Day One Hundred and Forty-Four: Familiar Faces

What does a retired employee of the federal government responsible for monitoring the condition and availablilty of water resources for the upper midwest do in his free time?

Well, if you're like my new friend Tom, you try your hand at something you love, like free-hand sketching. And you pick a great place to do it, like the Como Lake Pavilion, on a great day to be outdoors, like today.

I happened to meet Tom this evening while visiting Como Lake to hear the gospel-esque stylings of Wild Honey and the Locusts, the music group for which my dad is a former bassist.

Just outside the concert pavilion, Tom was busy sketching passers-by, spending several minutes on a particular figure, then turning to a fresh page in his sketchbook and beginning again with a brand new subject.

He explains that drawing is like other skills - if you don't use it often enough, you start to lose it. And though he says it has been nearly a month since he last used his sketching talents, here as he studies Emily and Audrey - another new friend from the evening - he appears to be very proficient at the craft.

Thank you, Audrey, for nudging Tom to do these sketches. And thank you, Tom, for making them!

Oh, and in case you're wondering what this water researcher has to say about the Land of 10,000 Lakes: don't be fooled! Minnesota may have a plethora of lakes (over 15,000, in fact), but the amount of "usable" water is not so bountiful!

So don't leave the water running, and be quick with those showers.

Better yet, grab a bar of soap and go jump in a lake!