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April 30, 2009 One of the things that had me fucked up for the last 3 weeks that I've been driving my caddy has been those damn April showers. Now, remember earlier this month when I told you the best thing to do when restoring a car is to drive it. I wasn't lying. Unless you're trying to make a show or museum car, get the mechanics tight, the body respectable and then drive that bitch. Well, I had forgot to put windshield wipers on. lol, somewhere over the last 7 years I had misplaced mine and couldn't find them. after somehow managing to wipe my windows with a tower, while driving to work through the 2nd big down pour, I hopped on ebay, and copped 2 wiper arms for a total of $10.00. It only took 2 days to be shipped to me. These ain't some things that I could have walked into Autozone and bought off the shelf. I was really lucky to see BOTH of them available on ebay. If I hadn't have been driving the car, I'd never have known that I needed them. I've also got another dilemma that I noticed while driving the Caddy. I need brakes BADLY. Before driving, I just didn't know how bad. I ordered brake hardware and parts off ebay. when they arrive, I'll actually have to put the car in the shop to have that shit done right. I need to have my rims and tires put on anyways. I've been looking scrubbish all month with three 1968 stock hubcaps, 1 spare tire, and a snow tire all month. April 27, 2009 I'ma be real with you. When I heard KFC was giving out free chicken, less than a week after Popeyes was serving it cheaply, I started thinking maybe all this chicken was somehow contaminated or near expiration. Maybe they had to just get rid of it. Didn't matter. I circled the KFC until I could fit into the drive-thru and got my piece of free grilled chicken. April 22, 2009 I'm not a big fried chicken man. Never have been buuuut, when it's only $4.99 for 8 pieces, I'm all over it. Especially if it's popeyes, my favorite fast-chicken spot. The place looked like a soup line inside. Dig this...it was a 45 minute wait for those 8 pieces, but everyone was calm, cool, collective and talkative. A few mothafuckas that asked my why I was takin' pictures are reading this so now you know. April 19, 2009 Okay, now I'm in Warren, Michigan. If you look at the background real hard, you'll see that my caddy is parked right across from the GM tech center. That's the building where this car along with most of the other vehicles that GM has designed in it's 100 years of existance. Yeah, the city of warren borders Detroit on 8 mile Rd. I've been able to coast on the edge of this city for the last 3 years, but I haven't driven more that 100 yards beyond the welcome sign in 3 years. April 19, 2009 A nice Sunday ride. Read the sign in the first picture. Yeah, with a valid license they welcome you. I'm reaaaally lovin' driving through all the areas that I couldn't just 2 weeks ago. This is the city of Berkley, Michigan. Growing up, I don't think there was a day I didn't pass by or stop in Berkley. That Taco Bell right there is the first place I ever tasted a taco. I must've been about 8 or 9 years old. Hell, I gotta do my research but I think that might be the oldest Taco Bell in the area. It's either this one or the one on 9 mile and Pinecrest. In my last year of High School, it was routine to hit up the 7 eleven on 12 mile road in Berkley every morning before school. Yeah, well believe it or not, I haven't been through here one time during the last 3 years. This is a small city and you can't drive through it without seeing a patrol car. Without a license, and multiple driving while license suspended offenses, I would have surely been arrested and jailed for 30 or more days. April 15, 2009 I'm not sure where I got this habit from, I'm not even sure when I started but I love me some vanilla wafers and cheese. I'm sitting in my cubicle, tearing these joints up. April 15, 2009 Right on schedule, my scooter was delivered yesterday evening. Some fat white dude with a confederate flag cap comes knocking on my door. lol, he had the thickest country accent I had ever heard. He said he was actually from Alabama but was vacationing in florida when he saw my post on Uship.com Dude said he had a load to haul to Detroit anyways so he figured he'd pick up the extra $150 from me. The way he had shit all packed in that truck, it looks like he probably had a few more $150 that he was gonna collect from people. The scooter started right up, even after sitting for almost a year. I kinda wanted to ride that mothafucka into work this morning. But no, I stuffed it into my shed. I'm telling yall, I