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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
| I know I complain about the cold, snowy winters and the hot, humid summers, but it's one of the universal rights of all people to complain about the weather. But all complaining aside, I truly love northern Minnesota. I've lived in other places and, by my own choice, I moved back to Minnesota. But where did it all start? I was born in South Dakota, so by birth I'm a Sodak. Maybe you haven't heard that term; it comes from the old abbreviation for South Dakota, S Dak. I remember having a conversation with a person from Grand Forks, North Dakota, and he jokingly called me a Sodak. I laughed and replied, "Better to be a Sodak than a Nodak." I lived there through kindergarten then moved to Minnesota with my parents after my dad took a job working as a lineman for Minnesota Power. We first lived in a rented cabin in northern Minnesota on Swan Lake. Coming from Dakota, I was captivated by all the lakes and trees. A year later, my parents purchased a house in Nashwauk; a mining town on the Mesabi Iron Range. After high school, I moved to the Twin Cities and worked for a while in a machine shop. The cities were exciting, but too crowded for an introvert. I longed to be back north in the woods. So, I moved back close to the home I grew up in and took a job in a garage in Hibbing. I worked there until my delayed entry into the United States Air Force. I completed basic training in Lackland AFB, Texas, a big change for a northern boy. After basic training, I moved to Aurora AFB, Colorado, to complete my training as an Aircraft Weapons System Specialist. From there, I was transferred to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, where I put my training to use on B-52s older than I was. I also did a lot of traveling while in the service, enjoying the opportunities (most of the time) to see new places. After I left the service, I returned to northern Minnesota to be close to my family. I ended up divorced and raising three teenagers on my own, but stayed put so they could finish school in the same district they had always attended. It's also where I met my wife, who also had a couple of daughters attending the same school. After our children graduated, we traveled back to South Dakota to visit my younger brother and decided to stay. But, over the years and a few different jobs, we both missed Minnesota. In time, we decided it was time to return to Minnesota and ended up in St. Cloud. Actually, in Wait Park, which is right next to St. Cloud, a town that soon boasted one of the highest crime rates in the state. Then COVID-19 arrived, and things became even worse. We decided to get the hell out of Dodge. We still didn't know where we would move and kind of just left it to fate. We watched for places to rent in smaller towns and rural areas, but with the state in full lockdown, it was difficult to do much of anything. That is, until we found the listing for the house we live in now. My wife contacted the owner and asked if we could look at it right away, or if we had to wait until after the lockdown was lifted. He answered, "Screw the lockdown, I'm not worried if you're not." We drove for a couple of hours and met him and his wife at the house. After a nice tour and having a few questions answered, we decided we wanted to rent the place. I was eager to get moved since there had been some rioting close to where we lived in Wait Park, so I told him we'd take it. Of course, he wanted to check references first and told us he'd get in touch soon. He did get in touch soon, almost as soon as we had returned home. We started packing and moving the next day, happy to be far away from the riots and the crime. I was back in northern Minnesota, close to the lakes and trees I'd loved all my life. I live in the country, but only six miles from a fair-sized town and about forty miles from a few even bigger towns. We have six lakes within a ten-minute drive, two within walking distance, and two state parks within a forty-minute drive. This song, to me, explain why I love northern Minnesota: |
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