Long-Ago Sunday Afternoons in the Summer

Originally posted on Facebook on April 12--The past two afternoons I had journalistic duties beyond the comfort zone of Fowlerville; ones that required me to drive around for a couple of hours. To keep myself company, I tuned the radio. But instead of hearing music from the Oldies station or getting educated on NPR, I found a station broadcasting the Tigers’ games.

A Storm Approaches, But Afterwards There Is Light

  Originally posted on Facebook on March 31--As I look out the window of my room at this dwindling day, March is ending with an eerie western sky. The sound of thunder and the flash of lightning draw near. I’ve just recently checked out the news of the day on my computer, addict that I am. Politics dominate the headlines, mainly the Trumpster. I think fatigue is setting in. I feel lethargic. The senses can only stand so much assault.

Tracing the Family History

    Genealogy is a fascination for many people. Starting with the three most important people—me, myself and I--the researcher starts tracing his or her tiny branch back to ever larger offshoots with the goal of finding their roots. But, of course, there are a lot of branches to follow in this pursuit when you start factoring in the paternal and maternal sides of the equation. Two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents—all of the related kin--and pretty soon it seems that everyone’s a shirttail relation. Like the chronologies in the Old Testament, there’s a lot of begetting.

Return of Spring

     (Note: This column appeared in the May-June 1990 issue of Hortons’ Country Reader, a magazine that we published for a couple of years.)

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    As I begin this piece I’m sitting in my backyard, just outside the sliding glass door. It’s seven o’clock in the morning, and the warm weather has been with us, here in Michigan, for a few days now.