There are people, mostly in the upper regions, who get their jollies out of winter, especially when the snow arrives. They'll crank up the snowmobiles, break out the fishing shed or take a walk in below zero weather with pellets of frozen water slapping them in the face. As for MJH I grab a blanket, lie on the couch and watch the Hallmark Movie Channel hoping to see Lacey Chabert do her thing.
I'm most familiar with Minnesoatans in this regard but growing up in Iowa this kind of weather isn't foreign to me either.
When I was a kid up to age eighteen and living in Boone, Iowa(smack dab in the center of the State) I endured horrendous winter storms. It doesn't seem like Old Man Winter is as severe as it once was. But, then again, for the past thirty years(has it actually been that long?) we've resided in Central Ohio. The weather people here will state: Massive Snowstorm Warning. When I was in Iowa this meant to batten down the hatches. In Dublin, Ohio we received 4" of powder overnight. In the Columbus area this is considered massive. If schools were open for business they wouldn't be.
One of our garage door rollers came out of its track this morning so we called Overhead Door to fix it. So, strolling up the sidewalk is a guy who looks like a Yeti and dressed like ISIS. Can you guess what comes next? "Cold enough for ya'.". The temperature is 34. In Iowa girls would be wearing bikinis in this kind weather. Guys would be at the beach. What a bunch of wuusses. But that's Central Ohio.
I truly believe growing up in the Upper Midwest makes men men and women women. Ma Kettle grew up in the Upper Midwest. Pa Kettle must have grown up in Ohio.
You might not believe this but around 1964, when I was senior in high school, buses picked up kids who lived in the country on the farm. Everyone else walked to school. The sissies had their parents drive them. Boone, Iowa, in 1964, had 12,600 people. The City Fathers aren't all that progressive because the population in 2020 is---------------------12,600. Even so we enjoyed the community and there were plenty of wintertime diversions to make our lives better.
One of these at the south end of town where McHose Park is located. The park itself is quite expansive and it is home to a couple of ball diamonds, a swimming pool, and numerous picnic areas for family enjoyment. There's a huge statue of Teddy Roosevelt at the entrance to McHose. His head is turned to the left as if he's looking at I don't know what. TR stopped in Boone in the early 20th C. on a campaign swing and since not many folks of fame made it to our fair community I suspect the city fathers wanted to make a statement.
Anyway, as one enters the park and keeps on going straight down a hill you'll see a brick building. In front of it were a number of streams and this area became a boyfriend/girlfriend meeting place. It was in the winter after the creeks had frozen a wonderful skating area. It is also the city sewerage system waters. A lot of kids refererred to the water flowing throught it as 'rubber river'. I may be incorrect but I do believe the creek was referred to as Honey Creek and not because it smelled Chanel #5.
Regardless, as young kids are wont to do the skating area became a wonderful hook-up area. Oh, those were the days.
Someday, I'll have fill you in on the highlights of growing up in this particular community. I would be willing to wager(Iowa phrase coming up) 'a dollar to a doughnut' you city folk never experieced the joy of small town living. I'm also willing to admit there are thousands of other towns in this country, communities the size of Boone, that many people can happily relate.
I've been perusing the internet looking for places to relocate. It's a frequent activity of mine for two reasons: (1) I don't want to die in Ohio and (2) I want to die in a small community in the Midwest much like the one in which I grew up. We live in an area of 1.6 million souls. I cringe when I think about getting in my car to run errands. It doesn't seem right that I'll drive 3 blocks and get a stop light; drive another 3 blocks and stop at another light and on and on and on just to get to the hardware store. I want to live in a town where I can walk to the store, a place where I don't have to worry about getting m which is four miles away. Most of you have never heard of Spencer, Iowa. It's in the very northwest of the state and a few miles south of Lake Okoboji and Spirit Lake. I'd move there in a heart beat. Any commuity under 20,000 souls is my ideal
If I can get the Queen to jump on board we'll be on our way back to the Central Time Zone and soon. It's God's country.
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