Columns
“Treasure the moments or you won’t be able to”
"Treasure the moments or you won't be able to treasure the memories." That line wasn't original with me. I have no idea who said it, but it's written on a little note card which has gotten shuffled from one pile to another over the past week of paperwork. Tonight, as...
Another awesome experience on the job
Last week's trip down memory lane with the dog handler story got me thinking about some of the other really cool adventures I've participated in. One of them was an ice rescue exercise. That's right. I suited up and took the plunge into an icy pond at the residence of...
Snow days and chocolate chips
The sky is thick as buttermilk. This is January, after all. Forecasters predict two to four inches of snowfall tomorrow. I hope so. Our dusty dirt roads need a snow day. Ah…what history and memories those two words signify. The expression meant exactly that when I was...
It’s not the media it’s the message
Social media gets a bad rap; and it's true that sometimes it earns it. Or, should I say, the unwise or indiscriminate use of social media does. The media is not the problem. It can be a tool for good every bit as easily as it can be a weapon for destruction. To prove...
The bent tree mystery
When we first moved to the Lakeville area thirty years ago, a strange tree caught my eye along Townsend Road. The trunk grew upward a few feet, made a sharp 45-degree turn for a yard, then pointed straight up. In all my treks in the Michigan and Appalachian great...
The secrets behind the secrets, Part II
This is the second part of a two part walk down memory lane regarding a story I was assigned in September of 1999. The first part appeared in the January 9 issue. At the end of the warm, September day I was tired, but pumped up. I was totally geeked to have been...
The secrets behind the secrets, part 1
Note: This is the first in a two part trip down memory lane inspired by Doug Hunter's 'Capac's Unsolved Mystery' series. I'll wrap the trip next week. "You're the first reporter that could keep up with me," the slim woman with the long brown braid standing in front of...
The smoky haze of coffee and community
The place is always dimly lit, an arrangement that works to foster an atmosphere of intimacy. During the day, the sunlight filters in from the alley through the wide open doorway. At night, the lightbulbs emit a low glow that mixes well with the blues or country or...
Never alone
I zip up my jacket and pull on my boots. The patio slate and grass are slick with ice-the sky black as pitch. Even Mars and my flashlight can't penetrate the frigid, thick atmosphere. When will I see the Big Dipper and Orion again? Watch your step, I coach myself....
Love for the Imlay library
And...just like that...it's 2019! In fact, because I let an early holiday-related deadline sneak past me, we're already more than a week in. How in the world, and when, did that happen? My mother used to tell me, and yours probably told you too, that the older you get...
