Life is Good, so it says

 

Consumer drabness pierced by pithy strings of philosophy like this.

In the dollar store parking lot this jeep displayed a bit of encouragement to anyone who cared to read the text on the spare tire cover, people stopped behind the truck at a stop light, neighbors passing the person's home, or those passing by in this parking lot. Like most aphorism, the short exhortation can be read a couple of different ways: stay true mean could "don't lie or make reality any more complicated than it is already," or stay true could mean "keep doing what you are trying and don't be daunted," or it could mean a compass reference for guiding one's path by reference to the unchanging North Star - hold your course heading.

"Life is Good" is a folk expression to remind others to pause from their stringing, anxiety, and preoccupying thoughts to admire and appreciate the many good things that surround the person, both the ones that are apparent and obvious, but also the things often overlooked or taken for granted. A line of casual clothing also features this friendly line. But seeing it on the back of a Jeep and paired with the "stay true" saying is much less commonly seen.

When daily routines are filled with money, price comparisons, recurring bills to pay, and many temptations urging the person to buy still more stuff, it can come as a refreshing pause to spot a bit of folk wisdom - commercialized or hand-made - and to reflect on the possible meaning of itself, but also as it intersects the person's thoughts in that place at that time; like some spellbound messenger that captures the person's attention for a moment.

It would be interesting to know the kinds of motivations and models that shaped the designer's patterns here. Perhaps there is an earnest wish to tap the shoulder of strangers and offer them some perspective: when times are tough, this keepsake miniature message is there to offer encouragement and a larger perspective on the aggregate of Human Experience. Or maybe the primary focus is to seize upon a compact catch-phrase that will fit on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and tumblers to add a dash of glitter and (potentially cliched, worn-out) sophisticatedness to their lives and (selfie, self-admiring, self-gauging) lifestyles. The driving force in the designer and the layers of management signing off their approval can be a mix of both of these, and others, too.

There is no need to excavate the meanings, though, to read it at face value and enjoy whatever the reader may take away from the unexpected encounter with the message.

How to celebrate 100 years as a small city - 1931 in Lowell, Michigan

 

Michigan cities local history series*, "Images of America - Lowell" (zip 49331)

As part of the 100-year celebration of the founding of modern-day Lowell, Michigan in 1931, only a year and a half into the Great Depression (October 1929) the caption to the upper photo lists the special events and exhibitions organized for entertainment and edification of visitors and residents alike. How different will things be arranged in 2031, by comparison? At the centennial celebration the first day included an ox roast, crowning the Centennial Queen, band concert, baseball game, a hot-air balloon ascension, and a pageant of progress to end the evening with a look back at 100 years. For the second day there was a parade, addresses by dignitaries, a ball game and another pageant. On the last day they held a mass picnic, a reunion of current and former residents, dancing, singing, and exhibits. There is no mention of radio or print journalism gathering stories or special pamphlets and publications, photobooths or the carnival rides and games captured by pictures in this book. But in the time before TV and Internet, the airwaves for radio and the words of newspaper writers helped to document and report stories like these to surrounding towns and villages.

Jumping ahead to 2024 it is hard to imagine all of the same undertakings being expected or allowed to proceed due to caution about large crowds spreading Covid or attracting domestic terrorist groups or mass shooters. The social fabric has a few of the old threads but is largely woven into different patterns to give a much flimsier durability and texture than in 1931. This big event almost 100 years ago presents a kind of mirror for reflecting on the present. What they recognized as 'dignitary' might be more readily understood today as 'celebrity' or 'influencer', for instance. Parades are far less common now that so many people own personal automobiles, sometimes hugely expensive things depreciating by the day. And with so many people with jet travel experience for business or pleasure, the pass of parades is not so interesting or thrilling to impatient and multi-tasking people with fragmented attention spans and weighed down by debt, social anxiety, and dark imaginings about future uncertainties as consumers striving in a race to the bottom quality and prices. With the contagion of Artificial Intelligence echoing back and infiltrating all sorts of unexpected places and times, the task of building and protecting trust becomes all the more difficult.

Like any good history book, this slim set of photos and extended captions stirs interest in bygone times, places, and people. But it also invites comparison to today's livelihoods, aspirations, and range of experiences. On the one hand things change a lot. But on the other hand, the well-worn saying still holds truth, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (the more that things change, the more that they stay the same). The words change but the song remains the same when it comes to a lifetime of striving, dreams, temptations, stresses and reliefs.

*Authored by Lisa Barker Plank with the Lowell Area Historical Museum