Last week I spoke to a group of Warren and Center Line senior citizens.  I didn’t want to bore them, but I knew I had an ace in the hole . That same day former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had been convicted on federal corruption charges. When my speech started to falter all I had to do was bring up the fact that Kwame was finally headed to prison. The room was once again mine.

I like to think that everyone – young and old, black and white, Republican and Democrat, genius and simpleton – all rejoiced  that Kwame had gotten his comeuppance. The evidence seemed overwhelming. Bribes were accepted. Shady deals were made. Scads of money remains missing. And Kwame had already been convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Kwame was in his 30s when he served as mayor of Detroit. He had a promising career, but greed got the best of him. Or maybe Kwame had always been greedy. Either way it’s a sad chapter in the city of Detroit’s history. But without him I might’ve lost that group of seniors soon after the pledge of allegiance. After his sentence was announced, Kwame surrendered his driver's license to his mother. "We won't need this where we're headed," Kwame said.

Driving home tonight I will feel a bit safer on the roadways.