I love the Walz piece - I've only been to Minnesota once as an adult, and it was wonderful. I have been living in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, and it's hard for me to think about living elsewhere. I "keep it regional" because I've lived in Seattle, Spokane, Pullman, Moscow, Boise, La Grande, Albany as an adult, and many more as a child. Our whole lives were about moving, and I have trouble settling and participating in community as a result. I've also moved to get away from situations, but they apparently aren't location-bound. Here in Oregon folks who don't live near Portland think its a hellscape - but it keeps plugging along as a weird city with big homelessness problems, but also with amazing arts, food, and communities that are working on their problems.
My cousin owns a chain of pizza places called Pizzacato in Portland. I love going up there, but its still too cold for me in the winter. Growing up in Arizona just didn't prepare me for winters in the Northwest (let alone in Minnesota LOL!)
"Our whole lives were about moving, and I have trouble settling and participating in community as a result." Hoo boy, I can relate! My dad was a Canadian branch banker, and subject to being transferred every 3-5 years, when I was growing up. By the time my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, they'd lived in 11 different houses in 7 different towns in two provinces. We'd only just start feeling settled in and we'd have to pick up and move again. I've felt like a perpetual outsider all my life, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I also have real packrat tendencies (although I'm getting better as I age) -- I tend to cling to my old familiar stuff, and I'm sure it's because my surroundings were always changing when I was a kid.
My husband, on the other hand, lived in the same house in the same neighbourhood in the same city for almost his entire life, with most of his extended family within walking distance, and has no use for "stuff." I'm sure there's a PhD thesis in there somewhere...!
That's interesting, b/c w/ the exception of a 4 yr period we spent every Xmas in a different residence when I was growing up, once moving just to a different apartment in the same complex. And yet my takeaway from that is that stuff is ephemeral -- it gets broken or lost in the move, or has outlived its usefulness, or you just have limitations in what can fit in the truck and have to decide what to leave behind. My wife grew up similarly and feels the same way -- we've moved on average every 2-3 yrs since we've been together (though we've started settling down in our old age), and have established what we call the Move Purge, where we sort through deciding what's still important and meaningful to us and getting rid of a bunch of the rest that's not worth moving anymore.
When I was in high school I had a few friends who had spent their entire lives in the same house, and it boggled my mind. I understood intellectually that that's how a lot of people live, but I also recognized that I had no concept whatsoever of what that would be like.
I moved on the average every 9 months growing up, and attended 13 different schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Didn't start a second school year at the same school until 11th grade... I guess I adapted well, because I kept moving frequently after that and have now had 55 different addresses in 52 years of being alive.
I've only been to Minnesota once too, in 1981 just before Reagan took office. I had been seriously considering leaving the US and going to Canada if Reagan won the election (which of course he did). I landed in Minneapolis in mid-January and when I got off the plane and out onto the tarmac (the days before heated jetways LOL), my beard froze on my face (the temperature was 8 degrees!)
It was at that astonishingly cold moment that it occurred to me that ALMOST ALL OF CANADA was NORTH of Minneapolis.
That ended our escape to Canada plan instantly LOL!
(Seriously, I loved Minnesota during my visit, but as you might expect, I could only do that again during temperate summer weather!)
Jane Smiley's "Moo." And thanks for staying and fighting. Iowa is where I enlisted in the labor movement almost 30 years ago, and my old local is still there, fighting, and making me proud.
The book Population 485 by Michael Perry. It's a collection of essays about working as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in rural Wisconsin. I laughed, I sobbed, I count this as one of my all-time fave reads.
I’m a Californian with all my community of origin still living in CA and Oregon. I’ve been in the Midwest for a decade now (WHAT) and am raising my kids in STL, MO. My PNW/CA friends are baffled by my family’s staying in this city and region, especially as Missouri continues to Missouri, politically.
Lyz, without your work, I’d be just as baffled and confused. But you have put words to my ever growing love of and commitment to this middle place, and helped give me the language to work out my own sense of belonging and my changing regional identity. YOUR writings on the Midwest are what I send to my coastal loved ones and return to again and again.
Taibbi wrote for Rolling Stone about the Iowa Caucuses and his piece was a big whine about how there's nothing to do here and I'm like, you don't like your job? Quit
I recently read "Dead Lines: Slices of Life from the Obit Beat," by George Hesselberg. It was a great reminder that there are all sorts of weird, quirky, and boringly normal people here in WI.
Not Midwestern, but related: If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name by Heather Lende - small-town Alaska obit writer (she's now the state Writer Laureate).
For my hometown, The Broken Heart of America, written after Ferguson (which is really St. Louis), by Walter Johnson. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, or how my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less, by Terry Ryan, the book, not the movie (not a slam, I've just not seen it).
