The Royce Files

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...

Finally the Brett Favre "is going to play for the Vikings" saga is over. The man decided to stay retired and enjoy the endorsement checks he still receives. (Doesn't he endorse some deodorant? You don't need to be a playing pro football to say "I sweat but this stick makes me smell better.") Nonetheless, it was not a joyful day last week, when Favre made known his intentions, for one Vikings boy reporter. When handed the AP News release, he burst into tears and muttered "The Vikings will not be in the Super Bowl." He could not be consoled until Brad Childress spoke with him. It is suspected Brad promised the boy a pony.