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Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom

Post Number: 18
Registered: 06-2007
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 7:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

 June 29, 2007

Lowell:

I am, without question or peer, the most successful person you will ever meet. At the age
of 16, I reached the pinnacle of success. The very first time I spoke to Peggy, I told her, in a
matter of fact voice, that we would be getting married some day in the near future.
She replied, “Yes, I see, but,,,,,,,,,, what was your name again?”
I have used that extremely apocryphal story many times to introduce myself to a new
correspondent. It usually draws a smile or a weird suspicion as to what may follow. Well, relax.
From the day I was born, I have been a one man Chamber of Commerce, championing the
City of Detroit.
I had accessed the Fabulous Ruins site some years ago. Five, Six or Seven years ? I
never once took notice of the Forum Link until three weeks ago. It hooked me at once. Most of
the Forum’s postings are of a personal nature, except for one salient fact. That being, that people
are interested enough to participate.
Liberace was quoted as saying, “Some people are saying nice things about me and some
are saying bad things about me, but thank God, they never stop talking about me.”
Those words are apropos in promoting a thought, word or deed. In more simple terms,
they are words to get a movement, moving.
I sign some of my correspondence, after my signature, with the cryptic, LPM/Ret. I let the
correspondent figure out what it stands for. It is my way of leveling the playing field when I get a
letter from a pompous ass who gets carried away with his/her own importance. LPM stands for
Licensed Master Plumber, Retired, which I am.
So, why am I writing to you? First of all, because I love to write. Ego and that sort of
thing. But more important, I know that the written word is a challenge to any recipient to read it
and then read it again, and then again if necessary to scan the possible implications, truths or
falsehoods that they might interpret in those readings. When they do that, you have an exquisite
communication with that person to discuss, debate or flat out argue with you over the veracity of
the subjects you have written about.
Detroit will never regain the posture and position it had sixty years ago, But sixty years
from now it might reveal itself in a state that we cannot even imagine today. That state has to be a
homogenous mix of all people, all of whom are contributing to the same goal of peace and
prosperity. (Notice, I put peace ahead of prosperity.)
What is my motivation in all this rhetoric? That’s easy. I have five grandchildren and one
great-grandchild, not to mention 75 other nephews, nieces, siblings and in-laws, all living in the Detroit area. My most fervent wish is that they have the opportunities that I have had to
follow their own piper. I have always been a maverick, not a rebel.
My experiences (read life) as a Detroiter were greatly enhanced, buttressed if you will, by
my fantastic parents, great neighbors, insightful educators and a city that offered so many avenues
of opportunity for all the rainbows you might want to chas Tponetom

P.S. My check is in the mail
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Rrl
Member
Username: Rrl

Post Number: 857
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 7:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Tponetom-
Welcome to the forum, we can use all the LPM/Ret's around here we can get. The kind, well spoken words are also a welcome change to some of the guff that typically adorns these threads.

One word of warning: once you start participating at DYes, it's an addiction that is difficult to resist.

Enjoy.
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Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 2486
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 8:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jjaba and Tponetom exchanging tall tales about Detroit -- that would be my fantasy thread. :-)
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Gsgeorge
Member
Username: Gsgeorge

Post Number: 163
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 10:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

welcome, Tponetom. Looking forward to hearing some of your stories.
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Detroit_stylin
Member
Username: Detroit_stylin

Post Number: 4365
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 11:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jjaba and Tponetom would make an HOF thread all on their own!


<<<laffin
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Classico
Member
Username: Classico

Post Number: 26
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 11:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Welcome, Tponetom.

Talk about quite the introduction. I look forward to the great stories you have to offer.
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Buddyinrichmond
Member
Username: Buddyinrichmond

Post Number: 187
Registered: 02-2004
Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 11:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah great introduction even if it is a bit creepy.
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Detroitrulez
Member
Username: Detroitrulez

Post Number: 291
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 10:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

wait...WTF....i Mean WTF???I am not laffin'....although may be a bit freaked out by all of this. Guess I have been away too long (damn senior study schitt). Tponetem has ro either be on drugs or a'moling....
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Ravine
Member
Username: Ravine

Post Number: 1062
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 11:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Well, THAT'S a dim-bulb reaction...
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Pamequus
Member
Username: Pamequus

Post Number: 117
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 2:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Creepy??? Freaked out??? on drugs??? Get a grip boys.......TP is a marvelous story teller. He's a fantastic addition to the forum.

