om badged vendors

Kerrytown tree lighting brings out carolers, candles and kids

cover photo by Laurie Lounsbury

D’s T~Time —p. 3

Gif of Life co-founder saves theworld, one life at a time —p. 4

Jeffrey Sachs comes to AnnArbor for climate straight talk

—p. 5Hol iday t rad i t ions havepagan ro ots —p . 6

SOS goes wi th the flow tohe lp peop le in cr i s i s —p . 7

On My Corner - Meet VendorMiriam —p. 8

The long l i fe of DowntownHome and Garden —p. 9

Puzz les —p. 10

The Ar ts —p . 1 1

O lympian Car l Lewis sets ights on a new g loba l goa l

—p . 12

R icky Gerva is makes up forla te s tar t in enter ta inment

—p . 13

What are you do ing NewYear ’s Eve? Gu ide to loca levents —p . 16

INSIDE

w w w . g ro u n d c o v e r n e w s . c o m

December 2010 - January 2011 VOLUME ONE • ISSUE FIVE

$1Your donat ion d i rect ly benefi ts the

vendors . P lease buy on ly f rom badged vendors .

OPINION

Consumers devouredthe November issue ofGroundcover, empty-ing our shelves withthree days left in themonth. That selling

rate was twice that of the previous month.Thank you to the individuals and religiousinstitutions that helped make that happen

(though here I sit in a panic trying to getthe December issue ready a week early)!

Now that we have an office, a phone, fil-ing cabinet and workspace we’re startingto feel like a real business. (Our kindhosts at Bethlehem UCC even gave us ourown coffee pot!) A recent donation of Of-fice Professional Plus and a printer leavesus just a computer away from being a fully

functional facility.

We have several new, enthusiastic andcharming vendors who have hit theground running. They and new sellingopportunities account for the surge insales. We hope to have a vendor comingsoon to your place of worship or favoritestore. We’ll be there as soon as we receivean invitation!

2

www.groundcovernews .com

Susan BeckettPublisher

by Boodah the Joker

I am a gay African AmericanMale and I am a RainbowThug. I would use my realname but I would like to keepthat under raps. I am a Rain-bow Thug for one reason. Toshow that I tell it like it is. Toshow the rest of Ann Arbor thatthere is someone who has theGay Community’s back whenthere are Hate Crimes beingdone around town. For all thepeople who don’t like the GayCommunity, Watch out be-cause you have a very angryRainbow Thug on your hands.I am 5`7 250 lbs. and I love toplay tackle football. Yes that’sright I am gay and I played

football in high school. I cameout as gay seven years ago and Iam glad that I did.

Now back to the RainbowThug deal, some of you maybewondering “What the hell is aRainbow Thug?” A RainbowThug is a gay individual of anyrace or nationality who eithertells it like it is or takes no crapfrom anyone who doesn’t likethe Gay Community. Someonewho stands up to the oppressorsof the world, who state that ifyou are gay that you’re going tohell if you don’t change yourways. I find that kind of funnybecause the Bible does not statethat if you’re gay you will go tohell. And if it does state that

then show me exactly where itstates that. Rainbow Thugs area group of individuals whostand for the right thing to do.To show the world that thereare individuals who do the rightthing and show no fear.

We are a group of gay guysfrom many different walks oflife. Some are hair stylists, real-tors, medical case managers,outreach case managers, youname it, there’s at least one gayindividual working in differentprofessions of the world.

My heart goes out to the indi-viduals in different countrieswho can’t come out of thecloset due to the fact that they

fear for their lives. They are theones who want to be withsomeone of the same sex for therest of their lives. Some do itundercover and are not de-tected by their communities indifferent countries. If they arefound out, they suffer the pun-ishment that is given at the mo-ment and time. I stand for theright thing; I stand for justicefor the gay community. I standfor all the good and powerfulthings in the world.

Ann Arbor, you now have aRainbow Thug representing thegay community of WashtenawCounty.

G R O U N D C O V E R N E W SM I S S I O N :

Groundcover News ex is ts to create opportun i ty and a vo ice for low- income peop le whi le tak ing act ion to end homelessness and

pover ty .

Susan Beckett , Publ [email protected]

Laurie Lounsbury, [email protected]

Contributors:David KE Dodge

Karen L. Totten

Christopher Alexander

Marquise Williams

Danielle Mack

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[email protected]

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www.groundcovernews.comWashtenaw County, Michigan

423 S. 4th Ave., Room F1Ann Arbor, Mi 48104

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S t a n d i n g u p a n d B e i n g a R a i n b o w T h u g

G r o u n d c o v e r S e l l s O u t !

I’m a dog, a watchdog, and Ineed to find more dog friends.Though the proposal of “Co-ordinated Funding” was passedby City Council, WashtenawCounty Board and UrbanCounty, it’s encouraging thatCity Administrator RogerFraser, City Councilman SabraBriere and County’s corpora-tion counsel Curtis Hedgerhad assured the public thatthey only voted for theprocess, not co-mingled funds.There will be no mixing of ad-ministration with United Wayor AA Area Community Foun-dation and no money poolingin the future. Sabra evenstated that it’s illegal to mixtaxpayer’s money with privatedonations. We definitely don’twant our tax money payingadministrative costs, pension,retirement plans, endowment

and private sector investmentlosses. (Please check the finan-cial reports of the entities in-volved.)

We need to say “Hurray!!” Inthe original model, the Officeof Community Developmenthad more power over fundingdecisions. The revised proposalthat passed placed limits onOCD’s discretionary powers.The model adopted estab-lished policy safeguards againstprocedures which might beemployed to misguide humanservices funds.

To become a good dog, keep awatchful eye on how theHuman Services Fund goes.How? We need to attendUrban County monthly meet-ings. As Ann Arbor yielded thedecision-making power ofboth the Housing and Human

Services Funds last year, advo-cates should go tell leaderswhat our underprivilegedneighbors need – assurancethat the money goes to theright channels. The next meet-ing will be Tuesday, Dec 14, atthe Learning Resource Centeron Washtenaw Avenue, from1:00-3:00 pm.

Want to become a buildingdog? Come join us at “Reli-gious Coalition for the Home-less.” There are over 10congregations working on aday warming center for thehomeless. Besides, we’re form-ing a team of housing advo-cates to pursue and reclaim ourlong lost low-income housing,once found in the old YMCA.Many homeless friends withmental illness are still sleepingon the snowy ground. This isan issue of social justice. We

need your hands to build abetter community.

Woof-woof, want to becomea helping dog? There are sev-eral tent cities scattered aroundAnn Arbor. Some small tentcities require our help. Thecampers there need propanegas to keep warm in winter. Ifyou can donate, or yourchurch would like to form a“Propane gas Fund,” I’d bemore than happy to go withyou and send propane gas toour homeless neighbors. Wewelcome any church or indi-vidual to join us. You canreach me (Lily) at 734-358-5070 or [email protected] It will be my honorif I can be my Lord’s dog, andyou?

Lily AuAnn Arbor

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FEATURE

D ’s T ~ T i m e by DanielleMack

Merry Christ-mas, and HappyNewYear. I

hope you had a great Thanksgiv-ing, It is my wish and prayer thatthis is your best Christmas andNew Year’s so far. Christmas ismy favorite time of year. When Iwas little it always seemed somagical, like anything could hap-pen.

As I grew older and was forced tosuccumb to the life and gifts of ateenage boy and later that of ayoung man, Christmas slowlybegan to lose its luster, and be-come more and more just anotherday. I hated that my favorite hol-iday and number one joy wasslowly becoming nothing. Justbefore I began my transition,there was hardly a spark left inthe holiday. I was beginning todread Christmas. As I began mytransformation, Christmas beganto have some life in it again andslowly regained its magical,miraculous quality. The life andgifts for a girl or young womanjust seemed more fitting for me,and bring more joy than any-thing. The gift could be thesmallest, simplest thing to mostwomen, but to me each one is thesound of angels singing and peaceon earth. Please bear thisthought in mind if you find your-self shopping for gifts for thatspecial transsexual person on yourChristmas list.

Family is something that very fewtransgendered people have.Those that do have the support offamily are lucky, especially

around this time of year. Somany families will say they lovetheir transgendered children, butrefuse to show it. Families willrefuse to have their transgenderedchild be who they are aroundthem or extended family. Parentstell their children to be true tothemselves, to follow their heart,but when that leads them in thedirection of transition, parentsshow their child the door. As thistime of year can be a very hardtime for any transgendered per-son, I beg you to show these par-ticular individuals some specialattention. Show them some lovethat they may not be getting fromtheir family.

Female-to-Male

Female to male transsexuals arethe the group I have the least experience with; they are also theleast noticeable of the transsexu-als. Transsexual men, also knownas ftms or FTMs, are women thatare born with the brain of a manand are taking steps towards SRS(Sexual Reassignment Surgery,aka Gender Reassignment Sur-gery)). Transsexual men are toALWAYS be referred to as menregardless of situation, or yourpersonal feelings, or convictions.Referring to a trans-man as any-thing other than a man is tellinghim that you do not respect himas a human being. You may aswell just spit in their face (itwould probably be easier on themand you if you did). Calling atrans-man a woman or referringto him as such, you are whippingthem with a verbal cat of ninetails. Please, if you believe intreating others the way you wantto be treated, show compassion to

these hurting souls, show themlove and respect by addressingthem accordingly. How wouldyou feel as a man if I referred toyou as a woman, calling you“her” or “she.” Now imagine thispain multiplied to a lifetime‘s

worth, and you have some idea ofhow they might feel.

