Campus Martius Chronicle

17. Hello World

2011-09-01T10:59:00.003-04:00

Repaving Electric Avenue in Lost Cities Enlightened

It seemed to all start with a dream. Dreams get dashed. You really have to be able to rise from the ash. Shine like a Phoenix. We were flooded with hope. Our laughter was like that of child's play. Down with the ship our dreams sank. My job was to captain this vessel, but I just stood stone cold in shock, as the events unfolded before us.

That's kind of what our life's like. When we tried to rise, all we got was despised. That's kind of what my wife's thoughts seem to be like. I shut down; a big mistake. While waiting for you, you waited for me. I didn't lead. With much love, I send to you. Believe me that the tranquil times follow intense storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. I've been told an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of attention. Be ready and protect yourself. You never know how long it may take to fall.

When a tree falls in the woods, how much does it take down with it?

For the second world has long fallen. On the third world, the first world is falling. Among liars, cheats, and villains, in the fourth world we have been thrown. Are we just products of our society and environment? Born to work the lines? Struggling in vain at life's chains?

To you who are close; I love you, but I am lost.

Stricken by those planes, towers burning, all are we. As we sink our ship, on lifeboats we sit, sneering and laughing out loud. How the Hell did we get so selfish, self loathing, and twisted? Cold are our souls, we can't help but reexamining our goals. As we raped and ripped you apart, like zombies we fed. It turns out the dead are now free, and it's we who are dead.

Will you forgive me? Has everyone forgave you? I'm not stopping. I am reflecting, then dawning anew.

So, out of these ashes, if you find your grudge is too new, like salt in my wounds, I say Goodbye to you. For I'll be missing my love and my crew, in this day that is dawning anew.

It's time to start over. I am starting over. I have started over.

I hope you enjoyed the Campus Martius Chronicle and the Campus Martius Chronicle series; The 12th Street Synapses.

16. Waiting on a Train

2011-08-23T19:42:00.009-04:00

Are we waiting on a train bound for nowhere?

Michigan Central Station then and now.

This place has grown so empty, so cold. We walk among the prairies and ruins that exist in the fourth world.These bustling lobbies are desolate. The tracks here are rusted. We are a disposable people, the outcasts of a society waiting on a train. But, the train doesn't stop here anymore.

Then merged with now in the Michigan Central Station Lobby.
.

The loading platform at Detroit's Michigan Central Station.

If there is one thing I learned, it's that you can't sit and wait for changes. We have a natural attraction to the route most traveled. He's been gone so long, but if Shane could see me now he'd be proud to call me his brother.

It was those days that Shane taught me to snowboard as a child. I kept trying to give up, falling, cold and sore. He told me to get up, no brother of his was going to be a quitter. I didn't quit, and that feeling of overcoming yourself was the greatest lesson I ever learned. He's not around anymore, but he helped ignite a fire that just seems stronger than most.

A train passes Downtown Detroit.

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15. The Fires of Change

2011-08-15T02:42:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, the fires of change are needed.

Sometimes fire is needed to clear away the dead brush so that new trees may grow.

Sometimes the weather is dry, and you can be a needed spark to light a brush fire.

Sometimes the weather is wet, and you have to dry the woods to get a spark.

Sometimes the weather is wet, and you are one of the droplets of water keeping the fires of change away.

Sometimes you have to work through pain to get joy.

What more can I say?

But....

Love can be a war zone if you let it be.

14. Ghosts of Lost Ships

2011-08-09T22:14:00.010-04:00

A Leadership Parable

We set sail from the bay under the Colossus of Rhodes, with the warm wind to our backs, and the open sea out in front of us. You could call me Odysseus. No one could stop me. Ignorance is bliss. Who are they to tell us we are ignorant?

You'll force your way into that role, not knowing you don't own the skills to own it, you lead. Some hit you with jeers. Some cheer you on. In the end you'll lose it all, and no one will care, as you seek to find the treasure of Detroit; The Spirit of The New Colossus.

On the second day of our journey we took advantage of the smooth seas, and ordered more speed, as we rushed towards the mighty blue horizon. In our hearts was The Spirit of The New Colossus

On the third day of our voyage, warning came in that icebergs had been spotted along our projected course. With the crow's nest manned, I knew we would be able to see any dangers that lay in our path, allowing plenty of time to change course, if so needed. We sailed with The Spirit of The New Colossus.

That evening, we neared the halfway mark of our journey. The crew marked the evening with celebration. For we only took into account that we were nearing our destination, never stopping to think that we would never again be any further from shore. Our blindness should have been apparent, but we were blinded by the light of The Spirit of The New Colossus.

As I dreamed snugly in my quarters, and the crew celebrated, I awoke to the warning bells of the crows nest. For that night was an idle calm night. A night where the many possible troubles were the last thing on my mind. On my mind was The Spirit of The New Colossus.

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13. New Foundations

2011-08-01T04:48:00.009-04:00

Responsibility, Ramadan, and establishing yourself.

Juicy, by The Notorious B.I.G..

I'm sitting here in Saginaw, Michigan; my wife's hometown. Recalling the birth of my daughter, and how I am letting her down. I am defeated, unable to do a dream job due to my own inabilities, and banned from my Internet forums. My friends and family stopped calling. I told them I had to go to get where I'm going. I told them I would find my way and come back for them.

