a quiet night with beautiful music in ann arbor.
—
“music is the silence between the notes.”
– claude debussy
Jun18
Tag Archives: city
Jan11
detroit renaissance.
on a downtown detroit day
discovering
beautiful little gems
in so many
unexpected places
buoying our hopes
for a city
that has not given up
and is beginning
to thrive once again
in spite of
challenges
that once seemed
insurmountable.
—
“there is no power for change greater
than a community discovering what it cares about.”
– margaret j. wheatley
Jul5
“some of the best memories are made in flip flops.” ― kellie elmore
a flip-flopped family makes memories as they head to
the giant water slide event on the streets of ann arbor
—
“600 feet of sweet, slippery vinyl for you to slide away all your summertime sadness.
You’ll never look at your streets the same way again.”
– slide the city
—
find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.
– emily dickinson
Aug23
what do you get for three dollars and seventy five cents?
a ticket
to watch
the detroit lions
play
a
pre-season
football game
the score
has no meaning
like watching
kids run around with a ball
gentle
careful
not to play too hard
no one wants to get hurt
and
a walk outside
after the game
leads to
a free front row seat
right on the curb
best seat in the city
on a warm and breezy
summer night
live music
fills the air
you listen
as our hometown boy
eminem
and his friend
rhianna
sing their hearts out
outside
right across the street
only 50 feet away
where
the detroit tigers
play baseball
fireworks go off
great music booms through the air
clear as a bell
bikes
that light up like magic
glide on by
and
fans of all kinds
music
and
football
and
those who just love detroit
all
together
running
and
dancing
and
talking
and
smiling
in the street
and
happy police
stand by
and
take it all in
a great feeling
fills the street
and overflows
as all paths cross
and
worlds collide
into
a perfect night
—
between two worlds life hovers like a star,
twixt night and morn, upon the horizon’s verge.
– lord byron
Oct1
art ‘n soul
i never cease to be amazed, when walking around my city, by the surprising displays of art i encounter. they can be found in places of all kinds, and in every form imaginable. i’m always struck by the time and care that people have taken to express themselves, to share their creative spirits, and to put their visions out there, to be met with a smile or scorn, making our space somehow the better for it, and to open random strangers’ minds and eyes to new experiences. these beauties and the people who create them, from the simple to the sublime, all for the sake of self-expression and the joy of knowing others may cross paths with them , are treasures, each in their own distinct way.
a rabbit peeks out from a front yard filled with vine and picket fence
a wall covered in gum, once painted over, and coming to life once again with new color,
ever-evolving with the contributions of passers-by
a sidewalk, redrawn with chalk each day, into a new design, by a mother, purely for the delight of others
a pink balloon, placed by a child, to make her tree more beautiful, in hope the fairies will come
a mural on an underpass, painted by a teen who i have known to be a gifted artist since he was in pre-school
and has no idea how talented he really is
a dead tree stump given a second chance at beauty with the addition of color and life
poetry painted on an alley ceiling – look to the stars for inspiration
—–
The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic. Oscar Wilde
An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
Aug25
the toddle of shame: the morning after.
as part of our fun day in the city, we took the babies to bill’s beergarten – local german-style social gathering spot, outside, and right in the hub of town. while there, they fully embraced the spirit of the environment.
looking back, things must have been way too fun, as i got a call to pick up some things we’d left behind. nothing like the feeling the morning after, as i humbly returned to the scene to pick up my grandson’s sippy cup and bag of baby things.
now there’s a life lesson from your grandmother.
james – loyal and understanding employee of bill’s beergarten, (and advocate of the “what happens at bill’s, stays at bill’s” policy), returns the goods with a laugh and a kind word.
____
I love the smell of juice boxes in the morning. – Robert Duvall
Aug24
with this ring, i thee ride.
spent a beautiful day downtown, only to encounter a sweet and joyful wedding party on bicycles. everyone was radiating happiness or perhaps it was the sweat glistening off of them, but no matter. and what wedding is not complete without a unicyclist in the mix, i ask you?
