#257

Michael loves Minnesota. There are worse things to love. Smoking, BASE jumping, Helen of Troy come to mind. Things bad for a son's health and hygiene. Smoking is a lousy cologne and worse mouthwash. As for adrenaline addiction and dangerous women, I needn't explain, although I agree a little with this too, roughly phrased: "If she doesn't have the capacity to scare the shit out of you, you're barking up the wrong tree." Or a similar idea, "Love carries wrath. And if it doesn't, it's cheap and it's weak. It's not the love you want, the love you live for." That is very Old Testament, of which I'm not a fan but will give it its due on occasion. Okay, I'm way off topic and falling into melodrama. I'm sure, for example, many BASE jumpers will die of old age. But Michael loves Minnesota instead, and I'm okay with it. Minnesota isn't polluted, for one thing. Last month I was in Beijing. Let's talk about air. It's a substance we consume every few seconds, and one we look through constantly, and in Beijing the quality of it is noticeably poor. It's no longer invisible there, or intangible – which is ironic – but instead it's full of ash and grit. It's smoggy and smelly. The unfreshness is perceptible in every breath, and, of course, there's a greyness through which no human or plant can see or feel the sun. It's depressing. No pilot can see a runway either, I'm sure, but thankfully they have unfailing instruments. It was eye-opening. It was eye-stinging, actually. I wore contacts – which was stupid – and then rubbed my bleeding eyes. My nose and throat had to be cleared often. A war with phlegm broke out. Bad air's a drag. (Sorry.) I haven't hugged any trees lately, but I'm thinking about it. I'm grateful we can breathe in Illinois. And we can breathe in Minnesota too! Things are very clear and fresh up there, in fact, and Grandma and Grandpa call it home now, and Paul too, and Anna, so I can't disapprove of my son's soaring opinion of The Land of 10,000 Lakes. (They must count swimming pools, koi ponds, and golf course hazards.)

Addendum: Michael's love of the Vikings is not supported. We can even bring BASE jumping and crazy women back for that one, and differently. As I write this, however, the Vikings are beating the Packers badly at Lambeau and that's not terrible. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Sometimes.