Editor’s note: this article was written prior to the murder of Alex Pretti.
Susan Lenfestey is a regular contributor. She lives in Lowry Hill.
It’s the time of year when some of us in Minnesota get heavily into what I call ice gardening — creating ice globes and lanterns and ice “glass” for our yards and for friends and for the Luminary Loppet on February 7.
But this year I’m torn between creating ice and crushing ICE. Between filling balloons and buckets with water to create the magic of ice vs. filling bags and baskets with groceries to defeat the terror of ICE.
It’s not really a choice. We need to do it all.
We need creativity to keep our spirits alive and we need resistance to keep our city alive.
We need Ice Shanties and the North Side Light Up and the Luminary Loppet and we need school safety patrols and grocery shoppers and delivery drivers.
We need layers of warm clothing and whistles and yes, water balloons, to push back against provocateurs and to protest peacefully wherever we find ICE.
We need to shop where we may not always shop and eat where we may not have eaten before because small businesses are being hammered by the loss of employees and customers who are too frightened to leave their homes or worse.
And we need the embrace of community. Two days after Renee Good was murdered, husband Jim and I left for a six-day sojourn on a beach.
Leaving felt wrong, like leaving a very sick child to attend a New Year’s Eve party and being there felt worse. The city didn’t need me, but I needed my city. We cut the trip short and came home.
Being away made me realize again the importance of community.
And although the etymology of the word doesn’t mention it, community ends in unity.
We had a divisive election last fall, but the invasion of ICE just may be uniting us.
We are bound by our shared sense of decency and pride in our plucky little city.
Everyone I talk with says the same thing. “We are exhausted.” Which is what this vindictive administration wants us to be, so muster up. Our job is to keep going for those who truly cannot.
The weather has given us a huge advantage and for once I don’t want winter to end.
I’ve signed on to patrols and protests, but for now I’m making ice.
It’s time to contrast their ugly ICE with the beauty of our Minnesota ice and to drive the invasives from our garden.
