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I was elected union steward by default. The unionized teachers and staff sitting around a conference room table were asked at the last minute to become union stewards by the chief union steward working out of parole and probation in Mt. Clemons. Michigan. He would train anyone who volunteered. I wasn’t paying attention as usual,Continue reading “Say it ain’t so Joe”

I was working late on an August 4th night in my second year as an executive at the Detroit Medical Center. On my way out of the building I had heard on our hospital police radio that a man had just shot a man in the head on the campus of Wayne State University. TheyContinue reading “The Witch”

It was not supposed to go down like this. His hatred for his family because of his continued arguments with them (about his chosen life-style), led him to be tossed out of the house by his father. His mother and brother also agreed with the father’s decision. It was time for him to leave. HeContinue reading “Attempted Escape 4”

The Kinross four is how I remember this event. The story appeared in Esquire magazine in 2008 with an emphasis on the inmates who tried to escape, and how they were very successful at the prison manipulation game. Three had life sentences, and two even had past records of attempted escape, but yet they wereContinue reading “Attempted Escape 3”

The first two years of employment with the DMC for me was a whirlwind. I took my mentor’s advice and kept a low profile. I was trusted as an employee, looked up to by our current administration, and learned more than books could teach me about life working/living in the heart of the city. ThisContinue reading “A Rookie No More”

He was busted in Detroit with 972 grams of cocaine in the hey day of the cocaine wars in the city I was born. In the early 1980’s and 1990’s Detroit’s gang activity began sky rocketing with the drug trade. Crack cocaine became the demon for the working class when 5 dollars could by youContinue reading “Attempted Escape 2”

She worked her way up the ranks from a secretary to an administrator over the department of civil service making 57,000 dollars a year. He had been convicted of fraud and was to spend at least 15 years in prison. By answering his “looking for love personal” she would eventually share his distinction of beingContinue reading “Attempted Escape 1”

I was once again in uncharted waters. This was something I always enjoyed. Not having the slightest clue on what was around the corner but going around the corner anyways. The anticipation of having to ad lib for my own safety was what I had learned working in the factories. Here it was safe. NoContinue reading “Minor Leagues”

After speaking with the hospital administration about changing my major to Business Administration, I had informed them I would have to think about it. In the mean time I was having a great time working here. The employees welcomed me and I actually got a tour of the Brewster-Douglas Projects were I shared a lunchContinue reading “The Rookie”

This is where life began for me. The Detroit Medical Center, Women’s Hospital ,later to be called Hutzel Hospital, is where I took my first breath, in the early summer 1955. I would return there nineteen years later on an offer of employment. After working in several factories and not feeling safe in any ofContinue reading “From The Beginning”