We stayed at a modest motel in Traverse City on our way back from our son's wedding in July. The place was next to a suburban neighborhood and, for want of anything better to do, we took a pre-dinner stroll through the vicinity, ambling toward a nearby park of no particular distinction.
A few blocks in, I spied ... well, what would you make the picture above? I pondered the phrase, "There seems to be an enormous breast peeking out from the side of that garage." I didn't say that. What I said was, "Let's go this way." We ambled over.
In the seconds it took for the thing to parallax from behind the house, I tried to imagine what use the perky mammary gland would have among these neat homes. Some carnival game perhaps. An huge 1970s paper mache artwork by a young Michigan version of Richard Lindner, preserved with a mixture of shame and pride by his conflicted parents.
The impulse passed as quickly as it formed. This was Trump country — flags welcoming his next presidency flapped in the breeze over pristine homes and well-tended flower gardens. I figured someone could just as well shoot me for approaching their house, and they'd probably never spend a day in jail because of Michigan's stand-your-ground law. "Why yes, officer, I honestly and reasonably believed that this frightening Jewish person was about to rape my wife and murder me in order to take possession of my highly valuable custom hot dog wagon..."
Mystery solved, well enough, we continued on our way.
Wise move, Mr. S. Can't knock on any door...not unless you know the occupants. My benighted, befuddled, Kool-Aid guzzling, Army lifer cousin winters in the Carolinas and summers in Houghton Lake. Once you leave southern Lower Michigan and head "up North"...it's pretty much all Trump country, all the way to the Mackinac Bridge and beyond.
ReplyDeleteAt least Michigan is still a contested battleground state. Ohio has been a lost cause for a decade. Its cities are blue islands, sprinkled across a deep-red sea. But in either place, knock-knock-knocking on a stranger's door is risky business. So much for Midwestern hospitality and congeniality. Casualties of the Trump Era...and of the Plague.
Grizz, most of SW MI is Trumpland, guns, pot, booze and evangelicals embracing the annointed by God theology delusion. Scary!
DeleteI know all about that. Southeastern Michigan is the blue part of the state. Metro Detroit and the surrounding counties, and the cities north of all that. Heavily blue and union. Still have one cousin left there. Been visiting that area since I was three years old. I like Detroit.
DeleteAnd the rest of the Wolverine State? I've previously told the tale of my two semesters (1965-66) at notorious Hillsdale College. Yeah, THAT Hillsdale...which is deeply involved with the Heritage Foundation--the architects of Project 2025.
A time tunnel to the past. A high school with ashtrays. Rah rah rah and boola boola. But I met my soulmate there, in '65. We reconnected in '92. Still married. Found a diamond---in the middle of all that broken glass.
They may have been slightly annoyed at a stranger showing up unannounced, but I doubt they would have been hostile. They own a Weinermobile, they have to be nice right?
ReplyDeleteA couple of Mormons knocked on my and my neighbors door last week. a few months ago it was the Jehovah witnesses. Various delivery persons and a guy collecting signatures on a petition for a new business. The cops enquiring about a murder down the street wanted to know if we had security cameras. A stranger asking if we were the "goat people" - used to be.
ReplyDeleteI plan to knock on doors in Milwaukee prior to the upcoming election. other than riling up the dogs its no bother and I dont feel frightened in my inner city neighborhood and im not fearful of knocking on the doors of fellow citizens. No matter what candidate they support its extremely unlikely to be dangerous. Some people put up no trespassing or no soliciting signs. respect those.
I try not to imagine who's red and who's blue, turns out my hispanic coworkers are a mashup. who knew? All very civil.
I agree. It saddens me that we have become so divided as a country that many don’t want to leave the perceived safety of their “turf”. We mock the rightwingers who won’t visit Chicago because they think it is too dangerous. Because of their ignorance and paranoia, they deprive themselves, and their children, of experiencing the wonders of one of the world’s greatest cities. I pity them.
