I’ve been hunkered down in the house today. It’s been raining off and on all day, but so far the storms have stayed at bay. Because of the weather, I missed another walk this morning and tomorrow morning is looking a little iffy too. It always rains here when my boss is on vacation, and that is where he is – in the Upper Peninsula for five days. I am holding down the fort, and was left with plenty of work to do – I never seem to catch up these days.
I’ve had the news on in the background as I waded through that work. I decided that Detroit made its mark on the national news for most of the day, pushing the latest presidential titters or Tweets aside, and, even the wildfires’ status is at the bottom of the news stream. The haze from these wildfires has now reached Michigan and made our already-gray sky look hazier and grayer, although, as a result of the wildfires, we are promised some beautiful orangey-pink, and even magenta sunsets ... that is, if the sun remembers to show up. Practically speaking, what are a few hazy skies in our state, when people have lost their lives, homes and possessions, and wildlife and natural beauty have suffered as well?
All eyes are on Detroit today and I mused that usually Detroit, Michigan is well known for its crime, (just Google the 1967 Detroit riot), or renowned for the mischievousness that used to occur on Devil’s Night. And, who can forget when the Tigers won the 1984 World Series and fans’ celebrations got way out of hand?
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But, today the City of Detroit is darn proud of its moniker of "The Motor City" with the impending “Woodward Dream Cruise” and it also shines as people remember home-grown talent Aretha Franklin, who passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier today. The airwaves have been chockfull of tributes to the Queen of Soul, and I heard quite a few things I never knew before about this legend. In the local news, as soon as Aretha Franklin’s death was announced, it bumped the Woodward Dream Cruise reporting to the bottom of the barrel of news stories for today.
You might recall back in June when I made a pit stop at Cruisin' Downriver, the classic car cruise that passes through my city, I mentioned this event was just one of a parade of classic/vintage car cruises held by various localities all Summer, until the granddaddy of all cruises happens this weekend on Woodward Avenue. Its website proclaims the “Woodward Dream Cruise” as the world’s biggest car cruise: http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/
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It is only fitting that Woodward Avenue should host such a grand affair because this was the first paved street in the nation. The cruisers have been out day and night since Monday, though they might have tucked their little gems away today while this rain has been pelting down.
When I was at the “Model A Rendezvous” last Saturday, I took some pictures of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. You can see it parked behind this Model A. When I was done checking out the 86-to-90-year-old cars, I meandered over to this one. I especially like the hula girl and the sticker about White Castle burgers, a/k/a “sliders”.
Sometimes, I wish I’d been around for the fun 50s era to hang out with the likes of Richie Cunningham and his crowd from the “Happy Days” show. Maybe I’d be Richie’s main squeeze with a bouncy ponytail and I’d don a poodle skirt, a blouse with an “L” on the lapel and saddle shoes. It might have been more fun than my teen years, those turbulent times of the 60s and 70s.
Before the flood of Aretha tributes and reflections monopolized the news, there was some car trivia on WWJ this morning. I learned that to be called a “classic” vehicle, it must be at least 25 years old; a “vintage” vehicle must be 50 years old.
Well this Chevy Bel Air is beyond vintage.
Speaking of old, and since it is Throwback Thursday, just for good measure, I threw in a couple of black-and-white photos of me posing with the family car back in the day. Hmmm, I guess this girl could be labeled “vintage” too.
P.S. – Detroit is also known for its Coney dogs, even if they don’t sell ‘em at Arnold’s Drive-In.
You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/
