You Know You're From Michgian If...

Reliving some of my undergrad memories got me a little nostolgic for my childhood/part of my adulthood state of Michigan. While I have no desire to return there are definite things I miss about it. Mostly my family and friends who live there but also the abundance of green (no desert there), lakes, rivers and outdoors activities you can participate in. When I ran across this You Know You're From Michigan If... on Detroit Memories list I had to share it.

So you know you're from Michigan if...

You show people where you're from by pointing to a spot on the back of your left hand (I get so excited when I find people who understand this when they ask where I'm from in Michigan! It's amazing how many people don't know that Michigan's shaped like a mitten. 'Course Americans are suppose to be the worst at geography.).

You know it's possible to live in a thumb.

You consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice
and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by (Ah, good ol' ice fishing. Never did get into that a whole lot.).

Your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March (Always a bummer.).

You know that UP is a place, not a direction (Again shock that most people don't know that Michigan has two peninsulas.).

The only place in the world can you experience all four seasons in one day (The bf was shocked to learn as a child I once experienced rain and snow on the 4th of July.).

Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and you know it's not medicine.

You know what a 'party store' is.

"Vacation" means going to Cedar Point (Worked there for a summer!).

At least one member of your family disowns you the week of the Michigan / Michigan State game (Even more so during the week of the Michigan / Ohio State game.).

Your idea of a traffic jam is 40 cars waiting to pass an orange barrel.

Half the change in your pocket is Canadian....eh?

You drive 86 mph on the highway and pass on the right.

You know how to play (and pronounce) Euchre.

It's easy to get Vernor's ginger ale, Better Made chips, Sanders hot fudge sauce, and Faygo pop.

You know how to pronounce "Mackinac (Mackinaw for those of you who don't.)."

You've had to switch on the heat and the air conditioning in the same day (And I repeat effin snow on the 4th of July!).

You bake with SODA and drink POP (Sad to say that I've converted to using the word "soda" instead of "pop.").

The movie "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" wasn't funny. You consider it a documentary.

Your little league game was snowed out (I remember one spring shoveling 2 feet of snow off our high school soccer field so our game wouldn't be cancelled.).

Traveling coast-to-coast means driving from Port Huron to Muskegon.

When giving directions, you refer to "A Michigan Left."

You know that Kalamazoo not only exists, but is only 100 miles fom Hell.

Your year has two seasons: Winter and Construction.

Home Depot on any Saturday is busier than toy stores at Christmas.

You know when it has rained because of the smell of worms (Love that smell!).

When owning a Japanese car was a hangin' offense in your hometown (I got a lot of dirty looks after returning for a summer from Georgia with my Honda.).

You believe that "down south" means Toledo.

Your idea of a seven-course meal is a six-pack and a bucket of smelt.

You know that Big Mac is something that you drive over (aka Machinac bridge).

You can see a car running in a parking lot with no one in it, no matter what time of the year (This is necessary to freeze off ice so you can drive.).

You end your sentences with a preposition; example: "Where's my coat at?"

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, or animal.

You carry jumper cables and snow chains in your trunk (and an ice scraper).

You design your kids' Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit (Slutty Hween costumes are a challenge in this state.).

Driving in the winter is better because the pot-holes are filled with snow.

Your favorite holidays are Christmas,Thanksgiving, and the opening of Deer Season, which you consider a National Holiday (School is actually closed!).

You have 10 favorite recipes for venison (deer meat).

You learned to drive a boat before you could ride a bike.

You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car.

Your snowblower has more miles on it than your car.

Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout.

The "Big Three" means either Ford, Chrysler and GM, or Little Caesar's, Domino's, or Hungry Howie's.

You think alkaline batteries were named after a Tiger outfielder.

Your definition of a small Michigan town is one that doesn't have a lake.

You define summer as three months of bad sledding.

You attend a formal event in your best clothing, finest jewelry, and snowmobile boots.

The municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.

You have experienced frostbite and sunburn in the same week.

The orange barrel is considered Michigan's 'other' lighthouse.

And you know how to make a damn good snow angel!


Can any of you Michiganders relate or do any of you have any for your homestate? I'll have to find one for Georgia and California since those are states I've also lived in.