My freshman year at Cornell College, my roommate was from International Falls. She had the Minnesota accent. The fair skin and gorgeous blue eyes. The Scandinavian ancestors. And a plug-in hanging out the front of Ducky (her car). I wasn't familiar with having to plug your car in so it’d start. Iowa’s cold but apparently not THAT cold.
One block break (it’s a Cornell thing – send your kids there. I promise they’ll thank me for it), Kim and I ventured north to visit her family. When we left Mount Vernon, it was warm. Shorts and t-shirts warm. When we arrived at her parent’s home? Not so much. I don’t remember the exact temperature difference anymore. College was a few years ago. Like 5. Or maybe 10. Ahem…. So I’ll just say it was 30 to 40 degrees variant from mid-Iowa to northern Minnesota. It was like entering a new world without getting a passport stamped.
We are shut in today (it’s a cold day, not a snow day for Aria’s school). I was thinking of the hearty and gorgeous souls who live up at the tip top of the continental US and who touched my life so profoundly in such a short period of time.
This song is only appropriate.
A cold day today (and tomorrow) for us as well.
ReplyDeleteAnother version of "Life in a Northern Town" http://vimeo.com/5419532
This and their version of Matt Nathanson's "Run" (with Matt) are honestly my favorite tracks from that album. A new take on a nostalgic favorite is like coming home via a different route -- familiar yet surprising and fresh.
Thanks! I'll check that out. Love the analogy. The first time I heard Jeffrey Gaines's version of In Your Eyes I was almost affronted. Then I listened again. And you are right - it brings you home via new scenery. xo to you.
Delete