Today I found out that a wonderful man passed. Mike was my next door neighbor years ago when I bought my very first house. He was always kind and pleasant. He was also extremely funny. Years after I moved into another home, I received an email complaint at my place of employment from a Michael Brinker. I answered very diplomatically while I wondered if it was my Mike. Two minutes later I received the most silliness response. He remembered me. 

I tried to call Michael on his birthday.  I asked if he had had a good day.  He described spending the time with you and said you were a wonderful mother. He was truly on of the best Christians I had ever known.  I am so sorry that all of you have lost him

I met Mike in 1971 when he was hired by the City of Detroit and he came to work in Central Accounting - Department of Public Works.   I had been working there for about a year when he arrived. We went out to lunch at least once a week as long as we worked in the same office.

We both bowled in the City of Detroit Bowling League for a few years and there were two teams representing the office we both worked in.  One day Mike came in with a wooden turtle that some panhandler gave him for a cash donation as he walked from his parking spot to the office. He decided that the bowler in the office who had the lowest score that week had to have the turtle on their desk for the week.  As there were two four-man teams in the office it was a disgrace to have "the turtle" on your desk and everyone in the office knew about your poor bowling performance that week.  

We also played in the City of Detroit slow-pitch softball league on Belle Isle.  On our Department team Mike was the left fielder and I was the pitcher.  Any fly balls hit to left field were a sure catch for Mike. The league was very competitive, as there were teams representing both the Detroit Police Department and the Detroit Fire Department, but we managed to take a trophy for 1st place in one of the seasons when we beat both the fire department team and the police department team during the season. After each game Mike and I sat in the stands to watch a later game  and enjoy a Stroh's (MIke would only drink a beer made in Detroit) or two.

Mike was a Detroit Tigers baseball fan and was really excited about the arrival of Mark "the Bird" Fidrych .  In 1976 Mike and I attended most of the home games that the Bird pitched for the Tigers that year.  Mike had access to a couple of reserved season passes to see the Tigers and we went to 8-10 of the games Fidrych pitched that year. Tiger Stadium was usually packed for his pitching performances and the stadium was rocking.

Although it was many years since I have seen Mike, as our careers went in different directions, I will always remember all the good times that we had at work and after work.

I can still hear his laugh in my head.  I knew Mike for over 30 years and never once did we meet or speak that he didn't make you feel better or have a better day.  Golfing with him in your foursome was guaranteed to be a good round no matter how you played.

I worked with Mike on what we called the Resource Recovery Project and what everyone else called the incinerator. He knew everything there was to know about it - the engineering, the finances, the politics. The idea was a good one: burn garbage to generate power. It was supposed to save landfill space and save money. It didn't work out as planned, but that wasn't Mike's fault. If he had been calling the shots things would have been different. He was an extraordinarily dedicated public servant and a delightful dinner companion. We ate a lot of cheeseburgers together and quite a few fancy steaks. He had a rule against eating anything green.

My sincere condolences to Mr. Brinker family. I met him in 1993, I was his executive secretary at GDRRA.  He was more like mentor to me.  He was the foundation of the City of Detroit Waste to Energy Facility. Although he no longer worked for the City we talked from time to time.  Just remembering him made me smile.   Peace be with his family.

GDRRA Holiday Luncheon

My Uncle Mike shaped my life path in so many bold and subtle ways. He exposed me to literature, media, and politics that I may not have encountered on my own.  He got me to ride a bike on my own by promising to hold the seat as I rode, and then letting go. I was so mad at him. But it worked. 

He reinforced my inclination to be a bossy, confident girl. He would provoke me, and then I'd chastise him using his middle name: Michael John. A rule follower by nature, he incited me to make trouble, too. He formed a club with my brother and me, which we called "Group 3" and together, we got up to antics designed to irritate the "adults," of which, in this context, he was not one. We had a secret handshake. I cannot show it to you.

Mike brought resources and opportunities into my life in fun and funny ways. He brought me and my brother trash bags full of Pepsi cans to count and redeem, amassing funds for summer vacation candy. When I learned to drive, he gave me and by brother his 1984 Ford Tempo, which we called Tom. Tom was a stick shift that stalled out in intersections and that I lovingly fueled to just above empty, $5 at a time. My mom Mary taught me how to drive stick, and then Tom helped me hone that skill. I'm now one of the few women my age I know who can drive a manual transmission.  In high school, Mike took me as his "plus one" to an Al Gore fundraiser, where I got to shake Gore's hand. That was the first election I was able to vote in, and now I make my living educating college students on how to get involved in civic and community life.  As a young adult, he took me and my family to the casino and gave me $20. It sickened me to play -- I was too cheap to enjoy the risk, and I simply wanted to pocket the $20. I learned things about myself through what he exposed me to. 

Though there was so much about his life I didn't know, I felt I knew my uncle and that he knew me.  It was always clear that he believed in me, trusted me, had confidence in me. I can only hope to be the kind of aunt to my niblings as he was an uncle to me. I love and miss you, Mike. 

My next-door neighbor and good friend; I truly can't find the words to express my sense of grief and painful loss. I will greatly miss our frequent chats and the always  cheerful greetings as we met virtually daily. Your passing is a heartfelt shock that will be long lasting. My prayers be with you and your loved ones forever Mike. Your friend and neighbor, DAVE.