Allow Me to Stand on My Soapbox for a Moment

I'm not one to toot my own horn. Everyone loves praise and wants to hear that they're doing a good job, but public praise makes me uncomfortable. So please note, this post is not meant to put me on a pedestal. Rather it's to share something with those of you who I know tap into my blog, but aren't avid social media users, so you probably missed the "tweets" and Facebook posts.

I had the opportunity to write a guest post for The Detroit Free press about how metro Detroiters use social media to connect offline. I figured posting this on my blog was a more efficient way to share it than sending a massive amount of individual e-mails. This article is similar to my recent "We're All in This Together" post.

Some people think I'm crazy because I like to bebop around town after work and participate in many of the events that take place weekly in metro Detroit. The word "networking" is a bit old school, so I'd lean toward calling what I do relationship building. I've apologized to MAL on several occasions for coming home late, but he told me once that I always come home happy, and he'd never want to take that away from me. Yes, he rocks.

I hope you non-SM geeks find some value in my post! Thanks to Mark W. Smith for the opportunity to share my thoughts with the Freep community. It was a fun experience, and I hope to contribute more guest columns in the future.

Chile is That Long, Skinny Country, Right?

**A few cities I visited while in Chile. Top, Mt. Villarrica in the city of Pucon. Bottom, the colorful houses in the city of Castro. 

One of my favorite life experiences was studying abroad in Valdivia, Chile and living with an amazing family for almost five months. I absolutely loved Chile and treasure the memories I created in those few short months. 

You wouldn't believe the reactions I got from people when I first delivered the news that I chose Chile as my study abroad destination. The responses ranged from "Isn't Chile a huge jungle?" to "Isn't Chile full of drug traffickers?" I realized how little we Americans know about this skinny coastal country. I hardly knew anything about Chile until I immersed myself in the culture. 

So imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw an entire article dedicated to exploring Chile smack dab on the front page of the Detroit Free Press travel section today. I have to give HUGE props to Ellen Creager for writing this amazing article and giving people a glimpse into what Chile is all about. The Freep only keeps articles posted for 14 days before they are archived, so although the article is lengthy, I am posting it here to preserve it! Trust me, it's well worth the read. 

Explore Chile's well-run cities and remote past

2,600 miles of contrasts

Story and Photos by ELLEN CREAGER

FREE PRESS TRAVEL WRITER

"And it was at that age...Poetry arrived

in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where

it came from, from winter or a river."

-- Chilean poet Pablo Neruda

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Name one thing you know about Chile.

Tango? That's Argentina.

Tortillas? Not here.

Carnival? Try Brazil.

Think. Think of a long, skinny South American country in the shape of a backward "J" hemmed in between the Andes and the blue Pacific. The one where a poet named Neruda and a dictator named Pinochet lived. The one where wine comes from, the one with alpacas in the north, with penguins in the south, with deserts, forests, beaches, mountains and a middle-class standard of living, yet which remains a 2,600-mile ribbon of mystery, often even to its citizens.

Si. Yes. You've got it now.

"People come here expecting to see something primitive," says Felipe Moreno, a Santiago painter and musician. "They're very surprised." 

Chile has one of Latin America's most stable democracies, its highest GDP per capita, safe streets and a reputation as one of the least corrupt nations in the world -- an amazing feat, considering its past of dictatorship and coups.

Its tourist infrastructure is very good, especially in the central valley and coast, where 80% of the population lives.

Yet even experienced American tourists who have visited Brazil, Columbia, Peru or Argentina usually miss Chile, a 9-hour plane ride from Dallas or Miami. The dilemma for travelers? In Chile, distances are so vast there is no way to see everything in one trip. 

The best one can hope for is to choose two drastically contrasting areas of the nation -- for instance, Arica, a small port town in far northern Chile; and Santiago/Valparaiso, big cities in the center -- and hope to get a larger feel for the place. 

Even then, Chile has a way of slipping out of your grasp. Like winter or a river. 

Soul of Santiago

To me, Santiago seems a solemn grownup. Skyscrapers loom over its 6 million scurrying citizens. Snowy peaks of the Andes loom vaguely in the distance behind a wafting veil of haze. Santiago has a haughty European atmosphere and an excellent metro system -- signaling an orderly lifestyle minus the wild eccentricities of other South American capitals.

