Our dad was ‘greatest? in everything he did. He told us so, over and over. He was the greatest Canasta double-deck player, greatest pinochle player, greatest shuffleboard player, etc. He had no peers in pheasant hunting, plowing with a Huppmobile, butchering (he’d show stubs of two fingers to prove it), cutter of children’s hair and […]
There is only one season of the year more joyous than this. The time of year when sweet corn and tomatoes can go from stalk and vine to tongue, teeth and gullet should be celebrated with more vigor than all but one other multi-dayed season. Our fresh-picked garden vegetable time brings ultimate satisfaction to growers […]
Indian mascots are out — animals must be next So the National Collegiate Athletic Association, yielding to pressure of another minority group of save-the-worlders, has clamped down on colleges using Indian tribe names. The NCAA says Central Michigan University’s Chippewas, U of Illinois Fighting Illini and Florida State’s Seminoles mascots are offensive to Native Americans. […]
We who have children who married and have children, have in-law experiences. We who have in-laws spend an inordinate amount of time catering to their wishes, seeking ways to please them, praying that they see the goodness in us and recognize that we support and love them. We do everything we can to make them […]
After the ice was gone this year and the weather warmed to the point where we expected to hear frogs croaking, we didn’t. The evening serenade of amphibians in our swamps was not heard. Even the noise produced by the green, tree-climbing frogs was missing. As I walked the edge of the swamp nothing jumped […]
I’ve enjoyed a few routines of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, but it takes only a few of his closings, ‘You might be a Redneck if,? to turn me off. Knowing this, some inebriated, low-life friends sent me a Redneck, tear-off calendar with a remark on each page. It wasn’t until September 6 that I found one […]
Often just looking out a window is the most rewarding, comforting and entertaining experience of a day. Like one beautiful, recent day, I looked out to see a young, just-out-of-spots deer standing rigid staring at something. Several yards in front of the deer was a black and white cat, sitting, staring back at the deer. […]
For the most part art means pictures, and for me that art has to have meaning to me. Which means it has to be something I can relate to. Like pictures of the Mackinac Bridge, babies, barns, creeks, flowers, animals in fields and a smiling hog. You see, Dali doesn’t do it for me. I’ve […]
A soreness in my left knee prompted an X-ray by a knee doctor. (What else?) He pointed out something — a spur or bone chip or a fault in the film. I couldn’t tell. Then he turned and started talking about my meniscus. I thought it really invasive of him to mention my meniscus in […]
Over 93 percent are employed. I just thought I’d remind you of the employment figures, since one is most often exposed to only the unemployment figure. In case you need another reminder of the employed, count the cars, pickups, SUV’s, mini-vans and truck-car vehicles as you hit the roads between 6 and 9 a.m. and […]