How well I remember the night I sat down in my livingroom and watched the movie, Fargo. I’d heard many comments about “the insulting manner in which this movie presents people who live in the midwest.” I’m a fairly well educated individual who enjoys my career in human services. Perhaps that is the reason why I decided to watch this movie without forming any prejudgements. I have to tell you that as the movie progressed, I found myself repeatedly laughing aloud. I found it to be a truly hilarious “take on the midwest.” (It seemed to me to be far more a characature of sorts than any kind of reality-based documentary.) It was the last half hour of the movie that had me most heartily laughing; particularly as the foot with the white sock was being crammed into the woodchopper by a true “putts of a murderer.” This brings me to my processing of this movie and some of the midwestern attitudes that I actually do find quite habitual if not also, quite hilarious.

It was while at my office one day that I found myself using what is probably a true midwestern expression. As I typed a note to our I.T. Department, I stated, “Please help. I’ve found myself in that cotton-picken gray screen again and I can’t get out!” When I heard back from the I.T. Department, the I.T. person commented, “Gee, I haven’t heard that expression in a long time!” I responded with an e-mail saying, “Guess you sure can tell that I’m a native Minnesotan! lol”

This prompted me to reflect upon some of the expressions I frequently use; many of which I sometimes find myself thoroughly enjoying passing-on to my grandchildren. Why? It’s funny, but in thinking about it, I realized that this is one way in which I honor and preserve my grandparents’, parents, aunts’ and uncles’ memory. I’d honestly never given any thought to the many terms of endearment as well as terms of frustration I’ve held close to my heart through the years. These people who came before me, each had their own way of interpreting the world and the folks around them. By the same token, they had their own unique ways of reacting to the world and the folks around them! Some of which I still enjoy laughing about, others that continue, even after all these years, to quite thoroughly warm my heart.