Year: 2011

Going Home

I like the National Public Radio station that supports Central and Northern Michigan, and of course the Algoma district of Ontario. With so much diversity to support, the Program Manager takes an eclectic approach to what the station broadcasts. It is more than a little like Armed Forces Radio and Television- something for everyone. The […]

Game Day

Kick-off was schedule for shortly after noon, an old-school time for an old-school rivalry. I did not know how I was going to pull it off- be with Big Mama enough to make her happy and be still be able to watch the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes. It has been seven long record-breaking years that […]

Pond Hill Farm

Thanksgiving at Torch Lake was a pleasant experience, and on the whole, I think this trip was a success. Now all I have to do is disentangle myself. Of course, there was that minor flap when I stayed at lunchtime at The Bluffs to feed Raven at The Bluffs and Mom lost track of the […]

Sleeping Alone

The Stores opened at Midnight over at the big-box mall south of town. This is apparently intended to enable the unemployed and under-resourced to pile up more consumer debt. According to NPR this morning, it is apparently one of the better Black Fridays in recent memory. I love this system! I knew something like this […]

Turkey Day

I didn’t feel like a complete Turkey yesterday. I did manage to accomplish something. The 1959 Rambler is off the property. Terry and his Jerr-Dan tow truck showed up in the driveway just a few minutes after nine- close enough for government work. He wore a neon knot cap over sandy hair and had warm […]

A Clean, Well-lighted Place

Day Two started before dawn- the darkness lingers this far west in the Eastern Time Zone- and the bright lights from the new fixtures in the kitchen illuminated the pad of paper with The List on it. I worked through it as National Public Radio from Central Michigan University burbled in the background on the […]

Meeting Pat

(Potemkin Village in November. Photo PV.) The journey continues. I crashed with pals at a magical place over in scenic Leland on Sunday night so I could talk to the Broker on Monday morning and try to unscramble the finances. He informed me that things could be managed until summer until we are down to […]

Home for a Holiday

I have been avoiding the weather forecast- it is out of my hands. The throttle of the Bluesmobile is not going to be under my right foot today. I could not bear the idea of driving that 800-mile hockey stick again so soon- the last trauma is just fading- and now I have to confront […]

About Time

Mac was waiting in the lobby as I pulled up in the Bluesmobile in the alley in front of The Madison. The service at the Old Chapel was scheduled for 0900- nine o’clock sharp- and with the competition of the daily commuters trying to get on post we were anxious not to be late. That […]

Taps

Normally I have to click the little time icon on the screen to see what the date is. The days go by so swiftly that it is hard to keep track. Not this morning. There is a scrawled note next to the computer that is stark and simple: “MAC, 0815- 0730 in the shower!” Checking […]