The Dream Cruise or Cruising to Nowhere

 The Woodward Dream Cruise is this Saturday, August 15th. Of course, if you live in Metro Detroit, you already knew that. This is the 15th year of this event that started as a small fundraiser to build a soccer field in Ferndale. Everything from classic old cars to muscle cars and street rods will be cruising up and down Woodward Avenue.

A classic cool car cruising down Woodward Avenue.Locals who live along the Woodward Corridor are the ones that are most affected by the influx of the one million plus visitors who will attend the event.

I have many friends who live near Woodward, whether in Berkley, Royal Oak, or Ferndale, who make a point to get out of town this weekend. They go “Up North,” to escape the traffic and congestion.

Luckily, I live a few miles west of Woodward and the congestion has never affected me. I can drive into Birmingham this weekend, park the car, and happily enjoy the cruise.

But, do you know what I can’t do? I can’t go have my new favorite omelet at The Flytrap in Ferndale. (It’s the blat+c, in case you were wondering.) It would be difficult to try and venture anywhere along Woodward this weekend. Yes, The Redcoat Tavern is off limits as well.

Why can’t I go to these lovely establishments? I won’t be able to get there. I’m actually ok with that; I can schedule my weekend around the event.

I quite like looking at the cool cars; they are what built this city. If you look at the definition of Detroit on dictionary.com the 3rd entry is the U.S. automobile industry. And we all know what troubles they have been having recently.

A custom truck, complete with flames.So, is it really that difficult to change our schedules around a bit or take an alternate route and embrace the event? I’m getting kind of sick of everyone complaining about it.

The people who will be lining up on Woodward to watch the cars go rolling by are gearheads. These are the people, I assume, who are most likely to buy American cars. These people are going to be pumping lots of money into our local economy by going to the establishments that I can't get to.

And for that, I’ll happily stay close to home and avoid Woodward for a few days. I’ll be cruising to nowhere.

The Heidelberg Project: Polka Dots Over Blight

The Heidelberg Project, with its Dotty-Wotty house, and Tyree Guyton are known worldwide. I’ve read about it and seen pictures but I had never visited it myself. And I‘m pretty sure my husband had never heard of it. It was time to head to the east side of Detroit and experience this outdoor art installation.

The Dotty-Wotty House at The Heidelberg ProjectTyree Guyton started The Heidelberg Project in 1986 simply by cleaning up vacant lots. Cleaning up the neighborhood led to the painting of the dots and the found art. Today, The Heidelberg Project is still evolving, almost as though it is living, growing being.

The Heidelberg Project is a Detroit-based community organization designed to improve lives and neighborhoods through art. (From The Heidelberg Project website)

We turned off of the main road onto Heidelberg Street, but we were still a few blocks from the site. The neighborhood was rundown and reminded me of the houses we tore down while working with the Motor City Blight Busters.

After another block, I could see it up ahead, the colors scream out at you. We parked and started looking around. There was an information booth with a man standing outside of it, setting up. I knew instantly that it was Tyree Guyton. I was not expecting him to be there, it was a nice surprise.

The Number HouseTyree introduced himself and asked our names and shook our hands. He then asked if we would like to purchase a map of the project that describes the houses and works in detail for $10.

I wanted to talk to him but more people kept on coming up to the booth. He was quite busy. I was surprised that there were about 20-30 other people there, I just assumed we’d be the only ones. Some seemed to be in a group. One guy, I’d say he was about 18 or 19, asked Tyree what motivated him. “Life,” was Tyree’s answer.

Stuffed animals nailed to a house in The Heidelberg Project.

My husband and I walked around, looking at the Dotty-Wotty house, The Faces in the Hood, and a house with stuffed animals nailed to it. It’s quite a surreal little block and it’s so much a part of Detroit. In fact, it’s one the top tourist destinations in the city.

There is a yard filled with vacuum cleaners that is meant to show that the city needs to clean up the blight. The gloves on the handles of the vacuums symbolize that the city officials don’t want to get their hands dirty.

The polka dots symbolize diversity. The dots are of all different colors and sizes but they are all equal. The Dotty-Wotty House shows universal harmony.

The project has created much controversy over the years, with parts of it being demolished on two separate occasions.

While we were leaving, the group and Tyree had the paint out and brushes in hand. New polka dots were about to be added to the sidewalk. It's still growing, evolving.

Covering up the blight at The Heidelberg Project.I didn’t get the same sense of joy, whimsy, or complete kitsch that I got from Hamtramck Disneyland. This is different. Tyree Guyton grew up on Heidelberg Street, he remembers the 1967 Detroit Riots, and this project grew from those experiences.

Whatever you think of the art itself, the thought behind it should be commended. It pushes people out of their comfort zones and makes them think. The organization brings communities together and is reaching out to young people. And it is uniquely Detroit.

So, what do you think? Is it art or an eyesore?

Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

What is going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Here are a few options:

1. Funnyman and hometown boy, J. Chris Newberg is playing two shows at the Magic Bag on Friday. On his website he describes himself as a “guitarist/songwriter-cum-comedian.”

There are 2 reasons I’m recommending him this weekend. The first is that we went to high school together and during that time I blamed something on him. He didn’t get in trouble for it, but still, I feel guilty. Secondly, he’s really funny. Check him out! August 7th.

2. I know the Detroit Lions suck, they haven’t been good since I’ve been alive. But they are having an open practice at Ford Field on Saturday. The players will be signing autographs as well. It’s free but you do need a ticket, check the Lions official site for details. August 8th.

