Columns

As of this writing, we are experiencing sloppy roads and temperatures in the thirties. Looking out at the lake we can see one lone fisherman. We check on him every few minutes to make sure he hasn’t fallen through a…

February has arrived. It’s the month of hearts and flowers, presidential birthdays and often cold and snow. It is the shortest month, preceding March, which many consider one of the longest. March is all that stands between us and the…

Parenting is the world’s greatest honor and its’ most difficult task…all too often we experience both in the same day! We’re grateful for all the time, energy, and lessons you invest in your kids and we’ll continue to support and…

I’ve been doing a little reading about the Eucharist, and I came across St. Thomas Aquinas who stated that one of the reasons Jesus gave us the Eucharist is so that we would not forget him. “Do this in remembrance…

Well, it’s here – my least favorite month of the whole year.Yesterday was Groundhog Day and after they rousted the poor critter out of his “log,” reportedly “Punxsutawney Phil” did not see his shadow. Or maybe he did since the…

By Maggie ConklinIrish CreamRecently we had our annual “really bad winter” where we hunkered down and did anything we could to prevent going outside.This is what us Michiganders prepare for, why we can meals, fill the freezer with food, make…

By Scott SullivanEditorAll the FactsCats concern me. My wife and daughter surround me with three of them, plus two dogs, two bunnies, four birds and a fish the kitten tries to catch from outside its aquarium. What possible use could…

 “America is an exceptional country,” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote after touring the still-young nation in the 1830s. Compared to his native France and other nations in Europe, he found an energy and vibrancy here that provided great opportunities for growth and…

Up until last year, I could use two fingers to type out all my thoughts faster than any secretary. Well not the really good secretaries, but the ones who were hired more for their looks than their typing. (I know…

Despite a crushing loss to the 49ers, all Michiganders can me mighty proud of how their professional and collegiate football teams (Michigan State not withstanding) performed this year.Just a few weeks ago the Michigan Wolverines were crowned National Champions. They…

“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger…

by Larry-Michael and Becky Lynn Hackenberg A Weekly Almanac GuidePlan, Do, Finish, Rest.Living in HarmonyWith EarthWeekend ofJanuary 27-28, 2024 Earth-Sun-Moon NotesIn A Nutshell…The Full/Doing Moon occurred Thursday, January 25 at 12:54 p.m. EST. The first Full Moon of the year,…

Someone recently posted photos of two, recently discovered, Marion telephone books, from the spring of 1961. This brought quite a bit of discussion, much of it involving remembered numbers, and the immortal party line. Almost everyone shared a party line,…

Snow days are wonderful! In my old age, I have a little more time to reflect on the wonder of snow days, those days when the whole world seems to get a reprieve as everything shuts down. They are like…

One more time…Since a major health upset in March of 2015, I believe I have been a very lucky person.That’s when I had an overload of CO-2 in my lungs, due to COPD I’ve had – or known about for…

Well, I did it. I had a few million stem cells injected into my right knee as an alternative to knee surgery.As many of you know, in a column a few months ago I asked readers whether they had had…

By Frank PassicAlbion Historian In the 1860s, political alliances were strong, and newspapers were major avenues of espousingthe political views of the Democrat or Republican parties. In Albion, the Albion Mirror newspaper, founded in 1855, espoused the views of the…

By Jim Whitehouse Having recently spent some time driving in southern Florida’s major metropolitan area, Ihave some Yankee country boy observations to share. Given the total lack of freeze/thaw cycles and given that the roads in Florida are built onsand,…

by Larry-Michael and Becky Lynn Hackenberg A Weekly Almanac GuidePlan, Do, Finish, Rest.Living in Harmony With EarthWeekend ofJanuary 20-21, 2024 Earth-Sun-Moon NotesIn A Nutshell…First Quarter/Planning Moon occurred January 17 at 10:53 p.m. EST. First Quarter means the Moon is one…

You don’t need to travel far to find a “Pot Shop”. It’s legal to use cannabis here in Michigan and several other states, although the Federal Government doesn’t agree. The state feels that it is another way of gathering taxes.…