On the second saturday in August (Twineball Days), I will be making my annual pilgrimmage to the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota. The mammoth sphere resides in the small town of Darwin, Minnesota in a makeshift pagoda near a giftshop. During Twineball Days, many of the town’s approximately 200 residents have garage sales, bake sales, and all sorts of good stuff going on. There’s even a parade.
For those of you who are familiar with the Weird Al song but have never actually visited the Ball, I would like to say:
[ul]
[li]Yes Virginia, there really is a large ball of twine.[/li][li]Yes, it is the one Weird Al sang a song about.[/li][li]Yes, there is a Twineball Inn. I am unsure if it’s just a restaurant or a bed-n-breakfast or what, but it’s there.[/li][/ul]
I’ve been visiting the Twineball annually for 5 years now, and I’m not going to miss it this year!
So, I’m wondering, are any other Dopers planning on making it to this important event?
So we all just stared at the ball for awhile,
And my eyes got moist, but I said with a smile,
“Kids, this here’s what America’s all about.”
Then I started feelin’ kinda gooey inside,
And I fell on my knees and I cried and cried.
And that’s when those security guards threw us out.
You know, just yesterday I was at a friend’s house reflecting on the fact that he paid $850,000 for his small two-bedroom apartment with no dining room and open-air kitchen just because it has a decent view of Central Park. And I was lamenting that I didn’t have a spare $800 G, so a view was out of reach to me.
“Self,” I said to myself, “you’re an idiot! Why don’t you move to the suburbs where for half that price, you can have a yard the size of a park. Complete with duck pond, if you move far enough out of the city. Go for it – it’s not that bad out there.”
Thank you, BlackKnight, for setting me straight. Guess it’s back to saving my pennies.
Yeah, you say that now, but at four o’clock this morning you’ll be laying awake in the dark and staring at your ceiling, with a little voice whispering “I am the Twineballllllllll…come to meeeeeeee” in your ear.
I hope I’ll be able to go. I requested that day off from work, but that doesn’t mean anything really. I suppose if I do work that day I can call in sick. It would be worth it for the Twineball.
