More on Why Detroit Rocks...The Story Never Ends

Yes, that's right. We in the Detroit area are a winning combination of classy and funky, tough and tender, and funny (sometimes, even comical). We are much more, of course. Detroit's Nicole Rupersburg, 29, who relaunched herself as a culinary tour guide after being laid off, was quoted in Fortune magazine as saying "This city is a blank slate. It's not a world of wealth and prestige and structure. Detroit is what you make of it, and here you are what you make of yourself." Who could ask for more than that?

In an article entitled "If You Can Remake Yourself Here...You Can Do It Anywhere," Fortune details the careers of 5 different people in our area who have reinvented themselves in "the toughest place for second acts." See if you can recognize the cities they come from, and realize just how close they are to you:

Canton, MI: Daniel Gizaw, 53, was hired as an engineer at GM to invent their first electric car, the EV1, in the 1990's. From there he decided he could innovate more nimbly outside a giant company and recruited two colleagues to help him build Danotek, a company which is building super efficient wind turbines. With startup funding from sources like Detroit's Automation Alley, and a renewed emphasis on wind power world-wide, the company is enjoying a power surge of growth. Says Daniel: "Don't limit yourself to the sector you're in. Look into growing industries and ask, 'What can I offer?'"

Plymouth, MI: Gerry Cox, 47, was finance director of drug giant Pfizer's R & D unit in Ann Arbor, but lost his job due to a major downsizing. Rejecting an offer to continue with the company in New York City, he decided to pursue his dream of starting a new company. He and another former Pfizer scientist went through entrepreneurial "boot camp" at Ann Arbor SPARK's Business Accelerator, refining their plan to offer early-stage drug-testing services to medium-size drugmakers. Their firm, Velesco, hired other Pfizer laid-off scientists and got $800,000 in loans from a state development fund. Their timing was good, and profits are taking off. Cox says, "You have to be mentally strong and focus on the right business niche. If you spread yourself thin in this environment, you struggle."

Detroit, MI: Angela Davis, 38, put her dream of working in the medical profession on hold when she had her first son at age 21. Instead, she went to Chrysler and worked assembling engines. She kept her dream alive by taking classes to prepare for nursing school, so when Chrysler laid her off in 2007, she was ready to get back on course. In a two-year nursing program for displaced autoworkers, run by Detroit's Henry Ford Health System and Oakland University in Rochester, Angela completed her training and will be taking her certification exam in November. From there, she will pursue her master's degree and become a nurse practitioner.

Bloomfield Hills, MI: Sheila Ann Wright, 43, left her engineering job at Chrysler to stay home with her two young children. Just as the kids reached school age and she was ready to return to a job, Chrysler began cutting them. Luckily for her, however, her engineer's mind never took a day off. While caring for her children she came up with a tiny recording device she named the Talkatoo, that could capture her voice and be played back by a small child. When Amazon named the device as a "top holiday gift pick" for 2010, Wright produced an inventory of 15,000 units, at $16.99. Her advice to new inventors: Hang in there. "It's going to take twice as long and cost twice as much money as you think."

Detroit, MI: Allan Gilmour, 76, came out of retirement in 2002 to return as Ford Motor Company's vice chairman. His goal was simply to bring stability to a place wracked by financial turmoil. Eight years later, the board of Wayne State University, shaken by the sudden loss of its president, asked Gilmour to step in again to bring stability, this time as its interim president. Gilmour was not an academic; his life had been the auto industry. But he said "I am a believer that most people are less able to decide what they can do than outsiders are. So if the board thought I could do this, they were probably right." Ten years ago Gilmour was seen as a force for diversity, as one of the few openly gay top executives in America. Now, he's seen as a critical link between education and Michigan's economic future. He has no patience with whining, or complacency in the workforce. "There's a sense of 'Why do I have to adjust? This will come back; I'll be fine again.' But no, they won't be fine. They need to train-not for today's jobs but for tomorrow's."

What does all this prove to those naysayers of our fine state? That just because someone moved our cheese, doesn't mean we won't find it. Look out world! We are unstoppable, once we remember who we are.

Time to Remember Who We Are

In the past few months, it has become more common to speak of the housing and financial crises in the past tense. Recently, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced the recession ended in June 2009. And while 2010 has hardly been a booming year, job losses have slowed and housing prices have begun to stabilize. No one's striking up the band, but we are slowly regaining our balance.

