"Remember, remember the Fifth of November" is the beginning of a traditional rhyme that goes along with the festivities of Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed attempt to blow up Parliament and assassinate the King of England.
Today, Bonfire Night is celebrated throughout the UK with fireworks, bonfires, barbeques and burning effigies. For us, it was a special day to hang out with our friends.
So, maybe it's time to burn an effigy. Not an effigy of Guy Fawkes but of the image that we thought our life would be like once we moved to the United Sates and Detroit.
Perfect house, picket fence, bright new shiny cars, and all that.
Yeah, it’s time to burn those “perfect world” images and look at what we do have. So many wonderful things have happened that we weren’t expecting; it’s time to be grateful for and embrace all the good that has come into our lives.
Detroit has met and exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds. Every time I turn a corner or delve into the internet I find the most amazing places and people. Seriously, I could blog about Detroit forever and not run out of fantastic content.
Which leads me to blogging. Yes, I knew I wanted to start a blog before we moved back but it never occurred to me how many new opportunities would arise just from being a blogger.
Almost every article and post written about Detroit comes to the same conclusion; it’s the people that make this city so great. When I look around at all the new friends that we’ve made it truly astounds me. People from all walks of life and different backgrounds, we are blessed.
We had become couch potatoes back in the UK; we weren’t really engaged with our community and only went out with our friends occasionally. Here, we are constantly meeting new people and exploring new ideas.
We are living.
Last night, my friend Chris Kaufman (@kauf) posted this quote by Sparky Anderson on Twitter:
As long as you remember where you are from, you will always know where you are going.
We know where we're from and now we know where we’re going. And, we’re quite excited about the possibilities. It may take a little bit longer for that perfect house and picket fence but once we get there it’ll be the best damn picket fence ever!