A Tale of Two Communities

I am a very busy person and I have many facets to my busy life. Because of all the things that I have going on in my life, I have several groups or communities that I am part of. I am a student, I am a parent, I work at several places, I sell Pure Romance and have a 'family' there, I am into Alternative Medicine and have a group that I belong to for that, as well as other various interests. I do not feel a total sense of belonging to any of these groups but there are some which I feel a greater sense of belonging.

One of the communities to which I feel the greatest sense of belonging is the school that my children attend, it is a charter school and what it focuses the most on is creating a sense of community within the school. My oldest child started attending the year they first opened and unfortunately will need to go elsewhere this coming year because it only goes up to 6th grade and he will be in 7th. In a charter school parents must usually drop off their kids, there are not school buses to bus the children. This generally means that most of the parents with children in charter schools like to stay involved in the lives of their kids, that is not always the case, but it tends to be true a large majority of the time. Their school plans many activities both during school hours and after hours so that the children and families of the children can get to know each other and bond.

When my oldest son started going to the school in 1st grade I attended a few events and started getting to know people, when my twins started school 3 years later, I became much more involved. Since that time I have become very involved and have become close to many of the families with students there. I have also become close to quite a few of the students due to the fact that I volunteer for many events and spend a lot of time at the school every week during the school year. It seems that once involved with this school it is possible to be a part of it. I still keep in contact with several moms who no longer have children who attend there and they sometimes attend events for the school that occur after-hours. There are not many times when I do not feel part of the community, even in the summer they try to organize something monthly to keep the sense of community flowing. The values for this community revolve around what is best for our kids, we want them to experience the best childhood possible and we try to help others involved with their children as well. Although being involved in this community is not help me identify with who I am, trying to do what is best for my children is a huge part of who I am.

The second community that I am involved in is one that is just for me and does not involve my kids. It is one that I discovered I was part of while attending a spiritual growth retreat last September. When I signed up I knew only the woman taking us, I did drive up with someone and we were able to get to know each other and discover a mutual friend that we both had who has since moved out of state. As with most retreats I imagine, you get to know a lot about someone pretty quickly while you are on them. There were 12 of us all together and we discovered a lot about each other and certain ones of us bonded more to some than others. We experienced a lot of emotional challenges during that retreat and needed to lean on each other for support. We spent 4 whole days together and all exchanged numbers and emails at the end. We did have one meeting about 1-1/2 months later. Most of us are on Facebook and have met several times since that last meeting. I discovered that I was part of the group by the end of our first day together and I don't think that it is possible to really leave a group like that, no matter how much time passes we still associate each other with what we went through. I will be going again this year but not everyone from last year will be there and I am sure there will be other new people who I do not yet know. The values and beliefs of this group are to accept each other and others for who they are, not to judge and try to change. As with all the other communities that I am in, I do not require this community to feel that I am whole.

From all the communities that I am involved in I believe that a community should have members who share at least one common goal or belief and work together toward that goal. I also think that those within the community should try to make those inside or joining, feel welcome and try to find a way to communicate with each other.

Detroit

If I could create an art project for the city of Detroit, I would like it to include the history of Detroit as well as some of the really important things Detroit is known for. I would like to find large, abandoned buildings and paint huge murals representing different periods of
Detroit history. I would like the murals to blend different periods together.

I would like the first to include the Native Americans before the white man arrived. A huge mural of Native American kayaks on the river. In the distance is a view of the Detroit skyline, the Renaissance Center, Hart Plaza, and all the other things seen from that viewpoint.

I would like the second mural to include the Ambassador bridge as well as ships of the first traders to come to Detroit. Next to the bridge are traders with those selling furs trying to come to an agreement on price.

Another mural would involve an assembly line, a longer building would be needed for this one. At the far left of the mural would be workers from that period building a Model T. As the scene progresses, the workers change clothing and style to accompany the changing vehicles, ending with modern day workers and vehicles

The next mural would include the Red Wings, scenes of the Red Wings on the ice. The first Red Wings moving forward to the modern day Red Wings. Included would be paintings of each of the times they won the Stanley Cup...on second thought, this mural may take up several buildings, they have won quite a few times.

