The Nutty Town I Live In
The Nutty Town I Live In
I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is a University town, and has a reputation somewhat like Berkley for being a bit on the other side of normal. I won’t say it’s an unearned reputation - the longer I live here, the more certain I am of this.
The only yard signs on view this time of year either say "For Sale" or "Obama". The one McCain sign I saw was shoved in the bushes - someone had angrily grabbed it out of someone else’s yard.
My neighbor (a very nice and intelligent man) still has a Howard Dean sign up in his yard. He told me he has extras, in case there’s a lawn mower accident of some kind.
I ran into one of my customers walking to work on a beautiful fall day - he was walking along doing the newspaper crossword in ink.
There are only Democrats on the City Council. We in Ann Arborview the primary as "the election".
My daughter’s geometry teacher had a mohawk - a grey mohawk.
The gallery across the street has paintings of Kid Rock and Iron Man (even I have no explanation for this, but I am getting VERY tired of looking at Kid Rock, even if he is from Detroit).
There are things called "fairy doors" downtown. They are teeny tiny little doors at street level - complete with front stoop - and kids leave little m &ms and other things for the fairies there.
Along with our own fabulously oddball store, there are four other used bookstores in town, each with their own kind of niche.
We still have something every April - ah, the first breath of spring! - called the Hash Bash. It’s a group of people who demonstrate in favor of legalizing marijuana. Also they get high. In Ann Arbor, that only gets you a ticket. Sadly this distinctive festival seems to be shrinking in popularity, though it’s been an institution here since the 60's. My first boss here in town got his start printing and selling Hash Bash t-shirts.
Both our long term employees have been vegetarians named Marty who have ponytails. Both are guys. Marty "one" has moved on, but Marty "two" tells people asking for a job that we’ll be hiring when he’s dead. This is loyalty that can’t be bought!
Are we out of step with the rest of the country? In a way, I hope not, though I sometimes wish things were a bit more balanced. Admittedly it will be sad when President Kerry leaves office....
