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Conformity is NOT in My Dictionary

Apathy in Detroit – Break the Cycle

April 19, 2010

I love reading @becksdavis Detroit Moxie. Because I love Detroit. But I have to disagree. I lived in the city until I was 19. Then moved out to the burbs. They are not the city. The Dateline piece was about the city proper. I am in the city a lot. I was there earlier today. Not doing but teaching someone to do.

It’s great to roll up the sleeves and help out. But are people going to do that for decades. I think the change needs to be not from people traveling into the city to help out but from the inside out. The only thing we suburbanites can do is show up at the inner city businesses to spend our money and show our photos on our blogs.

If I drive into the city to have a cup of coffee with a friend. I step around the people begging for money. I walk past the abandoned homes. I avoid the stray dogs in the street. I get in my car and high tale it back home.

But do any of us stop to talk to the person begging for money? Do we knock on the doors of the neighbors of the abandoned buildings to find out if anything has been tried to remedy the situation? Do we call animal control and wait until they show up to get the stray we saw before it bites some poor unsuspecting child? No our kids are safe at home in areas where animal control actually shows up.

We drive in and drive out.

It’s nice to take on a project or two to help out but these projects like Gleaners, Habitat for Humanity are ongoing. They are not additional assistance, just the day to day upkeep in a big city.

So Mayor Bing has taken a drastic step. I find it horrible to ask people to move from their homes because a neighborhood will be closing. But for decades they lived next to squalor and it is clear that these occupants are ok with that. Or they would have done something about it. Instead you see them barricade their doors with bars and put fences around their yards.

They shore up to defend their own little spot of land even if it is decaying around them. Something has to be done. And it looks like a lot of people are going to be forced to help themselves really soon. Maybe not soon enough.

We talked at a tweetea about how college students graduate and leave the city. I have to say that that is a good thing, because at this time there is nothing here for them. They can come back later when they have something to contribute. Not stay here to try to make it. But they can come back and bring their born and raised Detroit success back home when they are older and know what to do with it.

Maybe I am harsh. But I am being realistic. As a 40 year old I would move back to the city. But would I want my son to live there straight out of school? No. Not if there was nothing to offer him. Education not only has to be got, it has to be used.

So then you see the 75% drop out rate… well what do they see for themselves here? Most of them don’t know any other place. I think kids should travel more. On school trips. I don’t think they do much of that at all and so that makes their would seem even smaller and bleaker.

Just my thoughts as a kid who grew up in it. I think it is nice to speak of fixing things up. Problem is people living in it don’t think they need to have things fixed. It’s an apathy thing. It’s nice to give a man a fish. But why not give him a pole and teach him how to fish for himself.

This morning I spent an hour and a half showing a grown man how to hammer a nail. It is frightening how much basic knowledge people lack in some areas. Before people go in droves to fix things you have to look hard at yourself. You have culture, education, opportunity or the ability to create opportunity for yourselves.

I speak to people in the city who don’t even know where the main library is. They don’t know things, like you can take free lessons to learn how to lay tile at building supply stores. They don’t know there are green tax credits for home improvements. They could not tell you what the Internet itself does for them.They don’t use it the way most of you reading this now do. They are living in another culture. A culture of poverty and decay and showing up to sweep the dust and cobwebs away does nothing.

We should teach the children better and when they leave we should pat them on the back and say “bon voyage” and wish them well.

And if you are reading this and you are one of those people who says I am a Detroiter. Where do you live? If you live in a burb then “YOU ARE NOT” in Detroit – the issue is not with the suburbs. The issue and the TV shows are talking about the city proper. Don’t list your business as a Detroit business and hand me a business card that says Bloomfield Hills. Don’t tell my you are a PR person from Detroit and give me your phone number that has a 734 area code. Don’t tell my you hosted a Detroit event and it was in Canton. Really…. must be nice to be a Detroiter and not have to live where the problems are.

I am from Detroit, I now live in the suburbs. I am not sugar coating it. I don’t live in the city anymore. The city services were not good enough. The safety of certain areas was not good enough. And the upkeep of the neighborhoods was not good enough. So I left. But I love to visit.

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#DETChevySXSW and Why Detroit Should Host a Chevrolet Sponsored Tweetup

March 10, 2010

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Well, for one, you give a task to a Michigander and it’s as good as done. And with a smile. So if it is task driven the rest don’t stand a chance. A Detroiter will eat gum from the bottom of their shoe for a prize (not really so don’t ask).

