Friday, August 26, 2022

Friday, 8/26

I saw Santa Claus working on his tan a couple of days ago.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the REAL Santa Claus, but there was this big round guy with long white hair and a flowing white beard just laying in the sun at Lower Harbor Park, and I thought to myself, “Well, THAT’S not something you see every day”. Then as I was walking home from said beach, I came across a family of tourists, standing on the Lower Harbor bike path, looking in at the city of Marquette. What did I hear the mom of the family say?

“THAT’S not something you see every day”.

Right then and there, I knew I had a blog topic. So here’s your assignment for this weekend--

Go out and be a tourist in your own town.

I mean, sure, you can probably see Santa Claus in any number of parks or on any number of beaches around the country (although he probably WAS in Marquette so he could swing by Christmas for a few supplies on his way back to the North Pole). But like I written in here about many times in the past, do you realize what we have here? We have beauty. We have natural wonders. We have history. And you don’t have to spend several thousand dollars in gas money to see them.

That’s your assignment for this weekend. Become a tourist in your own town, be it Marquette, or Ishpeming, or Houghton, or wherever. Look at your town through the eyes of someone who’s never been here. Don’t act like the typical local, someone who drives past Lake Superior or strolls past the Savings Bank Building and just ignores it? We see it every day, so it’s not that big of a deal for us.

But you know what? It IS a big deal. We live by the largest lake on the planet, surrounded by history and by natural beauty. And it’s not just here in Marquette; there are MANY places in the U.P. where water, history, and beauty come together unlike anywhere else in this country.

So therein lies your assignment for this weekend. Take an hour or two, head to the most beautiful spot in your city, and look at it like you’re experiencing it for the first time. Marvel at the natural beauty of your hometown, explore the history of your local buildings or complexes, and rediscover why you enjoy living in the community you choose to call home.

Trust me. You won’t be disappointed. And who knows. . .you may even see Santa Claus in the process!

Have a great weekend,

(jim@wmqt.com)

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