Winter Storm, and an Open Door

Monday, February 21, 2011. I still 'only know what's in the papers.' Mostly the Sauk Centre Herald, plus a few major news websites. The 'cattle rustlers' I mentioned, back in December, are in the news again. Like I said then, I think it's great when young people show initiative and try to start a business. But stealing cattle isn't a smart way to start a dairy operation. By all that's sane, how did they expect to account for those calves?

Moving along.

One of the things I like - a lot - about living here is that quite a few folks care about something besides money. Don't get me wrong: I don't think there's anything wrong with money. For one thing, it helps pay the heating bill. What brought that to mind was something else in the paper.

Looks like some of the state legislators want to have Minnesota liquor stores open on Sunday. In a way, I can see their point: There's a little tax revenue going to other states in border cities. Then there's the owner of Westside Liquor, here in Sauk Centre. Darin Thompson says he doesn't want to be open Sunday. He said "It's the one day our staff can spend time with their families" in a February 15 Herald article.

Like I said, I like living here. A lot.

Maybe not having to go outside today helped.

The phone rang this morning - maybe around 6:00 - letting us know that the Sauk Centre schools weren't opening today. Smart move, considering how much snow was coming down. It was a pretty sight, and not much of a problem for traffic. Here in town: thanks in large part to the street crews coming by with plows at intervals.

I found a report of snowfall amounts, and put some of the information on the Sauk Centre Journal Blog.

Yesterday, around 5:00 p.m., one of my kids noticed that a neighbor's front door was open. With nobody in sight. That got my attention: mid-February during a central Minnesota storm is no time to let the front door stay open. A little later the door was closed again.

Does checking back on that open door make me a nosy neighbor? Maybe. But if the door of our house stays open for no apparent reason: I hope our neighbors are just as "nosy."

As I've said before: Living in a small town doesn't give a person much "privacy." Not if "privacy" is taken to mean living among folks who don't know you, and don't care what happens to you. Again: I like living here. A lot.