Full disclosure @lyz, I’ve been following your socials for a long time, but honestly I really started paying closer attention to your writing in large part because of your incredible perspectives on Iowa and the greater Midwest….Especially during the trump presidency and early covid years. Iowa needs your voice and others like it now more than ever. We are lucky to have you!
This might seem like an odd choice, but growing up on the east coast, Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson was probably my first exposure to the Midwest. After living in Chicago for almost twenty years (by way of three in Cleveland), it’s still a book I return to even if it has aged as well as could be expected.
My favorite book about Iowa is "Stories My Kids Are Tired of Hearing" by T.Smith Martin tells of living and working in Iowa from birth through 70 when he then wrote his "Manifesto for Living after 70."
Looking at that photo of the two of them, I can see why she picked him.
They both love to laugh - such a rare thing these days. She knows how hard it is in the Oval Office - having someone cheerful alongside you would be essential. There's no point picking an offsider you can't stand.
To borrow from Office Space:
Them: if you don’t like it, leave
You: why should I leave, you’re the one who sucks
I love the Walz piece - I've only been to Minnesota once as an adult, and it was wonderful. I have been living in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, and it's hard for me to think about living elsewhere. I "keep it regional" because I've lived in Seattle, Spokane, Pullman, Moscow, Boise, La Grande, Albany as an adult, and many more as a child. Our whole lives were about moving, and I have trouble settling and participating in community as a result. I've also moved to get away from situations, but they apparently aren't location-bound. Here in Oregon folks who don't live near Portland think its a hellscape - but it keeps plugging along as a weird city with big homelessness problems, but also with amazing arts, food, and communities that are working on their problems.
PDX is a big, loud, messy, wondeful city. And it gave me everything growing up.
FWIW, people that don't live in Madison or Milwaukee think the same thing about those cities.
My cousin owns a chain of pizza places called Pizzacato in Portland. I love going up there, but its still too cold for me in the winter. Growing up in Arizona just didn't prepare me for winters in the Northwest (let alone in Minnesota LOL!)
"Our whole lives were about moving, and I have trouble settling and participating in community as a result." Hoo boy, I can relate! My dad was a Canadian branch banker, and subject to being transferred every 3-5 years, when I was growing up. By the time my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, they'd lived in 11 different houses in 7 different towns in two provinces. We'd only just start feeling settled in and we'd have to pick up and move again. I've felt like a perpetual outsider all my life, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I also have real packrat tendencies (although I'm getting better as I age) -- I tend to cling to my old familiar stuff, and I'm sure it's because my surroundings were always changing when I was a kid.
My husband, on the other hand, lived in the same house in the same neighbourhood in the same city for almost his entire life, with most of his extended family within walking distance, and has no use for "stuff." I'm sure there's a PhD thesis in there somewhere...!
That's interesting, b/c w/ the exception of a 4 yr period we spent every Xmas in a different residence when I was growing up, once moving just to a different apartment in the same complex. And yet my takeaway from that is that stuff is ephemeral -- it gets broken or lost in the move, or has outlived its usefulness, or you just have limitations in what can fit in the truck and have to decide what to leave behind. My wife grew up similarly and feels the same way -- we've moved on average every 2-3 yrs since we've been together (though we've started settling down in our old age), and have established what we call the Move Purge, where we sort through deciding what's still important and meaningful to us and getting rid of a bunch of the rest that's not worth moving anymore.
When I was in high school I had a few friends who had spent their entire lives in the same house, and it boggled my mind. I understood intellectually that that's how a lot of people live, but I also recognized that I had no concept whatsoever of what that would be like.
I went to 10 schools in 12 years when I was growing up. I think we need to start a support group. :)
I went to 6 grade schools, 2 junior high schools, and 3 high schools. Then I got all 3 degrees at one university 😂. I would love a support group!
I moved on the average every 9 months growing up, and attended 13 different schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Didn't start a second school year at the same school until 11th grade... I guess I adapted well, because I kept moving frequently after that and have now had 55 different addresses in 52 years of being alive.
I am about to go back upstairs and dig into more boxes right now. And a good amount of my graduate work is about the notion of connection to place.
I've only been to Minnesota once too, in 1981 just before Reagan took office. I had been seriously considering leaving the US and going to Canada if Reagan won the election (which of course he did). I landed in Minneapolis in mid-January and when I got off the plane and out onto the tarmac (the days before heated jetways LOL), my beard froze on my face (the temperature was 8 degrees!)
It was at that astonishingly cold moment that it occurred to me that ALMOST ALL OF CANADA was NORTH of Minneapolis.
That ended our escape to Canada plan instantly LOL!
(Seriously, I loved Minnesota during my visit, but as you might expect, I could only do that again during temperate summer weather!)
