my love letter to Minnesota

In the summer of 2008, I participated in a 500-mile walk called the Witness Against War walk. On July 12th, we began our walk in downtown Chicago, Illinois. We arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the end of August. We spent most of our time walking through Wisconsin. We visited Minnesota three times as we walked along the Mississippi River before leaving Wisconsin on August 28th. Each time we visited Minnesota, we were treated like family. I felt very welcomed and very joyful to be there.

The first time we crossed the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Minnesota was on August 17th. We had started our walk at the beautiful Perrot State Park. We were a small group of core walkers and a few others who had joined us for a week or more at various stops we had made. As we walked, new friends from Winona, Minnesota, joined us. We were planning on having a rest day in Winona. Our first welcome to Minnesota came in the form of encouraging messages written with pavement in sidewalk chalk. There were also outlines of feet at rather wide intervals. So wide that it looked as if Big Foot had been out and about.

We had to cross a bridge to get to Latsch Island, which didn’t thrill me because I have a bridge phobia. As I walked across the bridge, I tried distracting myself by singing a lullaby and it worked. On Latsch Island, we were greeted with hugs and large paper oragami cranes hung from trees. The cranes were beautiful and they put joy in my heart, as did the hugs.

“Have you ever put your feet in the Mississippi River?” I was asked.

“No,” I said.

I was encouraged to remove my socks and shoes and roll up my pants and wade in the river. The water was warm. I reflected on the first time I saw the Mississippi River, when my parents drove me to the University of Missouri. We crossed on a bridge from Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri. I was thinking about Huckleberry Fin and Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher and all of those fascinating Mark Twain characters. It was amazing that, here I was, about 520 miles north of Saint Louis, in the river. I was so happy.

The next day, I was given a ride to a massage parlor. A month earlier, when we were camping in Illinois State Park in Zion, Illinois, we were each offered a free one-hour massage when we came to Winona, Minnesota. Hundreds of miles and a pair of shoes later, I was on the massage table. The masseuse was gentle and kind, and I can’t even described how wonderful it felt, especially when she massaged my legs and feet.

While we were in Winona, we were offered delicious potluck dinners, a chance to do laundry, and a television so we could watch the Olympics.

The next day, we returned to Wisconsin to continue the walk.

Several days later, we returned to Minnesota, as we were invited to a vegetarian potluck dinner at the Eagle’s Nest Coffee Shop in Wabasha, Minnesota. The people who organized it said that was the first vegetarian potluck they had ever arranged. The tasty food included green salad, fresh tomatoes, hummus, lentils, cabbage, sushi rolls, bread, a tofu-spinach wrap, and fresh raspberries. Afterwards, we were given trail mix and cookies for the walk. I learned that Wabasha is the home of the National Eagle Center. And, next door to the coffee shop was a bed and breakfast, called the Anderson House. People who stay there have the option of choosing a cat to sleep in their room with them. The next day, when we resumed out walk in Nelson, Wisconsin, we had a large group from Wabasha, who joined us for the day. They brought us cookies, lunch, and themselves.

We arrived in Red Wing, Minnesota, on August 24th, in the afternoon. Host families were waiting to take us to various homes. I was matched up with a lady named Lynne. She was a retired Lutheran pastor and she had a lovely sheltie. She brought me to her house and, on the way there, she asked me if I liked to singing. I said yes, and she said that was good because she was a member of the Travelin’ Shoes Gospel Gospel Choir. She asked me if I wanted to go to the rehearsal. I said yes. We had dinner. After that, we and a friend of hers traveled to Hager City, Wisconsin, for the rehearsal. I got to sing with the soprano section, and the rehearsal was fun. The choir director played an electric guitar, and he looked like a rock star. The two songs that we practiced were “Go Down, Moses” and “Lay My Burden Down.” Getting to sing with the choir was so much fun. After rehearsal, a choir member gave each of us peaches. We then went to a place called “The Flattened Penny” for ice cream.

Later, I happily reflected in my journal that I had made two new friends: one human and one canine. Also, I had a personal Lutheran pastor. What could be better than that? She told me about how the ministry was a second career for her and her trips to the middle east. The next day, we visited a park situated on a hill and got a panoramic view of the entire town and the river.. Later, Lynne and I went to a place called Hobgoblin for a potluck dinner and a presentation by members of the Witness Against War group. Hobgoblin is a store tht sells harps and other instruments.

Just three days later, we were nearing the end of our journey when we walked to Cottage Grove, Minnesota. A television crew from St. Paul-Minneapolis interviewed a few people from our group. In Oak Grove, a man asked us if we were hungry. He gave us a $20 donation and brought out a platter of fruit, a dip, bread, and cheese curds. I especially enjoyed the grapes, strawberries, and blueberries.

My last host family for the walk lived in Minneapolis. I was so happy to be there. A large protest had been planned for September 1st, and I intended to go there, although I was concerned that I would get very overstimulated in a crowd because of my sensory processing disorder, which doesn’t have an off switch. I was advised to skip the protest and was given a walking route to take on a river walk so I could enjoy Minneapolis. It was a beautiful, sunny day and people were out, enjoying life and celebrating summer.

The next day, the walk was officially over. I got a ride to Winona, Minnesota, and another ride to Decorah, Iowa, where I spent a week with friends on their organic farm.

I will always be grateful to the people of Minnesota for their wonderful hospitality. They were so supportive of the Witness Against War walk. I met the kindest and gentlest people there, and I will always be thankful that I had that experience.