DeleteSome Democrats feel the same about going somewhere that votes red. If they don’t want to be around Trumpers, I can understand, but they may be missing out on some really awesome places, especially if you are a lover of nature.
Agreed. I didn't visit the South until about a dozen years ago, when we went hiking in the Smoky Mountains for two weeks. We loved Tennessee, and returned so my youngest could visit schools. You may have noticed the "Steinbergs in the Southland" series from 10 years ago I was reposting — they're a lot of fun. I try to be open minded.
DeleteWasn't at EGD ten years ago, but I do remember reading "Steinbergs in the Southland"...about six years ago. They were either linked...or reposted.
DeleteTennessee and West Virginia are such beautiful places....if you keep your face shut, and don't display any bumper stickers.
It warmed my heart to see that you brought Kitty along, instead of boarding him. And he's still your canine companion. It's been my experience that the smaller the dog is, the longer we get to enjoy their company.
Kitty's a lady. No, she's never been boarded. The neighbors fight to watch her. We once had a family down the block, with two daughters, try to pay us.
DeleteSorry, Mr.. S. Thought Kitty was a male dog.
DeleteMaybe because we had a male feline named Daugh.
Named for the allergist (Dr. Daugherty) who gave my wife her allergy shots.
Thereby allowing her to realize a lifelong dream at 32...adopting her first cat.
We are visiting Traverse City right now and on a brighter note, I have been pleased and surprised to see some Harris/Walz signs as we drive to different wineries. Although we pulled into Chateau Grand Traverse and pulled right out again when I spotted Trump signs among their grape vines. Putting up signs for a traitor is not, I would think, the best way to attract customers. Never saw a political sign at any of the other wineries.
ReplyDeleteno loss-Chateau Grand Traverse is an awful wine Mawby is the BEST! Esp the champagnes!!! Not hot enough up there for good reds.
DeleteThe Mamm Mobile. Maybe it’s a traveling Mammogram machine. Sure doesn’t make me want to eat a hotdog, the bun and wiener colors are just off.
ReplyDeleteWhat woman has a breast(s) like that?
DeleteEvery woman if you have a case of arrested development
DeleteWe were traveling near Grand Junction, MI, over the weekend-nothing but Trump signs.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your photos. This particular photo reminded me of a quote by Elliot Erwitt, a well-known photographer who died in the past year. He said "Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them".
ReplyDeleteThat said, there's a Facebook group called "Sh*t birders See (other than birds)" where I get to see photos like yours. Because when you come across something crazy, you sort of have to share it with others.
Jill, thank you for that wonderful quote from Elliot Erwitt. I am convinced that artists are observers of things unseen by others. Ergo, they change the way we see the world. One of my favorite quotations is from Ansel Adams who, when asked "How do you take a good photograph?, answered, "First you have to stand in the right place." If N.S. only knew that his photograph of a "breast" was instead a "hotdog", he might never has written this innocent and perverted soliloquy. Yet, as always, he was clearly standing in the right place.
DeleteWhen I saw the first photo, a giant breast was not my first thought.
ReplyDeleteNor mine!
DeleteNor mine. Thought looked like a...well...um...a homemade Wienermobile (nyuk nyuk). Yeah, that's it. Appears to be a mobile concession stand, the kind you would see at a fair or a carnival. Note the color of the trailer. It's supposed to look like a hotdog bun...With both ends of a hotdog.
DeleteBeen to a number of those wineries, mostly east of Traverse City. No signs. But then, it wasn't a presidential election year. You would think the wineries would have enough business sense to avoid alienating at least half of their customer base. One sees vehicle tags from all over the East, the Midwest, and the South.
But at this point, they probably don't care if a few libs get pissed and drive away. Trumpistas are like that And, anyway, a lot of winery visitors are the wealthy snowbirds who summer in that rapidly gentrifying area, but who reside in the South most of the year...hence the southern plates. And they like to drink...and spend. Those signs make them feel right at home.