Jane Smiley's "Moo." And thanks for staying and fighting. Iowa is where I enlisted in the labor movement almost 30 years ago, and my old local is still there, fighting, and making me proud.
I read A Thousand Acres and think about it all the time. But I will put Moo on the list. Thank you!
The book Population 485 by Michael Perry. It's a collection of essays about working as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in rural Wisconsin. I laughed, I sobbed, I count this as one of my all-time fave reads.
Oh thank you! I haven't ever read this book. I'll get it from my library ASAP!
+1 on this! It’s so fabulous.
yes, yes, yes. you will love it.
I love this book! It’s SO excellent.
I’m a Californian with all my community of origin still living in CA and Oregon. I’ve been in the Midwest for a decade now (WHAT) and am raising my kids in STL, MO. My PNW/CA friends are baffled by my family’s staying in this city and region, especially as Missouri continues to Missouri, politically.
Lyz, without your work, I’d be just as baffled and confused. But you have put words to my ever growing love of and commitment to this middle place, and helped give me the language to work out my own sense of belonging and my changing regional identity. YOUR writings on the Midwest are what I send to my coastal loved ones and return to again and again.
Thank you! ❤️
Heatland by Sarah Smarsh. Very relatable to my upbringing in rural ID.
Love this book
I needed this article about Walz this morning after reading Matt Taibbi's scribbles in Newsweek about how Walz isn't masculine enough.
Love yourself enough not to read Matt Taibbi
Ugh I know. But I'm working on a Substack piece about him and everyone's fave curmudgeon David Brooks.
No worries though..I am doing LOTS of self-care, however.
Taibbi wrote for Rolling Stone about the Iowa Caucuses and his piece was a big whine about how there's nothing to do here and I'm like, you don't like your job? Quit
This!
I recently read "Dead Lines: Slices of Life from the Obit Beat," by George Hesselberg. It was a great reminder that there are all sorts of weird, quirky, and boringly normal people here in WI.
Oh yes! I love this thank you for the suggestion
Not Midwestern, but related: If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name by Heather Lende - small-town Alaska obit writer (she's now the state Writer Laureate).
For my hometown, The Broken Heart of America, written after Ferguson (which is really St. Louis), by Walter Johnson. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, or how my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less, by Terry Ryan, the book, not the movie (not a slam, I've just not seen it).
Also Packinghouse Daughter, by Cheri Register, about Albert Lea, MN
Full disclosure @lyz, I’ve been following your socials for a long time, but honestly I really started paying closer attention to your writing in large part because of your incredible perspectives on Iowa and the greater Midwest….Especially during the trump presidency and early covid years. Iowa needs your voice and others like it now more than ever. We are lucky to have you!
Thank you, Tom!
I know it’s ancient, but for me it’s “Lonesome Dove.” Life was cruel there for absolutely everyone, yet love and life persisted.
Just read your MSNBC piece on Walz. I didn't know that you went to Gustavus - I used to teach there. When did you graduate?
2005!
"Oh, there's nothing half-way
About the Iowa way we treat you
If we treat you which we
May not do at all!
There's an Iowa kind
Of special chip-on-the-shoulder attitude
We've never been without
That we recall!
We can be cold as the falling
Thermometer in December
If you ask about our weather in July,
And we're so by-God stubborn
We could stand touching noses
For a week at a time and never see eye to eye!
But we'll give you our shirt
And a back to go with it
If your crops should happen to die!
So what the heck, you're welcome
Join us at the picnic
You can eat your fill
Of all the food you bring yourself
You really ought to give Iowa a TRY!"
--- Meredith Willson, Iowa Stubborn from The Music Man
One of my favorite songs ever!
https://www.google.com/search?q=iowa+stubborn+youtube&rlz=1C5GCEA_enUS1069US1069&oq=iowa+stubborn+yout&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIKCAIQABiABBiiBDIKCAMQABiABBiiBNIBCDQyNjVqMGo5qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:757d6fd5,vid:y7lFbUVS9WM,st:0
This might seem like an odd choice, but growing up on the east coast, Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson was probably my first exposure to the Midwest. After living in Chicago for almost twenty years (by way of three in Cleveland), it’s still a book I return to even if it has aged as well as could be expected.
My favorite book about Iowa is "Stories My Kids Are Tired of Hearing" by T.Smith Martin tells of living and working in Iowa from birth through 70 when he then wrote his "Manifesto for Living after 70."
Looking at that photo of the two of them, I can see why she picked him.
They both love to laugh - such a rare thing these days. She knows how hard it is in the Oval Office - having someone cheerful alongside you would be essential. There's no point picking an offsider you can't stand.
This!!!!!! 🥰