(00:00:04) Change change change change. (00:00:19) I don't know Stephanie Curtis if Chain of Fools is is exactly the way we want to describe this. Are we calling people (00:00:28) who have a golden ourselves? I'm not quite sure what that means (00:00:34) Gary. Good morning everybody. Midday coming to you here on Minnesota Public Radio on this last day of our fiscal year. Yes indeed after all the hype all the days of noting that the fiscal year was drawing near it's here and this is at the last day and what we're trying to do here is to make sure that enough of you are signed up as members, Minnesota Public Radio to pay for the Programs that you here on this station. Now this hour, we've got a couple of Nifty Things coming your way including Garrison Keillor's commencement address the University Minnesota couple of weeks ago. I think going to find that very very interesting that's this hour. But right now we're urging all of you who are listening to call in and make membership pledges. Push us along here as we try to bring this fiscal year to a successful end 1-800 to to 7 2011. We've been given a goal this hour (00:01:29) that's us being Gary me and you all going out there listening wasn't called in yet this pledge Drive of $15,000. So between 11:00 and 12:00 today, we've got to raise $15,000 and right now we haven't made a dent yet, but there are four people on the line who called 1-800 to to 720 at 11:00 to pledge to Minnesota Public Radio. We got some Nifty Things out there right now because we're going to be listening to Garrison Keillor. We've got the guy's A Prairie Home Companion summer survival kit $10. Is a month that's going to be your MPR baseball cap. It is tan colored with a blue stripe along the brim. There's some duct tape and the fourth annual Prairie Home Companion joke show booked is really popular (00:02:13) one eight hundred two to seven 28:11 lot of you have heard us talking this week about the need to become a member and we have repeatedly said that it really is important that you call a you haven't had a chance to do it, but now is a good time to do it. In fact, it's about the last opportunity. Most of you will have this is the last day of our Drive last day of the fiscal year a reminder that everybody who calls in whether you pledge or not. Your name will be entered in a big drawing and you don't want to miss out on this really truly tomorrow at noon. We're going to have a drawing here at Minnesota Public Radio. Somebody is going to win a seven-day Mediterranean Cruise Northwest Airlines will fly two lucky winners to Athens. He's begin a seven-day Cruise courtesy of Dayton's travel. You'll be on the Clipper sailing ship. That's one of those tall ships the star flyer clipper ship and you can travel around all the Greek Islands. Visit Resort towns fishing Village is I mean, this is like the king of vacations, you know, (00:03:19) this is so dreamy. There's one thing I can guarantee you. I will not be getting this. No one at NPR will be getting this but someone who calls in and pledges will be getting calls in at one eight hundred two to seven 28:11 everyone who calls get centered and we'd like it when you make that call. Please make a pledge to sound like an incredible trip in there. You've got seventy two crew members waiting on you. There are a hundred seventy two other passives 171 other passengers, but man that's a pretty good ratio. You're not going to be ignored. It's going to be gorgeous (00:03:51) 1-800 to to 728 11 is the number to call. We got five callers on the line right now our goal this hour to finish on time by It is well, we have to make $15,000 this hour and we can't extend the drive. I know that that breaks your heart. We can't continue tomorrow because this is the last day of our fiscal year. So what we get today is what we end up with. And so if you've been holding back thinking that well gosh will see and maybe I'll call there isn't any more waiting time available. Unfortunately, give us a call here 1-800 to to 728 11 and particularly like to hear from all of you who are regular midday listeners a lot of folks tune in every day not Millions, unfortunately, (00:04:41) but a lot of people people call it a lot of people in my bed a lot of people who listen haven't called in yet or maybe you're already all remember. We'd love to have you know, help us finish off this fiscal year. You can give an additional membership or renew if you need if it's time for Renewal right now, we've got five people on the line and we have made a debt. Internet 15,000 finally where we've got 13,800 about 14,000 lift. Thank you for everyone who's called so far and let's get the rest of you on the line 1 800 2 to 7 2011. We're having a special short fun drive this year this time. We know that you don't like the long fund drives. Normally we would have been going on for five week days already and this would be the fifth time during mid-day that we would have been on here asking you to call in 1-800 to to 7 2011. But this is only the third day of this strike that we've been asking for money on midday asking for you to call up and join and help us continue. These this type of a of a pledge drive. We need you to call in right now and help us meet our goal (00:05:40) 1-800 to to 728 11 Garrison keillor's of commencement address at the University of Minnesota coming up in just a couple of minutes and in light of that. We thought we'd offer you a few special premiums during this hour at the $7 per month level or $84 for a full year. We'll be glad to send you out. All four of A Prairie Home Companion joke books, perhaps you'd like to join us at the $10 per month level. Well, you get the joke book plus Minnesota Public Radio old-style baseball camp a nice roll of duct tape to keep you happy. I guess that's that's it for the $10 per (00:06:22) month, but