I can count on one finger the number of times I haven’t had to work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (well, two now), so today feels special.
It also feels cold. Holy crap is it cold. The temperature has barely risen above zero in 36 hours, so suffice it to say, we are celebrating Dr. King’s legacy with a blazing fire in the wood stove, a movie or two on the telly, and a big ol’ pot of cream of mushroom soup.
I have a dream…of snow, but because hell has apparently frozen over in more ways than one today, we’d have to go to Florida or Louisiana for the fluffy white stuff.
We didn’t do a whole lot over our long weekend. I’d suggested a spontaneous road trip to South Dakota to catch the Burning Beetle Festival in Custer. This annual event attracts hundreds of people, who carry torches while chanting “Burn, beetle, burn!” before setting fire to a giant wooden beetle effigy.
Only in South Dakota, amirite?
It’s not just a bunch of people embracing anarchy though. Burning Beetle was created to raise awareness of the destructive impact of the mountain pine beetle, which turned thousands of acres of ponderosa pine forests in the Black Hills into sawdust a few years ago. Setting the thing on fire is like a big, fat eff you to the destructive little bugger.
It’s also a ton of fun, and attending became an annual tradition for us, bitter cold of mid-January be damned. We’d make a weekend out of it, staying in a motel and bar-hopping after the beetle burned to the ground. There isn’t a lot I miss about South Dakota, but Burning Beetle ranks high up there. While Tara liked the idea of heading out there for the weekend, she said money’s too tight at the moment. You might say the spirit and flesh were willing but the wallet was not.
Oh, well. Maybe next year.
This isn’t to say our weekend was a complete dud. Saturday, we ventured out to Mineral Point, some 90 minutes west, to hit up Crazy Frank’s Flea Market. The name’s a bit misleading though; they don’t actually sell fleas – it’s really just a cavernous antique/vintage store with over 350 vendors. And most importantly, it’s located indoors, e.g., Not Out In The Frigid Cold. We spent a couple of hours scouring the aisles and came away with $59 worth of treasures, a random collection of knickknacks that included Carole King’s Tapestry on vinyl, a bird house, candle holders, plant stands, and a Jeremiah Johnson DVD.
We’d worked up an appetite after all that scouring, so we found a dive bar nearby and settled in for cheese curds, cod nuggets, and Moscow Mules. Sounds like an odd combination, typing it out like that, but it totally hit the spot. We made a couple more stops before arriving home after dark.
Tomorrow it’s back to work. I’m not crazy about the idea of pulling out of the driveway in ten-below-zero temps, but I haven’t been into the CheeseGov office in a week thanks to my short-lived cold, so I can’t complain too much.
And, because I said I wanted to do this more…
Reading
- The Gone World, Tom Sweterlitsch. I love a good time travel tale, but this one is too bogged down with a convoluted plot and characters it’s hard to feel drawn to. My rating: 3 stars, which is 1/2 a star too generous.
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann. I don’t often read nonfiction, but once in awhile I’m in the mood for a good ol’ historical yarn, and this book won all kinds of acclaim. There’s mutiny! And murder! And survival of the fittest! I dive in tonight.
Watching
- Fargo, Season 2. Our third round, after watching Seasons 5 and 1. Despite the lack of any big names, like Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm, the storyline is gripping and the intensity nonstop. So far, this season’s my favorite.
- Landman. Just finished the latest Taylor Sheridan hit on Paramount Plus and was blown away. Billy Bob Thornton (again) absolutely nails the role, and there’s a nice blend of drama, intrigue, romance, and humor. There better be a season 2 oil else!
- Cobra Kai. Finally got around to watching the first two installments of the sixth and final season. It’s just as fun-spirited and cheesy as always, but there’s an added extra dark layer this time around. Can’t wait to see who’s left standing on the Sekai Taikai podium when part three lands Feb. 13.
Listening
- Music: Still really into The Cure lately. Lots of Built to Spill, Springsteen, The Hold Steady, U2. Our most recent vinyl spins included The Cars, .38 Special, Loverboy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The Talking Heads.
- Podcasts: Hit Parade, All Fantasy Everything, The Travel Architect, Sharing The Heart of the Matter. I hear there’s a very special guest appearing on the Jan. 31 episode of that last one!
Is it cold where you are, too? What are some of your current pop culture indulgences?
Mark My Words 
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