got toooooo much shit. I haven't even shown yall my jet skies yet. When IK finally stop working for good, I envision days of just riding the waters. Eventually I'll have all my shit together in one place. It should make for a nice photo. but in the meantime, I'm keeping my shit stored with lock and key, cause when you're in the "D", you better hope the next nigga will gank your shit when you're not looking. April 14, 2009 Just an interesting shot I took in my caddy while driving to work in the rain this morning. That Smart car is about as long as the legnth from my grill to where the windshield starts on the coupeDevile. Now can you really feel like a man in a tiny ride like that? lol. April 14, 2009 Ok, it has finally hit me. Like lightening. But contrary to what most think, lightening doesn't just happen, it's a build up and then a discharge of electricity. Well, after years of trying to decide on how to give away some money in a charitable way. I now know. I was gathering shit to do my taxes tonight and looking at all the receipts I've gathered for giving clothes to the salvation army and goodwill. I thought to myself, it feels good to give shit you aren't using to charity. The main reason I gave my shit away(non namebrand clothes of course) was for the tax credit. See, I have found that you "give" best when you're getting something out of giving. You also work better when you're getting something out of the work. Well, I've always been the type of dude that likes to take nothing and make something out of it. The house I own in Detroit was an abandoned house that I bought from the city, restored it and now I'm getting ready to rent it out. The car I drive was a rusted bucket that I cleaned up and it now gets oohs and ahh's everywhere I go. The .com site has made well over 6 figures over the last 8 years. I like to brag how I started that mothafucka up with only $25.00 that I was probably gonna blow anyways. When I was in Europe this past February, I realized how such a cheap and easy trip can be so valuable. All my trips are like that. Whenever the Lord gives me the opportunity to travel, I not only enjoy it, but I gain something from it. I have learned so much just through travelling that I can't even begin to explain to yall. The world actually feels small to me now. When in Belgium, I heard broads saying that it was there dream to come to America, just to visit. They wanted to see places like NYC, and Washington D.C.. places that we in the U.S. take for granted. When I got back to the U.S., I always tell broads in the hood where I've been and show them pictures and believe it or not, they're stunned. You have to realize if they're not in the military, a lot of times, young women don't even venture outside of their home state much less the country. And I'm not counting bullshit cruises. In 2003, a chick(and she knows who she is) said something that I've had in the back of my mind for almost 6 years now. She said, "When you're making money off something that isn't neccesarily good, you should do something absolutely good to offset things". Don't get shit twisted, there ain't nothing wrong with fucking, sucking and porn in my eyes but it's one of them things, like smoking, drinking and cussing that are questionable. I just couldn't figure out what I was going to do good until today. I know I wasn't gonna give money to no other niggaz. Yall need to get it yourself. I did. Any nigga thats over 18, broke, uneducated or just down and out, shame on you. I wasn't gonna give to no unfortunate kids. If your moms and pops didn't or ain't raising you. I'm sorry but that's just too bad. I didn't wanna just give money to a womans abuse shelter or shit like that because I think they'd overlook my shit. My donation wouldn't even make a difference. Like I said above, I need to get something out of my "giving" and "working". so...I've decided to put on a cape(captn save'em) and in February(valentines Day) of each year, I'm gonna give as many temporarily unfortunate 25 to 30 year old women(The ones that have put money in my pocket and made me happy) as my .org can collect for a make-over meaning the .org will buy some outfits and cosmetics, etc(this ain't no weight loss shit so fat bitches join a gym) and foulfowl.org will send these women to Europe to see a different part of this world and hopefully see a different part of themselves. Also I'm gonna do the same for European women. They'll come to the U.S. What I plan on "getting" from this .org is the thrill of just watching the transformation that takes place in these women. I'm still working on all the details and rules. This is gonna be a legit organization so I'll have to find someone to run it. But like all my other projects this is something that one day will be completed. April 10, 2009 The first thing I did was drove down a "main" street, not the side streets that I was limited to for since 2006. I still need to install the parking lights, bumper tops, headlight frames and emblems, but it's springtime and the coupe rides well so I'ma fix it as I drive it. I hit up one of my regular westside carwash on 7 mile road..then it was off to the eastside. You see that bar below. 