Extreme pumpkin carving

There came a point in time when Tom Nardone had had enough. Something he loved as a child had morphed into something obscene and alien. What he saw offended him. I’m not saying Tom snapped, cracked, broke down, freaked out or even cried like a girly man. No. Like all good men who see something […]

The Glutenator strikes and Dinner Divas

Every so often a book gets mailed to me at the office. Writers, publishers, agents all seeking the same thing . . . publicity for some literary work. Usually I read the first few pages, close the book, put it on a shelf and forget about it. Sometimes it’s a local author and I’ll read […]

Hey, plants have feelings, too

Mr. Smarty Pants, Don Rush, only received an Honorable Mention in this year’s Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest for Local Column Writing. The judges only said of Rush’s efforts: ‘These columns on local issues and people strike a chord with the reader.? Despite his lackluster performance in writing, Rush has taken the week off. […]

Your hero (me) and his health

So, a few weeks ago I went to my family doctor — Maria — who I actually went to high school with, and sometime between turning my head and coughing and getting probed, it was suggested I need to rethink what it is to live a healthy life. Sometime after I made the crude comment […]

Writer/reporter turns passion to business

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. — Mark Twain As someone in the print journalism world, I know a lot of electronic media have played up the demise of newspapers. To some extent, that is true. While weekly newspapers like the one you’re reading now continue to be strong, viable businesses, dailies […]

Don’s take on being a dad

I must say my stratiegery of brainwashing is (so far) going as scheduled. I’ll be honest, I am trying to influence my boys? lives to my way of thinking. Publicly, some dads say they plan to let their boys be boys, to let nature and the environment take their courses. Publicly, they say they don’t […]

Where others dare not tread

Watching the news reports from the war in Iraq, I (albeit a lily white guy from a lily white part of the world with no experience in matters abroad) have come to this conclusion: The take over has officially begun and in the war for the hearts and minds of Iraqis, we are winning. While […]

Block the border! Inspect all vehicles! Too late, they’re here.

For a while now I’ve been reading about the increase of ‘undesirables? in the states south of us. And, since it really didn’t pertain to us in Michigan, I figured, ‘what the heck, it’s their problem.? But the more I read of the invasion of these darker, reddish-brown skinned unwanteds, the more I thought we […]

To Hollywood from Clarkston, via New York

‘I moved to LA in 2001 to pursue a career as a writer. Today, I took a significant step toward that goal.? This past spring, friends and family of 1986 Clarkston High School graduate Karen Barna received that message via e-mail. Barna landed a job as a staff writer for the Warner Brothers studio. The […]

Life can be such a bummer

Much of what happens at home and around the world — commonly referred to as life — can be summed up in one word. Bummer. Which is not to say life is a bummer. Even when you are living a George Baileyesque wonderful life like me, bummer things happen — your car needs towing, your […]