Recently I have been on the road up to the frozen tundra of Minnesota to visit my old friend Herman, the country boy lawyer in Woman Lake. As you may remember, Woman Lake is near the famous Lake Woebegon. (Click on the post for some further info on Woman Lake). There are only a few women in Woman Lake and the only young one works at the Woman Lake Bait Shop. It is a classic bait shop with an exterior made of colored stones that is unique. Stop by if you are ever in the area.
We all met early in the morn for the ice fishing trip to Young Girl Lake just near Woman Lake. It is a smaller lake and perfect for sunfish. Anyway, after getting situated in the massive ice house that was the pride of Herman, I broached the subject of the Jay Leno Show I had stayed up to watch the night before.
"Well," I said, "What did you think of the Jay Leno comedy last night about V.P. Cheney's hunting accident?
The reply was just SILENCE.
Herman was the first to finally respond. "Wolfman (that's what he always called me) you just don't understand. We don't think there is anything funny about shooting old guys. Even by accident. Secondly, we don't do COMEDY up here. We are ALL business. In fact, the municipal ordinance of Woman Lake specifically outlaws comedy and most specifically "satire." You need to be REAL careful up here. It's ok in the ice house, cause we all understand your weakness for humor, but you need to keep it under wraps. There is NO problem with foul language but understand--NO HUMOR."
Then he went on, "Up here it's just a REAL simple life. There is just FISH and BAIT. You are just one or the other. In fact, there are only two kinds of fish, BIG fish and SMALL fish. BAIT is just the tourists. If you took some time off for comedy, you might miss catching the big one. We need to FOCUS up here. FOCUS on the fish.
It sure is good to be back home. Home in our fair city. Free of the simple life of the northern tundra.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
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