Good-bye Sweet Prince

I’ve lived in Minnesota now for nearly ten years, most of that time in Minneapolis. I love this city and consider myself lucky to call it home. However, I grew up in the U.P. of Michigan and will always identify first and foremost as a Yooper. This Yooper pride gets in the way of truly declaring myself a Minnesotan and leads me to think of Minnesota as my adoptive home.

In contrast, my husband Adam grew up in a small town in west central Minnesota and is very knowledgeable about everything and anything Minnesota. His father was a high school geography teacher and every summer his family traveled around the state all the while learning about what makes Minnesota so great. By the time I met Adam, he could recite just about any bit of trivia regarding Minnesota. His college friends even referred to him as the President of Minnesota. Between my husband’s overwhelming love for his state and the rather noticeable Minnecentric vibe that permeates the culture here, this stubborn Yooper refused to drink the Minnesota Kool-aid. What’s so special about you Minnesota? You think you’re better than everybody else? I blame the Law of Jante. Look it up. It explains a lot about the culture where I grew up.   

But Prince. Prince! This one man was really the coolest thing about living in Minnesota. Okay, the progressive politics, good economy and high standard of living are all lovely — true, I’ll give you that. But Prince! God damn, now that’s something to be proud of — living in the city that produced one of the most gifted and talented musicians the world has ever known. I think everyone who lives here harbored the tiniest of hopes that they would one day bump into Prince. Maybe you just happen to be picking-up a pizza from Pizza Lucé, and bam, there’s Prince and his entourage sitting at a table eating a special eggplant Purple Rain pizza. Or maybe the next time you’re checking out live music at the Lake Harriet bandshell, he’d make a surprise appearance on stage. When one of the world’s greatest musicians lives 30 miles from your house, hell anything is possible. Unlikely, sure, but possible.

Sadly, this possibility is no more. Of course, the real tragedy is the world losing such a great talent much, much too soon. I was quite surprised by how deeply affected I felt by his untimely death. I can’t think of another celebrity death that has hurt this bad. I know that a lot of these feelings have to do with the memories I have associated with his music throughout my life and the simple fact that his music is just so damn amazing. But I’ll admit some of these feelings also come from the pride I have developed for my adoptive homeland. Minnesota. We produced the Purple One. He’s ours. We may never win the Superbowl or the Stanley Cup, but we’ll always have Prince. Prince Rogers Nelson, the world will never know another like you.