Or are we? In the past couple months, the banking industry has been sullied with stories of major flaws in the way it forecloses on homeowners who have stopped making their mortgage payments (a lot of people). With a new wave of foreclosures that may top 1 million homes, banks have hired tons of new people inexperienced in the industry to handle the avalanche of paperwork. The result? Foreclosures were being processed by "robo-signers," people who lacked knowledge or experience in the industry, signing as many as 10,000 foreclosure affidavits per month (about 500 a day). Anyone who's ever reviewed mortgage paperwork knows that it's impossible to read that much. Now, a new foreclosure scandal emerges. And Americans, facing yet another economic crisis, are reeling.

The fact is, the latest wave of foreclosures is just another effect of the housing bubble. And banks are doing what banks do; they earn money by taking in deposits and lending it out again at a higher rate. When faced with bad loans, they have to get them off the books to stay solvent. The days of easy credit are over, and many Americans are now angered with demands for what seems like onerous documentation. But "easy" credit got us all (banks and people) into this trouble, and sounder financial policies are needed. It's a hard fact we all must accept.

Yet even with the foreclosure crisis, almost 90% of people with mortgages remain current, and over one-third of all homes are owned outright. This should help put things in perspective.

Yes, the latest round of foreclosures is tough on many. But if we as a country keep focusing only on the empty part of the glass, we are not helping the people going through it. With a sluggish economy and a bleak constituency, a revival of rehiring or the return of anything but mediocre growth is impossible.

Can it be that the country always known as the "can do" nation is now saying "I can't"? For decades, we have been a beacon of hope for people from other countries who saw us as the land of opportunity. We still are. Yet so many of us are hurting that it almost seems as if we as a country have retreated to lick our wounds. I understand this, but we have no time for it. It is time to accept, then act. It's time to remember who we are.

There are those among us who are doing this. Like Andrew Mason, age 30, Founder and CEO of Groupon, a website that offers discounts on local goods and services if enough people sign up. Starting with an idea and a website in 2008, it has now amassed 18 million subscribers, and attracted $175 million in funding.

Or Kevin Plank, 38, Founder and CEO of Under Armour, whose sports apparel firm is on a roll. Up 60% this year with sales expected to hit $1 billion for the first time. But his focus is on his next conquest; sales of women's apparel (currently just 25% of sales). Says Kevin, "There is no time for 'loser talk' about the economy limiting growth. We have to go and grow!"

Well said. We have never been known as a nation of whiners, and now is no time to start. Yes, it's tough. Jobs have been lost that may not return, foreclosures are booming and in a divorce, it's the rare couple with any equity in their home. Clearly, someone's moved our cheese.

But let's remember what we do have. North America is the only part of the industrialized world that will be growing in people. It now has a higher birthrate than Mexico, for the first time in history. Those are promising numbers, yet even more than that, is our heart. Alcoa's German-born Klaus Kleinfeld, previously the head of Siemens, says: "I know the things that America has that are unique. The openness, the diversity, the dynamism--you don't have it anywhere else. If you keep all these things, build on them, I still believe in the American Dream."

So do I. How about you?

Can Man Improve on the Beauty of Nature?

Usually, no. But every once in awhile an artist comes along and does something surprising. Please enjoy the following photos of watermelons and eggs enhanced with carving by hand or by laser. They're nothing short of amazing.

Pet Custody - An Ongoing Hot Topic

With good reason, of course! What would we do without our beloved furry friends? Sadly, even they can become involved in a divorce. Jeanne Hannah, an esteemed colleague, wrote about this topic. You may find it interesting, I did. http://jeannehannah.typepad.com/.services/blog/6a00d8341c74da53ef00d83451d5d269e2/search?filter.q=fido

A Time For Planting

(Fall Beauty, courtesy of Michigan)

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under Heaven," the Old Testament tells us. Seasons changes as they are right now; leaves turning yellow, red, and gold, then falling, only to be replaced with new in the Spring. People go through seasons, too.

Yet in our daily lives, we often expect ourselves to be the same, day in and day out. Zen Master Taisen Deshimaru says, "Some people treat their bodies like machines and try to keep them running indefinitely. Then they wear out and cannot find their balance, and then come sickness and death." We need to learn respect for our personal seasons.

Dr. Christianne Northrup, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, compares a woman's menstrual cycle to the natural seasons. There is a time of the month when a woman extends outward to those around her, expressing herself and giving to others. And then there is a time when she turns inward, doing inner work and cleansing. She may not feel like being social or constantly on the go. Pushing herself to do so does not promote good health.

