Jeff Daniels discusses small town life in Chelsea

In an upcoming issue of Guideposts magazine, Chelsea's own celebrity, Jeff Daniels discusses life in a small town.

Here is the description from a recent newswire release:

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new November issue of Guideposts magazine features a cover story by award-winning actor, Jeff Daniels, about what his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan has that Hollywood doesn't. Jeff readily admits that, sure small towns are a great place to raise your kids, but he's happy to correct the misperception that places like his hometown are set in their ways and not very stimulating. Certainly his inspiration to perform started right there in Chelsea High School and, now that he's back living in Michigan full time, he sees a lot of new ground being broken in local theater, performing arts, music and community activities. Jeff tells Guideposts readers that he's convinced that small towns are wonderful places to be free to dream, to try new things and to just be yourself. [link to source]

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And here is a snippet of the article, from GuidepostMag.com:

Hometown Boy

By Jeff Daniels
Chelsea, Michigan

Let me tell you about the small town where I come from: Chelsea, Michigan, population nearly 4,700, just west of Ann Arbor. It has one hospital, three elementary schools, a high school, a train depot, golf courses, several churches and a tree-lined Main Street. And right out of central casting there’s the lumber company (where my folks still work), Zouzou’s coffee shop, a hockey rink and a first-rate theater (more about that later). With its small-town atmosphere and solid Midwestern values, it’s the sort of place where an actor with both promise and ambition grows up and then leaves, never to return…unless he’s the grand marshal in the annual Fourth of July parade and his agent or studio needs to buff up his image.

Well, I left Chelsea when I was 21 to try my luck in the theater, which was pretty good. I appeared on the Broadway stage and in a couple of Hollywood films, and after bouncing around between the East and West Coasts, my wife, Kathleen, and I asked ourselves where we wanted to raise our children—our one son was almost two years old. The answer was easy: “Michigan.” We knew Michigan. And if it was going to be Michigan, it would have to be Chelsea, where we’d met. ..... [read the rest of the article on www.guidepostmag.com]

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Would you believe that for as much as I promote Chelsea, and am involved in so many events and projects, that I have never met -- or even seen -- Jeff Daniels? I mentioned as much to some other moms when I was waiting for my daughter to finish her ballet class, and they all said, "REALLY?! I see him all the time!" Which turned into a "Jeff-Daniels-sighting" conversation, leaving me to wonder if I spend too much time at the computer? For as much as he loves Chelsea, sometimes I wonder if he reads my blog? Or knows about my Things To Do In Chelsea website? Definitely things that make me go "Hmmmmm....."