The wonderful Warren Medical Center

Exterior of the Warren Medical Clinic - Photo by Frank Nemecek

I have previously posted on some of the terrible things that can happen at some of the businesses in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood. I figured, therefore, that I should mention one particular business that is obviously putting so much energy into improving our community. I am talking, of course, about the Warren Medical Center (16921 W. Warren Ave.).

I haven't had the privilege of being a patient at this august facility. However, when one looks at how wonderfully the Warren Medical Center maintains the exterior of their property, I can only imagine the diligent concern and care that they have for each and every one of their lucky patients.

I mean really, just look at what is in front of the Warren Medical Center.

Sidewalk in front of the Warren Medical Center - Photo by Frank Nemecek

While other business in the Detroit area might pollute their surroundings with annoying things like concrete sidewalks, the Warren Medical Center has taken the effort to ensure that the sidewalk in front of their establishment is completely covered in ice and snow. I can only imagine the joy that this would bring to a patient who is coming to this clinic must have as he or she try to seek treatment for an injury sustained elsewhere as they traverse this miniature artic wonder.

I would not be surprised if each of them got down on their hands and knees to celebrate such an experience. It's truly a joy that the Warren Medical Center has brought to Detroit.

I'm even confident that many Detroiters who walk past the Warren Medical Center in its current condition will suddenly realize that they need medical treatment.

I'm confident that I speak for everyone in Warrendale when I say that we are uniquely lucky to have such a place as the Warren Medical Clinic in our little corner of Detroit.

Cody High: A Life Remodeled Project

I watched Cody High last night. This is a documentary about the Detroit public high school that people from the Warrendale neighborhood would attend. The film itself focused on what happened when students there went through the Life Remodeled Project a few years ago.

The Life Remodeled Project was an ambitious philanthropic project that was conducted in the area. It attempted to identify challenges and opportunities in every aspect of a students life at Cody High; not just those that directly impact their academic performance. For example, if a student is experiencing serious problems at home then it's inevitable that those problems will bleed over into their schoolwork regardless of how much teachers may try to isolate them.

The Life Remodeled Project sought to address the challenges that these students face on a holistic level. Moreover, since this was shot during some of Detroit's darkest days, there were a lot of problems for them to work with.

A lot of problems.

I like that this documentary had enough grittiness in it to be authentic yet still captured the hope that permeates Detroit. I highly recommend watching it.

I found Cody High on Amazon Prime. However, it is probably available elsewhere as well.

Review: So Many Doors by Oakley Hall

So Many Doors - Cover art by Robert McGinnis

For the first time in 60 years, So Many Doors by Oakley Hall is available in publication. This 320-page mystery/crime novel was called, “beautiful, powerful, even masterful” by novelist Michael Chabon.

The story behind So Many Doors begins where most other novels would end. The reader meets a condemned prisoner who has been sentenced to death for the murder of a beautiful young woman. In the opening chapter, Hall doesn’t tell us who exactly this character is – only that he is on Death Row for murder and that he has no interest in challenging his sentence.

From there, the author takes his reader back in time to the murdered woman’s teen years. Her name, by the way, is Vassila Caroline Baird but everyone calls her V. In the early chapters, we get to know V, her family, her neighbor, and the ranch that she grew up on in California.

As the story continues, V grows into adulthood and moves away from her childhood home. The reader continues to meet new characters and learn more about them as V continues into her late-teens and into her 20s.

With each succeeding chapter, the reader can hardly help but notice that if someone had something a little differently or had done one small act a little different, the entire story may well have ended in a manner that was radically different from the initial encounter with a prisoner condemned to death for V’s murder.

The great mystery, of course, is the identity of this condemned prisoner for the opening pages. The reader meets several men in this story who may well have had the means, motive, and opportunity to murder V but only one of them did it.

