What Is It About the Mid-West?

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launderess

launderess

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Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage
Am sitting her laughing my *** off watching "Grumpy Old Men" for the who know how many times, when it came to me; so many great American comedy movies and television sit-coms/programs are set in the Mid-West.

Grumpy Old Men
Laverne and Shirley
Happy Days
That Seventies Show
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Some Like It Hot (starts off in Chicago)
A Christmas Story

and the list goes on.

I mean what is so funny about ice fishing *LOL* Not that one understands the concept behind sitting in the freezing cold on a frozen lake staring down a hole in the ice water trying to catch a fish. Do all the fish mongers out there close for the winter?
 
Oh Launderess, the stories I could tell you were we to sit down to tea. Most people are quite nice, some are not to be believed. The midwest is a nice place in large part if one can withstand the unfortunate climate, although even that is quite appealing to many. I escaped after 43 years and never looked back, though it's lovely for a visit at certain times of year.

My brother in law is quite fond of ice fishing, and had a rather elaborate building for same, although they moved from Minnesota to Illinois and I'm not sure whether ice fishing is as popular there, I will have to ask. I've gone fishing by boat a number of times in summer but I've only gone ice fishing once. You can purchase fish just about anywhere all year round, but a lot of folks really enjoy fishing anytime as well.

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And let's not forget that great disaster film, the original "Airport" movie! Even though it was susposed to take place at ORD, it was really filmed at MSP.
One thing I really do like about the midwest, especially the upper midwest is the abundance of great German food! Wunderbar!
 
I Love The Midwest, But...

There's a great wisecrack about the Midwest, courtesy of the Coen Brothers, who were the creators of the film "Fargo". After filming in the region throughout a harsh winter, they dubbed it "Siberia with family restaurants".

Still, I love the place, climate and all. I think I like Iowa best; it's still a little less spoiled than some of the other states like Michigan. And as much as I love Minnesota- and I do- I can't take their summers, with those bloodsucking Cessnas they call mosquitoes.
 
My take on it,

however, is rather more cynical. My sincere apologies, Laundress, but I am in a "take no prisoners" sort of mood at the moment.

It is coastal elitism. The coasts love to poke fun at the "flyover."

Case in point: Rose Nylund as played by Betty White on "The Golden Girls."

We are viewed as innocents, or worse, hicks.

Even before "teh intarnets", we weren't that far behind the coasts.

Just my tuppence.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
well...

16 Candles
Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's day off
Risky Business
Home Alone 1 & 2

All filmed in the burbs here

My kind of town Chicago is...
 
What the heck are ya even talking about? Michigan is not spo

Its so damn cold here we have nothing better to do than sit around thinking of ways to one up the other guy. I love the scene with Walter Mathaue and the fish. 200 christmas trees gets me every single time, I love that movie!

Winter makes people mean and sly and crafty. Balmy weather seems to produce a mellower personality. My husband has lived everywhere, and its true.

And what are you talking about "spoiled"? Michigan is a heap better than some states I could mention. The ONLY blight on this state is Jackson, the birthplace of the republican party. I will refrain from further comment.
 
Lawrence:

I do agree that "the coasts" have a tendency to snicker at the Midwest unnecessarily, but I think that there was one show that got it more right than others- the old "Mary Tyler Moore Show". On that one, the comedy did not come from making bumpkins out of Midwesterners- it came from the reactions of "real people" to the immense social changes of the 1970's, which were, of course, first seen on the coasts. Mary Richards dealt with entering the workplace for the first time, with premarital sex, with gay people (Phyllis's brother), with addiction, with discrimination, and with political issues (the show took quite a few potshots at Nixon and Watergate).

On that show, I felt the Midwest got a decently fair shake- it's a place where people have their own pace and way of life, which they sensibly try to hang on to, even if the rest of the country can be a little nuts at times. And when they do adapt to new times and new ways, they try to hang on to what's important to THEM, and the coasts be damned- uh, darned.
 
Field of Dreams

I'm only going to quote a Kevin Costner flick ~

"Is this Heaven?"

"No... it's Iowa"

If you can bear the muggy heat, and the frigid winters - the spring and fall here in the midwest - especially Iowa - is quite, well, heavenly.

Ben
 
I was born in Chicago. We later lived outside of Ottawa, IL. Mom is from Hibbing, Minnesota and Dad from West Union, Iowa. We moved to Georgia when I was almost 5. My parents were amazed by the red clay soil. I do not know the boundaries of the miracle known as black soil, but when we used to visit family up Nawth, the beautiful black garden soil was really something, when it was not covered by snow.
 
The Mid-West.... I sometimes call it the Mid-Worst.

It is really not that bad if you live in a larger city. However, if you live in a small town, or out in the country look out.The people are nice in those rural areas, as long as they think you are like they are. In truth, most in those areas are,bigoted, narrow minded, ignorant,and way too conservative. I try to stay away from them. The people from the rural areas are afraid to come into the inner city, so we don't see them where I live. Still, our paths do cross at work and a few other places. I am still stunned by some of the things they say. Am always glad to get back home to the inner city, where we laugh at them.
These people are the ones who hold progress back in the Mid-West by the way they vote, and who they elect to office.
Too bad for the rest of us.
 
Rick, I think you have sized up the midwest quite well. I'd rather post here than reply to the related hot-button rant from Indiana, proud home of the Ryan White witch hunt.

