I'm in Minneapolis again.

And it's cold again, but - again - nobody here seems to notice. The thermostat reported -5 degrees this morning; a temperature that would keep thinking peoples of just about any other city indoors counting their foodstuffs. Minnesotans, however, looked at that same weather report and decided that today's conditions were perfect for biking to work. Seriously. From the window seat of today's coffee shop I count no fewer than FOUR bicycles shoved in to a nearby snowbank that riders are using like a big squishy bike rack. And this is a COFFEE SHOP. There is no rational reason to bike to a coffee shop in weather that wunderground.com warns 'will feel like 9 below' and the US Weather Service advises you stay away from altogether. Coffee is simply not reward enough for braving this kind of cold. It's like swimming the english channel for a hug.

That said, Minneapolis is still fabulous. 72 hours ago, when the weather was unseasonably warm and friendly, Meg, Becca, Sam, Tracy and I all skied the Luminary Loppet; a lantern-lit loop around two downtown lakes that attracted - roughly - half the city. I've never seen so many people outdoors happily doing the same thing. By 6:30, there was a steady parade of cheerful Minnesotans sliding along, all laughing and whooping and generally enjoying a good bit of evening exercise with their friends. Along the track were hot cocoa stops, cookie stops, fire dancers, a photo-op area and the exotic looking ICECROPOLIS that I didn't stand in the 100+ person line for, but appeared to consist of even more candle-lit magic on one of the lake's islands.

But now it's cold again and I arrived here with a jacket of the sort you might use to fend off the evening chill ... in June. So when I was returning my skis to the sports store last night, I lingered near the sale rack and (as my fingers began functioning again after the hellishly cold 10 second sprint across the parking lot) picked out a coat to try on. It fit! I made my way towards the big mirror on the wall to check myself out, but was intercepted half way by one of the coat-section saleswomen. She looked to be about my mother's age, with thin reading glasses and one of those seasonal sweaters that has patterning around the neck. The store was closing (the lights were already off in the back) and, assuming she was about to tell me as much, I moved to put the coat back. Not so fast. "Why, that looks just fabulous!" she marveled, clasping her hands together and beaming rather intently at my left elbow. "Just fabulous. It really does suit you." I hesitated. "Are you closing?" I asked, glancing at the cashier, who appeared to be counting receipts. "Oh heavens no, they'll be alright, we never shut on time anyhow. Now, we've got some other colors here, would you like to give those a try too?"

Yup. Minnesota nice trumps Minnesota ice. It's good to be back.

Comments

Aerdna
This almost makes me miss the cold. Almost. But I do miss Minnesota. Had you written an entry about Jersey, however...