Monday Memories

Since this is my debut with a "Monday Memory", I will begin with my own debut.

I was born November 26, 1964. No one but my mother and my brother remembered my actual birthday this year. People remember it is around Thanksgiving, but after that, they forget.

I was born on Thanksgiving Day. According to my mom, she spent the day before browsing in the Dearborn Public Library on Michigan Avenue. (So, I became a librarian.) Later that evening, she told my dad during the Thanksgiving Eve. church service at St. Paul Lutheran that she didn't think she would be in church on Sunday. (I was baptized, confirmed, and married in that same church and remain a Lutheran to this day.)

I remember asking my mom if she was mad that she didn't get to have turkey that year. She told me that they brought some to her, but she was still groggy from the "gas" they used back then. My dad had hamburgers. The important thing to my Dad was that he, like Ford, had a new '64 1/2 model and she was a healthy baby girl. I was indoctrinated early that I was born the year of the Ford Mustang which preceded my birth by 7 months. (The Mustang debuted April 17, 1964).

My birthdays sometimes end up part of a Thankgiving celebration. I remembered turning six on Thanksgiving Day. It was the first time since I was born it was on Thanksgiving. We were in Ohio at my grandparent's home in the country and all of my cousins were there. No one felt sorry for me having a birthday lost to Thanksgiving because my cousin Lisa's birthday was on Christmas Day.

Because of the holiday, many of my birthdays were spent at my grandparent's in Ohio. One year, my uncle got married on the 25th and then I celebrated my birthday the next day. I remember playing with my new Barbie hairstyling head in front of the big color television in their new living room (addition).

Once in a while, I had school on my birthday. I remember when I turned 10, my mom let me open my gifts before school and I wore my new gemstone bracelet to school. My dad picked me up from school and took me to the Ten Eyck Tavern in the Dearborn Inn for lunch. (It wasn't really a tavern, but I do remember seeing my Pastor there having a beer and smoking a cigar!)

Some of my favorite gifts included a deep purple suede wallet my mom bought at Jacobsens, the best shop in town. I got it the year I turned 8 and the following March, it was especially appreciated when I "discovered" Donny Osmond and everything had to be purple! I also got my first pair of ice skates with the $8 check my Aunt Karen sent from Boston.

As I got older, my Christmas and Birthday presents sometimes blurred together. When I was a freshman in college, I got a burgundy velvet lined cello case in October for my birthday and then mom and I went bought my Christmas presents when I was home at Thanksgiving. I think she even let me have them to go back for finals week! They included a monogramed emerald green sweater and matching Gordon Tartan kilt.

The year I turned 21 was conveniently the last day of finals and my fiance and his brother took me to the local liquor store to "get carded". I bought pink champagne and they didn't ask to see my id. I didn't really drink anyway, so that was disappointing. I did get carded at the bar and the bouncer was a cute guy in my history education class. He already knew it was my birthday because we toured the state capital with our class earlier that day instead of having a final exam.

Five years ago, I had just started dating my husband. The first week we dated, we saw each other practically every day, so I was really surprised when he called to see if he could take me out to dinner on my birthday. It was a Monday night and he lived an hour and fifteen minutes away from me. The most memorable part of that evening was when I correctly guessed the names of the Original Six teams of the National Hockey League. I guess it was then and there he decided to marry me.

I've had a few birthdays and many more memories than I can possibly put into words.

Today, my brother gave me a very special birthday wish that I will always remember:

"Happy Birthday!!

I think the words of Mustang Monthly regarding the first 'Stang apply here:

'Even 40(2) years later, the cars are still practical, fun and cool to be seen in.'

Indeed, you are in fact still practical, fun and cool to be seen with.

John" (b. 1967, the year of the Mercury Cougar)

I Cried

Friday afternoon, I started my car to leave work and tuned in WRJ. A special report just came into the newsroom. Bo Schembechler had died that morning.

I listened in disbelief. Of course, Bo had a history of heart trouble and had a recent episode only two weeks ago. The unbelieveable part, of course was the timing. Bo's beloved University of Michigan Wolverine football team (#2) would play The Ohio State University Buckeyes (#1) in the biggest game of their entire history. To many, Bo Schembechler is MICHIGAN FOOTBALL. My eyes started to tear up as I drove home.

