Detroit, a fine place to call home

*Photo courtesy of University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor

The state where I grew up, Michigan, is in complete peril. The ailing auto industry doesn't help, but perhaps the bigger problem is the state's brain drain -- young, entrepreneurial spirits taking their talents to LA, New York, DC, Chicago. I am part of that movement, and I feel bad about it, but I am at the point in my life where I need to be in a vibrant city that is full of life and activity. I need to be a small fish in a big pond, and I need to find my way in the world. Home, as comfortable as it is, doesn't provide that for me. Despite moving away, I have such a sense of pride for Michigan and particularly Detroit. I have spent many of the almost 7 years away from home defending the area where I grew up. I will always root for the Tigers, the Pistons and the Red Wings, no matter who they are up against (and no, I am not being a fair weathered fan -- I have never loved the Lions), and I know I am not the only Michigander who has a strong sense of pride when it comes to Detroit. There are a fighters, like my parents and my brother, who are sticking this out and they are going to come out on top. But there are a lot of others like me, who have fled. Not to make excuses for all of us who are seemingly letting our state go to waste, but I assure you we are not. Everywhere we go, we are advocating for Michigan and advocating for Detroit, if for no other reason than it was the place where so many of our fondest memories were formed. We are showing people, we were made in Detroit and we came out okay. We are fending off the jokes, deflecting the rude opinions, countering the negative newscasts, and telling people about the Detroit WE grew up in (disclaimer, I did not grow up in the City proper, as a consequence of the Detroit's perceived negativity, us suburbians have embraced the City even more strongly and and are proud to reference it as home). We love Detroit, and the City is made of survivors. Detroit pride is out there, it is strong and it will survive. There is a quiet movement approaching on this dark Michigan horizon, and it is sure to turn into a groundswell. This City will recover.

Mitch Albom -- although he would be ashamed I am, perhaps selfishly, not a fighter -- wrote an amazing story about the struggles of Detroit's economy. I have included a segment that particularly resonates with me, but click on the link to read the entire article. I think you will enjoy it, especially if you are a Michigander.

The Courage of Detroit

To outsiders Detroit is crumbling; to those who live in Motown there's hope

And yet Detroit was once a vibrant place, the fourth-largest city in the country, and it lives in the hope that those days, against all logic, will somehow return. We are downtrodden, perhaps, but the most downtrodden optimists you will ever meet. We cling to our ways, no matter how provincial they seem on the coasts. We get excited about the Auto Show. We celebrate Sweetest Day. We eat Coney dogs all year and we cruise classic cars down Woodward Avenue every August and we bake punchki donuts the week before Lent. We don't talk about whether Detroit will be fixed but when Detroit will be fixed.