Scandis holding Minneapolis together [John F Not Kerry]

Shocking people, those Scandis. As many of you know, Minnesota is full of them. In fact, I never saw as many natural blondes as when I moved there from central NY after college. Now, we all know how responsible they are for all the world's ills, even if the MSM will never acknowledge it.

That being said, I am truly amazed at how the Twin Cities area has held together in the aftermath of the bridge collapse. It may be that because the death toll was so much lower than it could have been (probably about 20 when all is said and done), or because it wasn't something that could have been prevented, given what the inspection reports, as recent as this May, had said.

There is a stoicism here, a marked lack of panic. It doesn't always help when you are trying to get to know someone, but it is highly useful in the face of adversity. Minnesotans are generally okay with a little publicity, but not much more. When the media has moved on from this story, they will go on with their lives, adapting to the situation on the ground like ants marching around your foot.

Another thing about Minnesota that many people don't know is that the state is like one big town. Here in the Twin Cities, we hear about events in far-flung corners of the state as if we are dealing with them ourselves. Over the 17 plus years that I have lived here, I have grown to appreciate that more and more.

This connectedness can especially be seen in the Minnesota State Fair, an event that draws people from all over the state (and other states) to St. Paul for about 2 weeks that end on Labor Day. It has food, rides, and animals, like you would expect. But what it really has is participation. Radio stations go all out and political parties pull out all the stops.

As I was growing up, I would see ads for the New York state fair (in Syracuse) on television, but the only people I ever knew who went there were the ones with prize-winning hogs or heifers. From what I could tell, there was nothing in it for me. When I watched the local news, that's all it was. No connections to other places.

What I'm saying is maybe you should take it easy on the Scandis, at least the ones who have assimilated to American life. Yeah, I know there are still some people named Sven and Ole and Lena about, but they're good people. But never trust the European Scandis. We all know where that leads.

posted by xgenghisx at 09:06 PM

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