I was born in Nebraska and grew up there. The same goes for my wife. She grew up in the Republican River Valley in the southwest part of the state. I grew up in a little town along the Elkhorn River in northeast part of the state. I was a student at the University, and when we married, we made our home in a little apartment about a city block away from the state capitol building on J street in Lincoln. Our first son was born in that city.We've now lived in Minnesota so long that it has become home for me. To be honest, it was home the first day I arrived. I immediately felt more at home there than I ever had in Nebraska. Something ancient and Norwegian in my DNA just felt like it belonged in Minnesota, and was glad to finally be back.
Though none of my three sons was born in Minnesota, they all grew up here. They are, without question, Minnesotans. I think of myself as a Minnesotan too, and I've come to believe that home is wherever your kids feel it is.
"Nebraska is a fine place to be from," I say, to my sweet Nebraska bride's dismay, if and when the fact of my Nebraska roots surfaces in a conversation. She likes Nebraska and thinks it sounds like I have something against it. I really don't. I just don't miss it at all. I think of family and friends and years spent there with some fondness, but never with anything remotely close to homesickness or longing.
These days, while enjoying my first cup of coffee in the mornings, I've been reading a little book by Nebraska author Ted Kooser entitled Local Wonders. Oddly enough, my wife bought the book in a small shop way up north in Grand Marais, MN on a recent trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Local Wonders is a collection of short pieces and essays, part memoir, part poetic reflection.
The writing is very good, but what's even better is Kooser's keen eye and big heart. That's what gives him something worth writing about. Whether he's trying to start a tractor, taking a walk in the Bohemian Alps, or daydreaming in the recliner chair he inherited from his Uncle Tubby, Ted Kooser sees quite a lot. And much to my surprise, he even manages to stir up fond thoughts and wistful memories in an old expatriate like me.
The book is arranged by seasons of the year, and after reading the Preface and Acknowledgments, I decided to start with the season I was in--autumn. One autumn essay includes a short poem I like so much I'm planning to have it inscribed on a wall in my house.
If you can awaken
inside the familiar
and discover it new
you need never
leave home.
Today, after shoveling the snow from my sidewalks, I finished reading the section called "Winter." Now, I think I'll put the book aside until the crocuses start appearing. I’m always eager for the spring to arrive. This year I’ll be eager for more Local Wonders.
