detroit

Imported From Detroit

So I was in my glory Superbowl night. Not because my favorite team was playing – I don’t even have a favorite team. I don’t watch pro football. And not because I was excited by the cornucopia of finger foods & libations that usually put me on cloud nine for the annual awesome commercial fest. In fact, the reason Superbowl Sunday was such a a joy for me was not something I could have anticipated. It was a complete surprise. Three of my favorite things were brought together in one commercial and it was delicious. The Eminem Chrysler spot.

By now probably every one has seen the ad. I will post it anyway just in case someone has managed to miss it. Also because people are watching it over and over. Myself included. I had goosebumps. If you try and tell me you didn’t have some sort of emotional reaction – that you didn’t feel SOMEthing – I will call you a liar.

I have written a lot about my feelings on the automobile industry. Much of it was “lost” when we went to the new format. Hehe. It was pretty opinionated – negative even, some might say.  I’ll just sum it up. Buy American. =)

Take that a step further and more specific – I love Chrysler. I’m a jeep girl. Hubs is a Dodge truck guy.  It’s not only all he has driven for years, but he also builds them.

Next stop connecting the dots is our first date was in Detroit. For better or worse that makes a warm spot in my heart for D-Town.  I think most people in Flint feel a connection to Detroit though. We have a lot in common with our big sister city, from auto making to thriving & decline – our cities can relate.

Bringing the line full circle is Eminem. I love him. My whole family loves him – he is a common ground for us. He is an anthem for my angsty teenage son. My 11 year old daughter “is not afraid” because Eminem told her not to be. The nation loves him. The whole world loves him. But he’s ours.  He doesn’t talk much so when he does, people listen.  And when he does speak you know he means it.

So imagine the goosebumps and choked upness when those three things came together – out of nowhere – packing such a punch.  “Detroit is alive. We work hard. We made this bad ass car. Buy it.” Who’s gonna argue with Eminem? From the incredible response to the ad, nobody wants to.

Here’s the ad for your enjoyment. And FYI Chrysler just renewed their Friends and Family program so track down your favorite Chrysler worker and see what kind of discount they can get you. =D

detroit

Ernie Harwell’s Michigan

Ernie Harwell said, “In my almost 92 years on this earth the Good Lord has blessed me with a great journey. The blessed part of that journey is it’s going to end right here in Michigan.”

Wow.  Ernie Harwell has been described using words like “lovely”, “angelic”, and “beloved.” One of the most beloved men in sports history considers association with our state a blessing.  At a time when Michigan is being beat up, residency is declining, and our neighborhoods are facing downsizing, Ernie’s words are a welcome sentiment. At a time when Flint and Detroit are the focus of unflattering headlines and headlining negative statistics, we get to claim the voice and heart of baseball as our very own. And he was proud of it. Does that mean we’re not so bad afterall?

Yes.

I am not denying that we have some real serious issues here in Flint, or saying  that we shouldn’t feel bad about them. But all the bad press and negativity in general, I believe, takes a negative toll on us as individuals and as communities. Look, as people we are already suffering and struggling with a toe in the door of feeling worthless due to our own issues with job, finances, home, etc. So when we hear the commentary about the mess we live in that comes from across the country and from within our own borders, it is easy to be pushed right through that door and become locked up in our own den of negativity.  No good change can come from within those walls.

You want to hear something odd? I don’t get it. I don’t feel like I live in this desperate location that is our nation’s punchline. Maybe it’s like a kid who is poor but doesn’t realize it because he thinks everyone goes to bed hungry.  I know there’s pain. But I drive through the cultural area in the spring and summer and see beauty in the architecture and landscape all around me. I am infected by the festive energy at the Farmer’s Market. I go to the Art Fair in June and visit with artists and walk through FIA and am overwhelmed by talent and creativity and hope. I admit that many days are met with struggles that take me down if I let them. But when I look around at what is available to me and the efforts of the people around me  – sometimes I am bold enough to think not about how pitiful we are, as the news tells us every day, but how GREAT the rest of the country must be if everyplace else goes up from here.

My point is, we’re tough, Flint Stones.  We’re making it in a place where other, more sissy types, could never imagine living. Maybe the odds really are stacked against us and nobody expects us to succeed as individuals, as communities, as cities… but you know – the odds were also stacked against a young boy born 92 years ago with a tongue tying speech impediment who went on to become the most influential baseball announcer of all time.

In a complicated world, in complicated times,  Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully was able to sum Ernie Harwell up very simply.  He said that he cared for people and he loved baseball.  Everybody loves something don’t they? What a beautiful and fool proof formula for success – focus on what you love and enjoy while caring for every person you encounter. If I was surrounded by people who lived according to that credo, I couldn’t be convinced that there was any better “place” to be.

I’m not a big sports fan. Tiger Baseball & Wolverine Football is the extent of my interest. I don’t even watch baseball much anymore because the timing just doesn’t work. But my childhood experiences spent watching with my Dad or just hearing the crack of  the bat and Ernie Harwell’s voice in the background have ingrained in me these beautiful images and warm feelings that awaken at the mere sound of a game on tv today.  And even though I’m not much of a sports fan I am a Mitch Albom fan. His Farewell to Ernie Harwell makes it very plain that I am not the only one who will carry those warm fuzzy memories forever.