And the worst part about missing missing the MN blizzard is that you can't brag about it if you weren't there. Sure, you can still tell stories about your youth and going uphill both ways to and from the top of huge drifts and buckled-up for wicked temps. After all, if you werent there how would you know we were stretching the truth, Lord forbid! And Mr. Keillor would tell the truth, just as he did about wearing winter jacket in FL when the AC was on. That said, we here in MN will tolerate a truth-stretching as long as he does, and he knows because once he was here.
Pretty much fits with my Florida experience. As a kid in the 60's, I got to see the last of the last of the last of untamed Florida, the barrier islands absent rich peoples homes, when there were still a few docks in the small towns where the dwindling fishing fleets came in and you could buy fish off the dock... and now, it's something else. Kinda depressing, albeit in nice sunshine. BTW, been to Bemidji, stayed at Stump Lake, notable for its stumps and chain of lakes. Swimming in the lake, which is actually part of the Mississippi River (I guess) made me fantasize swimming down to New Orleans or thereabouts.
And, as an aside, this is sadly too true: "There is background music everywhere. Every lobby has a television on that nobody’s watching, music that nobody’s listening to, an environmental drug to keep people from thinking."
I believe you. Flirted with the idea of visiting FL all winter, but you helped me decide. I wish you had filed your report from somewhere in the Keys...
Cheesehead here who now lives in wild and wonderful Maryland, a state I highly recommend to all.
The thing I distinctly remember about my Wisconsin childhood is that my parents and other adults I knew never, ever mentioned the weather. Twenty degrees below 0 Fahrenheit? Well, it's winter. What would we expect? 3 feet of the white stuff on the ground? Yeah, that happens too. Time to walk to school. Have fun. Never a word. It was what it was - winter in Wisconsin.
Surely you are nowhere near DC or Baltimore with that "wild and wonderful" description of Maryland. I grew up outside of DC and longed to return for years but now I wouldn't get anywhere within 50 miles of it; wild yes, if you like to participate in snarling traffic, wonderful, not so much.
I live in SE MA, near RI, and we haven't had to shovel or use the snow blower yet this year. The two upcoming forecasts for storms are predicted to be all rain. We see a lot of FL license plates here during the summer.
We've lived in Florida for six years, down from northern Illinois. Your observations are spot-on. The sun bakes the brain. People no longer make sense. And though I no longer slip on ice, I quickly learned that the tile on our pool steps can be equally perilous. Suicide takes many forms. Wasting away due to inactivity is one of them.
Writing this from a Florida campground on an unspoiled barrier island. We missed 14" in central Wisconsin yesterday (or was it the day before? Time has gotten fuzzy...) Deeply embarrassed to have missed a soul-stretching storm. But not sorry.
One of those idiot radio talk show hosts, who lives in Tampa, said he cranks up the air conditioner so he can snuggle under his MyPillow blankets and robes.
It was reported that Richard Nixon would turn the AC down to make the White House living quarters cold, then make the fireplaces be all aflame for heat. Of course, what did he care about energy conservation? Taxpayers pay the bills, just like taxpayers pay for medical care and retirement and other expenses for the same "lawmakers" Mr. Keillor thinks are right about Social Security and Medicare.
It's the new American ethos apparently: I deserve your support, but you? No, for you it's a dog-eat-dog world ànd you? Well, tough luck. One suspects Mr Keillor has ample resources for anything he wants or needs and many of us donated for years, and still do, to NPR and PBS and bought his books and other materials, and now it seems that much of his "fan base" are IN the Social Security and Medicare demographic. The increasingly accepted societal attacks on America's most vulnerable population - "seniors" or the old or elders - are dangerous, cruel and inhumane, but that attitude of cruelty is rampant. Old folks would be herded onto the ice floes except humankind are destroying those at a rapid pace too.
Sticks and stones, your opinion, sir. My opinion is that hypocrisy, particularly from an influential voice - however much it is characterized as humor - is still just hypocrisy, and in some applications, is harmful. These days, such content directed at a segment of the population that is rapidly being inched closer and closer to the center of American society's crossbars is harmful. The luxury of a wealthy person going on vacation to Florida and essentially saying the elderly residents are indolent and thus unworthy of their earned retirement savings.....? Really?
