite a bit.

I suppose it is a bit late to write about the winter olympic- they are nearly over -- but the olympics and noteably the winter version has some significance in my life. When my grandmother died at our Ironwood home, I remember watching the 1988 winter games in Calgary that evening. Then in 2002, when on furlough from the Go, I was back at Lehigh with my mother watching the Salt Lake City games. I remember purchasing one of those Roots beret that the US Team wore at the opening and closing ceremonies for my mother's birthday. That was the longest amount of time I spent with my mother prior to her death about a year and a half later. Anyways, I have watched a little of the Vancouver games thus far. I viewed the opening ceremonies on playback at my girlfriend's family's home. Unfortunately we never did get to see the torch lit due to technical difficulties in Vancouver so the ceremonies over ran their predetermined scheduled time. Oh well...

The coney dog- beef hot dog, all meat chili, yellow onions, yellow mustard. I also included some yellow relish but you can really see it. The coney dog did not originate on New York's Coney Island. It in fact had its humble begins in Detroit, Michigan. I have eaten the coneys That were on the counter And which you were most definitely  saving for lunch Leave it to me For they were so delicious So juicy and so filling (much thanks to W.C.W )