Detroit is affectionately known as "THE 313"(area code of course), and a few of us took some time to say "Happy 313th Birthday Detroit!". July 24, 2014 marked the city's landmark day that hosted many events going on around town. Even though Detroit has had its share of obstacles to overcome, it or should I say "we" still have a great deal we're fighting for and a great legacy to leave behind. I am proud to call myself a Detroiter and everywhere I go to speak, I wear my Detroit Tigers hat and tell my story of how I was born, raised and still live in the city of Detroit. We are a city that innovated manufacturing for the world, we are the reason the world drives cars and... we are the home of the Motown Sound! This city has changed the course of music not only in this nation, but the world!It may be a clichéd statement but it is very much true...If you can make it in Detroit, you can make it anywhere. Truth is people in this city have a resilience that I haven't seen anywhere else. We are strong spirited people with a resolve to overcome and NEVER QUIT! We took a photographic bus tour of Detroit on its 313th birthday to learn, highlight and honor the history and thriving infrastructure of our city and we had a blast! Take a look at some of the photographs taken and enjoy!Remember, Detroit is still here! And we are coming back! #ROCKTHAT ...
Thursday, November 01, 2012
A few weeks ago I posted on social media my encounter with Bobby a homeless man who pan handles in and around Metro Detroit. I decided to repost with a photograph I took of Bobby with his permission.--Talked to Bobby, a homeless guy that pan handles off the Lodge 8 mile service drive Detroit/Southfiled, MI border. I asked him, "Why do you dance and bow before people and seem to be happy all the time being homeless?" His answer, "When it's hot outside I sleep on rocks, when it's cold I try to get enough money to get a room, most times I do, sometimes I don't...but every morning I wake up, I'm grateful because God has given me another chance, so I dance." His statement brought tears to my eyes. How dare I ever be down on my luck when a man who has not much to his name still finds cause to be grateful and filled with joy.Ladies and Gentlemen, this what I see when I SEE DETROIT. It is this type of attitude among the people here that I find more often than not. It shows that you're environment doesn't have to dictate to you, your attitude does. Awesome guy with an awesome outlook on life. I learned something from Bobby that day.
The more I live, the more I realize that this life doesn't belong to me. To some people that may sound really weird, but it's the truth. I realize now more than ever that there are those that paved a way and laid a foundation before me so I can walk on something solid. My life is made up of accomplishments built on foundations that other people laid. Wow, what a thought! How dare I take credit for anything I've done. There have been men slain, women working four and five jobs just to barely make it while raising families, communities have marched and stood in the face of oppression, demanded education when it was vehemently denied and died holding on to a resolve that life will be better for forth coming generations...All holding on to one great galvanizing factor. GOD! In all of the history that I read of people overcoming great ordeals and standing when they should had given up long ago, was their belief in the Great GOD Almighty who had assigned them to stand in the face of wrong and was on their side. A God that built a people for endurance so in the end they could show that there certainly is a God that really exist.In today's generation, we give up so quickly and there is such a lack of resolve. People don't fight like they used to for marriages and children and families and relationships and businesses. My belief is this... If the belief in God got my ancestors through ...