Niceness and the Midwest

Myth? I’ve had more horns blown at me in under three months than in my entire life. When you slow down at a crosswalk (there are signs everywhere that it is State Law to stop at crosswalks) they yell at you for braking too slowly, others who are on their cell phones awaiting crossing yell at you because they’re busy so why are you stupid people stopping your car!

I don’t get it. All I hear at night now from the 15th floor facing East is honking, brakes squealing, sirens and Harleys. I understand Harleys as we’re in the home of the Harley-Davidson.

Why is everyone so angry? People in the building are generally nice, and we’ve even had a culinary get-together with fellow “newbies” where we each brought a dish. Another is coming up and we’re doing an international wine tasting for 20. We each picked a country out of a hat, and we got Greece. I’m supposed to bring one dish and two bottles of wine. Doing some research on the wine and red is the obvious choice, unless I want to subject them to Retsina!

For dishes I’ll make spanakopita, keftadakia (meatballs, baked), and my own blend of marinated Kalamata olives.

Someone told me that everyone here grew up here and has family here and chose to stay here and raise their children, so they don’t want to meet anyone new. They have their circle and everyone else is outside of it so they just yell at us, honk at us and act sub-human.

My thought is that we’re also in the Rust Belt and many folks may be out of work. Still, you catch more jobs with honey than vinegar. I just don’t understand the vitriol every time I’m in traffic or walking along the street. If I ever let my “glass half full” demeanor go, let me go with it. Put me to rest.

I AM these people. I grew up in the Great Lakes in a town that has only a football and hockey team to cheer for, we all left decades ago because there are no jobs. Strict Germanic upbringing, Catholic Mass every week, CCD every Wednesday. I still maintain a positive attitude and don’t even know where my car horn is and have had my current car for five years.

Let go of the hate, folks. It does you no good, and it poisons the atmosphere of everyone you run into. Thanks, from a fellow Great Lakes gal. Dee