Detroit is an amazing place with a history like no other, I would like the art to represent that. Detroit may not have the greatest reputation at this point in time, but I truly believe that this country would not be what it is today...the good points...without the mark left by Detroit. The scenes portrayed in the murals would show just how important Detroit was to trade because of the Detroit river. The invention of the assembly line was created right here in the Detroit area and that has made a huge impact on the automobile industry worldwide. The Red Wings are also represented in art and they have a fan base like no other team. People in all areas of the US, whether they are Native Detroiters or not, love the Red Wings. It takes a great team from a great city to inspire such devotion in fans not even from the same state as the team.

The Perfect Community

After reading the essay on ghettos and their fortification, I have decided to make my perfect community on farmland about an hour from Detroit. The reason for this is because I do not feel that I could build a perfect neighborhood and have the sense of community if the people living there are worried for their safety.

The perfect community would involve like-minded people coming together with the best of all worlds. Everyone would have their own home, something not too big or not too small. There would be a large central area to meet and play which would have either a pool or a lake for swimming. People from all different backgrounds and who would have much to offer the community would live there. They would grow their own food, probably a few would be responsible for that job, there would be farm animals for meat and eggs and agriculture. The people responsible for growing the food would be paid, it would not be a volunteer service. Although the community would be a little more natural-minded than most, electricity and internet are in use. Many people are able to make use of the internet for work and make money in that way. As far as worship goes, let the people who live there decide what works best for them. They may not have a large place to worship, but everyone should be able to worship the way that works best for them.

Everyone's needs would be heard and the best way to meet those needs would be discussed. Everyone would be equal in this community, everyone's contribution would be just as important as the contribution of someone else. Activities would be found that everyone would like to participate in as well as individual activities.

Because this community would be in the country, it would be open with access all around.

Welcome to Detroit!

Welcome to Detroit! Today I am going to take you on a tour of the Detroit Metropolitan Area, some things you may know about and others you may not so just sit back and enjoy the ride.

First stop is the Henry Ford, which encompasses the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. There is something here for everyone. The Village has many historical buildings but you can also take a ride on a Ford Model T, some of them are the originals that have been repaired while others were built to celebrate Ford's 100 Year Anniversary. After riding on the Model T be sure to head back to the carousel, it is a Herschell-Spillman carousel from 1913, the animals on this ride are special, the horses' tails are made with real horse hair and the frog is only 1 of 5 that are in existence. Be sure to check out the homes of Noah Webster and Robert Frost as well as Thomas Edison's Menlo Park. Even the food here is historical in A Taste of History you can eat historical foods...that does not mean food made in the past and served in the present...yuck, but the same kinds of food that you would have eaten in the past.
Next let's go inside to the Museum to check things out in there. History becomes interactive as you watch yourself dancing in music videos with Duran Duran, Cindy Lauper, or the Talking Heads; build a Model T car; or take a stroll through history and all the generations from 1890 to the present. Where do you fit in? It is easy to find out then compare all the things your generation is known for compared to the other generations. Have you ever wished that you could just pick up and move...house and all? If you had a Dymaxion house, you could have done just that. The Dymaxion house was designed by Buckminster Fuller and was a concept totally ahead of its time. Just for fun, don't miss stopping by the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on the way out to our next destination.

Our next destination is right down the street at the Henry Ford Estate. The house is closed for renovations but we can see the rest of the estate. There is a pond which used to be a reflecting pool in a rose garden, the roses are gone now but it is easy to imagine how beautiful it once must have been. We will next make out way to Jensen's Meadow where all the trees planted around the meadow are all native species. The Rouge River runs right behind it which must have been great for boating.

The next stop on our agenda is the Dearborn Inn which is an historical inn with a touch of Greenfield Village to it. You have the main inn and then then historical buildings and homes behind it which you can sleep in. It is almost like going on vacation to Greenfield Village.

Our next stop is downtown Detroit in Greektown. Greektown is still a great spot to go to for a nice dinner. There is also Greektown Casino which is inside what used to be Trapper's Alley. Trapper's Alley was a trendy place that people could shop or eat inside. The Bouzouki Lounge used to have bellydancers and singers but now is home to adult entertainment. Even though many people might be afraid to stop in Detroit because of its reputation, Greektown seems to be the exception, people who would otherwise be nervous about being in Detroit are fine with going to Greektown.

