On Saturday Manyu and I drove a friend’s teenage son to Decorah, Iowa so he could retake his ACT exam. I am not sure why he couldn’t retake the exam in La Crosse or why he couldn’t drive himself to Decorah, but I didn’t ask and had nothing else planned for the day. I do know that his mom runs a small carryout Chinese restaurant and cannot take Saturdays off. Only three weekends ago Manyu and I drove the boy’s older sister to Minneapolis and helped her move into her first-year dorm at the University of Minnesota. Every time I help the family, the mom makes me a large order of General Tso’s chicken. I’ve had her General Tso’s chicken directly off the menu, and I’ve had it when she makes it special for me. There’s a difference. General Tso’s chicken is a real Chinese dish, but my Chinese and Taiwanese friends all think it is too sweet. It is the Westerners married to Chinese and Taiwanese who like it.
The ACT exam was scheduled to take four hours, so Manyu and I spent the morning wandering Water Street in downtown Decorah. I’ve been told a number of times that Decorah is a hidden gem, but still it exceeded my expectations. All of the buildings were well-maintained; every storefront, as far as I could tell, was occupied by a business that could have been found in Mayberry (i.e., no franchises, no tattoo parlors, no CBD shops). I counted three independently-owned coffee shops within a two-block area. All three were busy on a Saturday morning, and all three looked more inviting than anything in La Crosse.
Most of the people not relaxing in a coffee shop were at the weekend farmer’s market. It was the kind of farmer’s market where I buy stuff I don’t want just to support the vendors. That morning I bought an overpriced jar of jalapeño-laced peach preserves because a cute six-year old girl spent five minutes explaining to me why, among the four flavors her mom was selling, I should get either the peach or the hibiscus.
Decorah is one of several towns in the tri-state corner (Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) where people of the back-to-nature movement went in the 1960s and 1970s. Even though most of them eventually returned to life in Chicago, Madison, or the Twin Cities, the ones who stayed created communities that now attract new generations of people looking for a simpler life. Decorah is especially popular in this regard, because in addition to the small-scale farms, bakeries, and artisan shops, it also is home to a small liberal arts college known for its music programs. Decorah combines rural living with the appeal of a college town.
Manyu and I walked past Decorah’s Democratic headquarters. The double doors were wide open, and two old guys (older than me) called us in and tried to register us to vote. I said, “We are already registered. Besides, we live in Wisconsin.”
“Oh,” said one of the old men, “you live in one of those places where your vote actually matters. Good for you.”
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