Over five years have gone by. I haven't come back yet.

Detroit is moving forward, and I'm not. I spent too much time sitting on networking and message board sites. I could have been working. I blew my money instead of investing and saving. I partied instead of being responsible.

My wife, daughter and I are on welfare, food stamps, and are a drain on the few family and friends that do exist.

I'm uneducated, I've been depressed, and am an unrealistic dreamer. I have issues getting by socially. My mentors aren't even deadbeats or criminals because I can't even keep up relationships with the fringes of society, and all I am surrounded by is often the fringes of society.

I have long overdue library books, videos, and credit card bills. I am having trouble getting a bank account, and if I get a job I don't get to keep the money. I still need sleeping pills to fall asleep some nights, I'm self medicating. I need help man.

My grandparents gave up so much for me. I guess I'm the ghost of The American Dream.

Who out there can relate?

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12. Detroit; City of Sorrows

2011-07-25T01:06:00.021-04:00

You turned into a prison. Have you ever been to prison or a lockup for the night? How about a probationary period or jail? No, that will never happen to you, right? You think there is a thickening line between good and evil. You're not the same as a criminal. Yet here you are, stuck in this madness.

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11. колобо́к, в Современный

2011-07-19T05:34:00.018-04:00

Today I feel more alive than I have ever felt in my life!

Puppet Art Theater in
Detroit.

Yet I feel like I have the fires of Hell burning down my neck with some devil; like the Nain Rouge, whispering depressing words into my ear. God, people are probably beginning to think I'm bipolar, but they don't know. Everytime something goes wrong, it's like I got a damn lutin in my ear; I end up thinking about all the wrongs in my life, and that can bring me down from the highest high.

From that post on that cool dark Spring night back in March; that night I pulled my rundown G.M. compact onto the Belle Isle bridge, and gazed up at the lights of the G.M. on high, above the International skyline of confusion. All the way through those ghosts and guardians of 12th Street, to the latest trip through the Detroit Hart Plaza stargate. It was almost like I was playing Russian roulette on that island, and the only people who came looking for me were good Samaritans reincarnate, and maybe the spirit or thoughts from people who are no longer around here.

Detroit skyline with the bright blue G.M.
lights of the Renaissance Center.

I feel like I should be dead.

It turns out I was just the Kolobok baking in the oven. Ha, ha, now I'm free and you can't catch me. I'm the Kolobok, man!

And, don't worry about those letters about my sleeping beauties. I'll wake them. In fact, they're all beautiful, and they've all been asleep to long. Come help me wake the roosters. Rise and shine!

Over two hundred years ago my city burned. There were only chimneys left. The fires left this city in turmoil. But, the people got themselves together, and with some help, stuck around and rebuilt. That city was Detroit, Michigan, during the great fire of 1805. Great things can be done when you stick together, all as one. Obstacles are as boulders that are reduced to pebbles.

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10. Stargate to Atlantis

2011-07-12T06:31:00.078-04:00

The Spirit of The New Colossus

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9. The Wake of Detroit

2011-07-06T22:51:00.009-04:00

Our Death and Resurrection
This post is for anyone who has ever gone through trials in their life, and had it made harder by people around you not knowing what you've been going through.

Detroit Tiger Stadium Demolition.

"You took our country from its infancy into industry. And your name still carries with it, the idea of a nation. Built on steel, muscle and sweat. you became a city that carried a country. Who know that nothing is accomplished without hard work, without sacrifice. When you hurt, we hurt..."-Detroit Rap Artist Eminem

A Letter To My Sister

Dear Tracey,

I hope everything is going well in out on the East Coast. How is you cat adjusting? How's my little nephew Zach? I love keeping up on Facebook and seeing pictures, he's getting so big. Kylie is doing good. She is so smart, she already knows her ABC's, shapes, and animals.

I hope Ron (your husband) is enjoying his new job, and you yours. It stinks that you guys had to move out of state. It seems like everyone is moving away from Michigan now-a-days. You mentioned on Facebook that the things on the news out in small towns cracks you up. I can only imagine what type of things you mean. Maybe we should all long for such places where it amazes us what makes the news, rather than being confused why something hasn't, that should of.... nothing in particular in mind here, just rambling and small talk.

The weather has been beautiful lately, I hope you saw the pictures of Kylie swimming for the first time. I try to follow everything you post about Zach, you don't even know! Every day is so great, I hope you are enjoying him growing up as much as I am with Kylie!

Sigh... I guess I need some advice, and also someone just to talk to. I am completely and utterly lost. If you would be so kind to listen to me.... even though some of this is whining.... at an age where I should have long hardened up and figured out how to deal with all of life's hardships. But I know, you're busy, and I apologize about the length.

I just got off the phone with Dad. He invited us to go a bar-b-cue tomorrow, and I wanted to go so bad that I asked him to spot us for some gas money. I haven't seen him since Christmas, and I just so wanted to be there with Kally and Kylie, and now where going. But, he said (after saying he could offer to help if we ever need it to come visit, some time ago) that; "wow you guys are doing so bad that you don't even have money for gas". Sigh. He offered half the money, $10. I have to figure out how to make it down there now after already telling Kylie and Kally they were going to see Grandpa. The trip with these gas prices is $20-$30 round trip.... gulp!