you can if you want to do you want but that's not enough. It's not enough to make you happy at the $20 a month club. You'll get all of that gampy our cap the duct tape the joke book and you also get the 3M Car Care kit, which is sitting right. Next. We are pledged producer. Kevin is looking at it right now smiling. It's very happy. It's a great bucket with a big sturdy handle and it is filled with all kinds of things to use to clean your car from 3M sponges foaming engine Degreaser. Actually. I've never used coming engine Degreaser my car must I didn't even know you're supposed to my car must be a mess clean Team Automotive Tire scrub. It is just full of all kinds of stuff. Full and you can get that at the $20 a month level that the cap the joke book and duct tape. I think I mean it's called a guys. It's guys but no, I think I'm a woman I'll speak for all the women out there. You would find this useful to (00:07:14) and I would add a few have time to use all that see me because 1-800 to to 7 2011. We should mention one other Prairie Home Companion related to premium that's available this our only that is the Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection for cassettes new monologues music in the rest, and we're going to have a highlight from that collection little later this hour as well right now, wherever you are, whatever your interest maybe if you're interested at all in public radio, this is the time to step forward and show your support. We have been tasked with raising $15,000 this hour to try to stay on track the All here is to balance the budget by this evening the end of our fiscal year. And what we need to do is to keep plugging along here seven callers on the line right now. And we've already raised about $1,500 this our do what you can 1-800 to to 728 11 is the number to call. Are you signed up for the big drawing gosh, we'd hate to see you miss out on that. And I know you'd hate to miss out on it because tomorrow you tune in turn the radio on and noon. We're going to be drawing a name. Somebody is going to win a trip a seven-day trip to Mediterranean. (00:08:38) If you don't call it won't (00:08:40) be you. Yeah, you know, I mean, let's be honest here. The odds aren't great that you're going to win us. I wouldn't know of sense and overselling this but It isn't too bad. I mean all you're competing with our other fellow listeners, so that kind of Narrows the universe a little bit and for sure we can say that if you don't call you're not going to win, that's right. So give it a shot 1-800 to to 728 11 is the number to call the last day of our fiscal (00:09:07) year and just to remind you really quick. That's the Clipper ship cruise through the to Greece. I would just love that. That'd be fantastic, but we can guarantee that. If you call and you pledge you can get a gift that you would want. You can get the car care kit. You can get them MPR baseball cap. That is one thing we can guarantee their volunteers standing by right now. It won't take long. This won't take up your entire lunch break. If you're on lunch break. You don't want to use up your precious minutes. You just call 1-800 to to 7 2011. We have specially trained specially trained volunteers upstairs to just get all the information that they need and get you off the phone. It's not a big deal. Just call now. 2011 and show your sports with Gary eichten and midday and the whole midday crew. (00:09:52) It's a pretty good program. I think it's certainly different than most of what you'd hear on the radio. Tomorrow should be a good program. For example, we'll be talking with Chris Farrell during the 11 o'clock hour tomorrow about the economy. The booming economy will benefactor in what's happened with the interest rates and whether or not this will going to go on forever. (00:10:15) Are you going to figure out why I'm not rich yet personally. That's what I would like to (00:10:19) take that up. That's an 11 then over the noon hour Mark yudof will be here University Minnesota president. Mark yudof will be in to take listener questions and Lord knows there's lots to talk about there. So, you know that kind of a program that that is there for you each day gives you an opportunity to participate brings your top quality speeches documentaries and the rest give us a call. If you like that kind of programming long-form radio programming 1-800 to to 7. 8011 there are ten folks Stephanie who are on the line pledging their support 1-800 to to 7 (00:10:56) 2011. One thing I can say is that I love the noon hour Press Club speeches. It's a great place where you can you hear a lot of a lot of magazines shows talk shows and midday offers a great talk show format to but in addition you can just sit back and listen to an entire hour of one person talking about something there have been some great press clubs and we had Governor Jesse Ventura had been on a when he went to DC and midday Play that for you. It's a really great service that is offered only by midday 1-800 to to 7 2011 Colin and join the $20 level you can get that guy survival kit and kick it up and you'll get the that's the ultimate. No, that's the guy survived not the ultimate guy survival. That's got the care kid. And yeah $20 a month. MPR cap duct tape joke book and the car care kit if $20 a month sounds a little bit too much can still get the cap duct tape. And the joke show book for just $10 a month 1-800 to to 728 11 and you can torture your friends and family with all of those Prairie Home Companion jokes that you heard on the Shelf, but then you couldn't quite remember. Well now you'll have them all at your fingertips when 802 to 728 (00:12:07) 11 say we should also mention one other popular premium. That's not going to be available tomorrow since are pledging ends today last day to get this you are modeling the