I first met John Michael in 1999, after I moved into the house across the street from him in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. I was coming home from a meeting one night, and the power was out on our block. Everything was pitch black – except John Michael and Chad’s home, which was as brightly lit up as if the power was still on. I knocked on the door, and this gregarious man opened the door, warmly welcoming me to a small cozy living room lit up by what seemed like dozens of candelabras. Typical John Michael – who needs power when you have candelabras? Read more

Though I passed along late last month that Daniel Alvarez had completed his round-trip kayak voyage from Minnesota’s Northwest Angle to Key West and back, his outstanding blog, Predictably Lost, posts 10 days behind actual events. So today, Daniel posted about the end of his journey, at the beginning of it.