A wonderful look at life in a rural fictional town in central Minnesota. The book is not nostalgic. The many charms and limitations of small town life are equally and beautifully described in a myriad of short stories. What's of real importance to us as human beings is made clear in the closing paragraph of the book, "...But what a lucky man. Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. He takes deep breaths and the cold air goes to his brain and makes him more sensible. He starts out on the short walk to the house where people love him and will be happy to see his face."