With almost nine million views on YouTube, it's safe to call the Eminem spot for the Chrysler 200 more than a car commercial -- and judging by the reaction of Detroiters living across the globe, the notion of "our story" seems to resonate, no many how many miles stretch between them and Woodward Avenue.
This latest recollection comes from April Rudin, a CEO based in New York City, who remembered leaving her Detroit "burned out and bruised" 20 years ago when she bought a one-way ticket to LaGuardia airport. And though some of her recollection seem a tad under-researched (no traffic reports in the city of Detroit?), there's plenty of good memories here: Aretha Franklin and Hudson's building and almond boneless chicken memories of the old Detroit, along with acceptance and hope for what lies ahead.
Excerpt:
I have never much thought of myself as an
"ex-pat" or what it meant to leave Detroit -- until now. There was
something about seeing that commercial that triggered a flood of great
memories and nostalgia for my Detroit. I realize that my Detroit lives
on in my memory and that the future city will be a newfangled version of
what I remember, perhaps even unrecognizable to a former hometown girl.
Although they can change the physical borders and the types of
industries that support the state, I think that the soul of Detroit will
remain.
Read April's essay
here.
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