The "Soul Elements"

I've done a pretty bad job of chronicling my life with the ol' iPhone. After my trip through Ann Arbor and being stranded over Xmas, I sort of assumed that this would be the new way. But like so many things I try to do on the internet, it never quite works out so simply.

Recently, I took a trip back to Michigan, where I saw A Prairie Home Companion at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. It was a lovely trip, giving me the chance to explore Detroit a bit, catch up with old friends, and have a lovely meal with my family.

Seeing Detroit was particularly important to me. I've been reading a lot about the city lately, and I have to admit that I am keen to move back there at some point. But I digress.

My trip began with me being nearly killed a number of times. For whatever reason, I have had the worst luck with traveling as of late. There's always some horrible delay, plane malfunction, or piece of picket fence in the road that forces me to drive in to a ditch. Of particular note this time around was a 7-hour snowstorm that I drove through. The storm dominated my life from Breezewood, PA to the Michigan border, and more than once made me ask myself: "Maybe I shouldn't be doing this." On the occasions when I was the only one on the road, could not slow down for fear of getting stuck, nor deviate from the tracks left by an unknown car, it changed to "I really, really should not be doing this -- it is going to kill me."

After that minor inconvenience, it was high-fives all around in Ann Arbor with my Garg buddies. On Saturday, Cathy and Zack (Garg buddies graduating this year) accompanied me to see Garrison Keillor be his normal funny-ish self. It was a very good show, particularly the Detroit musical acts they brought in to perform. The whole thing is available online, and I highly encourage you to take a look at it, if only for the higher-quality photos.

Of particular note was Sir Mack Rice, who wrote Mustang Sally. Despite being slowed by age, he had an amazing stage presence and put on the kind of show that I imagine was a staple of Motown in its heyday. Not only arrived in a suit bedecked with a rhinestone collar, but also had a little friend whose function was to provide the "soul elements" of songs. He would respond at the end of lines and on the offbeats, occasionally throwing in a "well well" and a "good god!" every now and again. He MADE those songs. And what's more, it was obvious that he was doing what he loved.

The highpoint of the show was being lead by Keillor in a rousing rendition of the Faygo song, which has far more verses than are necessary.

Here's some more pictures of the Fox, because it is beautiful. So much so that its beauty cannot at all be captured by my crappy cameraphone.

The ceiling.

The right wall, complete with columns and organist.

It's important to note that before the show, I paid a visit to the Centaur bar. This establishment was chosen because it had a large fiberglass centaur giving a double peace sign outside the building. Later, I would discover that it's signature drink (The Centaur Martini -- a mixture of whiskey and gin) was the worst drink on the planet. Good to know!

After a lovely Sunday brunch with my parents and siblings I headed back East. Cathy came and visited me for a few days, and I did my best to keep her entertained despite working 8 hours a day. She did fine on her own, and seems to have had a great time visiting some really cool places in the NCR. You can read about her adventures here. Mostly, we ate food, saw some movies, and I pitched a terrible restaurant chain concept while eating quail fajitas with her and Keith.

This adventure ended last Wednesday, when Cathy trucked back to Michigan leaving me with the memories of good friends, good times, and this drawing: