Kenneth From the (313)

 

Thought it was cute slash comical to see a tourism ad for the Motor City on a bus shelter around the corner from my NYC apartment -- only to pass this young woman on the subway platform in Times Square en route to the office! Maybe the "renaissance" Detroit natives were promised in the late '70s is finally here.

I'm in a Dee-troit state of mind.

UPDATE:

And now The Wall Street Journal is in on it! Read HERE.

Who Wants to Go to 'Boblo'?

If you grew up in Detroit back in the day, then your childhood summers pretty much revolved around going to Boblo Island, an amusement park tucked in the waters between the U.S. and Canada. Although the rides and the cotton candy were great fun, it was getting there riding along the Detroit River on the famed "Boblo Boat" that was the real adventure -- the anticipation of it all! -- especially donning one of the island's signature sailor hats.

Although I don't recall if I knew it at the time, apparently there were two different boats -- the Steamer Ste. Claire and the Steamer Columbia, which could hold about 2,500 passengers each. When the amusement park shuttered in 1993, it was truly the end of an era for Michiganders. (Now you had to make that long drive to Sandusky to go to Cedar Point!) My family had long moved to Phoenix by then, but its closing solidified that I could never go home again. 

I hadn't heard a word about Boblo in years until it popped up on Netflix’s "Unsolved Mysteries" reboot a couple years ago, when JoAnn Romain’s body was found in Canada offshore near the island after she disappeared following a church service in Grosse Pointe Farms. So it's heartwarming to hear about it again in a more upbeat context with the release of "Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale," a new documentary that follows the efforts of a doctor, psychic(!) and amusement park fanatic to save their beloved steamship from the scrapyard. (What they’re planning to do with it is anyone’s guess.) It also examines Boblo's racist past, including a lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1945.

Interweaving local lore and mythology, "Boblo Boats" explores the whitewashed history of amusement parks and one crew's crusade to bring back the memories.

Sounds like a riot -- and bonus points for having Martha Reeves narrate! 

Driver's ed

P.S.

This was a cherished gift I got from my brother Bill years ago. 

UPDATE: Matt came across this!

Page 1 Roundup (05/09)

The Daily News: Gov. Cuomo orders special prosecutor to investigate assault allegations against ex-AG Eric Schneiderman

Woman who accused Trump of sexual misconduct wins Democratic nomination for Ohio state legislature

Texas teacher suspended after showing students photo of same-sex fiancée sues school for discrimination

EW: Wait'll you see the ginger hunk playing Prince Harry in the new Lifetime movie

New York Post: Woman details nightmare date with 'repulsive' Schneiderman

The New York Times: Firm tied to Russian oligarch paid Trump lawyer $500,000

Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Arizona State University join forces to help curators of color

Mother Jones: Former CFPB head Richard Cordray beats Dennis Kucinich in Ohio Democratic primary

Don Blankenship lost in West Virginia and it wasn't even close

Towleroad: Colton Haynes files for divorce from Jeff Leatham

The Washington Post: [Trump's decision to abandon the Iran nuclear agreement] is deeply uninformed, utterly illogical, inimical to the interests of the United States, taken for the pettiest of personal reasons and done with absolutely no plan for what to do next. In other words, it’s pure Trump," Paul Waldman writes in Opinion

And the most disturbing thing about this is that despite dating back to the 1970s, it's not even related to the Oakland County Child Killer who terrorized the Detroit area when I was in elementary school and was never caught

Los Angeles Times: Millennial makeover: 2 'EastSiders' update their Silver Lake apartment

We Are Flagrant: Drew Droege on being a male actress, impersonating Betty White, and why you need to watch 'Heathers'

GQ: The Met Gala's best menswear looks

The Wall Street Journal: Life on the receiving end of 2,500 often profanity-laced tweets a day from angry commuters venting to @MTA can be intense

Lena Dunham Matches Donations for Detroit-Area LGBTQ Center

Turns out Lena Dunham's not all bad after all.

The Detroit News

Just got back from Detroit safe and sound. It was a wonderful trip -- just what the doctor (and my heart) ordered. Bill has a big day Thursday when they take tests to see if his cancer treatment is helping. If how he is feeling is any indication, it is indeed. The only way this trip could have been more perfect is if our brother Terence and sister Jenn could have come along. Here are some of my favorite memories from some of our old haunts. xo

Visiting the house where I was born in Madison Heights

At the Yates Cider Mill in Rochester Hills ...

No Madonna sightings ...

Billy and Mom kept their date for doughnuts and cider ...

