I dunno. It has been one of *those* weekends when it comes to marital communications (or non-communications, if you will). We had a tentative plan for what to do today, involving a 45-mile drive to take a northern relative out to lunch. All of a sudden, in the midst of a bunch of non-communication, the plan did an about-face (“I’m working through something”) and we ended up driving 45 miles to take an eastern relative out to lunch. The GG has spent a lot of time with the northern relative over the last few months, to the extent that he has spent very little time with his own children, independent adults that they are.

So a beautiful drive over to Daytwa via a metropark and then various eastbound surface streets. We weren’t in “south Detroit” because south Detroit is *Canada* but we were below the airport, etc. We drove east until we hit Jefferson Ave., aka the Detroit River, and then headed north through the downriver suburbs, Wyandotte, Ecorse, and gritty old River Rouge.

For a very short period of time in college I had a boyfriend from River Rouge. It was very “romantic” for the short time it lasted but I think in the end it was just a fling for him. But I was intrigued by his stories about his hometown and loved his drive to be successful enough to escape the devastating poverty and broken home that were (purportedly but probably true) his roots in life. If I have it right, I don’t think a lot of kids from River Rouge managed to get to college back in those days. Maybe, hopefully, it’s different these days.

I don’t know what happened to that boyfriend (I do hope he is alive and doing okay!) and the first time I knowingly encountered River Rouge in person was a couple years ago when the GG and I set off on an “industrial expotition” on a dreary December day. I don’t get all sloppy and sentimental about a long-lost short-term fling when we drive through River Rouge. I do like to look around and wonder what it was like when he was a kid and how it may have changed since then. It’s always fun driving around with the GG in the woods or the industrial parts of Detroit or to Fla or wherever.

We were driving through River Rouge again today and I realized via GooMaps that we were very close to Lizard’s house in Mexicantown, so I texted “in River Rouge” and 10 minutes later, she was driving us over to the Green Dot for lunch. There are lots of good restaurants down in Detroit these days but the Green Dot is our go-to. It has a menu of 15-20 different sliders. They come in all varieties, meat and veggie, and there are sides like fries and mac ‘n’ cheese, etc. I always order three sliders. Today it was almond duck, tofu Banh-mi(?), and mystery meat. Did I mention mystery meat? Yes, they do tell you what is in the mystery meat. It was pork/lamb meatballs today.

And did I mention that it was blindingly, brilliantly sunny today? We needed that even though I was totally overdressed for how hot it was in the Ninja and eventually had to take my dern jacket off.

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