popular attractive Minnesota Public Radio denim (00:12:21) shirt. It is really great and it's not a denim shirts not like one of those ones that looks like it's denim but when you actually pick it up, it's really thin or polyester. This is a sturdy cotton shirt. It's a great shirt and it's just perfect for as Bob hotter. So this morning putting on going out to clean your car with the car care kit. If you've got it in no doubt, you'll get grease stains on it or something, but it's comfortable and the logo isn't a big it doesn't take up the whole back of the shirt the back of shirt is It's just what right above the pocket. It's not a big deal. You won't be a walking billboard for NPR. It's very tasteful Gary. I think many people would like it. Why do you have your 2 to 7 2011 and that is at the $10 a month (00:13:00) level 1 800 to to 728 11 is the number to call Garrison keillor's commencement address at the College of Liberal Arts University Minnesota coming up here in about two minutes. So stay tuned. We also have some highlights from A Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection later this hour, but right now we're urging all of you to give us a call with a membership pledge again, if you're just joining us the long and the short of it is that we have come to the end of the fiscal year. This is the last day tonight. The accountants will close the books and then they will get out their microscopes. They will sharpen their pencils and they will find out whether or not we have raised enough money from those of you who are listeners in other words listener members to pay for programs. Hands on this station. It's a pretty neat and clean deal would be nice if we could say well gosh, it would come up a little short will just continue tomorrow, but that's not the way the world of the accountant works. So it's do or die today and a lot of people have called in already. I think something like nine hundred and fifty people have already called us today with membership pledges, but we need many many more of you $15,000. We were supposed to raise this hour still about 13,000 to go at one eight hundred two to seven 28:11. (00:14:21) We have had 20 people call in the sour 20 midday listeners of called in and join for the first time or renewed or made an additional pledge and let me talk about different ways. You can pay for this because you're probably wondering well, you know, how how am I going to pay for it? You can bring your credit card to the phone. I'll be really quick then and that'd be great for us because then we'd be able to finish up the fiscal year tonight. That's the accountants love that. They just got the credit card. They can learn through. It's no problem not waive couple months for a To come and it's also easier for you because you can just forget about it. You've done your part and you can get what it whatever premium you ask for. They'll come to you in the mail. You don't have to worry about dealing with any bills, but you can also do if you want to do it month by month. You can always do the easy pay plan where you give them the you'll give him PR your bank account number and they can take it out of your pay out of your bank account every month. You don't have to deal with stamps and filling out checks every month. It's really easy 1-800 to to 7 2011. So think about how you're going to pay and then actually go to the phone and make the call. It's not that hard. We're looking for people who've never called before we're looking for people to renew. We're looking for members to come to make an additional pledge. There's no matter who you are out there. You're one of those people and we would love to have you calling 1-800 to to 7 2011 and we've got now we've had we've got ten people on the line and we're down to $13,000 for the rest of this hour. Our goal is 15,000. So we've got to ask you to do it. A lot more than that everyone needs to go to the phone and make a call (00:15:51) Stephanie and I was just looking at all these numbers that are building up in front of us. Do you realize that we're less than two thousand dollars away from breaking the hundred thousand Mark for today. I (00:16:03) can't even write there's so many numbers up. They're gonna take me like an hour to find it on that. Oh, I see it now. Yeah, right couple of weeks a (00:16:10) couple of pledges. We'd zip right on by 1-800 to to 728 11 is the number to call now our volunteers are going to continue to take calls here. And if we're going to be able to make our goal this hour it's really important that you keep calling if you know somebody, you know, if you're a member and everything and you know, somebody who should be a member wants to be a member plans to become a member, but, you know hasn't quite gotten to it give him a ring, you know and and nudge them a little bit because we need to get everybody signed up by this evening to count toward this fiscal year 1-800 to to 720 8011. Keep those phones ringing. You know not all commencement speeches are created equal most of them. As you know are Pleasant enough but largely forgettable occasionally though, you do hear one that is truly memorable. I for example remember hearing a speech at Gustavus a couple of years ago by Elie Wiesel that certainly fits into that memorable category and maybe you have one that you can remember real well, too today. We're going to hear a commencement speech that we think qualifies in that above average category earlier this month Garrison Keillor to return to his alma mater to deliver the commencement address at the University of Minnesota's College of liberal arts. Thought you'd like to hear that. So here's Garrison Keillor U of M Class of 66. It's an honor to be in the company of smart people and their relatives. an honor I am not worthy of but I'm not going to harp on it because there