Michigan by the Numbers

Our day-trips throughout the State of Michigan are a feel-good project. We're looking for the good, everywhere we go. We're building connections, creating friendships, listening, understanding, laughing, learning. Speaking for myself, our mission is to stay away from the inflammatory, divisive issues plaguing the nation. But when there is a tragic incident, involving an inappropriate response from law enforcement/public safety officials, occurring at an intersection that Karla and I just traveled a week or two before, it is not something we can turn away from. The question becomes: how to respond, without stirring up partisan strife? The story in question is in this morning's Free Press. I'm a rural guy learning to trust and enjoy the city: all of it. I believe the answer is in making connections, getting near other people, "showing up." But now, a teen aged boy that I might have waved at last week, as we drove down Gratiot, is no more. Also this m...

I'd like a side of the Livernois and Onions, please. (For the story behind this opener, keep reading . . .) Karla and I took our third trip so far, and our final one in our first group of Detroit drives. We have covered the five major historic Detroit Trunklines: M-1: Woodward Avenue M-3: Gratiot Avenue M-5: Grand River Avenue And on Wednesday, August 24th, we completed the set with trips across the Davison Freeway (M-8) and the Lodge Freeway/Northwestern Highway (M-10) . But before I begin, please indulge my proud dad moment, as I just found out my daughter will be active, this year, in the Brightmoor Maker Space project in Detroit. And now, back to the blog . . .  To get to the Davison Freeway, we left the Green Acres neighborhood, and traversed down Livernois, through the fashion district, all the way to Davison Street. We started out by going west, crossing the I-96 interchange, so that we could come back and find the starting point of M-8. According to all the...

Yesterday was the second venture of Michigan day trips with Karla. It also was my birthday. The result was an insightful, and sobering experience that equated to one of my most memorable birthdays ever. I call it the "Victory Tour," because the path of the two long, straight drives forms a letter "V" above the Metro Detroit area. And in the case of the first leg: Gratiot Avenue. it represented a facing of my rural, Washtenaw County fears. According to a lot of news reports through the years (and we all know what to think of modern news reporting), parts of Gratiot border some of the most at-risk and depressed areas of Detroit. But Karla, of course, is unphased by this, a trait she shares with someone else that would surprise you, and who you may get to know better during the course of future journeys. I was impacted by national events of the past week. Our goal is unity, so I will not delve much into issues that divide. But I will say that the national news made...

Last week, Karla and I launched our adventure by way of an end-to-end drive down Woodward Ave in Detroit: Michigan's Main Street , or, by the numbers: M-1 . Next up is Highway 2, which in Michigan is US-2, which spans almost the entire Upper Peninsula, East to West. But that one is going to have to come after some planning and fundraising . . . Which brings us to M-3 : Gratiot Avenue . This will be half of tomorrow's route (Friday, August 18). The starting point is up just north of Chesterfield, and the road terminates at the end point of The Lodge Freeway in downtown Detroit. I'm sure the evolving plan will include a lengthy stop at Hart Plaza and maybe lunch. There used to be an M-4, but it is now defunct. So, from downtown, we will pick up M-5 , or Grand River Avenue , wherever Karla advises. As I understand it, the formal starting point is at the I-96 intersection west of the Davison Freeway. But if we see any signage along the way, indicating M-5 east of 96, we w...

On Tuesday, August 8, I took off on the first of many day trips, with my friend Karla, of Detroit. We're exploring Michigan, a highway at a time. She's from the city. I'm from the country. She's Gen Y, and I'm a borderline Boomer/X-er. Our political views are different . . . but as time will show, we are not as far apart as labels make it appear. Our first trip, from one end of Woodward to the other, took about three hours, and involved seeing fascinating sights as the landscape changed from one community to the next. From Square Lake Road, to Hart Plaza, on a beautiful summer day, I learned a volume of things about Detroit. Just driving M-1, "Michigan's Main Street" represented one important barrier that I broke down.  As we passed from Bloomfield Hills into Birmingham, and then into Ferndale, and finally across Eight-Mile Road and into Detroit, I will admit that I had feelings of hesitation, as I was not an experienced Detroit driver. And o...