I’m not a huge fan of catalog shopping. It irritates me to get two, three, or even four catalogs—all remarkably similar in my mailbox. However, I am on one catalog mailing list that I really enjoy receiving, Signals.
Signals offers “Gifts that inform, enlighten and entertain.” And the catalog fulfills that pledge with a delightfully eclectic assortment of highbrow merchandise such as interesting abstract sculptures, elegant Mobius necklaces and literature like Ken Burns’ The Civil War boxed set—as well as campy items like lava lamps, Frank Lloyd Wrightinspired welcome mats, and tin lunch boxes.
Nearly every catalog has something I want to buy. I don’t order too often, because sometimes the price is steep for something silly and unnecessary. However, I’ve purchased more than a few gifts from Signals, including a number of garden plaques for friends that declare “Don’t Piss Off The Fairies.” Something every good garden needs!
Part of the fun of Signals is the wonderfully descriptive language next to each item. I think I would like the job of writing the mini-reviews of the things for sale.
They really do try to inform and enlighten. For instance, in a recent catalog, Signals offered an antiqued wooden plaque carved with the words Fluctuant Nec Mergitur.
Apparently, according to Signals, Fluctuant Nec Mergitur is the motto of the city of Paris and it means, “Tossed by the waves, she does not sink.”
Signals explains that the motto is found all over the City of Lights, something interesting but frankly confusing. Because if I am recalling my geography correctly, Paris is not near any large body of water. I don’t think the Seine River has ever run hard enough or fast enough to sink the city of Paris.
However, as was evidenced by our beautiful little city last week, Grand Marais does get tossed by waves but does not sink!
Which finally brings me to my point, which was not to just extol the virtues of a favorite mail-order catalog, but rather to suggest that we not bemoan the periodic blasts on our beaches and streets by Lake Superior, but instead to embrace them. As we did last week on July 20 when nearly four inches of rain fell on Grand Marais overnight and flooded the streets—especially the city’s municipal parking lot.
The parking lot is infamous for rapidly shifting from a parking area to a wading pool at least once a year. It’s been this way as long as I can remember. When I was growing up in Grand Marais, the municipal lot was not paved and there were lots of rocks to skip in the water that accumulated. We also had fun walking through the giant puddle barefoot, letting mud squish between our toes.
There have been numerous attempts to “fix” the flooding problem that occurs every time we get high rains and the wind blows Lake Superior up on shore. Former Grand Marais Mayor Mark Sandbo took a lot of ribbing when the parking lot flooded shortly after the “streetscape” project under his tenure was completed. The city motto over the flooded lot at that time said “Lake Sandbo.”
Sandbo has been somewhat vindicated. Yes, the parking lot still floods when we have major rain events and Lake Superior attacks the shore. But the parking lot isn’t a standing swamp for a week at a time anymore. No, the city just gets “tossed” for a day and does not sink.
And it definitely did not sink this July 20. It was a glorious, miraculous day of misty sunshine, of kids and puppies playing in the enormous puddle, of shoppers being assisted by kayakers traversing the little lake in downtown Grand Marais. It brightened everyone’s day.
So, I think the city of Grand Marais should abscond with the motto of the city of Paris. Fluctuant Nec Mergitur. It’s a more fitting motto for our beautiful little town, which boldly coexists beside the beautiful Big Lake, gets buffeted by storms but never sinks.
The life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects. We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it.
Charles Baudelaire
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