Wobegon(e)

For some reason I can't put my finger on, I picked up my much loved copy of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days recently.  Really, you shouldn't read Keillor, you should listen to him, on tape or radio, because he has a lovely voice and he holds you in the hollow of his hand: search for Prairie Home Companion.  But reading him is pretty good - he's a master of the gentle humour which exposes the foibles and the hypocrisies of his small town, Lake Wobegon. It's not spelled "Wobegone", by the way, because alternate town councils kept changing the name from Lake Woebegon to New Albion and back - but state law prevented more than four name changes, so after three changes, the incumbent council dropped the final "e" to prevent further changes.  Of course, the name  - however appropriate for a town in the quiet end of nowhere - does not mean what you think it does.  In fact, it is Ojibway for "the place where we waited all day in the rain".  Believe that if you dare!

But what is this place, Lake Wobegon, actually like?  Well, it's in Minnesota, and his opening line on radio is often

It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon

followed by a whole world of minor intrigue and reflection that makes you think and laugh together (and, boy, do you know all these people); and at the end, the inevitable sign off:

Well, that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

And his cast of characters is awesome, from the Norwegian farmers who say nothing and wash their sheets once a year, to the duck hunters who haven't shot anything for twenty years, and all the decent, narrow minded but lovable folk in between.  And only the word genius will do for his pictures of children growing up, and of the distrust and envy that exists between Lutheran and Catholic - and who can better his encapsulation of a certain type of religion in the name of the Catholic church:  Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility !?

The stories he tells are nice, but it's really the mood and the understanding you fall in love with.  Three examples:

(Complaining about a new pastor, whose sermon was far too long) .. A minister has to be able to read a clock. At noon, it's time to go home and turn up the pot roast and get the peas out of the freezer.

They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days.

And finally, in case Cornflower's still doing the dishes, Garrison (Gary) does them with his mother (or his sister, the story changes - after all, he admits he tells lies for a living) and they sing together over the soap suds (soppy or what?):

Tell me why the stars do shine,
Tell me why the ivy twines,
Tell me why the skies are blue,
And I will tell you just why I love you.

Because God made the stars to shine,
Because God made the ivy twine,
Because God made the sky so blue,
Because God made you, that's why I love you.

And then, in an access of lost teenage confidence, he asks his mother "Am I good looking?", and receives the ultimate Lake Wobegon answer: "You're well enough looking" (or as Bruce Springsteen puts it, "You're no beauty, but hey, you're alright")!

That's the news from Lake Lindsay, where all the poems tell a story, all the stories rhyme, and all the adjectives are below average!

Comments

[Peter the Flautist]

Dark Puss purrs with pride at being praised; he will endeavour not to let it go quite to the tips of his ears.

[glo]

Message to Dark Puss, kindly delivered in his cosy basket when his latest nap has come to an end

Thank you very much for your answer and explanations, lovely Cat! And 'ogle' is a lovely word as well.

I remember very well that I promised to write a message for you but I have to confess that I was not much inspired lately. I started something and then gave up because it didn't sound very appropriate. I knew that you would inevitably feel neglected because you didn't protest when I said that I was quite neglecting you - and how could a feline not feel neglected? I hope you are not too upset. You may be feline, you are rather good-tempered and anyway you appear to be much more good-tempered than the average feline - still like being praised?

re:
http://booksdofurnisharoom.typepad.com/books_do_furnish_a_room/2008/03/easter-poem.html#comments
I know where the house of John Knox is located and his grave is under the car parking near to the Cathedral - at least there was a car parking when I went there.

What I was planning to tell you is that I read 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll lately. I was interested in seeing how the cat was behaving and speaking in this book. And as I was fearing the Cheshire Puss is not as handsome as Dark Puss. He is not very talkative and not typically feline; Lewis Carrol could have picked any other animal to play this part. Alice meets the Cheshire Puss during her dream but she also owns a cat in her real life and she deeply misses her cat.
Anyway, the book is interesting on many aspects (relativity, absurdity, language, time and pace, being a foreigner, meeting foreigners...) and it is so cleverly witty. One can read it even when he is an adult.
I will read 'Jenny' by Paul Gallico soon and will tell you later.

Mr Bagshaw has probably noticed that Lewis Carroll mentioned the dodo, a bird that doesn't exist anymore.

[Peter the flautist]

Dear Glo, you are of course correct about the colloquial use of the word "dish" (and also of course "dishy"); not shocking at all, but perhaps not currently much in use. My French dictionary gives "belle fille" as the equivalent (or beau mec for those who ogle the other sex). By the way you rashly promised the Cat a message the other week and he is still looking forward to it.

Dark Puss

[glo]

Soap opera, I would say! And isn't 'a dish' also used to name a good-looking person? It may be a bit colloquial though, I think, but I hope it is not shocking.

More seriously, you grasped the meaning of the book so perfectly that the mood and spirit of it has apparently rubbed off on your own post. This is no rare occurence but I think it is even more obvious in rather funny and ironic topics.

Typos checked and re-checked!

[Peter the flautist]

I read this book recently and loved it, but I'm really not sure why!. Sadly I cannot put my feelings for things into sensible words at present. Dark Puss (who washes up alone)

[Cornflower]

...but we love you anyway!
And have you read "Pontoon"?