Salt--aay

When we were driving back from St. Cloud last Thursday, before we crossed back over into the land of North Dakota - I believe it was close to mile marker 49, we saw a vehicle that had MN plates and was covered in a white salty residue.  I can say with fairly decent certainty that it was mile marker 49 because Karen was constantly texting people which mile marker we were at the whole trip; she figured people would want to know.
 

Right after mile marker 49, the one man that was along on the trip said to all of us about that salty vehicle...

Well wait for a second.

First of all, let's just have a moment of appreciation for a man that can travel with six ladies.  In a vehicle.  And then put up with all of us for three whole days.  While remaining sane.  That deserves a moment.        

Anyways, the man said, "Minnesota sure salts their roads a lot.  Look at that."  

Everyone replied with an agreeing murmur or a head bob or some other form of compliance but I laughed inside my head.  Not outside my head.  Inside.  Because I remembered a time when Momma D. and I were visiting a friend's house when I was a young grasshopper still living at home.  We pulled up to the friend's house and spotted a spiffy car.  I don't remember what kind or anything.  Just that it was fancy and that it had MN license plates.  And when I was a teenager, I was going to be a rich adult.  Really, there was no question in my mind I would be rich {hmmmm...turns out I was wrong} so I exclaimed to Momma D. that I wanted that car and that someday I would have it or at least something like it.  Then she told me, "You wouldn't want that exact car because it's from MN and their cars are always salty."  

This was my answer for that.  "I thought all of their lakes were freshwater?"

Uffda.  

Momma Debi gave me the -how are you my daughter- look and laughed.  After she had regained her composure, she explained to me that having freshwater lakes would have nothing to do with a salty car because it's not like you really drive a car in the lake anyway and that the salt comes from the road which would be a more appropriate place for a car to drive.

Then she laughed some more. 

Here's what I know.  I've done some odd things and said some pretty off the wall statements in my life.  Think car wash.  And I'm sure there have been times my parents really wondered where I came from being the intelligent people they are.  But, I don't think the reason my thinking is wonky during those times is rooted from the fact that this head is simply a hat rack.  My grad school diploma tells me I must have a few, or at least a couple, brain cells.  No instead, I think the source of these momentary lapses is from this brain of mine just getting going a way too fast and pingy for its own good.  Or something like that.
 

At least when riding in the back back seat of a Ford Expedition as a 27 year old adult, I can laugh inside my head from the remembrance of one brief moment in time when I might have said something that didn't quite make sense.  Then, I feel thankful for two things.  Number one being that I am completely comfortable laughing at myself.  Number two being that I have been called many things, but boring has never been one of them.  Those are worth something.  I hope. 

I do give myself one bonus point for knowing that Minnesota lakes are freshwater.