New in Town

Oh, I bet you that's Trudy right now.

Harve, would you get that?

Harve, get that, will you?

To the 35, 40. What a block.

Forty-five, still going. Brought down at the 50.

Okay, buster, no tapioca for you.

-Hey, everybody. -Hi.

Hi, Trudy.

l froze my patootie off waiting for someone to open that door.

You know how those New Ulm men get when the Vikings play.

-Yeah, l know. -So, Trudy, l've got cocoa, tea or cider.

Cider. Thank you.

So, what's the latest?

You girls are terrible. You start right in on that gossip.

lt's not gossip, it's news.

Yes, Blanche, it's news.

So spit it out.

The reason l was late is because l just got off the phone...

-...with Munck headquarters in Miami. -What did they want?

To rent a house for the new plant manager they're sending here.

-No way. -Yes way.

We remember what happened to that Iast plant manager...

...that Stu and his fellas ran out of town.

The one that choked on the knackwurst...

...during the Braunschweiger competition?

Or what about the manager Stu had stand too close to the glockenspiel?

-You know I heard he stiIl has tinnitus? -What's that?

Well, it's like:

All day long for the rest of your life.

Oh, my God, that's horrible.

Don't forget the Land O' Lakes manager...

...that mysteriously got locked into the dairy cooler.

What that man had to do in that cooIer to survive....

lt's unmentionable.

God bless our new plant manager whoever the poor guy is.

Amen.

Good morning. Munck Foods.

Sorry I'm late.

-We haven't gotten far. -We had to wait for you.

We were discussing how getting the New Ulm facility...

...dumped on our division is going to affect our bottom line.

Well, wouldn't it just be better to close the plant?

lt looks like a lost cause to me.

Yes, but Marketing wants to cross our branding in the youth demo...

...with the adult protein craze with Rocket Bars, protein snacks for kids.

Now, we can use the existing facility...

...but we'll have to automate it to produce the new Iine...

...downsize production, reduce the workforce by 50 percent.

The question is, who will oversee it?

Don't alI of you volunteer at once.

l can do it.

And, hey, Lucy's single. She could do the conversion on-site.

-That's not in the proposal. -On-site would expedite it.

You'll go immediately.

Joan, book Lucy to Minnesota this weekend.

This--? Minnesota?

Knew l could count on you.

-Can l give you a hand with that? -Oh, l've got it. Thank you.

All right.

How bad can it be?

Holy mother--

Traveling on Flight 1 1 6 to New Orleans.

Flight 1 1 6.

l'm spending winter in a theme park.

Okay.

Oh, my Lord, locked the door at 5 out of habit.

Can we help you?

Yeah, l'm looking for Blanche Gunderson.

My assistant, Cathy, called.

You must be Miss Hill.

l'm Blanche Gunderson.

You're my executive assistant?

Oh, heavens, no.

l'm just a secretary.

Did you need me to find you one of those?

We'll see.

What you need to find is a place to live.

Right. So this is your realtor, Trudy.

Trudy Van Uuden at your service.

That's with two U's. A double U, not a W.

l'll drive. What do you say you folIow with Ms. Hill?

Oh, good idea.

Oh, your luggage all matches.

That's so nice.

Say cheese.

Are you a scrapper?

Excuse me?

Oh, there's Merle. Hey, Merle.

That's our mailman, Merle.

That's what we call him. MaiIman Merle.

Because he delivers the mail, and he's our maiIman.

So, you know?

Oh, yeah, do you keep a scrapbook?

Because l do.

l'm a scrapper, see.

We even got a club.

l got a mini in my bag here.

Okay, so this here is our dog, Winston ChurchiIl.

He's dead. He was a bit of drooler, l'm afraid.

And this here is my kitty, Snowflake.

She's dead too.

We had to put her down on account of that kitty-leukemia thing.

You shouId've seen the kinds of things she was barfing up on our couch.

Poor thing. Bless her heart.

She's not dead in the picture though. She's just sleeping.

Could l look at that later maybe?

Okay?

So....

Are you married? Do you have children?

No, no. l'm not married.

Oh, you're still young, you know?

Relatively.

l mean, you still got time, I suppose.

Do you eat meat, or are you one of those vegetarian people?

No. l'm not a vegetarian.

-Why? -Because it's your first night in town.

Don't think we're gonna Iet you go hungry.

You're coming to my house for dinner. Nothing fancy, of course.

MeatIoaf.

Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?

lsn't that what you've been doing?

Have you found Jesus?

Well, I didn't know he was missing.

lt was just a joke.

Normally we don't joke about Jesus around here.

But l can see how you'd think that was sort of funny.

lmagine Jesus gone missing.

lmagine.

lt's clearing. ChilI coming on.

lt's gonna get a heck of a lot colder.

This place is big, but what the hey.

Colder?

lt gets colder?

Oh, yeah.

Oh, good. Electric is still on.

Heat's LP. Tank's out back. Furnace is a Norge.

The pipes are wrapped. Windows are two-paned.

And there's a double layer of Owens Corning.

Hardwood. You got rugs to keep from freezing the bejesus out of your toes.

Wait, you just lost me.

No problem. What didn't you get?

Well, I understood that the electric is still on.

-Does that work? -Oh, sure as shooting.

Okay. Then I'll take it.

Want me to go over the firepIace?

No, l'm a city girl, but l know how to light a fire.

Where's the switch?

She seems nice enough.

l doubt she'll last a week. Poor thing.

There you are. l was starting to wonder.

l got lost.

You said it was around the other side of the lake.

Every direction l went, there was a lake.

That's not even a lake. That's Luden Pond.

l turned around. l found another lake.

Oh, I bet you went to Van Meyer Slough.

-And then l went left. -That's actually a stone quarry.

But you made it.

Yeah.

Oh, Harve, company.

l didn't know whether to get red or white.

But all they had was Zinfandel anyway, so....

Oh, hell, anything you can uncork, uncap or unscrew, l'll drink it.

This is my husband, Harve. You'd think he's joking, but he's not.

-Take your coat? -Yes. Please.

That would be great.

Thank you.

You okay like that? You're not too cold?

No. l'm fine.

Oh, okay, because you look a little cold.

l'm fine.

Anyhow, there's someone that l want you to meet.

l'm hoping that you hit it off.

lf you do, it's gonna make your stay here in Minnesota a lot more pleasant.

So, Lucy Hill, this is Ted Mitchell.

Damn.

-Oh, so it's a whole dinner party. -Oh, yeah.

Lovely. Thank you.

How you doing?

You've got beer dripping from your chin.

-Awesome. -Can l use your powder room?

You betcha. lt's right through the kitchen to the right.

-Yeah? -Lucy, we thought we'd open...

...that wine with dinner. Would you Iike a glass?

Yeah, that would be great.

You know, l actually am feeling a little chiIly.

Would you mind bringing my jacket?

Oh, you betcha.

God.

-Blanche, this meatloaf is good. -Oh, thank you, Ted.

So, Ted, do you live around here?

Yeah.

Yeah, l moved up here.

Little over 1 0 years ago.

Why?

l mean, not that it's not nice. l'm sure.

But why?

Why not, you know?

What's so great about a city?

Well, I mean, the cultural advantages alone.