2 people were killed in a failed car-jacking yesterday. Notice how I got my eyes in my side view mirror. I'll never get caught slippin'. From there I made my way past the GM plant that builds cadillacs. The car I'm driving rolled off the assembly line at that very location 42 years ago. From there, I hit the freeway and head to Dearborn, Michigan, roll around the U of M campus, without having to worry about Dearborn police pulling me over. Although to be fair, they never have fucked with me. Turns out some sucka had shot and killed his girlfriend on the community college campus that's right nextdoor. Lastly I rolled to Fairlane mall, did a little shopping and then went back to the hood to shoot for the .com April 9, 2009 I felt like a teenager yesterday. I hadn't been so happy to walk into the secretary of state since I was 16 years old. When I got my first license. Back then, I was really just excited because it meant I could now drive over bitches houses. That and cruise down 7 mile on friday and saturday nights. That was the only purpose my first car, a burgundy 1987 mustang served. TOday when I walked up to the counter, the only thing I was thinking about was being able to get around "outside" of the city to pursue opportunities to make more money. A bitch or cruising is the last thing on my mind in 2009. It's funny how the Secretary of State(like I said previously it's the DMV in Michigan) has changed so much since I last walked in. I had bought lunch and planned on taking a number, a seat and then eat while I waited for 45 mins. to my surprise though, they have enough reps now and that makes for speedy service. It only took 10 minutes for my number to be called and 5 minutes later, I was walking out with a license to drive and 2 license plates. Funny thing is as I was walking out of there, I saw someone in the parking lot buying fake insurance papers. lol, If he only knew what kinda problems that shit leads to. Me, I got an incredible rate for my mustang and my cadillac. My little female companion was shocked. But I have a perfect driving record(no points or violations) and excellecnt credit. April 9, 2009 Now how can I say this without sounding like a complete lunatic. Not that I really care what yall mothafuckas reading this thinks anywayz...The strangest things happen to me ALL THE TIME, but yesterday the strangest thing in my recent memory occured. I happen to be with a friend at the time it happened, so she witnessed it. 2 days ago, I was digging through my paperwork looking for the title to my harley, mustang and my cadillac because I'm going to the Michigan Secretary of State today to get my drivers license. I haven't had a vehicle registered since 2005, so I had to find all my shit. All I could find was my camaro title but it's long gone. Well, while searching through piles of paperwork, I come across a flyer/folder from 1993. It's covered with photos of people that attended College with me that year. I couldn't take my eyes off of one of the girls. She was a few years older than me at the university. I can't remember ever paying attention to the flyer/folder before. I literally said out loud to myself, "Got-Damn, I wish I could see how you fine ass looks today." She was gorgeous as hell back in 1993, I should have tried to holla at her. But I was just a skinny 165 pound freshman. The last time I saw that beautiful woman was like 1995 right before I left Ferris and transferred. Now dig this. I saw her at the grocery store yesterday evening with her husband that also went to college with me. My jaw dropped and I got this real strange feeling. It was almost as if I had willed her to appear(See there yall go "he's crazy"). I spoke to dude first. I said, "didn't you goto Ferris State?" He said, yeah, I was just looking at you, thinking that you look so familiar." Dude was like a Senior when I was a freshman. Then I turned to his wife, the woman that I saw on that flyer/folder yesterday and before I could say anything, with a huge smile on her face she says, "Wow, I remember you, Fall 1993" those were her exact words. Me and the woman were looking at each other and there was definitely some kind of unexplanable energy there. At that time, I was glancing back at her husband, I know he had to notice the strangeness of the situation. They walked to there car and drove off. I swear on my life and everything that I hold sacret that this just happen. The only thing I left out was a few words that she said which would give her identity away. I took my friend to my stack of papers, showed her the girls picture which was right on top of everything else. She's amazed. Keeps saying you're both in Detroit, you probably see her all the time and just never noticed her. That's not the case though. Like I said, I haven't seen that woman since 1995. 