January in Duluth

Last year, during the January in Duluth project, I wandered into Doug Moen’s antique store with photographer Kip Praslowicz. Doug was very generous with Kip and me, two oddballs who wandered off the street to take up some of his time. And from what I’ve gathered, that seemed to be his M.O. During our short time together, he was warm, funny, honest, and so perfectly at home in his store, with his junk.

Doug and I recorded a short conversation while Kip took the photograph in a previous post. I never ended up making an audio piece from the recording, as I’d hoped, but I did make a transcription of the interview. Kip encouraged me to post it here for anybody who might be interested.

I was in a cathedral, standing in the nave. The pews were empty, the building dark. It must have been night. Without warning, a choir’s song sliced through the hushed darkness, their voices intertwining to illuminate the room – a bright, pure light. I could see their faces, one thousand beautiful children, dressed in white. I stood there motionless, enraptured by their song, their words washing over me. The tune was bracingly enigmatic, yet hauntingly familiar – they sung a single phrase over and over:

Vincent Gargiulo is horrible.


(januaryinduluth.wordpress.com).

He’s been clogging up the airwaves with his “January in Duluth” posts … now it’s time to bid him farewell.

Before he flees, he has agreed to give us a presentation on what he’s been up to. …

(Getting to the end — thank you so much for putting up with these January in Duluth encroachments in this wonderful space.)

Last day of January and I have a few sackfuls of questions with incomplete/partial answers. With time running out, maybe you can give me a few hints on my homework? Below, I’ve boiled down a list of [A] v. [B]s, isolating dichotomies about life here in Duluth — if you have a few extra intro/outrospective minutes to kill today, I’d love to hear how you’d weigh in on any or all of these. Of course, in each matchup there’s no need to declare a clearcut winner (balance in all things), so your answers can take the form of one word or a phrase or a few thoughts or an essay if you’re exceptionally motivated. …

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