Arthur Fonzarelli, that cultural icon, will soon be gracing the lakeshore near my home turf.

Groups in Milwaukee have raised $85,000 to erect a bronze statue of The Fonz. Life sized, no less.

Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that 'Happy Days' and 'Laverne and Shirley' were the best way for people to get to know Milwaukee in the past.

But there's so much more to the city.

There's the beautiful art museum, where the building itself is a work of art.

World famous architect Santiago Calatrava designed the building, which looks like a bird landing on Lake Michigan. It is magnificent.

There's Summerfest, the 12-day festival on the lakeshore where for the price of admission you can watch national, a-list bands from noon until midnight on 13 different stages.

There's The Eagles Ballroom, which was once the place for high society figures but now is by-far the best music venue in the state.

There's Mader's and Turner Hall and all of the ethnic restaurants downtown, which celebrate the European heritage of most of the folks in the area.

We will not be defined by our TV shows!

I do not want a statue of Patrick Duffy or Suzanne Somers from 'Step by Step' to appear in Port Washington, Wis., just because it was the next show to take place in the Cheese State.

And I definitely do not want Ashton Kutcher or any of those 'That '70's Show' kids in a statue in my state either.

I understand that The Fonz is an icon.

He re-appears in 'Family Guy' episodes as a deity. The term "jump the shark," meaning a TV show has reached its pinnacle, refers to the 'Happy Days' episode where The Fonz literally jumped the shark.

But really, why can't Milwaukee build a statue of Dr. James Cameron, the man who founded America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee.

Cameron survived a lynching when he was 16 in Marion, Ind., at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. He spent the rest of his 76 years on earth trying to educate people about the evils of racism and going through life with eyes closed.

The Fonz taught us all how to be cool, and how to pick up chicks. He is definitely a cultural icon.

But I don't think he represents the great heritage of Milwaukee, and it is a shame the city bows to pop culture instead of real culture.

Photo of the Milwaukee Art Museum by Jim Brozek from the website www.calatrava.info