Merry Hanukkah and Happy Christmas...Discovering the Real Deal.

Happy Holidays, from Mitchell, SD.

Yes, that's right. South Dakota.
As in, land of bizarre weather patterns (i.e. 40 mph wind gusts blowing up snow onto icy interstates at 5 am), venison steaks, and corn... fields and fields of corn. in fact, mitchell, SD is famous for an establishment in downtown called "The Corn Palace," which, tourguides proudly claim, is "the world's largest birdfeeder."
Awesome, to say the least. you think i'm being sarcastic. but no. no, i don't think you understand the wonders of places like the corn palace and mitchell, south dakota where weather is the local talk of the town rather than whether bragelina are having marital problems.


There's something wholesome and homey about places like Mitchell-- something you crave when you're at home in your messy apartment in a College Town #10, USA eating Lean Pockets and chugging Red Bulls while you fight the clock, the cold you're coming down with, and sleep as you try desperately to finish your last paper of the semester on some mundane topic like the use of policy forecasting in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Even after a 17-hour car ride with a canine releasing occasional spurts of chocolate muffin and mustard-covered lettuce scents out of her butt, snowy Mitchell, SD (now at -3 degrees) still glows in its Christmasy spirit. Is it the acres upon acres of wheat and cornfields covered with a downy blanket of superfine powdery snow? The way the Christmas decorations gleam through the storefront windows? There is something very distinct about the holidays in places like Mitchell, it's almost as if a Christmas card came to life; like oh, look-- there's Santa over by the Johnson's, piling up carefully-wrapped presents under the tree.
It's funny to experience such a "real" Christmas, not the over-the-top seizure-inducing Christmas-turned-into-a-house-decorating-contest affair of my hometown on Long Island, NY (or, perhaps Hanukkah-turned-into-a-house-decorating-contest is more appropriate). I guess it didn't occur to me that Christmas could be quiet, merry, peaceful, calm.... not loud, obnoxious, stressful, with cranky shoppers fighting over the last small parking spot.
Hm. Makes you think... if you listen hard enough here, you could swear you hear some reindeer prancing away, and Santa's jolly laugh echoing in the distance.