Categories: Metro Detroit, River Rouge
River Rouge, MI
Kindness is often overlooked and underrated. However, when entering an unfamiliar area, it’s the first thing we wish for and the last thing we expect.
In trying to decide on a community to cover, I researched different areas of Detroit, both online and on foot. The first things I read and heard were disparaging. I even read a post on an online board that said, “Just to be safe, stay north of M-59.” Safe was the one constant word I came across.
“How safe is it?”
“It’s not very safe there.”
“It’s safe if you act like you belong.”
It came to be that the very word “safe” no longer had a definite meaning. After so much repetition, it sounded ridiculous.
I ended up choosing to work in River Rouge.
Initially squeamish, I first visited these areas adjacent to Zug Island skeptical that people would talk to me, much less welcome me.
Then came Steve Isham.
Steve first approached me in city hall at the corkboard for River Rouge city council’s meeting dates.
Within moments, Steve became an official guide, showing me the second floor, the bathrooms, the courtroom and the city clerk’s office. Steve became my new best friend, and he didn’t even know my name.
With an experience like that and others, it’s hard to justify all those preconceived notions of safety and kindness.
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