We stretch our luck if donning shorts now

Image from Flickr shows "brown" nature of our winter.

A fine winter for those who may have broken down and bought a snowblower, eh? The attitude to take is this: it's an insurance policy. 

We might grimace when writing out insurance premium checks. A friend who is a retired banker says "insurance is something that costs a lot of money and you don't ever want to use it." 

Problem is, sometimes you think you're eligible for coverage and then presto! The insurance company determines you're not covered. Like for me in the aftermath of the big derecho, as I thought I might get a little help - I really would have been happy getting just a little - and finding out my homeowners policy "doesn't cover trees." So I faced a pretty substantial expense. Ah, being a homeowner. 

As time goes on, you might appreciate more the arguments that it's better to rent. 

I have been "bequeathed" some issues like a property that got over-planted with trees. But God bless my late father who I'm sure reasoned that trees had value on an otherwise windswept prairie. So look out when opening one of your "storm doors" as it could get caught in the wind. You all know we can get winds right out of hell here in western Minnesota. But it's a universal for Minnesotans: to focus on the weather. 

So right now, anyone having finally gotten out the checkbook for a snowblower might curse some. Out of the blue comes this incredibly mild winter. But we're supposed to complain when the opposite happens, right? We make our rounds unimpeded by the usual winter. Human nature being what it is, we find other things that annoy us. 

 

Stretch your legs

People who like to take walks are quite impacted by the nature of the winter we happen to have. It is a blessing to have good enough health to walk a fair distance on any given day. The activity is recommended for nearly everyone for health reasons. 

(youtube image)

All the talk through the media about the onset of very mild weather got yours truly to overreact on Monday. I put on shorts and then was about to put on my usual extra layer for my legs. Then I thought "wait a minute, might not even be needed." 

I remembered my days as an active jogger/runner, how on many winter days I felt no discomfort doing this activity with bare legs. This avocation of mine basically spanned 1982-1992. The body in rapid motion helps fend off the cold. 

How "rapid" might I be today? Not sure, as I do not set standards for how fast I might jog. On Monday I had incentive! I covered my whole route and partly with a jogging gait. Partly. Many of you might see me along the bypass as I'm headed back toward home. Pedestrians are pretty conspicuous out there. 

 

After the sun sets

Back in my running period I'd even be out in those environs after dark, something I would never do today. I wouldn't do it today because of the risk of being accosted by law enforcement. This happened to me once in my post-newspaper years when I was no longer an active runner. So I was walking. Not the sharpest judgment. The law enforcement person was in an unmarked car. And would you believe, I did not respond to him at first? I remained walking! I could claim that I could not be sure it was Mr. Policeman. Who was it? 

Well I had to weigh the distinct possibility that it was Mr. Policeman, lest I end up in one of those confrontations where Mr. Police gets overly aggressive and I then try a lawsuit, end up in the news. Would be nice to get money but who needs the ignominy? And if the authorities decided you deserve money, it would mean you have been demonstrably hurt. And who needs that? I think the law enforcement person ended up recognizing me. He ended up rather genteel if that's the right word. 

The amicable discourse ended up brief and uneventful, the way it should be and the way law enforcement always wants it, really truly. But I filed it all away. Here's a theory: there is a fair amount of residential development close to the bypass now, in places that were totally wild and pristine in my younger years. Like when I was a jogger/runner. (I used to feel defensive saying "jogger" because it brought less pride than "runner." A foolish thought to have.) 

 

It's relative (wink)

How good a runner was I? As a testimonial for myself I'll suggest I was good for my size, my stature. The lowest I ever got in weight was 160 pounds. That's very light for my frame, not at all light by the standards of the top runners. Let's use the word "wispy" for them. I'm happy for all the prowess they show. I cannot mirror them. But maybe they should stay indoors on windy days. 

My how the wind can sweep across the flat terrain east of Morris. We see all the new townhomes out there. Oh, and there's a couple new opulent residences that have gone up a little further from the bypass. Best to locate further away so you aren't subjected to the sound of "Jake brakes" applied by trucks on the bypass. 

East of town is the place to develop these days. As for the west, I think the ground is too wet over there. There is no biking/walking trail to the west. 

 

An asset

(mild MN winter scene from facebook)

The trail is most certainly a magnet where it is, east of our community, actually connecting our community on the southern end. And there was an attempt made to have the trail extended! It would have gone out to the golf course. I was informed that a grant request for this was rejected. I have strongly encouraged that efforts be renewed to make this reality. The trail is a great way for this community to make up for how we are not a lakes recreation community. 

I hope Mayor Kevin Wohlers is paying attention. Congrats Kevin on the concern you showed about Prairie Pioneer Days fading away and just dying, I mean in its established form. So incredibly strange considering that the community's movers and shakers were so proud of its establishment once. I remember so well because I was with the Morris paper. I frankly went out of my way to pay attention to the efforts. A little bias at play, pro-community bias. 

So then years later the event as originally established bites the dust? Many things are hard to explain. One by one the various features of PPD just started disappearing. In its heyday, so many people and organizations pitched in. So pro-active with the impulses, just common sense, I would say. Maybe any thoughts about renewal died with covid. And covid is not exactly in the rear view mirror, or so we are told by media. 

Looks like the current week is going to be mild as heck. Next time I wear shorts for a walk, I'll be more comfortable. I try breaking into a "jog" now and then. It doesn't feel at all natural as it once did. But I think it was a good defense vs. the cold on Monday. See you out there. I most certainly see Sharon Martin and "Goldy" out along the trail. Great place to meet people's dogs. Oh, and the people too!

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilluy73@yahoo.com