Going Home

A broken toe and a heart of gold

Retelling the story about my near miss in kickball tonight got me to thinking about how seemingly insignificant events in our lives can change the course of history.

Case in point, the revitalization of Fletcher Field probably wouldn't have happened if not for another less-than-stellar athletic moment in my life.

[More:]

The 2006 NYC Marathon.

A soccer ball, my two large dogs and the side of my garage led to a broken big toe on my right foot late last summer. The toe injury led to a shutdown of my training regimen for the New York City Marathon. The lack of training led to a very slow pace in the marathon, a pace followed nearly step by step by a former co-worker of mine at the New York Times who trained even less than I did.

That former co-worker, Jonathan Morgan, had heard about a job opening at detnews.com. And for the first 19 miles of the marathon, we talked about what that job might entail and the pros and cons of living in Metro Detroit. Jonathan eventually came to Detroit for an interview, during which time I took him to Dobel Street and Fletcher Field.

He wanted to see where I grew up and was stunned by the blight in the area. It didn't scare him away, though. In fact, just the opposite happened. Jonathan felt compelled to come here to tell the Dobel Street story and try to do something about the dire conditions in the neighborhood.

He was offered and took the job in a matter of weeks. Back in June, Jonathan talked me into doing the initial audio slideshow about the area for the 40th anniversary of the race riots package on detnews.com.

The rest, as they say, is history.

A broken toe, a mighty slow marathon in NYC and a boy from Cleveland with a heart of gold is how this whole thing started.

(Note: For the record, I finished the 2006 NYC Marathon in 4:18:12; Jonathan in 4:27:14.)

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Mike Quinn [Member]

Well Mike,
I'd have to say that we are all mighty glad that you broke your toe! And that Johnathan runs slow!
Thank you both for "jogging" our memories!
Mike Quinn

Permalink 09/29/07 @ 15:28

Comment from: hardingfamily [Member]

Fletcher Friends. I do apologize for not being at the park today. So much to do around the house. I do hope all went well and I hope to see you all next week.

Dave Harding

Permalink 10/01/07 @ 00:36

Comment from: kathy (torpey) kos [Member]

This is a blast from the past. My memories of HNJ are many. My oldest sister played basketball for the "Teen Club" and I was their mascot. We lived on Emily which was north of 6 Mile/East of VanDyke. Drove back to the neighborhood last summer with my mom who is now 88 years old and my daughters and was upset to see the condition of our home which held so many memories. I applaud everyone involved in the restoration of Fletcher Field and am happy to hear of the wonderful response.

Permalink 10/01/07 @ 13:12