Out and About With Johnny

Yesterday my favorite reader spotted me out on the town. I wish she would have said, Hello. I really am approachable. Don't be scared. I don't bite. I don't even have much of the a bark. Johnny, Maren and I made a quick stop at Spyhouse, on Nicolett, for chai before hitting up The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. We'd all spent too much money since Johnny arrived Wednesday night, so we decided against paying for the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit.

The Minneapolis Public Library offers free passes to most of the local museums and select other attractions. On Thursday, I had picked up free passes from for the Frida Kahlo exhibit at The Walker. In the last several months, I've seen Picasso and Frida for free thanks to the public library system and The Walker. Finding fun, free-to-low cost outings in the Twin Cities has been a lot of fun. The Minneapolis art scene has been one of my favorite things about the city, also with the Art-a-whirl in my neighborhood just after I moved to Northdeast.

Frida challenged so many stereotypes, at the same type demonstrating her vulnerabilities and narcissistic tendencies for the World to see. I identify with straddling this line. The decision to start writing here came down to me recognizing that yes, my voice does matter. All of of have a voice and it's our duty to express it hoping that others will find truth within our experiences. Truth is not constant. Truth is the perception of one or of the masses and my truth might be yours. Hopefully someone can find truth within these words.

Frida's truth was never better demonstrated than the series of black and white photos. Seeing a 16-year-old Friday wearing her father's best suit. hair slicked back, confident in her appearance and in control of her sexuality was inspiring. We all should aspire to reach that level of confidence of our place in the World.

We headed to the Bad Waitress, another favorite of mine, before going sledding at Buck Hill, in Burnsville. The farther I get away from the Twin Cities the more open the people I meet are to strike up a random conversation. The kid working the tubing area had many questions about California. He quizzed Johnny on Lake Tahoe and me on the professional sports teams I follow. For the record, I've never been an Oakland Raiders fan. I blame Al Davis for many of the problems my Oakland Athletics have had over the years. I grew up a 49er fan, which I'll still proudly claim, despite the 49ers poor performance today again the Vikings.

The tubing attendee never once asked me why I moved here. It was refreshing. We had an honest conversation without ever making the other feel like a foreigner. I miss those random conversations. We concentrated on what we had in common and not what our differences were, while at the same time recognizing that differences do exist.

Exploring Minneapolis

Johnny is still in town from San Francisco. Thursday night we had late night drinks at the CC Club. I think he enjoyed watching and comparing his hipster to our hipsters - the assortment of cold weather accessories and selections on the jukebox. Late night drinks led directly to late night snow angels. We had brunch at Sunnyside Up Cafe in Uptown, favorite of mine, for its mix of neighborhoodies, hipsters, families. It's rare that you see everyone in one restaurant. That's also the reason I love the Hexagon Bar, off Hiawatha, so much.

I took him around Lake Calhoun and Harriet yesterday. His Converse Chuck Taylor's were probably not the best winter shoe selection. The more we walked around the less feeling he had in his toes.

Johnny quote of the day: "Everything is so pretty. I could live in this. I just need to figure the shoe thing out."

Today I pawned him off on my best friend here and my roommates, while I worked. He spent an hour in the MIA, which was far from enough for him. Tomorrow will be a full day: tubing at Buck Hill, Frida exhibit at the Walker, a quick jaunt through the sculpture garden, the back to the MIA, a tour of the skyway before a movie at Block E.