John Mellencamp fightsagainst homelessness with

words of truth andsongs of reality — page 3

Groundcover News Tak ing Ro otp . 2

Exc lus ive S t re et Newspaper in terv iew wi th John Mel lencamp

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V io l in is t p lays on s t re ets to ra iseawareness of homeless p l ight

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Tax cred i ts can mean the d i f ference betwe en housed orhomeless

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“On the Corner ” w i th Groundcover Vendor Tony

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A communi ty breakfast ce lebrates 28 years p . 7

Ann Arbor C i ty Map p . 8

St re et Buzz - Reduc ing carbonfo otpr in ts the hard way

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INSIDE

w w w . g ro u n d c o v e r n e w s . c o m

SEPTEMBER 2010 VOLUME ONE, ISSUE TWO

$1Your donat ion d i rect ly benefi ts the

vendors . P lease buy on ly f rom badged vendors .

OPINION

Groundcover hadsome great successesthis month. Many ofyou read the terrificarticle aboutGroundcover in theSeptember issue ofthe Ann Arbor Ob-server and some ofyou heard radio inter-views about us on

Michigan Radio. Most exciting is theimpact we have had on the lives of ourvendors.

Tony, featured in this issue and the Ob-server story, has moved from the shelterinto his own apartment. His caseworker

found the apartment but it was his jobselling papers that enabled him to meetthe income requirement. His shelter bedis now available for someone else whohas been living on the street.

Several other vendors have found a re-newed sense of purpose and camaraderiethrough their work and are striving toimprove their situations and prepare forthe future. Twenty eight people have re-ceived training to sell Groundcover andsixteen of them are actively selling.

Our goals for next month include addingmore volunteers to all aspects of our op-eration, securing office space, and offer-ing mini-classes and socializing

opportunities to our vendors and volun-teers. Volunteers are needed to helpwith writing, editing, artwork, fundrais-ing, marketing, business administration,vendor support and events. We are alsoseeking mentors. Community meetingsto fill out our organization are scheduledfor 7:00 pm on September 28 and No-vember 2. Both will be in the lowerlounge at the First Baptist Church, lo-cated on Washington between State andDivision. Please join us if you see a vol-unteer job that appeals to you.

Please email: contact@groundcovernews.com and indicate your interest so you can be kept abreast of new developments.

Groundcover News takes ro ot in Ann Arbor

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www.groundcovernews .com

Susan BeckettPublisher

G R O U N D C O V E R N E W SM I S S I O N :

Groundcover News ex is ts to createopportun i ty and a vo ice for low-income peop le whi le tak ing act ionto end homelessness and pover ty .

Ann Arbor , M ich igan

S u s a n B e c k e t t , P u b l i s h e r

L a u r i e L o u n s b u r y , E d i t o r

C o n t r i b u t o r s :D a v i d K E D o d g eK a r e n L . T o t t e nM a r q u i s e W i l l i a m s D a n i e l l e M a c k

w w w . g r o u n d c o v e r n e w s . c o m

J o h n M e l l e n c a m p w a l k s t h e w a l k o f p e o p l e , n o t m o n e yBy Ken LeslieOh, but ain't this McMerica, you and meAin't this McMerica, sidewalks to see baby'Cause ain't this McMerica, home of theFEE.Little pink SHELTERS for you and me.

America has become an insatiable nationof "more." But "more" is never quiteenough. How much money does a com-pany need to make next quarter? More!Always "more!"

Extrapolate that. Where will it end?

McBusiness has abandoned all moral de-cency, ravaging the American Dream, allin the search for "more." The mentalityof McBusiness in the last two decadeswould have sounded something like this,if they had ever dared to say it out loud:"Hey boss, I have an idea. Let's give themasses a ton of money they don't needand probably cannot repay. We will justtell them to take our money and buysomething really nice that they can't af-ford with it. They will have to pay us amonthly fee to use the money. Checkthis part out, boss: then we can sell theirloan that they cannot repay to someother sucker. We will make money bothways! Cha-freaking-ching!"

Then the whole house of cards (housing)toppled over, and tens of thousands ofAmerican FAMILIES got chewed up andspit out, losing their domestic autonomyand ending up on the streets and in theshelters.

How many families are on the streets?

According to the Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development, because offoreclosures and job losses, the numberof families on the streets and in sheltersis up 30%. The unhoused of today isthe same family who lived right nextdoor to you yesterday.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town,for the McMusic BUSINESS, the pur-

suit of "more" goes on as usual. Com-mittees come together to create "popsongs," short for "popular songs," whichare then recorded and overdubbed on100 plus audio tracks.

Ignoring the critics (people who don'tlike what YOU do with YOUR time,YOUR money, and YOUR effort); thereis a small cadre of musicians who don’twrite those formulaic songs.

These musicians write about truth, andsometimes the truth about the other sideof McMerica is really in darkness. Cer-tainly, this dark truth is the last thingMcBusiness wants the masses to hear,due to the risk of it becoming "popular."

Throughout John Mellencamp’s entirecareer, he has written about the "injusticefor all" wherever he saw it.

But this man has not just written aboutinjustice, no; he has worked to fight in-justice. He has put his time, money andWORK toward helping those in need.

He has been doing this since the begin-ning, from age 13 or 14 with his firstband, to today. October 3rd will be makethe 25th year of Farm Aid, in which hehas long been a participant. I would call

that commitment; wouldn't you?

For the cynical – I don't know aboutyou, but if I wanted publicity, I wouldhave picked one of the established main-stream publications, rather than a bunchof street papers the masses never see. ButMellencamp isn't about publicity. Whenhe came to our Homeless AwarenessProject Tent City in 2007, his visit wasexplicitly preconditioned on no advancepublicity. Period.

No, Mellencamp doesn't give a rip aboutpublicity; never has, never will.

He chose this interview in this venueJUST so those of you selling this streetpaper would be able to make enough jin-gle in your front pocket to make somefolding money for your back pocket.

He did this here so just maybe peoplewill find the fight inside of them to dothe hard work necessary to get into fi-nancial and domestic autonomy.

Yes, it's hard work, very hard work; Iknow all too well. I was one of thosewho was living in my car because I was a"victim" of <insert your own reasonhere>, NOT because I used all my cashlast night to buy some "whatever" I

could get to escape.

That may not be your reason, but nomatter the reason, it is hard, hard workto achieve financial and domestic auton-omy in McMerica for anyone, housed orunhoused.

John Mellencamp did this interview herefor you hoping it just might help youachieve both.

He did this interview here because YOUdo matter.

THIS is our country, because every 1Matters, don't they?

Walking distance from the Stadium“Sober Up” at Roos Roast Retail andRoastinglocations: 1155 Rosewood St., Suite B,Ann Arbor 734-222-9202 Open M-F, 9 AM Till 5 PM and open at:the Farmer's Market Saturday andWednesday morning.

GOP Casts Fear and Doubtfor Midterm Election

The GOP is desperate to regain itsformer Congressional majority. Theparty of Joe McCarthy and Watergateis now targeting ‘weak’ Democraticseats with blatant fear and smear cam-paigns. Just as in the McCarthy era,rumors and half-truths are consideredfar more important that real facts. TheTea Party ‘movement’ is now used forhandy deniability of factual distortionsand fear mongering. While President

Obama and the Democratic Congres-sional majority have been working tobetter the lot of the average American,the GOP continues to favor the inter-ests of the wealthy. No party with sucha focus is worthy to make economic orpolitical policies for our society. As al-ways, America’s better future will begotten through the pursuit of greaterhuman equality.