As one chapter flows into the next, this novel presents its reader with so many options as to which one of these men could have been her killer. This fact only reinforces that the novel showcases dozens of different ways in which V’s life could have gone in another direction.

A direction that would not have resulted in V being murdered and this man condemned to Death Row.

This, in my opinion, is the main reason why So Many Doors is such a fascinating and enjoyable mystery novel to read. The reader not only follows the story that resulted in V’s murder but is called to imagine all the different lives that she could have lived along the way.

So Many Doors by Oakley Hall is published by Hard Case Crime. It is available at bookstores everywhere or by clicking the banner below to read sample chapters at Amazon.com.

The paperback version of this mystery novel is priced at $9.95 in the United States, $13.50 in Canada, or £7.99 in the United Kingdom.

Warrendale Community Organization to meet Monday

Ken Cockrel addresses the WCO - Photo by Frank Nemecek

The Warrendale Community Organization will have its next general meeting on Monday, March 4  from 7-8 pm. The group will meet in the Activities Building at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville).

The guest speaker for this month will be from the-Detroit Area Agency on Aging. The meeting will also feature a series of community updates.

Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to attend this meeting.

Spring will be here in...

SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church in the spring - Photo by Frank Nemecek

I would like to remind everyone that spring arrives in Detroit in 21 days, 7 hours, 4 minutes, and 18 seconds from now.

Not that I'm counting or anything.

Windstorm knocks down trees in Warrendale

Fallen tree - Image from Pixabay

The windstorm that we are currently experiencing brings with a possibility that trees may be knocked down. If anyone sees a fallen tree in the neighborhood, please report it to the City of Detroit's Forestry Division by using the Improve Detroit app or by calling their emergency response number at (313) 590-3336.

Crews are currently in the field responding to such calls. They will remain out there for as long as they are needed.

The City of Detroit has three different priority levels for situations like this:

1. Trees that are blocking streets will be cleared first regardless of whether it's one that was on city or private property;
2. Trees from city property that are blocking driveways or doors at homes are their next priority; and
3. Trees and branches that are down but not blocking anything are their lowest priority.

Again, anyone who sees a fallen tree in the Warrendale area is asked to report it via the Improve Detroit app or by calling (313) 590-3336.

Aging Gen-Xer reflects on Bill and Ted

Theatrical poster for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

I learned a moment ago that Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure debuted in theaters 30 years ago today. As someone who saw this film at the movie theater in Fairlane Mall shortly after it came out, I suddenly feel very, very old.

The movie was, without a doubt, hilarious and inspiring. I've seen it a dozen times since it first came out. I enjoyed it on each occasion and frequently saw things in it that I hadn't noticed the first time.

Moreover, I spent much of the spring and early-summer of 1989 working Bill and Ted quotes into everyday conversations - a fact that annoyed more than a few college classmates as well as my friends and family.

Ed Solomon, one of the co-writers of the Bill and Ted script, posted images of the original, handwritten first draft to Twitter earlier today. The words that he attached to this thread are, in my opinion, powerful and poignant. Therefore, I want to share them here.

Writing it was never anything other than a pure joy. It was hard, when in the mindset of these guys, not to feel the kind of ebullience and generosity of spirit that they embody. And we knew absolutely nothing about so-called "rules" of writing. 2/ pic.twitter.com/OafxFGCT90

— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018

And of course, George Carlin, who we all so dearly miss. To me, the fans of this movie are like family. We never thought it would even get MADE, let alone find a home with people. 4/ pic.twitter.com/jBC6p7qWFB

— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018

Chris and I have often said to each other: if all we did in our career was put the phrase "Be Excellent To Each Other" out into the world, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Sometimes when work is tough, or things don't land the way I'd hoped, I think about that and feel ok. 5/5 pic.twitter.com/GQ5Y3jDFDU

— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018

Anyway, aging Gen-Xer things aside, I want each of the people who follow my writing know that I love each and every one of you. Be excellent to one another, Detroiters!