Detroit is Beautiful

Being born and raised in Detroit's 'burbs, I have developed a protective love for the "D".

Whenever someone bad-mouths it, I get offended and am saddened that the city is not what it once was, even though "what it once was" is not something I have any direct memories of it being, since those days existed before I was even born.

I surely don't know ALL of Detroit. I know it on the periphery...season tickets to the Tigers, season tickets to the Fisher including performances at the Gem and Masonic, a handful of Red Wings games, many trips to the Fox, a brief stint at Wayne State University, a time or two visiting the DIA or the Detroit Opera House, a couple of months working at the Renaissance Center, a couple of trips to the International Auto Show, getting lost at Cobo Hall when I was 5, and things like that. Heck, I've never even been to Eastern Market, (although I hear great things about it)...so I don't claim to know Detroit intimately.

But, I still love it as if I knew it inside out. And I long for it to thrive.

Certainly the trouble (o.k. the enormously deep shit) that the Big 3 are in doesn't provide a bright outlook for the city. And that makes me very, very sad.

For those of you who, like me, love the "D", (and even for those that don't), check out this guy's photography of our city posted on flickr. I started going through the collection entitled "Detroit is Beautiful", and can't wait to find time to sort through the rest of his Detroit collections.

These photos simultaneously evoke my feelings of love and sadness for this city.

I pray that it once again will thrive.