Paul LambertAnn Arbor

L e t t e r t o t h e E d i t o r

FEATURE

J o h n M e l l e n c a m p t a l k s t o S t r e e t N e w s p a p e ro r g a n i z a t i o n s a b o u t h o m e l e s s n e s s

By Ken Leslie

To most people the “homeless” are noth-ing more than vague faces of poverty re-flected in the mirror of a society afraid toeven look, much less help.

Over a career spanning 25 albums JohnMellencamp has written about who he is.Then, more importantly, John Mellen-camp has always walked his talk. This iscalled integrity.

Thrust into superstar status by the musicmachine in the 80’s, he got a taste of thesoulless part of the music business. So hesaid “Whoa, screw that! That’s not who Iam, ‘Cougar’ out!”

Rejecting this money-making machine,his walk tells us he cares more about peo-ple than money. He has always workedfor those without a voice. Everyone mat-ters! That’s why John did this interview.

There were no conditions for this inter-view, nor the public service announce-ments for 1Matters and World HomelessDay, October 10th. None. He literallysaid, “I will do what ever you need.”Complete unconditional trust.

Why here instead of the mainstreampress which would have garnered muchmore publicity? His single and absoluteintent here is to talk to those in the mid-dle of the struggle directly. His hope isvendors of street papers worldwide, hav-ing an exclusive interview no one elsehas, will achieve financial and domesticautonomy.

His hope is each one of the 640,000 peo-ple on the streets of the United Statesand in its shelters on any given nightnever give up. He hopes they do what-ever hard work necessary to overcomeany and all obstacles between themselvesand domestic autonomy.

His hope is all reading this interview willsupport your local street paper with yourtime and dollars. If there are none inyour city, you can direct your support tothe North American Street NewspaperAssociation (NASNA). Your supporttoday allows us, those currently and for-merly on the streets, to encourage eachother and share the hope of our successesin one collective voice.

Ken Leslie: On behalf of 1Matters,Toledo Streets and the street paper move-ment, and everyone who has lost domes-tic or financial autonomy in our country,thank you for your time today.

We first met two years ago or so whenyou made an un-promoted stop at theannual Tent City, Project Homeless Con-nect in Toledo. You just wanted them toknow they matter. Bob Merlis (Mellen-camp’s publicist) told me you weretouched by the experience. How so?

John Mellencamp: When you see whatprogress can produce, and also whatprogress can discard, it makes a fellerwonder… calling it progress does notmake it right. In thiscountry right nowthere is no middleclass, no place formiddle class. You areeither really rich oryou are really downand out. It’s hardtimes in this coun-try right now.

KL: When you wereon stage at TentCity, you sponta-neously decided toinvite everybodythere to your con-cert, all of the un-housed people.

JM: Right.

KL: 60 – 70 peoplewent and I under-stand you talked to them from the stageabout hope. As you know, one of theguests came back from the show and said“Ken, John talked to us from the stage –I guess I really do matter.” That was thefounding moment of 1Matters and actu-ally that’s why we’re here today. Yourwhole career, you’ve had the compassionfor and worked for those with little or novoice. What is the root of that compas-sion in John Mellencamp, where does itcome from? Was there something in yourchildhood maybe that started this feelingof compassion?

JM: Well for me, it started with race. Iwas in a band when I was 13-14 yearsold and it was the mid-60’s and it was aracially mixed band. I was the lead singerand this black kid was a singer he was acouple years older than me, really good.We’d play every weekend at fraternitiesand in hotels and stuff like that. It was asoul band. And I saw the way peopletreated him. Ya know, it was like wow,really? Wait a minute, you loved him onstage, but now he’s gotta go wait outside?And so I think that made quite an im-pression on me as a young guy.

KL: How’d you respond?

JM: Well, there were times that therewere fist fights. I remember in a littletown in Indiana there was a fist fight inbetween one of our breaks because of hisrace. So, ya know. I’m Sisyphus myself;I’m always the guy who’s rolling the rockup the hill. Ya know, and every time I gettoo close to the top I either let it rollback down on purpose or it just rollsback, catches on fire and rolls down at

someone. So I knowwhat it’s like to have towork at something. Mystruggle is obviouslydifferent than somefolks’ struggle, but,nevertheless, we allhave our problems.

KL: How would youdefine your struggle?

JM: Um, well I’ll an-swer it like this: A manwrites to what hestrives to be, not whathe is.

KL: The crucible thatcaused me to get in-volved in this move-ment in 1990 wasseeing more and morepeople on the streets. It

was the statistic that 60% of them werefamilies with children that forced me toact and do something. For you, withFarm Aid, tell me about that one mo-ment that caused you to be a part 25years ago and to maintain it even today.

JM: I had written a song with a friend ofmine called Rain on the Scarecrow and Ihad just made an album about what Ihad seen. Ya know, what prosperity haddone to the small towns. How they hadleveled them out and devastated smalltown America. So we made this recordcalled Scarecrow and then when Williecalled, there was like, it took me about asecond to decide I wanted to be a part ofFarm Aid. When Willie called up, he hadlike a vague notion of what Farm Aidwas gonna be. It was no more than just avague notion and we really had no idea itwas gonna last. We have our 25th an-niversary coming up October 2nd.

KL: Each night there are 640,000 un-housed Americans who have lost domes-tic autonomy and are living on thestreets and in shelters, 15% are veterans.

Some of those will be selling the very

street papers which are carrying yourwords right now. What are your words ofhope to all of our brothers and sisterswho are living on the streets of our coun-try?

JM: Well, I’ve always, ah, I’ve always hada bunch of dumb cliché things that myfamily taught me that my grandfatherpassed them on to me and they’ve alwaysprovided some sort of hope in my life.

They’re not very eloquent, but the great-est advice I ever got in my life and, it’snot very eloquent, but “If you’re gonna’hit a c*ck-s*cker, kill him.” And what mygrandfather meant when he said that wasif you’re actually going to do something,don’t talk about it, don’t brag about it,just go do it and do it to the best thatyou can possibly do. And that’s what hewas saying, don’t be threatening, don’t betalking, don’t be bragging. I think that asun-eloquently as it was said, it was prob-ably one of the most important thingssaid to me in my life.

KL: Which is a perfect thing to say tothe people on the streets, because ifyou’re gonna get off the streets, you can.

JM: You can, you need to! See the prob-lem is most people give up too early andI’m not talking about just the people onthe street, I’m just talking about peoplein general. They give up on relationshipstoo early, they give up on themselves tooearly, they give up on life too early. Ithink that’s a problem, and I think that’sa problem our country has. Over thedecades it was allowed to happen by thework ethic and through capitalism, a lotof things that affect this country thatallow people to think that way, that theworld owes them a living. And as soon asyou start thinking that somebody owesyou something, forget it man, you’redone. And as soon as you start thinkingyou’re right and everybody else iswrong… It’s like the guy who was mar-ried six or seven times, hell, I think itmight be me – I think this could be me,I’m starting to think this is my problem. “Save some time to dream,Cause your dream could save us all,Oh yeah,Your dream might save us all.”

- Save Some Time to Dream -

Ken Leslie has been throwing starfishback in the ocean since 1990 and can becontacted at 1Matters.org.

Copyright 1Matters.org. All rights reserved.

