Sunday afternoon was out of doors for a picnic with friends-of-friends, one of whom is originally from Minnesota. It was a big number birthday celebration for our friend, thus the out of town folks absolutely reveling in a snow-free world for a long weekend. One of few California natives in the bunch, I was vastly outnumbered, and amused by it. It was ironic how Minnesotans didn’t sound anything like people out of movies (unless they were imitating movies. Which they did do, as one does).
Inasmuch as I probably don’t sound like a Californian out of the movies (unless I do? Hmmmm), this was probably okay.
What a mess of assumptions and stereotypes movies have given us.
Sown Counterpanes
aerial piecework
patchwork crops, cradled by coasts
dubbed “flyover states”
connecting Midwest marvels
just as Heartland as hot dish.
Dear Midwest, do you all have fireflies? What’s it like to have a lake house? Corn fields just up the road? Snow AND tornadoes? State fairs with cheese curds and butter carving? While just now is not the best time to go exploring some of these curiosities (HELLO, SNOW), I like the sample of the Midwest that I have tasted. Granted, last Sunday it was more beer and brats than hot dish, but it was the classic flavor of friendship just the same.
Having spent many years in the midwest, I would go so far as to call it the country’s best-kept secret, and not just because of the absolutely fantastic movie accents. The fireflies. The string cheese. The snow and the lake houses. And, yes, the friendship. I wish you’d come meet me in Wisconsin sometime…
Alas, I think I have become a Midwesterner. Oh, well. I’ll be saved by “the classic flavor of friendship.”
@MaryLee: Did you not start out in the Midwest? Somehow, I thought you’d been born in Ohio!
@Jama-J: I was gently teased for wearing a cardigan to the picnic… one guy said he was seriously considering shorts, but really, anything over fifty was reason to break those out. They wore flip-flops and shirt-sleeves while I was all bundled up and wearing a hat! It was hilarious. Hearty Latvians indeed.
Love this! I would say most of my Midwest knowledge comes from the movies. I did room with a Minnesotan in England, though. She taught me how to dress for the cold, knitted mittens for me (which I still cherish), and could fix toilets throughout Europe. She moved back to Minnesota and still lives on a lake. Sturdy folk, those Latvians.