may be other people in the same position. I want to say congratulations first of all to you in the class of 1999. I know that it sounds like a discount class marked down from a higher number. And maybe some of you considered being a part of the class of 2000. But you wanted to get out start earning money start stockpiling canned goods. Saving up gasoline to run your generator congratulations from all of us from the weary faculty and the beleaguered Administration from all of us clueless alumni and most of all congratulations from your handsome and Youthful parents. A person does not need to be very old to have a child graduate from college. Not nearly as old as you used to have to be and so this may have come as a shock to some of your parents. They were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and looked out the window and saw you a little kid riding your bike in the driveway and they glanced at the paper and they got another cup of coffee and they checked the time and there you were and it was today and you had your robe draped over your arm. And you said don't you know that commencement starts at 2. It doesn't start at 3. It starts at two. And I said, honey. Are you sure and you said yes, and you were right it always comes sooner than you think it's going to and now you'll graduate and in less time than you would believe you will become the sort of Grey Eminence that they invite to give speeches at these things. There's nothing like a commencement speech to bring out wisdom that you didn't know you had in you and so I recommend this to you. I was at home a few weeks ago and I was flossing my teeth. I was thinking about gum disease and triglycerides and wondering how I was going to put off all of those people whom I had promised. I would have it on their desks at noon that day at the very latest and then I got a lovely invitation from the University of Minnesota placed that I dearly love asking me to come and speak and right away. My mind was full of profound thoughts like large damp rags. Life is what you make of it. And now as you go out onto the highway of Life, which will not be like college which will be more like high school. Actually it is for you graduates to decide whether to go with the flow or to march to a different drummer and our charge to you is to make a difference. It's not a perfect world, but it's the best world we have to make a difference and to light that darkness that comes before the dawn and make this world a better place as someone has once said a man's reach should exceed his grasp and if you teach a man to fish You have given him an opportunity to drink a great deal of beer. The last time I spoke here. I was much younger and I felt like an older brother to the graduates. And so I gave an older brother sort of a speech you've heard it before the kind of speech that says very high standards have been set by those who went before and you have no idea how hard you will have to work to measure up to the achievements of your elders. I'm older now, and I and I feel more like your uncle and so my speech is different. I just want to say that you're good people and you are loved more dearly than you would ever think possible. You are already messed even though you haven't left yet. We just want you to be happy and please be careful be careful crossing streets as far as hard work and achievement Go My Own I was mostly very lucky. I did work hard but hard work is no substitute for being in the right place at the right time and I was there. I was in the right place at the right time. I was I was adequate and and I was dressed I was wearing clothing and as Mark Twain said clothes make the man naked people have little or no influence in society. I hope the University of Minnesota was a good place for you that you made friends here that you that you will keep that you learned how to write fast and in complete sentences when you need to even when you're writing about large matters that you learned how to impersonate intelligence. If you need to and learned how to use words like hegemonist apologetics and post colonialist and dichotomy. Words that you know will never need to use again. When someone ask Samuel Johnson how he managed to read so many books. He looked at his library and thought for a moment and he said I skipped a lot. I hope you learned how to do that too. It's the very useful skill skipping. We hope that you learned other things, but we'll just have to wait to find out. And we hope that you did not unlearn what your family's gave you nature wants you to get away from home. So you don't learn any more of our mistakes, but your family did give you some serious good assets. They taught you to be stoical and to be pragmatic and to make yourself useful. They gave you a decent respect for books and learning and I hope a love of talk and jokes and stories. They may even have taught you how to tell a joke, which will be a useful skill the rest of your life. Surely you were taught to be loyal to your loved ones no matter how confused and unsightly and embarrassing they may become. You were taught to be cheerful and not to pity yourself and to lighten up a little bit. It could be worse. You were taught to take the side of the underdog and not to suck up to power and wealth and fame. And to be decent and to do unto others and let them do unto you and to guard against self-righteousness knowing how much cruelty has been. So often done in God's name. And you were taught not to lie. And that's the hard part of course always truthfulness. Great institutions died because of small lies repeated daily thousands of times. People bring you their work and they ask is this any good and you want so badly to say yes, and they want you so desperately to say that it's brilliant and you try to be diplomatic and you emphasize the strong points