It's Summer now, and were living with Kally's Mom; she's awesome. She bought us furniture, helped us with our rent, and now is giving us a place to stay. But, it's wearing on her, I can tell.

Kally hated our little attempt to fly (metaphor) down in Detroit. In that smelly, old apartment (great place to lay a foundation, a blank canvass that city is... but only if you know how to paint). It had mice, we got cats (expensive mistake) and Kally doesn't know this but one night I woke up and saw a roach in bathroom... I killed it. Eww... there are some nice urban lofts and condos in the city, we went and looked at them (no clue why), but that isn't where we were. We were stuck in a old crumbling dangerous building owned by a slum lord, laughed at by all our friends and family out in Livonia and Saginaw, and held for contempt by all our poor friends (one person's slum is another person's oasis. The poor people mentality don't live Downtown, only hopeless dreamers do).

I had to get us out of there, it wasn't an oasis, or our pursuit of happiness. It was an elevator, and that elevator was headedstraight down to Hell. I walked away from a job that I was incompetent for (and would thus be losing soon anyway), and told them I had a nervous breakdown. The stories elsewhere to anyone of why that happened where only half truths, the real truth is in this letter. I was able to do the jobs I trained myself to do.

Now just the other night, Kally... (my wife) came crying to me, saying that she hated being back here, and that we felt lost. Just trying to get help from these government programs is like like a job in itself. The weight of the world is on my shoulders in Uncle Sam's food stamps, and how I will explain this to Kally and Kylie.

Mom told me to buy a lottery ticket. She got us a snow globe with an angel that says to pray for hope.

Kally's Mom bought us a lottery ticket for Fathers and Mothers Day and told us to work hard, then she got us a bunch of chocolates, cookies, and ho-hos. She looks less worried since we got on food stamps. She got mad at us from changing her normal grocery list recently. I gained thirty pounds since I have been here.

Geese, sorry, this is getting depressing. Where is my hope snow globe to say a prayer too so that god will come and save me? Hehe, sorry about the sarcasm, just trying to keep some light heartedness in here. I appreciate everything, but that just isn't what I needed.

Please, offer me some words of advice. I'm lost, I have my faith back... and I will even be bold enough to say that I don't need a money... or a fish... but I could use someone who could give me direction and maybe teach me how to fish... or if you know anyone who can help... it would be appreciated.

Geese, where is the damn violin? Honestly, a tombstone?

I would love to talk more on the phone, and know I am putting you in a weird place by asking for an ear and some life advice.

Sincerely,

Sean Anthony

Rekindling A Flame

“We need to get a little bit of positive attitude out there. Too many are mired in the past glories of the industrial era, led by the auto industry".
-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

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8. Good Girls and Detroit Princesses (N.S.F.W.)

2011-06-27T07:48:00.007-04:00

Cynics and Sex

Descendants is a short film from Heiko van der Scherm -- Writer and Director.

Blonde woman on a radiant morning.

At times I felt dead inside. The ups in life just always get reversed. I start to fall, reach out for your hand, but there's no one there. We all need somebody to lean on, but it goes to show me that I'm on my own. Where were you when we needed you? Come here and put your chips down. Roll the dice and take your craps. I put mine on 5 and 9 (good bet), so why do you keep playing sucker bets?

Excuse me sir, but I think our games are too different to compare. Go back to your Monopoly board and play fair, and don't worry about my life. The stakes are high, but what do you expect in this Russian roulette, hey guy?

Woman at the Packard Plant.

Now, just before our worlds end, and we're somewhere around twenty seconds from being dead, I'll encounter you. You who said we'd never make it. It was you who laughed at me, you who abandoned me. I can still feel you looking up asking why God had forsaken me. You smiled while I left, and laughed when I cried. My humiliation wasn't complete until you started kicking me while I was down. It was like you came after the battle, onto the field, to shoot the bloody maimed survivors. To Hell with you, you're worthless.

I was moving closer to death, but stopped digging that grave. There's just nothing you can do to stop me with the hate that you let eat at your soul.

WHEW! You smell. Get out of here. You're repelling my readers.

Woman after the apocalypse.

Bring Me To Life

"...Save me from the nothing I’ve become
Now that I know what I’m without, you can't just leave me. Breathe into me and make me real. Bring me to life"."Bring Me To Life"(feat. Paul McCoy)

Die Detroit, Die!

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7. Ghosts and Guardians

2011-06-16T06:55:00.257-04:00

Children of the City of Destiny

1967 National Guardsman shout commands within modern day Detroit.

No! This can't be right. This can't be right, can it? Change; needed but never found. Is change even something found begging on a street corner, or are we responsible for creating the change we want to see? No, maybe it isn't that complex. Maybe the change we seek is mislabeled, and we are misguided. Maybe everything is already here, and only must be reestablished and realized like ghosts as guardians. Change; laying dormant for these children of the city of destiny.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control"

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keweenaw copper county; Calumet, Michigan was a mining town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, at a time when Michigan was experiencing a great "copper rush". It was early in the Twentieth Century, a time when steamship routes and rail lines were in place of motorways (expressways) and flight paths, and the occasional horse and buggy could still occasionally be scene riding alongside automobiles, though very rarely.

