MINNEAPOLIS -- With the Mississippi River as a glimmering backdrop, the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers were kicking up their toes and heels to the accompaniment of the Yard Buzzard String Band -- entertainment that would be considered niche if you were anywhere but in the upper Midwest.
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PHOENIX -- The ceiling beams were hewn by hand in 1922, and Jeff Cirulla points to the chisel marks as he stands in the living room of this Spanish colonial treasure. He appreciates the workmanship all the more, he says, now that the painstaking task of removing layers of purple latex paint has been completed.
SEATTLE -- A woman pushes a baby stroller while wearing impossibly high heels. Another young lady sports a tiara, in the middle of the afternoon. A guy pedals a bicycle uphill while smoking a cigarette. Skateboards proliferate. So does purple hair.
