a Detroit Post Script


In the fall of 1908 the Ford Motor Company introduced it's first car - the Model T
you all know this but what you might not know is

Woodward Avenue in the 1890s, looking north from downtown Detroit

that in 1909, the stretch of Woodward Avenue between Six Mile and Seven Mile Roads in Detorit became the first mile of road in the world to be paved with concrete.  It carrys the designation M-1 today - the first Michigan mile paved.  Detroit's main street.


Today the total length of Woodward Avenue is 21.48 miles.  It connects downtown Detroit with Pontiac to the north.  We lived closer to Pontiac than downtown but when I was in high school the thing to do on Saturday night was to cruise Woodward.  You know, I am sure that every town has a street the kids all went to be seen and to drag race on.  My dad said when he was a kid living in Detroit, they use to cruise Woodward.

Woodward in 1931, a little less crowed than I remember

Henry Ford with Thomas Edison and Harvery Firestone in Fort Myers, Florida, February 11, 1929.  That's near where we live in Florida.  We go through Fort Myers to go visit my mom and dad.  Edison had a winter home there on the river.

When my grandfather was 16 he swept floors in Henry Ford's shop in Detroit.  He said that the thing that surprised him the most in his whole life, he was 96 by then, was the car.  He said never in his wildest dreams when he saw those first cars did he think they would ever swell to the sheer number there are today (he said this at least 25 years ago now) and he never imagined the roads and infrastructures that came along with the car - mind boggling - he said.


When I was growing up, he and grandma lived by the 9 mile.  That's how they said it, the 9 mile. Woodward was the road we used weekly to visit them and they us.  Just last week, my brother drove all the way to the airport on Woodward.  I was surprised to see that Grandpa's trailer park is long gone, of course so is Grandpa.

Woodward Avenue is still there.

autumn equinox

I just gave a party that no one came to, seriously.  Thank nature for families, my daughter came and brought the kids and even brought a friend with her son, so we had a great time, but  none of the other people I invited came.  I even mailed out cute invitations.  L. would have come, she loved the idea but she was out of town.  P. was caretaking some puppy with a broken leg,  J. just got home from Vegas and W. only cares about the halloween party which I am not having now.  Oh and Beth’s neighbors S. and G. did not come, either did E.  It was Beth’s other friends kids first birthday.  Oh well I tried.  

I miss the pagans of the west coast, they would not miss celebrating an equinox.

I love the equinoxs and the solstices, they are non-religious, not political or cultural but experienced by every person on the planet, wether they know it our not, in a 24 hour period – it is a celestial event 4 times a year, a celebration of the change of the seasons.  Autumn Equinox, the end of summer and the beginning of fall, the light split in two, equal day and equal night.  The days will start getting shorter now to the Winter Solstice when we have the shortest day of the year and the longest night.  That is a great celebration, December 21^st.  It it the retuning of the light and the lengthing of the days.  Ah the cycle of life.

I think I'll have a party.

my adorable brother

and his adorable children

that's Bella on the left and Cooper on the right

It was the first time that I ever visited his house by myself.  I did come back to Michigan for his wedding, I think that was 1998?  Mom and Dad were there and so was William.  We stayed at their house and I looked around our old neighborhood a little.  He has his own place now and it just seemed like time to visit, I was really glad I did.

It was strange looking at everything and reminding myself that I had been there before.  I looked for my reaction, there wasn’t any.  It did not feel like home and I was not attracted to it.  We were at the light near the cemetery where our school band marched every year, any feelings?  No.  Everything looked so different anyway and everything looked so much the same as anywhere else, same restaurants, same stores, same services, same road, same same same.  I feel like I was born in northern California, where I arrived at 23.



No palms trees here, but wow, I forgot how  Michigan can grow grass!  The lawns there are awesome, green and thick like a velvet rug.  The west coast and Florida do not grow grass like this.  I was so excited about the lawn that I mowed the backyard while I was there.  You have to understand, my family are golfers and they have always been into their grass.  That was my job when I was growing up, to cut the lawn.  We had a corner lot, and the lawn seemed huge.  Riding my bike by the other day, it was not huge, but a good sized lawn.  The house though seemed little and the trees had grown into giant old trees. 

this was my old street, Grace K

the whole subdivision was built in 1958 out of the King Ranch

and all the streets had King on the end or a K

the huge old house with lots of out buildings was there when I was growing up

it's a gas station now....

