Multiconstruct

So i have been back from vacation for three days and work hasn’t left me beaten down as of yet, a new record. Reviewing our trip after the KOPN interview last night left us both surprised we found the experience relaxing. We journeyed over 1,500 miles and clocked an average gas mileage of 44.2 mpg in Trevor’s Honda Civic. Our pentultimate location was Farmington Hills Michigan, which some would shorthand into Detroit, but FH is really more of an anti-Detroit, like a photographic negative it is everything Detroit is not. We ended up pitching in on our friend’s “re-branding” of the historic Farmington Bakery into the Sunflower Bakehaus, which mostly entailed a paint job, as they have been moving their menu to wholegrain goodness for months beforehand. Painting was pretty fun with Trevor being especially hilarious. Once it grew quiet and Trevor exclaimed in a total deadpan that “the agency promised i would be given positive feedback every hour”.

Our biggest impression of the Michigan leg of the journey was the economic depression in the area. My sister Betty and her husband Bill have been talking about selling their house and buying a business “Up North” as long as i can remember but no one is buying houses their anymore so those plans were shelved. Jeff and Becky were talking about selling the bakery and going back to school, but no one is buying bakeries anymore so those plans were shelved for a “re-branding”. Its interesting to see how these macro-economic trends play out in the real world of individual lives, not destitute, but changing everyone’s plans, touching their lives.

On the drive back we stopped and got a room in Cloverdale Indiana. We decided to go and see Indiana’s largest waterfall Cataract Falls the next morning and take a little break from the interstate. On the way the local High School caught Trevor’s eye and we drove over for a closer look thinking it looked like it came out of the WPA era. It was just an art deco facade but they had paper recycling which we had collected a bundle of and on such a series of coincidences a dog’s life lay in the balance. As we were recycling we saw some serious smoke and decided to investigate. We found a house seriously ablaze and called 911. We had to drive down the street to find a street sign and we were not sure what to do after reporting it so we just continued on our journey. Neither of us were eager for a contact with law enforcement as you never know how those encounters with the men with guns are going to go so we just drove on down to the falls. Thanks to the wonders of the internet we learned it was a blocked up chimney and the front page follow up story talked about the rescue of the family dog. We took a little bow for being curious and brave enough to call “The Man” if not stick around to talk to him.

Cataract Falls was beautiful and taller than i was which was pretty good for Indiana. There was also an old covered bridge there which was lovely. In the shadow of the new bridge the surface of the water froze into this intricate spiderweb pattern which reminded me of the hidden evils of modernity spreading out in near invisible webs until they are irrevocably frozen in place.

As our trip ended Trevor proposed I come on KOPN and do an interview. I ended up talking about my work with individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse issues and the holidays. I like to think i went beyond the obvious of making sure everyone has a cozy fire to gather around and to think of sober alternatives for those of us with a problematic relationship to substances. I also talked about listening and being supportive and how to break down people’s ambivilance towards postive change. I might write a post on that topic later. I ended with a poem, my whamo poem, which Trevor and the next guy who has a show enjoyed. I will check back and see if i have posted it yet and if not i will knock it out for you all.