Monday, September 18, 2006

One Better

Who reads Short Schrift anymore? Unless you've left it on your RSS reader for sentimental reasons, or you're wondering whether its author has dropped off the face of the planet, nobody. That's what happens when you don't write for months on end.

I've had good excuses. I moved house twice, for complicated reasons better left unsaid. I fell into a deep dank hole of depression that turned out to be probably food poisoning. (Still coming out of that one.) I started classes again and became busier than I'd been in a couple of years.

So you'd think that a renewal in posts would be the result of some happy event that caused me to change my mind, refresh my point of view, renew my sense of sharing and togetherness with the world.

Wrong wrong wrong.

I'm blogging because as miserable as I feel these days, as little hope as I sometimes have for the world in which we live, I have one thing to be thankful for.

I don't live in Detroit.

How could a city like Detroit get worse? It's almost hard to believe. But there are so many nuggets in this bizarre New York Times article -- who wrote this? why'd it get printed? does anyone in New York or anywhere in the world care anymore about Detroit? or do they just like to kick it when it's down -- that have to be shared, with anyone who knows, or might know.

Like: "80 percent of people die naked and 70 percent die in the toilet. That means most people die naked in the toilet. I can’t explain it."

Or: “White people kill themselves. Black people kill each other. Chinese people don’t die.”

Possibly the best: "It was the height of summer and people were supposed to be outside and killing each other, dropping dead from sunstroke, etc. Mr. Thomas wondered how he was going to feed his children the next week."

My god. What's happened to us?

5 comments:

DDanielle said...

Good Lord that is so sad. I have mixed feeligns of hope and digust everyday about Detroit and the surrounding area. On that note, we are still trying to sell our house, so if you know anyone looking to move to the Detroit area send them my way, LOL.

I was wondering where you were Tim. I check your blog about once a week. I just figured you were really busy.
Oh and ARRRGGG happy "Talk like a Pirate" Day!

Anonymous said...

T,

As usual, your presence is felt ACROSS THE INTERNET. Glad to hear you're feeling better, and I'm glad to get my Short Shrift fix. And I'm glad I don't live in Detroit, whoa!

-- L

PS I was supposed to take a vacation day today, but half my co-workers got food poisoning from yesterday's lunch. Burritos can be deadly. Delicious... but deadly!

Gavin said...

Ah, sweet, sweet short-schrift.

"Most people die naked in the the toilet"? "Chinese people don't die"? The hell? In the Times?

This must be explored. . .

Gavin said...

Hey, check this out: the guy who talked to the Times has been suspended, and may lose his job for breaching confidentiality.

Gavin said...

More on Mr. Thomas, from the Detroit Free Press.