I'm spending a good deal of time working on the Ignite stuff which I am getting really anxious about. We have a lot done, and yet so much to do in order to be ready for it. I also think about it when I am out in the neighborhood. I wonder what kinds of things will impact the team members?

Lately, the conversations I have had with our neighbors have been very enlightening. I was talking to one neighbor who has been crack cocaine free for 25 years about parents who bring their kids to the drug houses while they talk to their friends, buy drugs, and drink. The kids are often playing along the curb away from the adults. I was informed that the kids are often there in case police come, the parents can give the kids the drugs to hold for them. While it is a sad topic to talk about, we find hope in the housing development, the families moving in who are good citizens, and the people who are working to make the neighborhood a better place.

I've also been trying to walk Lucy more often which gives me a chance to see the kids of the neighborhood who often want to take Lucy for a walk themselves. She's kind of become the neighborhood pet during walks. It's not uncommon to see 10-15 kids surrounding us as we walk down the street. The parents, adults, and vagrants all seem bewildered as we walk by, one thirty year old white guy in the midst of 10-15 black kids. It flies in the face of the racial tensions that permeate our city, yet don't seem to effect youth. I really do think that we are becoming a post racial society. Again, it is awesome place for people to learn and experience life in an urban area that is under-resourced.

Last, we go out on these Tuesday night neighborhood projects. Yesterday it was just our summer Cadet, Julie and myself. We parked at my house and walked down Oak Street to First Street where we began cutting back the overgrowth that has long been blocking the sidewalks and hiding some of the vacant houses in the area. Some areas of Flint look like scenes from the History Channel show "Life After People". Sidewalks are long covered over with 6" of dirt and grass, roads have trees growing out into them. Back in the day, our neighborhood was home to a lot of the wealthy citizens of Flint. Our home was home to a soldier (possibly a general) who fought in the Civil War. Yet now, it is a mish mash of housing and nature which is reclaiming the land.

I hope that the Ignite team feels energized when they work in the neighborhood. I hope that they take ownership of the neighborhood. I've seen a remarkable change in our neighborhood when people took a stand and refused to let things go down hill be it, due to drug trafficking or a lack of property maintenance. I hope they love the city as much as I do.