But all is not as it appears. Santiago has a passionate past. 

Visit the La Moneda presidential palace on Santiago's main plaza, and see the spot where, on Sept. 11, 1973, elected socialist President Salvador Allende, power stripped by a coup and trapped in the palace, broadcast a radio announcement to the nation then took his own life as jet bombers soared overhead.

That started the iron rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, dictator from 1973 to 1988. 

Since then, four democratically elected presidents (the current one is Michelle Bachelet) have brought Chile into modern democracy.

Now, a statue of Allende stands near the palace. Friendly ceremonial palace guards in elaborate uniforms of creamy white pose with the tourists.  Yesterday's tears are today's stepping stones. Yesterday's passion is today's calm. 

Santiago also is party defined by one of its most famous citizens, Pablo Neruda, the lyrical poet, who died in 1973.

Never one of those poor, struggling poet types, Neruda loved the finer things in life, including women (he was married three times), nice digs (he had multiple houses in Chile), and traveling (he was a diplomat, sometimes in exile).

Track down his home in the restaurant-rich Bella Vista artists section of Santiago, and you will be delighted. Neruda's love nest, La Chascona, is a bright blue, funky abode with curved windows and one of his most famous love poems engraved on six pillars in front. The poem is "I Ask for Silence" ("and inside me I am dark: like a well whose water/night drops stars into/then moves on alone through the field").

As was said about Hemingway, Neruda didn't use many words -- he just used the right ones. 

"We have many things in front of us, but only a few people can see deeper than that," says Moreno.

Water and wine

Sixty miles west, Chile's second largest city, Valparaiso, is the refreshingly goofy sister to Santiago. Houses are a hodgepodge of bright blue, yellow and pink, roofed with shipping container metal and painted with nautical paint. They perch on the hillsides of the port city on the Pacific founded by the Spanish in 1536.

Valparaiso's claim to fame? Its creaky yet efficient funicular lift system, which transports citizens up steep hillsides.

Try one, and you'll see the ground through the floorboards, which don't quite meet.

Think of it as a metaphor for this slapdash port city.

Neruda also had a house in Valparaiso. The quirky four-story house, called La Samana, is topped by Neruda's writing study, which is paneled with bookshelves on two walls, has a giant photograph of Walt Whitman on the third and huge windows on the fourth. The panoramic view of the crescent-shaped Valparaiso harbor is enough to start anyone spouting poetry. 

Immediately north of Valparaiso? The town of Vina del Mar, the spoiled baby of the family. Rich Chileans vacation on its beaches. 

Between Santiago and Valparaiso you will drive through the Casablanca Valley, one of Chile's most trendy vineyard regions for white wine. As in California, you can do winery tours here -- but the cheapest prices for wine still seem to be in the grocery store in Santiago -- $2 - $4.

Exotic Arica

If you see only Santiago and the central coast of Chile, it's like seeing New York and thinking you know everything about the United States.

One spot to get out and see Chile's amazing geographical range is Arica and the nation's far north. Home to salt lakes and flamingos, llama and alpacas, mountains that soar to a literally breathtaking 15,000 feet and the world's oldest mummies, it's far different from the big cities. 

First cool thing: Just outside Arica in the Azapa Valley is a small museum that contains the 8,000-year-old Cinchorro Mummies. Boy, do they look their age. Lying beneath glass in the Museo Arqueologico, there are three of them, appearing to be dad, mom and baby (although that's just imagination; nobody knows who they were). Their arms and legs stick out like sticks of brown clay. Their faces are covered with masks. Shreds of linen strips wrap around their bodies. Remember, they're 2,000 years older than the oldest-known Egyptian mummies. 

Often called the driest place on Earth, the desert around Arica preserved these ancient remains, along with other prehistoric weavings, pottery, petroglyphs and more.

Second cool thing: Arica has a church designed by Gustav Eiffel -- yes, the designer of the Eiffel Tower.

He designed a church made of iron parts, which was shipped in pieces to Arica and constructed in 1876. While the exterior of the Church of San Marcos is cutely painted white and brown, the interior shows the flair that Eiffel had -- the graceful iron buttresses elegant and slim, the proportions, the charm. 

At this far northern end of Chile, too, you can see wonderful olive farms and a bounty of vegetables and fruits in the market. Many people here are from Peru or Bolivia -- and, in fact, this was part of Peru until Chile won it in a war in 1876. 

