This place amazes the hell out of me. My time in this state goes back to the 1960's. My family used to spend summers here. I went to college here. And then, twenty years ago I had the good sense to move back here and just park my butt. Yes, the weather here is a ball buster. Between February and July you can find yourself stuck to the sidewalk in white-out conditions because of blizzards or collapsing on that same sidewalk in triple digit temps and humidity that would kill palm trees and iguanas. Yes, such is southern 'sconsin.
For twenty years I have immersed myself in this hearty group of sojourners and have happily dived into the deep end. Naked on several (many???) occasions. With a smile on my face. Trust me on this one, if you haven't been to 'sconsin, especially southern 'sconsin you are missing one hell of a whomping good time. We are a state of immigrants going back generations. We are indeed from everywhere. We have more ethnic festivals here than you can shake a kielbasa at. If you can boil it, bread it, grill it in the back yard, deep fry it or drink it we got it going on. Yep, this is a friendly, slightly bemused state. (Of mind???). Oh, hell, think about it, we know how to polka!!! And trust me again, we most certainly do NOT dress "up" for the State Fair. I have never lived in a more deliciously dizzy state of mind than I have in 'sconsin. Smile on my face!!!
Our State Bird is the mosquito. Shit, those things have a wing span that rivals the Andean Condor. We actually have an official State Soil, it is Antigo Silt Loam. That stuff is truly magical.. It is the richest, blackest and most fertile soil on the face of the planet. I swear, you could toss a shoe into a field of this stuff and it would grow into a strip mall with a gas station. Over the years I have been here, I have stuck single seeds into the ground and have ended up with truck loads of stuff. Literally. Squash, melons you name it, I have done so many drive-by drop-offs of produce that my friends actually threatened to report me to animal control. Aah, yes, it can indeed get green here...
And then there is Madison, the city where I live. Hmmmm.... we are a small BLUE marble surrounded by a mass of RED. For those of you not in the know, Blue equals Democrat, Red equals Republican. Just think Liberal versus Conservative. Yes, there is a very good reason why our city motto is "77 square miles surrounded by reality." This city is proud of it's eccentricities. And lord knows, we got a lot of them. What can I say, we just like to have a damned good time here. It doesn't matter whether we are freezing our asses off or sweating our tits off, we just wanna have fun. And eat. And drink. Especially drink. If you can't spend at least 60% of your dinner tab on cocktails then you're just not doing a Friday night fish fry right!!! If you actually have to ask for extra tartar sauce, honey, you are in the wrong restaurant!!! We say "hi" to strangers here without even thinking about it. If we have known you more than 30 seconds we give you a hug. We will happily give you our seat on the bus and ask about your kids. Yeah, damned friendly bunch of folks here. And I'm glad to be one of them.
Next Friday (FISH FRY!!!) a group of us will be gathering for yet another birthday celebration at one of our favorite local dives to welcome a dear friend into 57. Yes, 57. OK, to me that seems like days of future past but to him it will be a whole new door to open. This restaurant staff is used to us by now, we have celebrated way too many (WAY too many!!!) birthdays there and they know just exactly what we are capable of. Lots of cocktails, rainbow colored wigs, red foam clown noses, strange glasses and a squirt gun or two. Or three... And perhaps a whoopee cushion. Or two. Oh, how I love tradition... And a wait staff that knows how to deal with us. Yes, we can certainly be entertaining here. And we know how to tip. And that's important. Trust me. It means that they'll let you back in the next time that you show up.
Never in my life have I felt so comfortable while not in the tropics. Good friends, good beer, good food and just a good time in general. Again, a smile on my face... Where else in the world can you put on a hat shaped like a wedge of cheddar cheese, paint your mostly naked body green and gold (GO PACKERS!!!) and get on public transportation and not get a single glance of "WTF???" Yes, this is my kind of State Of Mind!!!
BTW, "Birthday Boy", we got a few surprises up our sleeves. Duck and cover...
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