Kook

Tomorrow I’m heading to Duluth for the weekend, and the forecast is calling for highs in the 30s and snow. I have gone completely mad, as I couldn’t be more excited. Not for the weather, mind you. That sorry old git can kiss it as far as I’m concerned. Nay, I’m really excited to visit my stomping grounds and catch up with a great number of old friends.

The Trampled By Turtles concert is being held at the Norshor, which is one of my favorite music venues ever. I’ve seen and played numerous concerts at the Norshor, I’ve been to and worked for Geek Prom at the Norshor, and I’ve almost killed myself poking around in the attic of the Norshor. There are also unsubstantiated reports that I’ve run naked through the Norshor, but those are, well, unsubstantiated.

However, the most special thing about the Norshor is how it manages to twine all the frayed threads of your social life into one massive ball. A lot of Duluth feels like that, which is why I have so much of my soul tied up in that town. A lot of it is the environment, the favorite haunts, the old brick buildings, the parks, the Lake… but most of this would be utterly meaningless without the sheer mass of wonderful people who bind the whole thing together.

In all honesty, Duluth could be one of the most beautiful towns in the country (which, nine months out of the year, it appears to be clearly out of the running), but I would have no reason to go back there if it wasn’t for all the old friends that give the town a heart. Duluth is kooky, there’s no doubt about that, and it definitely takes some kooky people to live in it, let alone love it. I feel that I have been fortunate enough to know many of these folk, and they’re the reason I found the town to be not only bearable during its nine-month winters, but absolutely enjoyable.

That being said, tomorrow I trudge north into freezing temperatures and snowstorms. It’s May, and yet I welcome it in some sadistic way. Yes, I believe I have lost my mind. No, I’m not so sure I miss it.