Well, we all know that humor is a very individual matter of taste. I happen to enjoy Seth Meyer's political satire, but dislike his persistent age-ism and mockery of Biden stumbling on airplane steps.
I've heard tell that when older folks are quizzed as to their pet peeves and such, many tend to say 'ageism.' That seems pretty natural. Hoping for a two-paragraph rebuttal.
Geoff, I have no idea how old one must be to become so easily put off by their own outlook on life. Perhaps it has nothing to do with age...maybe their up-bringing, or loss of a spouse. My reply to Annie cross was meant in jest but it just struck me that her point of view was very different from mine. Probably because I have always enjoyed GK from the PHC and several of his books over many years. To each his/her own, I guess.
No rebuttal. No ongoing interest in "debating" the subject. As Mr. Tascott says, "to each his/her own." I can imagine that "oldsters" will rue the day that they didn't stand up to the malevolent side of age-ism, but they probably won't be around to hold such regrets. That is what the "age-ists" are banking on, no doubt.
And one more thing: I wish there were a way to edit comments because "auto-correct" or whatever it is makes changes without consulting the writer! When my comment showed "crossbars," it should have shown "crosshairs."
I don't agree with the Republicans who wanted to cut SS and Medicare (but then changed their minds when they saw how unpopular this would be). I only wish that public education were as politically sacrosanct as SS and Medicare. I see schools cutting back on special ed, music and the arts, and I feel bad about that. I think other seniors do too. I don't want the great-grandkids cheated in order to pay for my knee replacement. My knee is not as important as the children's minds.
The Republicans (and some like-minded Democrats over the years) have had Social Security and Medicare in their cross-hairs for generations; they may have backed off their public pronouncements for now, as they have done in the past, but they have shown they will never let go until they have done away with those two programs (and Medicaid as well).
As for funding public education, you are absolutely correct, but it shouldn't be an either-or decision: either we fund public education or we fund other needed and important programs.
America can do many great things, including funding social programs, public education and infrastructure, for starters, but the key word is "funding" and as long as "our" government is funding billionaires (and even trillionaires) at the expense of everybody and everything else, the plutocracy is in full swing. Your knee, my knee, your great aunt-Tillie's knee are important, as are the children's minds you speak of. It's a false dichotomy you've introduced and does no good for the children's minds or the knees of other citizens.
Joking about cutting back on Social Security and Medicare isn’t funny. America is full of elderly folks who are one step from homelessness. You want to push them out onto the sidewalk to live in cardboard boxes? Even if the weather is nice that’s not good. Or funny.
JoeBob, thank you! Joking about cutting back on Social Security and Medicare IS NOT FUNNY IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.! Many in Florida, as well as all states depend on both, I know I do. I used to dream about moving back to Florida, but not now, not ever. No place is perfect. But any state where seniors are set aside as free-loaders is so miss leading, we don't live off the wealthy, they actually depend on us - we are the ones who provide their wealth.
Speaking for my self only, I find this article cute, but cute doesn't pay bills. Good humor is something we all need, but not at the expense of others.
Mr. Keillor, I know you no doubt meant nothing by what you wrote, however to those of us who depend on what we earned, it stings. Anyone, politician or just idle conversation about such a touchy subject haunts old minds, or those younger whose lives depends on what little they receive. I'm three years older than you! Without what I have now (my income has NOT changed since 2007) I'd be living on the streets because my car would have been sold long ago. Your grateful for your 'new life,' I'm grateful for my old one such as it is, it's mine, I earned it; my taxes are paying for someone behind me.
My husband and I aren't eligible for SS or Medicare because we worked for the state of MA for our whole careers, but most of our friends and relatives depend on them, so we care about them, and about all of the other seniors who rely on them. We never vote for Republicans - when I was a child in the 1950s my parents told me they were evil – they were right.
Excellent observations from a North Dakotan with a home in Fl.
And the worst part about missing missing the MN blizzard is that you can't brag about it if you weren't there. Sure, you can still tell stories about your youth and going uphill both ways to and from the top of huge drifts and buckled-up for wicked temps. After all, if you werent there how would you know we were stretching the truth, Lord forbid! And Mr. Keillor would tell the truth, just as he did about wearing winter jacket in FL when the AC was on. That said, we here in MN will tolerate a truth-stretching as long as he does, and he knows because once he was here.
Thanks so much to the responses to my response. It can help de-cobble the road to somewhere.
