Viking Memories are a Good Companion
His politics aside, I miss Garrison Keillor’s, “A Prairie Home Companion.” His delivery and the writing made tales of this imaginary place seem almost like a half-forgotten dream. I too have a place like this, although very real, it’s Viking, Minnesota.
Prairie Home Companion began each session with some of the news of the fictitious little town. I thought I might mix real news with my own imagination and see what would be the result.
One of the most exciting events in the yearly Viking social calendar will soon be here; the annual Viking Fire Department spaghetti feed and cotillion. The cotillion part of the evening was suspended years ago after organizers realized that a cotillion called for dancing, which means the expectation of…. dance. Spaghetti as a singular selling point seemed a better bet. The feed is March 16th at the Viking School, from 4:30 to 8 pm.
The Viking Diner and Antiques is a light in the window to many who hunger and to those who puzzle at life’s meaning. Some customers do not go that deeply into philosophical thought and instead puzzle over real puzzles. While the world turns faster than it should and wobbles on its axis, life slows around these tables of breakfast and stands more sturdy than in most places on this earth.
Viking’s utilities are stable and highlighted only by an occasional, lone figure in tall boots who clears ice on warm days from the curb and gutter. This is an essential, solitary job that is older than any of us who enjoyed ditching little pools of water as kids. A sentinel of spring, the person who clears the ice is a good focus about which creative minds create fictional stories.
Urban renovation has been a focus for Viking. Lisa and I take little tours of Viking to see the updates. There are many old homes that have been remodeled and look very nice. I recall how these buildings once looked and the comparison with their current facade feels like the sharpened perspective I get when I put my glasses on. It’s like the buildings are saying “this is who I always was!” or “this is who I am today!” I like the new look and was surprised some time ago to find Viking has urban development on the southwest corner of town.
Two new homes revealed themselves one day when I was showing Lisa where Dick Brown had his old toy shop. I miss the little businesses in VIking like the old toy shop or the Co-op store. Erling Hegg’s repair shop, the creamery, the elevator, the gas station and the bank, which are all long gone.
As I age, I realize that these memories are sweeter than the focus of the memory as we forget the work it took to create them. I have often said to myself, “life is just a dress rehearsal for the next life.” If the memories of my time in Viking are anywhere close to being accurate, then this community is one of the best soft openings ever produced.