14 years ago. Now before yall start thinking this is a made-up story I'll tell you: I got on a message board that I frequent on the net and mentioned this there. I was given a few suggestions to check out. I googled "syncronicity" and "the secret". both shit that I had never heard about before. Then I read deeper and looked at some other shit that I found on the net and this shit is a lot deeper than coincidence. When I really think about it, this isn't the first time I've "wished" for something and it happened. It's just the first time it has happened so dramatically. I can remember being told that I was getting a new teamleader that I didn't like at work 2 years ago. I made a podcast about how I didn't wanna be on her team, because I had heard how she had talked about me when I had gotten fired. and guess what(As a matter of fact, I did a podcast on it) She transfered to Florida a couple of days later. Florida is a real strange place in itself. I could probably write all day about the "curious" things that happen to me everytime I visit. Real quick though, I'll never forget being in some city outside of Ft. Lauderdale in the fall of 2004. I was there during the MTV awards. I had never been to Palm Beach and was trying to find that mothafucka but had gotten lost. There was an old bahamian woman that I was talking to. I thought she was a quack. I told her I was from Detroit. with a smile on her face She said, "I know where you're from. Just by looking into your eyes, I know more about you than you can understand right now" I laughed and thought well I do have a Detroit cap on. But in all honesty, I've always had a thing about "eye contact". Some people just aren't important enough to get it from me. I even used to black out my eyes on the net when I first started posting my own pics. She then said, some other shit, but to prevent myself for sounding like a quack myself, I'll stop here. While typing this, I just told the story to another close female friend of mine and she said, "Yeah, there's always been something about you, why don't you "wish" for a few million dollars and give me some of it" lol, I told her, I've been working on that for a long time now. It's gonna happen, but I just don't know when...I'm just sayin'... But Anyways fuck working today, I'm off to the Secretary of State to get my mothafuckin' drivers license and hopefully register one of these vehicles, so I can drive. I'll be back. April 8, 2009 I'm gonna tell yall, God is Good. I should be rollin' in about a week so, now it's time for me to start making moves. Just in case yall don't know, when you purchase something large online or you just flat out need something shipped(lol, get that illegal thought out of your head) you can always use Uship.com. It's a service where you list what you want shipped anywhere in the U.S.A. You post how much you wanna pay to have it shipped and then people interested in transporting the item contact you. Of course they're registered with uship.com I've known about it for some time, and actually have used it several occasions over the last few years and have not had any negative experiences. The shippers are usually truckers that have extra space in their trucks and are just looking to make a few extra dollars. I "flipped" a car that I purchased off ebay once, and the guy that delievered it was actually driving a car transporter with other cars, on his way to a used car dealership. He only charged me $100 to move the car from Texas to Detroit. Well, I purchased a little cheap but brand new Harley last year and a used Yamaha scooter (click May 02, 2008) On some fucked up logic, I went down to Tampa to buy the Yamaha. I was on a fuck the Michigan secretary of state and had planned on rolling around on that joint in the "D". The engine was small enough for me to not have to have a license to operate it. Well, I chickened out(I rarely do this yall). I rode around on the Cycle and the scooter down in Florida, like a