05 Jan The Maiden Voyage of the Grant County Viking Ship
Like many of you, I had a couple of days off over Christmas so I gave myself the gift of reading. A friend of mine loaned me a book he enjoyed titled Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (Sadly, no relation…because he’s a brilliant writer). I’m so glad Keith shared this book with me because if he hadn’t, I assure you I never would have picked it from a shelf. I’ve never been accused of being athletic, or event coordinated, so the sports genre isn’t my ‘go-to’—and this book is about the 1936 American Olympic Rowing Team. I laughed. I cried. I was inspired. I was sad when I finished it. There is something to be said about the story of an underdog…or a team of underdogs. Add in an Olympic berth and you can’t help but cheer on the salt-of-the-earth, work-for-all-you’ve-got, never-say-die group of nine men that brought home the gold from Germany in 1936. Then, the author threw in a bit of romance and he had me at hello! This book had all the ingredients of a great story…and so does Grant County. Last year brought us contradictory statistics noting our children as the first most impoverished...