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Monica being Monica
On a day when former Detroit Piston Dave Bing officially became the mayor of Detroit, Monica Conyers had to make it all about her. While number 21 was being sworn in, the “Hindrance Formerly known as Council President” was whining that Ken Cockrel Jr. had changed the locks on the council president’s office. She claims no one told her the locks would be changed. Monica says she was going to remove her belongings at 3:00pm, when Bing was sworn in. Well, shocker of shockers!…Turns out, it wasn’t KC’s decision at all. It was MonMon’s security detail that changed the locks and her belongings were long gone! Yet another example of how Monica Conyers’ continually makes it about her. Monica is always being wronged in Monica’s mind. She reminds me of the high school girl who is always out to bully and fabricate to get her point across. She’s an impediment to progress in this city that so desperately needs to move forward. “Listen up Monica”, the rest of the world is passing us by and you’re in the rear view mirror happily waving goodbye. The days of “us” vs. “them” and suburbs vs. Detroit has to end. The mind-set of Kwame Kilpatrick, Monica Conyers and political consultant Adolph Mongo, to name a few, also needs to cease. The only ones who can make that happen are Detroiters. VOTE, already! It’s YOUR city. Midwest cities like Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis are way ahead of us. Get this…you can actually buy clothing and groceries in these cities. Why, even Cleveland has a mall…in the city…downtown! Crazy, I know!!! Today, I have hope for Detroit. I believe Dave Bing and Ken Cockrel can do great things in Detroit. In August, Detroiters have an opportunity to elect their city council for the next four years. There were over four hundred petitions pulled to run for city council. Clearly, Detroiters are fed up with the antics and obstructionists behavior of the current council. Goodnight, Monica. (Photo courtesy of Freep.com and Andre Jackson)  Here’s a Quarter……those of you who have ever seen the cinematic masterpiece known as Uncle Buck know where this is going. It stars the delightfully zoftig John Candy and among it’s most quotable quotes is one concerning a needle-nosed school marm with a slew of facial eruptions decorating her otherwise unmemorable face. Let me preface this post (too late) by saying one thing: Jenny Granny’s hot. Now, before you get your Jockey’s in a bunch, I do realize that her role is as distinguished politician, voice to the citizens, and defender of the defenseless…but she’s hot. My observation is neither to diminish those roles, nor cheesecake-ify our dear Governor Granholm. It is actually a cyber high-five of sorts. Good for you, Granny. You’ve endured nearly a decade’s worth of lobbyist lingo, economical meltdown, and pressure greater than that created by the Nu-Wave oven, and still you look as dewey as the day you began. Still, I can’t help but wonder, why not just lop those bad boys off?
A New Beginning? Well, it’s voting day and, rest assured, our eyes will be firmly glued to the tube to see who has claimed the right to call themselves Mayor of Detroit. As I eagerly anticipate the results of the hotly contested battle, I can’t help but think it’ll be only a matter of weeks until we start to see the campaigning for August’s election. Then another big ol’ vote in November! That’s right, more glossy signage, more debates…er, or whatever those lame-o things were called on WADL. More speculation, adulation, and accusations. More plans, grandstands, and “I’m Your Man”s. How do we stop ourselves from wondering, however, if anything will ever really change for our fair city? Maybe it’s time we create a new image for the city, instead of clinging to a past that doesn’t want us anymore. Let’s face the facts: we’re not the Motor City anymore. Okay, so we’ve still got the Jefferson plant within the city limits. Hardly a justifiable reason to keep the nickname, eh? Harsh as it may seem, the concept of Motown is a pleasant memory for most baby-boomers, and just an image conjured up by our parent’s stories for the rest of us younger generation. My Mom paints such a lovely portrait of herself as a wide-eyed Detroit resident employed at the Standard Federal near Hudson’s. There, she would take to the streets along with the hundreds of other workin’ folk to sneak in a little retail therapy on her lunch break. Ahh, the sense of community she would speak of. Well, Hudson’s is gone and the streets are empty most of the time. Ma speaks practically of the change, realizing it was a different Detroit back then. So why don’t the rest of us get that? The once dominating music scene has fizzled as well. Where once Detroiters had the drive, talent, and “sound” that catapulted the local musicians to the top, we now..well…don’t. I can’t really explain that one, but rest assured, “Motown”: the abstract idea of the musical juggernaut we once were is firmly planted 6 feet under. Case in point, while we’re all rolling our eyes at the notion that Martha Reeves still considers herself a celebrity, so is the rest of the country at our insistance upon clinging to our Motown/Motor City moniker. It’s time to usher in a new era, Detroit. One not defined by our parent’s and grandparent’s achievements and experiences. I’m not sure where this series of elections will take us, but hopefully, it drives us down a bright, new path. |
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