Mitch Albom on tonight's Charlie Rose. It's about Mitch's brilliant SI piece on Detroit.

[Bozita]

"The Courage of Detroit" - Mitch Albom in SI

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus...

-snip-

And yet...

And yet Detroit was once a vibrant place, the fourth-largest city in the country, and it lives in the hope that those days, against all logic, will somehow return. We are downtrodden, perhaps, but the most downtrodden optimists you will ever meet. We cling to our ways, no matter how provincial they seem on the coasts. We get excited about the Auto Show. We celebrate Sweetest Day. We eat Coney dogs all year and we cruise classic cars down Woodward Avenue every August and we bake punchki donuts the week before Lent. We don't talk about whether Detroit will be fixed but when Detroit will be fixed.

And we are modest. In truth, we battle an inferiority complex. We gave the world the automobile. Now the world wants to scold us for it. We gave the world Motown music. Motown moved its offices to L.A. When I arrived 24 years ago, to be a sports columnist at the Detroit Free Press, I discovered several letters waiting for me at the office. Mind you, I had not written a word. My hiring had been announced, that's all. But there were already letters. Handwritten. And they all said, in effect, "Welcome to Detroit. We know you won't stay long, because nobody good stays for long, but we hope you like it while you're here."

Nobody good stays for long.

We hope you like it while you're here.

How could you not stay in a city like that?

*****
And yet...

And yet to live in Detroit these days is to want to scream. But where do you begin? Our doors are being shuttered. Our walls are falling down. Our daily bread, the auto industry, is reduced to morsels. Our schools are in turmoil. Our mayor went to jail. Our two biggest newspapers announced they will soon cut home delivery to three days a week. Our most common lawn sign is FOR SALE. And our NFL team lost every week this season. A perfect 0-16. Even the homeless guys are sick of it.

-snip-

more...

[TahitiNut]

1. It's spelled "pączki" ... or "paczki" on an English keyboard.

:shrug:

[MelissaB]

2. I really hope this thread makes it to the "greatest". n/t

[1gobluedem]

3. It was reprinted in today's Free Press

Did you cross post in GD?

[Bozita]

4. No, I did post it in the editorials forum on Wednesday.

It died a quick, quiet death there.

[MelissaB]

5. Try GD and send me a pm when it's posted.

;)

[spartan61]

6. What a great read!!!

A former high school classmate e-mailed the article to me. I don't live in Michigan now but I grew up in a Detroit suburb. How I used to love to hop on the bus and go to Detroit for the day with my mom or friends as I grew older. Those of us who remember Detroit as it used to be have fond memories of the city. How I hope the city can be saved, the people there can once again fulfill their hopes and dreams, and Detroit can someday return to the proud city I fondly remember.

[Strawman]

7. This was an outstanding article

And this was the best part...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/01/07/detroit/2.html

"Enough. We're not gum on the bottom of America's shoe. We're not grime to be wiped off with a towel. Detroit and Michigan are part of the backbone of this country, the manufacturing spine, the heart of the middle class -- heck, we invented the middle class, we invented the idea that a factory worker can put in 40 hours a week and actually buy a house and send a kid to college. What? You have a problem with that? You think only lawyers and hedge-fund kings deserve to live decently?"

[blue_onyx]

8. Great article

Sometimes is seems like people don't care about any place outside California or New York (and maybe Vegas...gotta have somewhere to party). It's sad that Detroit isn't as vibrant as NYC, LA, and Chicago but Detroit will rise again....it may not be as big as it once was but that doesn't mean it can't be as good. Michigan and Detroit will survive and see future prosperity. There's been a lot of good news lately. Today there was the announcement that the Volt battery will built in Michigan and bring 14,000 jobs (possible 50,000 jobs over 5 years). A123 Systems will bring thousands of jobs to Michigan. The film industry is planning to open several permanent studios, bring thousands of jobs. We here in Michigan/Detroit do have a bright future, regardless of what others may think.