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6. Land of the Lost

2011-03-23T15:11:00.008-04:00

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you and Mommy live in that dump. I'm sorry I started slacking off with my work. I'm sorry I need the government to help take care of you. I'm sorry I can't seem to keep up with my classes. I'm sorry I can't play with you more, and that we have to be so far apart right now. I'm sorry I didn't stand up to the challenges I faced. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from loss, or teach you how to overcome it. I'm sorry I couldn't make this a better place for you and your generation. I'm sorry I failed at everything I ever set out to do for you. I'm sorry I couldn't buy you a Christmas present just from me last year.

Abandoned church & school along 12th Street in Detroit, Michigan.

(Part of the 12th Street Synapsis).

Recently, I was made aware of a former schoolmate's passing. We shared some moments in our life, spending time together in a room of life. In a never ending transition of adjoining corridors and rooms, we gave a hug and goodbye, wishing each other well in the long journey of life ahead. While we were not terribly close, her last blog entry maintained on her MySpace page by family and friends, really touched me. She brought me back down to Earth and reality, like nothing else ever could. I'll leave you here with the ending line excerpts from her last blog post, made before she died, quoted below:

"... i actually got a job. im a manager at dollar general.its actually a pretty cool job. OMG and get this...DANNY GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!! i have a jack russel terrior now.. so all you fuckers better watch out my little 8 months old ankel biter is gonna get you....lol...
and i started college 2 days ago. im so excited about it. im actually gonna be able to do something with my life instead of being stuck in a dead end job like most people that i know... well i guess thats allt he updates i can give you for now".

Me and my daughter continued on our car ride from the abandoned Michigan Central Train Station. We traveled up 12th Street, past the sites, sounds, and memories of the desolate urban prairies of the Briggs neighborhood, 12th and I-94 warehouse district, and the cultural center of rundown Detroit. It was here that we came to an amazing site. Looming up ahead was a massive abandoned cathedral. I pull off to the side of the road to snap a picture.

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5. Staring Into The Sun (N.S.F.W.)

2011-03-19T07:42:00.014-04:00

Blinded By The Light

Continuing our ride down Twelfth Street, we pass a formerly great grilling spot, a hangout spot. You can smell the succulent home cooked soul food.... ah what times were had here, and what times will be had.... I drift....

Back before the youngest Estevez became a Sheen, this is how we use to get down to the town.

The night would start up about half past whenever work got out, and we all headed over to the party spot. What was the party spots in Michigan and Detroit? Well I'll tell you, it was either my studio to some shades of Bleau, with the most fun always at the after parties. The after party was at Big Jeff's Trailer...... out in Canton, and that was our spot where we came here to be. It's a dark night snowy, but an after party is in the wind on this night.

Dave: Here, he is he's finally here!

ShadesofBleu: hear? what?

Dave: And we won't stop, let's celebrate man. Here, I'll pour you some more of that ever clear that will make you sit up!

Dave: NOW DRINK UP! Abstaine to absinthe

ShadesofBleu: WHAT!?

Dave: Nothing, nothing.

ShadesofBleu: This is the after party to the concert?

Dave: Yeah, but uh, you aren't looking too good.

ShadesofBleu: They must have slipped me something....

Dave: Yeah probably, that shut can happen when you;re drinking down minnies. ARE YOU HEARING ME?

ShadesofBleu: Oh yes. oh and I am..... Jeff's trailer park rocks off the rocks, and oh my god.... the white light

God: Our people need us

ShadesofBleu: It feels so warm and fuzzy and I must save them all, I must save Detroit.

I mean tonight I'm the shit, putting the win in winning, But good God why is there so much pain, why so much sorrow?

God: The path you need lies in the light, look into the light...

ShaesofBleu: I am!

God: towards the light,

ShadesofBleu: I am ready oh savior.

God: towards the light.

ShadesofBleu: I'm here, I'm here!

God: Come into the light!

ShadesofBleu: Yes, I just want to play with you. We will have many good trips..

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4. Standing Up

2011-02-25T19:34:00.019-05:00

Procrastination and Our Crisis of Confidence

"A community is not found, it is created. How can I just take this? How can I sit here in defeat, a hypocrite, telling my daughter she can do anything she sets her mind to? I know no one who has done this. Defeat is all around me, it's all I've ever known. Daughter, know this, that your father did not just go quietly into the night, another victim of this factory we are all born into. He fought, and he tried to be proof for you, to you, that all things can be done."

(This entry contains dusted off archives from a three piece editorial I did in 2009).

Traveling further up Detroit's 12th Street, my daughter and I come to a stop at a traffic light. The street signs are missing from this intersection, and only one of the two red lights is working. A mother and a young child cross the street, they are caring groceries. They take a diagonal across one of the urban prairies, and disappear behind a collapsing alley garage, gone from view. It's a reminder that I am in a place comparable, at times, to Hell. At the same time, this mother and child are an affirmation of truth, that people here are still fighting, and still dreaming.

I can just hear them now; "why are you beating a dead horse, Sean? You are setting yourself up for disappointment. You can't change anything, why even try?" Have you ever heard that before? I have.

During preparation for Super Bowl XL, I remember reading an article stating that the Detroit public lighting department has had some problems with keeping all the streetlights on. In their defense, the department head mentioned that the problem isn't actually fixing the streetlights, it's going around and testing them. Supposedly, this is part of the reason things get so out of hand. In a similar analogy, this is part of the reason I feel compelled to pick up trash or clean up graffiti. I just got sick of walking past it, over, and over, and over.

