Fun in Flint

I was recently on a business trip to Flint, MI to check out a potential development site. Like most of us, I knew very little about Flint, but what I had heard was not very positive.

I was looking at a building that had formerly been a luxury hotel, built in the GM/Buick heyday. Downtown Flint has fallen on hard times since then and the hotel is now closed down. The most peculiar thing to me was that what had formerly been a big fountain in the lobby now held no less than 17 trophy size largemouth bass (I counted). I asked about them and the guy showing me the building said, "yeah, I don't know, the owner really likes bass." I thought to myself, "what, to eat? To look at?" It was all very strange--but never more so than when I walked up to the edge of the bass pond and they all swam up to me in formation, stopped, and stared.

Flint is an interesting place. I thought it was funny that most of the people I talked to really disliked Michael Moore, and I guess that makes sense. He's probably responsible for most people's negative opinion of the place, since most people have never been there. People just think of "Roger and Me," the first of his increasingly slanted and blatantly dishonest documentaries. Sure, Flint has its problems, but it has a charming downtown and GM hasn't deserted the town by any means. Some of the most important and modernized parts of their supply chain are alive and well there.

Of course, to really know a town you have to go to Wikipedia and look at my favorite sections--"Famous Persons" and "Trivia."

Here's my own edited list of famous people from Flint: Sandra Burnhard (ewww), game show host Bob Eubanks, "loudest rock and roll band in the world" Grand Funk Railroad, R&B Group Ready for the World, one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott, and 1,200 pound woman Carol Yager.

My favorite trivia on Flint is:

- Flint is the largest city in the United States with a one-syllable name.

- Flint is referenced in a 1994 episode of The Simpsons, "Bart Gets Famous," as Bart Simpson's class visits a box factory. When asked if they will get to see a finished box, the tour guide replies, "Well, we don't assemble them here -- that's done in Flint, Michigan."

- Flint is also in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons, "They Saved Lisa's Brain", when Flint is number 296 on the list of the 300 most livable cities, surpassing only Ebola, RI, Dawson's Creek, NC, Springfield, and East St. Louis, IL.

Personally, however, there were two main highlights of the trip:

1. Did you know that current American Idol hopeful and frontrunner Lakisha "Kiki" Jones is from Flint? It's true, and the excitement in the city over her is palpable. Check out this story about it. They even gather at City Hall to cheer her on during the show. You can imagine how crushed I was to fly in a day late for this. Had I known, I absolutely would have changed my flights to be there at City Hall, if nothing else, for the people watching. My only hesitation with her is her nickname. She is now the second TV personality in the last few years with the nickname Kiki (the first being Kirsten Cohen from The O.C.). There will only ever be one Kiki in my eyes--my big sister Kristy, who may or may not have just turned 40.

2. I was walking down the main street of downtown early in the morning when I started noticing on one section of sidewalk a disturbing number of beaks, wings, feet, feathers, and other internal bird organs. Like any stupid person, I immediately looked up with my mouth open. But instead of something bad happening, like in a cartoon, I was treated to a pretty close view of a pair of Peregrine Falcons soaring down the middle of the street. They flew around calling to each other for about 20 minutes and then landed at the top of the building where I was standing. This is a phenomenon that has been well documented over the last few decades--Peregrine Falcons, who were endangered in their natural habitat, are adapting wonderfully to living in big cities, most famously in Atlanta and NYC. They don't have to deal with other predators and they just eat pigeons like popcorn I guess. When I got back to the hotel I googled the Flint Peregrines and found this site about them. Much of the work for Peregrines is done by the Peregrine Fund--one of my favorite organizations, which also manages the California Condor breeding and release program in Arizona. Because of them, you now have the chance the next time you are at the Grand Canyon to see a Condor soaring with its 10 foot wingspan. Anyone who remembers the dramatic rescue of this species in the 1980's should take a trip there just to see why conservation is worth it when done right. I'm telling you, don't even get me started.

Speaking of endangered raptors, today I saw this article about the first appearance of a breeding pair of Bald Eagles in Philadelphia in over 200 years. Having recently lived in downtown Philly, I was thrilled to hear about it. Eagles in Philadelphia--how cool is that?