Seasons and cycles are how Nature progresses, and we can see how well it works. We see it in the trees and flowers. Flowers start at buds, then burst into bloom and show off their glory. In time they begin to wilt, and then to die. It is necessary to remove the old, dead flowers to allow the plant to put her enegy into creating new blooms, which replace the old. Given the right temperature, light, and care, this cycle continues without end.

Clear we, as part of Life, go through the same process. Have you ever noticed that some times in your life are overcrowded with people and activities? Maybe you have children that keep you on the run. Maybe your work pace is frenetic. Then at some point, you notice that things slow down. Projects get completed, kids grow up, jobs change, a marriage ends.

Do you then feel that something is wrong because your life has slowed down? It isn't. It simply means you have completed one phase of life. That part of your life has come to fruition and been harvested. The next, seemingly dormant phase, is equally important. It is the time for planting new seeds.

This is a time for you to release old relationships that have become toxic. To let go of activities that are no longer fulfilling. It is not time to rush into busy-ness. It is a time for stillness and nurturing. Use it to digest what has happened. What has served you, and what hasn't.

I remember when my husband and I first broke up and I felt like I was in a cocoon, yet I couldn't seem to snap out of it. I spent a lot of time reading and meditating, caring for my plants and animals and spending time alone. And it was the only place I wanted to be.

Despite criticism from others, I gave myself permission to be there. When the time came to be active, I was able to step into it, fortified with the wisdom and maturity I had gained from my quiet times. Had I not taken that time for me, I couldn't have responded as creatively as I did.

There is a story told about the Chinese bamboo tree. Its seed lies buried for 5 years, seemingly without activity. During that time it must be watered and fed or it will die in the ground. But if properly cared for, the Chinese bamboo begins to grow. It will grow 90 feet tall in sixty days. The question is, did it grow 90 feet tall in 60 days, or did it take 5 years?

The answer is obvious. It took five years of feeding and nurturing to bring it to the level where it could achieve such miraculous growth. The growth is impressive. But that seemingly dormant period beforehand was absolutely vital. And do you not think that you are capable of even more than a simple plant?

In my law practice, there are times when there is so much to do there are just not enough hours in a day to get it all done. I may work late into the night, making sure everything is taken care of. And then the cases get completed, or something else shifts, and there is quiet time.

Having learned from my past experience, I now savor and utilize these times to their fullest, instead of obsessing about not being constantly busy. Can you imagine what it would be like if the phone NEVER stopped ringing? Of course we all love to welcome new business but it is just as important to welcome the spaces in between.

Slower times are a time for planting. In order to plant you must first prepare the soil, remove the old debris and make room. Whether you are considering a new career direction, or a new direction altogether, it is the same. Slow times are the perfect time to explore your creativity. I spend my slow times writing or updating my blog, something I love to do and rarely have time for anymore. I use them to explore new ideas I have wanted to try, or to visit places I've wanted to go.

There is an ebb and flow to Life and I am a part of it. So are you. We cannot expect the waves to constantly crest; they must first subside and return to the sea. Marianne Williamson says that we are like waves on the ocean, each of us thinking that we are different from other waves and not realizing we are all part of the same ocean.

I agree. And once we realize this truth, we need to accept and allow the nature of waves. Everyone does not "crest" at the same time. We need to honor our seasons and get in touch with the power of stillness in motion. That is when the universal rhythm is felt. That is when we discover who we truly are. You can no more force yourself than you can force a flower to bloom. So don't try. Realize that you are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. And so it is.

The Hazards of Being Technologically Impaired

Two days ago, I bought my first iPhone. Being slightly resistant to gadgets I don't know how to work, I didn't come by it voluntarily. No. I got it about two months after I left the charger for the old phone in Saugatuck, Michigan during a visit there. Since my "old" phone was so old they don't even make that charger anymore, I limped along using only the car charger until I finally decided enough was enough and bought the iPhone.

Getting it wasn't easy, either. First, I went to the AT & T store, who had none available. My son said to go to the source; the Apple store. There, after waiting in line for some time, I found out they also had none. Everyone who works there has a slight air of superiority, as if the rest of us just weren't quite up to speed on the latest technology (in my case, they're right). When I did speak to a salesperson, she told me about all the cool iPhone cases, crystal covers to protect the glass front and back, Mobile Me, etc. that one can get to make a cool phone even cooler. None of these items are available in the store, however. In fact, it seemed to me that very little was actually available in the store besides demo products. They just wanted the hoi polloi to know they existed.

