Detroit has had its share of racial strife. In 1943 there was a race riot with largely white aggressors that started at the Belle Isle Bridge extending into the poorest section of the city, Paradise Valley. The town was booming from the war effort and migrants from the South both black and white were taking jobs and housing. I wasn't around for this and had to look it up. In 1967 when I was 17, violence broke out after a police raid on a blind pig (after hours drinking spot) at Twelfth and Claremont. The unrest went on for about 6 days. My family lived 3 miles from the city limits. We watched the TV nervously hoping to stay out of harms way. 1967 was a boiling hot summer, and there were lots of businesses on fire and looting from what we could see on the tube. National Guard troops were deployed. The destroyed neighborhoods stayed that way for many decades.
In the next year, 1968, a bellwether event occurred. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series over Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals. We had been watching this great team for the entire summer but never thought they could possibly take home the trophy. After the last game, a celebration occurred unlike anything I had ever seen. My friend Jerry Bell and I went up and down Woodward Ave. cheering and shaking hands with revelers black and white. It was truly a redemptive event maybe marking a pause in the darkness.
So much for this redacted history lesson. Back to truth, head out of the sand truth. We all need to get vaccinated. Those with chronic conditions like me with diabetes need to take it seriously and treat it. And I am loosing my hair, at 71, we have had a good run, with Beatle bangs and mullets. Getting up off the floor is not as easy as it once was. And my favorite line from any politician for this year is from former Speaker John Boehner: "Ted Cruz can go f*ck himself. It still makes me laugh.
all for now
stay safe
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