Health + Wellness

On The Floor With Them

For Dr. Alex Schechter, veterinary medicine begins on the ground Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Before he was a doctor, with a staff of twelve licensed nurses and a visiting cardiologist, Alex Schechter was a boy in Franklin who wanted to be a dog. Not just a veterinarian. He was three when he knew that. At five, he decided to become an animal.  He lived on the floor. He crawled. He barked. His parents called him Dog Boy. By the time he was nine, he’d worn his...

Health + Wellness

Bringing Up North to Downtown

Step inside a building designed to connect children with ‘outside’ Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie The first thing most kids interact with at the Outdoor Adventure Center isn't the tree, the snowmobile simulators, or the fishing experience built to make you feel a tug on the line. It's the bear. Just inside the entrance, there's a small den with a motion sensor. Get close, and the bear wakes up. Kids run in and out for the better part of an hour, shrieking with...

Education

No Appointment Necessary

No cages, no clocks: just a black-doored sanctuary that's open to anyone who needs it Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Every morning, before anything else, Lisa Hill goes to the quarantine room. These are the new arrivals: cats who just got here, who don’t know yet where they are or what comes next. Lisa checks on each one. “Hi, new friends,” she says. It’s a small gesture, but it says something about how New Beginnings Animal Rescue works. Nobody here is in a hurry...

Health + Wellness

Already Home

Two callings, one mission: build a place where kids can come home to Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Every weekday afternoon, a van pulls up outside three Royal Oak schools and kids pile in. The van doesn’t take the kids to their houses; instead, it goes to The Salvation Army community center on North Main.  But when they arrive, they’re already home. That's how Majors Jennifer and Steve Woodard tend to describe what they do here: they focus on what a child feels...

Arts + Culture

Canvas of the Community

A gallery with artwork inspired from cultures around the world creates a community through a cooperative gallery model in Ferndale Article by London Evans | Photography by Amy Gillespie A gallery with artwork inspired from cultures around the world creates a community through a cooperative gallery model in Ferndale, Mich.   Glenn “Fuzz” Corey always wanted to be involved with art. “Ever since I was a kid I was interested in art. I didn’t know if I would do anything with it. I was always...

Arts + Culture

Between the Lines

Jarrad Heaslip's Ferndale gallery is part studio, part showroom, and an adventure in uniqueness Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Walk past the building on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale and something will stop you. It might be the facade: chic and minimalistic black-painted brick. It might be the columns, lit from below at night. It might be the large windows, that pull the inside out onto the street like an invitation. Or it might be the dog. He's ten feet tall, bright...

Life + Culture

New Zealand Travel Guide

Top Destinations on the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Article by London Evans | Photography by Amy Gillespie From the glacier rivers to the Southern Alps, the land of New Zealand has much to offer. The lush greenery and waterfalls that cascade from the peaks of rolling hills cannot be missed; luckily, New Zealand has over 240 officially named waterfalls. This small, wondrous nation must be at the top of the list of destinations all must see. Aotearoa, or the Land of the Long White...

Life + Culture

Into the Groove

Inside Royal Oak's most essential music destination Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie I was maybe nineteen the first time a record store changed my life, a University of Michigan student looking for music that wasn't on the radio, that would give me a taste of real soul. As I walked through the store, my eyes landed on an album by a band called the Dead Kennedys. I immediately thought, I’m not cool enough to be in here. But I was brave enough to go up to the front and...

Finance + Legal Services

Standing Between You And The Machine

The system says innocent until proven guilty. David Rudoi never lets it forget that Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Most days, when the work's finally done, David Rudoi puts on his headphones, steps out onto the streets of downtown Royal Oak, and walks home. It's just him, the city, and whatever hip-hop he needs that evening to decompress. It sounds simple enough. Until you understand what he's been carrying all day. David is a criminal defense attorney. In fifteen...

Finance + Legal Services

What's Life About?

Merchant services maverick Todd McKay's business philosophy is three words: relationships, relationships, relationships Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Todd McKay grew up in Warren, in a modest house, with a single mother who worked seven days a week to make it happen for her family. He always had a plan to make something of himself. At 22, that plan looked like moving to Santa Barbara and becoming an actor. It didn't go that way. But what happened instead turned out...