For God and... ?

Ripped from the headlines... of the Milan (Michigan) News (ref).

Businessman completes 'rescue mission'
Don Kleinschmidt restores military display at Pioneer High School

I was scanning for news from around Ann Arbor when this item caught my attention. The name Kleinschmidt seemed to stir some memory inside.... What was it?

Then I remembered: Kleinschmidt used to be the name of an insurance company off Huron and Ashley, and its parking lot always seemed the sweetest of forbidden fruits. Ideally located between the Ann Arbor nightspots on Main and 1st, the lot had no gate to shoo you away, just a sign that warned you your car might be towed.

"Does that apply to just business hours or off-hours too? What are the chances? I mean, look at all these other cars." The discussion was maddening, but that didn't stop us from having it every time. (This was before I learned that the good people of Brewer's troll the lots of their clients looking for cars to tow.)

My memory spurred, I continued reading: This Mr. Kleinschmidt (who may or may not be connected to the insurance company) had found a tribute to servicemen alumni of his old high school tucked away in a janitor's closet. He then spent five years (one would assume off and on) working to restore the display which can now be seen once again in the hallways of Pioneer.

I really found the article compelling, or at least I did until I got to the end when it quoted one of Mr. Kleinschmidt's friends:

As an U.S. Army veteran, I can tell you that a tribute of this nature is an emotionally moving project. In the armed services you become aware of people that would sacrifice their life for their county and it's most fitting that those who died to preserve liberty are recognized and remembered. Their young lives ended so we could live ours to the fullest and we should never forget that.

You might want to read that again.

Here, I'll help:

...you become aware of people that would sacrifice their life for their county...

This little gaffe woke the cynic in me. I always like to think I'd lay down my life for country or fellow man if the situation arose, but would I do it for... Washtenaw County? Somehow it just doesn't seem the same. But, as Depeche Mode once said, "people are people," right? Why would it matter whether they're Americans or Washtenawnians?