Huh, you and I getting involved; who would have thought it actually makes a difference?

Part I

Some time ago, when things were just starting to get depressing around here again, we were talking about why optimistic views are viewed as junk in Metro Detroit, over on DetroitYES.com. I think that entire discussion could be summed up by saying; "The optimists view long term goals, while the pessimists seem to view the short term goals". Oversimplified? I'd love to hear more thoughts, either over there, or in the comments section here, when that discussion is eventually archived.

The comment by Retroit was interesting. He mentioned something many others have said; "The good thing about being a pessimist in Detroit is that you are rarely disappointed!". I don't understand the fear of disappointment. If you need unhappiness to make happiness, than aren't these people just saying they'd rather never ever be happy again? Am I misinterpreting this?

Later in that thread, Supersport mentioned the mentality of; "I'll believe it when I see it". But... that's just it. Some do see it, just like Ford saw the automobile of tomorrow, and Hudson saw a large shopping district on Woodward. Why is it that we laugh instead of encourage and lead? If you want it to happen, do something... whatever you can, with whatever you have, to make it so. The recent announcement of the Eastern Market Plan is a perfect example. I remember a few people laughing at it, and saying they'll believe it when they see it. Other's pointed out how much needed to get done. Zoning changes, building redevelopments, and a change dealing with the parking meters.

If you don't see it now, then you never will. That was an imaginary vision, that was a preview of what was to come, if we want it to be. That means mass acceptance and participation. Business owners and residents need to locate there, and everyone has to pick some of the million tasks up, multiplied to leave room for the many small imminent failures.

It is what it is, and will exist as we want it. We must plan on our furnace to crash, and be tough enough to keep ourselves going when the world outcasts us, and our people call us derelict parents or evil slumlords for it.

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3. The Garbage Dump (NSFW)

2011-02-19T06:47:00.007-05:00

Dealing with haters, critics, and attention seekers.

Continuing on me and my daughter's car ride from the abandoned Michigan Central Train Station, up 12th Street, through the desolate urban prairies of the Briggs neighborhood, we come to pass a abandoned factory, bricks crumbling down to the alleys below. Holes knocked in the brickwork offer glimpses inside. There are some teenage boys on their way home perhaps, by this scene. They are yelling insults at each other, like fists of words they fly from one boy to the other, where he just shrugs 'em off and keeps walking.

Abandoned warehouse loading docks

I remember being that young and dumb. The things I let fly out of my mouth are the things I feel pretty stupid about today. some neighborhood teenagers were walking by. It is a belief that hate is contagious, and haters can make more haters. ~~Besides, it's highly unlikely they would have comprehended my comebacks.~~ When you put yourself out there, and you are visible, you are opening yourself to hater's and critic's sharp tongues. Of course, a sharp tongue does not mean you have a keen mind. People hit rock bottom with a shovel, start to dig, and try to pull you down to their level.

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2. Michigan's Boulevard of Broken Dreams

2011-02-09T04:51:00.008-05:00

A journey down Detroit's 12th Street.

Urban Prairies off 12th Street.

Continuing on me and my daughter's journey through the past, we pull forward, heading back toward Michigan Avenue, and away from the abandoned train station in Detroit. We take the jog over to 12th Street, which also sports the name Rosa Parks Boulevard, and turn left, heading North up the street.

We head North, past an old ball field and some abandoned lots. The ball field is all that is left of Detroit's one hundred year old baseball stadium, just more history my daughter will never come to know.

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1. Thicker, and Nothing Changes!?

2011-02-04T00:05:00.021-05:00

An idle conversation with my daughter, at the end of the world.

Lost souls, in the sea of Hell.

The nights after the 2011 blizzard have been bitterly cold. I pretty much had to turn back on the way to my blog spots in the skyscraper atriums surrounding Campus Martius Park.

But, back to what?

Today we may be forced to give up our apartment in Downtown Detroit. Not long ago we were hoping to move up to a luxury building with a playground. Reality of the recession hit home, and when it rains it pours. Job trouble, school trouble, and health issues all came across the arctic with that blizzard.

And so, instead of blogging from Campus Martius Park, I will be taking a trip with my daughter in tow, through Detroit, and indeed American, history.

I head back to get my daughter so my wife can keep packing. While I wait for her to finish cleaning our daughter up from snack, I sit on the ledge in front of our 13th story window. I think to myself; "The city looks so beautiful covered in snow. That ground looks so far down from up here. God, we have some hard days coming up, I wish I could just skip over that part. Or will it stay like this?"

I'm interrupted by my wife telling me Baby Girl is ready to go. We head down to our car, a small beat up two door compact, and I buckle Baby Girl into her car seat. We turn out of the car park, and head down Michigan Avenue, straight from Campus Martius. Down Michigan Avenue we pass several nice, yet run down, small urban buildings. We are in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood, a nice collection of ideal subdivisions hidden behind the commercial blight and missing teeth on Michigan Avenue. We pass some children playing in the snow, in an abandoned lot, and continue on.

Suddenly, a massive twenty story skyscraper appears in our line of sight, like a dark tombstone. The building is completely see-through, missing all of it's windows, and the late day sun can be seen shining through the gapping windows. Upon arriving closer, we see the skyscraper sits behind a large park, and above a giant beautiful and horrific structure, resembling some sort of giant mausoleum, behind a barbed-wire chain link fence. For this is the abandoned Michigan Central Station, one of Detroit's grandest ruins.

