Editorial: Thumbs

To Santa Claus.

Thank you for all the wonderful gifts you leave under Christmas trees and in stockings all over the world. You brighten the faces of children everywhere and make the first month of winter a little bit cheerier for the all-too-grumpy adults. We also thank Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. By the way, we want to point out that Albert Lea Lake has a place on its southern shore called St. Nicholas, which used to be a town. There is not much there now except for St. Nicholas Park and a few homes. Just imagine the postcards and letters that post office would have received every year if the town had not withered.

To the North Korean regime.

Following the news of the transition of power in North Korea has been fascinating, primarily because it is so odd to witness a nuclear-armed country with an 18th century economy in these modern times. Don’t expect social media to make changes there like in the Arab world. Of course, North Korea is much more fascinating provided we don’t have to live there.

There are other reasons to follow news on this topic: North Korea has hereditary communist rulers (hereditary and communist seem to be conflicts). The war with South Korea technically is still on and remains in a long-term cease fire. The new leader’s grandfather was hand-picked by Stalin himself. Strangely, the Soviet communism fell before the North Korean experiment, though the little nation’s economy has struggled mightily in the wake of the end of the Cold War. The heir could open the country to reform, which would be good for the security of East Asia. However, he is in his 20s, a young man who is a big unknown on the world stage and could lead the region to war over youthful hubris. Or he could be overthrown. Who knows? Wait and see.

Let’s hope for the eventual reunification of Korea and hope for an end to the regime in Pyongyang.

To Albert Lea Community Theatre.

These Albert Lea stage performers had one of their best-selling plays ever in “The Dickens Christmas Carol Show.” The show sold out four of the eight performances in early December and came close on the other four. It’s clear that when ACT holds shows with all ages, especially children, in the cast, people love to pack the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. ACT sold well when it did “Annie” and we are sure it will do well next July with the big cast for “Oliver!” But we would encourage audiences to go to “How to Talk Minnesotan” in May. We also give ACT a thumbs up for selling tickets over its website, http://actonbroadway.com. This makes it convenient for people who cannot get to the box office to buy tickets at the open hours.