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Posts Tagged ‘Michigan’

I believe in taking care of your own. I believe in small towns and those who derive income from the vacationers who come to spend quit weekends or lazy summer vacations. They are picturesque American and the heart and sole of our country. They are our roots and a constant reminder of the world before iPhones, wi-fi, and Tivo.

My mother-in-law has a cabin up in Hale, Michigan. This tiny little town is in the middle of nowhere and it completely small town USA. Flags line the one and only street in town, people are friendly, and life is simple. There isn’t even a McDonalds. The grocery store – there are only two – closes early and you have to watch the clock so that you can pick up supplies for dinner before the workers go home. You also have to stand in line at seven am for fresh black and white doughnuts that melt in your mouth. I love all of this and I love Hale.

A few years ago a grandmother I know was speaking of Uncle Kracker buying a cottage on Long Lake. She said “the lake isn’t going to be the same now that cousin whoever bought a place”. She proceed to rant slightly about The Bachelor TV crew filming on the lake when bachelor Bob was popular and that the music crowd was going to party it up and remove the small town feel.

While I love Carrie and suspected she may be right, she was actually wrong. Cousin somebody was really Uncle Kracker. His love for Hale and the residents of this tiny town is evident in his video. He takes the best of Hale and proudly displays it to the world. His love and admiration for the people of this small town is apparent. While I liked this song before, I fell in love with it once I saw the video and the images of the city of Hale that I hold dear.

For us Hale is a magical place. It is quit and calm. It includes the cabin that was built by my in-laws many years ago when the children were small, space limited, and laughter filled the air. It includes lines on the wall that mark my daughter’s growth spurts, as well as water shoes that my children wore when they we just babies. It is family. I am so happy that Uncle Kracker sees this family and uses his media power to show it to the world.

It just makes me Smile.

One day last year my daughter, Ally, came home from school all charged up about going green. She morphed from my chatting little Ally into Al Gore on a soapbox. After a few minutes of listening to her ramblings, I explained we are green and fairly eco friendly. She didn’t believe me, but this is no surprise.

I spent the next ten minutes or so discussion the merits of eco-based living. I told her we already recycle and that our township in Michigan accepts virtually everything, which I love. I told her I nag at the family about leaving lights on to conserve energy and that the lights we do us are eco friendly lights. I explained that I spent three thousand dollars the summer before to buy recycled mulch for our flowerbeds and that out entire yard is literally filled with rubber tires. I told her that I regularly use reusable shopping bags in an effort to be green. In actuality I love these bags and find them much more mommy friendly, but this would not have helped my case.

So after our discussion, Al Gore climbed off the soapbox and headed off to return to life as a nine year old. Unfortunately the subject was brought up rarely after that and even when I try, Al Gore rarely makes a reappearance in my home.

I was reminded of this experience this morning as I read yet another news article on Jennifer Granholm’s efforts to turn Michigan into a Green jobs hub filled with clean energy efforts and eco friendly employers. While she is doing a great job sustaining this momentum, I am not. My daughter has forgotten about the importance of being green and I wonder how I can be a bit more like Jennifer.