Michigan Central Station, Detroit, Michigan.

I chose this spot, the abandoned Michigan Central, because of it's significance. Like so many other Detroit immigrants in the Twentieth Century, this is the first thing my grandparents saw when they came to Detroit. Henry Ford started paying people a unheard of wage, and the masses came to the new Detroit Frontier with little more than hopes and dreams. I can see where many of today's Detroiters inherited their optimism from.

I turn left, into the run down park, and drive up the cracked and crumbling road to the train station, and pull to a stop. With a video camera on the dashboard, I begin to tell my story... our story, to my daughter.

Click here to read the rest >>

Snowmageddon Detroit 2011

2011-02-02T22:16:00.005-05:00

Dubbed Snowmageddon 2011 by various media sources, the snow fall on Februaury 1st, 2011 was much less than predicted for Detroit. Still, snowfalls reached one to two feet in some areas, paralyzing Chicago and Grand Rapids. Motorists were trapped, vehicles abandoned, the Michigan legislator meetings cancelled, and Detroit businesses were closed.

Below are some random pictures from the Midwest Snowmageddon 2011, and a video from Chicago, Illinois, four hours from Detroit, Michigan. The video and pictures show the massive snow drifts, abandoned vehicles, and monster waves on the Great Lakes. It is interesting, to say the least.

Campus Martius Park was a mess, as was Downtown Detroit. Many offices, schools, and government centers were closed. It was recommended that all non essential utility or safety personnel stay home, to allow the snow to be removed as quickly as possible. My family and I stayed in side, thankful we have a warm shelter to go home to.

To see the conditions in Downtown Detroit, check out the live Campus Martius Park webcam. To see the driving conditions on Metro Detroit's motorways, check out the Michgian Department of Transportation live webcams.

(Picture Courtesy of The New York Times)

(Picture Courtesy of The New York Times

The above photos remind me of this scene from a popular horror movie, or maybe a History Channel Life After People episode, only with snow.

A Day In The Life of A Downtown Detroit Father

2011-02-01T21:23:00.006-05:00

Generally, I wake up sometime after a morning walk or jog from Grand Circus Park to Campus Martius Park, and then back to my two bedroom apartment/makeshift low income loft over ten stories over Detroit's CBD. That jog sometimes includes picking up a gallon of milk or breakfast sandwich on the way. The cafe in my building, as well as the grand lobby, always seem to be filled with young people on laptops or reading. This is clearly our little social coffee shop in our corner of Downtown.

Both a convenience store and cafe are on the first floor of my building. When Detroit Mom is (was) pregnant or one of us is watching the little one, we generally strap her (baby) in the stroller, walk downstairs, and get whatever we need. There is no car rides necessary, no buckling children in car seats. This is important to us, because we are a one car household who is getting the best out of our two door compact car.

I usually walk to work, but sometimes take the 53 up Woodward to work. We live near both the Rosa Parks Transit Center and a People Mover stop. During times of inclement weather, I swing down a block to the People Mover and jump on for a short ride to the Grand Circus Station, where I can walk under the track (avoiding rain) to the transit stops. The bus is not luxurious, but it isn't as bad as they say. The buses are only a few minutes apart. It takes me no more than five extra minutes to do this than to drive, and saves about thirty from walking. (Click here to use Google Transit to plan your trip).

On the way to work, I pass shop keepers, elevator riders, desk clerks, parking lot attendants, and transit riders and operators, all generally friendly enough to have small talk with. I have made some nice friends just on my commute to work.

Working in Midtown, less than a mile away, is nice. At lunch, there are many choices for food within walking distance. There are pharmacies, my bank, a Radio Shack, convenience stores, and clothing stores to stop at if needed. Occasionally, I run over to Kim's Produce and pick up some fruit and veggies to juice at the office.

Sometimes I do my work (not often) in the main library, or just stop to get a good book.

On the way home, I sometimes stop for groceries at the produce place, deli/butcher, a CVS, or a convenience store. Occasionally I have to go the extra quarter mile to the full service grocery store, though that is rare. There is also a hardware store and locksmith on the way home.

Once I get home I sometimes take my daughter to blog with me in the park. Grand Circus Park is always alive with people walking dogs, while Campus Martius Park tends to have more families and tourists. There are homeless people about, but I find most of them friendly, and found that most are decent enough to not ask for change when they see you every day, and you have a little one.

While my daughter is just getting old enough to play at the playground, my building does not have one. However, at least two other Downtown buildings that we are looking into do have playgrounds for kids (Riverfront Towers has recently built a pretty extensive one, actually). Other days, Detroit Mom and I pop on the People Mover to the Broadway Station, and go utilize the play room/child care at the Boll Family YMCA for an hour, while we work out. Other times, we take our daughter to the indoor swimming pool. Still other times, we take the People Mover over to the Renaissance Center, stopping at the candy shop before we let Baby Girl play with the throngs of children on the Riverwalk. Other days we go to Greektown for a diner and a treat at Astoria. This is all of course, not even considering the events at the Downtown library, Campus Martius (family movie nights mainly) or sporting and theater events.

