Actually, there are a bunch of us from Flint. Michael Moore's a *****. HE couldn't make it in Flint. So not everyone can get a big, super high payin UAW job anymore. Big F'in deal. There's still plenty of work to do if you want to, and even more VERY cheap housing. The only 2 bums in Downtown Flint that are real bums are this guy we call "crazy Cravy" (ex vietnam vet, last name of Cravy), which is the honest one ("can I get a buck to go buy a 40?"), and this guy named Mike, that lives in the old abandoned Durant Hotel. My friends and I screw around in most of the abandoned buildings, and we talk to mike everytime we go down there. He seems like one of those guys that couldn't cope so he chose to be homeless. Helluva nice guy, and he gets our empties and **** when we go there. But when you see the same guys down here, only on weekends, wearin different clothes everytime, and tellin a different story everytime, you just KNOW their ********tin. I can't stand that. Why the f do they think they deserve my money more than I do??? But back to yer ??? Anyone can make it in Flint if they want to... Don't plan on gettin rich and you'll be alright.
I had an old friend called Jay who was a New Waver from way back. He used to the stupid New Wave dance to the B52s and Devo. He drove a beautiful old Saab. He was an incredible carb rebuilder and all around master mechanic. I'd lost touch with him for a few years and I was mowing my lawn one day, when Jay rode by on a bicycle. He looked haggard and beat. I asked him what was up, he told me, "I've lost everything, I'm homelss, my kids stole from me and I haven't seen my grandchildren in years." My heart bled for him. I'm not cruel and heartless, and I do give money to people sometimes. But the regular professional bums I see on their designated corners don't get a dime from me.
Well, OK, Flint. I've worked in Detroit, Pontiac, Southfield. When I think about a city, I think, "Can I bring my Kennedy chests and get on the phone, find a little job shop that needs a good reliable non-drinkin worker? Will it pay $15 an hour for basic semi-skilled non-production type machine work?" Then I will take my tools there and go to work. Well my opinion is that Flint isn't like that any more- brutal outsourcing and price cutting... Not everyone has the creativity to build hot rods or fab up frames from shop drawings...a lot of the work in Flint was line work. When those jobs disappear not everyone can go out to their garage shop and build a car... You might say "survival of the fittest and let themn starve" and it's your right to think that. My opinion is that Flint is a rough town. Ironically my machinist's tools are gatherin dust, I am workin in a different field now. Still hand work though. Well this thread has gotten way off... Have to say (car related) that my favorite cars in Mich. were these "sleeper" big sedans, mid sixties two door posts with GIANT built motors...conservative colors, steel wheels, good tires...very cool . Like to buid one someday
The Jalopy Journal
