David T. Music And Stuff

Dear friends and family,

Here’s an awesome story about ‘change’. As I edited the story, I couldn’t help but think about the recent one year anniversary of our current President of the United States. How I got to that thought was a simple process. He was elected because of American’s overwhelming need and demand for ‘change’. It appears that many people voted only for change, not thinking about what the consequences of their actions could become . . . “Anything is better than what we have, now!” they said as they filled in their ballot . . . Well . . . They got change, all right . . .

That’s all I have to say about that . . . Sorry if you are offended by my words, friends.

Back to the story . . . Dad’s words ring quite true. Change is inevitable. Change is good. We have to expect change as the passing of life. The seasons. The reason life is so darned exciting! Embracing change is what transforms us from mere animals into the masters of our world. And, yes, we can change our minds, if we wish . . .

Thanks Dad (Don), for giving us these wonderful thoughts!

Enjoy,

David T

p.s. Yes! Please make comments at the end of this story. Everything is open for discussion . . .

“Change is Everywhere”

By Don Tschirhart

Excerpted from the unpublished book “It’s a Wonderful World II: A Retired Reporter Looks At Life“

Change is Everywhere

A month ago the Hamtramck City Council gave Muslims permission to broadcast a loud call to prayer for Islāmic faithful.
Thus the former Polish enclave of Hamtramck became one of a few cities in the United States to allow the call to prayer to be sung five times a day using loudspeakers.
Arab Islāmic growth has made for some major changes for Hamtramck citizens in the last few years.
The city, surrounded by Detroit and Highland Park, was a major enclave for Irish immigrants until the 1920s when Polish and Russian citizens moved there from the old country. In the mid-1970’s African-Americans crossed the border from Detroit and Albanian refugees immigrated from Italian refugee camps.
Now Hamtramck is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the nation. Citizens from China, Bosnia, Pakistan and India as well as people of Polish and Russian origin call Hamtramck home.
News accounts indicate the issue of Muslim’s call to prayer over loud speakers was unexpected. It is a fact of life in Dearborn, which has one of the largest Near East population in the country. And, of course, I remember from the 1920’s to 1960’s hearing the bells chime the Angelus at 6 a.m., noon and at 6 p.m. each day from St. Theresa Church in mid-town Detroit calling Catholics to prayer (and waking up Jews and Protestants, too).
It seems it is “change” that many in Hamtramck protested at City Council meetings. Polish people are interested in retaining the atmosphere of restaurants, bake shops, clothing stores and neat homes on postage stamp-size lots in this multi-ethnic enclave on both sides of the traditional main street of Jos. Campau.
It is always surprising to me that change comes as a surprise, especially older people whose experiences should make them used to the unexpected. The universe is made up mostly of change.
It was the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, writing from his base in Alexandria, Egypt, who said:
“You cannot step twice in the same stream.” The stream, like life, is always changing.
We may not like it, but change is inevitable. All you have to do is look around you in Lapeer County to note the many changes that have occurred. Cedar Street (M-53) was a two-lane road in Imlay City until just a short time ago. Main Street (M-24) in Lapeer was a farm road and the main commercial area was on Nepessing Street until the 1950’s.
Nostalgic people of my faith fight change. Even though our church for the last 40 years has allowed the Mass to be said in the vernacular (mostly English in the U.S. and Canada) with the priest facing the people, no-change Catholics crowd into churches in Genesee County and Detroit where Mass is spoken in Latin with the priest’s back to the congregation.
Yet these same people buy SUVs and vans, have heart-bypass and transplant operations, take life-saving drugs, use computers, all products of change which were not available 40 years ago.
A cut on the hand begins healing immediately. In a week or two you can hardly see the scar and have forgotten about it.
That, my friends, is change.
How many people have driven to Chicago recently? Did you know that before white settlers arrived Indians walked the Potawatomi Trail from Detroit to the Windy City?
Now motorists drive 70 miles an hour-plus along Interstate 94 and don’t get off until the Chicago signs appear.
It took Charles Lindbergh over 34 hours to fly to Paris. Before it was stopped last year Concorde jet flights took a little over six hours.
Have you been to Detroit Metropolitan Airport recently? Change is everywhere from the overhead tramway and moving sidewalks to modern shops and restaurants.
What brought me to the subject of change came from an advertisement in the Readers’ Digest magazine quoting a well-heeled French tourist who wandered across America in the 19th century.
Alexis de Tocqueville said:
“Born often under another sky, placed in the middle of an always moving scene, the American has no time to tie himself to anything; he grows accustomed only to change, and ends by regarding it as the natural state of man. He feels the need of it, more he loves it; for the instability, instead of meaning disaster to him, seems to give birth only to miracles all about him.”
It’s hard to add to de Tocqueville’s description of how most of our nation’s people feel.
I love the changes I see each day because it renews my life with excitement of future expectation.