lot of other mothafuckas do. but I'll be honest with you. Florida ain't Detroit. Deep down, I knew that scooter just wasn't fast enough to stay with traffic in Michigan, so I knew it would be a bitch to ride and plus other motorist would surely clownin' on their horns if I rode it here. I left that mothafucka down in a Tampa florida. It was part of the motorcycle package so I had already purchased it and didn't have the time to stay down in Tampa trying to sell it. It's only been costing me $30 a month to keep both items in separate storages down there. I think I'm gonna disassemble the scooter and rebuild it, just for shits and giggles. So I made arrangements with a transporter on Uship.com to get that mothafucka out of storage and ship it to Detroit. Now, as far as the Harley is concerned, I've been daydreaming about riding that joint from Florida to Michigan for the last year, so sometime this summer I'm gonna go down there and do it. Plus, you don't just trust strangers with an $7500 bike. April 5, 2009 Now I've been a loyal T-mobile customer for years now. Off and on, my history goes back to when they were still voicestream in the Detroit area. I cheated with Verizon, Cingular and Sprint for a few years, but they did me wrong, so I went running back to T-mobile. But, I'm so fuckin' pissed off with the T-mob right now. They released their USB internet stick about 2 weeks ago. I had been waiting on them to drop that shit it for a whole year. It's 3G and suppose to be superfast. Well, let me tell you...The internet on my G1 celly seems to be faster than this shit. Hell, I was riding the net faster and FREE by jacking my neighbors wi-fi(when she paid her bill). I'm furious right now though. I'm an advid ebay shopper and I was in a bidding war with someone this morning and guess what happen...This fuckin' USB stick malfunctioned right when there was 2 minutes left in the auction. I won't tell yall what it was, but it was waaaay below what it should have been priced. I lost that item and I'm so sick about it. I had been searching months for it too. Then it didn't have a fuckin' "buy it now" option, so I had to wait 12 days for the auction to end. I had set my damn alarm clock to wake me up just so I could make sure I won the item. So, yeah, this stick might just be going back tommorrow. This ain't gonna get it at $60.00 a month for 5GB of transfer. April 4, 2009 I went on downtown a few minutes ago and gave gettin' some tickets one more shot. I saw Jim Nance, the guy that'll be announcing the game, I hollered, "Got any Tickets?" He said, watch it on CBS, the view will be better. lol. 2 hours before game start they were actually some bad seats going for the printed price of $200, but after a few drinks and a full belly, I didn't even wanna spend the money. Besides, it's only Michigan State University playing. Not The University of Michigan, the more SUPERIOR school. In all honesty, I've never been a fan of MSU. I swear to GOD, I can't even ever remember owning a Michigan State Univeristy clothing article. I am pulling for the Spartans though. With the huge crowd of fans, I can't see them losing. They have home court advantage and no matter what anyone says, when you're a young player at the college level. the crowd can make a difference. The pressure of 70,000 people alone will fuck with your head. GO Green, Go White ***Update Halftime(MSU:38/UCONN:36)...This isn't even the championship game and The NCAA Final Four crowd is definitely bigger than the 2005 MLB all-star game and yes, even bigger than the 2006 Superbowl. Just less fanfare than Superbowl XL. Keep in mind, the ex-mayor and various business leaders worked to bring these events to the Detroit area. It will be interesting to see what happens now that there is a new mayor and the big 3 & dependent companies are failing..***Update 04/05/09...lol, everyone is talking about how nice a venue Ford Field is. Back in September 08, I wrote in this blog that it's the best stadium in the NFL. With all the empty space in Detroit, a lot of other shit could be built to be just as nice. But without crowds coming to the area like they did for this NCAA tournament, it would be useless. My favorite picture of the day was the white couple below. They obviously hadn't been downtown in a while, they were doing a "johnjuan", parking away from the field where it's free, no crowd and no police. Just 10 minutes away from Ford Field. They were snapping pictures of the ruins as they walked. The look on their face was almost priceless. lol. April 4, 2009 Say what you will about my run-on sentences and bad spelling in this blog. But, I ALWAYS know what the fuck