and you minimize the weaknesses and they hear the first and they don't hear the second and on the basis of these little compromises large institutions and organizations become unproductive and irrelevant the inability to look another person in the eye and tell them the truth. This is not clear this needs to be redone. This dog does not hunt. This is not quite a load. It's a few bricks short. Honesty can save you so much time and it can preserve your sanity if you make a habit of it and so can having a sense of humor. You will meet in your life. So many people who are in complete possession of the truth and who make instant judgments about other people judgments that are seldom merciful judgments that are never changed on the basis of experience or can never be refuted by argument. These people are humorless people. Don't marry one of them don't even don't even think about it. Don't ever marry somebody with no sense of humor. If you find yourself in a room full of people like that ask yourself how you got there? If you find yourself in a profession or an organization that is run by people like that hunker down. and be subversive if they think you are one of them worry about that. And if you find yourself among people who enjoy jokes and stories and are cheerful and don't pity themselves and are able to make fun of themselves. No matter where you are. You are in Minnesota. Let me close by. Let me close by reciting you a poem that I love by Mary Oliver had American poet a poem entitled wild geese. You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles across the desert repenting for your sins. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves tell me about despair yours and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on meanwhile the sun and the clear Pebbles of the rain are moving across the Landscapes over the Prairies and the Deep trees the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile, the wild geese High and the clean blue are are heading home again. Whoever you are. No matter how lonely the world offers itself to your imagination calls to you like the wild geese harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things. Congratulations to all of you. Garrison Keillor delivering this year's commencement address at the University of Minnesota's College of liberal arts. This is midday coming to you on Minnesota Public Radio on this last day of Minnesota public radio's fiscal year. Hello. This is Garrison Keillor. I know that to a lot of people the idea of paying for what you hear on the radio seems like an odd idea but listener support is the Mainstay of survival of public radio, if you have contributed to the programming fund recently. Thank you very much. What you've done makes what we do at A Prairie Home Companion possible. Thanks. And if you have not yet had an opportunity to make a contribution. This is the time this last day of the fiscal year. Just give us a call here at Minnesota Public Radio 1 800 to to 728 1102 to 728 11 Stephanie Curtis often described as the movie made. Here at Minnesota Public Radio has joined us. Actually a Stephanie will be making her hosting debut here in a couple days on the mid morning broadcast. All people are all atwitter here. Listen friends. If you haven't had a chance to call us yet boy. We sure need to hear from you. We are trying to make sure that we balance the books by tonight. When the fiscal year runs out. We still have to raise 85,000 $264 85,000 $264 to make our goal and that's a that's a lot of money of course, but it is doable. If all of you who have not yet had a chance to call give us a call now and keep those phones ringing seven people on the line at 1 800 2 to 7, 28:11. (00:32:22) They break it down into nice little chunks for us and they tell you what we've got to do every hour they told us at the beginning is our Gary Stephanie. You've got to raise $15,000 and so far midday listeners have called in so that we only have ten thousand eight hundred and seventy six dollars left to raise. So we just need some people to call 1-800 to to 728 11, you'll get a friendly volunteer who will take you speedily through the the pledging process. It won't take much time out of your lunch break out of your work day out of your maybe it's your day off even out of your pleasure time. It's not a big deal just call 1-800 to to 7 2011 you can ask for some of our special premiums that we have right now because we just listened to Garrison Keillor with a commencement speech and we also have a section of his Perham companion 25th Anniversary Collection coming up. You can get the guy's A Prairie Home Companion summer survival kit ten dollars a month that is $120 for the year. You'll get the Minnesota Public Radio cap. It's a new baseball cap. We have it's like an old traditional baseball cap. It doesn't have the net or anything in the back. It's all cotton and it is khaki with a navy trim along on the bill. We get some duct tape for it because you never you never have enough duct tape and the fourth annual Joke show book so that you can try to be as funny as Garrison Keillor 1-800 to to 728 11 (00:33:45) 1-800 to to 728 11 that's sent the $10 a month level. Right? And if you'd like the ultimate guys survival kit at the $20 per month level, we will add to all of that the 3M Car Care kit, which has pretty much everything you'd ever dream of using on your car - gracious. So we got (00:34:07) we got carpet cleaner. We have a foamy engine Degreaser and I know by the way Gary's looking at me that he has a greasy engine. He didn't even know this existed gloss enhancer the show car finished. Where's the engine? Yeah. So what the things that makes it Go Gary 1-800 to to 728 11, we've got car wash soap here and safe before all surfaces. I would I mean as if I wash my car with anything, I don't care