As it starts to warm up in our dual peninsula state we come out and with true joy we enjoy spending time with friends and family around town(s) we migrate internally a lot to be social. We eat at restaurants together, go to art shows, movies and just walks in the park. We shop at malls and talk over beers. And sometimes just sit on our porches and chat it up.

If anything can be said about a tweetup it is a gathering of friends simply coordinated on social media. And we work so hard for what we have here in Michigan that we party twice as hard when the time comes.

In Michigan there is never a shortage of bright smiles on the faces of the people I see at social media events, any social events really. It is truly our blessing to hang out.

To put it in the clearest possible terms. We, here in Michigan, are what tweetups are about. There is no getting tired when there is a goal on the horizon and ten times more energy surges through our veins when the prize is more fun with friends. So the other teams don’t even stand a chance. The Chevrolet Tweetup is as good as in Michigan’s grubby little mitten.

And btw we love the toenails.

An Evening at the Detroit Public Library

February 25, 2010

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Image via Wikipedia

Spent this evening getting a sneak peak at the new DPL website. Looks good. Cleaner interface. I hope when it is live they don’t make me think too much.

The library is in the Detroit cultural center area. College, museums, library, plenty of cafes. Where all the vibrant people of Metro Detroit thrive.

I enjoyed a tour of the library that brought back a memory for me around every corner.

I look forward to the post with wonderful photos on Detroit Moxie.

I think I spent at least one full day in that place the entire decade of 1970 and the entire decade of 1980 after that it was when I could drive down. Not nearly as often as I would have liked. We still go there at least twice a month. But I will be in there way more often when the computer lab is complete. Wifi is a good attractor.

Conrad Welsing gave us historical tidbits while we walked the gilded halls. Conrad’s love for books, music and library life was enthusiastic as well as informative. He told us about the amazing computer lab project that is going on there and showed us the many computerized areas they already have working. Also the teen multimedia room has a feature that lend to the hope that kids will also become interested in the arts, the walls are lined with manga (Très cool!). And the game and music systems there are a sure draw to keeping kids in a place where they could thrive instead of get into trouble.

He told us about the various sections for books and that like the museum what you see in the public areas is only a fraction of the nearly 7 million books the DPL system has. I got to see the Ernie Harwell room. I didn’t know they had one.

They have many events at the DPL. The same night they hosted the #tweetup they had a AARP event and a Disco event, (I hope they have another disco discussion ‘cause I caught a glimpse and I’ve gotta sit through a whole one of these).

People in the city as well as in the metro areas should really check out what is going on there. All over again.

They have a Facebook page. I fanned it. I hope to keep with the events via the FB Events app. But I also follow on Twitter. Thanks to @beckdavis keeping on top of the metro area I caught the tweet just in time to run out and enjoy myself. When I heard the tweetup was at the Library I did not even think twice. That is one place in Detroit you can get me to anytime.

Walking the halls we heard about a few of the incredible and numerous murals, and there are so so many. Whenever you go to check out a book or a movie or to jump on the Internet on one of their computers take some time to stop in the halls and look around. Look up at the ceiling with all of its gold leaf and detailed carvings and moldings look at the artworks on the walls around you. These would be prizes in any museum. Take the time to really look closely at all the marble that lines the inner and outer structure. Think of how much work and time and care went into each square inch. It truly is a marvel and a beauty of architecture.

I was surprised to know that there are teams of elves that are master wood carvers that can be called upon to carve a broken piece of intricately carved whatever… the damaged piece is removed and the new takes it’s place. Seamless – they have such skills you would not know it was a replacement. I guess that is the idea. This piece of information was fascinating to me.

We stopped briefly in front of the lighted directory board probably installed in the late 60s. It is on the wall just inside the Woodward entrance. This was the way we found all the sections that housed all the books that contained the answers to all of our questions when I was a kid. On the tour we got to walk on and admire the stairway that is so incredible it just has to have it’s own role in movies.

Parents should take their kids here when they are very young. It is a way to instill awe. Both at the skill and the vision of such a landmark. My mom took me and my fiends there and to this day these are my most heartfelt thoughts of my childhood. nostalgic and sappy.

It all make me miss my old neighborhood branch even more. The building was brick and just as impressive in it’s own much smaller less marble way. Each corner of stone is carved to say this is what knowledge can lead to, colossal achievements. If you learn you can do great things. Just sitting outside of the building after our girl scout meetings was inspiring and comforting at the same time. Learning who Shakespeare was while sitting on a stone step. Reading the whole teen choose your own adventure series one book at a time over the course of 3 summers. Thanks for the memories.