We have a nearby baby sitter who is just awesome. Admittedly, she was very tough to find, but worth the hassle. Sometimes Detroit Mom and I go out on a date night. We go to ballets at the Opera House, dinner and a movie, the casino, or a museum/art exhibit. Sometimes we just go get ice cream and sit and people watch in Campus Martius Park, or play a board game in the grand lobby of our building. All the while we are out, we know we are literally blocks from home. Our home of course, has cab stands outside, and is a short cab ride from all emergency services, should an emergency occur. While Detroit seems to be known for slow response times, the cabs provide some peace of mind.

Even after all this, there is even another angle to this with Detroit Mom's home office. There are benefits to locating your home office in the Central Business District, but this post is long enough as is.

So, is Detroit perfect? Far from it! However, me and mine have made it work just fine for us.

Revving Up New Year's 2011, Detroit Style

2011-01-01T02:22:00.009-05:00

Downtown Detroit's Campus Martius Park alive in lights and action was one way to describe New Year's 2011 "D" Drop. Me and Detroit Mom spent the evening playing board games and doing a puzzle. Though there were certainly plenty do in Downtown Detroit. A jump on the People Mover put us right in the middle of what is normally my quite and peaceful urban panacea; Campus Martius Park.

Walking around the city was amazing, people on every corner giving each other handshakes, hugs, and head nods, wishing each other a happy new year. The energy was positive, and amazing. Parties were going strong at the Westin Book-Cadillac and the Holiday Inn. Over on our street, the Leland House Hotel had it's grand lobby decorated, and from our window you could see a long stream of cars headed into Downtown Detroit. While Downtown Detroit may not be a geographic or economic center, it certainly is the entertainment and cultural melting pot center of the International Metro Detroit Windsor metropolis.

As Detroit Mom and I kissed in front of the bright neon letter "D", she told me that this might just end up being our New Year's tradition. On our stroll back to the apartment, past the party goers, kazoos, and glitzy limousines, we talked about what complementary businesses and events would do well at all these Downtown events I've been blogging about. It would seem that the problem is no longer getting people to come Downtown, but rather getting them to stay Downtown. We need more things for people to do.

Luckily, that is really something for the little shop keepers and small business owners to do. It is time for Detroit's urban entrepreneurs to step up to the plate, and start swinging, and for all of us to make sure we support them on their endeavors, in and around The "D".

This is our time, our year Detroit. Now we must let it all drop and GO!

The Neon "D" 2011 sign.

The crowd was electric.

View from the Campus Martius Park People Mover Station.

Woodward Avenue

1001 GalaxE Plaza

Street sweepers out and about on New Year's Eve in Detroit.

Line outside a nightclub on Michigan Avenue.

Detroit limousines

A New Year's Eve Wedding was going on at the Westin Book Cadillac.

Pink neon in the Westin windows facing Washington Boulevard.

Flags & pink neon.

I don't know why there was a pumpkin there, but there it was!

The Rosa Parks Transit Center was quite, unlike the crowds that used it during the fireworks (see past blog posts).

Town Apartments, MGM Casino, & The Leland House Hotel make up Detroit's Art Deco Avenue on Bagley.

Grand Clock at The Leland

Leland House Christmas tree

Leland House Christmas display.

Detroit Christmas Past, Present, & Future

2010-12-25T03:21:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve in Campus Martius Park.

I hope everyone out there has a great Holiday, New Year, and/or Christmas. While the ghost of Detroit present may be haunting some of us tonight, I can surely respect anyone out there, no matter where you call home now, who is sitting back after wrapping presents for the kiddies and tots, sipping some hot cocoa cuddled up with the one we love, next to the final glowing embers of the Yule Log... dreaming of a Marshmallow World, with Silver Bells ringing out on Christmas Eve on Woodward Avenue.

As much as our past and present may hurt, it is the ghost of Detroit future that will come to remind us that our attitude towards the future, no matter how possibly grim, is always in our hands.

But for tonight, it doesn't hurt to reminisce in the past mindset.

Blizzards and Ice Castles

2010-12-12T19:53:00.003-05:00

Ugh! I took my daughter out and about Downtown. She had never walked in snow before. Uck! You can't do anything with that kind of snow, it's just thick and wet. We can't build a snow Kwame with that gunck.

We headed down Woodward Avenue from Grand Circus Park, and checked out Campus Martius Park (our blog spot). The Campus Martius ice rink was slushy, and baby girl liked stomping on slush mounds and ended the day with a cup of hot chocolate and a cola at American Coney Island, a family restaurant that overlooks Campus Martius Park.

What started as a pleasant snowy morning, had begun to wreck havoc on game day traffic by late afternoon. As the evening crept across the city, the storm had progressed into a all out blizzard. The howling wind is continuous right now, and their is a blue haze settling in front of the old Downtown Detroit skyscrapers. The G.A.R. Building is particularly interesting tonight. It almost looks like something from a snow globe, a winter castle.

The Weather Channel is reporting that all this slushy mess will freeze overnight. This is going to be a tough week.

Holiday Stress

2010-11-24T05:18:00.000-05:00

First, I have to thank you for reading my blog. Fox, over on the Squawkfox Blog said it best;

"(I am thankful for) My Own Voice. I’ve been a professional writer for eons. But it wasn’t until I started Squawkfox that I discovered how my own “true” voice sounded. It’s easier to write in a non-personal manner using newspaper language and generic media-isms. But to write using my own thoughts and words is very humbling and brings a sense of immeasurable appreciation. I am also thankful to you, gentle reader, for listening."