It was nice to see that the people who lived there now took good care of the place.  I think it is the same color that it was when my parent’s had it.  They have added some fences and gardens.  It was really nice to see that they were taking care of it.  Mom will like to hear that.

 yep, there it is, the house I grew up in

I took so many photos of our old house, that a woman came to the window.  I rode away.  I thought maybe I should tell her not to worry, I was just interested as I had grown up in that house, 1961 to 1970 when I went away to collage.  I think my parent’s lived there until 1986, they lived there 25 years, me only 9, maybe that is why I do not feel connected to the place.  I did not stop and tell her who I was.  I figured if I really wanted to I could write her, funny how I have never forgotten that address.

this is Lotus Lake, the lake I grew up in

we swam and boated  all summer and then ice skated all winter

I was a life guard here when I was in high school

the fountain to the left is an island we use to swim to

now it has a house and that fountain on it......

I rode over to my old grade school - it was gone!

When I picture the years of my life in my head, they are three dimension and they are larger and longer before I went to college than after, but when you  see the numbers one dimensionally I see that it was not a big part of my life. 9 years in that house.  Then I spent 4 years in collage, 2 teaching in a small town in Michigan, 8 years in northern California and 20 in Port Townsend.  6 in southern Oregon and 2 so far in Florida….  and though Mom and dad lived in that house for 25 years, that is how long it has been since they haven't!

7 - Detorit, 9- Waterford, 4 - Kalamazoo, 2 – Coldwater, 8 – Garberville, 20 – Port Townsend, 6 – Myrtle Creek, 2 - Englewood 

7 – 9 – 4 – 2 – 8 – 20 – 6 – 2 = 60  how old I will be next august.  Wow, how time flies.

Anyway, I had a great time with my brother.  There is just no one so fun to talk about your parent’s with.  Know one knows what your early home life was like better than siblings.  It was great to be there with him, see his house, hang out in his yard, meet his friends and just be happy to have a brother.  He is my only sibling and almost 9 years younger, but the older we get, the less the age difference seems.

Michigan

It's like America's first high five.....

garden update

I am actually not sure my yard technically qualifies as a garden, I only have one watermelon that is edible all the rest are desert for the eyes.....

the passion vines have now completely taken over the fence

they are at the end of their fence and are now

working their way onto the next fence

my friend's here tell me that it will eventually pull down the fence!

I guess I will have to do some pruning

does anyone know what plant this is?

I found the seeds in Mexico this year and liked them so much

I brought them home

they were small, hard and very shinny black

with one orange spot on them

here is what the whole plant looks like

I am so amazed I got them to grow from seeds!!

I am not usually so lucky

and of course the hibiscus are lovely and blooming like crazy now

I have pink

orange

 a double orange and a deep red one

I am really excited about this vine too

I started it from seeds I collected in Mexico

it is one of my favorites, it has clusters of little pink flowers

I have seen it down here so I am not bringing in some invasive vine....

this one is not blooming yet

the ginger plants are in pots in the front of the house

the watermelon

it is the third one we have had and they came up volunteer

orchid on the lanai

I saved the best for last

and the reason I wanted to do this blog was to show you this

this

the amazing flower of a plant that grows on the side of our small pond

it was a nice surprise

the pictures do not really do justice to these plants

you should come sit in the yard with us

9/10/11     cool date!

My angels left last night.  I was glad to have at least 2 (if not the prescribed 3) friends to send my angels too.  They are both awesome woman.  Thank you so much!

When the angels left last night I opened the door and let them out.  I thanked them and honored them, out loud.  It did feel a little strange, but I have no close neighbors.   I tried to be open to the possibility of angels really being with me all week.  If they want to come and help us, great, I need all the help I can get.

Did I imagine that it was a special week?  True I was by myself which is rare.  The one thing that really stood out - was that there were so many butterflies in the yard this week, lots of different kinds of butterflies.  Probably just a coincidence, it could have just been a hatch, but nice timing don’t you think?