I am glad to see that the main branch is booming. Every time I go in there it is full of people. Parking is worth fighting for. And if you plan it right you can make a day out of a trip to the museum (you may try to get passes at the library) and get your read on, you can take in a concert or see a movie. Remember too that this is the library which means they have classes. Learn computers or how to write a resume and search for a job too. This is where the knowledge lives and this is the life blood of the city. Live it. Share it. Experience it often and with friends.

Thanks for the memories @becksdavis @admore @davidlingholm @likelylad32 and of course our great host @detroitlibrary

Read the post and see the great photos of this masterpiece of a building by @becksdavis on Detroit Moxie

M1 Rail To Safer Parking?

February 15, 2010

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Image by Hilarywho via Flickr

Putting a rail system of any kind in any area to drive business. Well in a new area there is nothing but new to build. No memories, no history. So rails in the old days would bring people to fresh clean areas.

I was born and raised in the D. I saw the People Mover. hmmm. We road it twice in a time when most of my time was spent downtown then we opted to walk. It’s downtown, it’s not that big. Even in the coldest wettest weather we sometimes would not even bother.

This rail. This M1. I love rail systems. LOVE DC and NY. Have heard of others that I am sure I would like. But not for their ability to drive business. But to take me to where the action is.

Putting a rail in metro Detroit is like having a mansion. 15 bedrooms. No windows. You decide to add windows to a few rooms. Problem is there are bodies in all the rooms you have chosen. And you think people will just walk around them to get to the view outside of the window.

First of all you have to get rid of the body, then the odor, then the memory of the decaying corpse.

Detroit and Michigan have a lot of work to do before investing in anything like this.

It’s flawed thinking. I would love a rail system, but only after there is life for it to take me to.

Granted there are things to get to in the D. The stadiums, Fox, Greektown. But if I would be going to any of those

I could afford it
I would already have a car or some form of transportation
I would rather know that I could get in and out on my schedule so I would take my car and pay for parking
Standing in that downtown area waiting for the rail would make me feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
Too easy to go to a suburb with an established social scene. Why go to the D. No need to convince people to take the chance in Detroit.
Too much devastation to see while I am out having a good time. It is a downer.

Most likely people would at least use it to park there cars in safer areas like the burbs that the rail may go through. Turning them into giant lots. But then again who wants to be on someone’s else’s schedule to go into some areas.

It’s just facts. If you deny them then you will not fix them.

I think rather than trying to bring outside people to spend time in Detroit it should be done from the inside out.

There are entire communities in the D that never go to the museum, library, stadiums, proper restaurants like Greektown, the Indian town and Mexican town etc. They never spend time in the arts or nature areas of the city. They just don’t take part in their own city. They in some cases don’t even know how to. And when they hear of something there is a charge. Some people don’t realize you can get passes to museums at libraries. Why? Most libraries in the city closed down decades ago. And the will to get to the main library is only harbored inside of a few strong personalities unafraid to find their own resources and dispel the taunting designed to keep them from reaching higher peaks then their peers. Being a nerd in the suburbs is cool, but in the city it can be deadly.

When I go to the Detroit Public library I see tons of kids in there on the Internet. These kids will probably at some time during the year go to the museum, a show at the Fox and these same kids will also most likely graduate high school. They have some basic skills to navigate their own community and to actually see what is outside of it. Some kids in the city limits do not even know what the Fox theater is. Much less any show that may be available for them to attend.

This I think is where the problem lies. Not just stick a way to get to nowhere in the middle of the ruin.

Metro Times 5 Alarm Fire In Royal Oak, MI Last Night – Vodka! Vodka!

January 30, 2010

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Quick someone ring the alarm! Whew…I have not partied like that in quite some time. Vodka Vodka the charity event benefiting Forgotten Harvest. It was a very good time.

I do have to say first that Detroiters really know how to play. We work hard for our money and you bet that bottom dollar we show it when the time comes.

A great time was had by me personally because of a few friends so shout out to Lisa, Pati, Pat, Donna, Tracy and her friend Ed and new acquaintance Betty and her husband. There were also several dance partners last night and I can only recall one LJ the rest were after a few of the free vodkas so they kind of blurred together (Yippie!!!!!!). And yes there will probably be photos of me holding drinks on the internet. It was a vodka party. Get over it.

The Metro times has a few events this year and I plan to attend at least another two or three myself. I could be persuaded to get to more. But one has to sleep.

