The problem with Ann Arbor
The problem with Ann Arbor is not that it is a hick town. It’s the continued insistence that it is a very sophisticated place.
Consider the top story of the The Ann Arbor News’ most recent free weekly. It is a piece about a woman who owns many colorful hats. Complete with a headline that makes reference to “hat couture,” it keeps up the tone of the small-town newspaper throughout, preparing the reader for police reports of a dog who’s been attacking woodchucks. The “hat lady,” as she is known, says that, when you wear a hat, “you take on the personality of that hat.” She wears flowered hats in spring and straw ones in the summer.
The story concludes by noting her fondness for collecting rocks. “They make me feel connected on a spiritual level with nature,” she says.