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Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig
by James Glaser August 20, 2007 Actually, I got home to Florida a few days ago, but needed time to get back in the swing of things before I could think about writing again. My trip to Minnesota was great. I was able to spend some time with my mother, and saw my three sisters and their families. My children, grandchildren, and I spent a nice week in a log cabin on the shore of the lake, right down the road from where my house on Island Lake was located. I sold that house this last spring, and that sale was a major reason for the trip. The most expensive gas on the trip was in Wisconsin, at $3.13 a gallon, and the cheapest was in Kentucky, where it was $2.63. It was hot up north, but I needed a sheet and blanket every night as it would get down in the 50s. On the way home it was 105 in northern Alabama. In the three weeks I was gone I only saw rain one time for about an hour. In Northern Minnesota, I saw lots of deer, bald eagles, a fisher, and one black bear. When my house sold, a friend of mine and his wife took everything I had in the house and my shop, and put it in storage for me. When they were doing that I told them, "If in doubt, pitch it." Well, come to find out, when you are storing someone else's things, it's hard to throw things out, so I had a lot of stuff to take care of. My children took what they wanted, and I took a truck load too. Before I left, I decided that I would take what ever I could fit in my pickup, and that would be it. After all, I hadn't seen any of those things in storage for over a year, so I really didn't need any of it. Everything else I gave away to friends. I kept everything my children made for me while growing up. So, I still have a collection of primitive pottery, a bit of leather craft, some paintings, and an abstract train-set that Nikki built a long time ago. Because space in the truck was at such a premium, I had to pick and choose carefully what I could keep. Bulky items like chairs or cabinets were out of the question, so I packed a lot of flat things. I was able to bring about 200 record albums, a good number of art history and gallery catalogs, mirrors, a nice side-table that I disassembled, 65 beaver skulls, a wolf skull, and innumerable small things that would fit between larger objects. When I unpacked the truck, I had to wonder what some of those things actually were. I unpacked right away as I was worried about the records warping in the heat down here. I did have someone keep a lamp for me that Charmaine's brother made. It wasn't all that big, but no matter how I tried, I could not fit it in It was nice that Wanda was able to take some time off work and fly up to the Twin Cities where she met my mom and sisters. She had a few days to shop and see that other Minnesotans are a lot like me. Down South, Wanda has this thing about holding hands when we walk around. I explained that if we did that in Minnesota, people would think one of us was mentally handicapped, and the other was leading the way. I think I would have been stuck with the handicapped label. So, she got to see that couples sort of keep their respective distance from each other up there, and it wasn't something I made up. It is hard to change life-long ways of doing things. I am now back sleeping in my own bed, trying to get used to the heat and humidity again, and going back to work at the studio. After a few weeks on the road, and a week of sitting on the shore of a crystal clear Northern Minnesota lake, it is kind of hard to focus on work again. I have started right in on my new adventure down here, a Craft Gallery. I still have no gallery name yet, and about all I have done is gut out some walls and make many trips to the dumpster, but things are moving along. I have an idea in my head of what the finished project will look like, but that picture/idea seems to be in a constant state of change. I am forcing myself to spend only three hours a day on the gallery so that I still get something done at the studio. It is awfully hot down here now, and it is almost like starting over again in getting acclimatized. When I was up North, I tried to see as many friends as I could, but I missed seeing many. Attitudes have changed up there, and George Bush is no longer the President he was when I left a year and a half ago. George has gone from near sainthood to being almost universally despised. At first I thought "despised" might be too strong of a word, but then I remembered that most people now use a foul adjective preceding Bush's name when ever they speak of him. Even my card carrying Republican Party friends are disappointed in what they knew this President would accomplish. After all, the Republicans had the White House and both Houses of Congress, and about all they got out of it was two never ending wars, bigger government, and more debt than we have ever had. Yes, the Republicans up North are disappointed to say the least. I found in this trip back home that I miss the people, and I even miss a lot of the food, but I don't miss Northern Minnesota as much as I thought I would. I had wonderful weather, but wonderful weather in Minnesota is something to talk about, heck people will go on and on about what a nice weekend they had. In Florida, people expect nice weather and really, having a nice month is not uncommon down here. Yes, it is hot right now, but I can look forward to about eight really nice months starting in the fall, and that is something that can never happen up North. People in Northern Minnesota are just wonderful. You will never find more honest, helpful neighbors, but you will find people just as honest and helpful all over this country. You might have a hard time understanding what they are saying, and their skin color might not be the same shade as yours, and they might be crazy about car races instead of Viking football, and they probably sit in a boat to fish instead of standing on the frozen lake, but they are willing to help you out if you are in need, and like any Minnesotan, will talk you arm off if you give them the chance, but Americans are a pretty fine bunch no matter where you live. I plan to return to Northern Minnesota every summer that I can, hoping to catch that nice week of good weather, and see all the fine friends I have up there. |
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