Eutychus Fell: Becoming Catholic, An RCIA Blog

For some reason, Men's Health Magazine has it out for Fort Wayne, Indiana. The magazine named us both one of the dumbest cities in America and one of the most unhealthy. (Aside: Shape Magazine labeled Fort Wayne THE most unhealthy city in America, but it turned out one of their criteria was "access to abortion." Fort Wayne does have an active Pro-Life community who go out and picket the abortion clinic weekly.). Anyway, here is a pro-Fort Wayne letter that's making the rounds. And read this, too, in support.

Actual letter being sent to Men's Health Magazine who recently deemed Fort Wayne as being a "stupid" city...

Men's Health Magazine
Dear Editor:

Upon finding ourselves listed in your magazine as the Dumbest City in the Nation, we of the Allen Business Exchange, a group of "stupid" business people in Fort Wayne, Indiana, decided to help you clear your offices and homes of all those pesky products that were invented in Fort Wayne. By return mail, or even fax, (if you haven't already unplugged it to ship back to us) please advise us of a convenient pick up date for the following items:

• All your television sets -- born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• Your turntables, used to be called phonographs, morphed into turntables.
• Every fax machine you own or lease; we even want the broken one in the storage room. You may be able to find a repairman, and that wouldn't be fair.
• Hand over your hand-held calculators, the inventor of the Bowmar Brain never meant to be ridiculed, so figure it out for yourself.
  
• Get the screwdriver out and remove your garbage disposal. Once called Bill Morrill's electric pig, the garbage disposal certainly helps you in the kitchen, but it looks like life is going to get a bit tougher for you anyway. You can handle it.
• And while we are working in the kitchen, dig out those three cans of baking powder. Biscuits just won't be quite so fluffy and tasty, but you'll survive.
• Before we leave the kitchen, clean out your refrigerators and freezers for shipping. They too were invented in Fort Wayne.
• While we are cleaning up, we will take all your washing machines. Our Horton Washing Machine Company invented, produced and sold the first self-contained cleaning appliance, which nicely replaced the corrugated washboard. We may be able to find three or four of those washboards in our antique shops, so you won't have to be without clean clothes. Where shall we drop-ship them?
• Now, let's see all the products you have with magnet wire in them. Yes, we're the world's magnet wire capitol. Invented here, manufactured here. We'll need you to box up your computers, radios, and the engines and motors of your automobiles, SUVs, airplanes, boats, even your hearing aids. Next we'll take the wiring harness from your vehicles, as well as all the motors in your electrical appliances.
• Oh, yes, we need your Public Address System-magnet wire you know. It's just everywhere nowadays.
• Carefully pack all your hi-fi equipment, now known as stereo, plus all the transistor radios, TVs, and watches. Ask your parents how to wind a wristwatch, because we are hauling away all those nifty little self winding jobs.
• It won't bother you so much to give up your automobiles when you learn that you can no longer fuel them easily. We are taking all your gasoline pumps. They too were invented here.
• Oh-almost forgot, those kiddy cars that are battery operated. Crate them up too. No Slattery's Battery for you! Entertainment has always been big here. So get all your juke boxes packed up, and all your video games, all copycats of our original Pac-Man.
• Now we want the lights from the tops of your tall towers.....the ones that notify the maintenance group and the FAA when they burn out. Of course you won't even hear about the new Zoom product that feeds information about traffic hazards and road conditions to the GPS system, that is another story.....you'll have to read about it in the newspaper, as soon as the pony express gets your edition to you, that is.
• How soon can you get solar powered lighting for your city? Yes, municipal lighting systems were invented here, and the first night baseball game was held here, too. Give up your night time sports? Uh-huh. We will just make a clean sweep of it.

Well, thanks for all the goodies. Send a messenger down to let us know when you have reinvented all the items you no longer have available, and we'll see if we can find someone to get you back into the current century, whenever that may be. Oh! And if this is what "stupid" people can invent, imagine what all of you "smart" people are capable of!

All in the spirit of great fun,
Carolyn DeVoe, Vice President
Allen Business Exchange
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Excellent. And don't forget all the famous people our little town has helped produce, including Bill Blass, the fashion designer; Dave Thomas, who started Wendy's restaurant; Rod Woodson, of the NFL; Shelley Long, from Cheers; Carol Lumbard of Hollywood fame; the great author, Stephen King lived here; DeMarcus Beasley, the great soccer player, went to school with my kids; and, of course, Amy Welborn and Michael Dubruiel. Fort Wayne, "The City of Churches."