Once a woman has been diag-nosed as transsexual and beginstransition, they are required bytheir doctors to present at alltimes as a male, and should betreated as such.

Once a trans-man begins takingtestosterone supplements (akaHRT – Hormone ReplacementTherapy) changes happen prettyquickly. They begin to developmore muscle mass, a deepervoice, facial hair, body hair, in-creased sex drive,etc. This is whytrans-men tend toblend in so welland be less notice-able. Trans-menwill also bind theirbreasts down togive the appear-ance of a flatterchest and helpthem to better as-

similate into their true gender.After at least a year of living as aman, a trans-man can qualify forSRS. They need to be seeing apsychiatrist, as letters from twoseparate psychiatrists are requiredfor the surgery. They also need tohave been on HRT for at least ayear. Throw in a legal namechange and a complete change ofwardrobe, among other thingsand it can get quite expensive,even without the surgery.

Homeless trans-men have a muchmore difficult time than normalmen do. Not only are they deal-ing with employment discrimina-tion based on their genderidentity and transition, but alsofrom being homeless. The jobmarket is tough enough alreadywithout this added burden. Addto the discrimination the need topay for things like hormones –some insurance companies willnot cover testosterone (it is con-sidered a steroid) – men‘s clothesto replace all their female clothes,and the trans-man specific cloth-ing. Trans-men need a means tobind their breasts. This could bean ACE bandage, or some breastbinder shirts (yes there are shirtsmade specifically for this). Thenthere are the prosthetic maleparts, that can be extravagant or

simple. Let‘s not forget the costof things like the legal namechange, in addition to feminineproducts, and stuff all otherhomeless men need like razors toshave their face, shaving cream,showers, a warm place to sleep,etc.

Once all these hurdles are jumpedthere is still the immense cost ofthe SRS ($30,000+), and bilateralmastectomy (about $6,000). Fora trans-man, the SRS leaves a lotto be desired. Guys, imaginehaving permanent ED (ErectileDysfunction), and needing somesort of additional aid in order toenjoy intimacy with your signifi-cant other. Even after surgery atrans-man will always need totake hormonal supplements; thedosage will be less after surgery,but it will still be required.

Next month we will talk abouttrans-women and what life is likefor them, and some of what theygo through. I am anxious to getto this topic because it is a subjectso near and dear to my heart.Until then, Merry Christmas,Happy Hanukah, Happy WinterSolstice, Happy (insert your reli-gions equivalent to Christmashere), and a Happy New Year toall.

3


As I began my transformation,Christmas began tohave some life in itagain and slowly regained its magical,miraculous quality.

— Danielle Mack

G r o u n d c o v e r V e n d o r s C o d e o f C o n d u c t

I f y o u s e e a n y G r o u n d c o v e r N e w s v e n d o r s n o t a b i d i n g b y t h e c o d e o f c o n d u c t , p l e a s e r e p o r t t h e a c t i v i t y t o : c o n t a c t @ g r o u n d c o v e r n e w s . c o m

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Every vendor reads and signsthe code of conduct before re-ceiving a badge and papers.We request that if you dis-cover a vendor violating anytenets of the Code, please con-tact us and provide as manydetails as possible. Our paperand our vendors should bepositively impacting ourCounty.

All vendors must agree to thefollowing code of conduct:

• Groundcover News will bedistributed for a voluntary do-nation of $1. I agree not toask for more than a dollar orsolicit donations by any othermeans.

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cover News but a contractedworker responsible for myown well-being and income.

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MAKING CHANGE

S a v i n g t h e w o r l d , o n e l i f e a t a t i m eby Martin Stolzenberg

There is a Talmudic saying, Whoever savesa life, it is considered as if he saved the entire world.

Dr.Jerry Rosenberg saved one life, then an-other and another, and on and on. Formany years he went about saving theworld, one life at a time, mostly here inAnn Arbor. These lives were in immediatejeopardy, many were just hours, days ormonths away from death.

Dr. Rosenberg is one of five founding fathers of the Gift of Life organ transplantprogram, a non-profit service in the stateof Michigan. This organization is now affiliated with nine area hospitals in thestate that do transplants including theUniversity of Michigan Medical Center.He and his colleagues reached in and replaced failing, worn out body organswith healthy ones, almost like car repairs,but with a huge dose of compassion.

Reflecting on memorable situations, hereminisced about one of the early trans-plants he did. “In those years organs wereparticularly hard to come by,” Rosenbergsaid. “I received a call from Grand Rapidsabout a young prize fighter who was braindead from injuries in his latest fight. Hisparents had consented to have his kidney’sdonated. I grabbed two medical studentsand we drove up to Grand Rapids, con-firmed the patient was brain dead and harvested the kidneys. We drove back toDetroit with the organs on ice. I trans-planted them that night. That was somelong day. I was really bushed when it wasover. But it sure was gratifying.”

That humble start in transplantation is afar cry from the program that now exists.

“I did a handful of kidney transplants thefirst year. When we started out the successrate was about fifty percent. Now withnew drugs to prevent patient organ rejec-tion, the success rate after the first year isover ninety-five percent. This is a wonder-ful gift.”

Today this non-profit program is a $45million per year operation. Any profits areplowed back into the program. Gift of Lifeadministrative offices are on Research ParkDrive off State Street here in Ann Arbor.This is a modern, up-to-date facility with astaff of 200, including the physicians whooperate at various hospitals which performtransplants around the state. There arelaboratory technicians who subject donorblood to a variety of tests. Informationtechnologists keep track of all the potentialdonor and recipient information. There is

a public information department that encourages public support.

Close to 1,000 organs are implanted eachyear by the Michigan Gift of Life trans-plant team. There are close to 3,000awaiting organs in Michigan. While kidneys are still the most frequently implanted organ, the field has now expanded to include livers, pancreas, intestines, lungs and hearts. Anyone, regardless of age or health, can be a donor.Additional donors are still desperately

needed. In 2009, 50 potential recipients inMichigan died awaiting organs.

The choice of organ recipients is controlledby the federal government, which devel-oped a series of guidelines that all the re-gional centers use. A formula based onhow long the patient has been waiting foran organ, severity of the ailment, their age(preference is for younger ones so that organs will have a longer life), and thequality of the recipient’s immune systemare among the key determinant factors inthe choice of a recipient. This is done withthe aid of a centralized data base.

All of this is a long way to travel from Dr.Rosenberg’s humble beginnings in theBronx, New York. His father owned asmall luncheonette in Manhattan. Startingin high school Jerry and his youngerbrother helped out in the business afterschool and on weekends. Their father en-couraged the boys to get an education.Even while in medical school, Jerry stillhelped his dad in the luncheonette. Some-thing was going on in that little householdin the Bronx. In addition to Jerry’s bril-liant career, his brother Steven is nowChief of Surgery in the National Cancer

Institute. Their dad could not have imag-ined how far his boys would travel.

He met his lovely, charming wife, Corliss,while in medical school in Chicago. Shewas training to be a nurse.

Early in his medical career, Jerry was interested in being a scientist and doing research. But he initially became a generalsurgeon. As he said, “First and foremost, Ilearned how to care for people and also thetechniques to be a successful surgeon.”

After completing a Fulbright Scholarshipin the early 1960’s in Vienna, he stoppedoff in England, the country that pioneeredtransplantation and made inquiries aboutthe field while visiting their laboratories.He explained, “England, because of theirmany wounded in World Wars I and II,was the preeminent country doing trans-plantations at that time. I wanted to learnmore about it.”

Coming back to the United States he con-tinued as a general surgeon for an intensive10-year period. During that time he begandoing transplantations on animals, andeventually humans. That was the start of adistinguished career both in both surgeryand transplantation.

After the start of Gift of Life, Jerry came tothe University of Michigan to head up thetransplant team here, but continued to livein Huntington Woods, Mich., near hisfamily.

This man who was probably born whenHerbert Hoover was President no longeroperates. But he is co-director of the Giftof Life Laboratory here in Ann Arbor. Hehelps manage cross-matching betweenMichigan’s donors and the in-state resi-dents on the waiting list. Under his direc-tion the lab also tests the blood ofpotential donors for infectious diseases.

Talking to such a daunting figure is madeeasy by Dr. Rosenberg’s warm, friendly,

humorous personality. He is vigorous,with an athletic frame, a twinkle in his eye,and a witty quip or story to tell. Jerry is anatty dresser.

Jerry and his wife love to travel. Jerry ismulti-lingual; while abroad they often signup for classes in the language of the coun-try. If you go into an ethnic restaurant inAnn Arbor with the Rosenbergs, in notime he will be amiably chatting in French,Italian or Spanish with the owner or staff.

This talented man also loves wine, classicalmusic, particularly opera, art and was anavid skier until age caught up with him.Corliss is an artist and wonderful cook.

Mostly the Rosenbergs are focused on fam-ily. Talk about the apple not falling farfrom the tree. Son David is Chief of Psy-chology at the University of MichiganMedical Center. Son Andrew is the headof Internal Care, Cardio-Vascular Depart-ment also at the University of MichiganMedical Center. Five years ago the Rosen-bergs moved to Ann Arbor to be closer totheir family.

This man is one of those unsung, specialpeople we are lucky to have in Ann Arbor.One way this man’s personality shows isthat after I finished interviewing Jerry, hecalled me back with one final thought.

He told me,“Gift of Life desperately needsmore donors. Please ask people to call theMichigan Organ Donor Registry at 800-492-4881 or sign up online:www.giftoflifemichigan.org.”

“I did a handful of kidney transplants the first year.When we started out thesuccess rate was aboutfifty percent. Now...thesuccess rate after thefirst year is over 95 percent. This is a wonderful gift.”