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Aristotle
Love is composed of two bodies inhabiting a single bike. Me
Aug18
i have a dream cruise.
cruising on woodward avenue as the sun goes down
it was wonderful to have once again attended the annual woodward avenue dream cruise in detroit, the motor city. home to the big 3 automakers. it’s the largest car cruise in all of north america, with cars driving from the river in downtown detroit, all the way to the north end of this historic avenue in pontiac.
there’s no need to know anything about cars or history to enjoy this event. here you’ll see every kind of vehicle imaginable: detroit muscle cars, famous cars, many rare classics, and more that are classics only in the owner’s eyes. all along the road, for many miles, will be people of every age and kind, sharing in the pure enjoyment of the day, with crazy events, creatures in costume, classic car-cruising food, and happiness, all coming together and spilling over onto the avenue.
on this day, differences are set aside and all the cities on the route, tv and radio stations, auto companies, people, and local businesses, work together to celebrate detroit’s heritage and its contributions to the world. even with all of detroit’s struggles, it’s so amazing to see people come together to celebrate each other and their city’s triumphs, and it shows their strength and refusal to give up, even through hard times. t’s always been one of the most open, happy, and pure celebratory events i’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of, and i’m proud to say i’m from the motor city.
pre-cruise eve, teaching the kids how to play craps at their own mini-event
—————
I know a lot about cars, man. I can look at any car’s headlights and tell you exactly which way it’s coming. – Mitch Hedberg
Never have more children than you have car windows. Erma Bombeck
Jul25
lucky seven
home at last, and walking downtown, i passed one of our most interesting stores.
the name really speaks for itself.
——————
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct them concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. In the currently recognized version, the sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
now – if they just added in a taco bell all-you-can-eat bar, with super-sized slushy drinks, comfy sofas with cup-holders, remotes and unlimited trashy tv, mirrors, free spa services, and marriage arbitration, i think you could partake in all of the deadly sins under one roof. kind of like a 7 deadly sins strip mall or theme park. one-stop shopping. i can only imagine the ads.
——
There is no sin except stupidity.
Jun12
i’ll huff and i’ll puff and i’ll bulldoze your house down!
recently, after much debate and financial and political wrangling, the city demolished some of the old houses at the far end of main street in an attempt to create ‘a blight-free zone, a welcoming gateway to our city.’
this project and the demo crew doing the work were met with mixed reactions:
– a rotary club member stopped to applaud them and told them it was gratifying to see them going down. it was becoming ‘his kind of neighborhood.’
– 3 homeless people shared their memories of squatting in the houses with the crew.
“I used to sleep in the one on the end. It was called the Dirty Squat,” said a man who identified himself only as Pig Pen, a self-described train hopper and hitchhiker. He said they sleep out in the woods now, but at different points each of them stayed in the houses being demolished.
“That was the one I stayed in last year,” said a man who goes by the name Pooh, pointing to another of the houses. “I met my fiancee and we stayed in that one for two weeks.”
Karma, a local who was with Pig Pen and Pooh, said she had a bad incident occur in one of the houses and she’s not sad to see that one go, but she lamented the loss of the rest.
“My personal opinion is they should really keep these,” she said. “If they’re condemned and about to collapse like the one on the end is, yeah, probably tear them down. But if they’re perfectly good and could be fixed up to live in, they should donate it to the city.”
Karma said it seems like the options for homeless people who prefer not to stay at the homeless shelters are becoming fewer.
“I don’t know what they’re doing right now, but it seems like they’re trying to clean up the whole town and they’re clearing people out from underneath the bridges, all the parks, and they’re getting rid of every place for the people who have no place to go,” she said. “It’s a problem.”
the mayor and police chief could not immediately be reached for comment. luckily pigpen, pooh and karma, were available for comment.
Where thou art, that is home.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 