The things that happen when you are away

I went on my annual respite to the border lakes region of Minnesota last week. It was wet, muddy, rugged, and cool. No drama this year- unless you count the minor annoyances of not finding a campsite after paddling for 6 hours and portages over a mile. I also misplaced my wallet for a while but providence broke through each time. I'll detail the trip later for you BWCA enthusiasts.
However, the point of this post is to respond in a surprised manner at how much the world changed when I was alone in the wilderness.
Let me begin with the first piece of news- Brett Favre is a Viking. Yes, old news to most now but when I got to Ely on Saturday morning and saw Brett in Purple on nearly every paper, I flipped out. I had thought this story was dead and buried. Apparently it resurrected itself.
Next, Scotland decides to release a terrorist on what the government calls "compassionate grounds." Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was serving a life sentence for a Pan-Am airplane bombing 20 years ago. He has terminal cancer. This is a bit perplexing. I don't know where to fall on this issue considering he was responsible for 270 deaths in the bombing and yet is dying.
Then in the mid-week a tornado touched down in downtown Minneapolis (and North Branch and also near Hastings.) 2 local pastors duke it out to determine if it is a sign from God since the tornado took off the steeple of the ELCA Central Lutheran Church while the national convention was going on. My father told me that the tornado also landed not far from the house although probably a safe distance away.
Finally, the Fargo Moorhead RedHawks manager, Doug Simunic gets into a fisticuffs with the manager of the Winnipeg GoldenEyes. Doug is a bit of a rebel rouser but this is the first he's ever gotten into a fight (I think). The Northern League fined both and did not suspend either.