Is there a veteran in your life? The veterans in my life are my father, Jim Dennison, who served in the Air Force during World War II and my brother Joe, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. My father died three years ago and even though I had asked him to, he would never talk to me about his experiences during the war. Much of what I know has been learned since his passing. The only thing he did tell me years ago was that because of his time in service, he would never fly in an airplane again. And I’ve since discovered why.
I recently wrote the most difficult thing I’ve ever written: my mother’s obituary. My mom – an artist, potter, equestrian, tennis player, animal lover, golfer, traveler – passed away in August at the age of 87. She lived in my home state of Maryland, which had made it difficult for me to spend much time with her. But when she became ill a few months ago, I was able to travel there to spend a week and help care for her. I spent every minute of that time doing what I could do to ease her pain and make her comfortable. The last thing I told her before I returned to Michigan was how much I loved her and that I’d be back soon.
I have always enjoyed reading and wanted to pass my love of books on to my grandchildren. So, one of our favorite things to do together is a trip to the library – something we have enjoyed doing since they were very young. I’m sure the trips were made even more fun for them because they included a stop at the nearby candy store, where they could each pick out a fabulous, handmade chocolate.
The dog days of summer are upon us. It might be hot and hazy, but you won’t hear me complaining. All I have to do is think of last winter’s brutal cold and how often I daydreamed about a hot, August day. You can always find a way to cool off at the many beautiful lakes and parks we have right here in Genesee County. One of my favorite things to do is pack a picnic basket filled with snacks and icy cold drinks, head for Seven Lakes State Park in Holly and spend a day on the beach with the grandkids.
Everybody loves the month of July with its delightfully hot summer days. Many people vacation during July and, of course, it is the month when we celebrate our country’s Independence Day with fireworks, parades and backyard barbecues. As I was doing a little research, I discovered there are some other observances in the month of July. It’s no surprise that July is National Blueberry Month, National Ice Cream Month and National Hot Dog Month! According to the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council, Americans are expected to eat 155 million hot dogs over the Fourth of July holiday alone, part of the seven billion hot dogs eaten over the summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Ice Cream Day is observed on July 19 and it’s reported that Americans consume 13 liters per person each year (the most in the world).
Traverse City, MI holds a special place in my heart. My daughter and my grandsons lived there for several years and I would head up North to visit them as often as possible. They lived in a subdivision in Blair Township, right off M-37, near Wuerful Park, home of the Traverse City Beach Bums. We took many weekend excursions to see all of the usual tourist attractions, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Old Mission Point, Suttons Bay, Leelanau, downtown shopping and of course, sweet, delicious ice cream cones at Moomers. I golfed on some of the most beautiful (and challenging) courses I’ve ever seen, in and around Traverse City.
Which car DOES stop first at a four-way stop? The general rule is that four-way stops always operate in a clockwise direction. The driver furthest to the right always has the right of way, and then cars take turns in a clockwise direction. If multiple cars approach a four-way stop at about the same time, the driver who comes to a complete stop first proceeds first. If two or more cars arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously, the driver furthest to the right always proceeds first, and each next driver in the clockwise direction follows. If four cars arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously, drivers going straight should proceed first. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, I have a few rules that I found to be necessary when I encounter a four-way stop.
When I was in the seventh grade, I learned to play the flute and was in the junior high school band. By the time I was a high school freshman, I played the piccolo in the marching band. The highlight of my band experience was playing the flute solo in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. Everyone in my family played a musical instrument. My older brother played the trumpet, my sister played the clarinet and my younger brother played drums. My father played the violin, banjo and guitar. He was a violinist with the symphony orchestra in our town, and also a violin-maker. One of my favorite childhood memories is of watching him carefully mold, shape and sand the wood, and I would help him string the bows.
Being a Polish girl from Detroit, Rosie’s hotdog of choice is Kowalski, naturally. That said, I’m proud to have introduced her to a food that’s synonymous with Flint itself: the Koegel’s frank. Her first one was topped with the tantalizingly tangy red sauce that’s made the Flushing A so famous. Not wanting to get my Flint Card revoked, I also introduced our famous Coney – with its mounds of seasoned ground beef, mustard and onions (and a side of fries with gravy). We now reside in Novi, but a visit to my parents’ Flint home isn’t complete without a hot dog run … though I still miss the A&W drive-in on Clio Road
First, I should clarify that I am not a movie buff, so if you are, please don’t call me up to tell me how much I don’t know. My favorite movies star Belle, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. In fact, I only know that the Academy Awards are in February because Ed Bradley says so in his column. But here’s my opinion as a non-movie buff. I find most movies nowadays to be unnecessarily long; I think somewhere along the way directors fell prey to the idea that longer equals better. In docu-drama type films, it always feels to me like the film is peppered with a bunch of random, pseudo-artsy scenes that have no bearing on the plot, and in action movies, the same long, disorienting (fake) fight scenes seem to take place over and over.
She got me thinking about something that happened to my son, Jeff, when he was six years old. My husband and a friend took Jeff and his older brother, Matthew, to the auto show in Detroit. The event was jam-packed with people, so my husband bought balloons and tied them around the boys’ wrists. His reasoning was that if they were to wander off and get lost in the crowd, they would be easier to find. And believe me, Jeff was known to frequently wander out of sight. He was a cute little boy with curly blonde hair, blue eyes and a sweet smile. But his middle name could have been Dennis the Menace, as trouble seemed to follow him everywhere he went. So, my husband was not too surprised when, after looking away for just a second, Jeff was no longer at his side. But he wasn’t too worried, as he could see the “locator balloon” bobbing in the distance.
The reason many of us fail at keeping resolutions is that we set goals that are impossible to reach. Don’t run … take baby steps. Start by taking a daily walk. I always told myself it was just too darned cold to walk in the winter. But I made a conscious decision to bundle up and walk three times a week. Each day it got a little easier and it was invigorating to be outside in the fresh, cold air.
