I lived in Orange County, CA for my entire adult life, and I've recently come out to the country in the middle of a Northern Minnesota forest. I did not grow up in Minnesota, my parents did. They raised me out west, and then decided to both go back to where they came from. Dad went north, and Mom went south. I suppose they didn't understand why I wanted to return to the warmth of the California sunshine. I can tell you now that it was not because I didn't want to see them, not because I was angry. Frankly, I don’t know what brought me out to California. I think it might have had something to do with acting. I believe a close runner up was simply to refrain from freezing. I’m up in Northern Minnesota now to help out my aging father regardless of where he raised me, the good ole warm and sunny West.
For obvious reasons - not to obvious to me for the duration of the relationship - I left my brief husband, and I am filing for a divorce. I'm learning what it's like to live where people eat from their gardens, and to hunt or fish for their meat. They remind each other to "winter well" in the fall, and wish me, the newbie, luck through the cold. I'm here in fall getting ready for my first winter in Northern Minnesota; to take care of my father who has recovered from a stroke. I want to be with him, and he wants to be here in the near-wild. Here I am making a living for myself in a foreign land with people who don't even say the word "soda" - rather than a fizzy drink, conjure up a vision of the white powder used in baking. If you've ever seen the movie, "Fargo", you know the types. They're all a little nerdy and talk like they're from some outlying Scandinavian land. It's taken me a little while to understand what the locals are saying. It seems like they're all talking through their smiles. Is that what they mean by "Minnesota Nice"?
I think I'll have a vegetable garden out here, and possibly raise chickens. I've never lived like this, and since it's my first time here, it should be a first for doing a lot of things I've never experienced and always wanted. First, though, I'll need a dog to chase away the badgers, muskrats, and the occasional bear.
For obvious reasons - not to obvious to me for the duration of the relationship - I left my brief husband, and I am filing for a divorce. I'm learning what it's like to live where people eat from their gardens, and to hunt or fish for their meat. They remind each other to "winter well" in the fall, and wish me, the newbie, luck through the cold. I'm here in fall getting ready for my first winter in Northern Minnesota; to take care of my father who has recovered from a stroke. I want to be with him, and he wants to be here in the near-wild. Here I am making a living for myself in a foreign land with people who don't even say the word "soda" - rather than a fizzy drink, conjure up a vision of the white powder used in baking. If you've ever seen the movie, "Fargo", you know the types. They're all a little nerdy and talk like they're from some outlying Scandinavian land. It's taken me a little while to understand what the locals are saying. It seems like they're all talking through their smiles. Is that what they mean by "Minnesota Nice"?
I think I'll have a vegetable garden out here, and possibly raise chickens. I've never lived like this, and since it's my first time here, it should be a first for doing a lot of things I've never experienced and always wanted. First, though, I'll need a dog to chase away the badgers, muskrats, and the occasional bear.
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