Every day that the angels were here, I drew 3 angel cards in the morning.  Does everyone have a pack of angel cards?  Oh I hope so, they are lovely little cards with a word on them and a sweet angel graphic doing the word, little thoughts for the day, or occasion or moment.  It focused my thoughts for the day.

day 1  awaking, enthusiasm, vision

day 2  grace, delight, balance

day 3  efficiency, healing, respect

day 4  clarity, blank!, synthesis
 
         (blank is good, I get to put in any word I want, I put in "write")

day 5  discernment, responsibility, purpose

day 6  intuition, contentment, expectancy

I have to fess up that I let the angels out late.  I did not want them to go.  It was weird, I was spot on 10:30 pm when they came but not 10:30 pm when they left, more like 11:45.  Oh well, I did the best I could and they are on their way now to their next home to work their magic.

Wikipedia describes angels as spiritual beings, often referred to as messengers of god.  Angels we have heard on high.  I found it very interesting that the christian and hebrew bibles and even the quran, all describe angels in about the same way.  Funny, now it seems to be a woo woo, hippie way out there thing to believe in angels, but it has been at the root of all 3 great world religions.  We have all heard of guardian angels.  Since the beginning of recorded time, humans have been talking about angels.  Its thread runs through almost all religions. Admittedly the wing idea came later….

(Just so you know: the City of Los Angeles was not really named after the angels, but after Mary, who is described in Roman Catholic traditions as Queen of the angels related to various places. In LA's case, the place is the Porciuncula River: the original name of the town was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula [Los Angeles] River). Porciuncula means 'Little Portion', and is a reference to the chapel near Assisi, Italy, where the Franciscan movement started. In turn, that chapel is in a basilica whose original or full name came from the Catholic story of the ascent of Mary into heaven, accompanied by many angels.) 

http://www.spirithome.com/angels.html



"CMT has tapped View sister Elisabeth Hasselbeck as host of its new series, “Angels Among Us,” premiering Sept. 15 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The four-episode “Angels” series, according to CMT, “features everyday men and women who believe they were delivered from tragedy through angelic encounters.”  Hasselbeck will present their true-life stories through interviews with the survivors, eye-witness accounts and reenactments.

The debut episode of “Angels Among Us” will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, featuring Genelle Guzman-McMillan, Ron DiFrancesco and John Yates, whose lives were changed when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Guzman-McMillan was on the 13th floor of Tower One when it collapsed on top of her. She believes an angel held her hand until she became the last victim pulled from the rubble 27 hours later. DiFrancesco was one of four survivors from above the impact zone of Tower Two, escaping death after he heard an otherworldly voice urging him to run into the fire. And at the Pentagon, Yates pushed through massive injuries towards safety with the help of something extraordinary."

Read more:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/angelsonyourshoulder/2011/09/fearless-friday-angels-among-us.html#ixzz1Xc2EncdL



It is not known precisely where angels dwell - whether in the air, the void, or the planets.  It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.  - Voltaire

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."  - Hebrews 13:2

thank you angels, come back anytime

great labor day in downtown Englewood

pioneer days parade

this years theme was the spirit of Englewood

I overheard people talking and no one really knew what it meant

cool parade anyway

we had great seats in the shade as the kids got there early

she and her friend Becca and her cool family were there

they grew up in Englewood

how lucky of us to be hanging with the locals!  Ha ha!

Becca's sister was there from Orlando

what would pioneer days be without a stage coach

did they have those in Florida?

Emily especially loved the horses

can you see the water at the end of the street

little downtown on the water, just like Port Townsend

except it was hot, luckily we were in the shade

this one is the peace float, see the peace symbols

shriners in little cars

must be parade fare everywhere

ponce de leon and the conquistadors

wow, only in Florida

pioneer days, maybe

spirit of Englewood - doubtful

colorful, this one reminded me of Wild Olympic Salmon

a little

girls driving tractors, go pioneers

here is Hanna, Becca's daughter walking with her team

sorry, I wish this was a better photo of this beautiful young woman

a lot of spirit here

good bye and see you labor day

at the Englewood pioneer days

!!

I recently got an e-mail from a good friend who wanted to know if I could host 3 angels for a week.  Being the pragmatic person I am, I wrote and asked her if these were real people.  If they were, then no, this was the week Willi would be gone and it was my only chance to be alone in my house and I was looking forward to it.  She said no, not real people, so I said sure.  They are coming tonight at 10:30 pm.  I need to be here, open the door and let them in.  Same with when they leave, Friday, 10:30 pm, I need to be here to open the door and let them out.  I am supposed to find 3 other people to receive them after me and put their names in an envelope on the altar I have made for them.  I sent out 3 requests today, got one fast NO back.  So hopefully the angels will not be too stressed to have to wait to find out where they are going next.  If you are interested – let me know.

In addition, I am to write 3 wishes on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope and put it on the altar.  Three wishes.  The angel invitation says “that when it comes to wishes you may want to stretch your acceptance beyond your norm”.  I don’t know about you, but I am already beyond my norm, welcoming angels into the house.  I am open to it though – why not.  Angels granting me wishes, what could be sweeter than that!

I have set up my altar on the buffet in the dining room, it is already a sort of alter, with a large Buddha, flanked by tall white tapers on each side.  The top of the buffet is covered in my most special things; my bowl of fossilized shark teeth that I have found at our local beach, a small bowl of Plush diamonds, or Oregon diamonds, that we searched for in the wild several years ago, also a handmade bowl full of round stones that I found on a beach on the pacific coast.   I have included a large white candle as the directions indicated.  It also said white flowers, I put 3 white dwarf Zinnias from my garden in a small glass next to the candle.  I include my Mexican folk art piece of a skeleton at a computer, to help with my writing wishes, I included a new penny, expanding my writing wish to actually make it work financially.  I put an Italian plum in a small dish as an offering, also a glass of water in my nicest little hand blown blue glass.  The directions suggested an apple, but a plum should be fine, don’t you think?

So now I just need to work on my wishes.  Sounds easy, who doesn’t have tons of wishes?   Coming down to 3 meaningful ones is not so easy.  I am thinking health first.  What good is anything if you do not have your health?  A healthy and long life, or is that 2 wishes, healthy and long?  I will just go for healthy, feeling good, able to eat many things and enjoy them, not getting cancer or some horrible painful disease.  Is that a wish in itself?  Or does the good health wish cover it?  I think it does.

Moving on.  My next wish is to be a fabulous writer.  With the discipline to write several books.   Fabulous so I can make a difference in the world.  I want my writing to help people in their lives, give them hope, encouragement, practical knowledge and humor.   Famous, as in many people will read my books, they will become complete successes and I will be sought after for advice, interviews and talk shows.   They will beg me to teach a semester at some big university.  I will sell the movie rights for a fantastic sum of money.  I will work on the movie and even have a walk on cameo, meeting many other famous and interesting people.   I will help my family and friends and buy that big beach house for us all to live in.

Well not too much out of the norm with wishes there – health and wealth.  It occurs to me that maybe I am thinking too narrow, too “me”, what about world peace, social justice, ending world hunger, there are lots of things I could be wishing for.  Re-reading the instructions it does say personal wishes, not health and wealth for someone else.  How can I stretch beyond the norm in my personal wishes?  Maybe I should go back to the world peace idea.  

Three wishes sounded like a lot when I started and it was hard to think of them but now I am thinking of so many things I want.  I want this country to lighten up on Mexicans and make one big safe country, make that one big safe world.   I want the rich to share with the poor creating equality and social justice among people.  I want humans to get along with each other, to stop fighting and making weapons and war the most important thing.  I want the world to make small children and defenseless animals the most important things.  Oh and I want humans to stop cutting the natural forests that we have left, I want the rivers to be clean, and the oceans too.  I want roads and cars and gas to just go away.  I want the nights to be dark, and the days ozone free.  I want to live on a farm in Italy 200 years ago.  I want to be a native on a South Seas island.  I want to live with some ancient tribe.  Now are we getting near the edge of norm?

Their arrival is upon me and I must choose, so in review, my first wish is – to live a healthy and long life (don’t forget the no cancer part), the second wish is - to become an accomplished and acknowledged writer, and the third wish - world peace – what the hell.

I’ll let you know how it goes.