chimney sweep, not a monkey

this is what I was told when I did the tour at turner hall in new ulm as part of my annual visit for Oktoberfest. I guess I am not alone on thinking it looked like a monkey, but was actually a chimney sweep. the tour guide said it was a gift to the state after the berlin airlift of the 1940s. for some reason it then moved to new ulm from the state capitol. I still made it to turner hall in the early evening for a beer. as usual my first stop once I reached town was to the visitor center, as there is plenty of information available there. it was confirmed for me about the tours. I had picked up a green flyer last year that mentioned it, so it was on my mind to ask about it this year. a cover band I had seen there before was performing, church of cash. it was one of three times I heard 'ring of fire' by johnny cash. the second was at karaoke, and the third was on my car radio as I drove home at the end of the night. I took a good look around at the typical places I visit, such as german park and the glockenspiel. I made it to the last clock tower performance of the day, same as before. there are just three. I didn't make it to town in time for the first, was too busy during the second. I found one of the buildings downtown that survived the Sioux uprising of 1862, there are just three. it appears to be an auto repair shop now. after the clock tower, it was the side trip to sleepy eye to see the linus statue in front of the library. and have a chocolate shake at the hardee's across the street. some young men arrived shortly after me and the cashier asked if they had been pheasant hunting. they spoke of it being windy, and it sure was on the drive to the area. after a beer at turner hall, it was on to the karaoke venue. I sang 'born country' by alabama. I didn't like how the karaoke jockey just played recorded music for the first 30 minutes, so this made it a longer wait to sing than necessary. then it was on to the hotel, where I had bratwurst, beer, and german chocolate cake. I saw some of the musicians perform, but I got there an hour later than preferred. I left around 10pm, and then drove back to the twin cities. my first stop was my typical karaoke bar, but it was too busy for me to go on there. it appeared they were already booked up for the night with more than an hour to go. of course on the way to new ulm I stopped in st. peter to have the lunch buffet at godfather's pizza. I like the variety there, not just the dessert pizza but also fried potatoes, and hot dish.