A few months back, while talking to a couple of bike riders, each of us discovered the importance of changing up the daily routine from time to time. It is more easy than not, to get locked into a regular routine and end up doing yourself more strain than help. Each of us, had reversed our routines of travel and discovered how much the world around us had changed. Each of us were astonished how easily this had happened.
This past week, my travel route was flipped and not only going the reverse route, using a parallel street that was never used on the old route was used in the new. What a discovery that revealed. Whole new landmarks had appeared. Overnight, it seemed to have happened. Yet, it was going on all the time in that parallel universe only a street over from my regular travel route.
Another interesting thing that can be a benefit is not to always be in a rush. This past week, I started keeping track of the times that someone blows a horn just as soon as the green light changes. From this experiment, my take-away is this: People have grown more and more impatient and show more frustration in travel. Generally, they are also on
their cell phone to wit: their stress seems to be coming from that added piece of electronics that drivers rest their head upon while driving. On my return trip home, while sitting in traffic and watching an extra long left-turn lane turn in front of me, out of fourteen cars, eleven were on their cell phones. Eleven! It was like watching a bee hive swarm.
When arriving home, immediately, the folding chair went into my trunk. This summer, instead of my normal house routine of leisure coffee on the porch, the trusty walking stick and camera case was moved closer to the door. My pledge to myself is to get out early in the morning for my cardio walks, find a cool shady spot at the lake to eat a light lunch, and stay away from those horn-blowing, yoga fakes that want you to believe they are in control of everything. Sure sounds like it at a red light.
Having said that, finally, Fifteen years ago, A CEO from a Fortune 100 hired and then commissioned me to do research on the downtown area for potential growth and development. For six months every day during that time talking to business owners, and generally observing patterns ended with the company presenting a grant to the Deep Ellum Foundation. Now, fifteen years hence, everything that I saw, found,discovered and foretold that got Deep Ellum that grant, has come to pass and is still coming to pass with the pounding of pneumatic nail guns, cement truck and bobcat maneuver.
The Farmers Market has been re-designed and re-configured, re-constructed, re-arranged and even up-scaled. It has re-focused from the days of the old open-air sheds to just one now. The other three are now under construction for high density living. What once was an area for potted plants, trees and shrub sales is now a new building with the name
Mudhen Meats and Greens. A visitor wearing a Detroit T-shirt and I were quick to note that the name was Mudhen and not MUD HENS. Only someone who lived in the lower Great Lakes and were Tiger Fans would know that the Mud Hens is the minor league farm team in Toledo, Ohio, for the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team. Then, it hit me. Oh, NO! my baseball hero, Ian Kinsler from the Rangers is now playing in Detroit and if he ever failed to meet his numbers, he could be sent to the minors and that would make him a MUD HEN! And he could be playing in Fifth Third Field some day. Funny how life continues to be a circle. Enjoy the images. In fact, there are so many I am thinking about putting an additional slide show on the web page. It might take a couple of weeks to get things rearranged and set up, but it's worth watching for under the Writing tab.
Mud Hens and Fifth Third Field
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| Looking at the far east end of downtown from the Farmer's Market. |
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| Where the main shed once was is now high-density living in the making. |
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| Remade, the only outdoor shed that remains. This is where the water melon cornor was for years. |
