Grand Rapids is still grand!

It is a little old, and maybe you've already seen it, but I just saw it and wanted to share it. What is it? It is "The Grand Rapids Lip Dub."



I love Grand Rapids. I have a soft spot in my heart for aging, rust-bucket American cities. I am old enough to recall when they were among the best cities on earth. They were fine places and one can only hope that they will again be great places.

In 2010, my wife and I spent a night in Grand Rapids on our way to the West Coast. We stayed in a fine old mansion in the Heritage Hill District — I mentioned the experience in a blog. We had a pleasant dinner in a Mexican restaurant and I spent the rest of the evening strolling about the neighbourhood in which were staying. I just loved it and hope to go back and drag some other Morgan owners along for the adventure.

London, my town, doesn't like to admit it but it is a Canadian cousin to those American rust-bucket burgs. London shows signs of the classic doughnut urban blight. The cities response has also been classic; It is deep into urban navel gazing.

The newspaper is running a series entitled "What's London?" As part of the series they are running videos inspired by a word deemed to have an important connection to London. I've posted a link to one of these videos below.

20 Objects: The Needle | London | News | London Free Press

The videos, and articles themselves, are good but not a one seems to say, "We love London!" That's sad because London, like Grand Rapids, still has lots of residents enthralled with their town.