Right now, I'm on holiday (vacation) till Monday Sept. 22, so I thought I'd get some internet stuff done this morning. So I'm looking at my homepage and a news headline grabbed my attention..."New Interstate Bridge in Minneapolis Opens" so I immediately clicked on the link to read the story. Man, what a difference 13 months makes. More on that in a bit. You know, I live in the Green Bay-Milwaukee-Chicago region, and it's so much easier and quicker to get down there than it is to get over to the Twin Cities, but I must give the Cities their just due. I love it over there. My first trip was as a young lad in the mid-late 80's when my great Aunt D. lived there. She passed on in 2001 at the ripe young age of 104 (RIP). Currently, my cousin and his bride reside over there, and I am long overdue for a trip there myself. I last went in April 2007.
I'll just say this, anyone who has never been there is in for a surprise. It is a sprawling, massive metroplex of nearly three million people. They've got the Mall of America, tons of Caribou Coffees (a direct competitor to Starbucks here in the upper midwest and awesome coffee to boot), it's the home of the (hated) Vikings, other pro sports teams (the T-Wolves, Twins & Wild), Prince, Morris Day, The Time (my fav Funk band) and my personal fav, Flyte Tyme studios, owned and operated by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (of The Time). Yep. One day, I'm gon' get my ass in the doors there and meet those dudes. All that Janet Jackson material in the 80's and 90's was recorded there, plus stuff by New Edition, Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, The Human League, Johnny Gill, Keith Sweat, Karyn White and many, many others... These two cities are very unique and each one is a bit different from it's counterpart. I'll just say that Minneapolis is the more cosmopolitan and style conscious of the two, while St. Paul has more of a laid-back, working class charm all it's own. Been to both and I like each of them. Oh, and the people are pretty friendly there as well.
The I-35W brigde that collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007, well, yours truly has been over that bridge quite a few times on my jaunts over to the Cities in recent years, so it is with great amazement that I say job well done in getting that bridge built in such a short timespan. When I heard the news about the bridge collapse, I immediately contacted my uncle to see if my cousin (who is an EMT btw) was alright, as he usually is out on rounds during the rush hour. Of course he was alright, but I guess he did have to respond to some calls to help survivors. Now, I am anxious to get back over there and take a drive across it. And do a ton of things while over there as well. And a lot to do there is, believe me. As you head from St. Paul over into Minneapolis via I-35W, this bridge really gives you a spectacular view of the Minneapolis skyline, especially at night. Quite impressive I might add. My advice, get there. I guarantee you will not leave disappointed.
I would just like to conclude by saying "congrats" on getting this bridge completed, and I do anticipate getting my turn to drive across it one day soon.
Anyways, that is whats on my mind at the moment. Stay tuned for more...
Later my peeps...
JD
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