You may be from Minnesota if...
• You enjoy lakes as much in winter as in summer, maybe more because it’s mostly local traffic.
• You will pay cold cash to jump in an ice-covered lake for charity.
• You know which way your cap is worn. Everyone knows what name is on the bill and you know enough to remove that cap with respect when the occasion calls for it.
• You still have a telephone book directory and you can take your pick of a dozen people all with the same name. Most of those last names end in "son."
• You can go to a class reunion and remember not only who was in your class but the ones before and after as well.
• You know what FFA and 4-H mean.
• You dress up at night like somebody else between Christmas and New Year’s and scare the pajamas off your neighbor. It's call "yuleboking."
• You thought it was cool to shiveree a newly married couple.
• You had snowmobile parties in the middle of a snowbank at 35 degrees below zero.
• Jeans were work clothes that became famous for their style and brand.
• People smile when they see you if they know you or not.
• A night out is the weekly bingo game night.
• Kids have play equipment made from scraps and tire swings, stilts, roll the hoop, and use a tractor tire for a sandbox.
• You speak with a Norwegian accent.
• Friends call you by a nickname given to you when you were a kid.
• Most people realize you're from out of state when you wear your pants at "half mast."
• You buy magazines for their diet tips with back-to-back recipes that contain over 1,000 calories.
• You know Hannah’s boyfriend took her to the prom in his new John Deere.
• Farmers follow the stock market.
• It's all human nature: everybody has confirmation and graduation parties.
• Lutefisk is considered better than caviar because caviar is a little fishy.
• A good lefse maker is worth her weight in gold.
• You know what "klub" is.
• It is more important to grow horseradish than petunias.
• Shopping at the Mall of America is a class act.
• Enterprising businessmen challenged the weather by building the first mall.
• The county hasn't plowed the roads, so you use your farm equipment to open them up, then go to town.
• You know someone forever and maybe never knew his last name.
• An old car is worth more than a new one.
• You still call them your kids when they are over 60 years old.
• Bald is a status symbol and a labor saver.
• Health nuts park close to the "Y" so they will save energy for their workouts.
• Breakfast in bed consists of a sweet roll.
• People fertilize their lawns so they have more grass to mow.
• You take your shoes off at the door so you don't spread bacteria.
• You still think your kids believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
• Driving a pickup is like wearing a badge of honor.
• A $60,000 car isn't nearly as impressive as a $350,000 combine.
• It's the place where semis are as plentiful in a corn or bean field as an Interstate highway. Farmers are apt to have several.
• People are friendly. They wave whether they know you or not. Animal lovers even wave at the dogs or cats or other creatures along the roads.
• People pick weeds instead of using live flowers to make artistic bouquets more expensive looking.
• Your favorite foods are meat and potatoes.
• Nobody asks what you mean by "opener" when it is spring or fall.
• You don't like the smell of things when you're in the minority. To the Minnesota farmer, it smells like money.
• When it snows it’s called a flurry not a blizzard, and people flock to town for a supply of food just in case.
• Many an old-timer never saw the inside of a college until his grandchildren graduated. But never underestimate his knowledge. It can put many an expert in the engineering or medical school to shame.
• You hear more fan participation and cheering at a local high school or community college than you will at a professional game because the fans are neighbors and have known the athletes their entire lives.
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Birthdays and anniversaries:
• Thursday, March 15th: Angie Haberman Lyman, Marvel Beiser, Andy Ditlevson, Robin Jepson, Judy Lunning, Tim Phagan, Steve Clausen, Tony Motl, Julie Peterson, Don & Cindy Gould.
• Friday, March 16th: Ava Pospesel, Blair Pospesel, Al Batt, Cortnee Langlie, Judy Waage, Tyler Lewis Hagenbrock, Jackson Taylor William Churchill, Harold & Pat Wayne, Hugh & Karen O'Byrne.
• Saturday, March 17th: St. Patricks' Day, Ashley Marie Hagen, Shannon Weckwerth Pacholl, Mike Cady, Dakota Ray Janning, Nicole Hanna, Patrick Wobschall, Harvey Zicafoose, Mandy Galbraith, Joel Hill, Jenifer Jensen Pietari, Carol Scott, Kevin & Marsha Jensen.
• Sunday, March 18th: Ashley Marie Hagen, Lynn Sommer Eaton, Chad Cornelius, Randy Brandt, Michelle Bartness, Dan Enzenauer, Matthew Larson, Wanda Stanley, Kent Toft, Matt & Jennifer Van Hal, Dean & Sue Westrum.
• Monday, March 19th: Samuel Bartness, his 1st; LaVern Klocek, Jill Rye, Jill Neitzell, Tyler Crabtree, Bethany Butler, Tori Lynn Sage, Wyatt Marcus Westergrin.
• Tuesday, March 20th: Jayda Moon, Tricia Renae Hanson, Nicole Christensen, Neva Lembke, Gary Reichl, Jim Butler, Tammy Harpel Nielsen, Winfred Bergdale, Shelly Hoeve, Billy Jo Johnson Schwierjohann, Dennis Olson.
• Wednesday, March 21st: Amy Foster, John Krell, Doris Krause, Trent Steven Pence, Kelly Marie Dobberstein, Phillip Ingvaldson, Pam Farr, Kent Paulson, Diane Marlin, Kelly Nelson, Glea Hyland, Doris Krause, Brody Grunwald, Darrell & Cindy Farr.
• Thursday, March 22nd: National Goof Off Day! Gordy Carroll, Brenna Lynn Hagen, Shannon Johnson, Karin Lieberg, Bob Sommers, Leah Elaine Bergerson, Jerry Peterson, Nancy & Jerry Walterman, Dennis & Glenda Blouin.a
Surprise somebody. Call someone. Send a card and make their day. Little things mean a lot.
