Franken and Davis and Bob

I never imagined, back in the '70s, that someday I'd feel warm & fuzzy about the good ol' days of the original-cast Saturday Night Live, but Tom Davis' memoir has me in a sentimental mood.

I also never imagined that the other half of his comedy duo, fellow Minnesotan Al Franken, would someday be seated by the United States Senate. Even after Jesse Ventura was governor, I wouldn't have imagined it. I'd happily be a Minnesotan, but for the climate and the mental geography (speaking as a transplanted midwesterner myself) and the indoor baseball.

But that reminds me of a childhood episode...

In 1969 I became very ill while on family vacation in the Twin Cities and had to be hospitalized there. Discovering my baseball obsession, some wonderful forgotten staffer went to the trouble of getting the Twins to send over a personalized, autographed 8x10 of one of their players at the time - a pretty good (Garrison Keillor might say) outfielder named Bob Allison. Great healing medicine - like laughter.