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. The place was peopled by extras from "Hells Angels on Wheels" and every bad prison movie ever made. This woman kept bumping into me. She was medium height, slender, had long brown hair and three teeth. Her face looked a little like it had caught fire and some caring person had tried to put it out with an ax. Every time we collided I apologized nervously and she walked away. From behind she could have been Miss America. I swear.

To give you an idea of the depth of the collection, on display is a 1926 Rolls-Royce. Wilbert Grinsven, the curator tells me that there were only two years that Rolls-Royce manufactured cars in the United States. Those years were 1926 and 1927. This car is one of the few Rolls Royce's made here during that time. The auto manufacturer decided that it was not economically feasible to continue manufacturing autos in the US and closed its factory here in the states after only 2 years. Another example of a beautiful old car is a car used in the movie "Driving Miss Daisy". straight from the source Hannah's was just a hole-in-the-wall, long and narrow with a bar running almost the whole length of the building. The brick on the face of the building, and the white wooden door outside, were nearly black from years of soot from the coke plant and steel mills. Patrons tended to be older folks who spent what was left of their paychecks on booze, Polish sausages, hard-boiled eggs, and illegal tip boards. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Have you ever been involved in a situation where you felt you were treated unfairly, yet you didn't know how to resolve it? We all face situations like these most every day. Of course, the easiest "remedy" is to just keep quiet and not deal with the problem. But, in reality, the best remedy is to negotiate a resolution so the matter can end. I had just started on another beer when someone dropped a few coins in the juke box. The music was bad country. To my utter disgust the first song that played was that "I want to stick a boot up your butt" super-patriotic, ultra-jingoist thing by the guy in the buy truck tires commercials. The people around me began to sing along loudly. To digress a bit, I need to tell you that Sgt. Grace lied. First, the language I was assigned to study was Vietnamese. Second, after going through the 101st Airborne Division's jungle combat school in Phan Rang, I was assigned to the 1st Brigade, a reactionary unit. I joined them in Dak To, and early the next morning was flown out to join an artillery battery in what was called "Operation Eagle Bait". Didn't take long to find out we were the bait, and Charlie was the eagle. The objective was to tempt the Viet Cong into attacking us, then bring in an assault wave of Huey's loaded with infantry, and wipe the enemy out. What I quickly discovered is that there is nothing in the world comparable to the first night you are brought out of a deep sleep by M-60 machine gun fire. Skip: "Yaw, I can see that, let me yell at him: --'Hay stupid, yaw you, what you doing!"' Amery looks at Skip as if that might not be the smartest thing to do. The situation might sound like a win-win but some people say "Cash for Clunkers" is a speed bump, slowing customers who might want a used car. Used car dealers at Naff Auto Sales told WSLS the program could force people into buying a new car. Another possible problem, Clunkers traded in with the program have to be destroyed, meaning they won't end up for sale on a used car lot. Better for the environment, bad for used car business. But many say it's a trade we need to make. Many don't want to put the brakes on the program. In an interview with WSLS, the president of Berglund Automotive said close to 40 people have taken advantage of the government program so far. They say "Cash for Clunkers" is giving customers the kick they need to get a new car.