Category: Ypsi-Arbor

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AA Food (W)Hole fish monger gets fired; naturally, I have an opinion

As I noticed in today’s Ann Arbor News, an employee at the Ann Arbor Whole Foods store (aka, the Food (W)Hole) was fired for grabbing a “customer.” See the story here, but the brief version (as I understand it) is pretty simple: John Schultz, who was a fish monger at the ‘hole until all this, checked out of work and helped grab a dude who everyone agrees had shoplifted hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from the store. Some time shortly after this, Schultz was fired for violating a company policy on touching customers.

A few thoughts on this:

  • My gut feeling here tells me there is so much more going on with this story that has not reached the regular media or the blogosphere yet. I don’t know John Schultz or know what kind of employee or person he was (though see below) and I wish him only the best in his future. But I am betting that someone at the local ‘hole wanted him fired for a while now and they used this as an excuse.
  • As numerous others have pointed out, if you are a shoplifter, then it seems to me that you are no longer a “customer.”
  • I saw this guy’s picture in the paper tonight, and I am quite sure I have purchased fish and other meat products from him. As I have mentioned in this blog several times before (I like this entry and this one too), I’m a regular shopper at the ‘hole, especially for their seafood and meat products, not to mention coffee, bakery items, wine, and “prep food” items. This is beginning to change a bit though– not because of this incident, but because it’s time to cut down on some expenses. In any event, I recall having good encounters with this guy. So, from a regular customer (e.g., someone who actually gives them money instead of stealing from them) POV, I think it was kind of dumb to fire him. But like I said, I am betting that the reality is that some manager had an “issue” beyond this incident.
  • I know a couple of folks from EMU who have worked for the ‘hole at different times (summer work, part-time while they work part-time teaching, etc.), and I have to say that as much as I enjoy shopping at the store, none of these people seemed to enjoy working there.
  • I’m sure I won’t actually do this, but I am very tempted to hug a Food (W)Hole worker the next time I am in the store, just to see what happens. Maybe even one of the cute ones.

Best of luck to John et al.

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Snow day sledding

Today was a snow day for pretty much every school in Southeast Michigan following the biggest snowstorm we’ve had around here in a number of years. Frankly, I thought the snow day thing was very unnecessary, at least in Ypsilanti. Sunday was pretty bad, but by last night, everything seemed pretty much plowed to me. I think what really happened here is that collectively and spontaneously, all of the school districts in the area decided that this was going to be the one and only legitimate chance to get a snow day yet this calendar year and they took it, necessary or not.

Anyway, the unnecessary snow day gave us the chance to go sledding– or rather, for Will, Costas, Rachel, Eli, Celia, and other various kids went sledding while I stood on the side of the hill behind Ypsilanti High School drinking coffee and recording with the trusty FlipVideo camera. Here’s the result:

A good time for one and all; besides the coffee, I (and Will and Costas) enjoyed some excellent hot chocolate afterwards. I even found some marshmallows that weren’t stale.

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Ypsilanti Income Tax: Vote yes, I think

This one goes out for the Ypsi locals….

I have waffled on this personally quite a bit, and I can’t say that I am 100% convinced that this is all going to work out, but I think I’ve been persuaded by some things I’ve read lately that the only decent solution to Ypsilanti’s financial woes is to vote yes on the proposed income tax. More below if you’re interested.
Continue reading “Ypsilanti Income Tax: Vote yes, I think”

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A Walking Score, with a grain of salt

There’s a web site called Walk Score, which calculates how “walkable” your neighborhood/house is in terms of nearby restaurants, stores, parks, schools, etc. It’s kinda cool, but I don’t completely trust it. When I typed in our address, I got a score of 49, which means that it is on the line between “not walkable” and “some walkable locations.” That seems about right, but when I plugged in the address of a colleague/friend of ours who lives within easy walking distance of Main Street in Ann Arbor, her house also scored 49. Hmmm. Well, as the Walk Score web site points out, its formula doesn’t calculate things like things within walking distance that you would actually want to walk to.

