Detroit, Mitch Albom and the real deal

Last night my BlackBerry chimed and I took a peek before bed. My dear friend, Marisa, sent me an article from Sports Illustrated. The article was called "The Courage of Detroit" and was written by Mitch Albom, a renowned Detroit Free Press columnist of more than two decades. It intrigued me and I promised myself I'd read it the next day, today. It struck close to home, as it should for absolutely any Detroiter. I got a bit emotional.

Albom chronicles the sports ups and downs in Detroit. This is the greatest sports town in the United States. Yet, he doesn't keep it under that umbrella. He dives into the contradictions of the country that's forgotten its manufacturing base, its middle class and its Michigan citizens who struggle along. He wonders how California can complain that we make cars that ruin the environment when THEY ALL DRIVE THEM CONSTANTLY. Get your head out of the smog cloud, California. Or how Southern politicians, all a bunch of jokers if you ask me, can outsource jobs, bust unions, lower wages and give tax breaks to foreign automakers and then scold the U.S. auto executives for bad practices. I'm not saying the auto executives and their managerial goonies are free of blame, but come on. (I considered adding a few choice words about the South here, but I'll save it. I try to keep the blog family-friendly.)

Albom writes about the homeless, the foreclosed homes, the quiet downtown, the looming casinos and the rampant unemployment. He calls the people of this city and state the most downtrodden optimists. We don't talk about if Detroit will return to its former glory. We talk about when it does. It's so true. We know it's bad, we get it, but it's not going to stay that way.

A question Detroiters often hear is "Why don't you leave?" Shortsighted people have asked me this because they feel I would benefit elsewhere. I suppose my answer is that I'm not afraid, I believe in the city and, frankly, it's nurtured my family, education and career since 1985. Whether I like it or not, no other city gives me this many shots at success. No other city has as many of my relatives and dearest friends, either.

Albom gets the "Why don't you leave?" question, too. He obviously loves this city and though he doesn't say it explicitly in the article, you know that's what he means. This article reminded me why Albom was one of my fundamental inspirations to start writing when I was a kid: I loved hearing his voice on the page. I enjoyed his thoughts and appreciated his concise writing. Reading this article dusted off some nostalgia.

I've heard people bagging on Albom in the past. He got in a little bit of writing hot water a few years back. I never met him, but I think I wrongly let those negative sentiments influence me. This article has set me straight. It really brought me full circle and it helped understand my feelings about Albom, Detroit and Michigan.

In the article, Albom captures what I think is the essence of how Detroiters feel and he's published it in a popular national magazine. I hope people get the message. I hope that this helps them understand where we're coming from and how we're dealing with where we're going. I love Albom's last line:

"To hell with Depression. We're gonna have a good year."

A few tears popped out of my eyes while I read the article, but not because I was sad. I was moved. Sometimes I find a get choked up while listening to podcasts that share incredible stories (a usual suspect: This American Life.) You can imagine how silly I look when I get choked up while on a bike ride or running.

These weren't tears of sadness, but rather tears of relief. What Albom wrote was exactly what I was thinking. Honestly, I also feel it's exactly what a lot of Detroiters are thinking. That gave me a sense of unity. We're all in this together. It gave me hope, the same kind of hope that sprouted some tears when I watched Barack Obama's presidential victory. It's not about sadness, quite the opposite in circumstances like these.

Thanks, Mitch. Thanks for setting me and everyone else straight. You are the real deal.

Detroit, I shall love you

Recently I went to Providence, RI for a conference. Whenever my colleague and I mentioned we were from the D, people's visages softened with pity and they all made a similar comment, "Tough times in Detroit." Time and time again people voiced their concerns and always looked like they wanted to give us some change or an extra blanket. Some resentment developed, but I understood where this was all coming from.

My perspective on this atrocious situation that Detroit and Michigan have been in for the last two years or so has vastly changed from about three months ago. Three months ago I was barely scraping by with intern wages. My mood was foul. My hope bank was empty. My despair was so great that I no longer bothered to worry about the future. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing, not for me, not for Detroit, not for Michigan.

After getting a position at Wayne State University's Development Office I pulled out of my funk and adjusted my attitude. There is hope - for me, for Detroit, for Michigan. I'm sure a couple of eyes have rolled at that due to the hope hype created by our President-Elect (which I'm a firm believer in, by the way). My hope that this is going to turn around is founded on facts. The job that I have has enlightened me to this: very powerful people still care about the City of Detroit.

