Fifteen minutes with Ernie St. Germaine turns into a glorious hour as he relives five-decades-old memories in vivid detail.
There’s no need to interrupt or ask questions. No point, really.
Talking cross country skiing, of all things, the energetic 76-year-old commands the attention of his audience of one with tales of how blueberry pancakes led to him learning to ski. Of how he was drafted into the first American Birkebeiner, vowed to quit and then got sucked into the second. Of the clown who nearly ended his streak. Of preparing for a bittersweet, record-extending 50th with no snow in the Wisconsin Northwoods.
As the Birkie evolved from 35 people racing from Hayward to Cable to an international gathering of more than 10,000 headed the other direction, St. Germaine has been the one constant.
Next week he will clip boots into bindings and set off on his 50th Birkebeiner as the only skier to participate in every one.
Then he’ll have another story to tell.