It's Like Cheers Only Topless

The Booby Trap is one of the many topless bars that litter the Detroit side of Eight Mile road. This road divides one of the poorest large cities in the U.S. with one of the nations wealthiest counties. Eight Mile road is a symbol of the racial divide that began with the "white flight" to the suburbs in the 1950s. The 1967 Detroit riots then accelerated this movement to the suburbs. As recently as the last census, Southeast Michigan maintained its status as the most segregated metropolitan area in the country. I have only seen white males entering the Booby Trap. I guess the desire for pornography has no boundaries.

It's a Wonderful Life

I went to the movies last night. No, I didn't see the latest blockbuster. Instead I saw It's a Wonderful Life at the Redford theater, complete with an intermission and Christmas music played on a pipe organ.
I love the social aspect of going to the movies at the Redford . Things like waiting in line under the marquee to buy tickets, the conversations during the intermission, and the way the theater erupts in laughter at just the right moments.
I think the best part of the night was that the theater handed out bells and told the kids to ring them every time they heard the word "angel".
The Redford theater is very unique. The organ is actually a system of pipes and various other musical instruments. The organ was originally used during the silent movie era.

Lola Good Ears

This is Lola. Before she was adopted, they called her Lolo. She came with one of her sons... Sonny. He was too small and kept slipping through the fence. With 3 dogs and 2 cats the household began to feel more like a zoo. There was an attempt to fostering both of them and when the time came it was decided to only adopt Lola. I recently received an email that indicated Sonny was adopted by a family with a little girl who just loves him to pieces.

Lola is our protector. She is primarily responsible for Tinkerbell, but she protects all of us from danger. Danger most often manifests itself in the form of cats and squirrels, and neighbors too.

Tinkerbell

I love this dog. While technically she is not mine, just try telling either of us that we are not part of the same pack. She is getting so old. At 13 years, she can barely hear. This is why Lola joined the pack last year.
Lola is Tink's dog. Lola is responsible for making sure that Tink knows when there is a threat and that barking should commence. Lola also protects Tinkerbell from clumsy me. Lola is right there to make sure all of us are not in any danger. I will introduce Lola next...

... And Now Winter is Here!

The weather gurus are calling for 6" to 9" here in southeast Michigan. Only the major streets get plowed in the city. The neighborhood association pays to have our alleys plowed. This means that I can get out of my garage and to the end of the alley before I am likely to get stuck. We are just one block from plowed freedom, known as Woodward Avenue.

So close and yet so far.

Where Did Summer Go?

I took this picture on one of the last nice days of summer, just before the leaves turned brown and fell. The neighborhood kids can literally play in the street and not worry about cars (although the police seem to think it is a shortcut to just about anything they need to do in the neighborhood).
This is also the center of the neighborhood. At the end of this street is a large park that the dogs think is theirs. In the evening it is one of the most peaceful places in the city.

The Back Porch After...

Th porch is still a work in progress. Once I finished construction I found out that the wood could not be painted for 2 months. With that said, I probably won't finish this project until next May.
You can't see it in this picture, but the facia, soffit, and gutters have all been demo'd. I am not sure how I am going to get the new wood 18 feet in the air. Most likely it will be a job for the neighborhood handyman.

The Back Porch Before...

This is me destroying the back porch. If you look at the bottom of the column that holds up the porch room (far left in the photo), you can see that there is a large amount of rot. This is the reason the porch needed to be rebuilt.
Once I demo'd the porch I found that the columns holding the porch were constructed no better than if they had used matchsticks and bubble gum. Eventually everything you see was demo'd and filled an entire dumpster.

Uniroyal Tire - Detroit, MI

It is the Uniroyal tire that can be seen from eastbound I-94. This tire was originally a ferris wheel for the 1964/1965 World's Fair in New York city. I pass it every day on my way home from work. In the evening it is lit up like a Christmas tree.