3. The 5th Annual Ferndale Green Cruise celebrates alternative forms of transportation and the people that use them. Learn how to be green while having fun at the same time. August 8th.

4. Rock Stars' Cars & Guitars 2 at The Henry Ford has been going on all summer but you only have a few weeks left to catch this exhibit. There are over 20 cars and 50 guitars on show. Through September 7th.

1933 Ford Coupe, “Eliminator,” owned by Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top Courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, OH From the collection of Billy F Gibbons Photo:  Gizmochine, Inc. 1999. All rights reserved. Robert Alford5. Royal Oak Country Fair & Corn Roast takes place at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. Corn, a pie eating contest, and best chocolate chip cookie contest are among the family friendly activities. August 8th.

Do you know of a great event going in on Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

There is Another Woman in My Marriage

And I hate her! She drives me crazy. I want to throw her out the window or smash her on the ground.

Why do I hate her?

My husband listens to her, he trusts her. He trusts her more than me. She contradicts me and he listens to her. It’s so frustrating. I want to scream, “But I’m your wife, you’ve only known her for half of a year.” But I don’t.

I know he needs her. A bit. Seriously though, all the time? I don’t think so.

Who is this horrible interloper in my marriage?

Her name is Garmin. Yep, the fabulous GPS voice that comes out of a little box that tells my husband how to get to where he is going. She used to talk with a British accent, which was the setting my husband had it on. (Of course, he picked the British setting.) She mispronounced street names so now the “other woman” in our lives talks with an American accent. She still can’t pronounce street names correctly.

You see, before we moved here the husband said he’d have to get a GPS. I tried to explain that Detroit was laid out like a grid. Well, a grid with wagon wheel spokes. I showed him maps and pointed out that the mile roads run east and west. I assured him it was easy.

And to be fair, he has done amazingly well tooling around Detroit and getting places. I mean, imagine if you were plunked down in a place you barely knew with different driving rules and customs. It’s not easy. Names of places don’t really mean anything to him; he doesn’t have the same reference points we do.

Oddly, he does know where every Lowe’s, Ace, and Home Depot are within a 15 mile radius.

So, I try and get along with Little Miss Garmin. But sometimes she gives really craptastic directions. Sometimes he listens to those directions over mine, which drives me crazy. That’s when I want to punch her.

Many times I’ll concede that she is actually leading him in the right direction and then he doesn’t do as he’s told. “Stay right on I-75 and take exit blah blah blah,” she’ll say. A few minutes later, when we haven’t exited, I get blamed for not reinforcing her wishes.

I guess I can’t win. As much as I hate her, I have come to terms with her being in our lives. She even helped me once when I knew I was within spitting distance of a location but couldn’t find the exact address. I secretly plugged her in and she got me to where I was going. Shh, that’s our little secret.

Fighting the Blight

I haven’t really talked much about the problems in Detroit. The unemployment. The crime. The crazy city politics.

Am I avoiding it on purpose? Am I afraid to talk about it?

No. I just feel the negative aspects, the problems of Detroit, are well documented worldwide. When we told our neighbors in England that we were moving to Detroit they brought over this article from the Sunday magazine in the London Times, America’s darkest fear: to end up like Detroit. The neighbors meant well.

Now, I’m talking about a problem.

One big problem in Detroit are the abandoned homes. These homes are always dangerous, always an eyesore, and many times taken over by drug dealers.

How many abandoned homes are in Detroit?

There is no exact number. Tens of thousands was the closest I could pin point it. More homes are being abandoned every day. One statistic I found was that there are 44,000 empty homes in Detroit. But are empty and abandoned the same? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone is counting these derelict houses anymore.

So, what can we do?

As I mentioned in Actions Speak Louder Than Words, we volunteered last week. We helped fight the blight. Working with Motor City Connect and Motor City Blight Busters we helped tear down these homes, clear these lots.

Motor City Blight Busters (MCBB) is a community based non-profit organization that was founded in 1988.

It is Motor City Blight Busters’ primary mission to help stabilize, revitalize and rejuvenate the socio-economic plight of the city of Detroit. Our aim is to restore the city to the state of great prominence it once held.

We feel that the achievement of this objective hinges on our ability to instill our unwavering sense of pride (for the city) in each and every one of its residents. For only through such pride, can the long desired standard of excellence be re-established and maintained.

John J. George, the founder & president of Motor City Blight Busters said, “when we do these projects crime goes down, property values go up, and community spirit soars.” And I believe him.

My husband and I had fun, met new people, and made a difference. Yes, it was hard work. We sweated and afterwards we smelled a bit. The next day I was sore. All the volunteers worked hard with passion and determination. And I can tell you this, our spirit soared.

What is the payoff?

Yesterday, I took a ride by myself back to the site. We only worked on Wednesday and I wanted to see how much progress they made on Friday and Saturday. I wanted to see what it looked like now.

I stood in front of one home that was demolished. In the house behind me, two boys appeared on the porch. They lived across the street from these abandoned homes. They were probably curious why this crazy lady was there all by herself, looking at…well, looking at nothing.

Those two boys won’t have to live across the street from drug dealers. Those two boys won’t go exploring these dangerous homes with glass strewn all over. Hopefully soon, those two boys will have a nice view from their porch. That is the payoff.

(You can also read about the whole week of Blood, Sweat, & Gear in Actions Speak Louder Than Words or about me giving blood for the cause in Blood, Life, and Beer.)