I'm talking about. To be quite honest with yall, I could go through my writings and punctuate shit correctly. Hell, why would I wanna do that shit. This ain't a college paper, I'm not writing for the New York Times. This is MY shit. Shit that I type up in 5-10 minutes. I don't have time to proof-read. Anywayz, I'm up early. it's 7:15am Saturday morning and I see on the news that some deranged idiot slaughtered 13 people yesterday in Binghamton, NY. Then he had the nerve to shoot himself(bitch!) Now, I told yall almost a year ago(April 9, 2008 and April 17-18) in my podcasts' that this is the time of year when people "Crack". go back and listen to that shit. and Remember: I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT..***Update 7:15pm...I just saw on the news where another mothafucka "cracked". Dude in Pittsburgh was wearing a bulletproof vest, armed with an AK-47 and murked 3 police officers. April 3, 2009 too So yeah, this is my final day of vacation for the week. I goto the shop to pick up my coupeDeville and park that joint back in the suburbs and I fell in love with that 65 impala you see up above. Dude has been working on that joint for some years and he rebuilt it from the frame up. It looks better than cars I've seen at auto shows. Even the chrome door handles on that impala are like works of art. He said he's dropped $15,000 worth of work put into that restoration. Me and my Deville on the other hand..about 7 or 8 grand put into it(way too much. thats what happens when you're not experienced. If I were doing it again, it would only cost me 4 grand). I'm surfing ebay right now, if I ever spot a 1965-1967 Pontiac lemans or tempest for $1000 or below, I'm copping. Anywayz, the clip below is probably the last time I'll have to drive it illegally. I got it parked and I ain't touchin' it again until I got some "L's". It would be fucked up to catch a 6 month bid right now. you'd miss the whole summer. Be in the joint until damn near Halloween. lol April 3, 2009 It was about 2 weeks ago(see March 15, 2009) when I mentioned how The State of Michigan has been fucking me and thousands of other people over. I haven't been able to legally drive in the state for almost 3 years now. Everything I've been acccomplishing and doing since I started back at my 9 to 5 after being "fired" in 2006, has been done in wayz that most people would not be able to do. Driving on back roads, side streets, city buses, taxis, limos. There are some instances where I've even had to walk miles. I've got a strong will and mind though. But my thought process has always been whatever doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger. and I'll tell you. Right now, I'm a STRONG mothafucka. I bring this up today, because I was chillin' with bitch at Mcdonalds on 7 mile and Gratiot last night, eating a McDouble and a dollar french fry when this old bitch came in talking on the phone about how she was gonna get her license back. The economy in Michigan is so fucked up that certain cities and counties are offering amnesty for parking and moving violations. That ain't any new shit though. I wasn't fazed off of hearing that because I haven't had a ticket in about 5 years. But I listened more to her conversation(You know how ghetto-black broads are. She was yelling through the phone so everyone could hear). She said the Secretary of State was even gonna remove her suspension for the unpaid "Drivers Responsibility Fee" law. I almost choked. I pulled out my G1 so fast and went to the State of Michigans website. And sure enough, they changed that bullshit law. I had no idea this was gonna happen. I had spoken to my attorney as late as a week ago, he hadn't mentioned it. I didn't see it on the news or read about it on the net or the newspapers. I'm actually wishing I had seen this earlier in the week though, my paperwork would probably already be processed. I wrote countless letters to the newspapers, T.V. stations and to my congress people. I was not gonna pay that shit that I owed. A few weeks ago, I had finally cracked though. The weather was changing and I had a scare by the Detroit police mobile station. I was actually gonna just waive the white flag and give up. I'm sitting here typing this now with $2,000 in my pocket that I had earmaked for the State of Michigan. I bullshit you not, I was gonna get a cashiers check tommorow and mail it to those assholes. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I NEVER give up on anything. When I choose a fight, I fight until I win. What I just found out a few hours ago really hits me strangley. It's the first time I've ever given up on fighting something that I truly believed was wrong. This same law was determined to be unconstitutional in New Jersey. They haven't done that in Michigan, but at least now, instead of me being suspended indefinitely, I should be able to pick up a drivers license within the next few weeks(possibly days). Click here to see how they revised the law. So you can best believe this morning, I will have my ass on the phone making arrangements. This is all a brotha like me was writing letters, hoping to acheive over the last 2 years. I want yall to think for a minute how much shit I have done without being able to drive. Look at the .com and this blog. Watch how much better this shit gets when a brotha can actually "DRIVE" a bitch to a studio for a photo and video session. When I can actually get from one place to another in a matter of minutes, instead of hours. A Brotha will be able to drive 5 hours to Chicago or Cleveland. Or a brotha can now goto places like Miami, rent a car and shoot on the beach. I'm telling yall it's gonna get real interesting this summer. Now let me explain to yall how this set back happen to me: I always look for loopholes and ways to get around shit. When I walked into the dealership and leased my first "brand new" car at 23. I was young, barely any money in the bank, no credit and I had only been working in the "real world" for a year. I had no credit, a lot of new bills and was just use to paying like $75 a month for no fault insurance on my little 4 year old saturn coupe. I sat down and determined that I don't need to pay $400 a month for full coverage auto insurance on my new Jeep. I was a safe driver, and rarely got pulled over for anything, UNLESS I WAS DOING WRONG. So my goal was to not do anything wrong. The detroit area is notorious for having the highest insurance rates in the country. I decided that I wasn't gonna pay. Shit, I would save like 6 grand a year. If I got a ticket for no insurance, I'd just pay the little $250 ticket. If I got into an accident, I'd pay out of pocket for repairs. I'd still come out better than paying $400 a month if I didn't get a ticket every month. Which is impossible. I lived like that for like 6 years years. To this day, I probably have only carried insurance on my car for maaaybe 3 months since the age of 23. I saved probably 25 grand over that time. With that money, I ate good, travelled good. Everything was cool. There were and still are a lot of mothafuckas that live like that. Hell, in 2002, I bought my 2nd "brand new" car, a 2002 Mustang GT. lol, I wasn't even tripping about $600 a month insurance estimate I got. I laughed that shit off with the salesman. But some strange shit happen in 2003. The state of Michigan did some wild shit. They started playing with the laws. They started locking folks up when they drove without insurance, they started suspending licenses a lot more frequently and then they instituted a Drivers Responsibility Fee. I'm not just a crybaby, this shit has fucked a lot of people over. I don't even think a lot of people know about the changes yet Click here to read their complaints. I almost lost my freedom over this bullshit. To this day, I thank God the city of Troy, Michigan didn't lock me up in the county jail. There was a judge there(I won't mention his/her name) that told me, "Son, if you were anyone else, I'd be giving you 6 months in Oakland County jail. But you have promptly paid your original tickets. As a matter of fact, you have no outstanding tickets right now. It looks like you're just stuck in a hole and can't dig your way out. You probably had to spend $1000 to have your lawyer show up with you today. It's a cycle that's gonna be hard to escape" He/She was 100% right. I'm sure you readers know how easy it is for a brotha to get profiled when driving through the 'burbs. I was getting stopped every other day. I had no tickets(those were easy to pay), but I kept getting pulled over for driving while license suspended because I couldn't pay the Drivers Responsibility Fees to get my "L's" back. How many of yall niggaz can just pull $20,000 out of your pocket to give to the state? I had other "responsibilities" at that time and the Judge knew it. He/she said, "Don't drive in Troy anymore. If you do, get caught and I see you standing in front of me again, I'm sending you to JAIL." And guess what yall, I haven't driven in Troy, Michigan since then. How you gonna throw a man in jail for trying to goto work, so he can keep a roof over his head and food on the table? So yeah, The city of Troy, Michigan is alright with me. Basically if you "commit crimes" such as drive while you license is suspended, no insurance or expired