Motoring Along

An old acquaintance Tom called me the other day from his Las Vegas home after stumbling upon my website on the Internet.

“You like living in Nashville?” he eventually got around to asking.

“Yeah, I like it a lot,” I answered.

“I notice in a couple of your blogs that you mention Detroit,” Tom said.

“I lived in Detroit for several years before moving to Nashville,” I said.

“Detroit?” he declared. “How could you stand living in ‘De-toilet?’ That place is a hole.”

Even though I left Detroit 15 years ago, his callous statement made me bristle a bit and I hastily wrapped up our conversation. After which, I got to thinking about some of the positives I remember about the Motor City, and wrote a few down.

Sammy Hagar Tipped $90

My first-ever job was after my high school junior year, getting hired as a room service waiter on weekends from 6 p.m.-2:30 a.m. at the Hotel Pontchartrain in downtown Detroit. The Ponch (now Detroit Riverside Hotel) was where many celebrities stayed when they rolled into town, and I met a lot of them whenever I hauled fancy dinners and bottles of champagne to their rooms. I met Ella Fitzgerald, Reggie Jackson, Jesse Jackson, Lee Iacocca, George Steinbrenner, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Keith Richards – and on and on.

At 2 a.m. one Saturday night, I got my biggest tip ever when rocker Sammy Hagar saw me as he was partying with two pretty girls in the Ponchartrain’s bar.

“Hey buddy, where can I get coney dogs around here?” Sammy shouted to me.

“Lafayette Coney Island a couple blocks away,” I answered. “They’re the best.”

“How ‘bout I give ya this $100 bill and you go get me four,” Sammy said. “Bring ‘em to me right here and you can keep the change. Get everything on ‘em – but no onions.”

Eagles and Van Gogh

Other fond memories I have of Detroit include seeing an Eagles concert outdoors at Tiger Stadium that lasted until 3 a.m., and once viewing an extremely rare Van Gogh and Picasso exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I also got half of my college education at the University of Detroit, and took wife Jenny on our first date to the Golden Fleece restaurant in the Greektown section of downtown Detroit. And being a car guy, attending the Detroit International Auto Show every January at Cobo Hall was something I always anticipated for months.

So even though I haven’t lived in Detroit for quite awhile, I wanted to mention some nice things about my former city that gets dumped on so often. Take that, Tom. Enjoy your summers in the Las Vegas desert.

Quick Made-Up Detroit Joke

But for all the positives that I just pointed out, Detroit still has its share of crime. In fact, I once got my car stolen at a restaurant in Detroit.

It happened one night after I drove to the restaurant and pulled up to the front door, got out and tossed my keys to the guy walking toward me to park the car. I entered the restaurant and ordered a Whopper, fries and chocolate shake, then went outside for my car and it was gone.