James R.
Yelp
In a moment of pure Yelp recklessness, I forgot to check into this place during a recent visit to Detroit....but there is good reason.
Having arrived way too early in Detroit on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I went to the Speed Dial and phoned up a local friend. 'Come and get me and show me some parts of Detroit that the rest of the world doesn't know about.' Maybe it was the urgency of my voice, maybe it was dumb luck, but the person at the other end of the wire quickly agreed and complied.
We roared off down the streets, finding little treasures here and there, every one of them New and Exciting and decidedly unDetroit-ish. Being close to the end of the string, we set a course for my hotel in the 'burbs, content that we had accomplished a mission.
Hey, what are all of those cars parked on the side of the road? Let's check it out!
We stumbled upon what looked like a giant neighborhood block party. As we got closer, we saw a massive dinosaur metal sculpture taking life, a forklift gracefully lifting the top of the body onto the base. This alone was worth the trip, but Other Things were afoot. Things we needed to uncover and discover.
There was a tent. And where there is a tent, there is alcohol. Beer kegs and wine bottles aplenty. Now here is the kicker....there was nobody in the area looking like they were collecting money! Free for the taking! Help yourself. A bit further on, there was a bonfire blazing. And further still, a large collection of people chowing down at tables. And a line. In true lemming form, we queued up, having no clue where the line would lead us. Eventually, we asked: What the hell is going on here?
A local pizza joint was throwing a party for its 5 year anniversary.
That is a disclosure of the facts. Now comes the meat:
The Vibe!
I'm all about some vibe. If it doesn't vibe, it doesn't hold my attention. Vibe testing is a way of life for me, everything has to pass the Internal James R VibeTest before it goes into Permanent RAM between my ears.
Listen carefully: Lincoln Street Sculpture Garden comes in a close second to the most vibe-o-licious place on the face of the Earth: Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin, Germany. NEVER within the confines of the Contiguous 48 have I ever witnessed ANYTHING that even approaches the vibe factor that this place exudes! The glorious mix of humanity was complete in its completeness. In short, imagine a demographic and it was here, peacefully basking in the moment. No pretense, no loud boisterous discussions. Just vibe. In massive quantities.
The amount of trouble which I would endure to return here is not measurable. I would fly on USAir and crawl on my hands and knees through a Detroit Winter Storm to once again bask in the vibe that is here. Just think about it: A huge group of people, just being. No hassles, no plastic badge adorned RentACop for A Day. Just people being themselves and enjoying the here and now.
The rest of the country should take its cue from Lincoln Street Sculpture Garden and emulate, nee, flat out RIP OFF, the thing that takes place here.
So fellow Yelpers, forgive my faux pas of not checking in. I was truly overcome by the moment, literally speechless in the glow.
Thank you so much, Detroit, for showing me What is Good and restoring faith that we as a nation can possibly get this right.
50000 bajillion stars. Just go here.