Other Cool Things

One day, I woke, wide awake, at 5AM. This never happens as I am a good sleeper and normally wake around 8AM. But, an idea was in my mind. An idea for a book: 50/50 Fifty stories From Fifty States Incredibly, and from seeming nowhere, the whole book was fully formed in my mind. I…

I was born in Detroit, a 1957 model. For much of my now 63-years I watched a once great city fall into decay and become synonymous with urban ruin. Entire neighborhoods were obliterated and numerous skyscrapers in the downtown core were empty. About a decade ago though something inexplicable happened. Detroit started, at long last,…

I’m 63 today. Fuck. HOW did that happen? I used to love getting older. When I was 10 my best friend’s mother said: “You must be so excited to be 10!” I thought for a moment and replied with something which surprised me: “Well, I’d rather be 40.” She gasped, and furiously told me how…

This is Part V in a series. Part I is here. Part II. Part III. Part IV.               In my previous four posts in this Detroit series, I detail how three historic homes in Brush Park were reborn on the cheap (by a massively well-funded developer), while one home…

This is Part IV in a series. Part I is here. Part II. Part III. Part V.     From my previous posts: The city of Detroit, which owned these three houses and the surrounding land, offered all for redevelopment, stipulating that the historic houses had to be retained. And this, this, was the mistake….

This is Part III of a series. Part I is here. Part II is here. Part IV is here. Part V is here.             From my previous posts: The city of Detroit, which owned these three houses and the surrounding land, offered all for redevelopment, stipulating that the historic houses…

This is Part II of a series. Part I is here. Part III is here. Part IV is here. Part V is here.                   From my previous post: The city of Detroit, which owned these three houses and the surrounding land, offered all for redevelopment, stipulating that…

This is Part I of a series. Part II is here. Part III is here. Part IV is here. Part V is here.   Brush Park is a residential neighborhood just north of downtown Detroit. In the latter 19th-century, Brush Park was chock-o-block with grand mansions. The advent of the automobile however meant that people…

I was born in Detroit, the 1957 model year. For decades the city was synonymous with decay. During the last five years though there has been an astonishing turnaround, which I have posted about several times. One house, in particular, became THE poster child for abandonment:           Alfred Street is in…

      Sound and fury….signifying nothing. They love it. And it’s almost always sweetpea New Kitty who attacks Gray. You can even see Gray’s submissive position. This is generous of her as she’s older, bigger, and was here first. Years ago I had a small dog and a very large dog (standard poodle). The…

Last October, Sid moved in with me. I did a post about this. He originally belonged to a neighbor but when she moved…she left Sid. Days passed before I realized this, and I was horrified to discover that Sid had not eaten since she left. I ran across the street to give him food and…

WHAT AM I THANKFUL FOR? When I was born in 1957, nobody recycled. I’m thankful this has changed. When I was born in 1957, rivers used to routinely catch fire due to being so polluted. I’m thankful this never happens anymore due to the EPA. When I was born in 1957, American cities suffered from…

Today, this story popped into my head after four decades:   I took my beloved cat Little Boy to the vet. He was there for two days. When I picked him up, the vet brought him out at the far end of the long table. I was at the other end. The vet opened the…