The sound of gunfire has a way of putting things into perspective.

At the end of this video is one of the most true-to-life experiences one can have in Detroit.

We were at Riverfront-Lakewood East Park shooting a video as a companion piece to Tom Henderson's blog about the state of Belle Isle when gunfire rang out. Two shots … pause … then another.

Henderson, a lifelong Detroiter, remained calm, even cracking a joke that someone must be trying to kill a rat.

But he knew better. We all did.

It's one thing to write about Detroit and all its failings from the comfort of a newsroom. It's quite another to hear gunshots ring out as dusk settles on the far east side of the city.

Only then do you realize what budget cuts feel like. In an instant you sense how few police are patrolling the city and how sad it is that this is a common occurrence for the citizenry.

I suspect that many Detroiters, both the residents living outside the comforts of downtown and the well-to-do Midtown loft dwellers, have similar stories.

I'm sure some are callused to the gunfire and accept it as a cost of living in the city.

But I don't.

Our newspaper is full of stories about new buildings being erected, how many workers are coming to the city, the lack of vacancy in Corktown and the resurgence of Midtown.

But one simple fact hasn't changed: Detroit can't truly recognize its potential until its residents are safe — period.

We can talk until we are blue in the face about the benefit or detriment of the state's takeover of Belle Isle.

But what good is a beautiful park if it's too dangerous to go to it?