Saints and Sinners

Tonight it's smart to be wary of drunk drivers and stay in, at least around Detroit. Besides, the St. Patrick's Day Parade already went through last Sunday!

Having never before been to the one in Corktown, I checked out this year's version with Terri Light and Alan B.

First we had lunch in Mexican Village, a sort of urban island area split off from the main Mexicantown restaurants and shops across the way. The place where we dined: http://www.mexicanvillagefood.com/

We had lucky weather for the end of winter, almost warm and mostly sunny. We walked over to Michigan Avenue and stood right across from Tiger Stadium to behold throngs of bright green merrymakers openly drinking beer, just like in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Police cruisers threaded through the crowds with lights flashing, but no blaring sirens. There were brass bands and a lot of buses and not much in the way of elaborate floats. The green beads sporadically tossed at pedestrians by people in double-decker buses looked exactly like the kind you get at Fishbones on any ordinary evening, but nobody seemed to mind. Most people, going stir crazy from winter, seemed happy to be doing anything outside. There were typical Detroit moments -- like the family walking their child on a leash, the motorized wheelchairs, the all-black marching band dressed in blue, the roaming police more intent on giving out parking tickets than confronting any rowdy elements. Interesting people watching, always, and I think Alan enjoyed it, too, having lived in the area for less than a year so far.

Before and afterwards, Terri navigated, directing me (the car driver) through a series of back streets right along the Detroit River where, on one stretch, I've seen black-clad Homeland Security border patrols armed with submachine guns. We have to be wary of those Canadians across the river, right? It is pretty narrow -- Windsor's right over the riparian border, and during Prohibition days, rum runners did cross by boat. And I remember, in the 1980s, a warning about "Libyan hit squads" that never materialized because they never existed. Most of the river route was entirely new to me. While we crossed through downtown, the People Mover made exactly one revolution. This Potempkin Village public works project has limited value as mass transit because it goes around in a circle far too small to be of much help. Indeed, one of the funniest things I ever heard about it was a Detroiter's succinct quip: "God, the People Mover must be the stupidest thing on the planet -- it's useless to any human thing. . . . ." This is the God's truth, but if you want to smile while glancing at the official rose-colored site, here it is: http://www.thepeoplemover.com/Home.id.2.htm

In any case, St. Patrick's Day is already well taken care of; more importantly to me, spring break has officially begun! Hoorah! Still, I hope Terri Light will compose the poem she's contemplating about the parade. She began launching her latest poetry offensive about a year ago, and has enjoyed many acceptances and publications since then. Hats off to Terri! (But only figuratively -- any good JFK Catholic or observant Esquire reader would know better than to wear hats inside, right?) In all seriousness, here's a convenient link to Terri's "Church bells signalling reward" and "Crocodiles in urban myth" as they appear in nthposition: http://www.nthposition.com/churchbellssignaling.php

Cheers, may God go with y'all . . . . . and lest we forget, Go Carolina!!!!!