Knight Light Candles of Detroit

Just got back from seeing my friend Peaches at Knight Light, where I go three or four times a month.

Coming or going, I almost always check out the latest installations at the Heidelberg Project, half a mile away from the candle store. Today in the waning light on the way, I noticed that one of the houses in the expanding perimeter of outdoor art has a new sign that reads "Noah's Ark," and across the street there's a new speedboat on the grass, heaped with teddy bears. By the main house, a new totem pole is so high it touches the lower branches of two trees facing the street: it's strung with toys, shoes, and more teddy bears. On Elba, the next street over, the Teddy Bear House is overflowing with stuffed animals of all sorts; the newest additions seem to be little stuffed birds, strangely touching but nowhere near as eerie as the crucified Big Bird that once appeared in the area and is now gone. It's a wild area that I've been checking out regularly since moving to Detroit in 1997. Here's the official website: http://www.heidelberg.org/

After the Heidelberg and just before dark, I zipped on to Knight Light and chatted with Peaches, who caught me up on her latest drama: a relatively new boyfriend is acting well but is a vegetarian, an ex-girlfriend friend is just now mad at her but she'll wait it out and see, and a friend who'd dated her briefly has lately gotten involved with an abusive woman ("a fat ugly black lady," according to Peaches) and her brother. Things will work out, no worries. We'll email more about it later, etc.

Almost everybody loves Peaches because she's kind and thoughtful and no matter what crazy thing happens next, she somehow keeps the faith. She is the star of the candle store (owned by Ronnie H. and he knows it.) And she knows how to get by.

This time, I'd emailed in my order and she had it ready when I arrived. She is techno-savvy, though she left school after the tenth grade to work fulltime. In fact, she's more cutting edge with cellphones and wireless technology than almost anyone else I know. Her background story is so complicated that I'll leave it at that for now. I've known her for five years and sometimes go with others she's befriended, because it's fun and leaves people feeling optimistic. Viva Peaches!

Knight Light sells candles, lotto tip sheets, oils, herbs, voodoo accessories, bath salts, sprays, incense, and all sorts of related odds and ends, including books and prayer cards, and most importantly it inspires hope. The candles are shipped in from Mexico, Texas, Chicago, etc., and because of shipping costs, the prices -- though still cheap compared to some New Age store anywhere else -- have gone up a little since the first time I bought a candle there five years ago. It's a cool place to go, nestled between the Liquor Basket, the "New" Pioneer Supermarket, and Sophia's Beauty emporium that has wigs "with real human hair" and Special Perm Yaki, 10 inches for $5.99. (The Liquor Basket has a big sign covering its front that says all you need to know: LIQUOR BEER WINE LOTTO WESTERN UNION BEEPERS & PHONES. The Supermarket has its own marketing, boasting Banquet TV Dinners 5 for $5!)

As always, Peaches dressed and blessed my candles, so I've got, among others, a new super-charged Saint Anthony candle, good for concentration and discovery. Saint Anthony promotes positive and creative energy, and when something gets lost, a prayer to him inevitably results in finding the lost object. If you've never tried it, it really works -- and always in good if mysterious ways. Indeed, the gift of a St. Anthony candle on my birthday back in 1999 set me on my final way to becoming a Catholic.

Adieu for now . . . . .