Oh Michigan my Michigan

My cousins called me Tony Bennett when they were little and they thought this hilarious.

I was named for my beloved Granny, Antoinette Bennett Myers, and have held onto the

name for dear life. Granny was my mentor and role model. I used a husband’s surname

for a few years beginning 1970, governed by timidity and the belief I needed at least a PhD

to maintain my separate identity. Here I am, Granny: 2 husbands, one partner and 67

years later, still that little girl you sat with on the screened porch, praising her for taking up

cigarettes at age 15: “I bet you do it well.”

And here we are in the middle of Michigan, in a small city appropriately named Midland, home

of Dow Chemical. In days of yore, we picnicked halfway up north: turkey sandwiches, deviled

eggs and lemonade from the later discovered-to-be-moldy giant canteen. We avoided Midland,

lest the stink remind us of rotten eggs. Was that skunk we smelled last night or was it the actual

chemical plant?

Travel Tip #1: Stay at a Springfield Suites by Marriott. The discounted rates aren’t bad, the rooms

are semi-suites and the free breakfast buffet includes omelets (okay, prefab), fruit and my (and

Jamie Lee Curtis’) favorite, Activia yogurt. The free Sunday paper, the Midland Daily News, is not bad,

given the failing of newspapers everywhere. Philadelphia is in danger of losing its one and only.

And the wi-fi. I will have to use a coffee shop for the next week. Next stop, Glen Arbor.