Rapp Strategies Rundown – April
What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: We are all watching Stanley Cup playoffs, right? Just as exciting, the return of Succession and Barry are competing with Ted Lasso for the Highlight of the Month. We did knock off The Night Agent on Netflix, which was a good mystery/action binge, and we are most of the way through The Diplomat, which gives us a chance to see Keri Russell on the side of the Red, White and Blue this time. The new John Sandford and Don Winslow novels are also in my hands.
Rich: April is one of my favorite months because Spring arrives, even if this year it was later and colder than usual. That disappointment was overcome by the opportunity to check off one of my bucket list items. A good friend invited me to attend this year’s Masters Golf Tournament! We had tickets for the Thursday and Friday rounds, and played a round of golf in the Augusta area on Wednesday. There is always a chance that bucket list items don’t meet expectations. That was not true of the Masters. The course is beautiful and the perfect stage for the world’s best players to demonstrate their skill. We had a wonderful time, and my expectations were exceeded.
My golf course opened this week, one of the latest openings ever. However, the glow of the Masters trip made it much easier to wait a couple of weeks for the chance to play in Minnesota. Looking at the bucket list to see what I can check off next.
Todd S.: Perhaps my favorite highlight of the month was checking out Led Zeppelin fan band, Zeppo, at The Parkway in Minneapolis. The five-musician band captured the gusto and craftsmanship of the original Zeppelin, and singer/guitarist John Eller didn’t fall short on vocals – quite the achievement when you’re trying to cover Robert Plant. The set list leaned heavily on Led Zeppelin IV. I didn’t really need to hear “Stairway to Heaven” again, though I credit the band for a faithful rendition and a spirited performance.
Jodi: Will spring ever arrive? To deal with never-ending gray skies and cool temps, I found myself listening to a lot of ‘90s grunge and enjoying easy reads that I normally reserve for vacations in the sun. Pearl Jam’s 10 remains in my Top 10 albums, and hope to hear it live when the band comes to the Xcel this fall. Books by JoJo Moyes added wit and humor to my evenings and weekends, while the NHL’s ridiculous playoff hockey schedule led to many late nights.
I also celebrated another trip around the sun this month with family and friends. Highly recommend Holman’s Table for their weekend brunch: Historic building, great service, and you can’t go wrong with a Biscuit Basket and a Bloody Mary Board. Found the best place for ice cream: 2 Scoops in Saint Paul (18 flavors!). Taking suggestions for road trip music this summer.
Sean: Incredible month and a half for the Oyaas family. In March, we officially welcome the newest member of the team to the world, James Oyaas. He’s been everything we could’ve hoped for: Adorable (like his mother) and stinky (like his father). While sleep has become a foreign concept, it doesn’t seem to matter once you take one look at the little man. I was fortunate to take some time away from work to spend the first weeks with our new family, which included walks, reading, probably a little too much TV and way too many diaper changes. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
Anna: This month marked Owen’s first plane ride down South for our friends’ wedding (mercifully, he slept most of the way). We enjoyed reuniting with other flight school alumni, even if it was unusually cold and rainy in Alabama. Isaac and I celebrated my birthday with cocktails and aged prime rib at Pittsburgh Blue Steakhouse. In addition, we discovered a few new gems of easy recipes, including mouthwatering shredded beef in the crockpot. In true form, the final episode of Sanditon provided a satisfying, over-sweet happily ever after. In other downtime, I scarfed down the wild, hardscrabble, bootlegging saga Hang The Moon by one of my must-read authors, Jeannette Walls.
Cullen: April milestones included a trip to Rochester for a lifelong friend’s wedding, winning my Masters pool, finally buying a pair of pickleball paddles, and completing my first ever half-marathon. Having never run further than a 5K in my life until this year, the race was a big personal accomplishment. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve already found myself looking into more races this fall.
During rainy days I powered through the first couple seasons of Narcos and enjoyed introducing Lauren to the Bourne Trilogy. At this point, I’m just wishing away time until The Witcher and I Think You Should Leave debut their third seasons. Verity was as creepy and uncomfortable as billed, though I wouldn’t recommend it for that very reason. Hard to like a book without a single redeeming character.
Kaylee: The highlight of April was, without a doubt, that stretch of 80-degree weather. We headed to Wild Mind Ales for a night of conversation and a game of Codenames and took a few walks around Lake Nokomis. Other than that, listening to Language Families of the World by John McWhorter has given me an opportunity to nerd out about all the fascinating quirks of languages and how they evolve.
