Jim Northrup is, IMO, the best damn humorist Minnesota has ever produced, but so much of his gift doesn't come through in his writing. He is unbelievably funny live, but it is a rare month that goes by that I don't really appreciate his "Fond du Lac Follies" column in The Circle newspaper. I think his best writing is in those columns.

The reason I used him for a comparison is that "Fond du Lac Follies" could easily be viewed as another sort of "News from Lake Wobegone" sort of writing. The difference being that Jim Northrup really is Indian, he really is from the place he writes about, etc.

Finally, Fred, it is nice to see that someone "gets it" after 100+ posts. Yes, the Lake Wobegone thing is mighty tiresome to many of us Minnesotans, who never did find the humor at other people's expense funny to begin with, much less 30 years later.

Thank you for articulating what I failed to, and bless your little heart for doing it so well.