— Dr. Jerry RosenbergCo-founder, Gift of Life

MAKING CHANGE4


Coming soon to corners near your favorite stores, restaurants andchurches are local people working toestablish themselves economically, selling Groundcover – News and Solutions from the Ground Up.

This street newspaper, publishedmonthly, contains an eclectic mix ofmaterial with a broad range of appeal.It is sold exclusively by members of thegreater homeless community.

The newspaper costs $1 and the sellerreaps a net profit of 75 cents on eachpaper. Certified vendors will be wearing nametags with their name and Groundcover ID number.

When you see a Groundcover vendor, please stop, ask about thepaper and its content, and buy one.The paper is about establishing commerce in social interaction as wellas route to self-sufficiency.

GETTING TO KNOW GROUNDCOVER

THINK ABOUT IT 5


by Susan Beckett

Civilizations have collapsed and disap-peared throughout human history, butnow that all nations are so interconnected,will the climate change-induced catastro-phe be the ultimate demonstration of theeffects of globalization? Paralyzed by thepolitical poison of proposing any new taxor impediment to the business climate,U.S. leaders are escorting us down thatpath.

As the Climate Change Summit opened inCancun, Colombia professor and worldrenowned economist Jeffrey Sachs ad-dressed these questions at Rackham audi-torium. Noting that climate change getsattention in the U.S. only to attack and de-feat members of Congress, the Oak Parknative asserted that the summit offers al-most no prospects of progress. The inter-national meeting in Japan for a conventionon biological diversity failed to make eventhe back pages of U.S. newspapers,though we are now in the midst of thesixth great extinction and the only onecaused by a species. The U.S. never signed

the Kyoto Treaty and no progress has beenmade on the goal set in 2002 to slow bio-diversity loss by 2010.

Those representatives who serve in splitdistricts and recently voted to limit carbonemissions, will not be returning next year.Since the Climate Change bill was defeatedin the Senate, the U.S. remains withoutany plan whatsoever to change our path ofdestruction. Sachs’ biggest criticism of thecurrent administration is its decision topursue horse trading with Congress insteadof formulating a comprehensive energypolicy.

He maintains that until climate change nolonger threatens corporate interests, theywill relentlessly undermine the science andthe solutions. Corporate propaganda wasclearly exposed in the uproar over hydro-carbons and ozone depletion, which indus-try scientists loudly dismissed as liberalalarmist nonsense until one hydrocarbon-producing company scientist discovered analternative to Freon. Suddenly, the hole inthe ozone existed and moving away fromhydrocarbons was urgent.

Population growth and the rapid economicgrowth of developing countries mean thatrather than merely curtailing our currentconsumption, we must move completelyaway from polluting energy sources. Al-ready, at 387 parts per million (ppm) ofcarbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we sur-pass the 350 ppm level at which the paleo-climate records reveal ocean levels 10 -30meters higher than they are today. (Wewere at 280 ppm prior to the industrialrevolution.) The average temperature hasalready risen eight-tenths of a degree andas the ice sheets melt, the earth loses its re-flectivity and so absorbs more heat, causingtemperatures to rise further. Other inten-sifying effects include increasing degassing

and release of carbon dioxide from theocean at higher water temperatures and therelease of methane from the permafrost asit warms. Climate change is now occur-ring with only the pacing in doubt.

Since 1978, China has averaged 10 percenteconomic growth per year, resulting in a30-fold increase to date. Within 20 years,China will displace the U.S. as the world’slargest economy. (They are already thebiggest trading partner of most countries.)With emissions tightly coupled to GNP,one can see the additional difficulty of re-ducing emissions during a period of rapideconomic growth. Combining the eco-nomic aspirations of the planet with plane-tary sanity is the global sustainabledevelopment challenge. Only the Scandi-navian countries are close to limiting theircarbon footprint to an environmentallysustainable level while providing a goodstandard of living for their people.

Many of the very poor already live in eco-logically marginal environments whereflooding and droughts contribute to theirendemic poverty. As sea levels rise andweather patterns shift and threats to theirhomes and livelihoods intensify, conflictsare more likely to erupt. One ray of hopeis in the economic value of deserts provid-ing solar electricity.

Sachs’ plan for saving the planet calls forenergy efficiency combined with decar-bonization of energy. For example, renew-able and nuclear energy, which now supplyone-fifth of energy consumed in the U.S.,must increase to 50 percent, while petro-leum generated energy shrinks from itscurrent level of 40 percent down to 10 per-cent by the year 2050. Carbon captureand sequestration, basically taking carbondioxide out of the air and storing it in largeundersea caverns, could also help. He is

skeptical of biofuels‘ utility since their pro-duction competes with food productionand nature and exacerbates other ecologicalproblems like the dead zones along theGulf of Mexico and other river mouthswhere fertilizer runoff has left the waterwith insufficient life-supporting oxygen.

It all comes down to money. Energy fromthe highly polluting sources is also the leastexpensive, at six cents/kilowatt hour (kwh)for coal compared to 10 cents/kwh for arenewable source. Moving to clean sourceswill reduce the growth of GNP, but by lessthan one percent if it is done over time byreplacing obsolete, polluting facilities withstate of the art, clean energy producing fa-cilities.

To reduce the immediate impact on indus-try, Sachs suggests a subsidy for clean en-ergy sources that puts them at acompetitive cost to petroleum and coal.Concurrently, he suggests adding a tinyconsumer tax on energy consumption thatgradually increases. As the tax increases,the subsidy decreases and by 2050 the in-tensity of our energy emissions will be re-duced by about 83 percent.

Of course, this assumes an environment inwhich the institution of a tax or the sug-gestion of slower growth is not the equiva-lent of political suicide. Sachs urges us toconsider our subjective well-being, whichdoes not really improve once our basichealth and comfort needs are met; callinginto question how much wealth we reallyneed, especially when the part of the cost isthe continued viability of human life onthe planet. Perhaps our best chance forsurvival is having China assume worldleadership quickly, as their system of gov-ernment can implement prudent policy re-gardless of the opinions of its people.

Jeffrey Sachs discusses global climate change: Politics, Policy and Survival

Jeffrey Sachs, Colombia professor and renownedeconomist, who recently spoke about climatechange at the University of Michigan.

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by Rev. Dr. Martha Brunell, Pastor, Bethlehem United Church of Christ

Winter weather thickens with days grow-ing colder and shorter. Often in faithcommunities, like Bethlehem UCC whereI serve, we take collections of items thatwill help people keep warm now. Hun-dreds of hats and pairs of mittens, socks,and shoes will be gathered all over AnnArbor and made available to those whoneed them. This year I am thinking espe-cially about the socks.

When I was growing up in upstate NewYork and Vermont, I spent many monthsin cozy wool socks. I frequently receivednew socks for my September birthday rightat the beginning of the school year. I usu-ally lined up those socks in the closetsometime in September. Then I was all setfor the coming winter.

Many seasons of school passed in New

York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Thoseare all states where wool socks mean warmfeet in the winter. And then at twenty-five,I moved to Saint Louis where summerswere longer and hotter and winters shorterand milder. The first September I wasthere, as was my custom, I organized mywool socks for the cooler weather ahead. Afriend thought it was a senseless gesturesince it was in the 90’s that September day.He couldn’t believe I would need all thosewool socks in Saint Louis. I didn’t, and be-fore too many years passed, I had a fewpair of cotton socks and no wool socks atall.

Last summer I arrived in Ann Arbor and Ihave gladly lined up a new set of woolsocks for the cold months. I am aware ofhow comforting a good pair of wool socksfeels. I lived very well in Saint Louis with-out them but I never stopped missingthem. I feel grounded with them on my

feet. It is good to be wearing them again.I have come full circle with my favoredwool socks.

A few days ago when pulling on a pair ofwool socks, I thought about the Ground-cover vendors I am getting to know atBethlehem UCC and around town. Col-lectively, they have dwelt in many chal-lenging twists and turns. There are storiesof previous lives, past security, and a stateof being settled. These have all been lostin a series of hard transitions. There isoften sadness, pain, and regret. Into thatmix, in this new time, Groundcover comeson the scene. As small-scale entrepreneurs,venders are courageously putting the piecesof life back together. They are working atmodestly supporting themselves and find-ing fresh sources of hope and security.Some have come up with very inventiveways of carrying their papers around town.One paper at a time, they are building

what is familiar and safe. They are comingfull circle again to more sufficient warmthin their lives.

The November 2010 issue of the papersold out in record time. Every copy of thatpaper was sold by one vendor or another ata street corner, outside a faith community,on the day of a big event, or in the midstof busy shoppers. Every copy of that paperis making possible a return to what willsustain lives and empower people. In thecoming cold and inclement weather, ven-dors will have to muster sturdy spirits tosell out the next issue and the issue afterthat one. But they are invested, by theGroundcover route, in getting their day-to-day life on more stable footing.

Every morning when I put on my woolsocks, I will remember the vendors I amgetting to know. And I will be grateful forthe determined example and real possibil-ity they are spreading among us.

I t ’s i n t h e S o c k s


RELIGION6

“Deck the hallswith boughs ofholly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la …”

Let me interpret thatmuch-lovedlyric from apopular holiday

song: The first part means, “Hang lots ofgreenery in your homes so the woodlandfairies, who are freezing their wings off,can roost indoors during the coldest timeof year.”

The next part, “Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la,”translated loosely means, “Break out thepunch bowls and fill them with 80-proofwassail, it’s PARTY TIME!”

Yes, almost all of our treasured holidaytraditions have their roots not in Christianity, but in ancient paganism.Christ wasn’t even a twinkle in Mary’seye when Yuletide festivities began.

The ancient pagans fine-tuned the practices of good will, peace and party-ing at least 2,000 years before the birthof Christ, who, according to religioushistorians, wasn’t even born in December.

Pagans were the original sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder. They wentinto a state of unbridled panic when

their beloved sun started disappearing inthe winter months.

In a massive effort to woo the sun back,the pagans gave lots of parties in itshonor. The Scandinavians called it Hweolor-tid, which means “the turningtime.” The name eventually changed toYuletide, because the proud, Celticpagans sounded like idiots whenthey tried to speak Swedish.

The mead and ale flowed freelyat early pagan winter celebra-tions, where they gatheredround the burning Yule logand roasted chestnuts. Afterbreaking several teeth on chestnuts, they invented marshmallows.

The early Christians didn’t cotton to all the pagans’ revelry, but old habits die hard,and the sun-loving pagansweren’t inclined to give up theirtraditions in favor of a moresubdued, sober acknowledgmentof Christ.

Around 340 A.D., Pope Juliuscame up with the perfect solution, declaring that Jesus was officially born on Dec. 25 and henceforth, all merrymaking would bedone as a birthday celebration.

It was not a big deal, just a minor adjustment to the pagan social calendars,and no one seemed to mind since theywere having too much fun to worryabout the tiny deception.

Winter solstice traditions come from allover the world. It was the Druids whogave us the mistletoe tradition. From

Scandinavia down through Europe,everyone agreed that fighting battleswithout the benefit of not-yet-inventednight vision goggles was no fun, so theDruids called a truce during the winter

solstice. Enemies banded together againsttheir common foes – cold, dark, daysand nights – and shared some high-spirited caroling and wassail consumption. As a gentle reminder,mistletoe was hung in doorways, and enemies were expected to embrace inpeace under the mistletoe when they entered a home. The homophobic warriors weren’t crazy about the system,so they started picking fights withwomen so they could kiss and make upunder the mistletoe.

The Second Temple in Jerusalem was thehome of yet another seasonal display offeasting and lights. According to legend,the Jews had only enough sacred oil toburn the eternal flame for one day, but asthe Jews celebrated a recent victory, theflame miraculously burned for eight dayson a very small amount of oil. ThoseJews were promptly hired to work inproduct development for energy efficientcars at Toyota.

Since holiday traditions originated fromall corners of the planet, and from a widevariety of beliefs, the holiday seasonshould be a time of tolerance for those ofdifferent beliefs. It all began with onething in mind: It’s better to spend dark,cold times in the presence of candles,bonfires, and the joyous company of others, regardless of their faith, politicsor lifestyle.

Laurie LounsburyEditor

H o l i d a y t r a d i t i o n s h a v e r o o t s i n p a g a n b e l i e f s

The tradition of sending men deep into the forest to whackdown a behemoth tree for the Yule Log was invented byEnglish housewives who wanted to sit around and drink the newest microbrewed mead without their husbandsnagging them to get the haggis on the table.

Responding to escalating hallu-cinogen-related emergencies andsuicides in the sixties, a 24-hourcrisis line was established on theEastern Michigan Universitycampus and dubbed the SOS Cri-sis Line. In the 40 years since,SOS has continually evolved, re-sponding to the pressing needs ofthe day. People call in aboutshelter and food crises today.This year, 50 percent of the peo-ple being served have never beforebeen to SOS for help.

Emergency food, tutoring, ther-apy and walk-in counseling serv-ices at the Octagon HousingCrisis Center are now all pro-vided by SOS, along with thestill-functioning crisis line. De-pending on availability, familiescan stay in SOS emergency hous-ing apartments for up to threemonths while they receive inten-sive support services to help themobtain and sustain permanenthousing. They shelter 60 familieseach year in this way, including100 children.

Some of these families join fami-lies from other county shelters inmaking the move to one of the 16transitional housing units pro-vided by SOS. The SOS model isunique in that these 16 units arescattered throughout WashtenawCounty in privately owned build-ings. The family contributes 30percent of their income towardrent and SOS makes up the dif-ference and provides intensivecase management services, chil-dren’s services and employabilitysupports.

Housing First is an alternative totraditional options for providingshelter to homeless families and ispredicated on the belief that seri-ous problems like mental illnessand addiction are most readily re-solved when housing is secureand a supportive routine can beestablished. It also reduces traumafor children in homeless families,enabling them to get back on aregular schedule, catch up withvaccinations, and concentrate inschool.

The Housing First Program rap-idly moves homeless families intopermanent, affordable housinginstead of prolonging a family’s

experience in temporaryshelters. SOS tailors sup-portive services to meetthe needs of each familyto help them increasetheir skills in job readi-ness, parenting andhousehold management.Of the 24 families livingin transitional housingunits, 20 maintainedtheir housing beyondtwo years. Families inthe program have shownsignificant improve-ments in their income,education, and familystability. Housing isavailable based on cur-rent funding and vouch-ers.

Managing their housingunits and providing comprehen-sive services to children of home-less families are among thegreatest challenges faced by SOS,along with the ever-pressing needfor more funds and resources.Finding safe and affordable child-care that includes transportationcan be a challenge for anyone, letalone a parent dealing with crisis.SOS offers Time for Tots — afree therapeutic daycare for in-fants and pre-school children —to homeless parents participatingin a local shelter program inWashtenaw County. A very lowchild-to-adult ratio enables staffto form close bonds with the chil-dren and their families, helpingthem to model appropriate par-enting and deal with the violenceand abuse that often accompanythe lack of housing autonomy.Time for Tots provides a nurtur-ing place for children so their par-ents can search for permanenthousing, find a job or get con-nected to the resources they needto regain stability in their lives. Italso gets the children fast-trackedfor enrollment in Headstart.

SOS counselors assist parents inadvocating for their children inthe public schools and in select-ing appropriate day care pro-grams when they leave the SOSprograms. Older children can gettheir first employment experiencethrough SOS.

When people first called the crisisline because they had nowhere to

sleep, SOS staff invited them tosleep in the Octagon Crisis Cen-ter. Families crowded into smallrooms while single men slept inthe common rooms and hallwaysthat staff used during the day. Asthe need persisted and grew, theysought more viable solutions.

Then, as now, they often had totransport people as far as Toledoand Jackson so they could find aplace to spend the night. Overtime, they realized there werestructural impediments to certainpeople finding housing or tempo-rary shelter and they set out to fillthe gap.

As they worked with families, itbecame apparent that the chil-dren needed more than the childcare they were providing so theybrought in therapists to help thechildren with the uncertainty oftheir lives and tutors to help fillin the educational gaps that occurwith frequent absences andschool changes. This expanded asthey brought in University ofMichigan students who run a cre-ative arts and literacy program atSOS.

Volunteers play a big role at SOSin the food program, workingwith children as after school tu-tors, summer activity leaders, GirlScout troop leaders, and in thecrisis center once they have com-pleted a training program. Com-munity members who adopt afamily help with furnishing apart-

ments and holiday presents.

A major concern for SOS directorFaye Askew King is an impendingdecrease in shelter funding at atime when need is increasing.The Homeless Emergency Assis-tance and Rapid Transition toHousing Act of 2009 (HEARTbill), currently under considera-tion in Congress, has the laudablegoal of moving homeless familiesback into permanent housingwithin one month. The problemis that funds for emergency hous-ing will be usurped to build moreaffordable housing which will beproblematic in the short term.

SOS owns and manages six unitsin an apartment building that ituses to stabilize families excludedfrom government-subsidizedhousing and need of supportiveservices. For example, if a parentand children live in federally sub-sidized housing and the otherparent, who has been incarceratedfor a felony is released, they haveto move if they want to re-unitetheir family. Another situationmight involve persons who needtheir medication intake moni-tored for several months untilthey are once again stable.

SOS also works with Ypsilantilandlords to find low-incomehousing for clients. In one largecomplex, SOS manages 16 unitsthat they use for transitionalhousing as part of the HousingFirst program. Units are subsi-

dized so for the first two years,the occupant contributes 30 per-cent of their income. After that,if they can afford the full rent andwish to stay, they remain in thatunit and continue on in a normalrental relationship with the land-lord.

The scarcity of emergency andlow-income housing relative tothe need impelled SOS, InterfaithHospitality Network (IHN,Alpha House) and the StaplesFamily Center to work togetherto streamline services. Families inneed now call SOS from 9 a.m.to 5 p.m. and IHN from 6 p.m.to midnight to get their immedi-ate needs met and be put on theappropriate wait list for a longerterm solution. Help provided caninclude eviction prevention, util-ity assistance, and relocation assis-tance.

The SOS website, soscs.org, listslow-cost housing options in thearea along with their require-ments and pertinent information.

Housing Crisis Center114 North RiverYpsilanti, MI 48198

Housing Crisis Line:(734) 484-4300

Walk-In Hours:Mon., Thurs., Fri.: 9 am - 4 pmTues.: 9 am - 6:30 pmWed.: noon - 4 pm

S O S r e s p o n d s t o c h a n g i n g c r i s e s t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s

SOS volunteers and staff member (seated) distribute Thanksgiving turkeys from Octagon House.


AGENCY SPOTLIGHT 7

Miriam first heard about Groundcoverwhile eating dinner at the Delonis Center.Organizers were trying to determine ifthere was sufficient interest in starting astreet newspaper. She was intrigued. Shejoined in a photo shoot on her way outand once her picture appeared in an ad andon the masthead, her allegiance toGroundcover was cemented.

