Myths & truths: your city/town/village

[tulip]

I love Pittsburgh and its yellow bridges. That's a wonderful 7-Up bike, Trek420!

I'm not sure what people think about my town. Probably that it's still fighting the Civil War, which might be true in some circles. I think alot of people just don't think about it much. Richmond, Virginia. I love it here, though.

[SJCzar]

We do eat more then cheese, brats and beer here in Milwaukee.

Yes, we do have a bronze statue of "Fonzie" downtown (we do know how to have fun with our image around the country) but we also have a wonderful art museum and other cultural venues and activities.

[tulip]

We do eat more then cheese, brats and beer here in Milwaukee.

Yes, we do have a bronze statue of "Fonzie" downtown (we do know how to have fun with our image around the country) but we also have a wonderful art museum and other cultural venues and activities.

The only preconceived notion about Milwaukee that I have is that it's cold. "Happy Days" could have been in any city; I never associated it with Milwaukee. "Laverne & Shirley," however, did have the brewery thing going on during the song.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I get Wisconsin and Minnesota mixed up all the time. Sorry, y'all. I gotta get up there to get it straightened out in my head.

[sfa]

Visiting with my FIL's new wife several years ago, she was going on and on about how much she hated Baltimore the whole time she was there. "There were muggers everywhere! You couldn't walk down the street without running into muggers!" Seriously, she kept talking about muggers and DH and I were looking at her blankly, having only known one person in all our time here who had been mugged. We finally figured out that this nice rural North Carolina bred woman was using the word "mugger" as code for "black people." Ugh. We knew there was a reason we took an instant disliking to that woman when we met her.

But, FWIW, in spite of what you may have seen in Homicide, if you come to Baltimore you're not likely to be killed or attacked by drug dealers.

Truths: the crabs really are that good and the people really are down to earth and unpretentious.

[Crankin]

Well, one myth about my town is that it's full of socially progressive, environmentally conscious people (like the ones who say stuff to my DH when he drives his SUV).
The truth? If an African American or other dark skinned person is seen walking down the street, like out for a walk, someone calls the police. Really. Been in the police log a couple of times and the "recipient" of one of the calls wrote a hysterically funny letter to the editor of the local paper, thanking people for being so concerned that he was seen out walking with his daughter "on a school day." Turns out, she goes to one of the fancy private schools in town and had a vacation day that day .

[short cut sally]

I live in an area that was named for barges that used to ship products thru the village many many years ago. Called appriopriately, Arkport. Today, there is no river so to speak. There is the river bed, that is used by the farmers and is called muck land. This soil is very rich, grows produce nicely and is very black in color. Its like really nutrient peat. Rumor has it that under that muck land, there is still presence of water and the ground can get kinda jiggly at times..depending on how much the ground is worked. ..
that's the best I could do on our little country town.
as andy rooney says, now you know...

[Zen]

as andy rooney says, now you know...

Do you mean (the late) Paul Harvey?

[Trek420]

The truth? If an African American or other dark skinned person is seen walking down the street, like out for a walk, someone calls the police. Really. Been in the police log a couple of times and the "recipient" of one of the calls wrote a hysterically funny letter to the editor of the local paper, thanking people for being so concerned that he was seen out walking with his daughter "on a school day." Turns out, she goes to one of the fancy private schools in town and had a vacation day that day .

Same here in the bluest of blue areas of a blue state a cyclist I know calls it CWB (cycling while black).

That's a wonderful 7-Up bike, Trek420!

Here's another one. C'mon down and see them all at www.ronsimms.com

[shootingstar]

Same here in the bluest of blue areas of a blue state a cyclist I know calls it CWB (cycling while black).

Sorry, honest please speak English more clearly. I'm still trying to decipher your idiomatic expression (jargon). Do you mean you are in a working class area or what??

(from a person who is non-white, grew up poor but dislikes terminology like "ghetto", "inner city". Devalues the cultural richness and hard work of certain lifestyles & socio-economic areas)