Apple store employees also, apparently, have no idea when their products will be arriving. There's no day of the week when deliveries come; it's just something you have to call in the morning (early!) to find out. And if by fortunate chance a shipment has come in, you need to hightail it over there immediately to pick yours up. If instead you are sluggish like some of us, and wait until evening, the inventory has been depleted and you are relegated to calling the store the next day to see if another shipment has come in.

It looks like a great gig to me. They're mysterious, hard to get, and a treasure any fool would be lucky to get their hands on. So the buyers come flocking in, hoping for the chance to pay two hundred bucks for a cell phone. There doesn't seem to be any recession going on at the Apple store.

Nevertheless, after my second wasted trip, I decided just to go online and order it myself. (And by "I," I mean my son.) He ordered it, ported my existing number over, and lo and behold, 4 days later, my shiny new iPhone had arrived and was left sitting on my neighbor's porch. (They delivered it to the wrong address.) Still, it was a lot closer than I'd gotten for the last two weeks.

After all this excitement, it was time for my next big move: Figuring out how to turn it on, and use it. My son, in a hopeless attempt to get me to "figure things out for myself" told me to take it to the AT & T store after the phone had sat connected to my computer, allegedly transferring some application for two days. So off I went, and the accommodating staff quickly helped me complete the process of porting my number.

What a thrill! At last, now I can be checking my emails and furiously texting messages in court, as I have seen so many other lawyers do. As I walked out of the store, I decided to call my son just to let him know that I was all set, on my own. Then I noticed that all my "Contacts" were email addresses...no phone numbers. (That must have been the transfer that was taking place on my computer for those 2 days.)

Well, no matter. I'll just type the number in myself. I hit "Contacts," typed in Alex's name, and number. Then I sat in the parking lot, trying to figure out where the "Call" button was. Couldn't find it anywhere.

Being the highly educated professional that I am, I did what I always do when faced with such technological challenges. I got frustrated, and immediately blew my top at what kind of an idiotic device this (expletives deleted) iPhone was, anyway. After angry words and cursing didn't work, I resorted to using my old phone, which was sitting patiently in the car with about 30 seconds of power left. I called my son, asking him how in the heck I was supposed to use this stupid phone that had no call button. He patiently explained that I needed to press the line of text that listed his mobile phone number.

Oh.

Okay, so that went well. I called him back triumphantly...and found that he sounded like he was a million miles away, using a tin can. I turned the volume up to its highest level, told him to speak up; and still, nothing. Again, I was instantly frustrated and mad. By then I was back home, where I could prove to him that it wasn't me, it was this stupid, defective phone. He asked if I had asked them about it at the AT & T store. Of course not, I said. I left there the minute they got my phone working.

He couldn't figure it out, and I felt cheated, for having received such a faulty phone. Still, at his urging I went back to the store and told the clerk my problem. She said, "Take off the plastic." What?? No way could that fix this obvious defect. To humor her, I took it off. Much to my amazement, the volume was fine. After two days of waiting, I could now make a phone call!

To all you show-offs out there who are laughing at me for being in the Dark Ages of phones, I say just wait! Another month or so, and I'll have figured out how to use the calendar. (Okay, it's not quite that bad, but close.) And frankly, I haven't even tried to check my email.

I've heard it said that crossword puzzles, and trying new things, are great ways to keep your mind sharp. Well I don't like crossword puzzles, but it looks to me like I've got a year's worth of opportunities to try new things with my new iPhone alone. And luckily for me, I've got two smart kids for backup, that seem to know all about them.

Look Out, World. Michigan's Coming Back!!

Dateline 4 August 2010: In a Yahoo! real estate article discussing which housing markets will be the strongest by 2014, Michigan came in third behind top-contender Washington State, and second-place Oregon. Okay, maybe it's not time to open the champagne yet, but according to the article, by the year 2014, housing prices are expected to jump 33.1% in the Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area.

It's true that, since reaching a peak in 2006, housing prices have plummeted 60.5 percent, so we're really only regaining half of that former value. But who cares? If "no bad news" is the new "good news," then a 30% increase has got to be considered fantastic! All the more reason to revel in our beautiful state.