Last but not least is my favorite area. Northwest of Detroit is the lake area. We are going to travel north on Orchard Lake road until we reach Orchard Lake itself. From there we can travel from lake to lake. There are so many lakes up here and the setting is so beautiful and tranquil. There is nothing like being on the water to bring you peace.

I hope you have enjoyed our tour of the Detroit Metropolitan Area.

The city that I have always wanted to visit more than any other and still would like to visit more than any other is Athens, Greece. I have always loved Ancient Greek history and anything to do with Athens and Greece but I have been there about 7 times, 14 if you count coming and going at the airport so I need to pick out another city.

There are other citys that I would like to visit such as Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Venice, and Rome but none that come close to Athens on my list of citys to visit. I would love Rome for the history, Venice because it is beautiful, Paris because it seems like there is no other city like Paris, Hong Kong since reading the novel Nobel House by James Clavell, London and Edinburgh for the history and I love to listen to the accents, especially Edinburgh. Out of those I guess i would pick London though.

London has a lot of history and my two favorite historical periods are Ancient Greece and Medieval England. I have been to London, but only the airport on my way to Athens. I would love to see the historical sites and explore the city. After living so close to Detroit, I have no concerns about visiting London although my parents have visited there and the day after they left a bomb went off in the same square that their hotel had been in.

I love British television and movies so they have been a partial influence on my desire to visit there. When I was a teenager I loved anything British, especially the music so that played a part in my choice of London.

Reflections of an Interview

I interviewed a friend of mine who lived on the east side in the city of Detroit, her name is Marcie. She and her roomates lived 1 block south of Grosse Pointe and the difference in those two streets was amazing, totally different, the crime did not seem to ever cross that boundry, someone would get shot on her street but she said that she had never heard that someone was shot just one block up. I have lived all over metro Detroit area, Downriver, Warren, Livonia, Wixom, Farmington Hills, Canton, Redford, and Holly, but never lived in the actual city of Detroit.

Marcie spoke about the gunshots that went off at all hours of the night while she and her roommates lived there, but being in her early twenties at the time, never really thought that it would affect her or her roommates. The house was a huge old house where the landlord rented out the individual rooms but besides the bedrooms, everything else was common area. Once, right before moving out, she was home alone and a group of older teenage boys broke into the house. When she heard that she called her mom, telling her that she heard someone in the house, at that moment they walked into the room where she was and took the phone from her hand. She started crying and then one of the boys got on the phone with her mother and said some things to really scare her before hanging up the phone. Her mother called 911 and drove there as fast as she could, she normally lived at least 45 minutes away and arrived before the police. The boys just took her car keys and then left, not harming her.

I have been lucky that I have never had to live in fear of my life or that of my children, I believe it would be a terrible thing to lose your child. I can't imagine how terrified she must have been and being a mother myself I can't imagine the terror that went through her mother. Things like that make you think about how it really must be living in a place with so much crime.

DETROIT, WHERE THE WEAK ARE KILLED AN EATEN???

When people talk about Detroit, the images are usually not good ones. Even I am not always proud to admit that I am from Detroit, instead I tell people I am from a suburb of the Detroit Metropolitan area. Detroit has a reputation for being a very violent and dangerous place, when I tell people where I am from, they usually recoil in terror.

Hollywood and the media have focused the world's attention on the negative aspects of Detroit. Even here in the Detroit Metropolitan area there are sayings and products geared toward Detroit's dangerous reputation. T-shirts and bumper stickers say things such as Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten. The happy face with a bullet hole in his head is another image that I have seen here in the city itself.

In some ways living in a city with a reputation for being a dangerous place can be a good thing, people will tend to respect you and not mess with you. I personally don't think that Detroit is a bad place to live and think that much of the danger of Detroit is greatly exaggerated.

One thing that I am sure just confirmed what a bad place it would be to live in is what happened with Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was a very corrupt man who took advantage of his position and made the world take notice of Detroit and just confirmed in people's minds that Detroit is a corrupt city as well as dangerous. Several members of the Detroit City Council were charged with crimes of dishonesty as well.

Despite all of the negative images linked to Detroit, it is not a bad place to live. Detroit is right across the river to Canada and has a lot of history attached to it. The people also are not as bad as the media says. There is crime but Detroit can also be a very fun place to be, whether it is Greektown or Mexicantown or any other of the places that can be found in Detroit.