Musings from my driveway, my home and my heart
My mother poses next to my dad’s two-tone 1958 Ford Thunderbird in the driveway of our home in northwest Detroit. She’s dressed in a shimmery gold outfit with a quadruple strand of white beads and a wide-brimmed hat trimmed in colorful cabbage roses. Her outfit is the perfect complement to the coupe’s aqua-and-white exterior. Clotheslines... Continue Reading →
When my friend Ted’s dad died in hospice last summer, Ted’s family asked if he had any final words to say at his father’s bedside. “Yes,” he said, turning to the corpse. “Dad, I’m the one who turned you in to the DMV.” Ted swears he heard a voice from beyond the grave muttering, “You... Continue Reading →
We’ve had a parade of test cars in our driveway this year, but the one that got the biggest reaction from friends, neighbors and strangers was the 2018 BMW 430i Coupe in Snapper Rocks Blue Metallic One neighbor, a former BMW owner, physician and Gen Xer, got her first glimpse of the eye-catching color, a... Continue Reading →
When I was a rookie reporter at the Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan, the chief photographer snapped a picture of me hugging my silver 1976 Volkswagen Beetle, a car I loved for its counterculture vibe and cute looks. The picture and the car meant so much to me that I got out my craft supplies... Continue Reading →
Several years ago, an Audi executive told me he wanted to recruit the British musician Sting as the company spokesman. “He’s older, but he’s how I want to age,” the executive said. “He’s not sitting in a rocking chair, he’s racing around Aspen in some hot car on his way to the slopes.” I thought... Continue Reading →
I consider myself fortunate because I hate chocolate and love minivans. After spending a week in the redesigned 2018 Honda Odyssey Elite minivan, I found that I’m in the minority among my girlfriends — and not just when it comes to Dove bars and other sweets. My odyssey in the Odyssey took me from the... Continue Reading →
NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan – There’s a different take on the speed trap in my neighborhood. We call it “the sunflower trap” and it’s not about getting a ticket from the cops for having a lead foot. It’s about slamming on the brakes and impeding traffic as you come off of the highway and encounter what... Continue Reading →
On a two-lane country road not far from my house stands a stark and simple reminder of how desperately the world needs self-driving cars. It’s a “ghost bike” that’s spray-painted white and nestled among the tall grass and wildflowers. A sign hanging from the bike says it was “placed in tribute to a bicyclist killed... Continue Reading →
It’s been a relief for me to take the ferry every summer to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan, where cars have been banned since 1898. No traffic jams, no exhaust and no noise, just an estimated 10,000 bikes, along with pedestrians, horses and horse-drawn carts and taxis. The downside: Distracted “driving” and road rage now... Continue Reading →
When parents in my rural Michigan town want to raise money for the local school system, they don’t hold a traditional bake sale or car wash. Instead, they unlock the barns and outbuildings, and haul out their special vehicles for an under-the-radar August car show that’s our modest version of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance... Continue Reading →
Anita's Way 