Let’s start with the food… No… The FREE food! The best offering was from Svedka vodka. The ONLY all natural vodka. and it was very good (both the food and the vodka). They had pulled pork mini burgers with a raspberry vodka bbq sauce. YUM! Thank You Svedka. I was given this mixed drink at Svedka which was very good, and I might add that cherry ties into Michigan, cherry chocolate martini. This was something to have at hand at home on cold Michigan nights when you just gotta have something chocolate to warm you up.

And offering a burger as filler for a room full of drinkers was not only good eating but helpful. Their food was the only really worth mentioning at length.

There was also an extremely wise choice of bruschetta served, but as my bag with all my cards in it was missing at the end of the night I don’t remember who was responsible for that. It was yummy and a great choice for a vodka party.

There was a Michigan bean salad that included a side of whole grain bread, but it was cold and beans on top of a quart of vodka leaves lots of cleanup for the crew in the morning. Nachos are a nice thought but I have to lean with the comment about beans and cleanup. Best food to serve, and bars know this, with liquor are things that soak up that alcohol, pretzels, chips, breads, and if you want to be super then sandwiches are top of the food chain with large quantities of drink. Tons of variety of bruschetta would also be a fine decision for next year. Can we say waitresses with trays of hors dourves walking around that would have been a more ideal way to serve food and employ a few extra people also.

Sugar also is wonderful under normal circumstances, but after the first dessert like tasting of the night, a pleasure I might add or chocolate raspberry vodka truffles and lemon vodka truffles, oh so good, but your taste buds kind of don’t care what it is after a while. By the time I tried the raspberry chocolate something or other cake with something or other vodka frosting it became just that something or other.

I am sure I live in metro Detroit and I darn well know we can cook up a storm here. But reminding me at an event where I may not be able to keep your card and after a while the event itself causes me to forget who made what fancy thing. The only thing I remember is shot, pulled pork, shot, pulled pork, shot, pulled pork. It’s the only way to keep the machine going. So buy Svedka for your next party to remember. Because if you drink this vodka you are a person who must have fun but responsibly.

A side note here. It was nice and thoughtful of The Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company to be there right by the door with fresh brew for the party goers. A sobering reminder to sober up before you tried to leave. They are also fair trade.

I am a straight vodka drinker (albeit a seldom drinker) and as such there were two vodkas that stood out for me Valentines vodka. Straight up it was a full flavor with a burn when it hit your mouth and no burn on the way down. I got a delayed reaction from it so when you are drinking the very nice Valentines vodka please wait a few minutes for it to kick in. It fooled me because of the lack of burn on the way down. Excellent for shooters. And hand distilled in Michigan. For the small gathering of real vodka connoisseurs.

There was another vodka that drank like water, but it had that kick and super fast. So if you ever wanted to try straight vodka but never have or don’t like straight alcohol at all try this one. Drinking this straight will amaze your party friends. Look like a tough Russian kicking back a few shots of straight vodka. True North hand-crafted in small batches using local ingredients, and you can’t beat the lake water of Michigan. This choice would be mine for the newbie straight vodka drinker for the reason of no harsh alcohol burn. And for regular vodka drinkers, beware, serving this in mixed drinks at your next party will lead to dancing on the ceiling. So if you want your party written up as a great time had by all in the society section then serve True North.

Now for the criticism.

Now keep in mind I am available and seeking a wonderful group of people to work with. I live in Michigan after all. And Sherry was a lifesaver of understanding and the rest of the Metro Times crew rocked, it is hard to keep a happy room sometimes when there is lots of drinking going on and they did it. So kudos the the MT staff.

BUT… on the event itself.

1. If you are going to have a drinking event. Forget the kitschy Russian rubles pass out tickets. And you would be required to turn one in for each drink. Only Grey Goose marked my rubel once. I had 5 drinks last night. Other people commented on the same thing. You don’t need that much to drink in 4 hours. 10 tickets would have set the biggest man up for a drive me home time. There were people telling me they had lost count at 12 drinks and they got there late.

2. Coat check. First thing when we walked in the door we were like “we are going to drink free vodka and have to watch our coat?” not good for the mingle.

3. If you are going to give out swag bags at the end of the night DO NOT allow people to walk up to the table and take them earlier. One person did – another did and then they proceeded to tell people go ahead I did, just walk up to the table and get one. Not a problem ordinarily but when you mix bags and drinking, there were people just picking up bags off of tables. OK lesson in manners is needed here. If a bag is on a table it belongs to someone. If you are not sure if it is your bag DO NOT be too drunk to look in it and remember what your had before walking off with it. The t-shirts in your bag were purchased by someone. So if you got a t-shirt in your bag chances are you just grabbed someone’s $10 shirt and walked off with it. Also mine was one of them and my eye glasses were in that bag. Please return them contact me or the Metro Times offices. You can keep the shirt. It will be appreciated.

