I know quite a few people are going to be enjoying the next few days because it’s going to be in the 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which compared to the previous temperatures when it was in the single digits, it will feel like a heat wave. Am I being too optimistic? Probably, but sometimes you just have to take the good times with the bad.
Another way to put it is with the song “I never promised you a rose garden” by Lynn Anderson. It talks about how things are not always going to be, well, rosy. There’s going to be rain, there’s going to be tough times when a person is by themselves.

We are now into the first week of a new year and like every turning of the calendar year this one holds promise for what we can accomplish over the next 12 months. For some of us that is something such as losing weight, for others it’s taking a few more walks, while a few of us are hoping to cut down how much time we spend on social media and there are those who are going to reach for a new job or buy a house.

I hope everyone had a good and safe Christmas this year. For me I was able to go north to my hometown of Thief River Falls and visit with family who lives there. Compared to the big get togethers in the past, this one was more scaled back and relatively quiet.

The fall season is winding down and we recently had a taste of winter. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and for a brief time last week the temperatures dropped enough for us to have snow on the ground. For some people this is the time to start the annual grumble against winter. I’m usually not one of those as I realize that it is November and our climate tends to snow and cold temperatures.

It’s that time again when the leaves begin to turn and people gather them up. When people enjoy apple picking, cider or a stronger harder apple drink. When farmers are out in the fields bringing in their crops and preparing the land for next spring. When children are talking to their parents about what they want to do for Halloween. It’s definitely fall.

Dozinky, the Czech Harvest Festival of 2021 is entering the record books. This year was a good one for weather as there was plenty of sun and temperatures made for a nice weekend on Friday, Sept. 17, and Saturday, Sept. 18.
More often than not I did have fun, while keeping very busy taking photos and talking to people. I saw some people that I haven’t seen in some time and met new people. It always amazes me how there is a large crowd for the parade and sometimes the crowd stays around.

When I grabbed the can koozie from the cupboard and looked at the inscription it stopped me. “2020 The year Dozinky didn’t happen.” That’s what the pandemic caused. But that’s not what caught my attention. It was the memories from 20 years ago when Dozinky almost didn’t happen!
It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, and our community was eagerly anticipating the coming weekend of Cruise and Dozinky. I was serving on the New Prague Chamber Board at the time and we were putting the final touches on all the necessary preparations.

Everyone has habits, whether we like it or not. Some of our habits are good ones and some, not so much.

As of this Thursday, Aug. 19, edition of The New Prague Times I have reached 22 years of being a reporter here in New Prague. The majority of my 27 years as a reporter has been here in this community that has become my home.

With the current temperatures hitting the high 80s and the 90s, plus almost jungle like humidity on several of those days, the old question “Hot enough for you?” has likely been asked. There’s also probably been the statement, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” Whichever it is, these are days that many of us are trying to find ways to keep cool.

Like anyone watching the work on Main Street progress by our front door, we at The Times sometimes have questions about why the work crews do things.

One of the benefits of a small town is seeing people come together as a community to help others or work on a project. Over the years I have covered I don’t know how many fundraisers to help a family with medical needs or to help the community in general with such things as the food shelf.

Friday was a night of wrestling as I covered Under the Big Top 4, pro wrestling with local favorite Mitch Paradise. This wasn’t the first time I covered the event at the Doublewide Lounge in Elko New Market, but it was the first time that the action landed very close to me.

Last week and this week are busy for news and other events. Paging through The Times people can see there was a visit by the Deputy Consul General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, the Home Run Derby, the Henderson Tractor Ride and there’s going to be festivals again after the pandemic put most on pause last year.
Last week I also took time to see Generations Theatre’s production of “Blame it on the Movies.” It was nice to be able to go in and see a live production with singing and dancing. It was something I didn’t see a lot of during the last year.

This Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day, when dads across the country and the world will celebrate with their families. For some it’s a big get together with their children and grandchildren in a park or at their houses, others will have small gatherings with an aged parent.
Over the years with some of the friends I’ve made I found out how sometimes a father isn’t part of their children’s lives.

We are definitely in one of the first heat waves of the summer with the weather forecasted to be in the 90s and the upper 80s for the rest of the week. It brings up the old question, which affects things more the heat or the humidity?