Dear readers,

With another successful Indiana Derby Week in the history books, I decided it was time for a road trip. Shelbyville’s “Derby Festival” isn’t quite as big as the “Bears of Blue River Festival” was in its heyday, but it’s getting bigger and better every year.

The inaugural “Derby Parade” seemed to be enjoyed by those sitting outside of Capone’s last Friday. The parade began at “The Helbing” and traveled south on Harrison Street, turning west on Washington Street and ending at Miller Street. Some have questioned whether myself and Jack Yeend riding my Schwinn tandem really constituted a parade. 

I’ll admit it wasn’t much of a parade, but at least it was a start. I’m sure we will have more units in the parade next year. One bonus to there being so few people along the parade route is that Jack didn’t toss that much candy. We still have half of the bag of mints left over for next year’s parade. 

Now let’s get on with the road trip. 

Sandy and I decided to visit Minnesota. It is a state we have never visited. I knew all about Minneapolis from watching the Mary Tyler Moore TV show. Minneapolis is known as a big city with a small-town feel. Just like Mary, we expected to meet many interesting people and be involved in varied activities. 

Our first stop was a park in downtown St. Paul. Cartoonist Charles Schulz was born in Minneapolis but grew up in St. Paul. The park features sculptures of some of the characters from his “Peanuts” cartoon strip.

I found a parking spot on the street but was having some difficulty figuring out how to pay to park. Old fashioned parking meters were much more user friendly. Putting a coin in the slot and turning the knob took only two steps. As I studied the computer screen on the parking kiosk, I experienced Minneapolis’ famous “small-town feel.” A woman, who was in the process of pulling out of a nearby parking space, got out of her car and assisted me with the five-step process of paying to park.

As the woman drove away, Sandy and I immediately got to experience Minneapolis’ “big city” vibe. We heard a loud commotion coming from the park. As we got closer, it was obvious that it was some sort of mayhem. We stayed across the street at a safe distance. 

Minneapolis, being ground zero for the defund the police movement, doesn’t have many police officers. As the fight continued, we noticed a man with a badge, wearing what appeared to be a law enforcement uniform, standing near us talking on a walkie talkie. When he finished talking on his walkie talkie, he said, “I’m trying to not get involved.”

A weather-beaten old man with a gruff voice could be heard shouting some unintelligible instructions to the combatants. I’m guessing that he was an undercover social worker reminding the participants of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. The bareknuckle fisticuffs ended without a victory dance or celebration of any type whatsoever. I guess it was a draw.

The statues of the Peanuts gang were all recognizable. I didn’t recognize the statue of a man nearby. The plaque identified him as the writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was born in St. Paul.

My favorite sculpture in Minneapolis was a giant spoon with a cherry.  Unlike some sculptures, I could tell right away what it was supposed to be. 

There is much more to see in the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis than I have included in this column. I intentionally left out our tour of the statehouse in St. Paul and many other interesting tourist attractions including the Mall of America.

Giant FM’s feature contributor covering the travel beat is Carol McDaniel and I thought that I should leave her something to write about in case she decides to visit the twin cities.

See you all next week, same Schwinn time, same Schwinn channel.

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