TheBanyanTree: Independence Day

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Freedom is never free.  ~Author Unknown

The hot, sticky air slipped away last night without even a thunderstorm to
announce its departure.  Instead we heard the boom, boom, crackle, and hiss
of fireworks down the river.  And then the cool, dry air moved in and will
take over our weather for the next couple of days before it steams up again.

Dry is the operative word.  We need rain.  The grass has turned to brown
wire and the flower gardens are being watered with hoses and sprinklers.

Ray and I spent a few days at Lake Mille Lacs in central Minnesota before
coming home for the 4th.  Thunderstorms have ridden the jet stream over that
area most of the summer and it was lush.  What a difference a hundred miles
can make.

And a hundred miles is not far enough to go to get away from it all.  Our
metro area almost stretches out that far north, maybe stopping 30 miles or
so short of Mille Lacs.  It seemed like a short ride up Highway 169 and
there we were at this big lake that looks like almost any other lake in
Minnesota, except for size.  It’s surrounded by resorts and homes, and of
course, the big Mille Lacs casino.  I heard on the radio yesterday that the
real estate in the Mille Lacs, Brainerd, Cross Lake area is the highest
priced of any in the state.  I can see why, it’s far enough, yet close
enough to the metro for easy access.

I like adventure in the sense of a surprise awaiting me when I come around a
corner, whether scenic or architecture or people, but this area is blah,
blah, blah.  The land is relatively flat, there were some cute forests along
the highway, but it was like driving through a suburb with the Home Depots,
the McDonalds, and the coffee shops.  Minnesota is turning into one big
suburb.  All the scenic surprises are being flattened out by new golf
courses and the houses that are made of ticky-tacky and all look just the
same.  Homengized, that’s the word I’m looking for.

And like the suburbs, out state Minnesota, especially northern Minnesota, is
trying desperately to stay white.  There is no overt barrier to keep dark
skinned people away from the lakes and streams, but one can feel it.  We saw
a few Asians, I would say Japanese, not Hmong.  We saw no Hispanics.  We saw
no blacks.  Of course, we saw Indians.  For gosh sakes, we’re on their
reservation, shoving our money down their slot machines.

Ray and I had a boring vacation in a boring area.  We went on two launches
and Ray managed to catch one large walleye which he had to throw back
because of size restrictions on the lake.  We drove around the area.
Brainerd had a few rough edges, but the towns of Crosby-Ironton were very
pleasant places all decked out in their 4th of July finery.  We watched TV
and I did a lot of reading.  Ray got up early one morning and went fishing.

So it was a joy to come back to St. Paul and get caught up in the Hmong
soccer tournament by Como Park.  It is considered to be the largest
gathering of Hmong people in the country.  There were Hmongs all over the
place, walking towards the soccer fields with their umbrellas, setting up
their concession stands, and blocking the streets with their vehicles.  My
son described it best.  He said when Hmongs get together in large groups, it
’s like this bubble forms around them, and they’re almost oblivious to
anything else outside that bubble.  It is a very closed community.

It was a joy to come back to St. Paul and go to the beach and see black
folks swimming with the white folks.  It was a joy to come back to St. Paul
and get away from flat, flat, flat and see the big hills rising up from the
river.  It was a joy to go grocery shopping with blacks, whites, Somalis,
and Hmongs, and then drive home along mansion lined roads.  There is no
ticky-tacky here.

That’s what the 4th of July is all about.  It is celebrating our
independence and freedom as a group of people who have come from many
different places to form a country.  Yes, the United States has its flaws,
and major ones, too, but the USA works for the most part.  The American
Dream is alive and well.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
~Albert Camus