JAN 18, 25 ( 1 / 2 ) .. NFL PLAYOFFS .. VW BUSES .. MICHIGAN DAY ..

Today may be quite a busy day for Patti and me.

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We have the NFL Division Playoffs.

The Houston Texans play in Kansas City against the Chiefs at 4:30pm Eastern Time (2:30pm here).

CONFLICT !!  We have the VW Buses By The London Bridge taking place and we want to see it. 

DECISION !!  No question. I AM going to see the VW Buses on parade!

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The Washington Commanders play “Our” Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan, at 8pm Eastern Time (6pm here).

CONFLICT !! One of our friends here is giving an “Open Talk” that will conflict with the first half of  “Our” Lion’s game.

DECISION !!  Our friend is far more important than the football game so we will miss (at least) the first half of “Our” Lion’s game. 

And !! I WILL NOT have my smart phone with me in the meeting “sneaking peeks” at the Lions game !!

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MICHIGAN DAY.. I, yours truly, was Born in Michigan, Raised in Michigan, and Educated in Michigan. 

The Mackinac Bridge shown in the above image was completed during the summer of 1957. I was working at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and used to watch the construction of the “Big Mac”.

National Michigan Day is celebrated every year on January 18.

Michigan is fondly called ‘The Great Lakes State’ because it is bordered by four of the five Great North American Lakes — Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario, and Superior. The state is also the only one that’s spread across lower and upper peninsulas with over 60,000 ponds and inland lakes, and the Upper Peninsula is an important tourist destination thanks to its stunning natural vistas. Michigan is famous for its automobile industry, home to the ‘Big Three’ which refers to the three largest automobile manufacturers — General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler. 

Michigan is an upper Midwestern state in the United States, located in the Great Lakes region. The name is a French variant of the Ojibwe word ‘mishigami,’ which means ‘large water or lake.’ Michigan has a population of about 10.1 million and an area of roughly 97,000 square miles, making it the 10th largest state by population and 11th largest by area. Lansing is the state capital, and Detroit is its largest city. The Straits of Mackinac — a five-mile channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan — separates the Lower Peninsula (shaped like a mitten) from the Upper Peninsula (or ‘the U.P.’), and the Mackinac Bridge connects the two peninsulas.

Rich in iron and copper, Michigan was first explored by the French, and was soon a center of industrial activity, becoming an American territory in 1783. In the past, ferries would carry travelers back and forth on the Straits of Mackinac to move from one peninsula to the other. The Mackinac Bridge was built in 1957 to connect the two sides, making the journey safer and more convenient. At 26,372 feet long, it is the third-longest suspension bridge in the world! Industry dominated the early 20th century in Michigan, from logging and shipping to rail and automotive. This resulted in a population boom with the influx of workers during war and peacetime. Through skilled trades like engineering and manufacturing, employment grew exponentially, and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, assembly workers were in great demand across the country. Since Michigan was the epicenter of the automobile industry, it was inevitable that skilled workers found their way to the state.

Of the many factory workers in Michigan, the most famous was a Willow Run worker who became the main Rosie the Riveter spokesperson, wearing the iconic bandana and flexing her muscles to sell war bonds. Rose Will Monroe’s efforts, as well as thousands of other women in Michigan and across the country, changed the status of women for generations to come. 

Also known for its Motown sound and legendary music makers, Michigan launched some of the most memorable names in jazz and gospel music. Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, the Jackson 5, and Stevie Wonder were some of the most influential musicians in their genre, and they all came from Michigan.

Michigan is known for fishing and forestry. This is because it has 3,288 miles of coastline — the longest freshwater coastline in the mainland United States — and 90% of the Upper Peninsula is covered in trees.

Michigan has more golf courses than any other in the U.S.

The good people of Detroit were the first U.S. citizens to have phone numbers.

Michigan is home to about 60,000 bodies of water which truly makes it a unique state. It has over 3,000 miles of shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes, and millions of acres of forest.

On a frigid and bitter cold day in January (the 29th) of 1958, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, where it was sunny and warm and I said to myself, “Why are people living back in Michigan when they could come to California?” I made San Francisco (where Mark Twain said: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” is a famous quote that is often misattributed to Mark Twain) my home for thirty three (33) years. 

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Smiling.

Cap and Patti

Published on Saturday, January the 18th, 2025, at 1:39am Arizona time.

Oh! By The Way!

If you want to read Part 2 of this 2 part Post, either just continue to scroll down or click onto the below link.

https://babakaps.net/?p=67226

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