July 5, 2012

Hang gliding in Duluth

Have you ever seen someone hang glide in Duluth?

I think I did once, but it might just be a weird dream I had back when I was kid. What I remember is that I was at the Little League baseball end-of-season carnival/Olympics, or whatever it was, at Wheeler Fields. It would have been about 1984. I think I saw some guy launch off the hillside where “The Wall” is on Skyline Drive, and then land on one of the baseball fields at Wheeler.

Is hang gliding just a dying sport in general, or is there something about Duluth — maybe the lake winds are too unpredictable and strong or the hills aren’t high enough to produce a good “ridge lift” or whatever — that makes hang gliding here rare or impossible?

And whatever happened to the guy with the hot-air balloon?

Mayor Ness giving key to the city to Wilco

The video is a tiny bit out of order, with Ness giving the band the key to the city in the beginning. Wilco talks about wanting the key later in the video. Ness drew one or wrote it on a sheet of paper. He was then hoisted up and made his way to the stage to give the key to lead singer Tweedy.

It was a nice family friendly show, but Wilco seems to have difficulty writing hooks in its songs. Good band and entertaining, but I am not sure what they think about all the local love. We may be coming off a little clingy.

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