Texas vs. Michigan

Re: The Chocolate Cat Caper by JoAnna Carl

Texas vs. Michigan sounds like a college sporting event, but here it refers to Lee McKinney’s comparison of the places she’s lived.

In Texas, Lee was married to an older, wealthy attorney who preferred she have big hair and bright red lips. Now that she’s divorced and back in Michigan, she prefers to tone down the glamour and pull her hair back with a barrette. And wear medium pink lipstick.

It’s hot in Texas and Lee says air conditioning is a must. It’s everywhere: houses, cars, office buildings, industrial plants, buses, trucks and even tractors. Not so much in Warner Pier, Michigan. Most people, including Lee’s Aunt Nettie, don’t have air conditioning in their homes.

Then there’s the matter of the accent. Lee says that to a Texan, the Michigan ‘yeah’ sounds a lot like the Dutch ‘ya’. I’m from Wisconsin, which is not too far from Michigan. In our travels across the U.S., I can tell you that sometimes people can’t understand what I’m saying due to my ‘accent’.

My aunt and uncle, who are also from Wisconsin, moved to Oklahoma many years ago and picked up an accent which I think is a lot like a Texas twang. Just don’t tell them that. They might be offended!