OFF I Go
I began my trip on a rainy fall day. Leaving Toronto not really sure as to what I was doing. But never the less felt very compelled to leave and try to answer some questions that seemed to intrigue my. My first stop after crossing into Detroit was to fuel up. As I eased my way into the station I was greeted by a young boy approximately ten years old. He asked if he could fill up my tank. I replied of course his name was Danny and he did not work for the station but offered his services as an entrepreneur would. As he began to refresh my tank I asked how long he had been doing this for. His reply two years to help bring some money into the home. I noticed he was well dressed and was wearing nice shoes . I asked where he got such nice clothes, from the church he replied with a smile. He considered himself lucky as they were just donated and he was fortunate enough to get them. After filling up I told him how proud I was of him and compensated him for a job well done. I told him stay in school but continue to work hard and the future would be all his. After I got back onto the road I thought about so many children where I live. They are out playing hockey or x box and just enjoying a care free life with no worries. So far removed from the mean streets of Detroit where Danny comes from. I wonder if they could even comprehend how lucky they are to have the safety and security of a stable environment. On my return trip I plan to stop at the same station. There is something about the child that you know he will make a success of himself regardless of the circumstances. He has a great attitude and is very pleasant. Children should not carry the worries such as Danny but my hat is off to him for trying to earn a little money to help out. He did not know where his father was and was being raised by his mother who works two jobs. I admire the boy and wish the best for him. He is in my thoughts often but I believe his good nature and determination will carry him far.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Trip
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTENTION NEWS-BUSINESS-LIFESTYLE EDITORS
“THE EMPTY TOUR”
Coming Soon To Your Town…Maybe
NEWS RELEASE
.
The Summer Of 2009 is here. Time for the big Summer Rock
Tours…U2….Aerosmith…Cold Play…and…. Empty.
Beg your pardon? Never heard of them.
Yes, Empty.
Not a multimillion arena tour with an entourage of hundreds, where
just the staging can cost millions and a concert ticket is a month’s
rent. Nope. One successful businessmen from Canada is embarking upon another tour—to discover “A New America”.
In a world where there are daily doomsday predictions of the recession, where the latest pronouncement from Washington is to bulldoze Flint, Michigan due to the death of the auto industry, where malls are as empty as bowling alleys, where former engineers at Microsoft are working as Dog Walkers, the world has turned inside out and upside down.
With no end in site.
With no answers from political and business leaders.
To Gardner, that’s just fine. I will go check it out myself
While stars like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Bono already
have mapped out the dates and cities for their multi-million dollar
extravaganzas, Gardner’s itinerary is…well, he has no idea.
But he has a plan. And it just might surprise some people.
“America is filled with smart, amazingly creative and intelligent
people who don’t have lobbyists working in Washington for
handouts. Who don’t come up with solutions, just invoices. But
like in any other era where there is a catastrophe, Americans are
proud and resilient. The answers are out there…they just need a voice and a platform…and we will go there, find them and give them
a chance.
And that is what the Empty Tour is all about. Finding a new way to live when the old ways are gone…forever.
I look around my town. GM just closed a plant and we lost 1400 jobs. I walk down the streets of and the expressions of the people are frightened…defeated…overwhelmed. Not because they can’t deal with a crisis, but because their elected leaders and corporate executives have no answers and no leadership.
“We looked to Washington for answers and they gave us TARP— recovery program for banks and insurance companies. The result? Vice President Biden told "Meet the Press" that "everyone guessed wrong" on the impact of the stimulus, the economy is worse off than anyone thought.
No longer is the government projecting 3.5 million jobs…they are hoping for 600,000—and even that is a stretch in credibility.
We don’t need Joe Biden to tell us that. Americans and Canadians have figured that out months ago. That’s why they are in such despair.
Is that all there is? Is that all they have to offer?
“We may be Canadians, but we are America’s kindred spirits. Our borders are soft, we are family. And when America gets a cold, Canada gets pneumonia.”
Instead of a fleet of exotically furnished rock star buses filled with large screen TVs. private chefs and opulent furnishings, Gardner will be hitting the road in a very unusual car. One that brings smiles to faces and makes people talk about their fears and happiness
Yep. No $300 tickets, no $60 t-shirts. This rock tour is EMPTY.
No money. No credit cards. No endowments.
And while the rock stars are eating lobsters and steaks, they will seek their sustenance from the people they meet on the road. “There’s an old saying that those who wander are not necessarily lost” says Gardner, who used to be 350 pounds and barely able to get around.
He spent two years traveling around the United States on a motorcycle and lost 150 pounds and reinvented his life. Now a svelte 200 pounds, there is a method to his madness.
He’s going back to the road.
“Here is what is really happening…we are not in a recession—we are in a Depression. The auto factories that have been closed will never be producing cars again. Not when India is exporting a $2,500 car this fall. The manufacturing industry in America is in Asia, and soon may be in Africa. Malls are as empty as bowling alleys. Millions of condos and homes around the country are abandoned, and the only living things are the swimming pools alive with mosquito infestation.
And what is the government’s answer? Bulldoze dead cities like Flint.
Cut off welfare and public assistance, cut school programs.
People have thrown up their arms in despair, because the leaders in
Canada and America have no answers. They fear for their livelihood, their security, their family.
But Gardner, who will be producing a documentary feature on this journey, is not pessimistic—he is very optimistic…”after the American Civil War, the country had to be rebuilt and the result was The Industrial Revolution. The day after Pearl Harbor in 1941, factories turned themselves over in weeks and were producing tanks and planes.