She quickly embraced the Groundcovermission.

“I’ve been homeless before and self-esteemis important,” she said. “I’m blessed andit’s given me more self-esteem.” She alsovalues how Groundcover has become amutually supportive community and reports she has been “keeping an eye” onanother vendor. “He’s not a bad person.He just has a drinking problem. Thispaper’s giving him self-esteem and he’sdoing better, getting help. I’m learningfrom Tony how to sell even better.”

“I’ve been selling since issue one and I likeit,” Miriam continued. “I enjoy talking to avariety of people and what it does for thehomeless. I amazed at the readers’ curios-ity and anticipation for future issues. Ourlast issue sold out in two weeks! I’m look-ing forward to being out there in the rainand sleet. I’ve got my snowsuit, umbrella,gloves, boots and laminated sign and I’mhappy to do it. I feel Groundcover is myjob so I’m making my own uniform. I’mso proud of Groundcover! Each month,out of my own money, I try to add some-thing to my business equipment.” She hasalready added a cooler and cart for trans-porting and protecting her papers, hersign, and Groundcover sweatshirts in a va-riety of colors she had custom made for herat Elmo’s.

“I am an entrepreneur,” Miriam declared,“and a self-educated woman.” Her lastventure was Nawnies Dog Gone HotDogs, named by her grandkids. A loss ofperipheral vision, a side-effect of the anti-seizure medication she has taken since in-fancy, left her legally blind and unable todrive. From 2006 until 2008 she em-ployed a driver to haul her hot dog standto the U-M Diag, where she often cleared$200 - $300 on a weekend day. Once she

no longer had a reliable driver, her hot dogstand went idle, though she still has all herpermits and hopes to get it out again.

Diagnosed with epilepsy at birth, Miriam‘slife normalcy ended after third grade whenshe was committed to Pontiac State Hospi-tal. Epilepsy was considered a mental illness in the 1950’s and no attempt wasmade to further educate her. Miriam continued her own education by readingthe Merriam Webster Dictionary shefound in the hospital. There were no educational opportunities when she wastransferred to the hospitals in Ionia orCato, so at 18 she ran away.

She lived on the streets in Saginaw, Oak-land County, California and Pontiac. Aman attempted to rob her in Pontiac andshe sprayed him with the bleach she car-ried in a spray bottle for self-protection.She was arrested for felonious assault withan illegal substance and spent seven yearsin prison. It was during this time she wasdeclared legally blind and given her firstcane. She was released in 2004 to the cus-tody of her daughter who lives in Washte-naw County and now lives in her ownapartment in Ypsilanti, delighting in visitswith her grandchildren.

“I want to be successful and more thananything, I want to see Groundcover besuccessful, because it is tells the truth,”Miriam said. “So people should unhardentheir hearts. People need to have shelter inall weather, not just when its colder than40 degrees.”

8


ON MY CORNER

A d i a g n o s i s o f e p i l e p s yl e d t o l i v i n g o n t h es t r e e t s f o r v e n d o rM i r i a m “I want to be

successful more than

anything... I’m looking

forward to being out

there in the rain and

sleet, selling

Groundcover.” — Vendor Miriam

Above: Vendor Miriam, who was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and put intoan institution at a time when the disease was considered a mental illness

Below: Miriam’s homemade sign, displayed by her stack of newspapers

Paying attention to detail is rewardedwhen ambling around Downtown Homeand Garden. Among the treasures are virgin maple, Bay City milled flooring,the original Fleetwood Diner sign, and anold grain elevator that once dispensedmixed seeds for feeding farmyard birds.Rumor has it that vestiges of those oldseeds are still in the chute. A tour of thebasement reveals the last horse stalls indowntown Ann Arbor.

The building has been in continuous usesupplying farmers and gardeners sincecirca 1906 and the persistence of thebuilding and business model earned theadmiration of owner Mark Hodesh. Heoriginally acquired them back in 1975from Emma, Herman and Gotleib Hertler.The store was being run then by 89-year-old Emma and her nephew, George.Michigan was suffering from factory closings in the early 70's and downtownAnn Arbor wasmore populatedby blowingnewspapers andvagrants thanactive shoppersand diners;families did notventure there.Briarwood wasnew and shopping mallsreigned.

With more than 11 vacancies on Main St.,property prices were low enough for youngguys to buy in. Hodesh's first downtownbusiness was the Fleetwood Diner whichhe founded when he was 26, after apprenticing at Red's Rite Spot, a 13-seatdiner run by Red Shelton and eventuallydisplaced by the Tower Inn. Back thenyou could get a quality breakfast at theFleetwood for less than a dollar. Eventhen, Hodesh believed in quality ingredients and buying locally.

“The eggs were from Bilby's Farm, thetoast bread came from the Modern Bakeryin Detroit- best bread you could get backthen, and the jam came from Smuckers,and none of that mixed fruit, either,”Hodesh said.

Emma Hertler must have recognized hisappreciation of quality and history, because according to Hodesh, she bestowed the company on him.

“Sell it to him, Georgie; he's a good boy.He gets up early,” she reputedly commanded her nephew. Hodesh keptthe name Hertler Brothers and mademoney his first year. He shrewdly

purchased the lot next door and made itinto the store parking lot. Business grew500 percent in five years.

Hodesh and his wife, artist MargaretParker, found another business opportu-nity in the Castine Inn in Maine at a timethey were ready for a change. They soldthe Hertler Brothers name and businessand moved to the Inn located on Penobscot Bay, north of Bar Harbor.Parker appreciated the light in Mainewhere the blues were bluer and it sparkledlike Greece. She created large pieces of artfor the Inn and Castine School while theywere there.

Hertler Brothers faltered in the late 1990's,and faced with the prospect of an aban-doned building on the property they stillowned, Hodesh and Parker elected to re-turn to Ann Arbor in 1997 and restore thebusiness, though they no longer had rightsto the name. The renamed Downtown

Home and Garden againprospered undertheir ownership.Like today, it wasa time of garden-ing resurgencewith an emphasison organic gardening.

Parker redesignedthe parking lot,

transforming it into a popular location forweddings and parties when the store isclosed. She also does advertising covers,including those for their store, and is amember of the Commission on Art andPublic Places. She was recently honored atthe Grand Rapids Art Prize competitionfor her entry “C'ood,” a piece 10 feet highand 24 feet in diameter. It was constructed with help from volunteers andmade from donated t-shirts; very fittingfor a work whose name is a contraction of“Common Good.” A great interactivepiece, it is looking for a home, either indoors or out, for as long as it lasts.

She may be doing some more design workthis summer since Hodesh recently purchased the lot on the northwest cornerof his building that once sported a parkingstructure exit ramp. Look for more on thisproject in an upcoming issue of Ground-cover.

Hodesh is not sentimental about the business but likes being part of downtownAnn Arbor. The grittiness is part of the ap-peal, as is the sturdiness of the building.The store is a small infrastructure projectwith heating and hot water systems sized

for a house. In the winter, they wearmore sweaters. In the summer, anawning protects the store from directsun.

Through good times and bad, thestore's foundation proved solid: Plant a seed,grow a plant, harvest, cook and can it.The products carried today are similarto those stocked for the last 100 years.The town has changed and today's pa-trons are more urban gardener thanfarmer, but just like his earlier HertlerBrothers and Fleetwood customers,they have their eyes wide open and areready to appreciate something good.

COMMUNITY 9


“The eggs were f rom B i lby 's Farm,the toast bread came f rom the Modern Bakery in Detro i t – bestbread you could get back then –and the jam came f rom Smuckers . . . ”

— M a r k H o d e s h , d e s c r i b i n g t h e f o o dh e s t o c k e d f r o m l o c a l p r o v i d e r sw h e n h e f i r s t a c q u i r e d t h e F l e e t -w o o d D i n e r

T h e l e g e n d l i v e s o n a t D o w n t o w n H o m e a n d G a r d e n

Top: Downtown Home and Garden ownerMark Hodesh prepares to climb a vintage rolling ladder to check on his inventory.Right: Art titled “C’ood” on display, createdby Hodesh’s wife, Margaret Parker. Thepiece was recently honored in the GrandRapids Art Prize competition.

PUZZLES

solu�ons on page 13

10


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VJ HRVHOR. UFZITRCT HODA TCXDZWR CXFLET VZ YT. QR TRR

CSFZWT CSR QDA VYX UFZIT SDBR FZTCXYLCRI VYX RART CV TRR.

– UYSDUUDI AYZYT

C r y p t o q u o t e sFigure out the encrypt ion code to so lve the puzz le

G r o u n d c o v e r W i s h L i s t

Locking storage cabinet

4-drawer file cabinet

Computers and equipment

Adobe Creative Suite software

Handcarts, rolling coolers or rolling suitcases for newspaper transport

Waterproof bags

Office supplies like receipt books, paper and laminating pouches

Digital cameras, or cell phones with cameras

Volunteer writers, office staff, and social workers

Jobs for hard workers

If you have something to donate, please let us know. [email protected]

ARTS

by Fiona Owens

April 2010, After reading Anne Lamott

At this particular moment, life is like ableak change-of-season day, cold windygrey clouds low over everything. New MSsymptoms plague my husband Michael’slegs, which are cramping, especially the leftone, causing them to spring into the airfrom the force of the contractions, like asharp kick. His left side suffers more thanhis right, for undetermined reasons.

I am reminded of my grandmother, Flora,after her stroke. Flora’s entire right sidewas paralyzed from foot to head, as if a linehad been drawn segmenting her body. Shecould use her left arm, but her right was ina sling; her right leg was braced so she bal-anced her weight on the left. As if in apartial lunar eclipse, one half of her bodywas in darkness, the other half still in light.

