THE GARAGE

Ahh, the sacred GARAGE. The most versatile place of any home.

Is it a car port? A storage unit? The rock band’s rehearsal room?

That’s the best part. You choose. Basically, garages are utilized differently to different folks.

When I lived on the West Coast, there was some kind of unwritten rule that the garage door must stay closed. This was quite the opposite from my Midwestern living, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

We didn’t have basements in California’s Central Valley. My neighbor and best friend complained on a regular basis that most home owners used the garage for their storage room. This meant there were a plethora of cars parked in both driveways and curbside. Another voiced irritation of my friend.

Here on the East Coast, we have basements; so, I’ll infer that this is used for storage. Having lived here only one year, it appears that most people park their vehicles in the garage. Not much excitement here. Sorry folks!

But the Midwest takes garages to a whole new level. There, they are a phenomenon of their own right.

First, and most important, a garage door’s position is an indicator. A closed door means the home owner is not ready for company. On the other hand, an open garage door is practically an invitation to the family, friends, and neighbors to…Come on over. Grab a beer from the garage fridge. I’ll be right out.

Specifically in Michigan, the detached garage is often used as an extension of the home. I know people who have turned their garages into the sports entertainment capitals of the world. They’ve got all the fixin’s. Couches, beer fridges, 80-inch screens, full surround systems, dart boards, and a fire pit just outside the opening in the driveway. It’s not just storage space, but that covered vintage car without an engine makes for great food tables while entertaining. Halloween automation decorations, with batteries still included, scream and move when passed. There is usually hunting gear, a golf bag, and we can never forget, the famous beer mirror. Some of them even light up.

The Illinois-Midwest garage is nothing to bat a lash at. I’ll see your Michigan garage and raise you four notches. There, they don’t only use their attached garage as an extension of the home, but use their front yard as a party play center. Kiddie pools on the front lawn, patio tables with umbrellas in the driveway, easy-ups over barbeque grills and meat smokers, built -in firepits, and no Saturday afternoon festivity is complete without cornhole on the sidewalk.

But, no matter how you treat your garage, just know, there are huge spiders with big fangs, living in the unseen spaces.