plates you get hit with HIGH fees on top of the initial ticket. People are always shocked when I tell them out of my 18 years of driving, I've gotten MAYBE only 3 speeding tickets. Right now, I have a perfect driving record. No points, nothing. But when you're a brotha and you're driving outside of the hood, all your shit has to be in perfect order. All I'm guilty is trying to get over by not paying for auto insurance. That lead to not being able to register my vehichles and having expired plates, which lead to a lot of fees. Me and a lot of mothafuckas that drive "dirty" had no idea about those new laws. Any nigga can pay a fuckin' ticket, but when the state starts assessing $1000 on top of those tickets, that changes the game. To make a long story short, at one time I ended up owing the state of Michigan treasury department over $25,000. I paid about 15 grand of it off so far. I tried everything possible to get myself out of the situation. I don't believe in Bankruptcy, I think it's a bitch move. But I even looked into that. I didn't file though, because the attorney told me that the State of Michigan was so shady that even if you file Banko, you still gotta pay that fee to drive again. I even had an attorney look into me just getting caught and locked up. Because yall know when you got tickets and they lock you up, when you come out of jail, your tickets are erased. The attorney told me that wouldn't work either. They were real "gangsta" with it. Now, I tell you that to say this: In a bad economy like we've been experiencing here in Michigan, why the fuck would you enforce a law that puts people in further financial turmoil? I haven't had a valid license for 3 years now. I finished paying off my last car in 2005. I probably could have purchased 2 more cars since then. Multiply that times thousands of people that haven't had a license in years like me. See how this law has fucked up the economy too. There are restaraunts, malls and parks that I haven't patronized because I couldn't drive to them. Gas taxes that haven't been paid. I'm telling yall the state missed out on a lot of money, and they fucked up money for a lot of other businesses. As I stated above, I wrote letter after letter to the state demanding that they reinstate my license. It didn't work. They wouldn't budge. I tried to get licenses in other states, but when you do, about a month after you get one, you get a letter from that states DMV suspending you from having a license in that state because of the Michigan suspension. It was like the state of Michigan had a gun to people saying pay us or else we'll make things real difficult for you. I wasn't having that. I wasn't gonna let someone strong-arm me. That all changed last month. I decided that I was gonna actually sacrifice a few monthly pleasures that I indulge in so I could come up with the funds to pay. and that brings me to today when I find out that the state has finally budged. I'm certain that this is the end of a 10 year "inconvenience". I'm gonna keep my eye on that law and watch it slowly disappear. See what happens is when lawmakers fuck up, they won't come out and admit it, they just quietly correct it.***Update 9:00am...With just one 10 minute phone conversation, my driving priveledges are in the process of being restored. In the next few days, the Michigan Secretary of State, which is the equivalence of DMV in other states will be sending me notification of how to re-enstate my shit. I'm thinking I'll need to take a road and written test or something. April 1, 2009 Went outside today just to see how shit was coming along as far as Final Four preparations are concerned. What a beautiful day it was in The "D", blue skys and 55 degrees. Now granted it's only Wednesday, 2 days before Ford Field opens to fans. But it looks like shit out there. People that are visiting will notice how there ain't really shit going on outside of the venue. Everything was spruced up and a lot of the blight was hidden during the MLB All-Star game in 2005 and the NFL Superbowl in 2006. The abandoned and empty buildings are in plain view right now. Mothafuckas can walk 10 minutes away from Ford Field and they're in a wasteland. I'm really not impressed thus far. But then again, I'm so used to the area. I guess the parties and free concerts start friday morning. I hope shit goes well. I've been surfing the net for tickets, but I'm not paying $400 a piece for me and my homegirl to sit in the nosebleed section. I had planned on spending $250 a ticket, but it's pretty clear that shit ain't happening. Previously March February January 2008 2007 2006 ©2009 Foul Fowl Entertainment powered by: