Yet another suggestion that Southern Minnesota is on the cutting edge of the universe. The Rochester Post Bulletin reports that local Monks see Buddha in wasp nest:
Experts are skeptical, but the Cambodian Buddhist community is abuzz over what they believe is a miracle at their temple in southeast Rochester: A wasp nest in the shape of a seated Buddha.
The nest, which is nestled in the eaves high above the entry to the Buddhists' one-story gathering hall, was spotted last week during a large celebration in which community members give monks new robes.
"Instead of the celebration we were having, we were paying attention to the beehive," said 35-year-old monk Sokunthea Thun.
Elder members of the Cambodian Buddhist community said they have never seen an apparition of the Buddha in their lifetimes.
"The Buddha is trying to tell everybody to seek peace in their lives," said 70-year-old Voeun Sor of Rochester, a Cambodia native who has lived in the United States for 20 years.
The location of the nest is typical for paper wasps, said Kirk Payne, a naturalist at Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester.
"They'll make a comb that can be kind of be wave-like," he said. "I can imagine how they could make a shape like an undulating, Buddha-like figure." . . .
. . .The Buddha wasn't trying to send a message with the nests, but the insects were trying to communicate a Buddhist message, Thun said.
"Bees can do this kind of miracle, so humans can also do miracles," he said. "Everywhere in this world, we humans need to follow in the bees' path to make peace and serenity."
Were world history more shaped by those serene wasps, we might not need a Veterans Day. Instead, we take a day to remember the sting of sacrifice. In Veterans Day tradition continues at courthouse on Owatonna, the Owatonna People's Press reports:
Newly re-elected U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., also made a stop into the American Legion Tuesday to pay his tributes to Owatonna veterans.
“Every year we try to get to as many of these as we can,” Walz said.
Walz, a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard traveled from a Veterans Day celebration in Waseca as he was on his way to spend the afternoon in St. Paul with hospitalized veterans.
More about Waseca vets from KEYC-TV in New Generation of Veterans Take Up Duty at VFW. The Waseca County News takes a close look at one reservist's experience in To Iraq and back: A young soldier’s life in the military.
Former State Senator Steve Kelley raises some interesting alternatives in Minnesota needs to adopt a majority-vote requirement. The MinnPost piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. The New Ulm Journal suggests a tongue-in-cheek solution for dueling Coleman and Franken press releases in Maybe a gag order would be in order.
In honor of Rochester's diligent paper wasps, a lovely song by The National:
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