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GREAT NORTHERN NEWS
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
FERAL TRAVEL UPDATE FROM MONSIEUR MAYHEM RACCOON
No Dumpster Diving Needed at the Forty Club
The sultry days of summer are soon waning to be replaced by the blustery days of fall. At this transition of the seasons, we at the Pine River Public Library celebrate primarily with food. What better way, I ask, to celebrate? Twice the first weekend in August are major food events. Friday, August 4th is “Pie on Park” at 209 Park Avenue in Pine River. This event features home baked pies donated by wonderful people who know how to bake pies. The library people sell them for the benefit of our Pine River Public Library. Then, Saturday, August 5th is the Cupcake Wars held at the Warehouse. This is always fun and well received. Everyone is invited to judge the fun cupcakes donated by groups and individuals. And there is more food! Lakes Area Bluegrass Festival at the Cass County Fair Grounds in Pine River takes place August 24th through August 27th. The Library Foundation will have a food booth for this event. Are you full yet? Well, enough of food. September is back to school and the Library does the 4th grade tours of the library near the end of the month. Let fall begin! Enjoy the changing of the seasons. Browser, the library cat
Monsieur Mayhem Raccoon here. So… I’d managed to get kicked out of most eating establishments in the Brainerd Lakes area as of late (apparently I’m considered a rodent in some places) so I headed over to Aitkin for dinner at the famed Forty Club. As I arrived in Aitkin, you’ll never guess who I ran into! It was good old Doug Taylor with his stagecoach on Main Street. Apparently it was Ladies’ Night Out, and so Doug was there for the occasion, acting like he was John Wayne (or maybe Don Knotts) and giving wild rides through town. That guy will stop at nothing to stir up people –and dust! -- in small towns. I think it’s all just so he can wear a cowboy hat in the north woods. Oh, he had on his bandanna too… presumably so he could cover his face while speeding the stagecoach back to Grand Rapids, and the law enforcement couldn’t identify him. Well, if it’s the bandit look people are after, I think I’d be a much better candidate as a stagecoach driver. After all, I have that bandit look naturally! And if they want people to show up for Ladies’ Night, believe you me: I am the one for the job. After all, I am a great one for night life and I love taking ladies out for local seafood… er… lake food? So anyway, back to the Forty Club and my fabulous dinner. I’d been on a marshmallow binge recently (I love those campfire people who leave out bags of marshmallows in the dark), so I decided to order a salad. So many choices… Finally I decided on something that looked delicious. I went with the Chicken BLT salad with romaine lettuce and ordered my chicken grilled. Who knew that chicken was so good cooked? I usually get mine fresh from the chicken house or pen. I think I’m going to like this feather-free version. When the salad arrived, I was absolutely salivating. Traditional BLT ingredients enhanced with bee-u-tee-full grilled chicken. And the bacon on this salad was amazing! Crisp and crunchy, it was the perfect accent for my favorite protein (don’t tell Reginald D. Roostre). A glass of Fish Eye Shiraz wine topped off a perfectly healthy dinner. –Of
course you know how important antioxidants like resveratrol are to a middle-aged raccoon’s diet. I want to always be responsible when it comes to getting my antioxidants. While wrapping up my dinner, I noticed from the menu that there is an “all you can eat” Chicken and Rib Buffet on Thursday nights. This is right up my alley… and yet I don’t have to get it out of the alley dumpsters! I can get it fresh on a plate with no feathers to worry about. Mmmm…. Ribs. Finger-licking good! See you there!