And now, in 2009, Gardner sees the need of a New American Revolution. Not a revolution of people rioting in the streets, but a revolution of ideas. A revolution of thinking and ingenuity…Gardner adds…perhaps our auto factories should stop thinking about cars and start producing high speed rail, cheap and efficient light rail and free public transportation…perhaps the health care industry—the source of huge deficits…needs to convert from treatment to prevention of diseases.
There’s plenty of work to do…and if we can’t get leadership and direction from Washington, we’ll find the answers in the farmlands, the bayous and the small towns.
Like that famous television show…”the truth is out there.”
THE EMPTY TOUR 2009
“Coming to a Town near You…Maybe”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTENTION NEWS-BUSINESS-LIFESTYLE EDITORS
“THE EMPTY TOUR”
Coming Soon To Your Town…Maybe
NEWS RELEASE
.
The Summer Of 2009 is here. Time for the big Summer Rock
Tours…U2….Aerosmith…Cold Play…and…. Empty.
Beg your pardon? Never heard of them.
Yes, Empty.
Not a multimillion arena tour with an entourage of hundreds, where
just the staging can cost millions and a concert ticket is a month’s
rent. Nope. One successful businessmen from Canada is embarking upon another tour—to discover “A New America”.
In a world where there are daily doomsday predictions of the recession, where the latest pronouncement from Washington is to bulldoze Flint, Michigan due to the death of the auto industry, where malls are as empty as bowling alleys, where former engineers at Microsoft are working as Dog Walkers, the world has turned inside out and upside down.
With no end in site.
With no answers from political and business leaders.
To Gardner, that’s just fine. I will go check it out myself
While stars like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Bono already
have mapped out the dates and cities for their multi-million dollar
extravaganzas, Gardner’s itinerary is…well, he has no idea.
But he has a plan. And it just might surprise some people.
“America is filled with smart, amazingly creative and intelligent
people who don’t have lobbyists working in Washington for
handouts. Who don’t come up with solutions, just invoices. But
like in any other era where there is a catastrophe, Americans are
proud and resilient. The answers are out there…they just need a voice and a platform…and we will go there, find them and give them
a chance.
And that is what the Empty Tour is all about. Finding a new way to live when the old ways are gone…forever.
I look around my town. GM just closed a plant and we lost 1400 jobs. I walk down the streets of and the expressions of the people are frightened…defeated…overwhelmed. Not because they can’t deal with a crisis, but because their elected leaders and corporate executives have no answers and no leadership.
“We looked to Washington for answers and they gave us TARP— recovery program for banks and insurance companies. The result? Vice President Biden told "Meet the Press" that "everyone guessed wrong" on the impact of the stimulus, the economy is worse off than anyone thought.
No longer is the government projecting 3.5 million jobs…they are hoping for 600,000—and even that is a stretch in credibility.
We don’t need Joe Biden to tell us that. Americans and Canadians have figured that out months ago. That’s why they are in such despair.
Is that all there is? Is that all they have to offer?
“We may be Canadians, but we are America’s kindred spirits. Our borders are soft, we are family. And when America gets a cold, Canada gets pneumonia.”
Instead of a fleet of exotically furnished rock star buses filled with large screen TVs. private chefs and opulent furnishings, Gardner will be hitting the road in a very unusual car. One that brings smiles to faces and makes people talk about their fears and happiness
Yep. No $300 tickets, no $60 t-shirts. This rock tour is EMPTY.
No money. No credit cards. No endowments.
And while the rock stars are eating lobsters and steaks, they will seek their sustenance from the people they meet on the road. “There’s an old saying that those who wander are not necessarily lost” says Gardner, who used to be 350 pounds and barely able to get around.
He spent two years traveling around the United States on a motorcycle and lost 150 pounds and reinvented his life. Now a svelte 200 pounds, there is a method to his madness.
He’s going back to the road.
“Here is what is really happening…we are not in a recession—we are in a Depression. The auto factories that have been closed will never be producing cars again. Not when India is exporting a $2,500 car this fall. The manufacturing industry in America is in Asia, and soon may be in Africa. Malls are as empty as bowling alleys. Millions of condos and homes around the country are abandoned, and the only living things are the swimming pools alive with mosquito infestation.
And what is the government’s answer? Bulldoze dead cities like Flint.
Cut off welfare and public assistance, cut school programs.
People have thrown up their arms in despair, because the leaders in
Canada and America have no answers. They fear for their livelihood, their security, their family.
But Gardner, who will be producing a documentary feature on this journey, is not pessimistic—he is very optimistic…”after the American Civil War, the country had to be rebuilt and the result was The Industrial Revolution. The day after Pearl Harbor in 1941, factories turned themselves over in weeks and were producing tanks and planes.
And now, in 2009, Gardner sees the need of a New American Revolution. Not a revolution of people rioting in the streets, but a revolution of ideas. A revolution of thinking and ingenuity…Gardner adds…perhaps our auto factories should stop thinking about cars and start producing high speed rail, cheap and efficient light rail and free public transportation…perhaps the health care industry—the source of huge deficits…needs to convert from treatment to prevention of diseases.
There’s plenty of work to do…and if we can’t get leadership and direction from Washington, we’ll find the answers in the farmlands, the bayous and the small towns.
Like that famous television show…”the truth is out there.”
THE EMPTY TOUR 2009
“Coming to a Town near You…Maybe”
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