Tiger Town

My dear friend, Maureen, grew up in Michigan. She has been there recently and suggested that we avoid Detroit at all costs. It is a decaying example of urban blight and can be pretty scary if you drive into the wrong neighborhoods. Maureen also worked at The Henry Ford, only before it became The. This is a museum of all type of stuff and a village with all types of stuff and a tour of an auto manufacturing plant. I really wanted to see this, even though Karen reminded me that it contained the three things I hate the most - heat, crowds and a lot of walking. So, of course, we were going to do just two things in Michigan: visit The Henry Ford and Detroit.

We stayed at a Motel 6 outside Dearborn. This was Peter's first experience at these institutes of traveling torture. We stayed two nights. The first night I was in a smoking room and it exacerbated a sore throat I've had for weeks. We asked for non-smoking, but this seems to be out of the ken of many night desk people. The great thing was that there was a fireworks show several miles away that we could see from our rooms. I don't like being close to fireworks, but I love being miles away. It went on for a very long time.

The next day we went to The Henry Ford. It was an amazing day, weather wise. I was taking a cup of coffee to the car when I felt a few drops. If I'd been in California, it would have been a few drops for a while. But I remembered we weren't in CA anymore and that in this part of the world, a few drops becomes a drenching in seconds. Yes, I moved fast. And I was right. It poured for about 5 minutes. Wierd.

Because of the chance of more showers, we did not go to the village. We wanted to go on the tour of the auto plant, but it was closed. The ticket seller mentioned that it was the change in the model year and sort of muttered something about a slowdown. Duh, of course. Auto makers in the US are in really hard times. It was a shame not to have seen the real deal. But we went to the museum instead.

They had a lot of interesting exhibits, including this car on the left that had been exploded to show its simplicity. The first thing we saw were examples of different styles of furniture. Karen said she never thought she'd go to a museum called Ford and see furniture. But never fear, they also had a lot of cars. They even had a car test dummy that I became friendly with. Karen said it looked like I was being protective, but really, I was just playing with his knee.

We went to Detroit the next day to visit with Scott, Becky and their boys. They are working on every street in Michigan. This meant that the major arteries into Detroit were closed. We were detoured through several areas that I would consider to be less than desireable. But we lived. We were heading toward a place called Greektown. All I knew was that it was or was close to a casino. I did have some hope that we would be eating Greek food, but you never know with casinos. We did have Greek food AND we got to meet these two cute little boys. On the left is Wesley, who was showing me that when he stamps his feet, his shows light up. His brother, Austin, was also delightful. We walked across the street after dinner and found hundreds of Detroit Tiger fans. We found out that the new stadium is just a few blocks away from Greektown. What I saw was not an old decaying city. They are trying very hard to revitalize the city, against huge odds. I wish them well. The part we found was a lot of fun.

The Ramblers +1

Zip - Indiana

The most exciting part about our hour drive through Indiana was getting on the road. When I took my car to the public car park in Chicago, the guy asked me when I'd be leaving. I told him Friday. It was Monday at the time. He did remember me when I returned. But then, he'd been looking at that car for some time. Then he flooded it. I guess sitting for four days, full of low grade gas and ethanol didn't do the car any good.

It just wouldn't start, so I called AAA. The nice man on the other end of the phone walked me through a lot of stuff. Then he asked me if I had a preferred garage. Oh shit. I tried to start the car one more time and it finally turned over. Peter was behind the car, rearranging our luggage or the deck chairs. Poor thing was blasted by all the bad crude that had been building up over the four days. The guy on the phone was as happy as I was. He asked if there was anything else he could do for me, because that's what all Customer Service people do. I told him my hair was looking pretty yucky at the moment; maybe if he suggested going to a salon it would miraculously shape up. But no.

Our drive through Indiana must have taken all of 1.5 hours. It's hard to tell because we were on a lovely freeway and we were in Michigan before we thought to think about it. What I have been thinking about, not just in Indiana or Michigan is the awful things that are happening at my dear old Times.

Doom on Spring Street

Mr. Zell and his minions of idiots announced that they would be reducing the staff by 250 people. 150 would come from Editorial. The other 100 would come from departments that Editorial never notices. We now know that one of those people was the Publisher, David Hiller. It was announced that he decided to leave. The reality was, of course, that he was asked to leave. Welcome to The Times, David. I hope he knew this was hazardous duty when he agreed to take on this step-child of the tribune company.

The 150 from Editorial have been announced. After looking at the list, you can guess who was asked to leave and who raised his hand high over his head and shouted "me, me, me." If you are of a certain age or have another job lined up, the offer is very generous. If you are young and putting kids through school, you would prefer to hold on to the job you've got. I send my far away best wishes to both groups.

