And, Yet, Here You Are

sheilamcclear:

Matt and I went to Michigan to omg-visit-my-folks, and detoured through Highland Park, where the American Dream died first. It was only minutes before Motown singer Barry Gordy’s nephew drove up next to us and started a conversation, while swigging from something held in his lap. Matt’s resulting article:

“If you want directions to see happened to the American Dream in the age of globalization, go north on Woodward Avenue. When the empty sidewalks and spiffed-up ghosts of department stores give way to miles of vacant lots, piles of arsonists’ ash and ruined factories, you’ve hit your destination: Highland Park. A beaten-down man in a black vinyl coat was there to greet me. Waving his hands furiously while I drove by, the crack-addicted hustler shouted, “Right here! I got that shit right here!””

A Look at the Heart of American’s 2nd Most Deserted City  [The Exiled]