Rick, those backward homogenous types are pretty much everywhere, not just the midwest. Go east of the coastal ranges here in California and you'll find pretty much only that type of inhabitant. California may be a blue state, but that's only thanks to the coastal and larger metro areas. It's red state all the way in The Big Valley, trust me.

My parents are both from Chicagoland and moved out to California in 1949. The relatives from my mom's side of the family still use the "N" word freely. And recently I received a DVD containing about 100 old photos from my mom's niece back there. In one photo, two of my cousins (one of which still uses the "N" word) are pictured with a black dog. My sister pointed out the caption, which I had missed. It read "N-word and. . . the names of my two cousins." The black dog was named, well, you guessed it. I cannot even imagine, even back in the 40's, that anyone would give such a name to their pet and be calling it out on a regular basis, down the street to come home or whatever. Just chilling.

Needless to say, I am very happy where I am living, but as the crow flies (ain't that an appropriately midwestern term?) I'm not very far from the backward red state mentality that Rick has described above. I don't think there's a state in the union where you won't find the type of people Rick has described--or even worse if you head to Dixie--but the Midwest does take the brunt of needling for it. Regarding your comments on voting, I for one am glad the California primary has been moved up to February. I'm tired of the people Rick has described caucusing the whole country into the wrong direction based on their skewed and head-in-the-sand values and couldn't be happier that they've been stripped of their power.
 
I was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and we like to joke that we are "sixth generation Bluffians". I still think that Iowa is both a great place to come from, and probably one of the best run states in the union. If I had been straight, or met my partner there, I could have happily stayed there.

With that said, I find my hometown somewhat depressing: Years of off-shoring and down-sizing have left a lot of people behind economically, which translates to a lot of poverty and substance abuse, and a tax base that struggles to provide services. Also, a stupid, stupid, STUPID "urban renwal" project in the 70's (arranged by a bank president who cashed in and left town shortly thereafter) gutted the downtown. I can't imagine what people were thinking of when they agreed to that stupid project (my parents were both deadset against it) but they did.

The same problems exist all over the country, of course, but since there is little opportunity, the young people leave and poor CB is left with the problem cases and the old people.

But as the country homogenizes (how is a Wal-Mart or Applebee's in Iowa any different than their peers in California or Florida?) I think that we lose our appreciation for the various regions, and the mid-west suffers unfairly by comparison.
 
I think it depends.....

I have lived in a university town all my life (so far), and might not live here the rest of my life, but if I do move, it wil be to another university town.

I agree that there are small-minded, non-progressive people in the midwest, but they can be found anywhere, including New York City, Washingtoon DC, and even San Francisco.

I hate to bring it up again, but the genie is out of the bottle...not all counties in Ohio went red in 2004. My own county, Portage, was blue. So was the state's most populous county, Cuyahoga (home of Cleveland).

I have been reading the Sunday New York Times (when I can afford it) since I was a teenager. It is available at the magazine store in the Kinko's plaza, which is across the street from the StarBigBucks.

I even manage to participate in civic affairs and find my way home on a dark and rainy night.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Council Bluffs

Wasn't that a stop on the Overland Route? Both of my grandfathers were railroad men in Chicago. One for the Pennsylvania and the other for the Rock Island. So my childhood offered several cross-country (well halfway across) trips by train and as I recall Council Bluffs was one of the bigger stops, like in bold print on the timetable or whatever. I can't remember if Council Bluffs was a stop on the Southern Pacific's "City of San Francisco" or if it was on the Burlington leg of the "California Zephyr" but am pretty sure it wasn't on the Santa Fe. So many flyover zone towns ring familiar when I hear of them today, all based on having passed through on the train. It was a great geography lesson. I can still remember one trip when I was really small, going around the bends and seeing a steam locomotive pulling us along. I can even remember the numbers of the cars we were in. Worst ride ever was in a 30's vintage Milwaukee Road coach #1028 that was early "Hiawatha" rolling stock. It took a few days after arriving in Chicago to get my land legs back. One day in the Loop my mom walked into the Milwaukee Road offices to complain. I'm sure that by the mid 60's complaints of that nature were already falling on deaf ears with the the railroads. I love trains and I feel lucky to have experienced train travel. So many of my contemporaries never have. If ever there was a midwest claim to fame it would be Chicago's status as train hub for the entire country. O'Hare & Midway have taken over now but there's still plenty of train action left compared to other parts of the country.
 
Oh there's nothing like train travel

I've just had my car freshly painted for the vac convention in Omaha this fall. I think they did a good job, understated but classy all the same. They hadn't finished gilding the vestibule railings when this pic was taken unfortunately.

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Pete! You own your own railroad car? I'm so jealous. I also think you now hold the all time champion title on AW when it comes to storage space required for your hobby. Here I am wishing I had space for a spare washer or two and you've got a coach that would hold, well, a trainload of 'em. I am so impressed, and that paint job is beautiful! How come you haven't posted this on the threads that asked for pix of your cars? You'd have blown everybody away!

Ralph
 
Modesty dear man. Mom always said modesty is next to Godliness. Here's a pic of her I took in 2005 onboard the car heading to Las Vegas where she'd entered a poker tourny. Those are my sisters Annasthesia and Rubella (Ann & Ruby for short).

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