Michael’s suffering does not include paral-ysis, but his symptoms do seem to favorsides. I wonder if other MS patients expe-rience this dichotomy. My younger sontells me that nothing about the brain isstraightforward, because it is complicatedin its functions and structure. But themystery remains as to why MS operates inits idiosyncratic way. While researchersstudy and debate, Michael lives with neu-rologic pain, bouts of intermittent jerking,myoclonic slaps and head clips, utterancesalmost like Tourrette’s, memory loss, bal-ance issues, collapsing hips, loss of vision,double vision, numbness, fatigue and brain

fog, et al. A day in the life.

Our de facto physician is the Internet, forless serious complaints and suggestions forphysical therapy. We look things up, runquestions by MS forum members who in-clude physicians also suffering from thedisease, search books and websites for thelatest advice we can implement fromhome. Lately, Michael has been sittingthrough hot baths, even though the bathsmake him more symptomatic. Warmwater eases his cramping muscles enoughso he can sleep. We both yearn for a cure,especially following Easter weekend when,on Saturday night, Michael was up until 5a.m. pacing he floors, bashing himself inthe head with forceful blows so frequentand intense that his face was bruised.

These jerks come on suddenly and withoutwarning. In a burst of physical strength re-maining from his days as a wrestler,Michael’s still strong arms swing with greatforce toward his head or often together, ina hard clap. He can delay it, at times, withmuch concentration; he attempts to do soin public places. The effort has cost, aswhen he finally does relax, he experiencesan especially intense reaction.

All this suffering is gloomy, clouds hover-ing over the head gloomy. A friend askedme how we cope. Howard Zinn, the re-cently deceased historian, said in any essayagainst discouragement that “the lesson ofhistory is that you must not despair; if youpersist, things will change.”

We do feel overwhelmed at times. I haveto remind myself to get up and keep mov-ing. Still it is hard to let go of the idea thatwith the right combination of action andluck, the reality of illness and the financialstress that accompanies it will wonderfullydisappear.

Many years ago, my mother gave me a setof Anne of Green Gables books, the storyof a young Canadian girl who was adoptedby an unmarried older brother and sister.Anne, in first arriving at Matthew andMarilla’s farm to live, had a habit of speak-ing in a flip way about her life, using melo-dramatic speech to underscore her personaltrials. She called herself despairing, a wordupon which Marilla pounced: “To despairis to forsake God,” she said, quickly andwith much seriousness.

Do not fear for us, dear friend. Of course,sometimes events send me crying to myroom. I sit in the parking lot before workand struggle to map out each day; Michaelneeds medications or exercise, and some-one with whom to express his grief or justchat. I need to handle a myriad of tasks.But I can’t afford to give up. As Jewellsings “I won’t be made useless, won’t beidle with despair.” Who will care for Alexand Noah if I cannot? Who will care forMichael?

Beyond these domestic worries lie deeperresponses. Hope is not only detaching thenegative prefix “dis” from the word“courage.” I know another day is coming,perhaps one with more cares, but arriving

nonetheless. We will be all right. We areall right. Another set off bills in the mail.An unexpected problem. I feel depletedand crabby. Then someone makes a jokeand we find ourselves laughing and feelingwhole.

We carry our sorrows forward in ourcupped hands, learning as we go that wecannot hold them all in the leaky bowl ourinterlaced fingers make, and perhaps thefact we have to give up and let some go ispart of our salvation.

And then, there is the need to sustainorder. I will water the peonies and therhubarb even if soon we will have to leavethe house they border. I will buff the carto a golden gleam before I return it to thelease company.

This is our place on the planet. It shouldbe tended to, for at least these moments;hope is not the spring season of the heart.Instead, it is all the many weeks before-hand, when, done with winter’s show andimpatient for the end of heavy weather, webelieve, even though no sign indicates asmuch, that the year will once again turn.It isn’t clear when. We sit on our porchesand wait. We look to the fields and sky.Then, one day, the rains begin, to cleanseand renew, and the marshy ground remem-bers. The days bring color and light. Andspring happens.

11


Hope ke eps us go ing —a fi rs t person short s tory

by David KE Dodge

Twilight shadowsSoftening contoursMottled colorsWhites and gray;

Distant soundsAnd distant passionsThese the senseOf end of day.

Silent peopleTurning homewardFor their nightAnd from their day;

For the eveningFor the night timeApprehensionsBlack and gray.

Mass anxiety

Act IVby Dan Sloan 2007

In the depths of my own depravity

I witnessed an act,

An act beyond me at the time.

Looking out my window

Onto a chill winter city street

An unfortunate slept on a bench.

Drug addict or drunk I didn’tknow.

Man or woman I didn’t know.

A car stopped.

A woman emerged.

She placed a blanket upon theperson asleep on the bench,

Got into the car and left.

I didn’t weep at the time though Ishould have

It was the most beautiful thing

I’ve ever seen.

P o e m s f o r t h e t i m e s

Olympian Car l Lewis sets h is s ights on new goal

12

www. groundcovernews .com

SPORTS

He competed in five OlympicGames, won nine gold medals andwas named Olympian of the cen-tury by Sports Illustrated. NowCarl Lewis is setting his sights onan even bigger goal: to help endhunger. In an exclusive interviewwith SNS he explains why.

by Adam Sennott

From athletic diets to fightinghunger. It might not seem an obvious fit, but for Carl Lewis itfelt like a logical move. Upon finishing his sports career, thenine time Olympic gold medalistwho competed in track and fielddecided to use his fame forgreater goals. In 2009 he becamea so-called ‘Goodwill Ambassa-dor’ to the Food and AgriculturalOrganization of the United Nations.

His aims, he declared at the time,were to change the global attitudetowards how poverty affects theworld and help poorer countriesbecome more self-sufficient.

Lewis, who won his last Olympicgold medal in 1996, says he real-ized he had to take action whileon a trip to India. He wonderedhow the locals could cope with allthe poverty visible on the street.

“I was talking to the general manager of the hotel, and I said‘you know, you drive past thesepeople every day and they’re hungry, and they’re homeless, andthey don’t have anything,” Lewissaid. “How do you do it, and justkeep driving?’ And the guy said,‘well you get used to it.’

“That just kind of hit me. Howcan we get used to that? Weshould be doing something aboutthat. And then it wasn’t long afterthat, that I was approached byFAO to be an ambassador, and Isaid: ‘absolutely’. Because, howcan we have an attitude in ourcountry, or in our world wherewe say, ‘oh I will get used to it,’and just step over it and keepgoing. It just shouldn’t happen.”

Lewis’ experience in India madehim realize a lot of work needs tobe done to change people’s perceptions about poverty andhunger. He also realized that hisincredibly successful athletic career could help to achieve someof that change.

“Well, people listen,” said Lewisof the affect his athletic successhas had on his fight against

hunger. “I think that there are acouple of things. Number one,obviously, the fame, it brings people to the party, and that’s agreat thing that the hard workand dedication did.”

Credibility

Lewis feels that his life experienceas a professional sportsman hasshaped the way he looks at theworld. His athletic career allowedhim to travel around the worldand visit countries most peoplenever get the opportunity to see.

“I have seen the world, you know.I have been to the smallest placesin Vietnam, and I have been toIndia, and I have been to thewealthiest countries in the world;the United States, and I have seenpoverty and hunger here in thiscountry.”

“I think that it brings some credibility. It’s kind of funny in away that all of those accoladesalso took me to Poona, India,which is one of the poorest placesyou could imagine, or way outinto the country side outside ofHo Chi Minh City. So I thinkthat it’s more than just the fame.Everybody knows who I am andthey will listen because they sawme on television. I got the opportunity to go to those placesand see hunger and see how it affects people. And also to seehow it affects us, even in a developed nation.”

Armed with this awareness, Lewishas set out to open people’s eyesto the realities of hunger. Hehopes, he said, to change the

global attitudes about howpoverty affects the world.

“The biggest thing for me isglobal attitude. I know that I buttup against people a lot in America with their ‘Well, I havemine’ attitude. Whether it is welfare or food stamps here in theUnited States, (the attidude is oneof ) ‘I have mine, and the poorshould just work, they’re justlazy”, said Lewis.

“But actually, the reality is thateven a lot of people that thinkthey have it all are one paycheckaway or one step away (frombeing homeless).”

“A lot of developing countrieshaven’t been treated well becauseultimately, in a lot of cases,they’re actually being used. Theirresources are being used, andthey’ve been abused and thendumped.”

“What I would like is our globalattitude to change. A world wherewe say: ‘You know what, if oneperson’s hungry in the world,we’re all hungry. And if I am thewealthiest person, then I careabout it.”

“There are so many very wealthypeople doing wonderful things,like the Gates Foundation andBill Clinton. Bill Gates is thewealthiest man in the world andhe works tirelessly to do thingsfor other people. I wish thateveryone would take his lead, thatwealthy people would take hislead or Warren Buffett’s lead, ortake the lead of Bill Clinton, ortake the lead of people who are

really giving back. That’s how wesolve the problem, it’s attitude adjustment.”

Self-sufficient

According to FAO estimates,there were over 1 billion undernourished individuals in2009. Although Lewis realizesthat changing people’s perceptionabout how poverty affects theworld would be a big step in thefight against hunger, he also acknowledges that more needs tobe done, such as working to makepoorer countries more self-suffi-cient.

“I think one of the things weneed to do -and what the FAO isfocusing more on- is helping people to become self-sufficient.Instead of dropping food all thetime, we need to think: how canwe help them grow their ownfood? How can we help them develop their own areas?”

