The Great Swanoo

Stopped off in Bozeman, Montana to visit with friend Julie Swanson.

She is also known as The Great Swanoo, a title pegged for performing death-defying leaps from student housing apartment balconies while earning her law degree at Notre Dame. The story: some of her classmates were speculating that the balcony they were all standing on at the time was high enough that a human being could not land unhurt on the ground below. Julie threw her purse over the edge and jumped, landing on her handbag, unscathed, arms up in the air. Thus The Great Swanoo came to be.

So, present day in Bozeman, we went around the corner and visited Julie's mom Elsie, who is recovering from heart surgery and doing great.

We then stopped by the Museum of the Rockies, a wonderful trove of dinosaur artifacts and history of the West.

As always, Julie has great stories, especially about her Swedish relatives. Her Aunt Mabel would attend family gatherings at the local smorgasbord, attired always in a winter coat and straw hat, summer or winter, rain or shine. Midway through the meal, Aunt Mabel would stand up and speak in a loud voice:

"ATTENTION EVERYBODY!"

Every soul in that Scandinavian dining establishment, related to the Swansons or not, would stop what they were doing and pay attention.

Aunt Mabel would then recite a poem she had written about the Baby Jesus.

Julie happened to be sitting next to her grandfather at one of those Aunt Mabel all-you-can-eat poetry gigs. He turned to The Great Swanoo and said,

"Titta pa Mabel"

which is Swedish translates to

"Get a load a Mabel."

Thanks for putting me up, Julie. As always, you make me laugh.