Dell Deaton

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Author: Dell Deaton

“Detroit Auto Show shows how to back drivers wherever they go”

As credentialed media for the 2026 Detroit Auto Show (formerly known as the North America International Auto Show), I received a pitch from The Ford Motor Company to cover a number of its presentations planned for preview days. Among these was its “Mobile Service Unit” offering.

With that, I approached Editor Emeritus Rosemary Otzman about my writing a feature article with a tie to local dealership Atchinson Ford. This ran as a cover feature with photograph in the January 22, 2026 print edition of The Belleville – Area Independent.

It largely ran as submitted. The most notable exception was a context reference viz floor space concurrently occupied by General Motors in Cobo Center — today known as Huntington Place. (I happily confess an inclination to reference any among myriad connections to Willow Run wherever arguably relevant in hyperlocal media.)

I also proposed the headline, “Detroit Auto Show reflects need to back drivers wherever they may go” for this. As every shoe-leather reporter knows well, writers don’t write their own headlines.

Quoting objectionable sorts, on change

Get off my lawn!

— mantra of the cantankerous

Numbers 22:18, on directives from God

Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of my God ….’

— New American Standard Bible

Quoting Scott Adams, on salvation through Jesus Christ

A Final Message From Scott Adams

If you are reading this, things did not go well for me.

I have a few things to say before I go.

My body failed before my brain. I am of sound mind as I write this, January 1st, 2026 ….

Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I’m not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks attractive. So, here I go:

I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. And I hope I am still qualified for entry ….

Leviticus 1:1, on relationship with God

Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him ….

— New American Standard Bible

“cantankerous”

  • bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative:
    he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times.

— Oxford Dictionary of English

“anachronism”

  • a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned:
    the town is a throwback to medieval times, an anachronism that has survived the passing years.
  • the action of attributing something to a period to which it does not belong:
    it is anachronism to suppose that the official morality of the age was mere window dressing.

— Oxford Dictionary of English

“dispensationalism”

  • Christian Theology: belief in a system of historical progression, as revealed in the Bible, consisting of a series of stages in God’s self-revelation and plan of salvation.

— Oxford Dictionary of English

Canines for Christ Therapy Dog Ministry

It’s official: Today I received confirmation of my affiliation with Canines for Christ.

This follows on the “Pet Therapy Team” certification that I earned on October 9 as a canine handler for “Jasper” through Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

My wife was kind enough to shepherd me along in this process — patient with this, my first time, as she paralleled with Jasper as well for her own x-numbered qualification.

Thus begins the next chapter in our lives, serving our Lord in yet another way. Praise Jesus!

Alliance of Therapy Dogs certification

Formal certification of our dog Jasper and me as a “Pet Therapy Team” was signed today.

Alliance of Therapy Dogs (“ATD”) provides “testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance” for canine handlers such as me “who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities.” Although my wife has paired with a number of our animals over the years, this is my first — officially.

Although I am fully prepared for and will begin immediately going out on visits with Jasper, this certification importantly serves to fulfill requirements of application to serve through Canines for Christ.

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