I've always thought of Michigan as a snowy place, and yesterday's introduction to working in this place was a trial by Fire,...well, Snow. I don't know if it happened, but some of the Locals were hoping they'd get a lot so they could break a snowfall inches record from the 1800's. The rest of the Locals were just plain sick of this Winter. Boy, do we have some pot-holes here. Thankfully, I don't think X-Ray Man will be upset if I wreck his van. The old bucket of bolts has been a trooper so far. I've been in the Detroit suburbs of Warren and Sterling Heights, which inexplicably is very flat, and got up North a bit to Clinton Township, where I hit some roads that were unplowed. The van was resolute and merciful to me by not getting stuck at all.
The local Weatherman just said the total yearly snowfall is now at 90.7 inches, not over that record. If we have another snowstorm, they will have a shot at the record again, and it will truly be a freak winter. Yesterday the only task was not having an accident or getting stuck. Today will be clear, and COLD. The sight-seeing day.
Friday, March 14th
Today was a pretty decent day. I felt physically good, well rested, and it was a comfortable weather day. The jobs I did were relatively easy. Some of my goals while here are starting to formulate. I haven't yet seen Lake St Clair, or any lakes for that matter. This place terrifies me in a way. Not that I am hating it, but I am used to New England driving. I miss driving by rivers, up hills, eating lunch at the beach. Here in the Detroit suburbs I work a lot in a place called Sterling Heights. I've looked and I don't see anything remotely resembling "Heights" that isn't Man-made. This place is FLAT! and all laid out in grids based on all these roads that are exactly one mile apart running East to West parallel to each other. So orderly a plan, it just seems wrong to continue it out into the suburbs from the city, and it continues even way out into the rural areas. I just don't look at Life at right angles, I guess. The story goes that New England roads were laid out by cows, and I think I prefer the good job they did.
Another goal I have is to take some pictures, and so far all I've seen is a bunch of busy roads, strip malls, industrial areas and giant factories, and a little bit of residential Suburbia and Rural. All of the newer-constructed houses out there are wildly incongruous with the surroundings. They look like something you'd see in Spain or Italy. There are a few old barns and farmhouses and small one-story brick houses, often obscured by a new McMansion/Villa house, and they're all laid out in that ninety degree Expanse. I really haven't seen much of anything interesting to shoot. Did I mention how flat it is here? I noticed that the local Tax Return Services employ people to go out by the road and dress up like the Statue of Liberty with a sign advertising their service. I have seen this before in Connecticut, but the two guys I have seen doing it here are goofing on it big time. One of them wears a red ski mask, and stands out in front of the Wal-Mart on VanDyke, and the other one is further North on VanDyke.. This guy has some kind of green foam mask matching the color of the Oxidized Copper Green of the costume, making him look like some mutated Gumby. It is my goal to get good pictures of these two. It's hard with the traffic. I pulled into a gas station across six lanes of Van Dyke and snuck behind the van and tried to surreptitiously get some shots of the ski mask guy, but I think I was too far away. I 'm going to keep trying. It's got to be documented! I will be on this Quest!
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