Jimaz.... I agree completely!
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Detroitrulez
Member
Username: Detroitrulez

Post Number: 293
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 4:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

phhhhhtttt...."marvelous" is, I assume, a relative term to be sure.
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Ravine
Member
Username: Ravine

Post Number: 1070
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 8:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How about NOT posting veiled insults at a correspondent whose posts are way way WAY more interesting than 98% of the drivel we usually see around here?
Tponetom: More!! More!!
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Detroitrulez
Member
Username: Detroitrulez

Post Number: 294
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 10:37 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

sounds like "my check is in the mail" was somehow diverted to c/o Ravine.

whatever. Spot ON about the "drivel, however, the next time you want to sport wood over this ersatz JJaaba doppelganger, may I suggest you simply reserve a suite at the 8Wood perhaps?

and why doth the abbreviation "LPM" stand for "Licensed Master Plumber"? methinks it might be "LMP/RET"....ego-and-that-sort -of-thing-atcha...
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Pamequus
Member
Username: Pamequus

Post Number: 118
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - 11:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Oh well, takes all kinds

Fortunately, Tp isn't the sort to be run off by one angry soul.
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Detroitrulez
Member
Username: Detroitrulez

Post Number: 295
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - 12:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

pass the kool aid!
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Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba

Post Number: 5451
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 7:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jimaz, what kinda Detroit story you want from jjaba? He's got a million of 'em.

Subjects: Joe Louis, streetcars, Hudsons, Hank Greenberg, electric buses, Cass Tech., Belle Isle in the 1940s, Detroit before expressways.

jjaba, a votre service.
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Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 2596
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 8:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jjaba, I'd just like to see you and Tponetom trade notes. It seems neither one of you can tell a Detroit story badly.

Any story would do. It doesn't even have to be true.
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Kathinozarks
Member
Username: Kathinozarks

Post Number: 587
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 12:12 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

this just made me remember Woody. He was an older African American man that I used to hang out with at The Post downtown and Wheelers Bar in the late 80's - early 90's. He always wore a suit and a hat and was the sweetest most interesting character. I really loved hanging out with him. I wish he was still alive and I could see him again. What a character.

I just had to tell you all what I was thinking.
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Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba

Post Number: 5453
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 2:20 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There was The Sheik and the Cedars of Lebanon downtown. They were Arab night clubs with belly dancers, strippers, etc.

So we went there in high school. "Sasha" would do her bumps and grinds. "Nadja" had another routine.
"Afafa" would do her thing.

Then, they'd come out of the dressing room and sip Cokes with the guys. We ofcourse knew them from Mumford HS as Suzie Cohen, Brenda Goldberg, and Shelly Fleishman. Nice Jewish girls working in the family business. Sometimes at a smoker in somebody's basement, they'd rehearse for us. It was all innocent fun.

jjaba Westside Bar Mitzvah Bukkor.
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Mauser765
Member
Username: Mauser765

Post Number: 1649
Registered: 01-2004
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 7:41 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

damn libs
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Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba

Post Number: 5455
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 4:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So where do you go for belly dancing in Arab cafes now?

In the 1940s, Joe Louis was the rage. In summertime, everyobdy was out on their porches with radios. When the fights came on, you could stroll from block to block and hear the fights down the block. The same with Tigers games.
If you knew somebody, they'd offer you an iced tea or a Pepsi on their porch. jjaba loved to stuff a bag of Planters Peanuts down the Pepsi neck for one wonderful everying snack.

Along about 11 at night, people would try to lay out on the couch and go to sleep. Maybe mom would grab a pillow and a light blanket for you. Back porches were better for quiet and in our two-flat, we had a second floor backporch for those hot nights. The downstairs tenant has their front porch with awning dad installed for them every spring.

jjaba, Westsider.

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