True to its slogan, March “came in like a lion.” Hopefully it will fulfill the rest of its slogan, “out like a lamb.”
With winter well over half gone and now daylight savings time, maybe those of you with cabin fever (better known as “wimps”) will once again be part of the “Minnesota Nice” population.
When you’re dealt a lemon, you make lemonade. When a “non-wimp” Minnesotan is dealt lots of snow and cold weather, they take advantage of it.
For example, a fifty-foot-tall snowman was built near Gilman, Minn. The nose was a fifty-five gallon drum. This snowman was shown on all the TV news networks plus many of the morning TV shows.
Gilman is a small town just west of Milaca, Minn., about the size of Hartland. It is like so many other great small towns – you have to have a reason to go there to find it.
Another example is the ice fishing contest on Gull Lake by Brainerd, Minn. The attendance was 10,000 – all “non-wimps.” Of course, this event was on national TV.
Just before you got to Gull Lake along Highway 371 was a handmade sign about 4’ x 6’ stuck in a snow bank reading “Girl Scout Cookies for sale.” The Girl Scouts sold cookies right at the scene during daylight hours. (One Scout remarked that tips were very good!)
Another example was students from a northern Minnesota high school taking fish houses of the lake to the tune of $10.00 per hour – no guarantee as to the condition of the fish house when they brought it to shore. They used John Deere power, muscle power, brain power, and feminine power to exceed their goal of $10,000 and no broken bones.
Another example was the four young girls and four young guys in this area in two minivans. The girls would drive by your house and decide if you needed snow removed from your roof and how much the charge would be to remove about three feet back from the roof overhang. If you agreed, they collected cash and the guys would remove it. I agreed, they collected fifty dollars, and the guys removed the snow. When the guys jumped into a snow bank upon finishing, I asked what they were going to do with the money. In unison they replied, “Prom, man!”
My definition of a “wimp” is a Minnesotan who stays in Minnesota all winter and moans about it. A Minnesotan who goes south for the winter is not a wimp. That person is one sharp Minnesotan. I am neither a wimp nor a sharp Minnesotan.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.