The power of kindness: Santa’s watching, so let’s be nice The holiday season is here, bringing the magic of twinkling lights, cheerful carols, and the comforting reminder that Santa is making his list and checking it twice. This time of year naturally inspires us to think about peace on Earth and goodwill toward all, but let’s be honest. If Santa really knows everything, some of us might need a last-minute campaign to make the “nice” list.

I’m back! Last week just got away from me. I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for. We spent ours in Fargo with our youngest son and his family. My husband, Bruce, had been having some pressure in his chest and left arm for a few days over the weekend. He got an appointment with Dr. Johnson in Park River Monday morning. He was concerned and made an appointment with a cardiologist in Fargo for early Wednesday morning then scheduled an angiogram for Friday morning. He had two blockages and received two stents. He is already feeling so much better. We are so grateful to Dr. Johnson, his nurses in Park River, and Dr. Bekdash, the cardiologist, for seeing him so quickly. Bruce’s advice is to “listen to your body.”

I slipped into my heavy coat as I ventured out into the first snowfall of the season. I also wore a long-sleeved shirt and a thick sweater.

Literature classes worldwide study Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), a great innovator of the short story. He wrote closely observed and deeply empathic slices-of-life with a great sense of humor — but the Russian-Lit-class-version of Dr. Chekhov often overlooks the vitality of his work in the theater. Theater-people like me know him as a playwright, the creative counterpart to the acting teacher Konstantin Stanislavsky, who directed and starred in Chekhov’s breakthrough play, ‘The Seagull.’ Together with the other artists of Moscow Art Theater, Chekhov and Stanislavsky pioneered a new style of ensemble performance, focusing on the whole society, rather than one “main character.”

“It looks like an onion,” said a friend. “I can promise you it isn’t,” I replied.

I don’t know about you, but a week has gone by, and I’m still stuffed from the feast of Thanksgiving. I don’t know what I enjoyed the most... turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, gravy, cranberries, lefse or pie! It was all fantastic! Plus, I didn’t even have to cook!

The International Peace Garden will be hosting a visit from Santa on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This holiday celebration will include cookie decorating and crafts for kids as well as artisans selling hand-crafted items.

It’s safe to say the inaugural TEDxCavalier event earlier this year was a success. Thanks to the help of our local community, and months and months of selfless volunteering from our organizing team, we did it. We pulled it off - all of us - our city, and our region. It was a blast.

“Did you get sick when you stayed with us?” I asked. “No, not once,” he responded.