Obama Speech at the Detroit River: September 5, 2011

So, I know its been a while since I've updated, but here is my entry that I forgot to post about Obama.


September 5, 2011:
After we finished with Arts, Beats, and Eats we went home and watched Shrek 1 & 2, then we did some homework and went to bed to be prepared for the long day ahead. Mom gave us a wake up call at 7:30 A.M. (which to a college student is unheard of) before we got up and started the morning right with scrambled eggs, toast, and granola bars. Then, sadly, when we got ready to go, Mom still ended up making us late. We parked the car and got ready for the big Labor Day Parade in downtown Detroit.

Frances at the Union Hall in Detroit

This is what our signs looked like. Notice the army of union behind us.

This is one of the many Teamster shirts that we had around us

This is what our shirts looked like

After we finished up at the parade we ran (literally) down to the river so that we could get as close as we possibly could to the area where Obama would be speaking. We got to our spots and started waiting around until Obama would speak. We had to wait for almost 2 hours before things got really going, and even then, it took almost another 2 hours before Obama spoke. There were so many speakers! James Hoffa and heads of other labor unions also spoke, then we had senators, house representatives, mayors, and all kinds of other political people who spoke. Then....Finally! The main event! Aretha Franklin took to the stage!

Aretha and her band leaving the stage

So, Aretha came on the stage. Her performance was fantastic. It always amazes me how a person can perform the same songs for 40 years and still have the kind of tenacity while singing the song that they had when the song first debuted. In the middle of one of the songs she has some technical difficulties, which Aretha shrugged off like a true pro. The microphone and the bass cut out, but the techie nerds got it back up and running. (Where would we be without techie nerds?) As soon as Aretha left we had to sit through a couple more speeches, which were well written and delivered at the right time for Detroit to start to get some help. Then Obama took to the stage.

He spoke wonderfully. He was encouraging and interesting. He didn't speak long, but he did preview a bit about his Jobs plan (which was to debut the following Thursday). He told us about how he wants to give the U.S. more jobs, wants to improve the infrastructure at the same time, but hiring people who are from the U.S. to start to fix up the country. By the end of it we were all going mad!

After this we rushed out of the arena before the crowds really go going. We heard the last 5 minutes of the speech while running from the area. And man, did we run! I didn't realize how much my feet were hurting until I started running on them. We made it out of the arena and called mom who was going to come find us and drive us back over to the union hall. We sat outside and waited for QUITE a while, before she found us. I can't say I didn't enjoy sitting though. My feet were done.

We had no maracas, so we made do with our bellies.

When we were found we went back to the hall in search of food. Remember that breakfast at 7:30 AM? Yeah, that was the last time we'd eaten. It was now around 6 PM. So, after mom got her life together, we went back to her condo and rustled up some grub. Steve ordered pizza, and Fran and I raided the fridge until the pizza arrived.

I'd have to say that this was one of my most memorable days of my life.

Arts, Beats and Eats: Sunday September 4, 2011

This weekend was truly just too much fun!

Frances and I stayed up most of the night before and had to be up at 8:30 am the next morning. We had tons of homework to do that we wanted to get taken care of before we went on to have all of our fun.

We got up at 8:30, took our showers and packed up everything that we would need for the weekend and then waited around for mom to show up. She was late. As usual. She and her boyfriend drove us out there so we wouldn't use up a ton of gas. It was wonderful knowing that I wouldn't have to drive all weekend long! Mom and Steve finally arrived at the apartment around 10:15, they used the bathroom, and then we were off!

We got to the festival around 11:45 and split up to start looking at the street vendors and the AMAZING sidewalk sales! We got to check out Noir Leather, which was right at the entrance to the fair. I'd never been there before, and I LOVED the kitty cat that was chilling in the back. He was so sweet and let me pet him for as long as I wanted. It was a little weird going into the sex toy room with my mom and seeing her browse, so I tried to not pay attention. Mom was looking at sequined shirts and pants that were leopard print. I told her she was not allowed to buy it. They were totally ridiculous. We didn't end up buying anything, but we liked looking around at the weird stuff. Mom warned us ahead of time that the place would smell bizarre, but it really just smelled like leather and patchouli.

We walked about for a while and my feet started hurting. So, we went into a thrift store called That Girl and I got some new shoes. Fran got a shirt and some really neat pink socks. Mom said that the socks looked like pink doilies, but I thought that was part of the allure.

Not long after we went met up with my parents for lunch at Mr. B's Pub. I had a California Burger, which had guacamole, tomatoes, and onion on it. Mom got the Buffalo burger, complete with real buffalo meat. Steve got the Mexican Pizza (which was also awesome, I stole a bite!), and Fran got the Black Bean Burger (which was a vegetarian option.) The food was great, the service was good and the location was amazing. It was located right on main street outside of the fair. They had outside seating, which was really good for people watching! We saw a Barbie doll pushing a stroller which was HILARIOUS! Our server was also fun to watch. She had Barbie bright blonde hair, fake boobs, bright red lipstick, Monroe piercings, and short shorts! Her shorts were so short that all of us watched as she walked away. There was no option. We had to watch.

We went back to the fair for a while. Mom got it into her head that we all needed one of these alcoholic smoothies that were being sold at the fair. They were Baja Smoothies, which had the equivalent of one shot in them, but they sold for 12 tickets a piece. Since we had just eaten, Fran was feeling too full to have one, but because mom is mom she required that we all have one together. In the end we each got one, felt way too full and had sticky hands until we could find some hand sanitizer. But, they came garnished with pineapples, so that made it ok.

I picked up some great arm socks from a store called The Wooden Hangar. They were made by Zowee which makes upcycled clothing from castaway items. They are super steampunk and I LOVE them! They were a little on the pricey side ($45) but they are totally worth it, because they are recycled and they support local merchants and artists. I love it.

Fran and I separated from the parents and went to the carney rides. We went on the ferris wheel, which was awesome! Fran was a little nervous about it, but she warmed up quickly when we started being able to see how many people were there and see the city from above.

Fran is a little nervous

 

Me smiling as we go up!

We returned home soon after this and watched Shrek 1 and 2 while doing homework and unwinding. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but it was totally worth it!

Oh My Word

I have been so unbelievably crazy busy lately! School has started for the semester, which always puts a damper on how much I can get accomplished, but I'm going to do my very best to get some new items up and ready to go within the next few days. I have a couple nice things in the works right now that might be good for it. I also think that I might have a couple of weeks off coming up in about 2 months, so I will be able to spit out a bunch of things that I've been wanting to do for quite some time now.

Alright. I have to do dishes and feed Gracie.

-Britt