This morning Lena turned the key in her little Civic and, for the last time, pulled out of the Georgia driveway that for nearly two years has threatened to rip off her bumper with the slightest angle miscalculation. If she had left during the evening, she would have used the North Star as her guide. Well, either Polaris or the unruly GPS that’s duck taped to her dashboard.

My roommie former roommie is moving in pursuit of new career opportunities and a whole lot of happiness.

I know she’ll find it.

Last night we went to a lovely going away dinner with old friends and brand new (to this world) friends.

Lena jokes that years from now she wants to live in an apartment above my garage and be known as “Crazy Aunt Lena.” You know what? I think this is a fantastic idea. She held a two-week-old infant last night and, while she was reluctant at first, turns out to have an elbow built for baby cradling.

In my mind, she will be the aunt of my 2.5 children, serve as a surrogate mother in baby yoga classes, and teach them to eat and love vegetables at a much younger age than she managed to convince their mother of the same notion.

Lena and I have been pals for a very long time. If you read this blog frequently, you’ve probably noticed that she’s one of its main features.

Every once in a while I’m reminded just how long we’ve been friends. We’re not exactly on par with married couples who celebrate their 40th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversaries, but we’ve had a few milestones.

For instance, I was clicking around in my Twitter app the other day and came upon the very first direct message I sent through what was then a fairly new social media platform. In April 2009, I was living in London and wrote to Lena who was living in New York saying, “I miss your face…and I think this Twitter thing could get addicting!”

Well, Twitter has since been incorporated into nearly every media outlet in existence, drives commerce, highlights trends and is all around influential. I’d say my prediction was correct. I hope that my ability to forecast is as good tonight as it was three years ago. That’s because this is my message for this evening:

“I miss your face…and I think we’ll live in the same ZIP code again, someday!”

• Tags
• friends
• moving
• jobs
• Social media
• driving

President Obama visited Cannon Falls yesterday.

Yes, I know. This is old news…yesterday’s news…not news at all.

But what you may not know is that Cannon Falls made its mark on social media history during Obama’s visit. While I cannot support this claim with 100 percent certainty, I’d presume Mr. President prompted the first-ever appearance of “Cannon Falls” on Twitter’s national trend list.

President Obama also launched a FourSquare account for his rural tour, and Cannon Falls was its premier check-in point.

This may not actually be a historic event, but every time I read a journalist’s report that mentioned Hi-Quality Bakery my craving for donuts and scones revved up immediately. It seems most reporters indulged in Cannon Falls’ sweet treats; thank goodness Julie decided to open the store on a Monday despite the fact that it’s her day of respite.

— ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent

— Minnesota Public Radio’s Morning Edition Host

Finally, check out this Star Tribune video. The compilation includes a certain English teacher from Northfield who has taught most of Cannon Falls a little about grammar and a lot about life.

• Tags
• Obama
• Rural Tour
• Social media
• Cannon Falls