You Can Be Yourself In NoMi...And Drive A "Woody"

Photos By John Hoff

A resident of the Jordan Neighborhood drives an amazing Ford Fairlane "woody" festooned with stickers, and it was so funky I just had to take a picture of it.

Since coming to North Minneapolis (NoMi) I've noticed how people in this part of town really feel free to be themselves, for good or bad. It's not like the suburbs, where the "offensively orange" color of a garage door might cause riled up feelings with neighbors and some organized effort to enforce conformity. Here in NoMi, the houses are affordable enough for artsy free spirits and evidence of creative individuality spills into the yards, the fences, the front porches and--as you see here--sometimes it pulls right up and parks in front of the house.

When I see this car, I hear a medley of Beach Boys songs, the theme song from Happy Days and, of course, Bye Bye Miss American Pie. I think to myself, "How happy I am to live the NoMi lifestyle--affordable, meaningful, sustainable--instead of a dreary conformist life in the suburbs."

These are all the things I think when I see this car. And maybe that's part of the point of owning a car like that.


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