Snowstorm Thoughts

I am perched on my usual corner seat at Mercury Coffee Bar in Corktown, blogging, drinking a tea and discussing potential economic opportunities in this neighborhood. And one of the things I have discovered is the human openness that comes with community identity. In just the past month, I have met entreprenuers, missioners, urban farmers, community leaders and tons of future neighbors and friends.

The openness of the locals seems to come from their common love and identification with Corktown as a place and an idea. Corktown is full of economic opportunities, as well as plethora of social and entertainment ideas. The architects and planners are designing lofty plans for open lots and vacant buildings, while the urban farmers are looking to provide new, unique economic opportunities that are almost self-sustaining. Corktown the place has a mix of history and culture, as well as modern intricacies. Corktown the idea is a mixture of cultures and passions, with the potential to link up many of the broken, disconnected neighborhoods in Detroit.

Most encouraging is the level of excitement and commitment thatis seen. Whatever the level, the people in and around Corktown are committed to seeing it thrive. I cannot wait to move down here. And I am really hoping I can convince a bunch of other people to come along with us. It's a crazy, foolish idea, or at least that is what the critics say. Then again, the critics are merely critics, so we should come to expect that from them. For the rest of us, we've got a call, and only a change in the movement of the Spirit will disuade us.

June 2009 seems so far away...