And then there was one. After live-at-home holdout got shipped out to Germany to handle business there, the lone conservative real estate developer remained. Living in a “starter house” in Ferndale, he and his wife have established themselves quite comfortably in the Detroit area. Real estate development is his family’s business.
Practically every individual of my graduating class left the greater Detroit, Michigan area. Many went to State or Michigan for university, great state schools, smart move guys, moved back home after graduation and lived around town, but very quickly thereafter the majority moved out of state. The economy or lack thereof, induced a second flight. With no work in Detroit, off we went to Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, I guess Florida… Some have returned to take over family businesses. But for those born without the entrepreneurial spirit and labor of their families to fall back on, determined high school graduates departed to achieve their potential elsewhere. (Thank you to my Facebook network.)
I moved to Montreal for school at age 17. Oh Canada, how I love thee. Beautiful nature smack dab in the middle of everything. It’s green with grass and trees and city floral arrangements. We recycle; we use the metro and our beautifully functional legs. (We walk and we wear heels.) There are dogs and bicyclists wearing miniskirts using the bicycle path in the middle of the street in the afternoon. Helmets mess up our hair; it’s a dare to auto drivers to watch out for us. Because we’re on bicycles, our brains are important and we get hurt easily. Tamtams happens every Sunday, the spontaneous gathering of likeminded Montrealers who just want to chill for the afternoon in the park, listen to some drumming, dance a bit, duel a bit, juggle, drink, guitar, tightrope walk… You know, the usual.
Then a second flight. All McGill students left Montreal after they graduated. To Toronto, Memphis, Vancouver, Boston, New York… English speaking young professionals couldn’t find work in our magical city due to a language barrior. Difficult times for Anglos. It’s a big deal when you can’t pass as a French speaker.
I thought I’d like LA. The sun always shines… through a layer of smog…Good friends, hard work almost rewarded; definitely a struggle under tons and tons of beautiful garbage. A non-existant public transportation system… Voluntary emissions reduction, just do it.
Although I should highlight this fact even more, everyone should know that MySpace and REC Solar have teamed up to present a solar recharging station at the Democratic National Convention. This is huge. Go recharge your Ipods, video cameras, cell phones, laptops or any other plug-in you’ve got- it’s renewable, it’s like plugging into a perpetual fusion reaction, it’s free. Also, pick up some information on REC Solar because they’re dominating in the race to heal the world. Making money and saving the planet- it’s totally possible.
