I ran across this on one of the many Detroit booster sites that I lurk around and it made me laugh out loud. I'm sure my parents never expected that I would live in Detroit when they moved me to Michigan in 1962--they selected Beverly Hills, a bucolic suburb with the blandness of vanilla pudding. As soon as I was old enough to talk my friends into driving me, we would skip school and venture into the city--to Belle Isle, the Detroit Public Library, the Lafayette Coney Island. We regularly attended the Fox Theater holiday Motown shows--in fact, we were often the only white girls there...utterly devoted to Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye, "Little" Stevie Wonder and the rest. One summer, we met the Supremes outside their trailer at the State Fair grounds and got autographs. They were so skinny and small under those huge bouffant hairdos.
That same year, we saw the Beatles at Olympia stadium--not once but twice. We hid in a suite for the time between the 2 p.m. show and the 6 p.m. The tickets looked the same! The Stones came next--but only 300 people were at that first show.
Each time we ventured into the city, we became more and more comfortable, convinced that all the fear other people expressed was just stupid. Now, having lived here over 10 years, I can honestly say we have had fewer brushes with crime than our country living counterparts. My friends who have been burglarized live in the country. Cars that have been broken into were parked in the suburbs. Yet, the fear remains.
This week I hope that SuperBowl XL makes our parents proud--this city has so much to offer--such a creative place with so much talent.
1 comment:
I love your optimism. I wish I could be so positive. Last year I worked in the city for a few months and in that short span of time I saw my co-workers' vehicles get broken into three times--common theives and/or dope fiends bashing in windows and taking whatever valuables they could. Also, I witnessed a purse snatching by an adolescent riding his bicycle behind an unsuspecting older woman. He grabbed the purse and high-tailed it out of the area. Luckily, my co-workers and I chased the boy until he desperately flung the purse into the air. We retrieved the purse and made sure the stunned woman was calm enough to continue home.
I also witnessed a woman's boyfriend threaten her life as he walked into a school cafetria unencumbered. Both parties were screaming and barking at each other. Ultimately nothing happend but there was certainly the threat of violence in the man's voice.
That being said, I met some of the best people I have ever worked with in the city. I have forged good positive relationships with people in the short time I worked with them.
If you stay positive about the city, I will too.
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