Hive of Activity

The evening brought with it many friends that arrived via small wings and long proboscises. Waiting patiently for their moment to feed on my red cool aid pumping beneath my skin. It was worth the several bites to sit out and enjoy a fire in the cool Michigan evening. My wife, the closet pyromaniac, was at her best stoking the fire and rearranging the logs to get the maximum heat and flame.

This morning we went off to Dearborn and home of the Ford Automotive Plant. The tour started at the Ford Museum. After boarding the bus we went of to the Rouge Plant. The oldest Automotive Plant that still is in use today.

We watched the workers on the assembly line as they completed their tasks in 60 seconds only to repeat it again when the next truck moved into their area. For 10 hours a day these workers screw, pound and secure the same pieces. Day after day they go through the same motions. It must be like living in "Ground Hog Day". I'm sure your mind just goes numb after doing the same thing over and over. That's why you see almost everyone wearing some sort of MP3 player, IPod or Radio. Something to take your mind far away.

It is amazing to see how these cars are put together and the most amazing thing for me was to see how many people are required. Even with all the technology around today they still need humans to perform these tasks.

I wish we were allowed to take pictures in the plant but they were very strict with people always watching you. As we walked around the catwalk the factory below looked like a hive with workers in their own sections busily grabbing parts and inserting them into the new car. One interesting fact I learned today is that every car being built is already paid for. They only build a car when a dealer or private individual has ordered and paid for the car. There is no surplus or warehouse sitting with cars to be sold.

Tomorrow we are headed off to explore the downtown area of Detroit.