The North American
International Auto Show is a site to be seen around the country, but in
the Detroit area it is a chance for the millions of local auto workers
that live here to see what they may be producing and take pride in their
company's name. Every year in January, the Cobo Center hosts the Detroit
version of the Auto show and every year well over a half million people
make the trip to the venue to take in the glory. This is a show for
everyone, even the little ones. This years event took place from January
19 thru January 27th. It was a week of beauty, style, and concept. If
you are a people watcher there is something here for you. If you are a
car aficionado this is your dream, and if you are just looking for your
next vehicle this is the place to start.
Anyhow, I took the sergeant up on the deal he offered. After
three months with the 101st in Dak To and Tuy Hoa, I was sent on a
temporary duty assignment (TDY) near the DMZ to learn field station
operations from the 8th Radio Research Unit at Trai Bac Station in Phu
Bai. From there it was off to Pleiku where we worked first in support of
the 25th Infantry Division and later the newly arrived 4th Infantry
Division.
Not only were the fads up in the air in the seventies, so were
the headline news. In 1971, the 26th Amendment was passed allowing a
U.S. citizen to be able to vote at age 18. In 1974, President Nixon
resigned from office as the Watergate scandal unfolds. In 1975,
President Ford announces war in Vietnam was finished as far as the U.S.
was concerned. And Space became the "New Frontier". In 1972, Pioneer 10
lifted off to journey past Jupiter. In 1973, Skylab was launched by
NASA. And in 1976, the Viking I landed on Mars. Boy, times were changing
fast, just as Bob Dylan had predicted. http://www.infoplease.com/ipka/A0883578.html&rct=j&q=&esrc=s
Truly the only thing Hannah's
was good for was drinking, and despite our ages we ordered up and were
served the working man's traditional shot-and-a-beer. In fact we were
served a lot of tradition that night, and by two in the morning we were
beginning to feel our oats. The dark
figure standing, staring by the street, is noticed by the two men in the
front seat of the truck, they stare but keep going, --trees blowing to
his right and left, the waves of the Great Lake of Superior, makes a
humming sound, and everything else, as if you were in the middle of a
hurricane, the stranger stands erect yet, never moving. He sees the eyes
of the passenger in the Ford-truck, a small figure, a man of about
forty, the driver calls him Skip, and he hears that. The taller man at
the wheel, his arms are solid, and frozen to the wheel, is called Amery,
for some reason you know he knows that.
There were three major car
manufacturers. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Each manufacture had a
following. Arguments could erupt over which car was the best. A man's
Dodge pickup was a source of pride. Sunday morning the family would
dress in their best clothes and get into a Buick for the trip to church.
The Cadillac represented power and money while the Ford and Chevrolet
represented the working people. People that lived in the country had a
buy truck tyres. It was a working
truck and on Saturday's the kids jumped in the back for a trip to
town. I'd never been in a fraternity in
college and only had one brother, so I never had to prove much in my
lifetime. No initiation rights, crazy acts of bravado. Not even tested
in war or proven to be a man. Sure, I've had some success in business,
but sitting in that truck with a man like Harvey just brought all those
male hormones to the front burner. Hot or mild. Just what kind of chile
man was I to become? My husband's best friend Jake is the lead contractor for a
large construction company on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. Last
year his firm was granted permission to build a brand new home Extreme
Makeover Home Edition in Armada, Michigan. In October, the U.S. State Department released a the results of a
survey of 220 U.S. private companies which showed 15 percent of them
have postponed investments or expansion plans in Mexico due to the drug
violence now paralyzing that country.