Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page A21

SUNDAY, FEB.10,2013 WWW.FREEP.COM 21A A his weekend, the Northeast was havinga snowstorm. A big one. On Saturday afternoon, some areashad up to 3 feet of snow. Travel plans werefrus- trated. Some roads were impassable.It is safe to say few adults are happy about it.

But think about it. As kids, if we knew that much snow was coming, all do is celebrate. gaze out the window at the first flakes. race outside as soon as there was enough to play in. The same thing that caused our parents to grumble would cause us to shriek with joy.

What happened? Ametamorphosis took place. At some point, snow went from fun to annoyance. And not the only thing. This storm got me thinking about how many other elements of life we loved as kids and are annoyed at as adults. For example: The airport What kid love that place? Massive windows, gigantic planes, all those moving walkways and gift shops selling key chains with your name on them? Flying has always been magical to children.

To adults, as much fun as the Bataan Death March. Disneyland This is still Shangri-la for kids. But ever see an adult who dropped $300 for tickets trying to dodge the parade with two strollers? not a happy face. Balloons Kids see them as something to bounce. Adults see them as something to blow up.

Mud Kids jump into it. Adults jump over it. Puddles See above. Imaginations running wild Pirates As kids, they are dashing, fun, you want to dress as one for Halloween. As adults, pirates are just lame.

Witches See Clowns See Leprechauns See Elevators Remember, as a kid, when you wait to press every button? You do that as an adult, someone will throw you down the shaft. Kool-Aid A nectar of the gods for children. A surefire sugar shock for adults. PEZ dispenser To a kid, a toy worth fighting for. To an adult, something where the head comes off.

Fluffernutter Speaks for itself. The back seat As kids, we wait to pile in with siblings or friends. As adults, another reason carpooling stinks. Pumping gas As kids, we only wish we could do it. As adults, we only wish someone else would do it.

Cleaning a windshield See Checking oil See a Squirrels Kids see them and coo, mommy, look how Adults see them and say, with a fluffy From fantasy to reality Vending machines Remember as a kid, how pull every lever, even when you have any change? As adults, you just pray the thing accepts your crinkled dollar bill. Seesaws Kids see them as the coolest way to go up and down. You ever sit on one as an adult? amazed you ever survived a playground. Slides See Monkey bars See Monkeys Every kid wants one for a pet. Every adult thinks of the Amagnifying glass You could get one of these as achildhood Christmas present and yell, You get one now, telling you your eyesight is shot.

Crayons As a kid, this is your instrument of choice. As an adult, you yell, we have anything else to write Coloring Come to think of it, when was the last time you tried coloring anything as an adult that involvePhotoshop? Wastepaper basket Kids think Adults think Sprinklers Kids think and Adults think Pool water Kids think word for Adults think the same thing, but with less enthusiasm. And finally, shoveling snow Kids think to make money and have Adults think, not change the So at least one part of this snowstorm we can all enjoy. CONTACT MITCH ALBOM: 313-223-4581OR CATCH MITCH ALBOM 5-7 P.M. WEEKDAYS ON WJR-AM (760).

FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER TO READ HIS RECENT COLUMNS, GO TO WWW.FREEP.COM/MITCH. MITCH ALBOM EXPLAINS WHY COOL TO KIDS ALWAYS TRANSFER TO ADULTS Snow fun then? fun now Detroit News: Finley says Detroit hold off emergency manager any longer. 25A Brian Dickerson How Justice quick exit allowed her Supreme Court colleagues to skirt a thorny disciplinary thicket. PAGE 22A Kids and guns Will disgust with firearm deaths trump politics? PAGE 22A Letters The missed opportunity of the Belle Isle lease. PAGE 24A Edward Hustoles knows it can be tough getting De- troiters to move.

As a city planner in the 1950s, Hustoles worked on relocating residents from Detroit neighborhoods marked for or highway construction, including the old along Michigan Avenue outside downtown. Most of the targeted storefronts and houses were in deplorable physical condition. As Hustoles recalls, some residents were all rightwith the government condemning their homes; property owners were generally paid the higher of two professional appraisals, and most relocated families got $15,000 in cash. But others resisted the forced move. can remember to this day a woman sticking her head out of an alley structure, and there was a pile of garbage and a rat sitting there.

She looked out the window, over this pile, and take my said Hustoles, 86, who became director of planning for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments before retiring decades later. Last month, civic leaders unveiled a new long-term planning document for the city that represents the most comprehensive, ambitious and serious future vision for Detroit since the landmark Master Plan of 1946 Edward Detroit that laid out much of the freeway system and urban renewal sites of the 1950s and 1960s. Butunlike its predecessor, the 2013 blueprint, also known as the Detroit Future City DETROIT FUTURE CITY Asofter approach to urban renewal Half a century ago, Detroit used its then-potent condemnation powers to transform whole neighborhoods. new generation of planners is hoping to achieve equally dramatic results with gentle persuasion. DETROIT FREE PRESS Today, Detroit has about 1.1million fewer people than in the late 1940s, and the Detroit Future City plan anticipates the population falling below 700,000.

TARO FREE PRESS The Renaissance Centergreets I-75 travelers. Planners are hoping for renewal again. By JC Reindl Free Press StaffWriter Edward Hustoles See FUTURE, PAGE23A VIDEOS AND MORE HISTORIC PHOTOS.