WELCOME TO MICHIGAN/DETROIT/LAKE ORION
A Flower Shop off 7/8 Mile Area...if this isn't a tall tale of how many people die in the inner city, what is? Click on the pic and notice type of flowers available.
Clan Michigan
A Scary Train Station...Abandoned!
Las Tres Lindas
A Lake a few blocks from us...nobody could confirm that it is actually Lake Orion????
This Catholic Church has it's own pond?
SLIDERS for my GUT
Dinner at Palazzo di Bocce
Luisy, Chef Tony, Y Vale
Our trip to Lake Orion/Detroit was amazing...a venture that I hope to continue in the near future. On the Thursday that we arrived we were all bushed and decided to take a long nap. The stress of having a smooth flight without screaming kids can take a toll on the mind. Fortunately, our kids were great...they laid back and enjoyed a nice nap to the hum of the engines. Props to the greatest invention in history...the iPhone. This little gadget got us to our destination with out any delay. After a brief trip to our local Meijer Store, we picked up all of the ingredients for a beautiful masterpiece of Mar Y Tierra (pics below) by Tia-Abuela Luisy. That was half of our trip...eating great Peruvian food, Mar Y Tierra, Ceviche a la Tony, Arroz con Pollo a la Tony, Green Spaghetties Milanesa, and these little Turkey Biscuit Red Onion Dealy-o's that were delicious.
It was great to see Mamama having a blast with the kids. I have placed photos of us with her. On Friday morning I got up to Vale walking into Mamama's room and waking her up. It was the cutest thing in the world. Vale walks in and goes straight to Mamama, she begins to mumble some words as if she is holding a serious conversation. When Mamama wakes up and responds to her, Vale puts her head back and erupts in laughter as though she had just told her a great joke. Sometimes kids get shy with their grandparents, but not Vale...she was there with smiles, hugs, and muchos besitos. Mamama looked extremely happy to be around both of them...that was good for her health. Thank God for her...I see a lot of her in my children! I look forward to seeing her again in the near future.
On a tangent, i would like to give a special thanks to Tony Luisy, and Christine for all of the care and time that they put into Mamama. This is not a campaign for them, but it is a mere opinion based on my minuscule experience in the daily routine of care for her. On Friday morning, I helped wheel her out to the curbside transportation that was waiting to take her to her doctor's appt. Thank God for Tony being there, because it is a lot of work to get her from house to curb...the physical energy is a lot for one person and I wished that she was in a place that was more friendly to her disabled needs. I was torn in my feelings thinking, "Wow, how easy do I have it!" I get to go home, focus on my family, pay my bills that I create, spend time away with my wife, and give her my undivided attention. I can only imagine how hard it is to be in that household...daily care for Mamama, no real alone time with my wife, bills, always having to be at home for care, and the pressure of "We need to get funds together." I THANK them from the bottom of my heart...without them where would Mamama be? I think that I and those not physically there have the easiest job...providing funds to enable her well-being whether we are strapped or living the high-life! I know that the sale of Her house is trying to be negotiated in order to get more funding to make life easier...I pray to God that it happens soon. I have been out of the loop with the house transaction, but can only hope that everybody is working towards one thing and one thing only...the well-being of their mother, our grandmother, and our great-grandmother. It seems that this will happen and It blows my mind that a family with so many siblings can work together. I know that a lot of large families have problems when it comes to things of this nature, as a few unwilling siblings might think that whatever their parents built is THEIRS and THEIRS only. If there is anything that I can do, I hope the Jimenos would just ask...Alex and I are there for ya.
FRIDAY:
Got up, hugged the A/C because it was my best friend.
Filled up my lungs with the aroma of sweet Peruvian Food.
Got the duckling in order and packed up to venture out into the METRO.
Venturing out of the green tree-lined neighborhood with impeccably manicured lawns, our first stop with 20 miles south into the 7 & 8 mile area...A.k.a. the GHETTO or Dirty Dirty.
One reason I was interested in this area was one, it was the stomping grounds of a music producer that I admire. Jay Dilla, Jay Dee, or what ever you want to call him...DONUTS Guy...R.I.P. Two, It is nice to see how others live in other parts of the world, whether upscale, downscale, or center. It allows you to see where you stand, etc, etc.
So, from eight mile, we head west to Livernois South and pass the famous Jazz Club, Baker's.
I have heard and read a lot of cool things about one of America's oldest jazz joints. Past that I was witness to an eroded canvas of abandoned buildings, chicken heads, check cashing joints, liquor stores and GREY. The streets looked so depressed and grey...it made my old hood look like Malibu. I was hell-shocked and blown away. I was in downtown Beirut and the Black/White divide was apparent. You know, you hear of the needy and demolished New Orleans...well this was that without the Katrina. I thank God for the opportunities that I have had and pray for those that are forgotten in those neighborhoods.
Everyday life for most middle & upper income Americans can be too much Gilmore Girls, XBox, (formerly...SUV), American Idol, GREEN-LIVING, and it seems that our only real contact with the Ghetto Life is on Television. That is fine and dandy if you are strong enough to one day have to face reality. In one way or another, everybody has to face the reality that real-life isn't an overload of youtube, but a "Fine Balance" of all things...uppity, low-end, or right in the middle, and we shouldn't forget those that are not invested in and live with an infancy raising infants mentality. Therefore invest time and whatever you can to help maintain that balance and order.
Back to Lake Orion...it was a great time. We ventured out to Troy and Birmingham, both of which are nice "Middle American" towns. Great hamburgers (Hunters House & White Castle), people cruising the 1 Woodward in their hot rods, and the Mayberry Facades of the town centers. It was a beautiful twist that i thoroughly enjoyed and hope to visit again. On Friday night we celebrated Nicole's birthday with a delicious dinner at Palazzio Bocce...a very cool Bocce Ball joint in Lake Orion. I love that place. www.palazzodibocce.com. Though I didn't get the chance to play, the chicken Marsala was fabulous and so was the conversation with Tony, Luisy, Roxanne, Christine, Teresa, Nicole, baby mama, and the kids...and ANTHONY! Keep your head up buddy...Nicole is going to move to NYC to make her MOVE! Handle it! I can see that she will make it in the Big Apple...she better because I need a place to stay when we visit. Hopefully she makes it to Manhattan!
Side Note: On our day in Detroit, I had to see both Tiger Stadium's....Commerica & Briggs. I was fortunate to witness a day in American history...the beginning of demolition of Briggs Stadium in Corktown. I pulled over to take pics and noticed a lot of people and media capturing the event. People looked sad and disgusted that such a staple of the city was being tossed aside...as if they need another vacant lot in Detroit. I drove from the back (demo's beginning) to the front and noticed some fans pulling bricks through the old gate near the plaza. I got out of the car and pulled a couple too. That was the coolest Americana-esque thing that I had done in a long time. I was fortunate enough to take a piece of history home with me...and put it on eBay! HAH! The coolest thing was my wife was behind me pulling a paparazzo gig...shooting the evidence. I will post these too.
I will place another post titled Mich Pics that will only host pics & no text.
Let me sign off and let you all get back to whatever it is you do...Thanks and We Love you all!
Mamama & Mamamama...that makes Alex Mamamamama?
The Orion Clan entertaining Babyboo in the backyard.
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