Detroit Speakeasy & Biker Gang Escapades + Embracing Adulting

I only lived in metro Detroit and worked for General Motors for about a year and a half. But man do I have some wild stories from that time! Probably the amplifying power of my friend Becky who became my roommate. The same Becky from Times Square New Year’s Eve 1999.

Becky’s Dad was a state cop who dealt with people trafficking cigarettes from Ohio to avoid taxes and probably various other seedy crimes. He was a cop during the days when they had residency requirements and they had to live in the city where he was stationed. They lived in a big old historic house in Pontiac, Michigan. Pontiac was not a great or safe area in the 70s & 80s when Becky was growing up. She went to Pontiac Central High School and, as a white girl, was a distinct minority. Her Dad was 6’7″ and a police officer and her brother was 7’1″, so she did have some pretty intimidating bodyguard family members.

I met Becky Freshman year at Michigan Tech and we became great friends in the dorms and all through our college years. Becky would tell me childhood stories about getting stabbed in high school , a ‘minor stabbing’ as she referred to it. She got in the middle of a fight going down and caught part of the knife in her back. She even showed me the leather coat with the cut in it. I was in shock and awe.

I was raised in small town Midland and went to high school out in the boonies where they teased us for riding our tractors to school. We had zero diversity in my high school. We had one student of color who was friends with my brother. He moved after a year or two, then our school was back to 100% whitebread. Once I lived in metro Detroit for a while, when I had to go back to Midland I really missed the diversity. Luckily, working at Dow Corning we had scientists and engineers from all over the world, so at least my workplace had some diversity.

I was always a bit of a rebel growing up, so I loved Becky’s toughness and lack of fear for any situation. Becky and I were both raised a bit poor, kind of lower middle class. She was sent to college with a 50 lb bag of rice and no meal plan paid for. She waitressed from the time she was about 14 and all through college to be able to feed herself. Our main objective in life after graduating was to start making our own money and living our own lives.

She was working her first sales job with a Japanese automotive supplier and I was working my lab rat electric vehicle job at the GM Tech Center. We were having a great time meeting up with all of our Tech friends right after college, still partying it up as often as possible. We became roommates after my first lease ended and shared a great apartment in Livonia. That’s when the antics really ramped up!

Somehow Becky and I met some dude who told us about a secret speakeasy bar at Telegraph and 8 Mile. Yes, THE 8 Mile of Eminem fame. 8 Mile is still to this day full of titty bars, pawn shops, and rough situations. So, of course, exactly where Becky and I wanted to go hang out! Sketchy. Risky. Full of Intrigue.

Turns out this bar was called The Carriage House, but had no sign, no indication of it even being a bar… unless you were IN THE KNOW It was mainly a joint for off duty Detroit cops, I think this is how Becky heard about it as her Dad was a state cop. She also had some sort of Friends of Police sticker on her brand new Saturn that supposedly gave us a free pass from any traffic stops when rolling through The D.

SIDE NOTE: Becky’s 7’1″ brother Rob didn’t even fit inside that Saturn, he had to stick his head up through the moon roof or duck down, hilarious to see in action.

So, it wasn’t enough to find the secret speakeasy cop bar in the dodgy neighborhood and shoot pool with the off-duty Detroit cops. Becky was a pool shark, taught well by her Dad and brother. We would act like cute clueless girls and then she would run the table and take the boys’ $$$, great fun.

We ramped it up next level when we discovered some Harley dudes there one night. We were obsessed with Harleys. That was early in the 90s when Harley-Davidson was making a comeback with quality and image and we thought it was SOOOOO COOL to be on a Harley or know a guy who owned one.

NEXT NEXT Level was realizing these dudes were in a biker gang called the Warlocks and had an after hours clubhouse that we could ride to on the back of a Harley at 2am. (My Mom actually reads my newsletters, try not to faint Mom!) This clubhouse was kind of crazy. It didn’t take us long to realize we didn’t really want to be there until the sun came up. Luckily, the dudes that gave us a ride there were friendly enough to take us back to our car when we asked.

Later, when I mentioned hanging out at the Warlocks clubhouse to someone, they freaked out and said “The Warlocks?!?!? They are part of the mafia and wanted for felonies! You are lucky to be alive!” I did look it up on the internet and found enough scary headlines to keep us from ever going back to that clubhouse. We did hang out at the speakeasy Carriage House bar and take other friends there for quite a while.

Why do I share all of these shenanigans this week? To talk about growing up, maturing, and self-care. Becky and I moved on from flirting with danger on the regular. She has a beautiful family with a loving husband and kids in high school. I have a great life with Simon and fun plans to retire to RV living. Becky and I have had successful careers and enjoy calm, safe lives full of simple pleasures these days.

This Week’s Shot of MINDSET

This week’s mindset tips come from a great little book that I heard about from Kyle Cease. He is an actor, comedian and spiritual teacher (great combo! I love renaissance careers like mine). The book is How To Be An Adult: A Handbook on Psychological and Spiritual Integration by David Richo.

Obviously, I was not ready for this book when I was on the back of a motorcycle in Detroit on my way to the Warlocks clubhouse at 2am!

It is a small little book, just over 100 pages. I would say it’s a quick read, but there is so much depth to it that you can and should spend some time letting all of the lessons and insights sink in. My copy is full of those little highlight sticky tabs which I used every time I found something really meaningful to me.

It is also a great book to re-read and get something new from each time. I first read it in 2022 and plan to read it again in 2025, really letting the lessons sink in and applying them to my life for growth and expansion.

The lessons that were jumping out to share this week are from page 51 where the author summarizes the first part of the book with Declarations of a Healthy Adulthood. Here are just a few examples that spoke to me when reflecting on how far I have come with my own mindset and growth. From crazy thrill-seeking young adult to calm, healthy adult in my 50s (not perfect, Progress Not Perfection is always my motto on my life journey):

I accept full responsibility for the shape my life has taken.
I trust that “darkness and upheaval always precede an expansion of consciousness” (Jung).
I let people go away or stay and I am still okay.
One by one, I drop every expectation of people and things.
Until I see another’s behavior with compassion, I have not understood it.
I accept that it is normal to feel that I do not always measure up.
I am ultimately adequate to any challenge that comes to me.

There are many more in the book. These all make great PSYCH-K® Goal Statements when working with the subconscious to release old, limiting beliefs and choose new, supportive beliefs to help you create the life you truly desire for yourself.

This Week’s Shot of HEALTH

For me, healthy adulthood includes caring for myself on all levels – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It includes reading books like How To Be An Adult, applying the principles, growing and expanding. Becoming a better version of me each year.

Caring for myself and my family on the physical level includes buying the healthiest whole plant foods I can find and taking the time to cook healthy meals at home most of the time. Fueling my body with foods that help me look and feel good physically. This type of eating and self-care also helps me feel better mentally & emotionally and helps me tune in spiritually. Winning on all levels!

I have mentioned my healthy Meal Planning Made EASY Guide and just wanted to link it again here. It has all sorts of tips, recipes, and ideas for caring for your health with excellent home cooked food.

If you are interested in using the power of the mind to uplevel your life, I share mindset expertise every week, along with fun & insightful stories from my own life path from 80s hair band superfan to chemical engineer to health & mindset coach (what a journey!).

You will also see plenty of health promoting tips and recipes because I am blown away by the power of intermittent fasting + a healthy diet to prevent & reverse just about any health concern Mindset plays a big part in health and healing too, the power of the Mind Body connection is pretty mind blowing.