It is tragically cold in Northern Wisconsin today. Not only in temperature, but also in the Ashlanders demeanor. When I woke this morning for work I expected a moderate temp. today 26 degrees on the thermometer. The thing about the Midwest in general is that weather can change with a strong gust of wind, and with that gust today schools were even closed.
The dreaded seasonal depression has come over this homestead. Bickering is frequent, anger is steady and plentiful and crying is a common past time. When I am feeling dramatic, like I am now I tend to try and be poetic and deep but I always seems to come out short. Its like the wind chill is stifling my creativity and wit.
Still, observations are occurring...
This past weekend I had the unfortunate duty of traveling to Mellen and Glidden for a pet vaccination clinic. It is strange that I thought the people in Ashland were interesting in an unfortunate way. The people in these two small towns should be studied. I do realize the intense cruelty in that statement and I don't mean it in the harsh way that it sounds. I just mean they are a different breed there.
I think everyone had one of 3 last names, they all had dental issues and they all smelled like ashtrays. There are simple reasons for this like in any small town. When you're born in a small town chances are you will stay there and marry a distant cousin. There isn't any money in farming or being a gas station attendant so dental work is out, and as for the smoking...there isn't much else to do.
Going to these towns has helped me realize that at least Ashland has restaurants and a crappy movie theater. I have options for an outlet to boredom. Again I feel I need to justify the self-righteousness, but maybe I should just own up to the fact that I judged almost all of these people because of where they come from...I am not going to have good karma tomorrow.
Maybe I will have ideas how I can give myself good ju-ju next time, until then, be glad you're not in Ashland.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, December 24, 2007
Northern Wisconsin...meh
Here is my story...briefly because my hands are very cold.
I was born in Saint Paul, MN and I had an average childhood. I had all the same awkward phases, strange friends, alcoholic parents and youthful humiliations as everyone else. Being that I grew up in the Twin Cities I developed a strong bit of hometown pride that is dripping in pretension. You see, because I am from the cities I get to look down at all the little people from little towns all around the mid-west. The little people I judge the most are the rural Wisconsin natives. Minnesota is far superior than Wisconsin in the first place, but being from the cities, well lets just say my pedestal is a tall one.
So anyway, I went to college (a traditional middle class white girl thing to do). I attended the University of Minnesota and majored in Studies in Cinema and Media Culture with a minor in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature. The classes I took helped to make me profoundly aware of our American Culture though I have struggled to put it on paper. So the intention of this blog is to find an appropriate venue to air my grievances and primarily observe from my tall tall pedestal.
Now here is the clincher: I currently reside in rural Wisconsin. I know, seems like a strange place for a pretentious Midwestern urbanite to end up just after college, but the reasons will be explained in detail at a later date. I intend to put all of my observations in this blog to develop my thoughts on the Wisconsin:Minnesota paradigm and try and find some sort of formula or conclusion to why I am so miserable in a place not all that far from my blessed home city.
I ask of you, dear reader, to try and make sense o it all for me, and explain. Seriously, I cannot do this alone, I need your input. But, because this was an introduction and my hands are failing to type due to the temperature of my fingers I will give my initial thoughts on Northern Wisconsin at a later date, when my wit is sharp and my hands are nice and warm.
Thank You.
I was born in Saint Paul, MN and I had an average childhood. I had all the same awkward phases, strange friends, alcoholic parents and youthful humiliations as everyone else. Being that I grew up in the Twin Cities I developed a strong bit of hometown pride that is dripping in pretension. You see, because I am from the cities I get to look down at all the little people from little towns all around the mid-west. The little people I judge the most are the rural Wisconsin natives. Minnesota is far superior than Wisconsin in the first place, but being from the cities, well lets just say my pedestal is a tall one.
So anyway, I went to college (a traditional middle class white girl thing to do). I attended the University of Minnesota and majored in Studies in Cinema and Media Culture with a minor in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature. The classes I took helped to make me profoundly aware of our American Culture though I have struggled to put it on paper. So the intention of this blog is to find an appropriate venue to air my grievances and primarily observe from my tall tall pedestal.
Now here is the clincher: I currently reside in rural Wisconsin. I know, seems like a strange place for a pretentious Midwestern urbanite to end up just after college, but the reasons will be explained in detail at a later date. I intend to put all of my observations in this blog to develop my thoughts on the Wisconsin:Minnesota paradigm and try and find some sort of formula or conclusion to why I am so miserable in a place not all that far from my blessed home city.
I ask of you, dear reader, to try and make sense o it all for me, and explain. Seriously, I cannot do this alone, I need your input. But, because this was an introduction and my hands are failing to type due to the temperature of my fingers I will give my initial thoughts on Northern Wisconsin at a later date, when my wit is sharp and my hands are nice and warm.
Thank You.
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