Pretty much fits with my Florida experience. As a kid in the 60's, I got to see the last of the last of the last of untamed Florida, the barrier islands absent rich peoples homes, when there were still a few docks in the small towns where the dwindling fishing fleets came in and you could buy fish off the dock... and now, it's something else. Kinda depressing, albeit in nice sunshine. BTW, been to Bemidji, stayed at Stump Lake, notable for its stumps and chain of lakes. Swimming in the lake, which is actually part of the Mississippi River (I guess) made me fantasize swimming down to New Orleans or thereabouts.
LOVE it.. :-)
And, as an aside, this is sadly too true: "There is background music everywhere. Every lobby has a television on that nobody’s watching, music that nobody’s listening to, an environmental drug to keep people from thinking."
I believe you. Flirted with the idea of visiting FL all winter, but you helped me decide. I wish you had filed your report from somewhere in the Keys...
Great slice of life in the northern climes. Makes you proud to freeze your fingers off shoveling. Who needs all those toes anyway?
I love this post! Something to offend everyone!
We are South at this time and have dubbed the northern storm back home as Schadenfreude Weather.
Cheesehead here who now lives in wild and wonderful Maryland, a state I highly recommend to all.
The thing I distinctly remember about my Wisconsin childhood is that my parents and other adults I knew never, ever mentioned the weather. Twenty degrees below 0 Fahrenheit? Well, it's winter. What would we expect? 3 feet of the white stuff on the ground? Yeah, that happens too. Time to walk to school. Have fun. Never a word. It was what it was - winter in Wisconsin.
Also winter in MN in the 40s and 50s.
...and in Michigan. Another part of God's country.
Surely you are nowhere near DC or Baltimore with that "wild and wonderful" description of Maryland. I grew up outside of DC and longed to return for years but now I wouldn't get anywhere within 50 miles of it; wild yes, if you like to participate in snarling traffic, wonderful, not so much.
yeah, I always loved that damn polaroid joke too, thanks
I’m a 76 year old woman stuck in Florida and thinking of starting a Go-Fund-Me to help me get back to RI.
I live in SE MA, near RI, and we haven't had to shovel or use the snow blower yet this year. The two upcoming forecasts for storms are predicted to be all rain. We see a lot of FL license plates here during the summer.
We've lived in Florida for six years, down from northern Illinois. Your observations are spot-on. The sun bakes the brain. People no longer make sense. And though I no longer slip on ice, I quickly learned that the tile on our pool steps can be equally perilous. Suicide takes many forms. Wasting away due to inactivity is one of them.
You do have a way with words, Mr. Keillor
Writing this from a Florida campground on an unspoiled barrier island. We missed 14" in central Wisconsin yesterday (or was it the day before? Time has gotten fuzzy...) Deeply embarrassed to have missed a soul-stretching storm. But not sorry.
Good observations about life in perpetual warm temps:
Vast amounts of electricity use could be saved if the South--and most cities in the country--would keep their AC temps in the low-mid 70's.
It's very expensive, and unnecessary to keep it at frigid temps.
One of those idiot radio talk show hosts, who lives in Tampa, said he cranks up the air conditioner so he can snuggle under his MyPillow blankets and robes.
It was reported that Richard Nixon would turn the AC down to make the White House living quarters cold, then make the fireplaces be all aflame for heat. Of course, what did he care about energy conservation? Taxpayers pay the bills, just like taxpayers pay for medical care and retirement and other expenses for the same "lawmakers" Mr. Keillor thinks are right about Social Security and Medicare.
It's the new American ethos apparently: I deserve your support, but you? No, for you it's a dog-eat-dog world ànd you? Well, tough luck. One suspects Mr Keillor has ample resources for anything he wants or needs and many of us donated for years, and still do, to NPR and PBS and bought his books and other materials, and now it seems that much of his "fan base" are IN the Social Security and Medicare demographic. The increasingly accepted societal attacks on America's most vulnerable population - "seniors" or the old or elders - are dangerous, cruel and inhumane, but that attitude of cruelty is rampant. Old folks would be herded onto the ice floes except humankind are destroying those at a rapid pace too.
sticks and stones, Annie...from a 76 year old.