4. The DJ sucked! And when going to ask if he had anything else to play besides techno I was told that they hired him because he plays what he wants, not what the crowd likes to hear. FAIL ! So he turned the volume up so high playing his techno people could have gone deaf(er). What did he think we could not hear him and that was why people weren’t dancing? Really? IT WAS BECAUSE THIS WAS IN LARGE PART NOT A TECHNO CROWD!!! So after a while he decided that he would play Prince and upon the first spin of that record the people trickled up onto the dance floor. So then he played 2 more Prince songs followed by a Michael Jackson song, rinse and repeat. Are you kidding me.

Now for the critique on the marketing, because that is what I do. I take things and make people happy to experience them.

Svedka your website needs to lose the flash. And what is up with the Robot? Who convinced you to spend all this money on this strange campaign. The vodka itself is great and it’s the only vodka able to say on the bottle all natural. Honestly, I could not even bring myself to link to one of your billboards it was like what?

Valentines vodka. Great idea to grab a small spot and pass out shots. But I had to ask for a complete ounce. 10ccs of vodka just wasn’t going to do it. And that was a little, um, frugal of you. And for having the best high end straight vodka you should have had a free flowing fountain of it (not really but lots of it).

And now a word about a sponsor. Not a vodka company. Vitamin water was great, but Red Bull, I got home and gave my kid the Red Bull and he noticed that in 3 days they would be expiring. Now expiring things as freebies are usually ok but not at a top level event like this one was. That was kind of tacky and I just had to say that because my kid did. And if the kids are laughing at you then you know you made a slight gaffe.

OK. so all in all it was a 7 on a scale of 1-10 for mass party/charity event. Could have been organized a little better but all in all a really good job. It was, after all, the MTs first Vodka Vodka. When is the Whiskey Whiskey?

Image by molotalk via Flickr

Find Out What I Did at a Feather Party

November 10, 2009

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First of all I went there with two great girls from my WWCG group Lyn and Lisa (You Both Rock!) and Tom was a great addition.

Now you may have to ask what a feather party is. Believe me I had to look it up before I wondered for too long what kind of strange places my new friends were trying to get me to go.

A feather party is something that is local and started in Detroit by Polish immigrants who upon coming overseas to the new world were told that this holiday was celebrated by all and that it required a turkey. Well being newly transplanted they had little income to spend on such lavish food as a turkey. So they got together and purchased a few and raffled them off. After winning the (un)lucky bird they led it home on a leash and when the time came to cook it they had to de-feather it and, um, well, kill it for dinner.

So here we are in the 21st century in a group of about 500 people shouting “Chuck! Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!” and yes we meant the meat (ground chuck).

The turkeys were frozen. Good thing as my cat would not get along with another mouth to share her food with.

A better time I could not have had as Lyn unloaded her cooler of food, we were told in advance to bring, I will take this more seriously next time, who knew we would be trying to win meat for four hours. And stood in line to buy drink tickets so that we might be fully fortified for the night. Margaritas and meat.

It was a meat festival. A party to supply the meat for future parties.

After a few drinks the cheers became as loud as a super bowl. “I won!” “Over here. I got the winning ticket!” “Yeah!” squeals of delight at winning boneless hams. Could you ask for a more satisfying prize then a pork loin?

I have to say that the giant bag of kielbasa really had me hungry. And they had a bag of beer (six pack in a brown bag) that would be a great win to pair with that sausage.

This was completely Detroit All-American FUN! Now I remember why Michigan has me by the cojonas. I love to have a good time with friendly people who work their butts off and party like they won the lottery for the little things that mean so much and add to our bank of memories about good times with family and friends.

There was also some enthusiastic, fun entertainment in the form of the MC who in some previous incarnation was Ziggy Marley’s distant cousin from the islands. He was pretty good.

This VFW hall was a great place for groups of different people to {meat} meet? There were veterans as well as retirees, ladies from the Red hat society, families and friends. And to top it off your ticket for each round had about six chances to win prizes. Yes, bringing food is definitely on the top of my list next time. There were some tasty looking fully loaded potato skins at the next table over. Yum! And did I mention the meat? The Dearborn boneless ham I won was very good by the way. Lisa I’ve got some great recipes for that roasting chicken.

