Categories: Metro Detroit, Balduck Park Area
Back at Balduck
"Blankety-blank is dead to me now."
A friend of mine used that phrase a couple of weeks ago after somebody really ticked him off. The hyperbole made me belly laugh; it just sounded so excessive for the offense committed against him.
I was thinking about that over-the-top statement last Saturday as I sat watching my son Louis' baseball game at Balduck Park, where the place was packed with families -- and at least 97 percent of them were black.
I honestly believe, to many white suburbanites, most of Detroit is dead to them now. Although they miss their former homes, neighborhoods and hangouts, they think it's impossible to go back and not become dead themselves.
As I've said so many times during the past two years, perception -- mostly created by the media and angry, ignorant politicians on both sides of 8 Mile Road -- does not match reality in Detroit.
Yes, there are places you should watch your back in the city. Yes, there are some people you want to avoid. JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN THE WORLD.
But the majority of Detroit's population -- regardless of their skin color -- is just like you and me: They want to provide for their families and feel safe, loved and at peace.
Even though my white family was in the minority at Balduck on Saturday, we had an absolute blast. It so much fun to watch Louis run the bases on a field I once played on as a Cub Scout, and to see my daughter, Amanda, roll down the same hill that I used to sled down back in the 1970s.
And every minute we were there, we felt safe, loved and at peace. One lovely woman even fed Amanda a couple of grilled hot dogs when she overheard my daughter complaining about being hungry.
No doubt about it, Detroit's down. BUT IT AIN'T DEAD.
It's just waiting for you to come home again and help lift it up.
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· http://lacatholicworker.org Peace. Mike W.
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