Eleventh Commandment – Thou Shall Be Fiscally Responsible

Recent election results in several municipalities have again demonstrated that our state is in dire straits financially as voters cast ‘NO? votes on new millage proposals, and in some instances even defeated millage renewals. The message from voters is clear: no new taxes – our existing taxes are too high – and until the job […]

Acceptus Tergum Ut XIV Centuria

It was just last month that the Vatican issued a 36-page document entitled ‘Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road,? which contained rules and the Ten Commandments for Catholics to adhere to while driving their automobiles. Catholics were reminded to ‘respect speed limits? and not ‘consider a car an object of personal gratification? to […]

Cool Hand Luke revisted

In the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke,? prisoner Lucas ‘Luke? Jackson (Paul Newman) is admonished by the captain of the road crew with the memorable words: ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.?? Those words rang true in the movie and frankly they are appropriate for the sordid state of affairs in Michigan government. […]

New Year’s Resolutions For Everyone Except Me

Well, now that I have your undivided attention, let me explain. The year 2008 will see my advancement into a very special age group, namely, those people eligible for Medicare! This magical age of 65 provides one with certain mystical rights ? Medicare benefits of course which means we will be swimming in extra disposable […]

The travails & travels of a senior citizen

Maybe it’s symptomatic of my being a senior citizen, but little things are beginning to aggravate me. As a starter, traipsing through the whole Medicare registration process is a calamitous journey that is not for the faint of heart. One needs a cadre of physicians, pharmacists and legal beagles to assist in the navigation. It’s […]

Sale of potatoes tied to threats of a recession

Various economists have weighed in concerning the possibility of a recession in the United States.? Wall Street is pointing to lower earnings from some major companies and thus sounding the warning that this could lead to a stagnant economy.? Overseas markets have reacted and are convinced that the U.S. economy will have an adverse impact […]

Guest Columnist

Listening to Mayor Kilpatrick explain that he ‘is on a mission from God to run the city of Detroit? must have brought out a hosanna of chortles from our Maker. Perhaps Kilpatrick misspoke himself and should have stated, ‘ruin the city.? And all along I thought Jake and Elwood, The Blues Brothers, were the only […]

Be my Valentine’or not

Many of us, I’m sure, already have plans for this coming Valentine’s Day.? Mary and I will be having a romantic dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – The Early American Room in the Dearborn Inn.? Then, off to a ‘Valentine’s Rock N? Roll Spectacular? concert.? You early rock and rollers might remember some […]

Guest columnist

When new neighbors move into the community it is customary for existing residents to organize a welcoming committee and provide a small gift. It’s a way of demonstrating the hospitality of the community. During the week of November 16 a new neighbor moved in but the tables were turned in so far as who received […]

Guest column

We all know that during this last week before Christmas, Santa is checking his list to determine who has been naughty and who has been nice. There certainly are a lot of candidates for the naughty list but Tiger Woods probably heads it up! As one of Santa’s helpers, I reviewed the list and noticed […]