Royal Oak was named, as you might guess, for a large oak tree. This is a small (fewer than 12 square miles) town of roughly 60,000 people. We have a very lively downtown with live local theater, a music venue, coffee shops, book stores, restaurants, antiques shops - it's a fun place to live, even if some people call it "bougie".

If you live here, you will get used to hearing the train blow through town several times a day, giving you lots of opportunities to experience the Doppler effect firsthand. The whistle's a comforting, hometowny kind of sound. Do you ever travel by train? You really should try it once. You can sit and listen to the stew of accents around you, it's wonderful. On the way to 2006 LSA Meeting in Albuquerque, I heard some nice Pennsylvania Dutch/English code switching.

Movie actor, director and all around talent Bruce Campbell was born in Royal Oak. In case you aren't familiar with him, I'll just say he's made a lot of 'scary' movies. One of the area's only independent movie theaters - The Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak - hosted a book signing and audience Question and Answer with Mr. Campbell a while back. They took this picture that day. Is he scary? You decide.

Welcome to My Hometown!

Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

What to pack if you were planning to visit Southeast Michigan? I recommend checking this weather report. Our weather can be on the extreme side, and erratic.

Right downtown is The Royal Oak Farmer's Market, a pleasant place to spend a weekend morning. The Farmer's Market is just across the street from our library (where the librarian knows who you are, and when your books are due, so watch out).

In front of the library there is an inspirational statue called "Stardream" by Marshall Fredericks. It stands inside a shallow fountain, into which people throw their pieces of spare change to make wishes.

For those of us who are horror movie fans, it's fun to think about Sam Raimi having been born here. Incidentally, he directed Bruce Campbell (see left) in a number of his films, like Army of Darkness. Again, Campbell = scary?

The evidence is beginning to stack up.