Minnesota.
Arrival in Minnesota: just early enough to locate Minde’s house before it got dark, but too late for my memory bank to reliably let me navigate the streets without a map. I got a bit confused in the 62/494/35W exchange and felt a little bit, well, homesick for a place that I knew like the back of my hand, that was comfortable and welcoming and familiar. Realizing that Minnesota, in general, wasn’t going to be it, I made a beeline for a place that I knew would embrace me in a warm hug as soon as I smelled it.
Give it up to Punch for making me feel like I’d come home.
The rest of the visit was seen through deja vu glasses. Everything: the same. Everything: different. Literally everyone I saw at Lunds one afternoon looked familiar, but I couldn’t place a name. Took a side trip to Ragstock, only to discover that Ragstock is now three stores in a row, but they all inexplicably carry the same Pippi Longstockings, acrylic man sweaters, and rotting kimonos. Tried to find a coffee in Calhoun Square, but got waylaid by the absence of Starbucks and the relo of Kitchen Window to a new spacier space. This was Saturday afternoon, by the way, where the Uptown hustle and bustle was in full effect. The effect to me, though, was one of a ghost town. After the throngs of LA, Minneapolis felt green and airy and spacious and unpopulated.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Friday’s arrival was a bit of a question mark. Minde had graciously opened her house for us though she was still vacating on the East coast. Mario the cat was the only one home, and we weren’t sure how he was going to take the arrival of a monkeydog into his abode. She had asked me to please come in to the house alone, feed Mario and give him a bit of a cuddle, and then slowly introduce everyone to each other. Mario had recently developed asthma, and we didn’t want to stress him out. We even developed a “safe zone” plan for Mario in case he felt like he needed to run and hide, and I promised that I would make sure that Ferdinand didn’t chase Mario or bother him or provoke anything. Ferdinand would at all times be supervised, behind a gate, or on a lap.
I offer this as way of explanation for the following video:
