What Brings You to Town?

The Mom Weekly Volume 157: August 11, 2026 

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here. https://themomweekly.com/

Notes:

I giggled when I wrote the headline for today’s Weekly. It is such fun to have inside sayings.

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

What Brings You to Town?

The expression, “What brings you to town” first became a cause for merriment in our family when three of us were at a St. Louis-area hotel a couple of years ago. The same weekend, there were a series of baseball games between the Cardinals and the New York Yankees at Busch Stadium downtown. 

Nearly every time we were on the elevator, there was a person, or a couple, or a family—different people every time—who were outfitted in either a little or a lot of Yankees or Cardinals hats, shirts, and other swag. It got to be funny, because after we would leave the elevator, we started saying to each other, “What brings you to town?” Because, obviously, baseball brought them to town.

The expression “What brings you to town?” has become sort of a family shorthand for noticing someone is telegraphing exactly why they are in town/dressed the way they are. And I can do this telegraphing as much as the next person.

The most hilarious version of this is when I attended the 2024 JASNA AGM (Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting, for those who don’t know), which was on an October weekend at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. It turns out that the same weekend was also the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 

A few days ahead of the conference, the JASNA attendees, received an email informing us that we would need to have ID and proof of reservations to be able to get in or out of the hotel all of that weekend.

That was quite the fun, “when worlds collide” scenario. JASNA people are often dressed in Regency-era costumes, so it would be very easy to see what bring them to town.  (see this gift article from last year’s JASNA in Baltimore which was SO MUCH FUN)

But back to Cleveland.

Even though I do not wear Regency wear, it was apparent to everyone that I was at the hotel for the JASNA conference, not the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame. And it was extremely obvious who was staying at the hotel for the ceremony. 

Apparently, Cher (one of the inductees) was staying at our hotel, along with several rap singers I cannot recall, Kool & the Gang (another inductee), and more.

I did not see Cher (darn), but I did get a photo with the only remaining original member of Kool & the Gang, who I recognized because the group was wearing bomber jackets with “Kool & the Gang” emblazoned on them.

When I spoke with several of you while I was away, one of you said, “You should ask people in the elevator, “What brings you to town?” That became my kryptonite for the rest of the weekend. 

Every time—every single time —I got in the elevator, it invariably included a person or group who was a) Dressed in all black. b) Carrying a wine glass or other adult beverage c) Appeared in dress or demeanor to be a rock ’n’ roll person of some kind. And I would have trouble not breaking into laughter. I tried a few times to actually say, “What brings you to town?” But I couldn’t and keep a straight face.

One time, I got on the elevator alone with a young-ish woman who looked kind of like a younger Cher. She was beautiful and dressed in all black, naturally. It was obvious that her clothes were super expensive. I couldn’t say, “What brings you to town?” Even though I knew exactly what brought her to town. 

I said, “How are you?” without bursting into laughter, which I consider a great win, I promise you.

She was friendly and we chit-chatted until one of us got out. I honestly don’t remember anything about the interaction, it was so unmemorable. I definitely didn’t know who she was, just that she was there for it. A musician? A publicist? Who knew. There was no “Kool and the Gang” bomber jacket to tip me off.

Later, I looked through the artists who were there for the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Dear readers, it turns out I shared an elevator with Dua Lipa, who was part of the induction ceremony to sing a duet of Cher’s classic “Believe” with her. (I won’t put the Youtube link in here, because that affects the email client, but you can Google it to see it).

Now, you young subscribers will know who Dua Lipa is, and that she is kind of a big deal. But I still don’t know much about her, nor could I name one of her songs. 

(Okay, I spoke too soon. Apparently, I recognize two of her songs, when I played a few on Spotify, prompted by one of my children who shall remain nameless. “Dance the Night,” which is a song from the Barbie movie, and “Levitating” because it was a BodyPump song.)

Those encounters with the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame people are still some great memories from that JASNA. But I honestly had more fun with my JASNA people.

The next time you are in an elevator or with someone that you are pretty confident why they are in town, just try, I dare you, to say, “What brings you to town?”

Interesting/Notable

Our Favorite Foods at IKEA—Wirecutter

This was a cool article that Dad shared with me. I also enjoy IKEA food!