At the Lake

When I was a wee (and, later, not so wee) lad, Mom used to take us for a week's vacation to Grand Bend, Ontario. It was a wonderful hamlet that had a population of 500 in the winter but 5,000 in the summer. For a week, we would stay in a cabin that looked out on Lake Huron. As I recall, we didn't actually DO much. We usually went over to Stratford for a Shakespearean play. We did a little fishing and golfing. We swam in Lake Huron. Our meals consisted of such things as a healthy breakfast of peanut butter crackers.

If we were feeling particularly ambitious, we would go into town.

Downtown Grand Bend only stretched three blocks or so. But it included an area that various games such as SkeeBall and the old bumper cars. I remember my brother Frank (I think brother John may have helped him) won 37 tickets at SkeeBall so he could get a hotplate that Mom used in the cabin.

I can't tell you how big the cabin was but I remember it had a big picture window. One night, I saw am amazing sight. The moon was shining but a storm was rolling across the lake. I can still see the vision of the rain coming in from the right while the moon shone brightly on the left. It was a visual that, even if we had captured it on video (or film in those days) would not have done it justice. It was a sight meant for eyes only.

I mention all this because my wife and I are at a cabin on Lake Winnibigosh in the metropolis of Bena, MN this week. Bena's population is listed as 110. I think that includes the folks who work here, at the general store down the road and perhaps a few dogs I have seen around.

Although it is only a four-hour ride from St. Paul, you feel as is you are million miles away. As a result, the pace of life is ... well ... different. You get up when you want to and go to bed at whatever time seems right. Boy, do you really sleep well, though - even the other night when a rainstorm swept through here. You shave if you feel like it. (Some things have changed at the lake. For example, they now have satellite TV so you can keep up with the world.As this missive shows, Wi-Fi exists ... even in the woods of Bena.)

You grill anything you can. You sit on picnic tables and watch the lake. You play card games. You go out in a boat and fish. You read books. You simply stare at the lake in wonderment. This morning, I am going golfing with the son of an old family friend and two people I met for the first time the other day.

It is such a peaceful feeling here. The pace is so much slower. The folks I am golfing with today are friends of our family friends. The two families have been going to lakes for (depending you talk to) anywhere from 22-24 years. The actual number doesn't matter. The feeling of calm for all of them, however, does.

It is, like the picture of that rainstorm years ago, something meant for the eyes, ears, nose and personal memory bank only.

I understand this type of lifestyle is, for most people, a temporary respite from the real world. To those who don't get to experience it, however, I say "Too Bad." Sometimes, simply moving slowly (or not at all) beats the hell out of racing to the next appointment to make the Deal Of The Century.