Barb & Sal Dragotta Macomb County Michigan Homes for Sale

Last night as the Detroit River Fireworks--Target Fireworks--concluded, there was a short story [probably to fill in the time before the 11:00 p.m.News]

The story addressed the Mail Boat with it's own zip code--48222;

This is an actual ship;
This ship has been delivering mail since 1895;
This ship has it's own Zip Code;
This Zip Code has a population of one [1];
This single entity is The J.W. Westcott ship, itself.

The clip showed the 'postmaster' separating the mail that is sent to the employees of the freighters that travel the Great Lakes-passing through Detroit.

There's an actual building that is situated on the Shore of the Detroit River, just South of the Ambassador Bridge.

This building is a one story, flat roofed, white painted or stuccoed building.
It has Royal Blue Awnings over it's 4 large windows [actually in 2 sets of 2.
The front door is the same Royal Blue.
Nicely landscaped and well taken care of;
however, the Zip Code --48222 is NOT the code for the Building, but rather it is for the Ship.

The company --J.W. Westcott headquarters was founded in 1874 by
Captain J.W. Westcott--a Great Lakes Captian-- who began delivering ship's orders to passing vessels. In 1895, he began to deliver mail along with the orders.

He started by using a rowboat to get to the ships, now they have a large ship that signals the vessels with their 'Horn".

To send mail to a vessel on the Great Lakes:
[Vessel name]
Marine Post Office
Detroit, Michigan
48222

An interesting side note of interest is:
"Mail By The Pail" a Great Lakes Novel
Author - Colin Bergel
A story about a little girl who sends her father [who works on a ship], a Birthday Card. The story sets out to tell the tale of how this special card is delivered.
The book itself can be found on Amazon.

What a fun item to come across;
Had to share it.

For the Realtors[R];
this Zip Code has some interesting items that relate to the Housing Market;
...population in Zip code 48222 is 1
...ave. income in 48222 is $0.00:
...contributes to the average house being worth $0

Enjoy the information & of course, the Stats "Laugh".

Summer time is a fun time in probably all the states in the nation;
More so for those states [like MI ] who experienced the loss of certain activities due to the Ice, Snow & / or Sleet of Winter.

So, it is fun to read about the special items slated for us during these warm to hot times of the year. Along with the usual escapes from Winter's cold & Spring's chill, at times there are some exciting Anniversaries to add to the venues;

...One that is very special to those of us who live in the Macomb area is
the July 01, 1917 establishment of the U.S.'s oldest continuously used military
airfield. The Selfridge Field.
...Renamed in1947--to The Selfridge Air Force Base--it was deactivated as an
active-duty operation in 1971--54 years to the day that it opened;
...3,082 acres, it now includes personnel form all five military branches.
...also called SANG Base -Selfridge Air National Guard Base

The Army paid $190,000 to lease the [then] 640 acres for Selfridge Field from Packard Motor Car Co. President and Board Chair--Henry Joy [a perimeter road is named Joy Blvd.]

It was named for: the first officer to serve as a pilot and the first to die in a plane crash--Lt. Thomas Selfridge--July 01, 1917.

Here are some photos [none from within the Base itself which is not open to the public except at the time of Air Shows or other [few] happenings.








West bound 21 Mi Rd. North of the Base:

This is accessible to the Public during set hours; it is continuously being added to and upgraded. Can you see the planes already there--cannot leave cars along the roadway [21 Mile Rd] to take photos or view; I for one would not tempt fate by disregarding such signs.
For those interested, there is, at times, a train that leave from the Mt Clemens area that travels to this area. Worth the effort to check on availability for 2011.

An activity that is upcoming is the combination of the Air Show--access to the base for the public--that is being held in conjunction with the "Woodward-Cruise" for 2011;
MORE to come on both of these events as we get closer to the dates.


Activities listed for the Mt Clemens--River Sight & Sound Concert Program:
Held at the Clinton River Gazebo--downtown Mt Clemens 7:30 to 9:00on:

...July 1st --Steve King & the Dittilies;
...July 8th --Joey Molland's Badfinger;
...July 15th --Jr. Walker's All Star Band;
...July 22nd --Legends of Doo Wop,"The Marvels" & "Shades of Blue";
...July 29th --The Forbes Brothers;
...Aug. 5th --Air Margaritaville:

Always a great time and it is FREE to the public.
This is called the Bud Light series & is sponsored & produced by Petitpren

How short a week;
Last Friday 6/17/'11, I posted photos of some of our Flowers;
The first photo of that blog was of our beautiful Rose tree in the side yard landscaping.

Little did we know that on Wednesday 6/22/11 that the storm, rain & winds would change this landscape forever.

Yesterday, here in Macomb County, around 4:15 pm, the tornado sirens were set off; they rang loud & clear for a good 5 min.
Around 5;15 pm. the horizontal Rain, high winds & hail hit our area;
..the hail was small & short-lived;
..the winds were strong [we had already removed all deco flags And the US Flag;
..we watched as the Rain blew directly West to East, noticing that you could see
the straight line rain fall; in fact it lined up perfectly with the horizontal blinds in
such a way as to be remarkably straight as if on a grid.
..we heard that a tornado had been spotted and recalled 2010-August 19th when
the same straight-line-horizontal-rain-fall was seen.
..the actual tornado was NE of us and not near the homes West of us that were hit
so harshly last year.
..we never though of damage here as we had removed the Flag from the new pole
[in Aug.2010, the Flag [US] was damaged and the pole was snapped in two.]

After the rain diminished, we looked out the side door & kitchen window;
we saw that the Rose Tree was no more; in fact it was in a spiral configuration and flattened to the ground.
It was sad to see & when the rain stopped, we made a dash outside to see what could be done with / for it.
Nothing to do but cut it down; with plans to dig the roots from the ground today. 6/23/'11.

