it all makes so much sense

[indigo_pearl]

so, my boss, marne ("e" is silent) lent me lake wobegon days, by garrison keillor.  apparently, his therapist had him get it.  "it explains why upper-midwesterners are so fucked-up."  marne is from chicago.  his therapist from minnesota.  i am on page 23.  it is both painful and hillarious.  my girlfriend from southern califonia doesn't get it.  a

Comments

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" - A Norwegian Proverb

[leahbabe]

MinneSNOWtah has its flaws, for sure, and the outlying populations are definitely an entirely different breed from the cityfolk, but it's kind of amazing to be in a place where one can visit the Lutheran church basement in the morning and a premier art museum in the afternoon, a place that brought us hot dish and Husker Du, Prince and Pronto Pups, Katherine Kersten and a plethora of public radio. The state that has voted Democrat in the presidential election longer than any other state in the union. Where people jump into frozen lakes - for fun. And yes, sometimes I want to shake all the descendants of the Norwegian and Swedish and yell, "have a fucking fight, already!" And I may be typing this due to nostalgia, but I would argue (if arguing was allowed) that the laughable characteristics of the Minnesotan are endearing rather than painful, and that negative associations with the stereotypes are more a result of problems with individual persons that embody some of these stereotypes, rather than the stereotypes themselves. After all, as Cecelia said (when I saw her at the Bean Factory last), "They may move away from Minnesota. But they always come back."

Re: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" - A Norwegian Proverb

[indigo_pearl]

don't get me wrong, i love minnesota and i love being minnesotan. the characteristics i am referring to i would not deem "laughable." i would deem them frustrating and rather unhealthy. saying "no" once in a while is useful. empowering, maybe. not always assuming others think lowly of you or it's your fault is quite wonderful feeling. tooting your own horn, so to speak, can be great. yes, so much of the above depends on one's upbringing but so much of it is so normal in minnesota culture. "it is what it is" is not always the best motto.

Re: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" - A Norwegian Proverb

[leahbabe]

What are you talking about? We have no problems. Nothing to see here. EVERYTHING IS PERFECT AND WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT????