Page 155 - "Mississippi in the 1st Person" - Michael James Stone (Demo/Free)

“Howdy” I piped up as he turned off his motor.

I didn’t know what to expect since I had on the one hand read about the reputation of generosi-
ty and friendliness of people of the river, and on the other hand my support site had turned into

quite a few people on it down right nasty and unfriendly and warning of having to “sneaky
camp” and dodge people.

This would set the tenor of the information I was given as this was my first encounter with a

real life Minnesotan and frankly Mississippi River Person. I had lived a lot of places in the US
and some abroad, but you never know……..

I learned Minnesota Nice that Sunday afternoon and had as pleasant a conversation as I would

find all up and down the Mississippi River. As much as I could talk, these people would be po-
lite and listen. As much as I would stop and listen, they would talk.

I was beginning to find the real jewel in the crown of the Mississippi River experience and it

wasn’t that river, it was the mysterious thing called “Minnesota Nice”.

I would write volumes in my journal about Minnesota Nice and found myself enamored with a
state I knew nothing about.

The gentleman and kids who came down had apparently planned on mowing the landing that

he and all the neighbors used as a first come first serve friendly time share so to speak.

One neighbor might stock up the wood one year with chords free to use. Another would
lengthen the cleared land and plant grass. Another donated a rocking chair. This man came to

mow it. Apparently every weekend in June on ward this landing was used for families and bar-
becues and get together.

I sincerely felt ashamed and embarrassed over my thought life before he spoke and how humil-

iating it was to meet some good ole down home friendly and neighborly people that were Min-
nesota Nice.

Minnesota Nice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Minnesota nice is the stereotypical behavior of people from Minnesota to be courteous, re-
served, and mild-mannered. The cultural characteristics of Minnesota nice include a polite
friendliness, an aversion to confrontation, a tendency toward understatement, a disinclina-
tion to make a fuss or stand out, emotional restraint, and self-deprecation.