Opinion

University of Minnesota Extension will present a series of webinars from May through August 2023 to support families and those who serve families in making informed decisions that lead to greater health, resilience and well-being.

Have you ever heard the saying, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” According to Dictionary. com, this proverb means that “people are often reluctant or unwilling to change old habits or long-held beliefs.” Oxford Languages states the idiom means “you cannot make people change their established patterns of opinion or behavior.” Regardless of whether you are familiar with the saying or not, you no doubt have seen this happen.

When you bang up your knee so it swells up like an elephant’s and it brings tears to your eyes to take a step, the orthopedic guy gives you a knee brace to wear requiring four straps to be wrapped tight around the leg and hooked and held tight by Velcro strips, a piece of equipment that I, a professional humorist with less mechanical ability than the average primate, need to remove every night when I go to bed and reattach in the morning. My wife could do this in a jiuy but I made her go to Minnesota to play the opera (she’s a violist) because I love her and because I don’t want her to see me as a pitiful helpless wretch.

Sometimes we think we have more time than we do. As was the case with my entire week last week, planning to write this very column Sunday evening to allow for the week to play out enough that I may have something of local interest to talk about. Alas, some times the weekend goes to chaos, such as this one did for me, and Monday morning I’m struggling to collect a single, useful thought before the deadline for the first newspaper jumps up to grab this column that hasn’t yet been written.

Roundabouts Question- Are drivers required to use turn signals when entering or exiting a roundabout? With a newly constructed roundabout very recently opened in town, I have not once observed a turn signal used. What is the law? Answer-This is a great question as we are seeing more roundabouts in the state of Minnesota.

Think things through. If you quit exercising because you feel good, you’re likely to take a fall and get injured and feel worse.

As the weather finally gives us a break, it seems everyone is playing catch-up. Many events are now taking place, many evenings are spent out covering sports events for the schools. It would seem I spend more time in my car than my house.

In the coming weeks, high school seniors across the country will don caps and gowns and proudly walk across a stage to receive a diploma in the culmination of a 13-year goal that has taken the support of many people along the way in order to achieve it. Seniors, your family, in particular, has been with you every step of the way and I hope you thank them.

Headlight Question Minnesota State Patrol Question: I have noticed an increasing number of U.S. branded vehicles (mostly pickups/SUV) driving with no daytime running lights.