“I think that’s the biggest issue,and it is a huge benefit for every-one in the world if countries canbecome more self-sufficient. Instead of giving them food, givethem feed and fertilizer. Then allof a sudden we are helping thembecome self-sufficient, and thenwe can move on to the nextgroup, and then just check backup.”

MDG Champion

Earlier this year the UN calledupon Lewis to help promote theMillenium Development Goalsby becoming an ‘MDG Cham-pion’. In September he attended ahigh profile summit in New York,where even the likes of Bill andHillary Clinton were present.Whilst the experts discussed theprogress of the MDG’s in the runup to their deadline in 2015,Lewis gained an insight in theenormity of the tasks.

“I think the biggest thing is thatwe are marching, but we’re notmarching fast enough becausethere is still a billion people hun-gry,” said Lewis. “But it was anhonor to be a part of it, sitting inmeetings and discussing issues,not just making appearances butactually discussing issues andideas that can make a difference.”

“We have to make the unobtain-able goals obtainable. That’s whatthe Millennium Conferenceshowed me. It is creating infor-mation for the general public that

didn’t understand the issues. AndI think that people came out ofthat summit saying: ‘I want to bemore involved’, because nowthey have a clear understandingof what we’re doing.”

The strength to stand up

Although today Lewis is using hisknowledge and influence in thefight against hunger, he has always believed in standing up forwhat is right. During his career,Lewis fought to make his sportprofessional, and wasn’t afraid totalk about athletes wages, or evendrugs. He says he acquired thestrength to stand up for thesemany causes from his parents.

Lewis was born in Birmingham,Alabama (USA) in 1961. His parents were heavily involved inthe American civil rights move-ment and even considered Dr.Martin Luther King a familyfriend.

“When I was being raised myparents were heavily involved inthe civil rights movement. Theymarched down the streets andthey were involved in the hosing.Fortunately for them they had acar during the bus strike, so theywere drivers, not walkers,” saidLewis.”They also had friendsthere, Dr. King was a familyfriend.”

“What they taught me first of allis that education is important, because you have to have theknowledge to make decisions.Secondly, do what you think itright. Do what you believe in,and when you do that you’regoing to have criticism, you’regoing to be attacked because a lotof people are not willing to dowhat’s right.”

Although Lewis was just a childduring the height of the civilrights movement, the influence ofhis parents would have a lastingeffect on both his personal andprofessional life.

“When I came into my sport I realized that amateur athletics wastechnically glorified slavery. (Itwas) wealthy people playinggames with people, and they gotall of the money. The athletes hadno control because they werebroke. They went where theywere told to go, they did whatthey were told to do.”

see LEWIS, page 14

Olympic athlete Carl Lewis believes changing people's perception of povertyand hunger is the first step to end problems. Photo: Carl Lewis PR

Ricky Gervais has only just discovered vegetables. It was about time. He’s turning50 next year, and the new culinary experience has left him completely lovedup. Asparagus hits the spot – he’s evenstarted roasting carrots and parsnips.

"They're brilliant!" he gushed, leaningback on his leather swivel recliner. Hisnewfound love seems to have paid off, ashas his new "regime". Gervais was - not solong ago -playing pot-bellied putzes, buthas lately been burning calories like there'sno tomorrow.

"I just thought, I'm 49 - this is ridiculous.Now I'm proud of being fit and thinner,but I wouldn't be if I'd had a gastric band.I wouldn't be if I took a pill," he frowns.

"I've realised something about myself. It'sthe struggle, the trying hard that's the re-ward."

With almost an hour each day dedicated toshedding pounds, it's the kind ofmasochism reserved for a man in thethroes of a mid-life crisis. "I'm not reallysure what one of them is," he counters. "Ithink it's someone acting undignified - andI do that all the time anyway. This is actu-ally the opposite. I can't believe my luck."

It's been a tumultuous journey for Gervais.Having not written anything before the

age of 36 and not started his career untilthe age of 40, he's gone from being "thelaziest man in the world" to The Office genius and now Hollywood hot propertyin less than 10 years.

"I've gone from thinking [my success] wasfun, to thinking - this is amazing! I con-stantly prove to myself that it's never toolate - it's such a rev-elation," he said.

But Gervais hascome in for a bit offlak recently. Therewas controversy fol-lowing his hostingof the GoldenGlobe Awards backin January. A Face-book group thatwants to "slap Ricky Gervais' smug face"attracted only three members, but the sen-timent - that he'd become overblown - hasbeen echoed by several critics both state-side and at home.

Today, however, vainglory is not in Ger-vais' repertoire. He recalls that when hewas on tour with stand-up show Scienceearlier this year, it struck him that thou-sands of people come and spend upwardsof £40 to be entertained by him. "It's aprivilege," he said. "I don't think - I've got

an hour, let me churn out the hour. I think- I've got one great hour to do this. They'dbetter hear stuff they've never heard before."

He adds that he's not on some kind of cru-sade, but that the job of a comedian is totickle the funny bones and make peoplethink. "I don't want to do anodyne jokes,

but likewise I don'twant to shock for thesake of it - there's novictory in that. Every-thing has to be justi-fied comedically."

At the Globes, Gervais took savageswipes at the glit-terati. With references

to Paul McCartney's di-vorce from Heather Mills and AngelinaJolie's adopted multi-national family, Ger-vais' jibes were as delicious as they were ex-cruciating. And, having asked him back foranother year, organisers have ignored thedissenters.

Gervais, however, doesn't believe he wentfar enough. "That was just me testing thewater," he laughs. "I didn't take anythinglike the risks I'm going to take this year,"he grins mischievously. Beneath, though,there is something quite measured about

Gervais - meticulous, tough and a littlemanic.

"I can gatecrash funerals and say horren-dous things, but where's the victory? Iwouldn't know what I was doing there -you have to be conscious. Bravery isguided by my own sense of morality," heexplains, "and I wanted to entertain, to dosomething credible, make people laughand say things that hadn't been said be-fore."

When The Office broke new comedicground in 2001, Gervais and his writingpartner, Stephen Merchant, had no audi-ence to please.

But things are different these days. Theirnew series An Idiot Abroad - a cross be-tween I'm a Celebrity… and Auf Wieder-sehen Pet, where their boneheadedMancunian mate Karl Pilkington discov-ers the seven wonders of the modern worldunder the duo's misdirection - has gar-nered an audience of almost one millionon Sky1, clocking up the channel's biggestviewing figures this year.

The Office remains huge. It's now shownin 90 countries. An Indian version is aboutto air. It's being piloted in Africa and aChinese version is in the offing. Satisfying

P u z z l e s o l u t i o n sf r o m p a g e 1 0

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sense of mora l i ty

13


Cryptoquotes

Solu�on: "My greatest challenge has been to change themindset of people. Mindsets play strange tricks on us. Wesee things the way our minds have instructed our eyes tosee.

Muhammad Yunus

“ I c o n s t a n t l y p r o v et o m y s e l f t h a t i t ’sn e v e r t o o l a t e — i t ’ss u c h a r e v e l a t i o n . ”

— A c t o r a n d c o m e d i a n R i c k y G e r v a i s

ENTERTAINMENT

by Helena Drakakis

see GERVAIS, page 15

www. groundcovernews .com

SPORTS14

“So my idea was that, if I aman athlete and a professionalbasketball, baseball, or what-ever player gets paid to do hisjob, why shouldn’t we be? Sotherefore I really fought onthat issue.”

Drugs

Similarly, he says he fought toget performance enhancing substances out of the sport.He says: “When it came to thedrug issue, I realized that wasgoing to take our sport down.But the best thing out of all ofit is that here we are — 14years after my retirement andmy last Olympics — and people still talk about those issues.”

“Most of the people walk upto me and they say, ‘oh youwon nine gold medals, butgosh, you’re the one that wasone of the leaders that madethe sport professional, or youwere one of the ones thattalked about drugs.’ Theydon’t just sit there and recite out my races. They actually remember what is relevant.”

Carl Lewis Foundation

Along with his own legacy,Lewis’ parents also had an effect on his future charitywork. Growing up Lewiswatched his parents start thetrack club and become involved in many aspects of

the community. That influ-ence translated into his many charitable contributions dur-ing his career, and today theCarl Lewis Foundation, whichfocuses on physical education,family involvement, and thearts.

“The foundation for me wasjust an extension of what I believed in during my entirecareer,” Lewis said. “I was involved in charity workthroughout my professionallife and then when I retired Ihad more time to start myown foundation.” The aimwas to help kids who were notstaying active and healthy. Hetries to get children back intophysical exercise and at thesame time involve their families to convince them ofthe needs for sports and ahealthy lifestyle.

Veganism

Hand in hand with his chari-table approach, Lewis decidedto embrace veganism. At thetime, he made many headlineswith his seemingly controver-sial decision to start eating avegan diet whilst being a topclass athlete.

Looking back, he said, “I didit for one specific reason. As along jumper, weight is a hugeissue. You can imagine tryingto carry this weight throughthe air. So, at the time I ateeverything I wanted, but Ikind of starved myself to get

my weight down, and I real-ized that was an unhealthydiet. So when I talked to people and did some research,they advised me to go to avegan diet.”

Of the effect becoming avegan had on his athletic career, he said, “All of my personal bests came while Iwas on this diet at 30 yearsold. But, it is a challenge tothe average person. I was fortunate enough to have acook. The only problem that Ihad was that once she startedcooking, once I became avegan, the house was dirty because she was cooking allday.”

