You know you're from SW MI if ...
You know what "shelf ice" is. You've worn a winter coat and boots, and shorts and flip-flops, all in the same day. You call it Pop. You've been to a concert at Wings Stadium, the Mendell Center, or Miller Auditorium. Your car has beach sand in the floor mats, the trunk, the glovebox... You know an elder who worked for Checker Motors, Gibson Guitar, or Upjohn Company. You know what "Lake effect" is. You've ever had deer in your backyard, wild turkeys on your deck, Canada geese on your front walk, and/or a pileated woodpecker drumming on the side of your house. You go camping at least once a year. When tornado sirens go off, you go outdoors to watch. You know who FIPs are. When you say you're going to "the Big Lake" for the afternoon. You've ever skipped school or work for the opening day of firearm deer season. You say "Meijer's" when you mean the grocery store. Your town's major industries include a craft brewery and a medical marijuana growing center or dispensary. You or an elder can recall the big snowstorms of 1969, 1978, and 2014. Bonus points if you were snowed in for a week. Your neighborhood has experienced a meth lab explosion. You don't pronounce the T in mitten, or you pronounce ING as "in", for instance: "I'm goin' sleddin' ". You have ice skated, tobogganed, jet-skied, charter fished, and / or gone for a ride on a sailboat. You have been to a Native American tribal-owned casino. Bonus if you won on the slots. Your town has at least one marina, VFW / American Legion post that serves dinner, commercial greenhouse, Underground Railroad stop, and tavern. You can remember the May 13, 1980 tornado and what it did to Bronson Park. Your town has at least six churches, even though the population is only 2,000. There is a guy selling barbeque cooked in an old fuel oil drum, in the Hardings' parking lot. Your neighbor or Grandpa has a pontoon boat sitting in his driveway. You've ever gotten in a traffic jam on South Westnedge. You can still drive in 2 feet of unplowed snow. Bonus points if you know what a "Michigan Stop" is. Your granny, auntie, or neighbor has ever won more than $500 on a scratch-off ticket.C |
A.C. Fisher Aldag
Chronicler of Cymric Folklore, Granmother and grouch. Enjoyer of good food. Archives
October 2024
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Publications
Common Magick from Llewellyn Worldwide
Witches & Pagans # 38 & # 39 from BBI Llewellyn's Witches' Companion 2022, 2023 & 2034 from Llewellyn Worldwide Llewellyn's Spell-a-Day Almanac, 2025 from Llewellyn Worldwide |
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