COMMUNITY Taubman from page 41 and mobility. And each of them had a unique relationship with the Ford family. Looking back, Rivera once said, "I should have attempted to write a book presenting Henry Ford as I saw him, a true poet and artist, one of the greatest in the world." Henry's only son, Edsel, commis- sioned and then defended Rivera's extraordinary frescoes at the DIA. Edsel's eldest son, Henry Ford II, partnered with Taubman on So- theby's and Detroit Renaissance. 708 N. OLD WOOD ARD AYE. I BIRMINGHAM I MI I 48009 I Recommended By: University of Michigan, Providence & Karmanos Cancer Centers (A) t Ahli t i% (A) v Receive 10% 0 a wig purchase through May 31st Huge selection of styles and colors to choose from in the store. • Private Fitting Rooms • Same Day Washing And Setting • Easy To Wear • Blends With Your Own Hair • Made From Human Hair • Hair Extensions • Specialty Wig Supplies • Wig Assesories 734.522.9420 www.wendyswigs.corn Mid-Five Center • Five Mile Rd. at Middlebelt, Livonia, MI 42 May 20151 RED THREAD 6 p.m., College for Creative Studies. I should have known I was overwhelmed by Diego and Frida when I found myself strolling past Pablo and Vincent without breaking my stride. But I couldn't leave Detroit without stopping by the CCS building named for Al. (Note: At this point, I seem to be on a first-name basis with every- one.) It's beautiful — a far cry from its latter years as GM's Argonaut Building. And based on the work on the walls and the CCS grads I know, it is indeed "a unique in- stitution that is effectively training the next generation of artists and automotive designers." The presence of a charter school in the building is also a legacy of his. He advocated for the creation of charters in Michigan, on the premise that"! remain convinced that without a healthy injection of market forces, our entrenched public school systems — especially in inner cities — will never embrace the necessary reforms!' Al and I will have to agree to disagree on this. 7:30 p.m., Pontiac. "The com- fortable four-bedroom Tudor-style home at 300 Ottawa Drive in which I was born" in 1924, built by father Phillip, is in excellent condition, as are the nearby houses. 7:40 p.m., Pontiac Silverdome. Less than 5 miles away from Ot- tawa Drive, the Silverdome, where Taubman's national champion USFL Michigan Panthers played in 1983, is now dark and domeless. 7:55 p.m., Taubman Headquar- ters. Maybe I'm just getting tired, but the Bloomfield Hills complex seems to reflect his preference for retail development:"Office build- ings, by contrast, are a commodities business!' 8:30 p.m., A&W. Taubman sold A&W over 20 years ago. It has clear- ly regressed to the "consistent me- diocrity" he sought to avoid, though even he could never persuade consumers that his V3 Pounder was bigger than McDonald's Quarter A. Alfred T aubman Wing Ben Falik pausing at (but not resisting) a threshold at the Detroit Institute of Arts Pounder. The frosted mug of fresh root beer was neither frosted nor a mug nor, I suspect, fresh. But, in the interest of journalism, I overcame my hyperglycemic lactose intoler- ance to drink a root beer float in its entirety, along with a hotdog that bore no resemblance to the garlicky "A&W quarter-pound hotdogs — always steamed first, then rolled on a grill —"that Taubman modeled after"the Wurstmackers [sausage makers] in Budapest!' A New Day Of course, more has changed than the contents of the hotdogs, even since Threshold Resistance was pub- lished in 2007. Kwame Kilpatrick, who attended "a welcome-home luncheon for me at the Detroit Athletic Club," later took Taubman's place in federal prison. My Kindle purchase may help explain why it is no longer the case that "the brick-and-mortar out- lets of Borders and Barnes & Noble have never been stronger." Then there's this:"Detroit's hoped-for extension of dense commercial development from the river to the New Center area never materialized. And it never will (at least not in my lifetime)." With the M-1 Rail project and construction up and down Wood- ward, this proved to be uncharac- teristically pessimistic. More so, though, there is the example of Taubman's better self and the habits I hope will endure — making and nurturing strong relationships, embracing and miti- gating risk, giving away wealth as passionately as you create it.