Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Northern Michigan

For B. E. Sanderson, by request...


The stretch between Angola, Indiana and Coldwater, Michigan is bit of no-man's land.  No longer quite Indiana, not quite yet Michigan.  Maybe the state police cars or lottery tickets look different on one side or the other.  Maybe the license plate ratio shifts a little one direction on one side.  But mostly, it's flat, open farm land filled with flat, open folks, under a flat, open sky that's usually dull grey or a muted, cottony blue.

As you head north toward and around Lansing, though, you start to see a sort of post-industrial flailing you don't see much in Indiana.  When the factories closed and the jobs left in Indiana, the towns either scrambled for a new identity or just gave up and let themselves die.  In Michigan, those same kind of towns shake their fists at heaven and say, "By God, it's factory jobs or we die trying!"

North of Lansing the apple orchards and cider mills ushers you toward Ithica and Claire.  The further north you go, the more beer and home-made jerky you say at gas stations.  The more apple cider -- cherry pie -- homemade ice cream shops you pass, so many you wonder how they can all stay open year, after year, after year.  And they do.

Before, long, rolling orchards turn into denser woods, thick with pine trees and birch and a feisty undergrowth of fern and maple.  The pine tower over the others, though, and the undergrowth only find maturity when their elders pass along.  The bright green fern and maples seem to know this, for they grow with wild exuberance, not as if to say, "Hey, let me see how tall I can get!" but instead to say, "Hey, let me just get the most of the year I have."

Towns like Grayling, Frederic, and Mancelona aren't post-industrial.  Maybe post-logging.  Maybe pre-tourism.  Maybe just small towns that were always going to be small towns.  They have bars, but most of those close early.  Same with the gas stations, some of which also sell savory pastries called pasties.  They have friendly, small town people who might wish for better economic times, but not so they can move out of their small town homes -- so they can fix up their canoes, their snowmobiles, their campers.  So they can get as much enjoyment out of the land where they live as the summer residents do.  But economic times are bad.  Their canoes are rusted, their snowmobiles jammed up, and their campers leak.  And the friendly small town, folks, smile and nod as the summer residents come through to gas up their cars, motorboats, and jet skis.

The cottage is a summer residence.


They call it a cottage, not because it's small and quaint, but because it is a retreat from the world.  No cellphones.  No internet.  No cellphone-based internet.  There's a phone with a number almost no one knows, and a mailing address that gets no mail, but one year did get a census form.  There are neighbors, and sometimes you hear their power tools or their grand kids through the thick wall of woods that surrounds the cottage, but if you see them it's only on the open road between retreats, or because you want to.

The cottage is steeped in evolving traditions, the active memory-making of four generations.  The generation that built the cottage has passed, but their spirit has saturated every bit of wood, stained glass, and well-loved furniture in the place.  Gramma's place has been taken over by a parliament of ceramic owls.   Grampa's place been filled by an array of photographs representing the evolving and changing family over the years.  It's not the same, but it's enough to remind the rest of us to tell the fourth generation about those they will never really know.

I'm part of the third generation, by marriage.

And this is the northern Michigan I have been very privileged to know over the past ten years.

.Nevets.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you so much. It's just how I remember traveling to my cousin's cabin (his year round home and where he raised 5 kids) up in Wolverine. The drive up from just south of Flint wasn't as long and mostly freeway, but the feeling was the same - like stepping back to a simpler life.

    And now I'm all homesick. But it's a good homesick.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're welcome! I'm very glad that you liked the post. There were a couple different directions I thought about going but I did what I usually do -- I went with the people. It makes my night that you enjoyed what I wrote!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful and a bit nostalgic. I enjoyed seeing not just the scenery but also the history and the spirit of Michigan through this piece.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loved this evocative post, Nevets. Good work!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, Nevets! This post makes me want to hit the road. With a title like this, I had to visit, and I'm so glad I did. Thank you for this lovely tribute to our one-of-a-kind state. As you probably know, "Up North" is as much a state of mind as a place. Geographically, it's everything north of Standish, and the further north one goes, the denser the woods, and the clearer the mind. Have you ever read Hemingway's Nick Adams stories?? If not, you should. Anyone who can write the above would love reading about Nick's adventures in the north woods.

    Anyway, thanks for making my morning. Have a great weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. So can I come visit there when you're there next? Seriously, it sounds lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Shopgirl - Thanks! I was hoping you would read this and give some perspective from your creative essay background!

    @Michael - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

    @Yvonne - I'm so glad you enjoyed the post! Michigan has been part of my life for all my life, first in the southeast with my own family, and then spreading around with my wife's family. Still, I only truly lived there as an infant so I'm always pleased when I capture the spirit of a place in a way that resonates with those who call it home. And I have not read the Nick Adams stories, but I will! Thanks for the tip!

    @Michelle - You would definitely be welcome! :-D And I think you would really, really like it up there.

    ReplyDelete

Label Cloud

#DarkAndTwisted (5) a razor wrapped in silk (2) about me (5) absolute (1) acceptance (1) accountability (1) advice (54) aesop (2) agents (2) agony (1) aikido (6) alaska (2) alcohol (1) alex mackenzie (1) aliya whiteley (1) allegory (1) allergies (1) alone (1) amaretto (1) ambulance (17) anchors (1) andy dick (1) angel lost (1) anthology (4) anthony pacheco (1) anthropology (4) applesauce (1) approach (1) appropriateness (1) arashi (1) archaeology (1) archaeololgy (3) argyle (1) art (1) audio (3) author (11) award (1) background (1) bacon (2) bar (1) battlestar galactica (1) bbs (1) beauty (1) ben folds (1) bhangra (1) bioarchaeology (1) biography (2) birthday (1) blog tour (1) blogfest (9) blogging (5) blogosphere (2) blogsclusive (14) blurb (1) bones (2) book (4) boring (1) born to fly (1) boss (1) boundaries (1) braai (1) bravery (2) bridge flag (1) brutal (1) business (3) c + c music factory (1) c n nevets (108) c s lewis (1) cabin (1) cafepress (6) cantaloupe (1) career (2) cat (1) challenge (2) character (11) cheesy (1) cherry republic (1) christmas (4) chuck palahniuk (2) chumbawumba (1) cinderella (2) cinders (4) clarissa draper (2) classification (3) clive cussler (1) commentary (4) community (1) compelling (1) complete (1) confidence (4) conflict (1) conformity (1) confusion (1) congress (1) conspiracy (1) contest (31) conversation (1) cooking (1) cottage (1) courage (5) craft (4) creation (2) creep (2) crime (1) crime writing (36) criminal (2) criticism (2) critiques (2) crow (1) culture (2) cussler (1) cutting (1) dark (11) davin malasarn (3) death (1) deb markanton (4) deborah swift (1) deduction (1) definition (2) description (2) destruction (1) development (3) dialectic (1) dialogue (1) direction (1) discussion (2) dog of the north (2) domey malasarn (5) dr. who (1) drama (3) dramatic (1) dream (1) drugs (1) edit (2) editors (4) emotion (1) ems (8) emt (3) endings (1) ennui and malaise (4) entry (1) epiphany (1) escher (2) essay (2) ethics (3) everyday (1) evil (3) excerpt (3) exercise (1) existentialish (4) existianlism (2) experience (3) experimental (1) fables (1) facebook (3) failure (1) fairy tale (2) fallibility (1) fantasia (1) fantasy (2) fear (5) feedback (3) fiction (26) fit (1) flas (1) flash (22) flash fiction (8) flight (1) flying knee (1) food (2) forensic anthropology (3) forensics (5) frances garrood (2) frustration (1) fun (2) fwiww (1) game (1) gary corby (3) gawain (1) genre (29) germ (1) ghost (3) gideon (1) gift (4) give away (2) golden eagle (1) government (1) growing up (1) grumbling (3) gsa (1) guest post (13) hair metal (1) harry potter (1) health (4) heavy metal (1) hegel (6) help (3) historical fiction (3) history (3) holiday (1) home (3) hopeless (2) horror (3) hot dish (1) houseboat (2) humans (1) humor (1) idea (2) imagination (2) impressionism (1) indiana jones (2) induction (1) influences (1) information (5) insight (1) inspiration (2) intentionality (1) international (2) internet radio (1) interview (2) introduction (2) investigation (1) iticism (1) jabberwocky (1) jack higgins (2) japan (4) jc martin (1) jeffrey deaver (1) jennifer hillier (7) jon jones (1) journal (1) jpop (2) jurisdiction (1) jurisprudence (5) justice (1) justification (1) kanjani8 (1) kansai oniisan (5) kathy reichs (1) knowing (2) koontz (1) kung fu (1) law (5) learning (1) legacy (1) lies (2) life (8) light (1) limits (1) linear (2) lines (2) lite (1) literary (3) literary fiction (10) literary lab (4) literature (3) loren eaton (3) louis lamour (1) love (1) lt host (1) ludlum (1) lydia kang (1) lyrics (1) mandarin chinese (3) marilyn meredith (3) marketing (5) marriage (1) martial arts (3) marxism (1) mascota (1) meaning (1) melons (1) memories (2) mentoring (1) mercury rising (1) meta (1) michael crichton (1) michael malone (1) michelle davidson argyle (9) minnows (1) misha (1) mma (2) monday moment (1) monty python (1) mood (1) moplo (1) morality (4) motion (1) motivation (2) motive for murder (1) mr. saggy (1) mug (1) murder (5) muse (1) music (2) mutilation (1) myster (1) mystery (5) mystery men (1) narrative (1) neanderthal (1) neo-orthodox (1) nevetsize (15) nevetsosophy (1) news (38) nick diaz (1) non-linear (1) nonsense (1) northern michigan (1) nostalgia (3) not subtle (1) notes from underground (3) nothing changes (1) nothing happens (1) novel (9) novella (1) obfuscation (1) obsession (1) octopus (1) oetzi (1) on call (1) one point (2) oops (1) opinion (1) original (2) osaka (2) outline (3) p g wodehouse (1) pain (1) pancakes (1) paradox (3) paranormal (1) passion (1) perceval (1) persistence (1) person (1) personal (66) phil loring (1) philosophy (9) piano (1) pictures (1) pie (1) pink floyd (3) place (1) plot (5) plug (1) podcast (3) poetry (1) police (3) politics (2) poll (1) pomo (1) post modern (1) potential (1) pouland ann dvorjak (1) pov (6) power (1) practice (2) pre-writing (3) precision (1) pretty (1) priorities (2) prize (13) process (8) production (1) progress (3) projects (3) promotion (9) prompt (2) pscyhology (7) psychological suspense (27) public defender (1) publication (24) puffin (1) pun (1) querying (2) question (8) r n morris (5) rachel in the oc (1) rachel thompson (1) radio (1) rambling (2) random (3) rant (2) reader (4) readi (1) reading (10) real stakes (10) realism (2) reasoning (1) recommendations (1) redemption (1) rejection (6) relationship (1) release (2) religion (1) request (3) research (1) response (1) results (1) review (6) revision (2) riddles (1) rights (1) rj clarken (1) rj ellory (5) romance (3) rose (4) rules (2) russia (1) rusty nail (1) ryan david jahn (6) ryne douglas pearson (2) sample (2) scifi (1) scotch (1) scotland (1) scott bailey (1) scottish (1) second person (1) selfhelp (4) serial killer (1) serial murderers (1) setting (1) seuss (1) shirt (2) short (1) short story (28) shush (1) sisko (1) skills (1) skulls (1) sleepy (1) slice of life (1) smoke (1) smugness (1) smurfs (1) social (3) solitude (11) solomon matthews (1) soundtrack (1) specialization (1) speculative fiction (1) spiral (3) spirit (1) sports (1) star trek (3) stephen king (1) steven seagal (1) store (1) stories for sendai (9) story (42) strengths (1) structure (6) struggle (29) stuff (2) style (27) sublimation (19) submission (11) suffering (1) suicide (2) summer ross (2) surrealism (1) suspense (6) sweet (1) sword stained with royal blood (2) synonyms (1) system (1) tactless tuesday (10) taekwondo (1) takoyaki (1) taphonomy (1) tara maya (2) taste (1) tater tots (1) tea time with serial killers (2) teaser (3) technique (7) ted kennedy (1) teddy bear (1) teen (2) teilhard (1) telling (2) terminal instar (5) tesol (1) the dirty dozen (1) the girl with the dragon tattoo (1) the life of brian (1) the muppet show (1) the wild grass (1) theme (3) theory (1) therapy (2) thinking (2) threat (1) thriller (5) tim stretton (4) timeline (1) tips (20) tone (3) top gun (1) top ten (1) topic (1) trailer (6) transformation (1) translation (1) travel (1) tribute (1) trivia (1) trolls (1) twisted (3) twitter (5) ufc (1) update (26) uzziel (1) vacation (1) veggie tales (1) video (1) violence (2) vogon (1) voice (11) volunteer (1) vomit (1) vonda mcintyre (1) walgreens (2) website (2) western (2) whatif (1) whining (2) william faulkner (1) winner (2) wip (6) wisdom (3) word choice (2) writing (174) wu xia (1) ya (1) yamashita tomohisa (1) yin and yang (1) yuan chengzhi (1) zhao peng (1) zoe winters (1) zora neal hurston (1)