Real Life #Detroit #Ghost Story

October 23, 2009

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It was 1989 and I was moving out into my very first apartment. I was moving in with my boyfriend whom I had spent my childhood knowing him and his family. I was 19 and the apartment was a small flat on the left side of the lower floor of a home in Detroit. It was a long apartment the rooms were one after the other no sides. So to get to the bedroom you had to walk through the kitchen or living room.

This apartment was recently given up by my boyfriends sister and her boyfriend. So we jumped at it. The price was good and the landlord was a do-it-yourselfer with all kinds of talent in home repair and building.

It was around October and we planned to have a big party for Halloween to celebrate.

The first night in the apartment was fine. We unpacked and got situated. We didn’t have much. I made dinner and was doing dishes when out of the corner of my eye I saw E. (let’s call my boyfriend E.) go into the bathroom. But he didn’t close the door. Now I was not having any of that. He had manners and I expected him to use them.

So I went to the bathroom door to tell him to ‘Please close the door’ and there was no one there.

OK.

I called out to him and he was in the living room watching TV he had not moved since we ate diner..?

Then next day he thought I went into the bathroom.

Then next week our friends were invited to various dinners, it was our first apartment together. They all (4 people) said on separate instances that they saw E. going into the bathroom and since he left the door open they all went to tell him to shut it. He was not there.

Basically the shape of this shadow person was the same build as E. But you only ever saw it from the corner of your eye. And always just walking across the threshold of the bathroom.

Next we had a Thanksgiving dinner and invited E’s dad and my mom (separate times, it was best this way). They each saw this same shadow figure going into the bathroom. By this time we were all pretty used to it as it happened during the day as well as night and several times a day and any day.

Well shortly after our Halloween party there was this huge rain storm. I mean it came down in giant tubs (so much more water than a bucket) you could not step out of the door to check the mailbox without literally looking like you jumped fully clothed into a swimming pool.

E. was upstairs at his older sister’s (another sister) apartment. She lived there with her husband and two kids. There were a few others hanging out there. I often did not go up as I was asthmatic and they smoked a lot.

The rain came down hard and I was alone, my cat had run away about a week after we moved in – after he had a weeks worth of diarrhea attacks and then he looked at me on his way out of the door with this I hope you will be ok expression on his face (of course that little piece of insight was 20/20).

The thunder started. I was alone in my first apartment by myself knowing that we had a ghost.

Now at this point in time I was convinced that it was a residual haunting. I was a teen who read a lot. I had heard of this and thought it would be cool to one day see a ghost and having a residual was a pretty cool thing. And having every single visitor to the apartment see it often was even cooler.

But at night in a storm alone. It just got frightening.

Well, I guess my fear was palpable. Because I was huddled up in the bed under my covers being scared and this shadow figured came out of the bathroom. At that point I knew it was NOT a residual as I had originally thought. And it was coming towards me. My guess is that he saw that I was afraid and tried to comfort me (and this is also hindsight cause at the time I was no longer lucid I was scared out of my mind running and screaming, I think I ran right through the thing with my eyes closed, into the pouring rain and straight upstairs to the other apartment, where I told them that our ghost came out of the bathroom).

There were other things that occurred in this apartment. Worms in the shower. Someone talking like a record was being run backwards.

We moved out the next morning.

This story is 100% true. The apartment is on Mitchell street in Detroit. Near the Heidelberg Project.

Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us

Image via Wikipedia

1 Good Thing in Downtown Detroit

March 6, 2009

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I was in downtown Detroit to see what all the fuss was about. I thought I would snap some pics of what reality in downtown Detroit is. It is an old city that has been mismanaged for decades. But within sight of the Detroit Opera House there sits a building and in the corner of that building is a literal whole in the wall, and in that hole is one of the quaintest take out spots (really) that I have ever seen.

‘Good Girls Go To Paris’ is a great idea and a MUST if you are going to or coming from the Opera house. Be aware the crepes are made to order so be prepared to wait, but patience being a virtue, it does pay off in the end. The ingredients are fresh the shop is clean and the service is served with a smile.

The menu sports items like the ‘Cora’ crepe with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream and the ‘Jessica’ crepe with ham and pineapple.

For a dedicated crepe maker they have quite a few choices. This is something that coming to downtown Detroit would be worth the trip for only this reason. So if you happen to be near enough, it is a short walk from Campus Martius, then you have to try out Good Girls.