Who Says You Can't Go Home?

"Who says you can't go home..

There's only one place that call me one of their own

Just a hometown boy, born a rolling-stone,

who says you can't go home?" jon bon jovi

hmmm... who says you can't go home?

These little turtle guys don't have to worry about going home. They kind of carry their four-walls with them where ever they go.

i never really thought that much about it, since i go home all the time. No real secret -- i love Central Florida. Unfortunately, lots of other people do to. So it is a very different place now than my formative years, almost unrecognizable in some ways.

But John on the other hand had not been back to Minnesota -- where he spent junior high through college -- for 20 years.

Actually the only time i had been there to visit was 20 years ago in the dead of winter on our Christmas break from law school 3 rd year, and that break was the last time John had been there as well.

See there were no Miles in Minnesota before the John Miles, Srs' traveled up there for a business opportunity for Poppa Jack. They didn't know a soul in the entire state and they were moving 3.5 hours north of Minneapolis to a tiny town -- Wadena -- or as we now more affectionately call her........

the Wad on the Prairie.

Yes, little 7th-grader johnny was not happy. i don't think he talked to his parents for 6 months after arrival in Wad. Didn't tryout for any sports, didn't go to any school or community events -- basically, he sat home in his room.

He said that on October 7, his birthday, their first fall there -- it snowed.

That's what i remember. Lots of snow. I remember flying up there that Christmas break long ago. We broke through the clouds just as the pilot said we were flying over Chicago. i will never forget looking out that plane window and seeing white. just white. -- this little sheltered Florida gal had never ever seen anything like that.

White as far as the eye could see and it was white till we landed in Minneapolis -- and white all the drive up to Wad.

Yes, very white and very, very cold. Wind Chill 40 below. ouch.

So i wasn't prepared for my reaction to this middle-of-July Minnesota -- and if truth be told Johnny was not quite prepared for his reaction either.

I loved it! It was warm. There was lots of sunshine. And lots of water. Guess it is the land of 10,000 lakes. These are great lakes. Awesome sandy-bottomed ones. Ones with sand beaches and nice, natural incline underneath feet as you walk out into water. It sooooo reminded me of the Florida lakes and days spent on them. Nice clear water and clean white sand.

Nice clear water and clean white sand doesn't exist much in FL anymore. At least i wouldn't want to swim so much in those lakes where i grew up. Theses MN lakes weren't choked with boaters either. loved it. really started to think, "Hey, i could see myself up here."

That was when Steve -- John's good friend and host for all our lakeside fun at the Stromberg Family cabin -- unknowingly brought me back to my senses. "This really is the perfect time for your visit -- the best two weeks of weather the whole year -- last 2 weeks of July."

Best 2 weeks of weather the whole year? oh yeah. We are talking about latitude 46.44 N here.

But if honest, it wasn't the great weather, very, very awesome caramel rolls the size of small dinner plates, or plentiful waterside fun that made that Mad trek to Wad so worth it....

It was seeing all those great folks again, especially Steve and Shelia -- and hearing the....."hey, you guys." the "Oh-for funs." the "Do ya want some pop?"

Yes, i was quick to notice that John's "ya'lls" were quickly replaced with -- a "come on you guys." And he suddenly and very weirdly morphed into my Dad. My dad who loves to ride us around Orlando -- very, very slowly -- where he was born and lived all his life pointing out his old high school, ball field -- etc.

Our little minivan with windows rolled down was often found slowly driving by certain Wadena landmarks. Many of these places i remembered from 20 years earlier. Except then the sky was grey, the ground was kind of grey, the birch trees were grey, there were exposed skin warnings and oh yeah , this time around there were -- 3 children fighting in backseat.

It was this bickering and taunting which was prompting most of John's ...."Hey...Guys, Guys... settle down. Come on you guys." which did crack me up. Unfortunately, none of which looks that funny written -- without actually being able to experience the nasal Norwegian inflection.

Yes, trips to the old high school football field. No longer the gameday gridiron as a newer field stands at attention across street by school. These trips included many reenactments of John's record-setting TD -- the longest Wadena TD. Think it was some type of kick-off return? Guess i should know that by now.

i think HK and Joe are representing the clueless defenders big johnny so stealthily out maneuvered down field.

Another great Wad landmark the Uptown Cafe. Remember eating there for lunch ages ago. It was snowing, bitter cold -- pretty much your typical Wadena in early January. Looking on the menu i saw, "hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy."

i thought...hmmm. That roast beef sounded sooo good. But sooo many calories. So i just asked the very friendly oh-for fun waitress to please hold the mashed potatoes. My mouth was watering at the thought of that warm bread and warm beef. Our lunch arrived and i looked down at my plate.

yes -- i had my sandwich, but i really couldn't see my sandwich because it was completely covered and swimming in a sea of beef gravy. Kind of like a roast beef sandwich submerged in a bowl of extremely thick beef soup. Poor guy really needed a snorkel and i definitely needed a fork. Guess i had forgotten to mention holding the gravy as well. They are precious hearty folk -- not afraid of a good meal. or amazing baked goods.

We certainly had our share of those caramel rolls and drove by on our way out of town to see if the bakery was open Sunday morning for one last yeast feast.

John's trip down memory lane would not have been complete without day trip to the lovely Moorhead/Fargo area and a visit to his alma mater Concordia College.

Yes, we loaded up on Concordia wear at the bookstore. It was a quandary for me whether to go for the cap that said Concordia football or just Cobbers. And even though we didn't spring for the $20 extremely large corn-cob headpiece -- i just couldn't see myself walking through the airport carrying a large corncob -- i am kicking myself that i didn't think to take his picture with that mighty kernel cob on his head.

Here are the guys on another one of johnny's trip down football memory lane -- this one in Cobberland.


Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and that's a matter of fact,
there's only one place left i want to go,

who says you can't go home..........

John himself will candidly admit that he was very surprised by the flood of memories and emotions that this trip back to Minnesota released in him.

i was just glad it was warm.

Must do one more post re Minnesota. Steve and Shelia, the turtles and the county fair. They all are the best.

As we pulled out of Wadena with KWAD 92o AM on the radio, i had to admit that darn town on the prairie was pretty good too.

Guess what looked like the worst turn of fate a 13-year-old could be sentenced to all those years ago -- really ended up being a moment God smiled in Johnny's young life.

Who says you can't go home....

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.........

Yes, fair Wad on the Prairie you are more than alright.