In this week's Messenger on the Mailbag page you will find politics as usual for 6 weeks before a presidential election. You will also find a little letter from a guy named Jeff Swanson of Saginaw, Texas.
He is complaining about the new paint job on the Garrison walleye. Apparently, Mr. Swanson does not like the new look of the freshly painted statute of the giant fish on the concourse. He disagrees with the caption that was printed under the photo that appeared on the front page of the Messenger on Sept. 3.
Everyone has a right to their opinion, I will give him that much. But for him to go further and state that I miss-quoted a women and her family, I have a problem with that statement.
Mr. Swanson, were you there? Umm.... no. That women I talked to and her two daughters were truly excited to be there and yes, they did say the fish was pretty.
Perhaps you were trying to be funny, Mr. Swanson. But I am not laughing.
Mr. Swanson has a cabin somewhere in the area and lives in Texas. He stated that he disagrees with the statement that it is better than new. He disagrees, along with most of the people living in and visiting Garrison, he said. I guess he has asked most of them.
That is a pretty bold statement for a non-Garrison resident to make. "Most" of the people? I don't even know the opinion of "Most" of the people, Mr. Swanson. And I talk to a lot of people in and around Garrison. Everyday. But certainly not most.
According to the Census bureau in 2000 the city of Garrison has a population of 213, 113 households, and 48 families. Then there is Garrison Township in which there were 796 people, 355 households, and 246 families residing in 2000. Add in the people just passing through town driving right by the walleye: according to MnDOT the average number of vehicles that pass through Garrison on Hwy. 169 on given day is 8,200 — on a busy summer Sunday afternoon that number jumps to 15,800.
That is a lot of people, Mr. Swanson. I am glad you have the time to pole "most" of them when you are visiting from Texas.
The folks I have talked to are glad that the walleye has been fixed up — repaired and painted. Did you know he was missing a couple fins for the past several years? The paint was faded and chipped and the stand was practically falling over. Comparing pictures of the fish before and pictures of the fish after, there is definitely a difference. He is definitely in better shape now, than he was before.
I truly believe there are not a lot of things better in life than getting new clothes, a new hair cut and color, and most definitely new shoes. Those are a few of my favorite things that always brighten my day.
Change is good for the soul. Take hair styles for instance. In the 80s we had mullets for the guys and big hair for the gals. Now? I don't know too many guys still sporting a mullet — not even Billy Ray Cyrus — and not too many gals have wild permed-looking hair and spray their bangs stiff-straight with AquaNet.
I understand that walleye is not alive. But the people I have talked to who live in the area are happy that someone took the initiative to put a fresh look on that old tired fish. I think that walleye does seem to be a little brighter.
Mr. Swanson ended his letter with this statement: "I hope that when I come back to my cabin again that they repainted our walleye to look like a walleye."
"Our" Walleye? I think our walleye looks fabulous.
Before:
After:
What do you think?
Peace.
“For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.”
— Ivan Panin
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