Al Batt

Hartland

Writer, speaker, storyteller, humorist, gagwriter, author, columnist, radio personality, and birder. Uffda! His mother thinks he’s a big deal.

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Articles

Al Batt: Precious memories from a meadowlark - Austin Daily Herald

1 week ago | austindailyherald.com | Al Batt

Published 5:28 pm Tuesday, June 17, 2025 Echoes from the Loafers’ Club MeetingI’ve got big news for you. Well, I’m glad I’m sitting down. I just painted that chair you’re sitting in. Driving by Bruce’s driveI have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me. The sky was as black as blue and as blue as black. Then, a beautiful day shouldered its way in.
147,989th in Line to Become King of the Cowboys

1 week ago | fillmorecountyjournal.com | Al Batt

He was a cowboy. There was no doubt. He never missed an episode of “Gunsmoke.” He’d seen all 635 episodes at least twice. He thought Marshal Matt Dillon should have been president. He even listened to the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, when his ears had a vacancy. He tried watching a TV series called “Yellowstone,” but found it resembled “The Godfather” or “The Sopranos” more than “Bonanza.” It wasn’t for him. He preferred watching more reruns of “Gunsmoke.”He wore cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.
RESOLUTION 17195 - Austin Daily Herald

1 week ago | austindailyherald.com | Al Batt

Published 8:06 pm Sunday, June 15, 2025 PUBLIC NOTICERESOLUTION NO. 17195RESOLUTION ORDERING SECURING AND RAZINGOF A HAZARDOUSBUILDINGSLOCATED AT 104 3RD AVE SE AUSTIN, MINNESOTAOWNED BY SHANE ROSEWHEREAS, Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 463.15 to 463.61, the City Council of Austin, Minnesota, finds the building located at 104 3rd Ave SE to be a hazardous building for the following reasons:1.
Naturally Al Batt

1 week ago | albatt.substack.com | Al Batt

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Al Batt: Hiking for groceries, men are strange - Austin Daily Herald

2 weeks ago | austindailyherald.com | Al Batt

Published 5:35 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Echoes from the Loafers’ Club MeetingDo you know why dinosaurs went extinct? It resulted from an impact with a large celestial object. No, it was because they couldn’t take selfies, and their life had no purpose. Driving by Bruce’s driveI have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me. One year, I made the radish decision to plant six varieties of radishes. They were all good, and radish sandwiches abounded.
The Day Reuben Nearly Lost His Spunk

2 weeks ago | fillmorecountyjournal.com | Al Batt

He’d been a spunky boy. Everyone said so – his parents, teachers and family elders. He had way too much energy for those who weren’t morning people. “You’ve got spunk,” Lou Grant said to Mary Richards on the first episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” And then Grant added, “I hate spunk.” Reuben loved spunk. He worried he was losing something that had defined his life. His son had taken over the farm, especially the decision-making portion.
Naturally Al Batt

2 weeks ago | albatt.substack.com | Al Batt

It was a one-bird feeding frenzy. A gray catbird with a stubby tail fed, then did a jazz riff. Then it meowed like a cat before eating more. Why did it have a stubby tail? The bird didn’t want to talk about it, but I’m guessing it was a stress molt, during which it shed tail feathers to escape a predator. Feathers only re-grow rapidly when they’ve been pulled out. Tails are important but not critical.
EST/FERGUSON, F. - Austin Daily Herald

3 weeks ago | austindailyherald.com | Al Batt

Published 7:57 am Wednesday, June 4, 2025 PUBLIC NOTICESTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF MOWERTHIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT DISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONCourt File No.50-PR-25-1015Estate of: FRANCISS ARNOLD FERGUSON, A/K/A FRANCIS A.
Al Batt: Who’s behind American Gothic? - Austin Daily Herald

3 weeks ago | austindailyherald.com | Al Batt

Published 5:51 pm Tuesday, June 3, 2025 Echoes from the Loafers’ Club MeetingDo you have any tattoos? I don’t think so. You don’t know? There are places I don’t want to look. Driving by Bruce’s driveI have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me. I visited a rest area in Iowa. On a wall, there was a familiar painting.
There’s no Need to Duck, Duck, Buckle Up When a Gulp of Swallows Attacks

3 weeks ago | fillmorecountyjournal.com | Al Batt

“Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night.”That famous line, often misquoted as “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” was spoken by a past-her-prime actress with a flair for drama named Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis, in the movie “All About Eve,” released in 1950. The film was based on the 1946 short story “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr. A red sports car blew by me on the highway. It was as if I were backing up.