I was downstate most of last week, and more than once I was asked a question–
“What’s it like being a Yooper?”
I really didn’t know how to answer that, although once I did ask back, “What’s it like being a Troll?” It struck me as interesting that people think we’re some kind of mythical creatures who live in a world outside reality.
Besides, how can you explain what it’s like being a Yooper when there are so many kinds of us? As far as I can tell, there are at least five distinct types.
There are YOOPERS: people who were born here, like pasties, go to camp on the weekend, yet realize that there is a world outside of the UP. Most of the time, they just don’t wanna deal with it.
Then, there are YOOPER YOOPERS: those who hunt, fish, eat mosquitoes for breakfast, wear Carhartt every day of the year, including Christmas, and look at you funny when you don’t end a sentence with the word “eh.”
There are DISPLACED YOOPERS: those who were born here, left, still miss the Motherland, and go ga-ga when they find a pasty shop in a place like Arizona.
There are also URBAN YOOPERS: We’re a rare breed. We like things like sidewalks and crowds, but we also appreciate the fact that we can walk down one of those sidewalks and turn something like a park by the lake into our temporary office.
And finally, there are ASPIRING YOOPERS: These are people who move to the UP and want to become Yoopers.
There are actually two types; the ones who don’t fit in, who still call it “soda” even after living here for five years, and then those who do fit in, who immediately become a part of the UP fabric. I’m lucky enough to be married to one; I’ve also been lucky enough to spend two years working with one that, sadly, we’ll be losing at the end of the week.
So the next time someone asks me what it’s like being a Yooper, I should just ask them, “Which kind of Yooper?” and then watch as their head explodes trying to comprehend the fact that all 300,000 of us are nowhere near the same.
I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906.”
