Every now and again I am reminded that although the possibilities of new technology are endless, the advances can come at the expense of the documentation of our past. And that in our digital age, history evaporates quickly.
It's never too late to start, of course, but there are nowhere near enough people on the earth whose story makes you wish you were a better person.
John Carlson, who died this week in the explosion at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, was clearly one.
From time to time on NewsCut, we have considered the proposition that one cannot pursue one's passion and also make a living. Pick one or the other when deciding on a career, kids.
But then we see a story like Keanon Kyles', who makes his living as an opera singer.
Also as a janitor.
Built in the early '70s, the Julia Belle Swain was a fixture on the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers until its last voyage (under its own power, anyway) in 2008, when it became a victim of the economic meltdown in America.
Its financially strapped owners were allowed to dock it in La Crosse, and there it sat for five years, not getting any healthier
We are still a species that will drop what we're doing and spend whatever money it takes on a skunk, if it needs our help. As long as it doesn't bite us.
When it comes to staying informed in Minnesota, our newsletters overdeliver. Sign-up now for headlines, breaking news, hometown stories, weather and much more. Delivered weekday mornings.