(GK: Garrison Keillor; SS: Sue Scott: TR: Tim Russell, TK:Tom Keith)
GK: ... Good to be with you today in Good Old St. Paul. If your life seems stressful and unnecessarily complicated, maybe you need to think about ----- Good Old St. Paul. People often ask me, "What is the difference between St. Paul and that other city, you know the one, the one to the west ---" Minneapolis. A fine city in its own right, but it's a whole other world over there ---- here is a fairly typical weekday scene in Minneapolis.
(INTERIOR CAFE, QUIET)
SS: I feel so energized today. I woke up at 6 this morning and did my yoga and read the Bhagavad Gita ---- and I just felt this ---- this visceral sense of light. This sensuous luminosity.
TR: Right.
SS: You ever have that feeling? That inner light that's ---- almost palpable?
TR: When I swim with dolphins, yeah.
SS: How is your double espresso cinnamon amaretto latte?
TR: Okay, I guess. If you don't mind domestic cinnamon.
SS: What is that up there? At the top of the IDS building.
TR: It's a giant gorilla, about a hundred feet tall and it has a bus in one hand and a girl in the other.
SS: Is that a girl? Oh yeah. It is. She looks like someone I know from work.
TR: At MarCom?
SS: I left MarCom six months ago. I'm at NorEx now.
TR: Oh. What about that communications thing you were doing?
SS: These are all communications.
TR: But the one that was, you know, media stuff.
SS: These are all media related.
TR: The company with the tank in the lobby with the Japanese fighting fish.
SS: Oh. ImRon. I was there after MarCom. Before I came to NorEx.
TR: How long have you been at NorEx then?
SS: Since noon.
TR: Today---- Oh. So, how does it feel over there?
SS: It's a good feel.
TR: Great. ---- Looks like jet fighters are going after that gorilla and the girl is clinging to the TV antenna.
SS: Oh. Hard to believe it's really happening, you know?---- I really love this tea. It's a digital tea. It gives you this feeling of definition.---- You know what I mean?
TR: The gorilla is standing up on its hind legs and trying to snatch planes out of the sky.
SS: It's so ugly. I think I need some more tea. (BRIDGE)
GK: That's what it's like in Minneapolis. Whereas over here in Good Old St. Paul, life goes on in the same old familiar channels. (BRIDGE)
SS: Care for more coffee?
TR: If it's not too much trouble, sure. (POURING) Thanks.
SS: Cream?
TR: Just toss me a packet of that non-dairy creamer.
SS: Let me get you a spoon.
TR: Don't bother. I'll just take this one. Looks clean enough.
SS: Whatcha been up to?
TR: Oh, keeping busy. You know. Went over to Minneapolis the other day.
SS: Oh yeah?
TR: Yeah. Went out to the airport. Took my nephew.
SS: How was that?
TR: Good. We like to park over on that Post Road and watch the planes land. I keep a lifetime list, you know. Saw a 777 yesterday.
SS: Is that right?
TR: Yeah. And there was this giant lizard down at the end of the runway and it was rearing up on its hind legs and trying to swat planes as they came in. Boy.
SS: Well, that's Minneapolis for you. More coffee?
TR: Nope. I'm floatin. (MUSIC)
GK: Good Old St. Paul. It's the city of easy good times and humble hospitality.
TR: You ever think that if you were in a plane and it's going 630 miles an hour and you walk up to the front to use the john, you'd be traveling 632 miles an hour? You ever think of that?
SS: Interesting.
GK: Good Old St. Paul. It's just a darned nice place to hang your hat. I think you're going to like it. (MUSIC)
© Garrison Keillor 2002