My husband's sabbatical project is devising new lab exercises involving the Mississippi River for his geology and geography students. Since St. Olaf is now on spring break I was able to join him as he traveled one segment, by car, the western shore of the river from Dubuque, Iowa to Red Wing, Minnesota. We took in the Mississippi museum in Dubuque and stopped at Effigy Mounds near MacGregor, Iowa.
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| Not the Richards House |
Along the way we saw lots of houses: huge, stately, old Victorians on the bluffs and row houses close to the railroad and some tiny houseboats tied up to the levees and some house elevated on stilts made of cement blocks right along the shore. Even if it is true, as Jim Cullen tells us, that one powerful version of the American dream is the dream of home ownership, this trip made vivid to me the reality that the dream comes in many versions.
While the house one can have is dependent upon one's resources, I was struck by the thought that which the house one wants is also a function of the dream one has for a good or happy life. Sitting in a glider on the back porch of our B&B on a warm Saturday was lovely, but I don't dream of owning a large, always in need of renovation, architectural landmark made into a B&B. Nor do I dream of having been the original owner of such a place. Neither life is one that would make me happy.
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