At Ten Mile Lake, Minnesota

It's a lazy overcast day on Ten Mile Lake today. When I write 'lazy' I mean it. I've gone back in the archives to bring out a column I wrote thirteen months ago. I may do it again before the week's over and the kids have returned to their respective homes.

Minnesota in June: It Ain't Good
June is not the month to stay at our lake cabin. We've had this place for going on seventeen years and Lizzie and I have professed, "Let's not go to the lake until July 1". I heard a meteorologist from the area say that northern Minnesota is located where cooler air meets warmer air. This translates to tornadoes, high winds, hail, and enough rain to fill the hull of our largest aircraft carrier. Yesterday was no exception. Three poor souls in Wadena, thirty or so miles west of us, met their demise in a tornado. There were a line of tornadoes down to the Iowa border and this is a 300 mile swath. There were 32 tornadoes in Minnesota on this day.
It rained yesterday; all day. No, it did more than rain. It came down so hard I couldn't see the lake which is 60 feet in front of the cabin. There's only one thing to be done and that's to wait it out. It reminded me of the book and movie, "A Perfect Storm".
Today it is sunny with winds blowing at forty miles an hour. Even so, I promised my neighbor I'd mow his yard. It, too, is more than a yard. It's a pasture. I had just started mowing when I noticed the wave runner in the back yard was gone. That's weird, I thought. It was here yesterday. Then I looked out front at his dock. The second wave runner was missing. "Oh-oh". I ran back to the house, looked up the local sheriff's phone number, then tried to get in touch with my neighbor who lives in Minneapolis. I couldn't contact him by phone so I emailed. I'd done my duty until he contacted me. I headed back to continue mowing. I'd made one long cut and saw a wave of mammoth size pick up his pontoon boat and ripped it off the lift. Faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive I dove for a rope attached to the boat and got it tied down before it blew away to Ethopia or some point further east. After congratulating myself on being so wonderful, another neighbor from the other side of the lot came running down. "Too late", I said. "Every thing's under control". I then made a comment about the wave runners and this guy told me, "Yeah, I thought it was strange that a truck pulled up here at 12:30 am this morning. Our cabins are located on a gravel road three miles from the main highway. A truck coming in at 12:30 has to have a good reason and, to me, that spells t-h-e-f-t!
I ran back to my place and finally got a hold of the neighbor. I explained about the pontoon. Did I mention that his boat lift was destroyed? It was.
Interestingly, he said that the wave runners were being serviced. Only in Minnesota do skee-do guys pick up equipment in the wee hours of the morning. I think that's when the bars close.
Okay, I'd done my duty and finished mowing the yard so my neighbor can plant his soybeans and corn. It seems that expansive.
After putting the mower in the garage I meandered to the front yard. Something on the dock looked out of kilter. Upon close inspection I could see that the younger sister of Katrina had blown two sections of my dock into the water. A few boards were found on shore. Maybe when the wind stops I'll find the rest. Oh well, what's another $200.
I have a friend who says, "anyone who owns their own lake home deserves it. Touche!