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An Historic Weekend At Tanglewood [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-06-20

I attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, Class of 1978. The first time I returned, for our 25th Reunion, the Director of Admissions invited me to visit his home. Not only did he remember hosting me for a home cooked dinner (with Shoo Fly Pie!) in return for raking his leaves in 1974, he remembered my 1973 Application and the Prep School in AZ where I sent it from (He’d done a recruiting visit to a nearby Prep School in Sedona, AZ). We talked about the old days, as his son was the same Year as mine, and I mentioned how fond I'd become of MN over the years, as I went to Carleton from California sight unseen, and how I listened to A Prairie Home Companion religiously because it always brought me back to some of the happiest times in my life. The Director told me Northfield was the model for Lake Woebegone, the fictional small town "out there on the edge of the prairie", where Garrison’s iconic end of the show monologue “News From Lake Woebegone” is set (although there is no “lake” in Northfield). He said, before Garrison introduced his monologue on the show, he used to read notices from the Northfield Police Gazette, and the antics therein inspired him to create the monologue as a regular feature. I have no reason to doubt the Director’s word because, as I mentioned, his mind was sharp as a tack. Ironically, the show first aired in 1974, the year of my arrival in Northfield…

I don’t want to comment on the accusations leveled at Garrison and his unapologetic responses that resulted in Minnesota Public Radio severing all ties with him in November of 2017 (the show continued without Garrison under a different title until 2020, as he owned the trademark of the original), because that has no bearing on this piece. I don’t condone his behavior, or disagree with his dismissal, I just don’t want to revive images that I've spent the last near decade trying to unsee. I was present at his final live show at the Hollywood Bowl on July 1, 2016, almost a year after he announced his departure- a marvelous assembly of talent that is the memory of which I want to preserve. He also seems to have fully embraced his role of Aging Curmudgeon, raising this Art to a level of perfection that makes it excruciatingly painful for me to listen to his voice when not on stage.

Garrison and The Royal Academy of Radio Actors have reunited, and Tanglewood is kicking off their 2025 Visiting Artist Series on Saturday with A Prairie Home Companion at the Koussevitsky Music Shed, for the first time since 2017. When I got the news I was overjoyed at the thought of once again meeting Guy Noir, hearing the familiar jingles of fictional Sponsors Bertha’s Kitty Boutique, The Catchup Advisory Board, Powdermilk Biscuits (in the “bright blue box...so you know they're not only good for you, they're pure, mostly.”) and Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie (“Yes, nothing gets the taste of shame and humiliation out of your mouth quite like Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie.”), as well as catching up on the continued adventures of Dusty and Lefty in “The Lives of the Cowboys”. IYKYK. Sort of a hybrid version of Laugh-In and Firesign Theater...

I bought tickets months ago, and looked forward to a bucolic Summer night in the Berkshires, my personal Happy Place and Ground Zero of my own five decade participation in “this wonderful business we call Show”. Alas, the Fates intervened, and I’m stuck in Central CA, caring for my younger sister, phoning Conservatorship Attorneys and running into brick walls at every turn.

I truly regret missing this performance, and not just because Garrison considers it his favorite venue in which to perform. Tanglewood is acres of magnificent old Shade Trees and lush green lawns, perfect for lounging on your BYO furniture or picnicking while watching the action on stage on large screens, strategically placed around the landscape so as to not interrupt the visual harmony. The DNA in the footprints on those boards is a veritable Who’s Who of A-List Talent, from Bernstein to Dudamel, James Taylor to Janis Joplin and The Who. The surrounding Berkshire Mountains is a truly magical place, bursting with localized weather events that are unpredictable and quite violent at times.

However, what I will miss the most is the “News From Lake Woebegone". While he make notes about his topics and puts them on a stand at the beginning, most of what he tells us is totally contemporaneous, and he will finish his tale having slowly wandered far from the stand into a fading spotlight that subtly announces the end of the evening. Garrison is a superb Narrator, up there with the best of them like Spalding Gray and Anthony Bourdain. His understanding of Human Nature and its foibles is deep and comprehensive, and over the years he’s alternatively made me laugh so hard I couldn’t see, choke back tears that spontaneously erupted, or gasp for breath in stunned silence and admiration of his insight into La Condition Humane. I need more moments like that, especially in this current nightmare of a Timeline, and only a Supreme Talent like Garrison can provide them...

And that’s the news from Lake Woebegone, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children, are above average.

Break a leg, you feisty old Devil.

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