My Last Visit to the Land of the White Bear

I'm in White Bear Lake, MN. to join family members in attending the memorial for my recently departed aunt. The corridors of the hotel where I stayed are lined with black & white photos of White Bear Lake, the way it was circa 1930's when my aunt and Dad were teens. It really was that way, even in the 1960's, when I first visited the town. Today it is just another GAS (Great American Strip) MALL, indistinguishable from myriad of others that dot the landscape of manifest destiny. A drinker at the hotel bar didn't want to talk about the election because "McCain is gonna win, count on it." The retreat into nostalgia knows no bounds; rather than try something new, we're going to vote for a 70-year old who wants the surge to continue. Daddy's gone, now auntie's gone too, dear. Goodbye, White Bear. We are in so much trouble.