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 […]
September — The pigskins are about to fly. Makes me recall one of our cheers: ‘Hit ’em high, hit ’em low, come on team, let’s go!? And, ‘Rah, rah ree, hit ’em in the knee. ‘Rah, rah rass, hit ’em in the . . . other knee.? Just as our world is full of borderline […]
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 […]
Another school year has, or is about to begin. And, as in years past, my thoughts wander back to the experiences from attending a 1-room school. Back then we sang, ‘School days, school days — reading, writing, arithmetic. Brought to you by the tune of a hickory stick.? The song these days might be, ‘School […]
Another school year has begun, or is about to. And, as in years past, my thoughts wander back to the experiences from attending a 1-room school. Back then we sang, ‘School days, school days ? reading, writing, arithmetic. Brought to you by the tune of a hickory stick.? The song these days might be, ‘School […]
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. […]
Jim ‘Fitz? Fitzgerald was editor of The Lapeer County Press for 25 years before becoming a back page columnist for The Detroit Free Press. We’ve been friends since about 1953. Here’s what he wrote about me. By Jim Fitzgerald (1973) When I first met my friend Sherman, 20 years ago, he couldn’t buy a beer […]
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 […]
That headline comes from a study by Hannah Holmes of reactions during full moons. I had some direct connections during the most recent full moon while with a couple whose livelihoods are in the medical field. The lady nurse in our midst said more urgent births will happen during full moons. The man, who is […]
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 […]