Menu
Surveying our Pride: Toledo Region Story
Bunchs Lunchbox | 02/17/2010 7:00 am
Take the Toledo Region Story Survey here
Surveying our Pride
There is an interesting thing that happens here in Toledo.
It probably happens in other cities too, but I haven’t witnessed it to the
extent that I have here. Allow me to propose a scenario:
You and your friends are sitting around a table, maybe you’re out to eat, having a few drinks, catching up, laughing, and doing all the other stuff you do when you go out for a bite with your pals. The conversation meanders through a number of topics ? as conversations tend to do ? and eventually someone tells a story about something wonky that happened, let’s say hitting a big pothole in the road. That comment transforms into an all out bitchfest on what’s wrong with the city. Almost everyone at the table is a tried and true Toledoan, and there is no shortage of complaints; roads, taxes, schools, shopping are all razed. You feel good. You are not alone. Yet, there is one among you who is not a local, a friend is visiting a friend from out of town. That friend chimes in and says something that visitors to our city commonly propose: “Yeah, this place sucks.”
Logic suggests to the outsider that this is OK. These people
hate their hometown, right? And in the visitor’s head, that old Bob Dylan lyric
creeps up, “You ask me why I don’t live here. Honey, how come you don’t move?” This
guest has made a terrible mistake. Within seconds of the comment the locals
become inflamed with indignation, berating the naysayer and defending all
aspects of the city, pointing out everything that’s good about Toledo,
accosting him or her with reasons why it’s a better place to live than any
other.
To the outsider, this might seem insane. To us Toledoans, it makes absolute sense. This happens often, and I’m willing to bet without thinking very hard, you can recall a few similar scenarios. How is it that we can be so cynical about our city, and so defensive of it in the same breath? Well, Carty was right, Toledo has pride.
We are a city of proud people, hard workers, hard livers, and hopeful dreamers. And the truth is, we’re right. Toledo is a great place to live, and for a lot of different reasons. Sure, we’re having a tough time right now, and it’s hard to say what the future holds for us, but I know this ? the people of this city want, and are willing to work to make it better. Likely, by the time he or she leaves, your out-of-town buddy will return home with an odd conflict in emotions. Something between, “Those people are frickin’ insane!” and “What a dedicated bunch of louses.” That’s right, friend. Spread the word. We’re a weird, wild, and manic bunch of proud lovers. We want to leave too, but we won’t. We can’t. To leave is to give up, and though we’re not the most detail-oriented populace in the States, we’re not quitters either.
I want to see Toledo become the way it looks in my head. I know you do too. How do we get there? Well, there are lots of ways and all of them are long and arduous. But, there is one easy thing we can do, which is this ? when someone reaches out a helping hand, grab it.
Right now, there’s a survey online that you can take ? no,
this isn’t a hoax or a scam, settle down skeptical Toledoan ? it’s free,
interesting, and doesn’t take too long. The Toledo Region Story project is
simple: It aims to gather Toledoans tales, critiques, and visions to help
re-brand our city and our region to make us marketable to the rest of the
nation. If you think such things are 'all hogwash,' think for a minute about the reason
you and/or your friends and family call tissues Kleenex.
Personally, I found the survey enjoyable to take. There are a lot of interesting propositions, and there’s plenty of room to articulate your ideas into concise statements. For once, you get to express all your wild and sensible plans, and someone on the other end is actually listening! It’s an exciting suggestion.
Now, I don’t believe that this is a cure-all for our ailments, but it certainly is a start. And if we actually take part, instead of sit back and grumble ? as Toledoans are wont to do ? then we might actually make an interesting dent in this survey. The key is, however, people need to fill it out, but not just any people ? cool people. You.
In the short term, perhaps this thing can transform our dinner conversations from what Toledo needs to do, to what Toledo needs to do better. And, if we really make some progress, we’ll know it when our visiting friends says, “Well, it doesn’t seem so bad to me.”
COMMENTS