The Youth Connection - After School Fair

We volunteered to help the 10^th Annual After School Fair held on beautiful Belle Isle in Detroit on August 20^th. Belle Isle is the largest island park in the United States comprised of 985 acres, and the tenth largest municipal park in the United States. Although many of the islands once beautiful structures have fallen into disrepair, and the park is under-utilized it is still a great place for events like this.

Organized by Youth Connection CEO Dr. Grenae’ Dudley, the 10^th Annual After-School Fair featured registration for hundreds of after-school programs, foster care agencies, Department of Health services, immunizations, health information, substance abuse prevention information and lots of activities for children young and old. Among the hundreds who came together with a common goal on Belle Isle there was also an attempt to break the world record for largest dodge ball game ever.

Click for photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104461058718739695077/BelleIsle#

Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins

Enjoyed a great Tigers victory over the Twins as part of “Be a Tiger For Kids” day. The Cornerstone’s 6th annual game at Comerica Park is a perfect venue for a corporate gathering, family outing or a get-together with friends. The event provides much-needed scholarship assistance to the children of Cornerstone Schools. More than 1400 Detroit children receive an excellent education at Cornerstone Charter Schools. 100% of the proceeds from every Be A Tiger For Kids donation help provide an excellent education for Cornerstone students.
Of course watching Justin Verlander secure his 18^th win at this time in the season was very exciting for all the Tigers fans!
Click below for photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104461058718739695077/TigersVsTwins#

Ford Rouge Factory Tour

The original Dearborn Rouge Plant launched in 1917 was the most radical innovation the auto industry had very seen, eventually employing over 100,000 workers. Four generations later the Ford family embarked on a revitalization of the Rouge facility every bit as ambitious as the original construction of Henry Ford.

A tour of this modern facility is an excursion into Ford history and the current realm where environmental innovation and industrial production work together to put an entirely new face on manufacturing that would make Henry Ford quite proud. If you are in the Detroit area be sure to stop by Greenfield Village & the Henry Ford Museum, and be sure to take the Factory Tour as well.

Click for a few photos of the facility and visitors center:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104461058718739695077/FordRougeTour#

Ronald McDonald House



I tagged along with my daughter and a Small Group from Northridge Church to Ronald McDonalds House at Children's Hospital in Detroit. The Group prepares and serves a dinner once a month to the parents of children hospitalized with serious illnesses.

Families often travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. Nothing seems scarier to children facing a serious medical crisis than not having their mom and dad close by for love and support.

Ronald McDonald House programs provide a “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close to their hospitalized child at little or no cost. The Houses are operated on the simple idea that there is nothing more important than supporting a family who is focused on healing their child.  Alleviating the worry of where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChuckBessey/RonaldMcDonald#

Why I Love Florida

Of course there is none of the northern winter weather with no snow to shovel, no hazardous driving conditions, no ice to scrape from the windshield, etc. But the first thing to strike me as I arrived in Michigan, where it is as hot as Florida, for a summer visit is the terrible condition of the roads. Not only the main streets, but the side streets are all like driving on a wash-board. Not just the pot-hole patching, but none of the concrete sections meet on a level surface. I'll probably need a suspension re-build when I get home? But hey, the golf courses are very nice with level and smooth putting surfaces!

End of an Era

Atlantis landing at dawn.
See my previous entries for the history of an amazing era.

WW II in Photos - Retrospective in 20 Parts

from The Atlantic, with Alan Taylor:
World War II is the story of the 20th Century. The war officially lasted from 1939 until 1945, but the causes of the conflict and its horrible aftermath reverberated for decades in either direction. While feats of bravery and technological breakthroughs still inspire awe today, the majority of the war was dominated by unimaginable misery and destruction. In the late 1930s, the world's population was approximately 2 billion. In less than a decade, the war between the nations of the Axis Powers and the Allies resulted in some 80 million deaths -- killing off about 4 percent of the whole world.

This series of entries will last from June 19 until October 30, 2011, running every Sunday morning for 20 weeks. In these photo essays, I hope to explore the events of the war, the people involved at the front and back home, and the effects the war had on everyday lives. The entries will follow a roughly chronological sequence, with some broader themes (such as "The Home Front") interspersed throughout. These images will give us glimpses into the real-life experiences of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, moments that shaped the world as it is today. I hope to be able to do justice to this important story in this large-photo narrative format and invite you to join me for the next 20 Sundays.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/ww2.html

 

HP Touchpad

Picked up my new HP Touchpad tablet this week. While still learning all the in's & out's, I am quite pleased with the performance and particularly like the WebOS - it is great! I would say comparible to or better than the iPad. 

Shuttle History

From its first launch 30 years ago to its final launch last Friday, NASA's Space Shuttle program has seen moments of amazing inspiration and of devastating disappointment. With the last launch the program has sent up 135 missions, ferrying more than 350 humans and thousands of tons of material and equipment into low Earth orbit. Fourteen astronauts have lost their lives along the way -- the missions have always been risky, the engineering complex, the hazards extreme. As the program ends let's look back at the past few decades of shuttle development and missions as we anticipate the next steps toward human space flight.  Click [ 61 photos] Alan Taylor - The Atlantic

End of an amazing era

This is your last chance to watch a Shuttle launch in person or on TV. NASA has been ordered to end the Space Shuttle program and the launch of Atlantis scheduled for this Fri., July 8th will be the last.
Launch dates change frequently, be sure to check the Cape Canaveral Launch Schedule for launch updates and information.

Time Lapse of Shuttle prep for launch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KZrFC988Thc
Endeavour blasted off on the next-to-last shuttle flight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YBWaFIs1Rc