Yes Virginia, there realy is a (hospital in) Kalamazoo

Bronson campus, Kalamazoo
Image via Wikimedia CommonsWest Michigan has a bit of a complex about Detroit, and the southeastern part of Michigan in general. There's a perception that "they" get "more than their fair share" of ... well, of everything. More revenue, more media attention, better roads, etc. More of everything, especially if it's provided by government. (There's a reason for that, it has to do with the relative longevity of southeast Michigan legislators in office, among other things).

Going along with that there is also a bit of "we're actually better than them" that goes on. You'll find it to be fairly pervasive, wherever in W MI you go, people will explain why that is... less reliance on the Auto industry, better government, better quality of life, and so forth (despite the fact that we don't have a good road S to Indiana :) )

We had occasion to visit Bronson Methodist Hospital, in Kalamazoo Michigan, this weekend. A fine facility and very competent at what they do. But I was rather amused to find that while we WMers all share a common chip on our shoulder about Detroit et al, that it turns out that Grand Rapids sometimes is the villain in these little set pieces.

See their spring magazine (a pdf). It's just a little puff piece about how generally wonderful the hospital is, and in amongst the other articles is one about a bariatric surgery candidate. Tucked in the copy was this little dig:

Balkema drove to Grand Rapids to meet with doctors to investigate his options and discuss bariatric surgery.

“I wasn’t thrilled with my experience there,” says Balkema.

So that shows that sometimes Detroit isn't the villain. Moral of the story? There isn't one. I just found it funny.

What about you? Do you have any local rivalries in your area that you find amusing?

Tulip time!

Tulips in Holland
Image via WikipediaThe Holland, Michigan Tuliptime Festival, going on this week, celebrates the Dutch ways that run strong in the west Michigan area, in Holland and Zeeland in particular, but the influence extends to Grand Rapids as well. (Our local grocery chain was started by Fred Meijer, and you can buy a car from Van Andel and Flikkema, or from one of the DeVos family, just to pick a few examples)

Every third business you see, it seems, in Holland or Zeeland, is owned by Van Someoneoranother, and Holland certainly embraces its heritage. The city owns Windmill Island Gardens, which has a (what else?) windmill, iconic of the Netherlands.

De Zwann Windmill
Image by jschneid via FlickrFrom the tourist blurbage at the city's site:

A beautiful oasis within the city of Holland, Windmill Island features a 240 year old working Dutch windmill "De Zwaan" (meaning graceful bird). The windmill towers over 36 acres of manicured gardens, dikes, canals and picnic areas.

And of course, tulips are everywhere in town, especially this time of year. They feature in the flowerbeds, in shop window decorations, as architectural motifs, even in some of the food you can get at the festival.

A big part of the festival are the klompen (wooden shoe) dancers. They are out in force during the festival, performing in parades, in the street cleaning (yes, the festival features street cleaning with brooms and buckets and the whole 9 yards, it is traditional that the Governor of Michigan comes out for it, steps into a pair of shoes, and gets cleaning... our governor Jennifer Granholm missed out this year since she just had surgery, and we had to make do with Miss America instead ) and just roaming around being part of things.
Klompen Dancers
Image by Mr. Mcgladdery via Flicker
What I found most interesting about them (and darn you, Zemanta, the image at right was the closest I could come to what I wanted to show) was not the shoes themselves (painful as those might be, you can see some here), but that so many of the dancers were girls. Even the boys. The dance itself was apparently traditionally performed by men and women. But it must be that Holland MICHIGAN men are too cool, because a lot of the "boys" dancing (in button vests and cloth caps instead of dresses) are girls, or more properly middle aged soccer moms 51 weeks of the year... and Klompen Dancers for one.

I found it amusing. And maybe telling, that us guys are too cool to dance. Or too cool to dance in uncomfortable wooden shoes.

What about you? (if you're a boy...) Are you too cool to dance? Or just too cool to dance in the streets of a small midwestern town in horribly uncomfortable shoes wearing odd costumes?

FSM and gumption

FSM car thingie.
Image from Commons
So I got a Flying Spaghetti Monster thingie to stick on the back of one of our vehicles. Amazon has them but I am sure they are elsewhere as well.

But I don't have the guts to actually put it on. Grand Rapids, as you may know, is a big time part of the Bible Belt... and I'm not sure how well received such, um... blasphemy would be received.

We got a hard time for having a "No W" sticker (a W with a line through it, which of course shows that we are not the biggest fans of our dearly beloved George W. Bush...) on the back of our car a few years ago, and nothing has changed since.

No W!
Image from CommonsStill, it does seem a good way to show where our beliefs lie. I'll have to find the gumption to actually get it on there sometime soon.

Do you have any beliefs you're not quite willing to share with the world by displaying them on the back of your car?