Why I Am Excited To Come Back To Detroit
I started a new thread, because this was not a direct reply to the similarly titled thread down the board.
Detroit has problems. Economy, schools, crime, government, physical infrastructure. Any one of us could go on all day on any sub-category of Detroit's woes. Despite them, I see a few things in the city that make me almost giddy with anticipation of moving back from New York.
Perhaps because I have lived away for a long time, I have a different perspective than someone who is there all the time. I just can't seem to get too jaded about Detroit.
There are tangible assets in Detroit [[museums, sports teams, the waterfront, amazing architecture in all states of being). But there are intangible things as well, and they are infinitely more important.
There is a sense of "Detroitness" that does not have a counterpart in other places I've lived or spent time in [[NY, DC, Chicago, Boston, upstate New York). People have a common heritage that links them to their parents and grandparents, and the things that their neighborhood is now and once was. This sense of attachment causes all of us to have our emotional responses to problems in Detroit, and ecstatic joy at the happy things. When the Yankees won the series this year, it was only of major interest here to the die-hard Yankees fans. Most people- literally more than half- really don't care. Someone is killed in a drive-by in East New York? There are no tears or outrage beyond the immediate friends and neighbors. Detroit's teams spark pride and shame in full measure, and it is borne of love. When the DIA has to cut staff, people are worried as if for members of their family. The Met in NY makes cuts, almost no one is aware, except maybe the city councilman representing the Upper East Side.
The sense of Detroit being more than a city [[and I am not referring to Detroit as the literal city, but a community extending throughout SE Michigan), is real. Day trips to Frankenmuth, going to summer camp up in the thumb, cultural festivals in Hart Plaza, Red Wings tickets for $10 [[including a slice of pizza and a pop) when they were terrible in the 80s. These are ingrained in my mind surely more than anything I've seen in NY [[except 9/11). New York may be where I've been but it's not where I'm at.
When I run into Michiganders here [[or other cities), we instantly bond about Big Ten Football, loving or hating Bill Bonds- most people love AND hate him, I've gathered- fall foliage, our closed parish church, Sanders hot fudge, how much we love the new airport, etc.
People make up the city. What Detroit lacks in money it makes up for in spirit. I wish everyone could see it. European cities were largely rubble after WW2. Far worse than Detroit on its worst day. Yet many came back, thrived, and lived to write a new chapter in their history. Detroit can do that, too. It will not be done by a politician [[politicians can make things worse, but people need to get jobs, maintain their homes, make their kids go to school, etc). I am optimistic that 5 million people in SE Michigan can find 5 million new little stories to add to the one that's been going on here since 1700. Our kids will ask what Tiger Stadium was like. How it felt when the whole state rooted for the Spartans in 2009 [[which melted away my years of Wolverine-loathing almost overnight).
Why am I excited to get back to Detroit? Because I want to be a part of the next chapter in our history. As a small businessman, God-willing. As a homeowner. As a church-goer. As a Tiger fan. As a Spartan. As a Vernors drinker. As a bad bowler. As a whatever else I am today and will be until I die. As a Detroiter.
See you all in 6 months.