Educating the public

If anything, his career as achangemaker has convincedLewis of the importance ofchanging people’s perception towards issues of poverty,homelessness and hunger. Hebelieves that in order to createchange, the wider publicneeds to be educated on theissues; something street papersaround the world pride them-selves on.

“I think that we need to focuson getting information out toeveryone. We need to makesure we create the opportunities to reach out toall.”

Street News Service ©www.streetnewsservice.org

Lewis dazzled the crowds at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Carl Lewis PR

A n a t h l e t e r e m e m b e r e d f o rm o r e t h a n h i s m e d a l sLEWIS, from page 12

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ENTERTAINMENT 15

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that fanbase is something Gervais andMerchant discussed when BBC Two seriesExtras was on hold.

"We sat down and thought - what did peo-ple like (about The Office)? We didn'tknow when we did it. So we thought– f**kwhat they like, let's do what we like," saidGervais, arms flailing. "I don't know - norcare - for my demographic. And I don'tcare who likes this."

Yet Gervais is pie hot on the power of Pilk-ington's universal appeal.

"Bob in Yorkshire is watching and thinking- he's right! Some middle-class people arethinking - oh god, he's an idiot, he hateseverything foreign, and others are thinking- that's so cruel, Ricky and Steve are bully-ing an idiot savant," he said, leaning back,his feet now up on the Melamine desk.

Gervais describes Pilkington, whom he andMerchant first met at radio station Xfm, asthe “funniest man ever", followed by Lau-rel and Hardy "if you're talking about pro-fessional.”

Why? Because they are precarious, he ex-plains, and because they understood thatfunny is about empathy. The yellow Post-it

notes covering the wall reveal the stream-of-consciousness scribbles of the next Ger-vais-Merchant collaboration - a series withdwarf actor Warwick Davis called Life'sToo Short. It follows the day-to-day life ofa 3ft 6in 31-year-old who runs a dwarfagency.

"Warwick's the funniest guy I know," saidGervais. "This isn't just about him beingshort - it's to do with him having short-man complex. It's about his opinions andhow he wants to live life."

Gervais talks about his characters withpure sentimentality. "I love them," he an-nounces. "The worst thing David Brentdid was to confuse respect with popularity,and really all he needed was a hug."

Whatever the reaction, Gervais' charactersare fastidiously observed. He feels the rela-tionship with Pilkington has "turned into asocial experiment", and dismisses the sug-gestion Pilkington is in any way scripted.

“Karl's brilliant," he said. "He's got a bril-liant mind. He's like an artist, he sees theworld differently. It's fascinating to live inhis world.”

The perfectionism he employs, he putsdown in part to coming to the business

late. It's made Gervais a workaholic andprotective of his material and his time, sav-ing his "pile of goodwill and my columninches and my face time on television forsomething I'm proud of and in charge ofand that's mine".

He then reels off the projects that are "his"– The Office, Extras, Flanimals, his stand-up, and two films. The rest - the filmcameos; Sesame Street; The Simpsons - "Icould do 1,000 of those and they wouldn'tenhance or detract from my career, but thethings that are mine I do 100 percent."

Gervais bites his lip when I bring up themixed reception to his high-concept Holly-wood rom-com The Invention of Lying, inwhich everyman hero character Mark Belli-son discovers the gift of lying, and in theprocess that religion is one great big whop-per.

It's the first atheist rom-com. It's exactlyhow I wanted it to turn out. I got my ownway," he said, reassuring himself that hemustn't worry about what other peoplethink.

Selling out is one thing, he said, but sellingout and failing is another. "If I only pleasemyself, if I only know that those things on

the shelf are exactly how I wanted them,then I'm bulletproof."

"If that sounds like smugness it's not. It'sthe only way I can be," he added.

That Gervais' unremarkable office, abovea Hampstead estate agent, is a hotbed ofcreativity both of them share is hard toimagine. Gervais is equally dumbfoundedat why his partnership with Merchant hasendured. They work in an unusual way, heexplains. For every idea, there's one vetoand it's out.

"There's no compromise. If I come upwith an idea that's shit, we don't change it.It's out." The result is that they are leftwith something they're both completelyhappy with.

Whatever the reason, Gervais said he's hita point of contentment. "It's all aboutwhere you are in your life," he said. "For-get your knees aching and having less timeon the Earth. It's about being happy, andyou can do that at any time - even in your70s and 80s."

Originally published by The Big Issue inScotland, UK © www.streetnewsservice.org

GERVAIS, continued from page 13

All dressed up with nowhere to go? Hereare a few ideas for places to be and be seenon New Year’s Eve:

Conor O’Neill’s Traditional Irish Pub

Dec. 31, Irish Toast at 7 p.m., DJ at 10 p.m., Toast at Midnight, Breakfast at 1 a.m.

Where: 318 S. Main St., Ann Arbor 734-665-2968 http://www.conoroneills.com/annarbor/

Admission: $60/person; call for reserva-tions, 734-665-2968. 21+

Four-course meal with your choice of filetmignon and lobster tail, salmon, rack oflamb, or a vegetarian option. Also includedare 2 champagne toasts, one at 7 p.m. forthe Irish new year and one at midnight.They will have a DJ starting at 10 p.m.and a breakfast buffet at 1 a.m.

Pride at Necto

Dec. 31, Doors open at 7 p.m. in the RedRoom. Main floor doors at 9 p.m.

Where: 516 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor 734-994-5436

Admission: Ticket price will be progressivebeginning at $10 early bird & progressingto $25 at doors. Pre-sale early bird ticketswill be available at the club and ateventbrite.com

18 and over are welcome.

It only happens every six years. Pride, aprimarily gay night established in 1985,will be celebrating New Years Eve 2011.This year's theme is “Winter GardenParty.” It maybe cold outside, but thedance floor will be hot and the club will bedecked out as a winter jungle garden party.DJ Jace spins High Energy Dance in theMain Room and DVJ Mark plays Retro,Pop & Hot in the Red Room.

Brew Year's Eve at Arbor Brewing Company

Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. 21+

Where: 114 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor 734-213-1393 http://www.arborbrewing.com/

Join your friends at ABC for a casual, nohassle Brew Year’s Eve celebration. To cele-brate they will release a different keg ofsmall-batch celebratory beer every hourfrom 8:30-11:30 p.m., dinner specials, andmusical entertainment. The last release toring in the New Year is the Terminator (re-leased at Midnight), so beware!

Baker's Ball Fundraiser: A New Year’sEve Celebration to Benefit GrowingHope at Zingerman's Bakehouse

Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.

Where: 3711 Plaza Dr., Ann Arbor

734-761-7255

http://www.bakewithzing.com/

Admission:

$100 - register online

http://www.bakewithzing.com/

100% of the proceeds will benefit GrowingHope of Washtenaw County, a group dedi-cated to helping people improve their livesand communities through gardening andhealthy food access. To learn more visitwww.growinghope.net

Give 2011 a warm welcome and bakefor a good cause! You’ll spend theevening in this hands-on class roomalong side other food lovers and ourpassionate instructors baking greatpizza, handmade strudel and othersnacks. Then enjoy eating them whileyou count down to midnight. Price in-cludes some hands-on instruction,recipes to take home, and all your foodand beverage during the celebration.They'll be hosting 50 students for thisevent, so it will be a little different fromour usual classes.

New Year's Eve Blues Masqueradewith Lady Sunshine and the X Bandat Guy Hollerin's

Dec. 31 at 8 p.m.

Where: 3600 Plymouth Road AnnArbor (in the Holiday Inn), Ann Arbor 734-769-9800 http://www.hiannarbor.com/dining.phpAdmission: $5 Cover

New Years Eve Bash at Cavern Club

Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-4 a.m.

Where: 210 S. First St., Ann Arbor 734-332-9900 www.cavernclubannarbor.com

Admission: $39.95/person 21+

All Night Dinner Buffet; Champagne atMidnight; Party Hats& Horns. Entertain-ment: Killer Flamin-gos in the CavernClub; DJ Mixwell inthe Millennium Club;and Stoo's Karaoke inCircus Bar & Billiards.

The Fred EaglesmithTravelling Show atThe Ark

Dec. 31 at 8 p.m.

Where: 316 S. MainSt., Ann Arbor 734-761-1451 www.theark.org

Tickets: $25

Spend New Year's Eve with Ontario'sroots-country original! He's going to raisethe roof, and you can raise a glass. Thereare other songwriters who populate theircreations with small-time crooks, small-town loners, and working-class heroes. ButFred Eaglesmith's songs stand out for theiredge of desperation and their raucous yetbemused humor -- and for the incredibleenergy of his live shows.

Friday Happy Hour: Drivin’ Sideways -Thank God 2010 Is Almost Over! at Liveat PJ's

Dec. 31, 6:30-9 p.m.

Where: 102 S. First St., Ann Arbor 734-623-1443 http://www.liveandgracies.com/

Admission: Free 21+

New Year's Eve - Welcome to 2011! atWeber's Inn

Dec. 31, starting at 7 p.m.

Where: 3050 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor 734-769-2500 http://webersinn.com/packages/newYear-sEve.asp

Admission:

Two choices for New Year’s Eve Party Pack-ages: Complete overnight packages start at$339 per couple. Dinner & Party packagesonly are $219 per couple.

Couples who purchase an overnight NewYear’s Eve package by Nov. 30, 2010, canstay the night before or the night afterNew Year’s Eve for FREE! The New Year’sEve party at Weber’s has sold out for 28consecutive years - and rooms are goingfast!

21+; Formal attire encouraged.

Street Buzz16


W h a t a r e y o u d o i n g N e w Ye a r ’s E v e ?

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