Octopus Garden

    I went to the Jesse James festival in Northfield, MN, today. One of the things I saw there was some artwork called 'Octopus Garden'. According to the plate next to it, this was just put on public display back in May. I try to see some different things each year, so it meant walking Division Street more than I had in previous years. This also led to finding the Archer House, west of the museum/site of the bank robbery. I liked finding the Archer House as it had a restaurant inside it called 'The Tavern' in the basement. I know this as an old-school term for a bar, my dad liked using this term, or even 'Beer Joint'. It had something on the wall saying 'Edison diamond disc phonograph, a musical masterpiece'. There was also some sidewalk art in town that said 'Life is short, have sex'. I really liked one photo I got of a young woman in a long dress and wearing sunglasses, she was smoking. As far as I know she was unaware I was taking the picture, I prefer it that way. Another was of a dentist-turned-writer. He had a Western outfits on, all black including the hat, with an American flag in the background. I got two of a man in a duck costume, reminding me of a rubber duck. I thought of my 'Ohio friend' when I was in a book shop, where I got a book about the St. Paul Saints baseball team, it was called 'Slouching toward Fargo'. Somebody was asking about the book called 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho, and I recall getting a copy after my 'Ohio friend' recommended it to me. I let this friend know on Twitter.
    Once I left town, I went back up north and stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Lakeville. First time I had been there in over a year, when I was still in a relationship. I got a photo of a plush dancing dog.
   I fell asleep after getting back from Northfield, and in the evening I called my dad. I figured he would like to hear about the festival, and I spoke of seeing an IH Metro vehicle there. It was a mobile food unit, selling Dipping Dots ice cream. He was telling me about an escaped inmate from the county jail. The man was wearing only flip-flops and boxer shorts when he escaped, and at one point was hiding out in an abandoned camper or travel trailer. He wasn't a fugitive for long.