but many people do care about these things and it clean Team Automotive Tire scrub, it's on a handy bucket sturdy plastic bucket (00:34:43) $20 per month. If you'd like the ultimate guy in survival kit, whatever level you can afford. That's the important thing not how much you give it is that you make a membership call and who are we talking to? Well, if you're not a member right now, obviously, we're putting the arm on you because we need you to step forward and help pay for the program service. If you're already a member and it's time to renew. We need you to renew your membership. We can't afford to lose you and we want to get you credited during this fiscal year and that would be today. This is the last day no more tomorrow. If you're already all paid up and everything and you want to do a little bit extra to help out here an additional contribution is a great way to go whatever your circumstances give us a call here. There are 16 of your fellow listeners on the line stepping forward at one eight hundred to two hundred seventy eight eleven. Don't worry about Busy Signal's now we've got 50 lines. So you'll be able to get right through takes just a couple of minutes of your time. There are no embarrassing tests to pass. You don't you're not going to be quizzed on on current events or uncorrect events. You're not going to be quizzed at all. Just your name address phone number what membership level you'd like to join our 1-800 to to 7 (00:35:54) 2011 one other question. They'll probably ask is how you want to pay. If you bring your credit card, they can put it right on the credit card. You won't even have to think about it again and that would make our accountants here at NPR really really happy because then they can just wrap up your membership for the end of this fiscal year. You can also decide to be built later or you can use the easy pipe the EZ Pay plan, which is one of those deals where you give us your bank account number and then every month will take out how much you want taken up per month. If you if you decide that you want the guys summer survival kit at the $10 level. They take $10 a month out of your bank account. You don't even have to worry about getting you won't be getting mailings from us. You won't have to be stamping things and sending it to us. It was just come right out of your bank account. It's no sweat at all 1-800 to to 728 11. Got 11 people on the line almost we are almost a third away of the through of our for our our legal or I would go over member with $15,000 and we've got about 10,000 left to go 11 people on the (00:36:51) line. I'm getting nervous Stephanie getting nervous here. My we actually have to get the make this goal by well, hopefully by 8 o'clock at night. That was a Target Time certainly by midnight because that's that's it and we start a new year school year and still this hour alone after raised about $10,000. Now, there are 12 people on the line and we don't expect if you're listening right now and you haven't called yet. We don't expect you to call up and pledge $10,000 though. We accept it if you did, but that's not the point. The point is not that you pledge a thousand dollars not even $100. Ideally you'll be able to see your way clear say to $10 a month, but whatever level $66 is the basic rate for a full year if You've never been a member give it a try for a year. I think you're going to find that it is one of the better Investments that you'll make give it a try 1-800 to to 7 2011 you get Minnesota monthly every month. It's a great deal. And of course something we fail to mention here Stephanie in the last few minutes again, everybody who calls in whether you pledge or not. If you call us right now, we will enter your name in the big drawing tomorrow at noon about this time. We're going to be pulling a name from the bin and somebody somebody who called in to our membership line will be winning a trip a seven-day Mediterranean cruise on one of those tall ships a flyover and Northwest and the (00:38:22) reason why I didn't mention it because I'm in denial I want this trip and I know it's somebody else is going to get it. I know there's no chance. I'm going to get it now. This trip is valued at more than $7,000. You're going to be flown to the Mediterranean. You're going to be able to go on. On this clipper ship with big masks. They're going to be hundred and seven there. This is not some tiny little thing where your it's not a rowboat. There are going to be a hundred 70 passengers 72 crew members to wait on you hand and foot (00:38:51) two and a half per passenger. I (00:38:53) think that's great. I wish I had two and a half people to wait on me all the time. If you call in now 1 800 to to 728 11, you'll be entered automatically in this giveaway. And then it goes through the islands on stops and Islands you'll get off you won't be on the boat the whole time. It just sounds fantastic, right? I would love to get this and somebody who called in already or maybe you if you call in now, we'll be entering and entered in that drawing and someone's gonna win right now. They're 18 people on the line and we are past. Okay, we just passed 10,000 dollars. We've got 9607 left out of 15,000 to raise and if we don't raise it by noon Gary and I are going to be getting into trouble (00:39:32) give yourself a chance to win that that fabulous vacation and give yourself another year of good. Radio, that's what this is all about. We need your membership support to pay for the radio programs that you listen to on this station. Midday and all things considered in Morning Edition and mid-morning and all the rest 1-800 to to 728 11. Now one of the things we're featuring this hour as a special thank-you gift is the Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection for cassettes some new monologues about Lake Wobegon. Of