John Stennes, or Catfish as I'm known to call him, took this pic of my parents' Wobegon home in the country last week. It's been my home for the last 5 months.
I call it Wobegon, but Wobegon never really existed. It was created by Garrison Keillor, who has a house just up the road. The Magic Realism of this place is what I love about it. It is real to me, and it is magic, too. Charlie's Cafe in Freeport. Jordies Cafe in Bowlus. Dahlin's Market in Avon. The Local Blend & Cedar Street Salon & Spa in St. Joe. Karen's incredible massages in Albany. And, of course, Saint John's University, where I swim, work, walk, meditate and SUP like a Wobegon Jedi & even maybe some strange form of AquaMonk.
I didn't grow up in this house. I grew up in an old run down farmhouse between St. Joe and Westwood Elementary. A Tom Waits song-of-a-place. Rattling tin, thousands of pigeons, ghosts, raccoon tails, cold wood floors, a sweat lodge and a battered bar piano. Since 2006, this pic represents my Minnesota home base. How grateful am I that my family lets me come & stay here.
Honestly, I'm not much of a Minnesotan anymore. I can't stand the cold and the snow. 24 years living on the West Coast did that. It's Summers here that I love. In fact, I have a rule that I don't want to live anywhere that gets below my age in Fahrenheit. And it's been dropping below 44 degrees quite often here lately. So, it's time to head South.
I'm headed to New Orleans with Marcy on Saturday for a wedding, soft shell crab, oysters on the half shell, beignets & coffee, and music everywhere. To visit my dear friend Dawn who rescued me bleeding and beaten after I'd been jumped by 4 men on Webster Street in San Francisco so long ago. And for Halloween. Halloween in NOLA.
Then back to the Mayan Riviera a day before this strange U.S. election. Before Thunderdome as I often joke. To visit my snake friends, my turtle friends, and my human friends, get back in the soothing waters of El Caribe, taste the spice of salbute salsa and watch the hips shake of beautiful people on smooth sandy beaches.
I love my family hugely. So, thanks Mom & Dad for letting this kid of yours come and hang with you, sit in the Solarium and walk through the woods. This is a magic place and I look forward to being here again soon. And thanks, Catfish, for all the beautiful imagery in your photos. What a magic world.