Bearing in mind....
that I am a native of the Badger State, I admit to having heard of Minocqua, WI without having any idea of where it is. So one can imagine my surprise at receiving a phone call at work from my spousal unit reporting that my sister felt compelled to ‘narc’ on Martha and her girlfriend. And the plot they were hatching to visit Minocqua.





Map of
Minocqua, WI


The girls were spending a few days of spring break visiting Karen and scoping out her new home. The fact that I let Martha drive to the north woods with a friend (albeit a more experienced driver with a cell phone and a decent car) has been enough of a stretch for me. Rick thought it was OK, as in “How much trouble can they get into between here and greater rural/suburban Minneapolis?” (I wouldn’t even bother to enumerate - he wouldn’t believe me anyway.) My sister reminded me that she and her best friend Ellen (a confusing situation in family discussions, especially when I hung out with an Ellen across the street and made a friend name Ellen while at Barat) drove up to Sturgeon Bay while in high school. I don’t really remember this. This may have actually happened while I was away at school or during one of those partying spells in my life when I wasn’t too concerned with what my sister was doiing as long as I didn’t get caught in the fallout from her bad decisions. Unfortunately, my parents are no longer alive to corroborate the story.

Rick had to explain to me that Minocqua - vacation destination known for the beauty and abundance of pristine lakes, unspoiled woodlands and native wildlife - was a good four hours from my sister’s house. I asked just what was there to do in Minocqua. Well, it is a popular tourist destination. In the summer. NOT IN APRIL DURING AN ICE STORM ! Indeed, most of the schools up north were not on spring break, but they were closed because of a later winter/early spring ice storm.

Having terminated that little side trip, the girls have had a pretty good time and are now on their way home. After I hear all about the nth trip to the Mall of America and Aunt Karen’s tomato red library, we’ll be having a little talk about trust....