The Royce Files

I t's a mid-fall break for me and once again I am up at Breezy Point- Captain Billy's north woods play land. Actually it's been quite a few years since the place has been known as such. Captain Billy was a publishing magnate as far as I can tell. One of his publishing holdings originated Captain Marvel and published the magazine Woman's Day in addition printing paperback novels. Today Fawcett is nearly forgotten except for the affections of history buffs and collectors. I own one Fawcett comic based on the TV show Emergency! I think the comic arm was eventually sold to DC. Enough with the past and on with the present. The last few times I've been at Breezy, I played golf. This week was no different. Weather improved dramatically on the weekend and my father and I hit the links twice. And on this occasion I had my own set of clubs. These clubs were obtained through my various thrift store shopping escapades. It is an incomplete set but has enough to get by. I playe...

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...

The intractable Phil poses before a Taconite mascot on the northern shore of Minnesota. It is believed that Phil's wardrobe may have evolved from taconite-like substances hidden beneath his lair.