Honoring Old Town's Magical Mayor

Thank you to everyone who came out to last night's candlelight vigil for Robert Busby in Old Town. There were anywhere between 250-300 people. People gave tributes, laid flowers and candles, and we wrapped up the vigil by singing John Lennon's Imagine, a song truly fitting of Robert and his dream.

Lansing Community College has generously donated Dart Auditorium for Robert's memorial service next Tuesday at 3pm. Everyone is welcome.

Yesterday was a day of deep sorrow for everyone. Even if you never met Robert, it's still clear that Lansing lost one of it's biggest supporters and best friends. For many of us, the tears still come and the ache is sure to linger for quite a while.

Having been through more personal tragedy than I care to remember in my 26 years, I have learned one very valuable lesson about coping and recovering from a traumatic event, such as the manner in which Robert died. It's not about what happened, or how he died, but it's about what we do with this tragedy. If we let this tear apart Old Town and destroy all that Robert gave so much of his life for, then his death was in vain.



Last night standing there with tears rolling down my cheeks, candle in hand and very heavy heart, I looked up into the windows of Robert's loft above Creole Gallery. The loft was brightly lit, and you could see his beautiful art shining through the cold night air. It struck me that in even in our deepest grief, this is what Robert worked so hard for. All of these people coming together - black, white, young, old, gay, straight, the haves and the have-nots, this is what Robert was about. Uniting a city and a community together, unaware of our differences but celebrating our diversity.

I believe that we can only succeed if we continue to pick up where Robert left off. His mission, his life, and even his art was about unity and life. Robert gave us all so much. We owe it to him to set aside our differences, come to together and carry on his legacy.