People often send me news from or about Ann Arbor, my hometown. I’m not sure why. Do I ever mention it? A reader says, “I was in your hometown for the Ann Arbor Folk Festival last night.” Uh-oh. “Overall, it was a wonderful evening” — great! — “and only two performers made political statements.” Only two?! The place is slowing down. One of the “politicians” was Judy Collins, who duly snarked about Sarah Palin. The Ann Arbor Folk Festival took place, and Sarah Palin was attacked. All is well with the world.

The very phrase “Ann Arbor Folk Festival” brings a smile to my mind. I think of such an event as more political than either of the parties’ conventions.

Also, a reader sent me this article, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: about how musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra played at an Ann Arbor eatery on a snowy night. The eatery? Silvio’s Organic Pizza. Silvio’s Organic Pizza! You gotta love capitalists: They really know how to sell to their audience. If you took a pot of . . . I don’t know what, and called it “organic,” you could sell it to the denizens of my dear hometown. How proud they must feel, as they bite.

Hang on, just looked up the website: “A Slice of Health.” “. . . ours, yours, and the health of the planet,” etc., etc. You can sing along. Anyway, hope the pizza’s good.

Forza Silvio! (as we used to say). (What a nasty old goat, by the way.)