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“The problem is mostpeople give up tooearly and I’m not talking about just thepeople on the street,I’m just talking aboutpeople in general. Theygive up on relation-ships too early, theygive up on themselvestoo early, they give upon life too early.”

— John Mellencamp

MAKING CHANGE

By Lily Au

Why does that woman always play violinon the streets? The posters on the walltell you the answer: “Delonis Shelter isfull. Homeless Camp has been bustedthree times within a year. Sanctionedland is asked on humanitarian grounds."

Homeless people are arrested. Do youknow that it is illegal to be homeless?See "Criminalization of the Homeless-ness" by the National Law School.

I was shocked when I first heard thatpeople have been sleeping out in thecold. I was furious knowing that foryears some of the homeless slept onchairs in the shelter. I didn't know howto respond when the homeless manshowed his leg, swollen from deep veinthrombosis.

MISSION* members went to addressthe City Council many times. In re-sponse, in December 2009 the chairs inthe warming center were replaced withsleeping cots. Still, sleeping in a crowdedroom that is quiet from 10:00 pm to6:00 am does not afford the kind of restthat leaves a person ready to interview.

The root of the problem is, ‘Where isour affordable housing?’ Several yearsago, the city government demolishedover 100 low-income housing units (theold YMCA), and they have not been re-placed. Some of the tenants from the old

Y are still sleeping on the streets. On theother hand, due to limited funds, theshelter has no choice but to set a twoweek limit stay for local homeless peopleat the warming center.

In addition to the warming center, thereare places which can house people forthree month stays. The reality is that thereal demand for shelter is over ten timeswhat the facility can provide.

We have several tent cities in Ann Arbor.Some are by the highway, under thebridge. Some are in the wooded areas."Camp Take Notice," now has over 25homeless campers hiding there. We callthem the “Invisible Community.”They're still living without lighting, elec-tricity, running water or any facilities.Visit www.tentcity.org to read more sto-ries about them.

People might ask, ‘Lily, you've lots offree time to help out the homeless issue?’No, I'm the mom of two young sons.I'm struggling to balance the time. Beinga mom, it sharpens our feelings of seeingpeople cold, wet, hungry, sick andpainful.

"Hey, they're bums. That's the lifestylethey choose!" People tell me. I respond,"The longer you're with them, the moreyou will know the truth!" Based on re-search data from Washtenaw County,20-25% of the homeless population areveterans and another 30-35% are men-

tally-ill patients,disabled and peoplewith chronic dis-eases. There are alsounemployed peo-ple, working poorand those fleeingdomestic violenceand sexual assaultamong them. Ofcourse, substanceabuse is also an issue for about 20-25%of homeless people.

When I played violin on the streets,people talked to me, and then they knewthat the state had shut down many med-ical facilities for the mentally-ill and putpatients on the street. That's why I advo-cate for "Emergency Housing.” If wedon't lend a hand to the most vulnera-ble, they will end up chronically home-less. People might say, “Housing is thejob of Department of Housing & UrbanDevelopment,” as they hold the federalfunds." Some might say, "That's the jobof the City, as the City Government is incharge of the city development, planningand facilities.” I'd like to say that's every-one's job. In Romans 13:8 “Owe no oneanything except to love one another, forhe who loves another has fulfilled thelaw.”

Last month, I met Michigan GovernorJennifer Granholm by chance. I asked,“Is it possible to make it a law to allocatea certain percentage of the City budget

each year for Emergency and AffordableHousing?” She replied, “Yes, you can ifyou can get the community on board!”

So, next time, when you see me play vi-olin on the street, please pick up andsign the petition. Your signature can helpfree many people from the threat of hy-pothermia and frostbite and keep themdry on rainy nights. If you'd like to reachthe bottom to help the needy,www.tentcitymichigan.org can offer youthe channel. Your donation will go buytents, tarps, bus-token, food, garbagebags (rain gear) for them. I love Isaiah 58very much. That's the chapter whichstrengthens our faith community towork more for the vulnerable. I'm hon-ored to be one of them, and you?

*MISSION is a not for profit partner-ship between homeless and homefulWashtenaw county residents to supportthe efforts of Camp Take Notice to buildand strengthen a homeless tent commu-nity through self-governance and ac-countability.

W h y d o e s t h a t w o m a n a l w a y sp l a y t h e v i o l i n o n t h e s t r e e t s ?

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Lily Au, playing her violin on the streets of Ann Arbor to raise awarenessof homelessness issues.

We at Groundcover deeply appreciate oursupport we from individuals and localbusinesses, agencies and places of worship,especially in this early phase while we aregetting established. Some gave us moneyor equipment we needed, while othershelped us with outreach or set up oppor-tunities for our vendors to sell on theirpremises.1Matters

Back Door Food Pantry

Ed and Ellie Davidson

Elmo’s T-Shirts

First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor

St. Andrew’s Breakfast Program

St. Francis Catholic Church

Zion Lutheran Church

Tom Abdelnour

Advertising income has been crucial forfunding our second issue. You will soonfind links to our advertisers websites onour website, www.groundcovernews.comand our Facebook page, GroundcoverNews. Please patronize our advertisersand mention you saw their ad in Ground-cover. Our heartfelt thanks go out to:

Complete Chiropractic and BodyworkTherapies

People’s Food Coop

Roos Roast

Vendor Managed Technologies

And thanks to the thousands of you whotook a chance on us and bought a paper.

G r o u n d c o v e r N e w s i s g r a t e f u l t o t h o s ew h o h a v e s u p p o r t e d i t s e n d e a v o r sG r o u n d c o v e r W i s h L i s t

• Office space within walking distance of downtown. Even a 6 x 6 space would suffice

• Cell phone and calling plan

• Digital cameras, or cell phones with cameras, and cords for uploading

• Handcarts, rolling coolers or rolling suitcases for newspaper transport

• Waterproof bags

• Office supplies like receipt books and laminating pouches.

• Jobs for hard workers

If you have something to donate, please let us know. email contact@groundcovernews.com

THINK ABOUT IT

G r o u n d c o v e r V e n d o r s C o d e o f C o n d u c t

I f y o u s e e a n y G r o u n d c o v e r N e w s v e n d o r s n o t a b i d i n g b y t h e c o d e o f c o n d u c t , p l e a s e r e p o r t t h e a c t i v i t y t o : c o n t a c t @ g r o u n d c o v e r n e w s . c o m

By Lester Wyborny

Bethany Reed cried when she realizedextra cash from expanded tax credits forfamilies would help keep a roof over her9-year-old’s head. “We are all just oneaccident, cut job or pay away from beingin trouble,” said Reed, 30, a part-time as-sistant property manager pursuing acommunications degree. “I would prob-ably be in foreclosure without that addi-tional money to help make my housepayments and other bills.”

But the clock is ticking on the additionalaid, which expires at the end of this year.

The US economy is sluggish and manypeople are still out of work, particularlyhere in Michigan, which was particularlyhard-hit by the recession. The middleand upper class tax cuts which were en-acted under Bush back in 2001, and taxcuts and credits for the lowest earnerswhich were enacted in the Recovery Billfor 2009 and 2010 under Obama, are setto expire at the end of 2010. Increasingtaxes in 2011 could slow an economic re-covery, while extending them will add tothe deficit which will drain our economyin the future.

Studies show that tax cuts for the lowestearners result in more than a $1.50stimulus for every dollar returned to thepoor – thus a very good economic stimu-lus. However, tax cuts for the richamounts to less than 50 cents of eco-nomic stimulus on each tax dollar re-turned to the rich – apoor stimulus.

One of the tax cutsfor lower earners isan expansion of theEarned Income TaxCredit or EITC.The EITC wasstarted in 1975 andit was designed to re-ward those with lowincomes for working byproviding a tax credit which could evenexceed the taxed amount. In 2009, theEITC lifted 6.6 million people out ofpoverty – over 3 million of them werechildren, according to the Center forBudget and Policy Priorities. The EITCwas also increased for married couples,ending the “marriage penalty”, and in-creased the amount of the EITC benefitfor families with 3 or more children.

Another stimulus is the Child Tax Creditor CTC. The CTC provides a maxi-mum child tax credit of $1000 per childwhich phases out at $75,000 for singleparents and at $110,000 for married par-ents, but there was no CTC those earn-ing less than $13,000. Under the

stimulus bill, the CTC increasedand it was extended for those

earning between $3,000and $13,000 per year –which makes a lot ofsense since children ofthese families are themost vulnerable. If theincreases expire, a work-

ing parent raising twokids could see his or herchild credit cut from

$2,000 to $547.50.

“This (extension) is needed desperatelyin Michigan and around the country,”said Sharon Parks, president and chiefexecutive officer of the Michigan Leaguefor Human Services. Without the exten-sion 584,000 Michigan families withchildren will see their child tax credits re-duced or eliminated.Putting money inthe hands of the working poor not only

stimulates the economy, it helps themhold onto their residences. It is muchmore cost effective and less disruptive tokeep people in their homes than to pro-vide services and find alternative shelteronce they have been evicted. Thosemaking $3,00 - $13,000 per year are al-ready coping with working multiplepart-time jobs that lack benefits, fre-quently on off-shifts that make findingchild care a challenge. Informal childcare arrangements among neighbors andfamilies must often be relied on and be-come impractical when a family has tomove.

Congress will be acting on the tax cutsthis month. Michigan representativeshold some key positions on the commit-tees that oversee tax policy. Anyone cancall their representative and share theirviews, toll free, by calling the Congres-sional Switch Board, 800-220-0044 andasking for their Member of Congress byname. Representatives from WashtenawCounty are John Dingell (Ann Arborand Ypsilanti), Mark Schauer (ScioTownship and west), and Mike Rogers,Whitmore Lake.

T a x c r e d i t s c a n m e a n t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e nh o m e - s w e e t - h o m e o r o n t h e s t r e e t

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While Groundcover News is a non-profit organiza�on, and newspapervendors are considered contractedself-employers, we s�ll have expecta-�ons of how vendors should conductthemselves while selling and repre-sen�ng the paper.

The following list is our Vendor Codeof Conduct, which every vendor readsand signs before receiving a badgeand papers. We request that if youdiscover a vendor viola�ng any tenetsof the Code, please contact us andprovide as many details as possible.Our paper and our vendors should beposi�vely impac�ng our County.

All vendors must agree to the follow-

ing code of conduct:

• Groundcover News will be distrib-uted for a voluntary dona�on of $1. Iagree not to ask for more than a dol-lar or solicit dona�ons by any othermeans.

• I will only sell current issues ofGroundcover News.

• I agree not to sell addi�onal goodsor products when selling the paper orto panhandle, including panhandlingwith only one paper.

• I will wear and display my badgewhen selling papers.

• I will only purchase the paper fromGroundcover News Staff and will notsell to or buy papers from other

Groundcover News vendors, espe-cially vendors who have been sus-pended or terminated.

• I agree to treat all customers, staff,other vendors, respec�ully. I will not“hard sell,” threaten, harass or pres-sure customers, staff, or other ven-dors verbally or physically.

• I will not sell Groundcover Newsunder the influence of drugs or alco-hol.

• I understand that I am not a legalemployee of Groundcover News but acontracted worker responsible for myown well-being and income.

• I understand that my badge is prop-erty of Groundcover News and will

not deface it. I will present my badgewhen purchasing the papers.

• I agree to stay off private propertywhen selling Groundcover News.

• I understand to refrain from sellingon public buses, federal property orstores unless there is permission fromthe owner.

• I agree to stay at least one blockaway from another vendor. I will alsoabide by the Vendor corner policy.

• I understand that Groundcoverstrives to be a paper that covers top-ics of homelessness and povertywhile providing sources of income forthe homeless. I will try to help in thiseffort and spread the word.

By Susan BeckettPublisher

Chances are you’ve already met Tony, es-pecially if you got your copy of Ground-cover News while heading to yourdowntown office or strolling to your fa-vorite Main St. restaurant or coffee shop.He and his display cart are downtownfixtures as he greets people and deliversthe weather report or chats about latestTigers or Lions game. After receivingmany requests for directions, he sug-gested putting a map in the paper so hecould better direct visitors. (See page 8)

Tony knew he could sell newspapers – hestarted hawking the Shopping Newswhen he was 11 and by 13 won a trip toWashington, D.C. as a top seller of theDetroit News. His earnings affordedhim a new stereo and bicycle and a bank

account as well as the chance to buypresents for his Mom, the classic pictureof dogs sitting around a poker table play-ing cards being the one he remembersmost fondly.

Always a hard worker, his first encounterwith the police came during a blizzardwhen he was 10 and went out to shovelsnow for neighbors. They found himstill shoveling 24 hours later. He was ahigh-spirited boy determined to lead ineverything, which sometimes got him introuble. The 10th of 14 children andthe 7th son of a 7th son, he managed tochannel most of his energy into rescuinganimals, earning him the nickname“Bird.”

Tony was 12 when one of his brotherswho had survived a tour in Vietnam wasshot and killed in Detroit, and Tonystarted to drink. When his father diedfour years later, he drank a lot and got insome serious trouble. He completed hisGED in a juvenile detention center andupon his release tried returning to highschool at Sacred Heart but relapsed intoheavy drinking. A farsighted judge senthim to a Washtenaw County recovery

program in 1978 as a last chance to stayout of prison.

Tony stayed sober for 25 years. Heworked at the Ypsi paper mill for severalyears before relocating and enjoying theeconomic boom in Texas. There hefound employment as a rod man on asurveying team then moved into con-struction, chimney framing, brick andcement work, and landscaping, learningand working his way up until he startedhis own landscaping business. He re-calls dumping the day’s grass clippings inthe meadow of his cow-raising friend.“It got so they’d see my truck pull upand 15 or 20 cows would come runningright to me.”

On a visit to Michigan, he met his futurewife who eventually convinced him tomove back north to be close to family.There he started Tony’s Handyman andutilized the skills he’d learned in Texas.His wife eventually left, relieving himfrom the constant temptation of drink-ing with her.

He held various jobs, stocking shelves,loading steel and even as a UAW ma-chine operator for a Big 3 parts manu-facturer but got laid off when the plantwas automated. During this time hebought a house in Eastpoint and remar-ried into an instant family of three chil-dren who he still considers his own. Thecat he rescued from a dumpster loyallybrought offerings to his door each day,including the memorable day she pre-sented seven perfectly preserved rats,head to toe in a straight line.

The dark period of his life included buy-ing a second house up north and takingout a loan so his wife could return toschool. The economy soured, loan pay-ments soared and though he worked twojobs, he could not keep up with the pay-ments and eventually lost everything.Despair and drinking led to his wife di-vorcing him. A neighbor in his rentalapartment introduced him to crack at atime when he was desperate to feel good.After a Detroit area treatment facility re-leased him, he was attacked in Detroitwhile attempting to score more crack.

He returned to the Washtenaw Countyprogram where he had sobered up as ateen and was greeted like an old friend.He was directed to a three-quarter housewhere he could live for three months in asubstance-free environment. He slept alot and did little but it was not until histhree months were nearly over that he fi-nally went to the hospital and learned hehad emphysema and pneumonia.

The Delonis Center afforded him threemore months of shelter and a sleepingbag to use when he left. Tony’s dittyfrom this time goes,

“You don’t know you’re homeless

Until you realize that the roof over yourhead

Is the stars and the moon...

And you pet the raccoon.”

While sleeping in fields and underbridges he made friends with Bandit theraccoon, a woodchuck and a skunk.During the early winter he acquired asecond sleeping bag from the lieutenantat the Salvation Army where he had beenattending Bible Study classes and AAmeetings. He prided himself on beingthe best bottle collector in Ann Arborand was able to buy personal items withthe proceeds.

On his bike one night looking for bot-tles, he was stopped by police for nothaving a light on his bike. They arrestedhim on an outstanding warrant for non-

payment from his business failure and hespent six months in the MacombCounty jail, saving him from the mostbrutal part of winter. Released withnothing but his bike, he went to thenearest Salvation Army and stayed a fewdays. He found his stepson nearby andstayed with him for a month duringwhich time he attended AA meetings,felt depressed and kept hearing Jesus onTV. His son helped him get back to De-lonis where he got a blanket and re-turned to his old tent which Bandit hadshredded in his absence. Luckily, hesoon got a room at Delonis and substan-tial help from his caseworker, Cameron.He regularly attends mass, AA meetingsand a “12 Steps to God” program andhis depression has lifted.

Cameron helped him secure temporarywork at the Art Fair and that 45 hourshelped him get on his feet. He heardabout Groundcover and got started sell-ing papers as soon as the Art Fair ended.Along with saving most of his money fora down payment on the apartment hejust moved into, he bought some small

ON MY CORNER

G r o u n d c o v e r v e n d o r T o n y s e e s b e t t e rd a y s a h e a d

see Selling Groundcover, page 9

6

www.groundcovernews .com

Groundcover vendor Tony, selling papers at the corner of Liberty and Main

“It’s good to be clean.

It’s a great feeling. It’s

better to be looked up

at than to be looked

down at!”

— Tony the vendor

COMMUNITY 7

www.groundcovernews .com

“If you get to know people on a face to facebasis, rather than as agroup of homeless people, you realize thatpeople are people. Weall have our own problems, and somehave been dealt more,but people are basicallythe same.”

— Deacon Svea Gray

This past August, the St. Andrew‘sBreakfast program celebrated 28 consec-utive years of serving a communitybreakfast every morning, without fail.From the 35 people who attended thefirst breakfast, they have grown to 150guests today. When there was a black-out, they served outside with candles,and there have always been people toserve.

For the volunteers preparing and servingthe meal, it is a life changing experience.

“If you get to know people on a face-to-face basis, rather than as a group ofhomeless people, you realize that peopleare people. We all have our own problems, and some have been dealtmore, but people are basically the same,”said Deacon Svea Gray, who has directed the program for 25 years.

Sunday through Thursday, Gray arrives at 6:00 am and prepares for the7:15 arrival of the kitchen volunteersand 7:30 arrival of the guests. The pro-gram runs on a shoestring budget andonly the janitorial staff is paid. Guestspitch in washing tables and stackingchairs at the end of the meal and somefill in serving on those rare occasionswhen there are not enough volunteers.Generous people and organizations respond to thefundraising letters sent out in May andNovember. Last year a benefit concerthelped replace withdrawn city fundingand the Ann Arbor Thrift Shop gavethem a grant for a new stove. Memorialdonations and bequests also supply critical funding.

Friendship with the community and the

camaraderie of the volun-teers and guests keep Graygoing.

“The great spirit of peoplewho walk a difficult pathenergizes me,” Gray said.

She is a task master with-out being stern to the vol-unteers. She sees to it thatthe place is spotless andruns efficiently. FollowingGray’s initiative,volunteers are very kind intalking and dealing withthe guests.

“In four years I have never observed one guest com-

plain about how they are treated at St. Andrew’s,” said Martin Stolzenberg.

“They are invariably polite and apprecia-tive. They say that the St. Andrew‘sBreakfast is the best meal in Ann Arbor.

“I notice that the guests often tend tolinger, sometimes to avoid the weatheroutside, but I think often to just chatwith friends. I suspect many of them areisolated during the day. The Breakfast isa place that they can renew contacts andmaintain a sense of humanity.”

“There is a kind of community that hasemerged among the volunteers in ourThursday morning group,” Stolzenbergcontinued. “We discuss sports, the economy, politics and our kids. We alsosocialize with outings and parties. TheBreakfast Program makes us appreciatehow we have been blessed with much.”

The Breakfast Program is about bringingpeople together and building relation-ships .

“It is about the friends at St. Andrew’sand the generous community that havecome together through these 28 years tosupport us with wonderful volunteersand generous donations,” said Gray.

New guests and volunteers from thecommunity at large are welcomedwarmly. Celebrating the birthdays ofvolunteers and guests as well as specialbreakfasts on holidays contribute to thefeeling of extended family.

The Breakfast family dynamic extends tosolving problems. In all 28 years, theyhave never had to exclude anyone from

the breakfast. When someone is havinga hard time getting along, other guestsseparate them and work to calm themdown. Occasionally a volunteer askssomeone to move to the far side of theroom.

St. Andrew’s has opened its space to related organizations that provide services to the guests and all appreciatethe safe space St. Andrews has become.The Writers Group meets Tuesdays from8:30–10:00 a.m. during the school year.A diverse group drawn from the commu-nity at large, breakfast guests and U-Mvolunteer facilitators, share their workand offer each other suggestions. Project Outreach Team for the County(PORT) conducts various groups afterbreakfast several days each week, andGroundcover News distributes papers tovendors toward the end of breakfast onMondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“We’re all in this together and there aremore ways we’re alike than different –and we don't need the barriers we've

created with racism or ostracizinggroups," Gray said. “It has been a reli-gious experience getting to know guestsand volunteers. I see God in everyone.Or I should!"

AGENCY SPOTLIGHT

S e r v i n g w i t h a s m i l eS t . A n d r e w s c e l e b r a t e s 2 8 y e a r s o f s e r v i n g a d a i l y c o m m u n i t y b r e a k f a s t

Fittingly, vendor Kay sold the first copy of Groundcover during thecommunity breakfast at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to a volunteer

PUZZLES

ACROSS1. A Study in Scarlet author6. Pertaining to the ear10. Believability; reputation (slang)14. _____ Peninsula15. _____ the Explorer16. Les Miserables author17. Former U.S. president and general19. River of Spain20. Japanese manufacturer of car parts21. Cremation receptacle22. Less empty24. Former Colorado governor26. Dusk27. Beverage29. Type of software engineering (abbr.)31. Downwind, nautically32. Allen or Rumsey33. NBA's Shaq35. High cards39. Land parcel40. Fabric43. Gibbon, for example44. Egyptian goddess46. Belief47. Soak flax48. Sea level change51. Website featuring environmental news52. Legume53. Phone accessory55. Portal57. Anne _____, photographer58. Christopher Carson's nickname60. 1960s pop singer63. Armenian village64. _____ United Football Club67. Cheese variety68. Tropical plant69. Site70. Beer foam71. Fishing equipment72. Brief

DOWN1. Two-part harmony2. Sheriff Taylor's son3. Demetrius _____4. _____ Chandavarkar, Bollywood actress5. Eagle

45. Sports venue49. Grosse _____50. Mole, native to Europe53. Ms. Reese54. Lazy person56. Sample food57. Singer Barry, Robin, Maurice or Andy58. Gordian _____59. Frozen treats61. Birds of New Zealand62. Group of anti-Sandinistas (abbr.)65. Beer

38. Bristle; hair41. Measurement of a sort42. Mountain of Italy

11 12 13

14 15

6 7 8 9 101 2 3 4 5

17 18

16

22 2320 21

19

27 28 29 30

2624 25

32 33 34

31

41 42 43

38

39 40

35 36 37

47

48 49 50

4644 45

53 54

51 52

60 61 6257 58 59

55 56

67 68

65 6663 64

70 71

69

6. Fragrance7. Village8. Anger9. Vehicle packed with people10. Former First Daughter

72

37. Fencing sword

26. Salt solution27. Anklebones28. Grandson of Adam and Eve30. _____ Manley, former NFL star34. Consumed36. Woodworker

11. 100 kopecs12. Wading bird13. Portal18. Compassionate23. One, in French25. Debatable

66. Time zone (abbr.)

solu�ons on page 11

8

www.groundcovernews .com

Puzzle by Jeff Richmond

WDEBOYQ DMYBS HBWOCEBU F ZFS DM FJJ

UWCOCY FSH ECOYVB; CY CU IFOH MDO FS

BZWYQ AFX YD UYFSH VWOCXIY.”

— ABSKFZCS MOFSPJCS

UKVFV BJH MVNVF J BJF RM TRNVFUE.

CJEAV UKVFV BJH J HYOFCOHK RM TRNV-

FUE.

— JMXFVB LZRCR

C r y p t o q u o t e sF i g u r e o u t t h e e n c r y p t i o n c o d e t os o l v e t h e p u z z l e

A n n A r b o r C i t y M a p

presents for his granddaughter and sentsome money to help with expenses.

Tony is so pleased to be substance freeand productive. “I lost my wife who Ilove very much and I have only myself toblame. I know I must move on, but bethere for kids and the granddaughterwho loves her Grand Pap and the babygrandson I have now! It’s good to beclean. It’s a great feeling. It’s better to belooked up at than to be looked down at!

A minor setback befell him recently.Tony’s wallet fell from his pocket one hotSunday morning as he was dragging hiscart up Washtenaw on his way to an areachurch. (Buses don’t run until later inthe day on Sunday.) He resigned himselfto losing the money that was in his wal-let but fervently hopes to get his driver’slicense and personal papers back. Ifwhoever has it drops the wallet in a mail-box or brings it to the Ann Arbor PoliceDepartment, it will make its way back toTony.

He’s looking forward to saving enoughmoney so he can finance karate lessonsto enhance his granddaughter’s self-discipline, get his ex-wife’s car fixed,and repay an outstanding loan from hisfather-in-law.

“I’m happy,” Tony said recently. “ I’velost 12 pounds since I started selling thepaper. I like what I’m doing; meetingpeople, showing them what a gentlemanI am. I love saying, ‘Good morning’ topeople.”

FOOD

Alicia Beckett interviewed John Roos, localentrepreneur and artist. He can be spottedat his store on Rosewood, Farmer’s Marketbooth or trike on State Street serving PourOver Honk for Service coffee.

AB: How did Roos Roast first come intoexistence?

JR: I had moved back to Michigan and Icouldn’t find any good coffee. I had justby chance taken a job selling cars atDunning Subaru… and the coffee therewas terrible. In my spare time I hadstarted roasting coffee a little bit. So Istarted bringing my own coffee, then Iwas bringing in my own espresso ma-chine. And also the reason I wanted tosell coffee was because I quickly realizedto be a good car salesman you needed tohave a catch, like there was a guy wholived in Alaska so everyone was like“Where’s Jerry from Alaska” So I waslike, ‘I need to have some other back-ground.’ So I did really well at sellingcars but in the mean time the coffeebusiness was growing really fast. Afterlike 4 years of selling cars and roastingcoffee together I had to choose one orthe other so I chose coffee.

AB: Are you glad you chose coffee?

JR: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I love coffee! Ithink coffee’s amazing! The thing aboutcoffee is it’s a real people business.

AB: How did you learn to roast coffee?

JR: In Portland I hung out with myfriend who roasted coffee a lot. So Ilearned the basics from her, but I learneda lot just by doing it myself. Trial anderror, just experimenting.

AB: How did you find a good source ofcoffee?

JR: I bought a gas roaster after 2 littlejunkie electrical roasters, and the guywho built the gas roaster turned me onto some people who sold coffee, so Istarted going to them. It’s pretty easy tofind good coffee now- there’s a lot ofgood stuff out there and a lot of peoplewho sell coffee. Once you start roastingcoffee and delivering coffee to people youcan’t just say ‘Oh I’m going to quit doingthis.’ Coffee’s very important to themright?

AB: And you roast very good coffee!

JR: Oh, thank you! You have to remainhumble; you can’t just say I’m the best.So I try to remain humble, and keeproasting every day, keep after it.

AB: What’s the most difficult thingabout getting coffee just right?

JR: All the aspects of it: Grind it right,brew it right, water has to be right, ma-chine has to be clean; there are a lot ofdifferent parts like that. Coffee is likebeer, or some other drink. It’s very sub-jective; it depends on who the person is

who’s drinking it. Youshould try to make peo-ple happy. I can saythat’s bad coffee butsomeone else might loveit. And that’s what youlearn when you startserving coffee to peoplein places like a farmersmarket and your audi-ence is a large audience.

AB: What’s your favoriteroast?

JR: I’m drinking thisPapau New Guinea rightnow, which I love-reallygood, and I’m making espresso out of it.I like to take this single origin coffee andput it through my espresso machine.That’s how I like to make coffee.

AB: Espresso or Coffee?

JR: I prefer espresso, but I drink it longlike a cup of coffee.

AB: What is something that people don’tknow about coffee?

JR: A lot of people don’t know that darkroast has less caffeine than light roast.

AB: Why is that?

JR: Because as you roast the coffee youtake the caffeine out of it. The caffeine

leaves in the smoke and the chaste thatcomes out of it. So lighter roasts havemore caffeine.

AB: Do you see yourself opening anotherstore or expanding into a chain?

JR: Well I don’t think expanding into achain is in the future. Maybe open an-other store; we might do that, you neverknow. I think in order to make a lot ofmoney you need to have a place thatserves coffee by the cup.

One of the ideas I played around with isdoing a café employed with homelesspeople. That’s one of those things theydo in Portland, Oregon. It’s pretty suc-cessful [and] could be a really goodthing.

R o a s t i n g c o f f e e a n d m e e t i n g p e o p l e . . . a g o o d b l e n d f o r J o h n R o o s

S e l l i n g G r o u n d c o v e r h e l p s T o n y f i n d h o p e a n d h o u s i n gcontinued from page 6

Help the homeless make thetransi�on to “home-more.”

S U P P O R T G R O U N D C O V E R

N E W SBecome a sponsor, or buy an ad in thenewspaper. Groundcover News gives

homeless persons the chance to become independent vendors and earnmoney, while making the transi�on to

regular employment and housing.

contact@groundcovernews.com

9

www.groundcovernews .com

Simple Summer HarvestRecipesFrom Saline gourmand, Kathy Moberg

Garden Beans and PeppersTrim enough beans for the number ofpeople you’ll have at dinner. A combina-tion of green, yellow and purple beanslooks pretty, but whatever you have onhand will be fine.

Core and slice one or two sweet peppersinto thin strips. Separate 3 or 4 thinslices of red onion into rounds. Add to

beans in a large skillet and toss with a lit-tle olive oil and garlic powder & groundblack pepper to taste.

Sautee, stirring frequently, over mediumhigh heat until beans are cooked but stillcrisp and peppers and onions have soft-ened. While beans are cooking, chop sev-eral fresh basil leaves. Remove from heat,place in serving bowl and toss with thefresh basil. Serve immediately.

Alternately, you may fashion a cookingtray out of heavy aluminum foil or use agrill basket, and grill the beans for 8 to10 minutes.

Garden PaniniFor each sandwich, thinly slice twopieces of good bread (an Italian or coun-try loaf, white or wheat). Spread one sidethinly with a soft cheese like Allouette(the light version is fine since there are somany flavors in this sandwich). Layerwith whole basil leaves, sliced tomatoes,rings of thinly sliced red onion and/orbell pepper (sweet or hot!), finishingwith some finely grated mozzarella. Placesecond slice of bread on top.

Press sandwich in a panini maker ORplace on flat, hot skillet, very lightly cov-

ered with olive oil (I use a mister filledwith olive oil) on the stove top. Pressdown hard with a large spatula to com-press the sandwich and cook until thefirst side is nicely browned. Flip sand-wich over and repeat, pressing downevery now and then.

Ham, prosciutto, smoked turkey may beadded as well. The trick is to keep thesandwich thin. Too many ingredients,and it won’t hold together. You also wantthe fresh tomato and basil flavors to re-ally shine through!

John Roos, with a roaster on his left and his artwork on the wall

RESOURCES

Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Area Low Income Food Pantries

10

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By Rose Delores Whitmore

This world is a funny place. At times I have been em-ployed, receiving a paycheck and the benefits that hav-ing money brings. At this point in my life I have notbeen able to find work so the paycheck is pretty much amemory. I have been staying at the shelter in Ann Arborfor about 3 months.

During this time I have learned that for people whohave a small amount of money there are actually quite afew inexpensive choices for food. In this article, myfirst, I will share some of the low cost food values I havefound here in Ann Arbor.

One of my favorite places to go get a good breakfast24/7 is the Fleetwood Diner. Located at 300 South Ash-ley, the small restaurant serves a wide variety of reallygood food. I usually get three eggs and toast and itcomes to $3.67 Of course coffee is extra so I usually getwater instead. The experts say that the most importantmeal of the day is breakfast. I am lucky that it is alsothe least expensive.

If you have transportation you can go to other good in-expensive places that serve breakfast like the Flim FlamRestaurant and Mark’s Coney Island. Both are locatedon Plymouth Rd.

The dollar menu at McDonalds is a good way to stretchyour money. How you place your order can actuallysave you some money. If you order an Egg McMuffinwithout the meat they will charge you full price for theitem, but if you order an English muffin with egg andcheese, it is about a dollar less.

Another really good value I have found is the white ricefrom No Thai. A small box of fresh hot steamed rice is50 cents. The soy sauce, which is a must for me, is freeand so is the hot sauce if you go that way. A truly greatdeal!

Vendor Managed Technologies

A local software company supportingour friends and neighbors.

E a t w e l l , s p e n d l e s s

see Food, p. 11

BUSINESS

Success should be his middle name.

Or maybe passion, or creativity, or drive;Elmo Morales has them all. The propri-etor of Elmo’s T-Shirts also owns and op-erates Body in Balance Fitness, the firstAnn Arbor bicycle spinning fitness facil-ity, and Elmo’s Hideaway, a music club.But many in Ann Arbor know him as arace organizer and the founder of theDexter-Ann Arbor run. And Commu-nity High students from the 1970’sthrough the 1990’s remember him astheir physical education instructor.

How has he managed to do so much andstill look so young? Family and living abalanced life, he’ll tell you. He startedElmo’s T-Shirts back in his race organiz-ing days, while he was still teaching fulltime. His mother, wife and children ranthe store until he could get there at theend of his teaching day. Working hardhas been part of his life since he wasseven or eight, when he started carryinggroceries.

Raised in the better of two New YorkCity barrios in Manhattan, he was a really good kid who loved everythingabout school; the classes, the free lunchhe got, field trips and athletics. Hisworld widened when he delivered drycleaning to Russian immigrants wholived in the better neighborhood acrossBroadway from his own. They invitedthe boy into their homes where he wasexposed to fine art and the antiques theybrought with them from the old country.

His horizons broadened considerablywhen he was 11 and spent two weeks ina suburban home in Westport, Conn. aspart of the Fresh Air Camp, a non-profitthat sent poor city kids to the countryfor part of the summer. The family hejoined repeatedly talked about college at

the dinner table and started young Elmothinking that maybe it should be part ofhis future. He spent considerable timeat the “tar beach,” the roof of his apart-ment building, studying for the Regent’sExam in 9th grade. He was one of onlyeight children in his borough to attain aperfect score in Algebra, and he was thefirst Puerto Rican to do so. Under thespecter of racism, he was accused ofcheating. His grade was unfairly loweredbut it spurred him to work even harder.

He ran track in high school and was oneof a very talented group of runners thatset the national record for the mile relay.Elmo was heavily recruited but his futurecoach at U-M, Don Canham (later theathletic director), was the most straight-forward. He called and said, “Hey kid,you want to go to school here? Sign onthe dotted line. We’ll give you every-thing.” Elmo knew nothing aboutMichigan or the university, but knowing

that he’d be provided for clinched thedeal.

A desire to give back led him to a degreein physical education. Along withstudying and training, he worked as awaiter at the posh downtown restaurant,Room at the Top. He sent home $35 perweek to help his family with rent. Aftergraduation, he married and brought hismother, grandmother, brother and sisterto Ann Arbor. His wife, Susan ScottMorales is a spinning instructor andpartner in Bodies in Balance Fitness.She’s also an author whose second novel,A Barroom View of Love, was just re-leased.

The couple’s daughter, Christina MoralesHemenway , expresses her creativity as ascreenwriter and director. Her secondfilm, “Naked Angel,” will premiere at theMichigan Theater on September 24, pre-ceded by a gala affair with the film’s stars,

including James Duval. Elmo credits theMichigan Film Grant program withmaking possible this independent film,shot primarily in Ann Arbor with manylocal cast and crew members.

Elmo’s newest venture, Elmo’s Hideaway,took root during his senior year in highschool, listening to up-and-coming per-formers in Greenwich Village. He waslucky enough to hear the young BobDylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, amongothers, and thought to himself, ‘Some-day I’ll have a club.’ Located below theT-shirt shop, Elmo’s Hideaway seats 55concert style and is used by local musi-cians to showcase their talents, as well asfor special functions.

Always creating, Elmo envisions a com-pany where he will produce shows andmanage performers. He is also seriouslyconsidering reviving some of the com-munity races he used to organize, like theTurkey Trot and Jinglebell Run. Theseare low-cost runs that build a sense ofcommunity and any extra revenue is do-nated to the St. Andrew’s Breakfast Pro-gram and Peace Neighborhood Center.

