Columns

     The other morning a couple of talking heads on a television program were discussing the current state of affairs in the country, and one of them said that she still believed America was an exceptional country. The other, a bit…

I have a high tolerance for pain. Separate a shoulder, strain my Achille’s tendon, chronic back pain, etc. I’ve done it and had it, but none of those compare to the pain created by a dentist drilling on your teeth.Last…

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – ConfuciusIt’s a little early to think about gardening, but it doesn’t hurt to do a little planning before you plant. Gardening can be a fun-family project, and a real learning experience…

Yup, it is award season. It begins with one of the many music awards, goes on to the People’s Choice and culminates with the Oscars. There’s a whole lot of music, movies and good television to be had during the…

Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday.I miss my old buddy Al.He wasn’t my Valentine but a special friend.He used to proofread the paper every Thursday. And every time I wrote a column about family, love or anything like that, he would…

By G.C. Stoppel “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are Declaration of Independence keystones.Life is good, but no if it means I spend the last months or years in great pain, immobilized and mind away with the fairies. Liberty is…

By Scott SullivanEditorKnow BodyNo Nordic day’s complete without a dip ringed by icebergs, glaciers, stone faces … dash inside for a sauna with thawing mermaids. I was a hemisphere away, joining Ron and Maggie Conklin imagining conquering the South Pole,…

Not too long ago on the occasion of my birthday, I was presented with a balloon, as well as other gifts. Unfortunately, the balloon did not last long. It escaped out the door wall and headed to the skies. My…

Recycling is something we should all be involved in. Unfortunately, there are some things that cannot be thrown in with the paper, tin cans and other normal recyclables. Fortunately, there are several cures to this situation. About once-a-year, we are…

Everyone with a public voice is talking about the cold this week…and the groundhog. In these parts, it’s likely that contrary to public opinion, he did not come out of his winter stupor. Why would any creature wish to get…

Well it’s here again – my least favorite month of the whole year.Thursday is Groundhog Day and after they roust the poor critter out of his “log,” this year “Punxsutawney Phil” may or may not see his shadow. According to…

By Scott SullivanEditorSeal of DisapprovalThis time I knew it was all over. Ron and Maggie Conklin had paused en route to the South Pole to take pictures of seal pups, which on Page A6 she notes can grow to more…

     As you might have noticed I keep coming back to the theme of respect.  We give it and we earn it. It is a rapid exchange of an intangible element in our life, flowing back and forth faster that the weirdest…

I’m not a fan of Big Pharma. If you read my columns regularly you know I have railed against the industry consistently. After all the sacrifices we made through the COVID pandemic, I think it is time to give them…

We’ve all had encounters with law enforcement at least once in our lives. These encounters are usually minor traffic stops because we failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, or we were caught driving over the…

Everyday life seems to have slowed to a crawl during this odd winter in Marion, Michigan. Winter is what it is, from one to the next. But this one is unusual, so far, for its lack of being wintry and…

Another week, another column…With January winding down – there’s only four more days – that must mean there’s only a couple more months to get through before spring arrives again.That seems like a long time, but the way the days…

By Scott SullivanEditorPope PolI knew Rand Paul would show up on my imagined South Pole trip paralleling Ron and Maggie Conklin’s real one. (See Page A6)I was there, dropped off by The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine on Cape Horn, marked with…

    The first of several garden seed catalogues arrived the other day, and I dropped everything for an hour or so to go through it.  Others will soon follow, and I will go through them as well. We will dog-ear pages and…

After re-reading my opinion last week that the Trump/Biden classified documents scandal was much to do about nothing, I realized I left out a couple of major points.First, I minimalized the importance of classified documents, by writing many of them…