So proud of my mom Susie Duncan Sexton and her remarks at today’s Blue Bell Lofts Grand Opening!

And so proud of my hometown and all of the wonderful people who did such thoughtful and heartfelt work to restore this landmark: Ryan Daniel, Jeff Walker, Regina Gowen, Commonwealth, Ryan Edwards, Matt Rayburn, Louie Lange III, Kevin McDonell, and an army of others whose names elude me presently!

Great seeing cousin Cheryl Schuman, Greg Fahl, Teresa Dowell, Ruby Sherman, Becky Felix, Scott and Phyllis Gates, Linda Thomson, Cathy Schrader, Mike Lemmon, Pat Hatcher, Katie Rethlake Dewitt, Myrna Joann Bailey, Ralph Bailey, and all the others in the standing room only crowd! View the video of her speech here.

Special thanks to Terry Tatum​ for reaching out to me and to my mom a few years ago in the initial days of Commonwealth’s research for this opportunity. What a journey this has been!

Today’s grand opening was a remarkable event celebrating the power of community to reclaim its history and reinvent for a new age. The collective love and appreciation in that room is something I will reflect on for days and months to come. The other speakers (I wish I’d had the confidence in my already jammed with music and photos iPhone to record them all) did a marvelous job detailing the great care, persistence, and vision that went into the years of planning and preparation, turning this former manufacturing facility of “work (and play) clothes” into beautiful senior loft residences. The Historic Blue Bell Lofts development is a case study that all other communities would be wise to study and replicate.

AND … then, for the day’s second act, I hightailed it back to Ann Arbor to perform in the sneak peek of Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood at The Session Room. Our intrepid band tested our still-shaky British accents (we’re getting there!) and our arguably-shakier improv skills to a full and appreciative house. Our singing? Flawless. 🙂 We ran through half a dozen numbers, and I suspect video exists …. Heaven help us.

All in all, Drood at The Session Room was a hoot! Thanks to Aaron Latham and Rob, Don Blumenthal, John Reyes and kids, and Matthew Pecek for coming out and supporting this night of shenanigans! (Performance photos by Aaron Wade.) The Mystery of Edwin Drood from Ann Arbor Civic Theatre runs June 1-4 at Lydia Mendelssohn Theater – tickets at www.a2ct.org. Don’t miss it! and … #voteforme

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Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.