Introduction

Welcome back. This post will deal with the setting of Palingenesis, namely life in Azure Plains, Michigan.

Michigan

Like many midwestern states, Michigan leans conservative and is a perennial swing state. However, large cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor are more liberal, and in the case of Ferndale, it’s very LGBTQ+ friendly.

But race relations have a long history of problems, be it cities that are highly segregated to this day, white flight from the inner city to the suburbs and country, and white supremacist activity in the state. As a general rule the farther from the metro-Detroit area you get, the less diverse and more conservative people get.

Weather

Given our proximity to Canada and the Great Lakes, Michigan is prone to wild weather swings; you can experience winter-link snowstorms in the morning, Spring showers in the afternoon, and sweltering Summer heat in the evening. Weather is often localized to the point that you drive through storms. And certain parts of the upper peninsula can get snow year-round. Tornados are also common, and every Michigander knows to go into their basement/lowest level of their house when a tornado watch is issued. We also know to prepare for prolonged power outages during the summer and winter months.

 All of which has prompted the saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.  

Traditions

Michigan is home to several annual traditions, such as going to cider mills every fall for hayrides, cider, and doughnuts; Traverse City’s cherry festival every July; and Motor City Pride every June. Detroit and Windsor also put on a joint firework display for the International Freedom Festival, an annual multi-day festival celebrating Canada Day and the Fourth of July. There’s also the annual jazz and techno festivals, and the Detroit Hoedown for country music fans. And every August classic cars parade along Woodward Avenue for the Woodward Dream Cruise.    

Food

Michigan is home to several immigrant populations, so we have a variety of foods to choose from. Hit up Hamtramck for Polish food. Craving middle eastern cuisine, then pop over to Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, home the country’s largest population of Middle Eastern folks.

Being majority black, Detroit is great for soul food and traditional American dishes like burgers, and you have to try our deep-dish pizza. You’ll also find Greek, Italian, Chinese, and Indian restaurants scattered across the Metro-Detroit areas. Uou’ll also find poutine and New York style delis.  

Overall, Travis Likes his home state, but not so much his city.

Azure Plains

Azure Plains, Michigan is a fictional Detroit suburb, and is an amalgamation of several such suburbs I’ve visited over the years. Like many Michigan suburbs, it’s segregated, with the well-to-do living on the east side of town in gated communities, while the working-poor and middle class live on the west side of town. Much as Eight Mile Road is the physical and psychological border separating Detroit from the northern suburbs, Woodward Avenue bisects Azure Plains into the haves and the have-nots. Travis’s neighborhood is on the edge of this border and Woodward Avenue runs right behind his two-story house.

The mayor of Azure Plains, Jasonda Pride, has been in office for two decades, largely from the wealthy side of town supporting her financially, allow her to crush anyone foolish enough to challenge her. All decisions about the town are made by a committee of concerned citizens, which is code for rich, bored housewives.

The city has a business district downtown, and the stores are a mix of boutiques, cafes, artisanal sandwich shops, and bars. And every year they have an art festival/ food festival called the Hardy Arty Party in the days leading up to The Woodward Dream Cruise. And for every major holiday they allow local children to decorate the shop fronts.

Every Christmas the local shops donate money to buy needy children toys, and every Halloween they pass out candy to kids as the business district turns into the Scream District, a massive, haunted house.   

Travis and others without cars get around via the SMART bus system and DDOT system, which connects Azure Plains to Flint to the northernmost, and downtown Detroit to the southernmost.  

Children in Azure Plains have few options for schools. The working class send their kids to Don Barton Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, and MLK Highschool. The rich send their children to Azure Plains Preparatory Academy, a K-12 charter school.

AP Prep

AP Prep, or APPA as the cool kids call it, is a multi-wing school sat on three acres of land. It has its own stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, and soccer matches, along with a regulation gym for basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and other indoor sports. While academics are preached about daily, Travis sees how the teachers fawn over athletes, and is infuriated when they get to set the curve.

The uniform at AP Prep is simple: A school blazer, dress shirt with optional tie, dress pants or khakis, with dress shoes. The uniforms alone often price out most people on Travis’s side of town. And even those who can afford them can’t pay the fees AP Prep charges for every little thing. And as such, Travis is one of twenty BIPOC students at the school.

The courses at AP Prep are on par with those taught at private schools, and the teachers are the best of the bunch, recruited in much the same way prospects for college sports are. As such, AP Prep’s graduation rate is 98% and their students have a college graduation rate of 85%

The teachers are hard on the students, save those on sports teams, and expect only the best from them. Of course, Travis thinks this is a load of crap, since he’s witnessed teachers “bump up” grades after said student’s parents donate to the school’s many extracurricular activities. The hypocrisy of it all is vomit inducing.  

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this post. Check out Palingenesis when it releases September 1, 2021. For more updates on this and other WIPs signup to receive my newsletter.