Did take pictures today of the 'result' of removal; roots need to be professionally removed.

Here are some photos:




the final resting place for the "Rose Tree"



Once the 'stump' has been removed, then a switch in decor happens;


...a close up view of Spuds the dog & the fishing Boy



And, that is how the Dragottas make 'landscape Lemonade from damaged Lemons'
Enjoy

Today, the first day of Summer, Governor Rick Snyder signed into Law the full Budget. This is the first time in a number of years that Michigan has had its budget before Oct.1st.

This is due to the governor's strong leadership and business experiences.

There are those who are angered by the impact on themselves [& of course, the poor, children & seniors of MI--the 'theme song around the country lately]

There is also the group striving to collect enough signatures [for a Recall] in time to place upon the November ballot. Previous such ballots have not succeeded and there are prediction that this one, too, will not be on the ballot.

Interestingly, those doing the promoting and collections of signatures are all seen in their Red shirts. The apparent uniform for those protesting around the country AND in various other countries. The latest of which was seen on the Cable news report from Greece that reported the Prime Minister's vote of support that took place today. At the time of the News video, the protesters had not yet heard about the positive vote for the Prime Minister. What struck me was the color Red seen throughout the throngs of folks gathered for a protest not yet [at that time] put into motion.

As you look around our country at the various protests -usually those involved with 'cuts' to 'benefits' etc. notice the color Red.
I remember the past when the slogan "Better dead, than Red" was bandied about in our country; yes, it spoke to the movements toward communism & the acceptance there of; funny how times do change--now wearing the Red shirt is almost dictated by those organizing such protests.




Governor Rick Snyder-MI had sent a request to the Michigan Supreme Court himself; Why? He requested that court to review the Constitutionality of some provisions in the new state law signed into Law last month-- [that will change how pensions are taxed]
The Supreme Court could not take up such requests until the Bill was signed into Law; Oral arguments are scheduled for September 7, 2011.

That request for a Supreme Court advisory opinion effectively could preempt any court challenge...filed by opponents, such as public employee unions.

At this point in Michigan's revival, Snyder declined to join the GOP letter to push for Medicaid changes. Snyder is quoted as stating that...'I am focused on Michigan...my role is not to be an advocate on a national scale...was hired to be governor of Michigan....'
Snyder was the only GOP Governor who has not signed the letter; he will weather any storm that may come of this.
A letter was sent by him to Rep.Fred Upton-R-St. Joseph-listing his willingness to work with the congressman and his committee.

It is refreshing to see a governor more interested in the state & citizens, than his/her personal approval ratings.






More Michigan News: the Pure Michigan tourism program has announced that it has purchased the right {$972,500 ] to add "Pure Michigan' to the August NASCAR race at the Michigan International Speedway.

It will be called "the 'Pure Michigan' 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup.
This year's race is scheduled on August 21, 2011. typically this race attracts over 100,000 fans; it is also broadcast nationwide on ESPN.

The Michigan International Speedway is located in Brooklyn, south of Jackson, MI.
Good news for the Travel Michigan-'Pure Michigan' Tourist ad campaign.

A bridge is a Bridge...unless it is not built. [this is NOT our Bridge]

Governor Snyder wisely picks his fights
..knows when to play 'em & when to fold 'em... even if temporarily

If the U.S. Congress is to be 'sighted'--then the "Get it done--SOON" attitude
has shown the dangers of such ideas;

Originally, the vote was to have happened by July 1st, but with some serious questioning, our Businessman Governor saw that an artificial deadline was not the way to go when dealing with a project this important & far-reaching.

Sadly, this will also mean that those annoying, intrusive commercials against the second span will also continue until the new deadline.

An article om Friday's Free Press: see / www.freep.com / by Paul Egan /
titled " Snyder's bridge authority vote to miss July deadline" / Metro sec. / pg4 A

...the Governor [Snyder]'s press secretary-Sara Wurfel-- is quoted:
" we look forward to working on this issue throughout the summer, and keeping a strong focus on the New International Trade Crossing and it's role in Michigan's economic comeback".

...if the Senate GOP members continue in their stated opposition to a
quick resolution [ on the vote], this would [author's wording] be the first
major setback dealt Snyder since he took office Jan 1.;
...The Senate Economic Development Committee's member
Sen. Geoff Hansen -R-- Hart, stated:
"I don't want to throw the governor under the bus, he's doing a good job
...This is a huge,huge decision for the state of Michigan; we can't short it";

...this decision came after this committee heard from one of the strongest
opponents-- Matthew " Marty" Moroun: he is vice-chair and owner of the
company that owns the Now active Ambassador Bridge;

...Mr Moroun told the committee that:
a. a 2nd bridge is not justified by either current or projected traffic volumes;
b. but, if his company got approval, it would immediately [start] on a second
bridge right next to his company's Ambassador Bridge.

It is to be noted that this is the same company that sponsors those prolific ads that have been inundating with these same facts / thoughts for most of this quarter.
It is also to be noted that the 2nd bridge was positioned West of the Ambassador Bridge to alleviate the congestion that now exists at the entrance / egress points on both sides of the Detroit River.

Further, those words [of Mr Moroun] do seem to be a tad contradictory at best & self-serving at worst.

Time will tell;
Hopefully, cooler heads and thoughtful discussions will prevail; if it takes the summer to clear up the discord--then so be it.

Perhaps this quote from Sen. Hansen explains it best:[followed his first quotes]
"...But we have to be on our timeline [the Sec. Economic Development committee]"


A most telling statement.