Cedar Rapids Stinks?

Oh, boy. For any longtime resident the idea that Cedar Rapid stinks is opening a can of smelly worms.

Sure, Cedar Rapids has an odor. But it's not like it used to be when the Sinclair/Wilson's/Farmstead meat packing house was operating. In fact, some days, Cedar Rapids smells delicious, like fresh oatmeal cookies. And that's a better odor than you'll find in a lot of other communities.

When author Peter Greenberg wrote about "The City of Five Smells," playing off the slogan, "City of Five Seasons," it was nothing new. When I moved here almost 30 years ago the old stinker of a slogan had been around for a while.

Greenberg's missive came in "Don't Go There! The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World," a book where he undoubtedly takes pot shots at other communities. That's fair.

But Greenberg, a well-known travel writer and resident travel expert at NBC's Today show, struck a low blow when he took issue with odors emminating from the flooded areas of the city. I mean, thousands of people have been working their tails off since the June flood. They continue to do so to clean out flood damaged homes and businesses. Some of that smelly stuff is still just being removed because people haven't had time to get to it any earlier. And, just think how bad it could be if Mount Trashmore hadn't reopened.

Tim Boyle, president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, had the right idea when he told The Gazette "We all know Mr. Greenberg is just trying to sell a book and that he is only semi-serious."

If you haven't noticed, the story at Gazetteonline has generated many comments. A lot of people take issue with Greenberg and defend the city; others say city officials need to wake up and smell the roses, so to speak, by taking this opportunity to rectify the problems. They all have their points, but it's doubtful Mr. Greenberg will see these comments.

So, I visited Greenberg's Web site and found that Kathy, Jane and Katheryn let him know they do not agree with his assessment of Cedar Rapids. And here's what Greenberg had to say about Cedar Rapids.

In addition to addressing "The stinkiest cities, be it from manure, hog farms, or cereal production," Greenberg discusses cities to avoid because of pollution, high crime rates, too busy airports, too many sinkholes, etc. etc. etc. (Cleveland is one and the newspaper there has offered to send people's complaints directly to Greenberg.)

No place is perfect. Cedar Rapids may have some offensive smells from time to time. But, overall, compared to other places you could live, it does not stink.