Many of us in the great state of Michigan shared the same experience that November day. For me however, my feelings were unexpected and came out of the blue.

I hated Bo Schembechler!!! My feelings started in a very subtle way. My Dad was getting his Master's Degree from the University of Michigan when I was around 4 or 5. I remember him singing "Hail to the Victors" around the house. I didn't really get any of it as my parents weren't sports fans, so we never watched football at home, but I knew that song. However, my Dad also frequently said, "Oh why oh why did I ever leave Ohio?". Yes, my Dad and Mom were both proud Ohioans living in enemy territory.

I didn't understand this stuff in the early years, but somewhere in elementary school, I learned that people in Michigan liked to make fun of Ohio. Since our family didn't follow sports, I didn't know exactly why. I started to figure some of it out when our neighbor, a local sportscaster, put a bumper sticker on the back of his car that said, "What's a Buckeye? Some Kind of Nut?". We also got a new pastor at church. Pastor K. had degrees from Capital University (OHIO) and Harvard, but he LOVED the Buckeyes and liked to rub it in from the pulpit on that certain November Sunday after the Big Game. His wife, incidently had a degree from the University of Michigan.

In junior high, I once borrowed a long-sleeved polo from my mom and wore it to school. I'm not even sure she bought it because of the color, but showing up to a Michigan school in November wearing scarlet and gray was a big no no. Then I finally understood. I also started to know who Bo and Woody were and why things were the way they were.

In high school during the early '80s, I planned to attend Captial University in Columbus, but for a brief time, I was a Wolverine fan. I was in the Michigan Youth Symphony sponsoed by U of M and attended U of M's All State camp at Interlochen, so I had a legitimate connection to the university in those days. In 1980, I went to Detroit's Metro Airport to welcome back the 1980 Rose Bowl Champion Wolverines. I probably even saw and cheered Bo's return with the team. I bought a big U of M penant at the airport which hung on the wall of my room until I selected the school which would become my "Alma Mater".

It was through my experiences at the University of Michigan School of Music, that I concluded that I didn't not like the University of Michigan. There was an arrogance in the air; to be a Wolverine, you had to believe you were better than anybody else. My cello teacher begged me to audition for U of M and I just did not want to be part of that scene. From football to music, Bo to Bob (Robert Culver, the music ed./string specialist at UM), everything seemed so intensly competitive in a dog-eat-dog kind of way.

I chose Michigan State. Until I walked onto the MSU campus, I didn't even know that Michigan State and U of M were both in the Big 10 and played each other. In time, however, Wolverine Football, lead by Bo Schembechler, became a symbol of the overt arrogance of the University of Michigan.

When I first graduated, co-workers would laugh at me because I went to MSU and not U of M. They didn't even attend college, but they had the audacity to say stuff like that. This was also the year Michigan State won the Rose Bowl. I hate U of M for a long time.

Nearly 20 years later, I've gotten over it or at least I do allow myself to wear the color combination that could be considered Maize and Blue. I started to look at Bo Schembechler differently as well.

After all, Bo is just a good old Ohio boy. My dad always liked to remind people of that fact. Bo meant a lot to a lot of people, even to me. Even to me in a good way. He stressed loyalty and excellence and there is nothing wrong with that!

I watched the game yesterday and wanted to Buckeyes to win, but felt kind of bad that the Wolverines didn't win one for Bo. Alas, Bo held a masters degree from The Ohio State University, and OSU won one for him.



I've blogged about my Buckeye connections here http://mustangmamma.blogspot.com/2005/11/go-bucks.html

Accent on Michigan

I took this quick quiz that I found on Norma's "Collecting My Thoughts" blog. It seems to be a perfect fit. Standard English. It is probably because my parents were from Ohio, complete with the subtle mid-Ohio accent (as opposed to southern Ohio accents which are stronger). My mother worked extremely hard at ridding herself of any accent and my dad loved to speak Ohioan. So, in my home we knew the difference.

I must add, however, while I'm from Michigan, people from Michigan have a variety of native accents which are not "standard-straight-from-the-dictionary". There's a Blue Collar Detroit timbre my husband has and the Yooper(Upper Penninsula)/Canadian influences in other parts of this great state. In my opinion, these subtle Michigan accents are spoken by natives who have lived here for generations. They may have elements from regions North or South, East or West, but they are uniquely Michigan.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes