Motor city getaway

So I've just returned from Detroit, a city I'd never been to before and still know very little about.

For all of it's reputation in the media, Detroit is a great example of how much insulation a little money can provide - during my stay on a university campus, everything was safe and beautiful.

This is not the case for all of its residents. Obviously a city that once had great wealth, many buildings are boarded up and so many streets seem deserted. When we attended part of a conference at the symphony orchestra building, there were security guards all the way down the block.

Most impressive are the churches and corporate buildings, not that either god or the companies have done much good for the city that's been described as the murder capital of the country, and where one-third of the people live below the poverty line.

It's clear to me that many people there feel the way I do after spending some time there - hopeful and full of ideas. I can't begin to tell you about the richness of ideas and activism I encountered while I was there. But I can say that I'd go back, I'd go back in a second.