So spend some time here. Slowly, the picture of Chile fills in. Go 1,000 miles south to the lakes district or 2,500 miles south to the Chilean Patagonia with its penguins and fjords. If you have another year or two, you might start to understand this country in its totality. Or maybe not. Chile still feels like the end of the world, the kind of place where a clever poet might hang his feet over the edge and dangle his toes in unspoken words. 

Additional Facts

5 cool things about Chile

1. Besides wine, Chile has two intriguing beverages. Try Mote con Huesillo -- a popular summer nonalcoholic drink made with wheat, peaches and sugar water. Or try the national drink, the Pisco Sour, made with the local brandy, lime and egg white.

2. Divorce finally became legal in 2004 in heavily Catholic Chile.

3. Most beaches are too cold for swimming. The Humboldt Current, a stream of water from Antarctica, rushes up the coast to northern Chile before veering off to the west. People mostly just sit on the beaches, even on the hottest day. 

4. The blue stone lapis lazuli is mined in only two countries in the world -- Chile and Afghanistan. If you love lapis jewelry, Chile is the place to get it. 

5. You almost never hear Chileans call the Andes "the Andes." They just call the longest mountain range in the world "the cordillera" -- meaning mountains by the coast, or "little cord" in Spanish.

Kid Rock Gets Creative With Launch of New Craft Beer

**photo obtained from NBA.com

Cheers to you, Kid Rock! Way to take our poor economic situation into your own hands by coming up with a creative way to pump some life into the mitten state. Most celebrities create a clothing line, jewelry or perfume. But not Kid Rock. He's staying true to his nitty-gritty roots and creating a line of his own beer, with the help of the Michigan Brewing Co.

According to this Detroit Free Press article, Bobby Ritchie is calling all the shots regarding the name, design and pricing of the beer. But the best news of all is the creation of almost 400 new jobs in Michigan. Governor Granholm should be thrilled to hear that!

The Kid Rock branded beer is expected to hit shelves this spring. MAL has high hopes that Kid will introduce his new beer at his favorite bar, the Clarkston Union. We shall see...

A Message from Detroit to the World

If you live anywhere near Detroit and haven't read Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom's ode to the city, you must be living under a rock. 

Mitch's article was originally published in Sports Illustrated and then republished on the front page of this past Sunday's Free Press. When Sports Illustrated questioned the Detroiter about whether or not people still cared about this city, Mitch answered loud and clear. "And yet..." chronicles the ups and downs of the city of Detroit stating loud and clear that we are not "the gum on the bottom of America's shoe." 

There are many references to past and present sports teams because, well, Mitch IS a sports writer. But his underlying message is insanely powerful. The message he wants to drill into every American's head is this: Detroit is resilient. 

If you don't live here, you just don't get it. I don't have enough fingers and toes to list the reasons why Detroit stinks right now, yet pride still shines brightly throughout the city. It's true -- people are HAPPY to live and work in Detroit. And I'm one of them. 

The article is lengthy, but take 10 minutes to let Mitch's words soak in. If someone were picking on someone you love, you'd defend them in heartbeat, right? Why not do the same for your city? I won't claim to have always believed in Detroit, because before I started working here, I never had a true appreciation for it. But I'll be the first one to speak up now when someone criticizes the city. I've met so many talented and creative people from in and around Detroit in the past two years who have taught me what it means to be a proud Detroiter. 

Yes 2008 was rough, and the forecast looks just as dark and gloomy for this year. But have a little faith people. I think Mitch sums it up nicely. "To hell with Depression. We're gonna have a good year."

A Selfless Love Knows No Limits

Most girls/women dream the same dream about what marriage holds in store for them and how their future love story will unfold. Normally, that dream includes finding a soul mate to experience life's treasures and pitfalls with, creating a family, growing old together and eventually leaving this earth together (ya know, taking your last breath next to the one you love like in the movie The Notebook).

OK -- so maybe that's my idea of timeless love and the picture I've painted for my future since way back when. But unfortunately, life is unpredictable and will surely throw many curve balls at each and every one of us. Such is the case for Deric Jacques, an 85-year-old man from Novi, Mich. who has selflessly been caring for the love of his life, Barbara, for the past few years. 