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The Ypsilanti July 4 Parade: The Movie

Here’s a video version of how the Ypsi July 4 parade went this year. A good time was had by one and all, though this wasn’t actually the best of Ypsi parades, as Annette’s “eh, it was all right” reaction at the end might suggest. Anyway, enjoy the movie, shot entirely with my Flip Video camera, edited with iMovie on the Mac and with a march from an album I copied from the Ypsi public library called “Hail, Sousa!”

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Actual conversation I heard today while on the way to the U of Michigan library

Scene: A truly beautiful Sunday afternoon in the heart o’ America of Ann Arbor, MI. Along South University near the University of Michigan. Sparse crowds, but a few students, a few couples, etc.

A boy of about four, maybe five, is following a woman, presumably his mother, down the sidewalk. The boy is visibly upset. The woman, agitated, carries an ice cream cone– from the variety of neon flavors, probably Superman, a flavor only a small child could enjoy.

Boy: (Crying) You’re mean!

Woman: (mumbles something as she approaches).

Boy: You are mean!

Woman: Oh yeah? Well, I think it’s mean that you are making me carry your ice cream cone.

Boy: You’re mean!

And scene….

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Strange Fruit in Ann Arbor

Somewhat on a whim, we all went to the Ann Arbor “Top of the Park” festival tonight, mostly to see the top-bill of the night, a performance group called “Strange Fruit.” Not to be even remotely confused with the Billie Holiday song.

Anyway, here’s my little video:

If you’re seeking other movies and info, be sure to check out this nice and recent YouTube video of the group. The next time we go to the Top of the Park though, we’ll pack a picnic and chairs and such.

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Will Krause, Science Olympian

I think it’s fair to say that Annette, Will, and I are just now recovering from our grand experience at the Washtenaw (county, that is) Elementary Science Olympiad on Saturday.

I didn’t get any good pictures frankly, but the Ann Arbor News did:

This is a water propelled bottle rocket contest; cute, huh?  And here’s the article in yesterday’s Ann Arbor News— you have to go through the registration rig-a-ma-roll with the site if you want to see the piece, but it is probably worth it.

The article said there were 300 students competing, but I swear it felt more like 1,000.  We got there (it was held over at an elementary school and middle school complex on the other side of Ann Arbor) at about 9 am or so and we were there until about 5:30, and it just seemed like one sea of parents and kids and teachers in chaos pretty much the whole time.  Thus the long recovery period.

Will competed in two events– well, technically, three.  He was on the science pentathlon team, which was this event where the kids had to answer a science trivia question and then complete some kind of minor athletic task– bouncing a ball, throwing something through a hoop, etc.  Will’s team didn’t do so hot, in part because they were short a player.

He was a “second stringer” on the “Wright stuff” team, which is a competition where they build these ridiculously precise airplanes from balsa and tissue and then fly them with rubber band props.  Will and his partner’s airplane was the “B team,” so they didn’t get to compete.  But the “A team” for his grade level won, so I think of that as Will winning too. Hey, the bench warmers are still on the team, right?

And then he was also on the science jeopardy team, which was a team-oriented jeopardy contest.  They lost their first round quite badly, but they rallied and actually ended up in fourth place, which was an unexpected triumph.

Actually, Estabrook did quite well in this thing overall, I’d say in the top third of schools that competed.  I don’t often have “Ypsi pride,” but I have to say I was very proud that our scruffy little band of kids competed well with the ones from the “good schools” in Ann Arbor.  Will’s looking forward to it for next year, and I might even volunteer to coach something.  We’ll see….

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When all else fails, pray

This from yesterday’s Ann Arbor News:

An Ypsilanti City Council member is calling for residents to join in a national day of prayer Thursday, in part because the city could use some divine blessing to help it through its current financial struggles.

“I just believe it’s time for a prayer,” said Council Member Lois Richardson, D-Ward 1. “We need direction from the Lord.”

Richardson said the United States Congress in 1952 designated the first Thursday of May as a day of prayer, and it is time Ypsilanti observed the event.

“We’re struggling financially, the state economy is not doing well, and the nation is not necessarily in good shape,” Richardson said.

Um, okay….  I guess there’s nothing wrong with prayer per se, but if the city of Ypsilanti wants to really do something about the crappy economy, poor services, decaying schools, torn up streets, and other problems plaguing Ypsilanti, I don’t think the solution is to pray.  They don’t call that last desperation pass in football a “Hail Mary” for nothing.