Having benefitted from many SocialService and community outreach pro-grams as a child, Elmo appreciates theirvalue. He looks for opportunities tohelp others escape poverty and achievethe sense of satisfaction that accompaniesproductive work. Elmo’s T-Shirts gotstarted because the guy he ordered t-shirts from for all his runs casually com-mented, “With all the t-shirts you buyfrom me, you should start your own t-shirt company.”

Elmo has lots of start-up business ideashe’d like to mention to the right set ofears. The possibilities are endless!

D O Y L E O T I C C R E DU P P E R D O R A H U G OE I S E N H O W E R E B R OT E I N U R N F U L L E R

L A M M S U N S E TT E A O A D A L E EA N N O N E A L A C E SL O T T E X T I L E A P EI S I S T E N E T R E T

T I D E E N N P E AD I A L E R G A T E

G E D D E S K I T A N K AI L L I M A N C H E S T E RB L E U A L O E S T E A DB A R M N E T S T E R S E

P u z z l e s o l u t i o n s

A n n A r b o r ’s E l m o — F r o m b a r r i o t o b u s i n e s s m a n

Elmo Morales, in front of his Main St. T-shirt shop.

11

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Food, from page 10

By the Pound, located on Main St. Near Madison, is ina small strip mall. This place has bulk items that youcan literally purchase buy the pound or any fractionthereof. Items include candy and sweets, my favorites,and they have dried fruit, nuts, trail mix, granola, pas-tas, and all sorts of baking ingredients and spices. If youhave less than a dollar to work with and you are lookingfor a snack you will love this place.

“Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it ishard for an empty bag to stand upright.”

–— Benjamin Franklin

“There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty.”

— Andrew Cuomo

R e d u c i n g m y c a r b o n f o o t p r i n tA n d i n c r e a s i n g m y d e b t , a l l i n o n e s u m m e r s t r o l l

Street Buzz

A sizeable groupof us here inMichigan are embracing theconcept of reducing our carbon footprintwith open armsand empty wallets

– namely, thoseof us who tooka salary cut, are

underemployed or laid off.

Talk about great timing! Walking or riding a bike came into vogue just whenthe economy tanked and some of uscould longer afford to drive a car. It’ssynchronicity at its best!

I am one of those Michiganders who recently had a perfect opportunity todemonstrate my enthusiasm for reducingmy carbon footprint. After all, I hadbeen laid off, couldn’t figure out how topay the mortgage and also buy food, so Iwas keen on any opportunity to save abuck or two.

My car battery died Friday evening in adowntown Ann Arbor parking lot. Afriend gave me a ride home and told menot to worry, parking was free on Saturdays, so my car was in no danger ofbeing ticketed or towed. (I am currentlyre-evaluating our friendship status, givenhow very ill-informed this friend was.)

The next day I cheerfully loaded up mysaucy little leather backpack with socketwrenches, pliers, flat and Phillips screw-drivers, a vice grip, hammer, and a roll ofduct tape. My plan was to walk to town,pick up a car battery at the nearby partystore or maybe Treasure Mart and figureout how to fix the car myself, saving oodles of money and four miles’ worth ofautomotive pollution.

As I set out I was feeling quite plucky; Iwas a cheery optimist who was findingsomething positive in a bad situation. Iwas getting exercise! I was saving theplanet! Uh-oh! I was already getting

tired!

I knew that what lay between me and mycar – as the crow flies – was the Univer-sity of Michigan golf course.

Yes! I could just cut across the golf courseand shave at least a half-mile off mywalk.

For reasons I can’t explain, it’s very easyto saunter right onto the golf course atthe southeast corner. All I had to dofrom there was wend my way to thenorthwest corner. Lo and behold, rightat my feet was a golf cart path that appeared to curve in the general direction I was going, so I struck out onthe cart path at a perky pace, occasion-ally doing a little Wizard of Oz skip anda hop.

Thirty yards later, the cart path came toan abrupt halt. Huh?

I hadn’t played golf in 25 years, so I hadforgotten a lot about the sport. I thoughtcart paths wandered through the entirecourse like a Candyland path on a gameboard. Apparently, this is not the case.

It seemed I was on the edge of a fairway,which I safely traversed. Then I foundmyself nearing a green. Four golfers weretaking turns putting in. I trotted past,socket wrenches chiming merrily in mybackpack. Sheesh, they glared at me as ifI was singing In-a-gadda-da-vida off-key.In my best ESPN golf announcer voice, Iwhispered a quick apology and scampered away.

Wherever there is a putting green, therewill be a teeing-off place nearby. Suddenly I was in a shimmering, limegreen and pink plaid school of golfers.The whine of electric golf carts was coming from behind while other golferssashayed in front of me.

At that point I decided the golf coursehad too many players and too few cartpaths, so I made a bee line for my destination, the northwest edge of thecourse, racing across fairways and yelling

“MARTINI!” anytime I saw someoneabout to hit a ball in my direction. Iknew there’s some other word you’re supposed to yell when someone mightget clobbered with a golf ball, but I forgot what it was and figured “martini”would get their attention.

In the many, many times I have drivenpast the U of M golf course, I somehownever noticed it has a VERY tall fencesurrounding it.

I was trapped like a Titleist in the ballwasher.

Rather than retracing my footsteps backto the point of origin, I hugged the fenceline even though it meant trudgingthrough prairie grass and stinging nettlethe height of your average Eberwhite Elementary fourth grader. Thirty-fiveminutes later, I was back where I started.

Thirty more minutes later, I was almostto the parking lot where I left my deadcar. Imagine my surprise when I roundedthe corner and found the parking lot fullof festive white tents setting up for acraft fair. It looked like the Bedouinswere in town and they had cast an ancient spell to make my car disappear.

I went to the police station to report amissing vehicle, and ended up paying a$60 “paper processing fee.” Then I received directions to the towing yardand a $25 ticket for parking at a baggedmeter. “But it wasn’t bagged when Iparked there,” I whined.

“It shows that the meters were bagged at7 a.m.,” the police woman told me. “Ifyou’d gotten up early and taken care ofyour battery issue, this wouldn’t have

happened.” Then she gave me an ‘Early-Bird-Gets-The-Worm’ smirk that mademe want to pull out my pocket-sizedDeep Woods Off and give her a quicksquirt in the face.

I walked nine blocks west to the towingcompany, where I discovered I needed topay $225 to retrieve my car. Forty dollarsof that fee was a “paper processing fee.”Note to self: look into freelance paper processing because apparently it is quite lucrative.

The towing guy graciously gave my battery a jump and off I went. Upon mysafe arrival back home, the battery diedwithin 1.6 nanoseconds.

Tally of my carbon footprint reductionexperience:

• Spared the planet 6.8 miles of car-driving pollution (if you include the golfcourse stroll, which probably isn’t fair because I wouldn’t have been wanderingaround a golf course in a Pontiac);

• Saved $90 by not calling a towingcompany as soon as I assessed the carproblem Friday evening;

• Spent $310 on tickets, paper processing and towing;

• Gained a muscle spasm in between myshoulders from lugging around a Backpack o’ tools;

• Gained the invaluable knowledge that Ican walk over seven miles withoutpulling a groin muscle.

Lesson learned about leaving a car in adowntown parking lot overnight? I’d liketo say “Priceless,” but that would be a lie.

Laurie LounsburyEditor

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“Sunflowers” by Karen Totten