the sea of heads quickly turns and bends towards the foul ball. the wave retreats towards the pitcher’s mound with a sound of water rushing over rocks. for a moment, i am dizzy with the feeling of floating in the ocean as the heads bob in unison.
later, the first notes of “Don’t Stop Believing” sound over the pa. the vocal chords of 54,000 are exercised, at uncomfortable decibels, while we hope to inspire the home team to a win.
later still, after a stunning win, the masses spill onto the still-wet streets of minneapolis, whooping and hollering, honking car horns and slapping street signs as they walk off into the night, into their cars.
that night, it’s hard to unwind from the feeling that was shared with so many of your fellow citizens.
Why do I feel a twinge of sadness and longing as the Airbus A320 painted with the colors of Delta Airlines announces its presence in my airspace, the tailfin painted with the greek symbol meaning “change”?
I think it’s in the blood of the Minnesotan.
I have no reason to love Northwest Airlines, nor reason to mourn its demise. My experiences in flying different airlines have shown them all to be roughly the same. (Though, as it turns out, Delta serves peanuts on their flights, allergies be damned.)
Why do Minnesotans cluck in digust at the sound of “Macy’s” or “Marshall Fields” while longing for the chance to once again walk through the revolving doors of Dayton’s. Aren’t we looking for the same sales on the same jeans?
It seems to me that we are a bit lost in the stateless and shifting world of multinational organizations. Who are you if you fly Delta Airlines? Who are you if you shop at Target, or Wal-mart?
Instead, why don’t we identify with our place? Your neighborhood, your park, your book store, your coffee shop?
These are places that will reward you with an investment of your time. The proprietor of my coffee shop knows the sound of my car and has a drink ready for me when I walk in.
Find what makes your place special, and make a little nest around that stuff. Like your wacky neighbor, a quirky restaurant, or the hardware store that lets you walk your dog inside for a treat.
Raising chickens in the city is growing in popularity among those interested in sustainability and keeping chickens as pets. But the venture often proves more difficult than expected.
We’ve received tons of messages on facebook the past couple days. It is really awesome to hear from so many friends!
Though, one message in particular caught my eye this evening:
Minneapolis SnowEmergency added you as a friend on Facebook…
Huh?
I clicked over to the profile for a look. It’s pretty dang hilarious. Can’t tell if it is a joke or not (I do have a couple friends who are truly clever and would set up something like this).
Under interests:
I’m mostly interested in streets cleared of snow from curb to curb.
Favorite Books:
Non-fiction books about residents of Minneapolis shoveling their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall. Go to the library and ask for the “Snow shoveling motivation” section. I promise they won’t laugh at you.
I don’t know if you have to live in Minneapolis to find this funny. Do other cities have the Snow Emergency? But this is just the sort of quirky thing that makes living in Minneapolis so funny.
I mean what kind of city makes videos like this:
Wow.
(If you’re on facebook and live in Minneapolis, you may want to friend Mr. Snow Emergency. They’ll post a status update when it’s time to move your cars! I think Facebook has a policy of not allowing fake people to have profiles, but whatever.)
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