Who Would You Be?

Would I want to be Gerry Rauenhorst, builder of great, lasting buildings, and an extraordinary benefactor in our community? Or Bruce Dayton, brilliant business leader, civic and community visionary, and, amazingly, 66-year trustee and benefactor and beloved figurehead of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts? Or Stan Hubbard, whose remarkable vision of delivering television programs through satellite was beyond the comprehension of most, and whose willingness to bet the farm on its success, and his ultimate triumph, gave him a permanent place on the list of great American innovators? Or Kinji Akagawa, Joe Dowling, or Osmo Vänskä, whose creative gifts enable them to bring beauty to a world sadly lacking? Or Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer, who enable us to keep the kid in us alive, a most desirable accomplishment when we seem to have so much to worry about? Or Marilyn Nelson, a superb example of what it means to combine brilliance in business with sensitivity to the people and the world around her? Or . . . .

No, Woody, I could never decide who else I would want to be. There are too many people with too many wonderful attributes, whose special qualities are so varied that there is no first-place winner. Indeed, they are all winners. And then I think about my wife, Rusty, and my beautiful family and my many friends and many blessings, and I know just being me is as good as it gets.