course old old time favorite monologue songs commercials bonus cassette of music from popular Prairie Home guests all of that available as a special premium at the $30 per month level a bucket a essentially $360 for the full year and we thought we'd take a couple minutes here to give you a sampler from that from that special premium the Prairie Home 25th Anniversary Collection. This is a this is a little bit that Garrison did on Flag Day a few years ago seems particularly appropriate since we just passed flag day since we've got the fourth coming up and they've got their big 25th anniversary show out in the nation's capital over the Independence Day weekend. So let's listen in tomorrow is Flag Day in Lake Wobegon. I don't know if it's observed here in the cities, but it is in Lake Wobegon. The Chamber of Commerce still has some flags on the poles with the nails at the end. You can stick into the ground out in front of your house. You want to see Dwayne down at the feed and seed or stop by skoglund yet this evening and pick up yours. I believe that is all that they do on flag day is just fly flags in Lake Wobegon. I can't really think of what else you could do on flag day though. They did used to do more. Seems to me I heard. The back in 1936 about 400 people in Lake Wobegon put on red white and blue caps and they formed what they called a living flag out on Main Street. The problem was it there was so many people in the living flag there weren't many people left over to appreciate it. But they did it. I think it was the idea of a traveling cap salesman who came through town, but the armor Inc this just more or less organized it and he didn't see why anybody should have to see it. He thought it was a patriotic thing and it should be enough for people just to realize that they were a part of the living flag. But as they were standing there on Main Street, of course somebody broke ranks, and they said, excuse me. I'll be right back and they went and ran up on the roof of the central building right there and they stood up there. And look down on it and they said all it's beautiful. Yah to see it. And then of course everybody had to have a look. It took hours. One person at a time leaving the living flag and running up to the roof of the central building up there and looking down at it and admiring it and of course after a while the people who had already had their look were saying, okay, that's it. Now we can go home and the people who didn't have a look we're saying hey, hold on now we didn't get our chance. So every single last one of them had to go up there one at a time and tempers were running short and the living flag was becoming sort of a sitting and kneeling flag. It was a warm June afternoon until finally they came down to mrs. Quigley. Who was the last one. And they said all right, go now Mary go now and make it quick and she said oh, no, she said I don't want you to go to any trouble on my account. She said I don't need to They said go look at it. Go look at the flag, which are now. She said oh no, I've seen Flags before and I don't need to look at this one. The whole lower right hand corner of that flag grabbed her and they hustled her up the stairs and up on the roof of the central building and they leaned her out and they made her look down at it and then of course somebody thought they would run home and get a camera. So that's why they don't do much for Flag Day anymore and Lake Wobegon, but there will be flying the flag tomorrow Services be tomorrow at Lake Wobegon Lutheran at 10:30 Sunday school at 9:45. Pastor inquest will be speaking on signs of things to come. Which leads me to believe he may not have written all of that sermon by the time it went into the bulletin at Our Lady of Perpetual responsibility Mass is at 8:00 and 10:00. Tomorrow father email is back from his vacation his tour of Civil War battlefields. And so it is also the end of vacation for them perish which has set through and enjoy the sermons of Father Frank from the Seminary these past three Sunday's sort of rambling sermons that have had a lot to do with his experiences in the Las Vegas diocese. Spiritual lessons gained while playing golf out their father email is back in his sermon is entitled a call to arms and I'm sure that he's going to give it. Well, that's the news from Lake Wobegon Minnesota where all the women are strong and all the men are good-looking and all the children are above average every single one of Flag Day from A Prairie Home Companion 25th, Anniversary Collection our premium available at the $360 level $30 a month essentially a buck a day. We'll get you that as a special premium. If you call in if you're interested in that we have several other premiums as well in these last few minutes before noon Stephanie Curtis. The big thing is that people call. We've still got $7,800 to raise by noon 5 callers on the line. We got a lot of work to do here (00:46:12) that is almost half of what was that is that's more than half of what we're supposed to raise this whole hour and we only have seven minutes left we got People on the line and you know, there's a possibility that they're all pledging $1,000 in that we will make it. I think actually what we need to do is have everyone who's listening who hasn't joined yet. Give us a call one eight hundred two to seven 28:11 pledge, whatever you're comfortable at we've got some suggested. We've got some suggested levels where you can get some pretty good pretty good gifts as a thanks the ten dollar level. We've got the MPR capped and duct tape for all your home repair projects and the fourth annual joke show book from the Prairie Home Companion and I'm looking through it right now trying to find something that I'm not embarrassed to read on the air, but these were all on Pearl companion. So all right here, why