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Catering The Riot
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ummer was coming that June
with the delicious promise of
being the same as many I’d known
reportedly had happened on Belle Isle, the
island park in the Detroit River. Some kind
of fight. It spread across the bridge to city
before.
streets. And now we were hear-
Our elementary school would
ing that people around town were
be out the week after next, and
harming each other.
we’d soon fill our days inventing
In a tableau of Americans’
ways to fill our days.
rights, the lieutenant and my
The canvas awning already was
mother acted out the Third
up over the porch, turning the
Amendment to the U.S.
front of our house into an open-
Constitution, which assures that
air shelter where we were safe
“No soldier shall be quartered in
from heat and rain.
any house without the consent of
Norman Prady
But this June, we’d soon learn,
the owner.” It didn’t matter to the
our covered porch would pro-
Constitution that we were renters.
tect us from more than sun and storms.
“Yes,” Mother said, “you may use our
Summer vacation would start differently.
porch. Where are you boys going to sleep?”
The final days of school would be canceled.
“They have cots for us at the high
And we’d hear that soldiers were headed
school.”
our way.
“What about food?”
Our house was on the corner of Tuxedo
“Field rations. And they’ll probably send
and Lawton. Its location appealed to the
us sandwiches.”
National Guard lieutenant who was scout-
Mother laughed.
ing sentry positions throughout the neigh-
“Sandwiches? Sandwiches? Just wait
borhood. He especially liked the corner-
until you taste my stuffed cabbage rolls.
pieces of our porch and the front-steps
And my baked chicken. And how about
enclosures. Large, square brick columns
slow-roasted beef brisket? If you’re still
with concrete slabs on top. He thought
here Friday night, you’ll have brisket. If
that one of these would be ideal for setting
not, you’ll have it before.”
up the automatic rifle, in its time a most
To teenage boys from Owosso, a town
potent of military weapons.
possibly famous only for being the birth-
It was a Tuesday when the lieutenant
place of Thomas Dewey, it probably made
and his squad arrived at our house. They’d
as little sense as it did to me that Mother
come to Detroit from their home base in
was planning menus in the face of death.
Owosso to join with other federal troops
With each morning came new dining
sent by President Roosevelt.
bulletins from Mother. There was talk of
Three days before — the evening of
baked fish, Swiss steak and homemade
Saturday, June 20, 1943 — something
beet borscht with boiled potatoes. “How
The Prady house with its awning-
covered porch at Tuxedo and Lawton
avenues in Detroit
often do you boys get chopped chicken
liver in Owosso?”
What are the chances that Thomas
Dewey’s mother made chopped chicken
liver?
By the time the riot would end, 34 per-
sons would have been killed, about 500
would be reported as injured, almost 2,000
would be arrested and property damage
would total millions.
“Thanks for everything,” the lieuten-
ant said one afternoon some days later.
“Thanks and goodbye.”
The fighting in the streets had ended
and orders had come for all the troops to
leave. In a blink, the porch was hollowed
out. That evening, we sat quietly on the
glider. It was a different porch without the
automatic rifle.
“I was going to make chicken soup,”
Mother said in rhythm to the squeak of the
glider’s hinges, “with matzah balls. Maybe
make stuffed kishka. You know, there’s still
plenty of food in the house. They could
have rioted a few more days.”
*
Norman Prady, 82, is a journalist and author living
in Berkley.
letters
A Walk For Israel
Ally Remembered
Regarding the May 26 “Walk For Israel”
article (page 14), I am pleased to point
out that the Greater West Bloomfield
Republican team (GWBR) was a sponsor
for the third year.
Our float this year was dedicated to the
memory of steadfast Israel supporter and
GWBR board member and officer Sheldon
Blair. Sheldon was very active in the Walk
for Israel and inspired us with his courage.
Do NOT use your IRA
or Retirement to Pay
Credit Card Debt.
Elderly clients often come to our office
seeking help with their debt situation.
In almost every case, before they have
come to see us, they have withdrawn
retirement funds - IRAs and 401ks
- to pay bills. I cringe at this. It is a
terrible mistake. Retirement funds
are there to provide the supplemental
income beyond social security that
is needed to cover living expenses
through retirement. When we stop
working – our income is capped but
inflation and our lifespans are not.
You must make sure retirement funds
are used wisely. IRAs and retirement
funds are protected in bankruptcy
– which means you can keep that
money and eliminate the credit card
debt. Another little known fact is that
a normal creditor cannot garnish or
levy on your social security income.
These two facts – combined – mean
that you should NOT use your
retirement funds to pay down debt.
If you’re retired and in this situation –
you should come see us right away.
If your parents are in this situation –
you need to take action now. When
their funds are exhausted, providing
for their support is on you. “You can’t
just keep paying until you’re broke.”
THAV GROSS has been solving
problems since 1982. Be sure to tune
in to Law and Reality – Sunday
mornings at 11 AM on TV20.
William J. Rauwerdink
GWBR Board Member
West Bloomfield
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June 23 • 2016
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