My dear friends in IT are now messing with their re-org and disposition of their employment. This is dreadful. Everything I have is crossed, wishing all my friends well. It's just not a happy times at The Times.

The Ramblers + 1

The Lap

We had been on the Road East for two weeks when we arrived in Chicago. Okay, it hasn't been hell by any stretch of the imagination. But I spent that week on the boat being spoiled - remember? And every Motel 6 has been a challenge. So, Chicago. Now that was a totally different story. I love Chicago. There is so much to do. The architecture is fabulous. The food is outstanding. Peter flew in on Monday and will be joining us for the rest of the trip.

So, what did I do? First, let me show you the place where we were staying: The Flemish House. I have stayed there before. I loved it before. It is in the Gold Coast area of Chicago, right across from Oak Street Beach on Lake Michigan. We had the first floor. I was in the studio in the back. Karen and Peter were in the front with a sitting room and bedroom. The studio was the best. I didn't know that, but if you ever stay in this place, you should save money and stay in the back.

I found a grocery store down the street, so I bought groceries so I could cook. Karen and Peter (K&P) came over every morning for breakfast. We ate two dinners in my room. I know. Chicago is filled with fabulous restaurants. We did eat at Bistro Zinc, around the corner from the house. It was okay, but not fabulous. The closest I came to fabulous was a lunch at The Big Bowl on our street. I had a Vietnamese spring roll and a bowl of Thai soup. Num. Just like home.

K&P went out every day and explored the city. They had never been there before and had a wonderful time. I spent most of my time inside my room, but did go out to visit with friends at the tribune. Yes, I have a couple of friends in that dreadful building. I had lunch with Laura. I'd been in India with her and we had been working with helpdesk issues before and after that trip. After a really good lunch at Bandara we met with Erik in the cafeteria. Erik was responsible for IT Security at The Times and moved back to Chicago where he came from to be closer to the action. He's having a wonderful time with the new Zell management. No sarcasm this time. He is the only person I know who has landed in a good spot with that group. The only person. I've just spell-checked this and Zell is not a word. Well, it is a word, just not one I want to put in this blog.

The last night we went to see the taping of the NPR program "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." This is a favorite for the three of us. Our favorite panelists were not on, but we had a good time anyway. One of the panelist, Charlie Pierce, reminds me of my old pal, Dean, from the HelpDesk. He laughs at everyone's jokes and sounds a lot like Dean. Tom Bodett, who leaves the light on for us whenever we stay at Motel 6, was also on the panel. We all like his understated humor.

It was raining cats and dogs that night. The weather has been amazing on this trip. It is usually temperate. When it gets too hot, it rains. Fun. Anyway, this was the icing on the cake for us. We had a wonderful time, each of us in our own way. And we certainly enjoyed our four days in the lap of luxury.

The Ramblers + 1

Taliesin - Frank Lloyd Wright

Since we were not eating a lot of cheese, our main interest in Wisconsin was Frank Lloyd Wright and his home, Taliesin. Madison was our stopping spot the night before our tour of the home. This is, of course, the capitol of Wisconsin. It is also an isthmus. The only isthmus I'd ever learned about was the one in Panama. Teachers are missing a bet by not teaching about Madison. The capitol building is square in the middle of this bit of land. All the streets surrounding it are one way.

Karen and I decided to find some of the homes that Wright designed in the area. We didn't have a very good map. The frustration of driving to nowhere on all those one way streets was overwhelming. Madison was really beautiful: lovely homes and great waterfront areas. It will take me only a little more time to get over the fact that we found none of the Wright homes in the area.

We got to Taliesin early so we had lunch in the museum cafe which overlooked the Wisconsin river. That is the view on the left. The tour is very interesting. The house itself is the third iteration of the building built on that site. Our tour guide was a little skittish about talking about the Wrights' personal life. She did mention the fire that burned down the first house. Bless Wikipedia for the rest of the story.

Wright had left his wife and 6 children for the wife of one of his clients. He built Taliesin for this woman and her children. A fire started and a servent killed many of the people in the house, including the woman and her children. The house was rebuilt, Wright married a second woman. The house burned down again. They eventually divorced and he married Olga, who was his wife until his death when he was over 90 years old.

Wright's buildings leave a lot to be desired. They are always interesting to look at. They always leak like sieves. I don't know why anyone would have wanted one of his buildings. The tour guide had drunk the koolaid, however, and said that you have to accept the bad with the revolutionary. Right.

We spent the night at another great Motel 6. Wisconsin gave us a stunning bon voyage thunderstorm. I don't think I've ever seen so much lightening and rain. We opened our curtains and laid in bed until the storm had passed. It was very quick. This is a whole new type of weather for us California girls. Our biggest surprise was the downed tree next to my car. Thank you, Wisconsin, for not giving us more of a thrill than we were ready to accept.


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