We all have the right to have positive spirit. (A dedication to David Plawecki.)
When I got my first job as a teenager, serving hot dogs at Greenfield Village’s Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile, I discovered a cool family fact of great pride…
The day I got hired, I came home and read over the employee handbook. (I’m know. I’m still a dork.) To my surprise, I noticed my mom’s last name mentioned in a paragraph about my rights as a worker.
“Hey mom, your last name’s here. What’s this?”
“Oh!” she said, “that’s the bill our cousin David sponsored when he was Michigan Senator! The Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Bill…Didn’t you know your cousin David was the youngest Michigan senator elected?
To be 16, starting my first job, and to see how politics made change that impacted me, let alone from a family member’s involvement, was one of the coolest things ever. It’s the type of introduction to politics I wish more could experience, one that gives hope, pride, and spirit. (Things we don’t normally feel when we hear about politics, right?) It’s continually guided my optimism about Michigan, about local government, and a lot more.
My mom’s cousin David died, from cancer, last night. He was only 65, and he was an inspiring person to know. (Obituary, funeral info here.)
It seems just like yesterday that I was at the Storti/Sherrard family wedding and sharing a drink with David. The country was in the heart of the recession; a recession that Michigan had felt for most of my adulthood.
I asked David, “What do you think about the state of our state?” I also shared that I was leaving teaching in a month to pursue music. “Am I crazy to do this?” I joked.
David smiled and shared one of the most positive predictions I’ve heard about our beloved Mitten. How Michigan was going to continue to be a great place to live.
He then added, “You are going to do great with music. Don’t worry about the economy. Worry about your love of music. The rest will follow.”
It’s one of the most important things I learned from him while growing up: How important it is to keep a positive spirit about home (Michigan), about the democratic system, about dreams; it’s that attitude that is the first step to great change.
It’s an attitude we all have the right to have.
* * * Funeral info * * *
Visitation is Wednesday, Aug. 7 at Santeiu Funeral Home in Garden City, MI 3-8 PM
Funeral is Thursday, Aug 8 at Divine Child, with a visitation starting at 9 AM and mass at 9:30 AM.
In lieu of flowers, David requested friends and family make a donation to Catholic Relief Services or Michigan Radio.
* * * News Updates * * *
David’s last request in the news:
Channel 4 News
Senator David Plawecki speaking on the Michigan Senate floor.
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