How did this all go wrong? Detroit, the entire region, is such a study in contrasts. On when hand we have one of greatest collections of urban decay and ruin in a modern city- at least a modern city never pelted with missiles from invading armies. This abandonment is in the midst of some of the greatest wealth in the United States.
Truthfully the question is bogus; a complete non- starter. Over the last 40 years the one skill people in the area have developed to perfection is finger pointing. Detroiters, city and suburban alike, can point fingers with the best of them. Enough already. I am at the point where I don’t care who’s at fault. It simply doesn’t matter. The better questions are where do we go from here? How do we build on what’s left of the shambles of our once great industries?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
The missing element
I know it is cliche', boardering on trite, to say how the world's change since that fateful day. Last year my daughter took this shot from Brooklyn. I think it is a solid composition with the Brooklyn Bridge providing a cool line.
What keeps pulling me in is what's missing. The physical structures are gone. Not leaving a scare as much as a missing limb. While the city has rebounded from the attacks, I think there is aother missing element, not physical, more emotional that is missing. We no longer seem as optimistic and forward looking. We are bogged down. Carrying the weight of war, environmental calamities, real and imagined and economic chaos, real and imagined. Strange days, indeed. Rest easy John.
What keeps pulling me in is what's missing. The physical structures are gone. Not leaving a scare as much as a missing limb. While the city has rebounded from the attacks, I think there is aother missing element, not physical, more emotional that is missing. We no longer seem as optimistic and forward looking. We are bogged down. Carrying the weight of war, environmental calamities, real and imagined and economic chaos, real and imagined. Strange days, indeed. Rest easy John.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Harrison Farm
“I hope he gets a tick!”
That was the comment from one of our travel partners in our caravan as I stopped to get this shot on a trip to Mackinaw City. The comment wasn’t as much mean spirited as, well, an honest expression of her travel disposition. You see there two types of people who travel; those with destination fever and those who enjoy the ride. I am the latter.
I saw this barn with the hay bales lined up and just couldn’t resist. I hacked my way through chest high grass in a bog and got this shot. It is currently my most popular photo on my Flickr site.
That was the comment from one of our travel partners in our caravan as I stopped to get this shot on a trip to Mackinaw City. The comment wasn’t as much mean spirited as, well, an honest expression of her travel disposition. You see there two types of people who travel; those with destination fever and those who enjoy the ride. I am the latter.
I saw this barn with the hay bales lined up and just couldn’t resist. I hacked my way through chest high grass in a bog and got this shot. It is currently my most popular photo on my Flickr site.
Yellowstone B&W
Business travel is such a drag. I hustle through hotels and airports all year, spending over 110 nights per year a guest of Bill Marriott. One benefit are the ocassional opportunities for a side trip.
I worked a project for Nextel back in 2003. The project sent me to Salt Lake City for an extended period of time. On the weekends I was required to stay over, I scooted out of town and headed north, south, east or west in search of big landscapes and a beer. I got up to Yellowstone once and the Grand Tetons twice. Both are among the coolest places I've visited. Can't wait to get back again.
I worked a project for Nextel back in 2003. The project sent me to Salt Lake City for an extended period of time. On the weekends I was required to stay over, I scooted out of town and headed north, south, east or west in search of big landscapes and a beer. I got up to Yellowstone once and the Grand Tetons twice. Both are among the coolest places I've visited. Can't wait to get back again.
The roadies
The idea sounded like fun- A road trip with the entire extended family, start in Detroit, loop through canyon country in Utah and head on home. The trip was organized by my older sister Kim, heretofore known as Sarge. Good thing. Trying to herd rougly 20 people, 8 of whom were under 18, is not a task for the weak willed.
So off we went in our caravan of 5 cars, assorted bikes, camping and hiking gear. This was the second time we attempted such a road trip, so some of us were old hands and knew what to expect. I told my sister- in- law, making her first trip with us, to be pateint and expect wild mood swings, much like the western landscapes.
I explained that two weeks into the ordeal she will find herself whispering, or shouting out loud, that this collection of related miscreants are a bunch jerks and if she never sees any of us again, it will be too soon. Not worry, I told her that feeling is fleeting and somewhere along I-70, heading east in Kansas, she will think, "This was a riot. Let's go to Glacier next year! And bring the dogs."
So off we went in our caravan of 5 cars, assorted bikes, camping and hiking gear. This was the second time we attempted such a road trip, so some of us were old hands and knew what to expect. I told my sister- in- law, making her first trip with us, to be pateint and expect wild mood swings, much like the western landscapes.
I explained that two weeks into the ordeal she will find herself whispering, or shouting out loud, that this collection of related miscreants are a bunch jerks and if she never sees any of us again, it will be too soon. Not worry, I told her that feeling is fleeting and somewhere along I-70, heading east in Kansas, she will think, "This was a riot. Let's go to Glacier next year! And bring the dogs."
Getting started
Stay with, I'm just getting started here. I suspect most of my posts will center on the stuff wandering around my head as I wander around the country. I am stuck in Chicago today, hoping to wrap business in a timely manner tomorrow and head home in time for a dinner with the folks at Tijuana's Mexican Kitchen. Best salsa in Detroit. Period. Well the best not made by me.
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