Sticks and stones, your opinion, sir. My opinion is that hypocrisy, particularly from an influential voice - however much it is characterized as humor - is still just hypocrisy, and in some applications, is harmful. These days, such content directed at a segment of the population that is rapidly being inched closer and closer to the center of American society's crossbars is harmful. The luxury of a wealthy person going on vacation to Florida and essentially saying the elderly residents are indolent and thus unworthy of their earned retirement savings.....? Really?
Well, we all know that humor is a very individual matter of taste. I happen to enjoy Seth Meyer's political satire, but dislike his persistent age-ism and mockery of Biden stumbling on airplane steps.
I've heard tell that when older folks are quizzed as to their pet peeves and such, many tend to say 'ageism.' That seems pretty natural. Hoping for a two-paragraph rebuttal.
Geoff, I have no idea how old one must be to become so easily put off by their own outlook on life. Perhaps it has nothing to do with age...maybe their up-bringing, or loss of a spouse. My reply to Annie cross was meant in jest but it just struck me that her point of view was very different from mine. Probably because I have always enjoyed GK from the PHC and several of his books over many years. To each his/her own, I guess.
No rebuttal. No ongoing interest in "debating" the subject. As Mr. Tascott says, "to each his/her own." I can imagine that "oldsters" will rue the day that they didn't stand up to the malevolent side of age-ism, but they probably won't be around to hold such regrets. That is what the "age-ists" are banking on, no doubt.
And one more thing: I wish there were a way to edit comments because "auto-correct" or whatever it is makes changes without consulting the writer! When my comment showed "crossbars," it should have shown "crosshairs."
I don't agree with the Republicans who wanted to cut SS and Medicare (but then changed their minds when they saw how unpopular this would be). I only wish that public education were as politically sacrosanct as SS and Medicare. I see schools cutting back on special ed, music and the arts, and I feel bad about that. I think other seniors do too. I don't want the great-grandkids cheated in order to pay for my knee replacement. My knee is not as important as the children's minds.
The Republicans (and some like-minded Democrats over the years) have had Social Security and Medicare in their cross-hairs for generations; they may have backed off their public pronouncements for now, as they have done in the past, but they have shown they will never let go until they have done away with those two programs (and Medicaid as well).
As for funding public education, you are absolutely correct, but it shouldn't be an either-or decision: either we fund public education or we fund other needed and important programs.
America can do many great things, including funding social programs, public education and infrastructure, for starters, but the key word is "funding" and as long as "our" government is funding billionaires (and even trillionaires) at the expense of everybody and everything else, the plutocracy is in full swing. Your knee, my knee, your great aunt-Tillie's knee are important, as are the children's minds you speak of. It's a false dichotomy you've introduced and does no good for the children's minds or the knees of other citizens.
I’d be interested in knowing which one.
Joking about cutting back on Social Security and Medicare isn’t funny. America is full of elderly folks who are one step from homelessness. You want to push them out onto the sidewalk to live in cardboard boxes? Even if the weather is nice that’s not good. Or funny.
JoeBob, thank you! Joking about cutting back on Social Security and Medicare IS NOT FUNNY IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.! Many in Florida, as well as all states depend on both, I know I do. I used to dream about moving back to Florida, but not now, not ever. No place is perfect. But any state where seniors are set aside as free-loaders is so miss leading, we don't live off the wealthy, they actually depend on us - we are the ones who provide their wealth.
Speaking for my self only, I find this article cute, but cute doesn't pay bills. Good humor is something we all need, but not at the expense of others.
That was my last joke about Medicare, if it was a joke. But I think Senator Scott was serious.
Mr. Keillor, I know you no doubt meant nothing by what you wrote, however to those of us who depend on what we earned, it stings. Anyone, politician or just idle conversation about such a touchy subject haunts old minds, or those younger whose lives depends on what little they receive. I'm three years older than you! Without what I have now (my income has NOT changed since 2007) I'd be living on the streets because my car would have been sold long ago. Your grateful for your 'new life,' I'm grateful for my old one such as it is, it's mine, I earned it; my taxes are paying for someone behind me.
Criticize Scott and other Rs who would cut Medicare and SS, GK's was pure sarcasm.
My husband and I aren't eligible for SS or Medicare because we worked for the state of MA for our whole careers, but most of our friends and relatives depend on them, so we care about them, and about all of the other seniors who rely on them. We never vote for Republicans - when I was a child in the 1950s my parents told me they were evil – they were right.