This point hit home yesterday when I read an article about how Peter Karmanos, a true champion for the city of Detroit, laid a very professional, but strong smack down on U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican that is against giving Detroit a piece of the bailout pie. The article,which includes some of Mr. Karmanos' remarks, is worth a read: Compuware chief takes on Detroit Three senate critic. It made me cheer on the inside.

A quick word on the bailout...the opposition says that the car companies did this to themselves and that's why they shouldn't be bailed out. I agree that the car companies made their own bed. However, I wonder why the banks and financial institutions that sh*t the industry bed get bailed out for their humongous mistakes, but the rules change when talking about automobile companies. That's unfair and ridiculous on so many levels.

About a year ago, I was trying to claw my way out of Detroit. I thought I hated it. I thought it a miserable place of wretchedness and filth. I wanted to go to New York, to Chicago, to Washington D.C., basically a slightly classier place of wretchedness and filth. My boyfriend set me straight. My job set me on the right path. My attitude headed in the direction of "take action" rather than "whine and run."

Detroit's motto is: "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus." That is Latin for, "We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes." So, while people have abandoned the city because they cannot find opportunity or hope here, I will stay. I have found both. I will stay as the fire burns, while the ashes form and while the smoke clears. When the city finally rises from the ashes, I will be here. I will be a part of its rebirth.

And when that time comes, the city and I will open our arms and welcome those who have abandoned us. We will welcome them home.

U.S. Elections: my observations

This time last week, I was waiting in line to vote for Barack Obama. Later that night, I listened to his speech. The next day, I started writing observations about the election. Today, I'm finally going to share some of those observations.

November 4, 2008 - 6:45 am
The Lord blessed Michiganders with a mild, sunny day. I rode my bicycle up to my polling location and arrived before the polls opened. I knew I was in for it. There were already at least 150 people in line. Cars were quickly filling the church's parking lot. I parked my bike and got in line. No on in the line was upset about the wait. We all knew how important this was. You could feel the determination in the air.

How I found out about our new President
I was watching Indecision 2008 coverage on Comedy Central with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. At the end of the show, they announced Obama had won. I wasn't watching real news, so I wondered if the news was real. I switched it to MSNBC. The news was real.

McCain's concession
I continued to watch MSNBC and heard McCain's concession. He admitted that the people were clear, congratulated Obama and gained some of the respect I lost for him before this election. I did not regain respect for the bunch of losers in the crowd, who booed and jeered at the mention of Obama's name. Sore losers, that bunch.

Grant Park speech
Barack Obama's acceptance speech was not all giddy. Although he pulled of a most historic victory (and a solid political beat down), he remained very poised, sober and serious as a heart attack. A tear (or ten) popped out of my eye when he mentioned the lines that people endured to vote. I was in one of those lines. Those lines mattered.

November 5, 2008
The next day I went to the airport, bought a New York Times and hopped on plane. I was heading to an APRA seminar in Rhode Island and had a layover, of all places, in Washington D.C. When we landed, I didn't realized we were going to be at Reagan, which is right next to downtown and all the treasures I love most in D.C. I looked over at the towering Washington Monument and the Capital Building. I longed to accidentally miss my flight and spend the rest of the week in our nation's capital. Love that city. LOVE IT.

I had a burger and a brewski and watched CNN at the airport while waiting for my flight to Providence. It was the first time I watched television since the speech the night before. Again a tear jerked out of my eye. I tried to keep it together, but it was quite emotional. I overheard an airport employee telling the bartender that he couldn't find a single copy of the Washington Post, not at the airport, not on the Metro, no place. I used my BlackBerry to check out people's reactions online. Most Facebook people loved it. MySpace people seemed to lean toward disappointment. Finally, I had a conversation with a man about beer. I hesitated to ask, but I pointed at my beer and asked him, "Are you celebrating, too?" He nodded, "Oh yeah."

November 6, 2008 - APRA New Researchers Seminar
At the seminar, we all stood up and introduced ourselves. An African-American woman struggled to introduce herself because she had lost her voice, a sign that she had been celebrating the night before. "I'm from Chicago and that's why my voice is raspy." She had been at Grant Park. We all cheered.

Since then...
I have been enjoying conversations with my friends who voted for Obama. We are relieved. We were those who were mega-grumps four years ago when our current abortion of a president was reelected. We knew there was a chance something could go horribly wrong, but the anxiety lifted at the announcement.

The scrambling of Republicans has been most amusing. After years of thinking the Republican machine was indestructible, I finally have hope again. There is hope that we can get some integrity and dignity back into Washington D.C.

And just like I saw before Election Day, I saw all types of people adorning Obama gear: buttons, stickers, t-shirts, baby jumpers, hats. I also saw people with simply the date 11-4-2008. That will be a day I never, ever forget.