Susan Ager (who by the way has one final piece this week before she leaves the Detroit Free Press) wrote this amazingly heartfelt and gut-wrenching article that tells the story of Deric's love for Barbara. I wonder what it must have taken to listen to this man's story and hear firsthand what it's like to love someone as much as Deric loves Barbara. If she toughed it out without shedding a tear, I'd be impressed. 

Barbara is blind in one eye, has a low-level lymphoma that sucks the energy right out of her, is mobile only with the help of a walker and has vascular dementia. The sum of these conditions basically equates to Barbara not recognizing Deric or her surroundings on most days. Yet Barbara's conditions have no negative effect on the love and care Deric provides her on a daily basis. This couple has experienced many things throughout their lives together -- conquering love amidst a war, 22 homes throughout the world, five healthy children, 65 years of marriage and now Barbara's debilitating diseases. Deric's explanation for why he puts up with the struggle of caring for Barbara rather than taking the easy route and placing her in assisted living is as simple as this: "I know she would do this for me."

You must read the story to fully grasp what it's like to live in an 85-year-old man's shoes who has allowed his entire life to turn upside down and has given up his own wants and needs in order to care for the woman he loves. Yes it's a tear-jerker and yes it's sad to think this poor man will never have the woman he married back again. But I always love reading stories that exemplify what it means to care more about others than you do about yourself...and what it means to love. 

My Inner Child Made Me Vote

** Photo credited to the Detroit Free Press.

Today is a very significant day in my "I'm all grown up" world. Today, I voted at my local precinct for the very first time. Yes, I know it's sad that I'm nearly 24 and have just voted for the first time. But I wasn't persuaded to vote by the political signs and fliers splattered across my neighborhood, or the campaign ads running on TV. I was swayed by a billboard of a little girl standing on her tippy-toes trying to reach the voting booth. I was motivated by this billboard that simply read "Kids would keep the zoo if they could. Vote yes August 5th." And that's it -- that's all it took for me to figure out that I indeed registered to vote when I was back in college and to mosey on over to my local precinct. I proudly filled in that little oval next to the word "yes" to approve the passing of a property tax increase (about $10 per year on a house worth $200,000) to establish long-term, sustainable funding for the Detroit Zoo.

I have to give mad props to Doner Advertising, the company behind the zoo's creative and eye-catching advertisements that called out our inner child. Not to mention the fact that Doner has been doing pro bono work for the zoo for 26 years!! Now that's a true display of dedication and commitment. Check out this Free Press article about Doner's work on this most recent and previous zoo campaigns.

Maybe the catchy ads didn't phase everyone, but they sure reminded me about the significance of the zoo and what it means for metro Detroit -- and all the little kiddies who visit the zoo each year. I went to the zoo twice in the past year, once on a hot summer afternoon last year with MAL (it's always fun to go on dates to the zoo!) and once this summer for the Sunset at the Zoo event. Both times I was reminded of how I love the fact that Detroit has its own zoo that is pretty well renowned across the country. MAL and I have talked on several occasions about taking his niece on her first trip to the zoo. I can't imagine what it would be like if the zoo were no longer a part of metro Detroit. Not only would it be devastating to lose this historical gem, but considering that the zoo draws about 1.1 million visitors a year, the loss of it would be another low blow that Detroit simply can't take.

I sincerely hope that voters took note of those clever billboards and TV ads that gave a voice to the ones who can't vote -- the ones who will truly miss out if the zoo can't afford to sustain operations in the future. I think Tom Walsh's closing words in the Free Press article I referenced above sums it all up: Here's hoping they pull it off, for the kid in all of us.

Love Comes in Many Forms

I'm all about love...as evident from the title of my blog and many of the items I post about. So of course I tend to read articles that have to do with love or that have love in the title.

I was perusing through the Detroit Free Press Web site as I so often do throughout the day when I came across an article by Rochelle Riley titled "Love left no room for hate at friend's wedding." Rochelle -- you go girl. I've read quite a few articles by Rochelle and each time I'm impressed not only by her words, but also by the topics she chooses to write about. She's a very passionate woman who is heavily involved in the community (she was the MC at the Governor's Service Awards last week). That was the first time I heard her speak, and she was as effervescent and inspiring in person as she is in her column.