We celebrated Gary's birthday in his hometown of Warren ...

And got together with Ted and Shirley and friend Liane for pizza at Buddy's. (Detroit-style, natch. Just like Emily Squared is copying in Brooklyn.)

Ted and Shirley were my mom and dad's upstairs neighbors in their first house in Ferndale, where they relocated after leaving D.C. when my brother Kevin died and Pottsville (Pa.) after my dad lost yet another job. Dad and Ted became friends when they worked together at General Motors, but when Dad had his brain injury, my stepfather and Ted became good friends too. We used to go to their big house on the lake in Utica to swim or toboggan when we were kids. Ted keeps promising home movies, which I would kill to see! 

My NYC friends Craig and Frank are now three years into living back in the Detroit area. We stayed one night at their beautiful home in Pleasant Ridge, then got together in Ferndale for dinner at Public House ...

Frank took us to Slows BBQ in Corktown on our first night, as well as Treat Dreams (Ferndale), Pronto (Royal Oak) and Menjos (Detroit). 

Walking Woodward ...

When Craig got back into town, we hit the DIY Ferndale Festival, The Whistle Stop (Pleasant Ridge). Soho (Ferndale) and Pronto again over the course of the weekend. (My childhood friend JR also joined us at Soho and Pronto on Saturday night, although Nina couldn't make it in from Chicago as planned because her car crapped out.)

Family time at the hotel ...

Detroit is down, but its "Spirit" is still kicking ... 

My mom's third place in Ferndale -- and the first house Bill remembers -- where my brother Terence came home from Martin Place Hospital in Madison Heights back in 1965 ...

We stopped by my brother Jacqueline's wife's childhood home in Grosse Pointe Park (she lived there for three years in elementary school) then headed over for dessert at the nearby Sanders. (You haven't lived until you've tried their Bumpy Cake!)

Drama Queens: Re-enacting the time my brother Terence was stung by a bee on his ear when he was a little boy when my parents took us to the exciting and glamorous new International House of Pancakes in Berkley!

This is the inside of what used to be Village Racquet Club, where I spent a huge amount of my Michigan youth playing tennis. 

Willow Hill: The townhouse on 13 Mile Road in Madison Heights my mom and Gary bought around the time my sister Jennifer was born ...

Hiller Bums: This was our second elementary school, having gone to Roosevelt when we lived off Lincoln between Dequindre and John R. Bill quickly moved to John Page Junior High, but that didn't stop him from writing the infamous "Shape Up, Hiller!" op-ed that got The Hiller News shut down by my principal! 

Bill and his wife, Jacqueline. Our entire family is so grateful she is by Bill's side during this difficult time. Even if she weren't his wife, there's truly no one I can think of who I'd rather have as his advocate -- she's knows her stuff.

Belle Isle is looking gorgeous again -- the fountain got a major face-lift -- and you can't beat its spectacular view of downtown, the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor ...

Pizza Smackdown: Detroit vs. New York City

The Detroit Free Press didn't take too kindly to the recent New York Post op-ed about the new Detroit pizza joint out in Brooklyn called Emmy Squared that described it as "the new hipster horror." Damian and I went and thought the pizza was divine, despite the fact that there's nary a mention of the Motor City elsewhere in the joint, much less on the menu. (No Faygo Red Pop, no Vernor's, no Sanders desserts!) The Lou-Wow (sauce, mozzarella, spicy pineapple and ham) was absolutely to-die-for, and the Deluxe (sauce, mozzarella, sausage, peppers, mushrooms) was great, too. If you're not familiar with Detroit pizza -- a kinder piece in The Post described it pretty well -- Emmy Squared is definitely a good place to get indoctrinated. Let's hope the joint lasts longer than Motor City, the Lower East Side watering hole that really was just like being on 8 Mile minus the bullet in the head! 

Gordie Howe, ‘Mr. Hockey’ for the Red Wings, Dies at 88

Read his New York Times obituary HERE.

My brother on the passing of one of our hometown heroes, rightwinger Gordie Howe:

From HERE.

Bill even named one of his cats after him, although I see no resemblance whatsoever ...

Page 1 Roundup (05/24)

Trump is now saying Bill Clinton is a "rapist," but in 1998 he thought he was a "victim" ... 

More Trump lies and flip-flopping -- not that Republicans care ...

"Ghostbusters' steps right into the hostility of gender politics ...

Pittsburgh is eating the weed that ate Pittsburgh ...

Plus Austin residents face life without Uber and Lyft -- and can a Shake Shack finally be the thing to revive downtown Detroit? Read HERE.