A suburbanite responds ---
MY DEMOGRAPHICS: I was born in Mpls and lived there for 27 years. I moved
east only to greatly shorten my commuting distance. Now, many years later, I
am in Mpls 4-5 days a week to enjoy the great culture, intellectual
discussions (but omit the STRIB here) and my grandkids.
MY ANECDOTES: Seems like this is an issue for anecdotes. Here's mine.
1. my 3M secretary was incredibly impressed to hear about my many bold
ventures into the dangerous wilderness of the Mpls Warehouse District. She
lives in White Bear Lake and said she wouldn't go into downtown Mpls, even in
the daytime. That's OK -- I'm not very comfortable in White Bear Lake in
the daytime, either.
2. my only negative Mpls experience: Our cars were broken into three times
in less than a year while we were attending a stage show, rockin' at the Fine
Line and hanging out at Twin City Billiards. My greatest loss? My 25-year
old bowling ball engraved "BOB". Now my "old BOB" was more of a friend than
just a big, hard ball.. A real straight shooter, he refused to be swayed by
political suggestions like "BOB - go Left!" or "BOB - go Right". Right down
the middle, but he just couldn't seem to score. The story of my life.
3. contrary to some of the condescending comments here about diversity, I
enjoy diversity. It's everywhere; it's just a fact of life. I recall riding
an escalator in downtown Mpls while "resting my eyes", and being grabbed by a
young black man. He explained, when I "unrested my eyes" with a startled
jump, that he just didn't want me to fall at the end of the escalator. He
used the word "HONK-Y" and I thanked him for helping me. Being from
suburbia, I of course did not know what "HONK-Y" meant. I was quite
disappointed when my wife explained to me that being "HONK-Y" had absolutely
nothing to do with being "HORN-Y".
Smile if you must -- and maybe I'll see you sometime at the Fine Line. And
if you happen to have acquired my "Old BOB", please take good care of him.
Like all of us oldsters, he just needs some TLC.
Bob Schoonover
Afton MN
