Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Observations while caught in St. Paul traffic July 25, 2017

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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Southwest bound into St. Paul on Interstate 35E. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo May 2017.

 

CREEPING SOUTHBOUND ALONG INTERSTATE 35E in St. Paul early Sunday evening in a snarl of traffic due to a lane closure, I studied my surroundings. And people watched.

I waved to the elementary-aged girl flapping a mini American flag out the window of her family’s maroon van sidled next to ours. She smiled. I smiled. And I wondered if her dad couldn’t wait to get out of the metro Minnesota traffic mess and back to Iowa.

I watched, too, as a motorcycle driver sped his bike, American flag flying from the back, onto the shoulder, skirting lanes to get ahead of four-wheel traffic.

Soon several vehicles followed in the right lane that had emptied of traffic about a block before the right lane closure. The zipper merge worked up until then. I could see an accident waiting to happen as the impatient motorists flexed their muscles, bullying into the left lane with concern only for themselves and whatever hurry they had. Drivers like that endanger all of us with their excessive speed.

I dug two peppermint life savors from my purse, rolled down the passenger side window, tried to relax in the near traffic gridlock. I’ve never determined how people can handle this daily congestion while driving to and from work or wherever.

 

 

 

Randy diverted my attention to a sign posted on the Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota building next to the interstate. We laughed at the suggestion that joint replacement could transform the average patient into a buff biker.

 

Tents like the one above hugged the fenceline above and along Interstate 35E just south of Interstate 94 in St. Paul.

 

Then I noticed a string of one-man tents hugging the fence along and above the interstate. I have no clue why anyone would camp in such a location. What was that all about?

As much as I dislike traveling through the Twin Cities metro, I always spot something intriguing. And I always land back home in Faribaault incredibly thankful that I don’t live in the Cities.

© Copyright 2017 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Expecting a crash, but witnessing something else along I-35E May 10, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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Traffic slowed going into this curve along I 35E in St. Paul.

Traffic slowed going into this curve along Interstater 35E in St. Paul. A few motorists chose to disobey the signage, skirting onto the shoulder reserved for authorized buses only.

TRAFFIC CLOGGED JUST SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN St. Paul early Sunday evening in the southbound lanes of Interstate 35E near the 104C/Victoria Street exit.

With the road curving in this stretch of interstate, neither my husband or I could see what awaited us. We expected an accident. But, instead, we saw a couple sitting on a slip of grass between the interstate and exit ramp. At first I thought they were crash victims. They were not.

An officer carries bags to his squad.

An officer carries bags to his squad.

The pair was handcuffed and a police officer was carrying several clear plastic bags—presumably evidence—to the back of his squad. A closer examination of my photos shows what appears to be cash inside one of the bags.

 

Police activity, 83

 

After snapping a few frames, I glanced back to see a second officer leading the young woman away in handcuffs. She could have been a model; she was that stunning.

 

Police activity, 84 couple

 

The expression on the young man’s dazed face appeared wary, scared and haunting.

The traffic snarl didn’t last long. But the questions I have linger. Who are this man and woman? What led them to this spot in this situation on this evening? What’s their story?

 

Police activity, 87 couple close-up

 

I scrolled through the Ramsey County Jail inmate list and found two arrests at the time and location of the incident I witnessed. But because I can’t be 100 percent certain in tying records to the couple I photographed, I’m not detailing what I found. You can choose to look if you wish. Or you can choose to wonder about this couple who, on Mother’s Day evening, found themselves handcuffed alongside a metro Minnesota interstate.

© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling