After a quick stop for some good coffee, where I nonchalantly swiped the tips jar off the counter, mistaking it for my change (cue further hilarity), we visited the 1968 exhibition at the Minnesota History Centre, underpinning the purpose of my round-the-world trip. Incredible to see this fascinating, illustrated timeline of 1968 and realise how many momentous events occurred the year of the London to Sydney Marathon - see for yourself www.the1968exhibit.org
One of the things I love about this city is the extraordinary architecture of some of the houses - driving down Summit Avenue I rubber-neck at the spectacular display of Victorian-era gingerbread gothic. Past Garrison Keillor's house, on into Dinkytown (no, really!) and a quick stop at a wine and cheese emporium where I pick up a bottle of Irish Whisky to send to Sid (to replace the one confiscated at La Guardia) and we're home. It's a joy to see their house again, beautifully ‘re-modelled’ since my last visit) and an even bigger joy to meet their children, who seem to have inherited their parents' wry sense of humour, not to mention damn good looks. Minneapolis is cold and frozen but not severely so and I'm relieved that my choice of winter jacket will serve just fine.
In honour of my visit, Bonnie makes a fabulous German dinner, and I sit and chat as a menu of Schinken, Kartoffelnsalat, Rote Beete Salat, Spätzle and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte materialises before my eyes. Friends have been invited over for the dinner so pretty soon we all sit down to the feast, and I am quickly aware of the dramatic arc along which I have journeyed these past few days in the US. After my immersion into the intensity of right wing politics during my visit to Maryland, I am witness to the passionate liberalism of these lovely people... around the table are a gay male couple who in recent times legally adopted a twenty one year old man who after a lifetime in the foster care system was struggling with the resultant damage and vulnerability such a childhood and adolescence has caused, and a woman who works for corporate structures, advising them on promoting and safeguarding diversity in the corporate environment. Sitting and listening to these intelligent and articulate people talk about the need for improved and subsidised healthcare, and how contemporary corporate society has built itself on the politics of 'extraction' (money, human and physical resources) but to what end, I am struck by how my own cynicism, which has reached an advanced state, has bred apathy, and I know I will come away questioning my own set of values - what do I really believe/believe in?
Downton Abbey! I am sitting with a group of folks who are fanatical, and as the ninety minute Christmas episode which brings Season 2 to a close is showing on tv, we all retire to sit and watch. Astonishment ensues as I confess I've never watched it, and I sit and enjoy their reactions, gasping and cheering as story lines and plots are concluded and resolved, trying to keep my own mischievous comments to a minimum! It's embarrassing to sit and repeatedly nod off in polite company however, so as the credits roll, I strongly encourage all to watch the hilarious Comic Relief 'piss take' Upton Downstairs Abbey on Youtube, before retiring to bed - jet lag really does mess up one's sleep cycles!
A footnote - I received an email from one of Sid's friends who I met in Maryland. My eyes were smarting as I read her declaration that my visit had had a profoundly restorative effect on her old friend, and how grateful she was for this. I realise for the umpteenth time in my life that always, behind beliefs and sets of personal values, whether agreeable or unfathomable, there lies an individual, a person like any other. It was a privilege to meet this 75 year old, die hard conservative gun fanatic, and I would return for another visit in a flash.
All too soon my Minnesotan sojourn will come to an end... next stop, California!
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