warning: excuse my horrible abuse of grammar. I'll probably switch back and forth between present and past tense, but its all from Tuesday lol
An Awesome Tuesday
So my adventure starts as a simple walk downtown. It was a sunny day, and I refused to stay cooped up in my apartment. I start my walk on Woodward. [my fave street in Detroit lol] I'm almost at Hockeytown when my mother calls and says, "Hey little girl with the hat and book bag". CREEPY! Turns out, my mother was driving past with a friend whom she was out to lunch with, and saw me walking. They scoop me up. Her friend was playing one of my favorite songs, 'Mr.Wendell', which ironically I was listening to on my MP3 before I got in the car... [MESSAGE!...read on....lol]
As I jam out to the song, my mom offers me some candy and we continue our ride. Her friend drops my mom and me off at the Millendar Center. In the Millendar Center, I run into a couple of my mom's co-workers/friends....My 'uncle' Myron was celebrating his 50th birthday so I hugged the crapload outta him and continued to my destination: The Public Service Credit Union.
I had a kiddy account opened there when I was 8 years old, and I decided that I would make it official and start using the account. I was ASTOUNDED by the balance, and super glad that I was no longer broke. Lets just say, now I have enough money to pay for this new expensive azz meal plan for next school year. So with that business done, I decided to go explore my city.
I walk out the Millendar Center into the bright sunny Detroit air. I love downtown. Its beautiful. I said "hi" to the Spirit of Detroit. Beforehand, I didn't too much like that they cleaned him up and took away any signs of aging. Somehow, today my opinion was changed. The golden globe in his left hand and the family in his right seemed to gleam a certain light of hope for the city. It is almost as if the gentle giant really did symbolize Marshall Fredricks' initial intention. It was a reassurance that made the rest of the journey even better. I couldn't help but to smile at everyone.
I walk down Woodward then I hoppe over to Grand River to visit one of my fave spots, DSE @ Grand. My boy James is definitely holdin' the 'D' down with his shop. James and I chatted about the J Dilla/Charles Hamilton fiasco, Identical Variant, upcoming Detroit events, and his upcoming summer shoot. I ran into some younger Renni alum, and we exchanged hugs and greetings. I bought two SWEET azz shirts and then continued my journey. Right next door to DSE there is a cute boutique called Sovereign Soles. It seems to be a sister store to Sole Sisters on Canfield. I went in and looked. The owner has some HOT stuff...Its a definite place to check out. I left and my tummy started to grumble.
I was going to visit 'Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes' [aka 'the crepe lady'], but I thought about my girl, Crystal, over at 1515 Broadway and decided to visit her instead. I was just there the previous Saturday for a schweet azz event that James was throwing....It is crazy how different a place can look from the daytime to the night time. That place is phenomenal and has the capacity to really transform itself. Anywho, Crystal wasn't there so I supported the venue and just bought a bottle of water.
My mother calls and offers me a ride back to my place. So I walk all the way back down to the Municipal Center and me and her ride back towards midtown. We have a nice chat. I asked her to drop me off at the Spiral Collective instead [I wasn't quite ready to go home]. I kissed my mother goodbye and headed into the venue. Let me tell you: The Spiral Collective has one of the best vibes. Its such a peaceful place. Its almost like walking into a tranquility garden. It has a book store [the Source Bookstore], an art gallery [the Dell Prior Gallery] and a very soulful little shop [Tulani Rose]. I love it! I'm greeted by Sharon Pryor, owner of Tulani Rose. She told me that she reads my quotes and messages on Facebook. She told me that I have a beautiful spirit [blush]. I was speechless and i couldn't help but to blush and thank her several times. We chatted about some of her awesome merchandise and upcoming events [which I will blog about soon]. After that, I purchased these FABULOUS earrings made by a local Detroit sister [whose name escapes me now]. I also purchased a really beautiful set of notepads for one of my sisterfriends.