Thanksgiving Day is probably the most exciting time in Campus Martius Park. Every year Detroit has one of America's largest Thanksgiving Day parades, appropriately named America's Thanksgiving Day Parade. There are elaborate floats, marching bands, and gigantic balloons. There is even a giant red Elmo balloon that marches right by for my daughter (Elmo is her favorite).

After the Thanksgiving Day parade, Detroit Mom, Baby Girl, and I all head out to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays can be pretty stressful, as both of Baby Girl's grandparents are divorced. For now, we head to all of them over the course of the day. Dealing with divorce is something Detroit Mom and have never been able to master. It seems that we are always stuck attempting to make everyone happy. In the end, our overextended efforts end up making no one happy.

All in all though, we always end up sitting around a big Thanksgiving Day dinner table, sharing what we are thankful for. These past few years that has gotten pretty tough for many of us here in Michigan. We have to count our blessings just to stay sane sometimes. With all that in mind, I have to say that I am thankful for so many things; my wife, my daughter, and everyone else that has come and gone in my life. More importantly than any other one thing, I am thankful for the challenges in my life. It is life's challenges that keep me growing, and life's challenges that keep life interesting. Adversity is just a chance to go mountain climbing, and we together will get to the top with enough practice, over time.

So this year, with all the problems in the world, we can all still be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

(Photo originally from the Sqwaukfox Blog, which promotes frugal living).

Leland Hotel Ghost Hunting; It's All About Attitude

2010-10-31T22:00:00.005-04:00

Piano on the haunted mezzanine.

My wife and I live in a low income apartment building, and last weekend we had some out-of-town friends to stay over. I decided to put some positive spin on our situation for our guests. The building is an old run down high rise and former hotel in Downtown Detroit, complete with vacant floors, unusued sub basements, a historic lobby and mezzanine, unpredictable elevators, and all sorts of strange things. Walking through this building reminds one of walking through the Titanic, both in her prime, and after she sunk, depending on the area. I did some research beforehand, and had some good ghost stories to tell. The ghost stories were followed by a ghost hunt. We traveled down the Leland's decrepit halls, and around it's elegant lobby and ballroom. It is said that the ghosts of Jimmy Hoffa, former gangsters, and depression era "roof jumpers" inhabit those hallway corridors.

Oddly, the drafts in the building actually do create sudden areas of cold sensations that come and go (I assume that's what they were, but who really knows?). We also found an old postcard from the early days of the hotel, filled out by one of it's former guests.

A Trip To Belle Isle, Detroit's Central Park

2010-09-26T04:13:00.005-04:00

Fall is quickly dawning on The Straits of Detroit and the other communities which surround her, and soon there will be ice floating down the greenish blue river. For now though, the more bearable weather is a welcome change from the sweltering Summer heat. My daughter has past taking her first steps, and now can walk, and so, we decided to make a longer more adventurous trek to Belle Isle Park, which lies at the Eastern edge of greater Downtown Detroit, an area defined by The Grand Boulevard Loop.

Belle Isle Park is very different from Downtown Detroit's Campus Martius Park, which serves as the town square of not only Downtown Detroit, but also for the entire Metro Detroit Windsor region. Belle Isle on the other hand, is uptown, and closer to the more uptown wealthy area of Detroit (Grosse Pointe). Belle Isle is to Detroit what Central Park is to New York City, only Belle Isle is larger, and more secluded.

Like New York's Central Park, Detroit's Belle Isle Park was designed by Frank Law Olmstead. Before the invention of the automobile, a person could often only travel as far as the interurban railways could take them, effectively blocking them from the countryside, and raising the need for a a tranquil place to relax.

This day, my daughter and I were going to have a daddy daughter day, while Detroit Mom got some things done at home. The playgrounds on Belle Isle are not something I have ever visited. The entire island, like most of Detroit, seems to have belonged to a people of another time; some lost civilization. There are beautiful monuments, statues, and Victorian buildings all over the island. One such building is this picnic shelter, with it's majestic architecture, which is simply nothing like you would find in most parks today. Nearby there is a bell tower that serenades visitors with relaxing music over the grounds and canoe lagoons.

A picnic pavilion on Belle Isle Park.

Roads on the island have names like Picnic Way, Sunset Drive, Muse Road, and Loiter Way, help paint a vivid picture of families under shade trees, with blankets spread wide across the leafy green lawns, having a picnic while being serenaded with bells from the bell tower. You can just imagine children at play, flying kites, swimming at the beach, or floating model sail boats in front of the beautiful fountain. You can imagine couples rowing boats along the lakes, watching the sunset together and you can see artists painting the scene. It seems like everyone wanted to contribute and be a part of that society back then. Today, it sometimes seems like we only care about money making, or our own paths.

It must have been some sight to see that culture that we have broken away from; lost somewhere in the sands of time.

My daughter rode a real slide for the first time. I went down a few times with her at first, but then sent her down once by herself. She LOVED the slide! By the end of the day she was running around, climbing to the top, and going down all by herself.

Baby girl on the slide.

As I sat and watched my daughter play, I couldn't help but wonder what we will be leaving for our children. What kind of future did we create for them? Will my daughter's life be better than mine was?