saturday evenings with mr. t ...

it's a little early here on the left coast, but almost 4 p.m.in mi., so i'm going to post this now. this evening mr. t discusses mcdonalds, strip malls, and other so-called signs of progress in the clare-old 27 area...

It's 5:46 a.m. Friday, (the one before Saturday) and my brain is not
awake.

what to write about for the old 27 Gang site? I am getting ready for
the opening of school where I teach and my mind is on that. Well,
this will be a nice diversion and get me started for the day, and no one to
bother me about using the computer.

However, what to write about? As we all know, Old 27 is merely the old two lane highway that leads to "up north"Michigan, replaced years ago by the freeway. Yet old 27, also known as Clare Avenue, is still there. the strip north of Clare to Harrison, which looks beautiful in the fall north of Dover Rd., in particular has seen many changes. In the course of natural things over time that seems to pass more quickly as we age, many simple, forgotten landmarks
such as small buildings have slowly disappeared. Many have been replaced. Trees has overgrown what used to be our playground. Paul Noss's barn and driveway gone, grant townhip Park across the road covered with overgrowth, no two track drive, or open filed to the right along Beaverton Rd.

The 1 mile section between Clare and the freeway overpass north of Clare is nothing but a giant strip mall for tourists and hunters now. They are probably all headed north for the Indian Casinos anyway. I bet they don't like me calling them Indian Casinos. It gives the impression that there is gambling going on in Teepees, and whenever there's a fight over the way the cards were dealt, arrows and feathers start flying. Naw, not really, nevermind, just take the white man's money......

But the strip mall section I speak of consists of, yes, a strip mall, (where everybody keeps their clothes on) several fast food restaurants, and in the last 15 years, hotels have sprung up such as Holiday Inn Express and so on. there's a Burger King and Ponderosa, and I think a Big Boy restaurant (We ate there once with Kathy and Theo Mickle),where a barn and house used to be. When I saw those go up in the late 80's, I knew it was over - the old farmer gave up and sold out. I thought what's next, a K- Mart where Paul Noss's white barn used to be? Will they use the old manure chain on the floor in the trench where the cows used to crap for a way to park the shopping carts? right under toddlers who crap their pants when learning to get out of diapers.......

It really started when they had only a gas station there. that's long gone.

In the mid 70's there was a House of Flavors next to that for a long time. the real destruction started when, (gasp), McDonald's showed up, univited, around 1979 or 80. Used to bring Grandma Mc Donald's once in a while. She would even send me out for some. Naughty grandma, breaking tradition with home cooked food. At that age, though, you probably figure, "what the hell.........I know what's going to happen to me in a short while, might as well party down. I'll show those grand kids I'm hip and know what's a happenin,' I'll eat McDonald's, right in front of them! I'll show their sorry asses who's modern...I'll get me a chocolate shake too!"

But McDonald's was symbolic - soon everything else sprung up. North of the overpass on the left another gas station sprung up. Soon, what I consider the ugliest thing to happen north of the overpass showed up and has expanded since: Jay's Sporting Goods. Everybody and his mother drives from miles around or orders online from that place. Bet ya can't guess what they sell...sporting goods and hunting stuff, well, yeh. What they really sell is tourism so they allowed them to stay of course. Business is business. Parking lot full of idiots looking for that perfect rifle, bow, tent, or Ted Nugent poster (notice he doesn't wear lin cloth anymore - gets too cold in the woods, or mosquitos are attracted to his privy's. You would think the mosquitos would fly in the other direction though, knowing the toxicity of Ted's blood. Any one tested him for steriods lately? Just kidding).

And Jay's building has expanded a few times - ugly as hell - complete with billboards south of Clare several miles. No more gentle billboards like "Clare - Gateway to the North" or "Tice's Farm Market." Now it's "Jay's Sporting Goods - Where Men are Men, and Women are, well, Men..." or someting like that. How many Lesbians do yo know that actually hunt for anything but each other in the woods anyway? And why do men hang around each other in the woods from sunrise to sunset, wearing orange so they won't shoot each other after they are so intoxicated they can't remember if their hunting deer or watching the ball game? Maybe so the Womaen who are men won't mistake them for...But I digress...

The Blight of Progress and Social Regression (BPSR) has not reached Beaverton Rd yet. But the golf course, which used to have only 9 holes, now has 18 holes (not counting the mole hole's) - for shame!! It's only a matter of time before the old Grant Township Park sight get's sold by an unsuspecting township board to, dare I say it: Chucky Cheese!

"Would you like Pepperoni on that? How about trying our new Nugent Nuggets for an appetizer? What's that? Yeh Old Ted is singing soprano now........."