I Wish You Could See What I See
Lisa and I saw Viking after everyone had their view then left after the recent Good Old Days celebration. The celebration bumped the town’s population for a few hours, but they were gone by the time we drove through, which was fine. I have always seen Viking in layers and dimensions but didn’t fully realize it until we drove home that night.
We took one of my favorite gravel roads home and were flanked by fields of wheat. We could see ears and heads floating above the wheat, which were attached to the deer who seemed to swim through these great golden waters. There were two layers to what we saw in the field of wheat; what we could see above the heads of grain and what we couldn’t see beneath them. It’s kind of like how I see my old home.
What most people see when they visit Viking is what they should see; a really lovely town which is maintained by the care of those who live in it. I see that too but so much of my mind matured while I lived in Viking that it has always been the background against which my life has been measured. For this reason, my memories of Viking are just as accessible as what I can plainly see.
I love how good Viking looks, particularly downtown. The Viking Diner sits where the old grocery store once sat and before that the Farmer’s Co-op store. I was always fascinated by the hardware section, particularly the nail puller that never seemed to sell. The Viking town hall sits where the old Hartz store sat. Myrtle Sacket owned the store, and it was so tiny, made even tinier by the fact she lived in the back. It was so cozy, and I used to imagine that one day I would run the store.
Viking’s downtown was so busy back in the seventies, especially during the holidays. There would be Christmas trees lined up in front of the Farmer’s store during the holidays and it was packed with trick or treaters at Halloween, I think the gas station even gave out treats during Halloween. I see what most see in Viking but a whole other level is available by closing my eyes and slipping back in time.
There is also an emotional level which I share with those who come back each year for Good Old Days. I wondered Saturday night at what causes this sort of loyalty. I think it is a return on the investment made in the people who return to Viking. We enjoyed really vibrant churches, excellent grade-school teachers and community leaders who were sincerely interested in making things nice. They cared about the kids and invested so much of themselves in us. It was a time and place when we were cherished, it is so good to visit this time in the place where we felt so good.
So, when I look at Viking, I am seeing the present but feel the past. If I am in a group like during the recent Good Old Day celebration, I can see how much people are enjoying what is going on and what they are seeing. I am happy that what they see pleases them, however I always think to myself, “I wish you could see what I see.”
