After Detroit One Coney Island we wanted to hit up a few record stores in Detroit, and one that Craig had written down was right next door to Detroit One Coney Island. That record store was People's Records. And it opened at 12. It was only 11:45 ish and we had time to kill.
So, we decided to leave the coney island and walk up and down Woodward.
Right as we left there was a homeless man outside the door. He asked if we could spare him some change, so he could get a cup of coffee. Right when he asked us, I immediately thought of my mom's reaction whenever I told her that I gave a homeless person in Detroit money. It is always the, "They probably used it for drugs, alcohol, etc."
And every time I hear someone say that to me all I can think is maybe. Maybe they did use it for drugs or alcohol. But, maybe they used it for coffee they said they were going to use it for.
Needless to say, I did not have any spare change. I did however have about five bucks. So, I gave it to the man. All I could think was my mom rolling her eyes when I told her I gave five dollars to a homeless man. Just on the hope that maybe he would spend it on that cup of coffee. And as we were walking away and the homeless man said, "God bless yall." I looked over my shoulder and saw the door to the coney island open and that homeless man that I just gave money to was entering it. To get his cup of coffee.
I can go on about how well that event can cross into a metaphor for Detroit. But I will not. I will just say one very general thing. When you give something hope, when you show something or someone that you actually care. Prepare to be surprised. Because that is when unbelievable things can happen. That is when the good in people come out, and that is when good people can build something memorable.
After conversing with the homeless man, Craig and I walked up and down Woodward. Two white kids in broad daylight in the heart of Detroit strolling down Woodward Avenue. And wouldn't you know it, we did not get mugged, or stabbed, or even abducted.
It was finally noon and the record store was open. And right when I stepped in I looked around to get a feel for it, and my first thought was, "Oh my Mo-Town." I mean Marvin, Aretha, Temptations, Four Tops, everyone was covered.
Craig and I were like two kids in a candy store. Craig pointed out a Van Morrison record (Blowin' Your Mind!) It was four bucks and I figured why not. That was until I saw it. Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul. Now, I can not put into words how it feels to find such a good vinyl record. I got the feeling when I found Dark Side of the Moon, I got it when I found Sgt. Pepper. And I got that same feeling with Lady Soul.
Then I got it with another record there. Iggy and the Stooges: Fun House. It did not have a price, but it said poor condition. I looked over and Craig looked it over and figured it was worth a shot for the right place. So we went to purchase our finds and got to confront Mr. Hipster Man who was working the cashier.
He was going to over-charge me for Fun House and tried using his knowledge acting as if he knew more about records than Craig and I combined. "Oh yeah, damaged sleeve... couple scratches..." He thought he was king of the castle. Until Craig said, "Yeah we already knew that."
I ended up getting Fun House for about two bucks. Victory.
From People's Records we departed in search of another record store off of Woodward. The name escapes me, and it really does not matter because it turns out this place does not exist. Or it was using the church at its supposed location as a front.
On the way we got sort of lost. We did not know quite where we were, but you are never really truly lost in Detroit. As the city is practically a grid. If you drive long enough you will hit Jefferson or Woodward and be un-lost.
And that is exactly what we did. In our side-tracking voyage we got to see Russell Industrial, a few spots in Detroit that I had not even seen before, like this neighborhood that was full of mansions, and we drove past a Pawn Shop and were about to stop, but there was no where to park.
After our failed record store trip we decided to go to this place that Craig wanted to go to for a long time. The place was called Showtime Detroit.
We got out of the car, walked through the wooden doors and we were greeted by one of the coolest men ever to walk this Earth.
I mean when you think of all the cool things that have walked the Earth you get a lot of things. For example, the T-Rex, Mike Ditka, Emilio Estevez, Tom Hanks and Santa Claus. But none of those had anything on this man.
None of these had anything on Showtime Dan.
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