This article is about a different type of love, one that despite being prominent in our world nowadays, is still unaccepted and bashed by many. The article is thought-provoking and makes you realize just how many variations of love exist. Doesn't matter if it's traditional or non-traditional -- love is love. And love makes the world go 'round.

Twist Magazine Needs Your Help!

If you haven't read my recent post about the death of newspapers and the ever-changing world of journalism, you should because what I'm about to write about aligns perfectly with that post. I learned today that one of my favorite publications, Twist Magazine (part of the weekend edition of the Detroit Free Press), will no longer be published come August. The Detroit Media Partnership announced today a voluntary buyout program in response to dwindling advertising revenue and a challenging economy. Along with that comes the elimination of Twist and the Community Free Press sections. Not to mention, this probably means a good portion of the journalists that my company has solid relationships with will no longer be at the Freep or Detroit News in the next few months -- which is another enormous disappointment.

I was so fired up today that I e-mailed Twist's editor to express how sorry I was to hear about this change and to let her know that every weekend, the first thing I do is dig Twist out from among the sales paper and read it word for word. The stories are heartwarming, inspiring and connect with readers on a variety of different levels. The editor, Laura Varon Brown, was just as genuine in e-mail interaction as she is in her weekly column. She expressed her gratitude for my kind words and stressed that she is working relentlessly to ensure the Twist brand and content continue making a solid impact in the Sunday main edition of the Freep. She did note it's important that she hears from readers like myself who are in opposition to the Freep editors calling it quits with Twist. If she hears from enough people, it will help her make her case against why this decision is wrong and why it will affect a large amount of loyal readers, not only of Twist, but of the Free Press in general. Laura may compile some expressions from readers in an expanded letters column in print.

So, if you read Twist religiously on the weekends, if you've only read it here and there, and even if you don't know a darn thing about it, trust me when I say that many people will thank you if you take the time to send a note expressing your thoughts to Laura. Her e-mail is lvaron@freepress.com.

I hope enough people create a voice that's loud enough for Freep editors to hear. I'm sure other people in the communications world who pay loads of attention to the news can attest to the fact that pubs like Twist give us a pleasant departure from what the media deems "news" nowadays....i.e. shootings, fires, crime, robberies and every other depressing thing that happens on a daily basis in Detroit, Michigan and around the world.

I'll be rooting for you, Twist!!! Best of luck.

Ode to Mushy Love Day

First and foremost, many thanks to Girl.in.the.D for giving props to the out-of-the-box Valentine's Day gifts that are offered at the RenCen shops. Check out her post, and you'll quickly become addicted to her blog that, hey what do you know, highlights the POSITIVE things that are going on in Detroit!

Now -- on to my ode to Mushy Love Day. I know there are many people in this world who think Valentine's Day is overrated and has been tainted by companies who make you feel guilty if you don't spend a gazillion dollars to prove your worth to the one you love. However, being the die-hard romantic that I am, I will always think of Valentine's Day as a way to give simple yet meangingful reminders to the person that you love -- whether it be through a thoughtful gift, card, flowers or my personal favorite....words.



If you are a sap who's a sucker for stories that make you go "Awww", do read this Free Press article where local couples share secrets to lasting love. Not only is the photo of happily-ever-after couples beyond adorable, but the "love secrets" shared by the couples featured in the article are absolutely priceless. Who knew that the secret to love is as simple as playing footsie in bed, learning to forgive, trying not to change a person and laughing together? Easy as pie, right? Most people who have been in a long-term relationship will beg to differ, but I firmly believe that it CAN be this simple -- so long as both people in the relationship work toward keeping their love alive and fresh, whether it be 10, 30 or 50 years down the road.



I hope there's a Bill Waddell in my future. Bill (who mind you is 80 years old and lives with his wife in a senior center in Farmington Hills), leaves his wife Hershey's Kisses under her upside-down coffee mug every morning. And Carolee, his wife, makes sure to cover him up when he takes his daily afternoon nap. If that's not love, then I don't know what is!



Maybe the perfect love story doesn't exist for everyone, and sadly will never exist for many people. But I refuse to step down from my "love should never die in a relationship" preaching post. And with that, I'm off to do the traditional love-day thang (regardless of the many eye rolls I've encountered along the way), and will continue to look forward to the day that I can tuck my Bill Waddell in for an afternoon snooze. :)