*I bought the pretty blue pair*
As I was leaving the shop I get into a short phone convo with Ifoma, a local photographer, artist, fashion designer, lover of all things Africa and positive male spirit. I tell him I'm near his gallery [across the street from the Spiral Collective] and I express my extreme hunger. He replies that he's away, but he suggests that I try having lunch at Goodwells. I'd never been to Goodwells before. It is RIGHT next to The Spiral Collective and Flows. I went in and was amazed! It was a natural food market right down the street from me! They sold organic/vegan friendly fruits, veggies, 'meats', dairy, snacks, etc. It was awesome!
I told Ifoma that I'd try the food at their deli, so I went to the counter to order. They had NOTHING with meat! I was temporarily devastated. I figured I'd order the pocket sandwich, which Ifoma gave much praise. I bought a bag of kettle chips and went outside to try eating this meatless sandwich. The sandwich was made with tofu, bean sprouts, spinach, romaine lettuce, tomato, special sauce and then the slice of cheese i paid extra for, all wrapped in [what I'm sure was organic] pita bread. I took a bite and I was AMAZED! The sandwich was truly scrumptious. I didn't know a sandwich could taste good without meat. So as I happily munched away.
As I munched, a homeless man sat at the table right in front of me. He was a happy fellow. He looked up, smiled, then greeted me. I was quite surprised he didn't ask for money. I returned the hello and smile. I continued to munch and he pulled out a slice of pizza. We both munched and looked at the birds. As we looked, the sister who made my fabulous earrings pulled up and got out to go to Goodwells. I told her I just purchased a pair and thanked her for her craft. She went into the store and I continued to munch.
I started to feed some of my pita bread to the birds near me.....then the homeless guy starts talking about the birds. In a somewhat poetic type of tone. It was obvious he wasn't a crack head or a crazy person. As I continued to munch and share my bread with the birds, the man told me that he used to come to Avalon Bakery [right next door to Goodwells], back when he wasn't homeless, and he'd always buy an entire loaf to feed the birds. He mentioned that that was before he became homeless. I decided to politely ask him how he became homeless. He replied, "For political reasons." He took a bite of his Pizza, then decided to expand on why the reasons were "political". He explained that he used to be a radio talkshow host. He explained that his talk show was a christian based show, and a lot of his messages he claimed were prophecy and straight from God. He said some of the things that he said on the show weren't very liked by the government and their "secret service agents". He claimed that him and his colleagues (2 others on the talk show)...were fired for [hand gestured quotation marks] "budget cut reasons". He then explained that mysteriously every other place he applied for work at, turned him down. I partially believed him because he had a very well-versed way of speaking and an above average vocabulary. He was very good with English. Then we talked about his 8year old daughter. It was a nice conversation. I enjoyed his company.
I gave him the rest of my chips and a golden dollar coin. He was shocked. He said, in the most heartfelt way, that what I done was special, and that most people wouldn't do that. I told him, in the most heartfelt way, that there are tons of good people that are still in the world. I told him, with confidence, that I knew plenty of people who would share their chips with him.
He smiled and told me his name was Larry. I smiled back and told him my name. I liked Larry. Me and Larry talked more about the birds as we finished off our lunch. As I tossed the last corner of pita bread on the ground, I saw an odd sight. It was the first time in my life i saw a white and gold pigeon....it was like SUPER pretty. It could have been a dove, but I wasn't sure at the time. Larry explained that she was the wife of one of the male pigeons and he knew them back when they were just "dating". I got a good chuckle from the idea of dating birds. I thanked Larry for the awesome conversation and told him I'd look forward to the next one.
After leaving Goodwells, I walked back to campus with an aura of bliss. My day had been perfect. An adventure full of positive people, good food, great purchases, good spirits, and even pretty pigeons. I ran into a friend/co-worker, Scott, and we chatted about the red wings and our upcoming mentor summer job. We shared a few laughs and smiles. After that I ended my adventure, as I stepped back into the ACB.
It was a GREAT Tuesday!
What a gem he is missing, him who hasn't walked Detroit" -BK ~Golden~
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