Norwayne Street Flood to Nasty Graffiti Fix 2025-04-03

Norwayne Street Flood to Nasty Graffiti Fix 2025-04-03 - Flooding is nothing new on this Norwayne street; This part of Bendon has flooded as long as me or any of my relatives (Johnny & Ruby Johnson, Dixie, Jerry & Tammy Gowen Molinar) can remember, so it must be an infrastructure problem that the city either can't or won't address. Maybe I should invest in a kayak. The water table here and under my house is very high, flowing back to McPhee Drain at my back fence line, that used to be the legendary creek that flowed from just North of Palmer Rd. just off the Palmer Rd. Baptist Church parking lot, South along the Westland Full Gospel property, across the Adams Jr. High & Lincoln Elementary property, across Grand Traverse along the back fence-lines of Bendon Ct and others; Then crossing Glenwood through the cemetery and down to the Rouge River.

When my uncle dug the half-basement under this place some time in the early 70's (one of only a few in Norwayne), everybody advised him that it was a bad idea; Grandma Ruby worked in the building dept. at city hall, so he never had to pull a proper permit for any of his creative modifications! The job took a couple weeks, and each morning, they had to pump waist-deep ground water out of the future-basement to proceed - which one would think might be some kind of "red flag"? We Johnsons are a headstrong breed; He stacked the cinderblocks, poured the concrete, and made the dang basement. Needless to say, the sump pump system in the sub floor is overworked and underpaid, requiring constant babysitting - especially in spring's rainy season.

This version of the Bendon Lake Flood is deep enough that I decide not to ride through it, soaking my chain and gears; I shoot GoPro footage from the house and around Grand Traverse to the other side of the "lake" shore, noting work on the power lines and other neighborhood features along the way, before riding back down Grand Traverse; I note ditch flooding, DTE crews gathering for a day's work, and mention the gaggle of homeless men that congregate under the pavilion between Lincoln-Johnson field and the playground.

Just beyond Darwin, I notice offensive graffiti on the back of a street sign: A possibly dyslexic protester must have thought this fixture was a Tesla and marked it with a backwards WWII symbol. Ironically, Norwayne was originally built to house WWII factory workers in the war effort against German troops fighting under this symbol. I attempt to neutralize the visual, but my sharpie marker is almost dry; I get a greek salad at Rocky's on Wayne Rd., purchase a cheap set of markers from the dollar store, and return to modify the public sign visual to something less ... WWII-themed.

[MrJohnnysynth]

Hope cop doesn't arrive while you are fixing sign.