Old farmer’s advice: Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. Good judgement comes from experience, and a lotta??? that comes from bad judgement. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Every path has a few puddles. And every puddle has at least one little one jumping in it. […]
On the west coast of Michigan, the name ‘Batdorff? has long been a prominent name in the newspaper business. Austen Batdorff owned the Traverse City Record Eagle until selling it to Dow Jones, probably in the 1960s. The Big Rapids Pioneer Press and Manistee News Advocate were also part of the family chain. They still […]
The seventh birthday was looming for our twins, which means it was time to take my twins? shopping advisor to a store or two. The ‘advisor? is Trevor and Haley’s 10-year-old sister, Savannah. First a little background (boasting) about Savannah. She’s a reader, having read all six of the Harry Potter books at least twice. […]
The original purpose of a weekly newspaper was to make public items that seemed important to locals, but were irrelevant to non-locals. These papers covered local governments, but more widely they emphasized ‘who went where and when? items neighbors wanted to read. Weeklies had country correspondents who wrote these 4-Ws at named crossroads and real […]
The color shades for next year will be sage and other greens. ‘Green is the color that represents a larger social movement,? says a Pantone rep. There’ll be new neutrals, subtle nuances, such as when you’re not sure if it’s blue or grey. For women, destroyed denims are out. So is high maintenance silver and […]
Watching the bands often enjoyable as the games I watch, and enjoy a lot of football games (college and professional) on tv. I am always annoyed by commercials, and blather filling the screen when public interest should be considered and the cameras should focus on the bands. So, while I spend a lot of time […]
In June, Jottings carried the story of cougar attacks on Richard McGuire’s cattle in Alcona County. We reported one of their pregnant cows being torn up by a cougar, which also bit off said cow’s tail. Last month I interviewed another cattle herd owner in that general area. He’s had seven cows attacked by cougars. […]
Bill Patterson needed to hear your name only once to be able to remember it a lifetime. He had a knack for learning names. Asked if he’d had a memory training course and he’d say, ‘No, ever since I was a kid I could remember names.? He’d not only recite that person’s name, but their […]
Like: Why do old maids wear silk gloves? Because they don’t like kids. A friend loaned me one of Thos W. Jackson’s 14 ‘humorous? books. All were copyrighted before 1908. Today some stand-uppers rely on dirty words to get laughs. Four letter words and innuendo comments stir some audiences to at least snicker. Well, this […]
Bill Patterson needed to hear your name only once to be able to remember it a lifetime. He had a knack for learning names. Asked if he’d had a memory training course and he’d say, ‘No, ever since I was a kid I could remember names.? He’d not only recite that person’s name, but their […]