Finding the odd and curious in Hamtramck is an easy task

By Charles Sercombe

Every once in a while we compile enough photographs that can only be described as, well, weird – weird in that special Hamtramck way.

The top photograph is of a car with a special, home-made license plate. They say photographs speak a thousand words. This photograph, however, asks only questions. Did the car’s legitimate license plate get stolen?

Is the owner of the car trying to pull a fast one on cops, hoping they would be fooled and not notice it’s a fake, cardboard plate?

Did it work?

The second photograph is of a once, bright and shiny new taxi. This taxi, though, has apparently seen some rough road in its time.

So, why was it being hauled away?

The cops said some knucklehead was attempting to pull the station wagon with another car but the chain he was using broke. The old taxi was found in the middle of Carpenter. Just sitting there.

Guess it wasn’t worth the any more effort to haul it into a scrap yard.

The next photo might be the weirdest.

Several weeks ago police were called to break up a large group of Hamtramck High School kids who were supposedly looking to meet up with some other students and have a dust-up.

The kids walked down Belmont, heading toward Conant, chanting a word that can’t be printed in what we in the newspaper business call a “family publication.” The group of kids indeed met with some others at a bus stop near Caniff, threw a few punches for just a few seconds until the cops broke them up.

The group then did a u-turn and walked en masse southward on Conant, and then took a turn down Trowbridge to the alley, swung north again and then did an about-face and continued walking south toward Holbrook, remaining in the alley.

It was like watching some strange herd of lemmings or something, as if there were no one individual kid but this “group” entity with a mind of its own.

And speaking of kids, here’s a photo of a bad trend that started in the 1980s and apparently in Hamtramck never really ceased. This shot is from McDougall St. where several pairs of gym shoes have been tied together and flung over a utility line. This practice, or whatever you want to call it, usually involves some bully taking some other kid’s shoes. And these aren’t usually cheap shoes either.

Not only is this criminal, it’s just plain stupid.

Finally, this cat was spotted sitting high and mighty in the front yard of Noor Income Tax service on Caniff.

Would you dare to go wheel out the garbage with this fat cat on guard?

While this guy offers an amusing photo, it’s probably a stray and underscores the appearance lately of a lot of homeless cats prowling the streets and neighborhoods.