TAKE A PEEK AT A TEXAN'S VIEW OF DETROIT

Today I had the unique pleasure of reading what "outsiders" think about Detroit. I read a review of a Texan's quick jolt through our city over at Sprittibee's place.

She gave an honest yet, I do believe, slightly polished view of her ventures here. I appreciate the candor as well as her generosity of tact. I do find her blog to be fun and upbeat but more than that, honest.


It's not often that we get to hear such candor about our city. She even brought up the ever so interesting question as to what "we" are called. Are we Michiganians, Michiganites, or Michiganders?

Native born Michigan folk are Michiganders even though our governor calls us Michiganians. I have only recently heard the term Michiganites and think it to be...ridiculous. Whatever we are called, the more pertinent term would be, Loyal. You see, our Sprittibee friend, Detroit is Artistic, Inspired, Magical...Beautiful!
I wish our Texan friend would have braved her fears and visited the Hard Rock Cafe in the beautiful Art Filled Compuware building. The Hard Rock Cafe - Detroit is located in the footprint of several of Detroit's finest attractions including the fabulous Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park and Ford Field.
Had they ventured into the finest of Downtown Detroit, the vibrant Texan homeschooling family could have experienced a HUGE and expressive art and Architecture lesson while touring the Compuware Building. They would have been able to end their lesson at the top of the building with a fun ride around the city on the People Mover. (sky rail)

We did that very thing, back in 2006. But, then again, we are not afraid of Detroit because we know the truth about Detroit. Our views are not distorted by blown out of proportion movies or outsiders fears. We KNOW Detroit and are proud of our city . We are part of the thousands who are impressed, excited and honored to be able to call Detroit home. Our family heads out to the city quite often to attend the Opera. The Fox Theater is a national GEM that takes our breath away every time we enter!

There are indeed parts of our city that need repair and the cold weather and snow does a doozy on the roads. I do understand her reservations about getting out of her car if she zigged when she should have zagged in Detroit, however it is my belief that our Nations Capital is far worse in regard to "bad parts" of town yet families visit there on their vacations every year. They do not give it a second thought. Maybe that is because the idea of Washington D.C. is of the majestic beauty of the White House. It is not often that the back streets of D.C. are highlighted in the news or that D.C's crime is mentioned nationwide. D.C. has that advantage.
Detroit doesn't have that luxury. We do get a bad rap in the press AND in movies. That stigma carries over to the psyche of our nation's parents. It Is a real possibility that parent's feel afraid to drive near our city let alone bring their family to experience it. That, is a sad, sad idea to have of our wonderful city.

Detroit is safe my good friends! Yes, you need to navigate well, just as you would in Washington D.C. or any other large city and recently our mayor has had his issues, but Detroit is a safe and fun place to visit for your whole family.
I urge you not to let the movie "8 mile" scare you away from what could be a beautiful and pleasant family vacation. I can tell you from experience, living only one mile from "8 mile" that this city has never hurt us one bit! We have been enriched, entertained, enlightened and entranced by Detroit!
I hope to hear from families who came to enjoy our city and learned that their fears were NOT realized. I hope that there are many, many families out there who have experienced the view from the People Mover and were able to attend a Tiger Game or view an Opera at The Majestic FOX Theater. I hope to hear from those who have visited The Charles H. Wright Museum of African History, The Detroit Institute of Art, The Detroit Zoo and The New Detroit Science Center.

I expect...NO...I KNOW you were not disappointed! :-)

I Hope you come back Sprittibee and give us more than a look-see point of view. Detroit cannot be sampled, Detroit is Experienced!

I hope you come back with a new vision and hope. I would love to give you and your family the grand tour of Detroit from a native Michiganders point of view. I think you'll like what you experience. :-)