Goodbye Again U-Haul...and kiln, and torches, and....(sniff sniff)

Well, unexpectedly my youngest son had to come to Michigan so he did so in another large U-Haul truck.  So off to the races we went again with the packing, sorting, and loading.  Luckily, as you could see from the previous post, we were well prepared for this potential outcome.  We really didn't think it would happen so fast but it did. 

I actually think one last truck load might clear out the remains of our home in Michigan.  I sit here cuddling with Daisy and Brian and staring into Trudy's eyes.   She's curled up close on one of the remaining chairs.  I'm trying hard not to get reflective on Michigan.  It's a good state.  There are lots of lakes.  Drive in any direction and you'll run into them, big and small.  We are the "Motor City" state.  At my age you've had relatives who actually knew the first Henry in the "Ford" heritage.  Possibly the Dodge boys and others.  Everywhere you run into people who are either retired from the "Big Three" (Ford, Chrysler, GM) or worked in the associated industries.  There are families who great-grandparents started at the beginning of the auto age and their families continue to work for one of those companies.  Motor oil runs deep in many veins here.  My father worked for Budd Wheel.  They are now Thyssen Krupp and the plant has been dismantled.   The big presses that created things like this:

"The Budd plant — latterly, the ThyssenKrupp Budd plant — helped shape the contours of Detroit’s 20th century. Literally: in the 1950s, Budd Detroit built and assembled the body of the iconic, two-seat Ford Thunderbird."

I will miss the shared history of other children who's parents were members of that factory rat generation.  I mean how many can say they've seen these kind of presses in action.  They are monsters of manufacturing genius.  Now they reside in other countries.  They were dismantled and sold to Mexico, South America, and many other countries.  I guess in a way they live on despite the fact there will be no other teenagers dropping their fathers at work so they can use the car in Detroit.

 

Oh gosh - here I am getting nostalgic.  History has always been interesting to me - all of it.  And, of course, since I grew up in Detroit it's near and dear to me.

 

A little bit I feel like I'm part of the urban flight now.  A snowbird.  We used to laugh at the people who left Michigan in the winter - the snowbirds - they leave for warmer pastures in the fall and return in the spring.  Yup, me too now but it will be more permanent.  I will visit - I will still have two children in Michigan but I'm worried it won't feel the same. 

 

Life moves fast and I get I better get on the train before it leaves the gate.  Uh, and by the way - Budd made those too.  So every time you get on one now send out a good vibe for us Michiganders and think "Go Budd Go".