are most Iowa jokes so short so minnesotans can remember them and then you've got many many longer ones. I think I just flip past the word Rabbi in here 1-800 to to 7 2011 amuse your family friends co-workers call now. Get the pretty good joke book from Prairie Home Companion that was on the Prairie Home Companion at the $10 a month level along with the MPR cap and duct (00:47:28) tape 1 800 2 to 7, 2011. You have heard us talking the last few days about the end of the fiscal year drawing to a close. Well, it's here now. This is the last day if you call us tomorrow will gladly take your membership pledge, but we won't be able to count you toward the fiscal year goals, because tomorrow we start a new year Blank Slate as of midnight tonight, and it's very important for all kinds of reasons to make sure that our books balance. That means that we need to get you signed up yet today, and if you put it off if you're near a phone right now and you put it off the odds are very good that you're not going to give us get a chance to call later. So call right now 1 800 2 to 7 2011. We need you to get signed up new memberships come on in if you're already a member and it's time to renew. Renu if you're all paid up and you can make an additional contribution that to will count $4,300 left to raise here in five minutes at one eight hundred two to seven 28:11 everybody Stephanie, of course who calls in will also have a shot admittedly along chance, but they do have a chance then to win a trip to the Mediterranean (00:48:45) to go on a Clipper ship Crews. The sounds just amazing. It stops at Greek Islands Resort towns and physics fishing villages will be you and a guest. Whoever you want to bring along. We're not going to we're not going to we're not going to make you take me or anything you can you can actually choose who you want to bring along wanted her to to 7 2011 call that and you'll be entered it is a week-long trip. You'll be flown doubt to the Mediterranean. This trip is valued at more than $7,000 and really really sounds like it's worth it. This is a dream vacation. You can go snorkeling. Sunfish sailing waterskiing windsurfing in the Greek Islands and granted Minnesota's beautiful during the summer, but wouldn't you love to go to Greece instead 1-800 to to 7 2011 call now and every day between 11:00 and noon and often between noon and 1:00. Gary takes listeners calls that people can get involved in the program. Well, this is one more way that you can get involved in midday by calling and pledging your support so that when you call it now what you're saying is not only do I like public waiting but I like midday, especially 1-800 to to 728 11. (00:49:55) This hour is Habitat for Humanity sponsor is the Bayport Foundation a proud sponsor of NPR and Habitat for Humanity. The Bayport Foundation is supported by the Anderson Corporation. And right now Bayport Foundation is sending off $10 to the Habitat for Humanity program for every membership that comes in doesn't come out of your membership money. It's just another way to leverage that call that you It just has so much bang for the buck here. You support public radio. That's of course the main thing here with that membership call you help us make sure that we balance the books by tonight the end of the fiscal year. You can take advantage of the many fine premiums. We're offering you get entered in this special giveaway for the Mediterranean trip. The drawing is tomorrow at noon and over and above all of that. You're a little side money for Habitat for Humanity is we're going to hopefully be able to put together a Minnesota Public Radio House of all things 1-800 to to 728 11:27 callers on the line $3,800 left to go in the next two and a half minutes Stephanie. It's nip-and-tuck. Once again 1-800 to to 7 2011 Panic time. We got 28 people on the line, but there's still (00:51:13) a panic button right now because we got three thousand seven hundred fifty three dollars left in this hour and this hour is not an hour. This hour only has two and a half minutes left. Yeah, one way you can make the accounts happy is by bringing your credit card to the phone with you. You can pay your your pledge right off your credit card. You won't have to worry about bills in the future. The bean counters won't have to worry about money coming in next fiscal year. They'll have it right away. And as a thanks will get a coupon for a caribou cooler a wonderful chocolatey coffee. I see drink and I had one yesterday in their Heavenly. So go right now to your phone 1-800-273-8255 on the line and we are so close. We I think we're actually going to make our $15,000 $15,000 gold is our we've only got one thousand seven hundred fifty three dollars left. Is that right? Yeah, (00:52:02) your tallies are running ahead of mine. Really goodness. There it did it get up. There. We are. No we are close then 1-800 to to 728 11 boy. That's a like a shot of adrenaline there. 1-800 you do 728 11 is the number to call still several open lines here 25 I have open lines you'll be able to get right through make sure you get your membership pledge and show your support for the midday broadcast. All the other fine programs here on Minnesota Public Radio take advantage of the premiums. They're not going to be here tomorrow. They will be here the rest of today, but not tomorrow if you want to get in on the drawing for the the special trip. That's today only tomorrow you call us. Well, we can't help you 1-800 to to 728 11:00 tomorrow. You might actually win the trip as a 1-800 to to 728 11 Stephanie. We should take a moment here to thank everybody who has called about $1,700 left to raise in the next minute or so, but there are 27 people on the line with your call your pledge of support to Minnesota Public Radio. I think we're going to get this goal 1-800 to 27 2011.