I love trick or treaters! Weeks before Halloween, I pick up bags of candy here and there (typically, the kinds I DON’T like so I won’t eat it all). I love watching the little kids, the ninjas, the super-heroes, the ballerinas and fairy princesses, and I even love the scary and ghoulish costumes, sometimes tossing extra candy into the bag of a kid whose costume I really like. I don’t mind the teenagers who bang on the door, shouting “Trick or Treat!” in their deep, tenor voices. It’s okay if they hang on to a childhood tradition for as long as they can, and it’s certainly better than some of the more mischievous things they could be doing on Halloween. BUT, is trick-or-treating becoming a thing of the past? I hope not.
National Grandparent’s Day is celebrated in the month of September. It originated in 1978 when President Jimmy Carter declared that it be observed on the first Sunday after Labor Day. The purpose is “to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children, and to help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer.” I have to say that being a grandparent has brought much joy to my life (as many of you already know because I write about my grandkids all the time). In honor of Grandparent’s Day, I would like to share a few of my favorite stories.
As a writer for My City Magazine since its inception, I have had the honor of writing many stories about the HAP Crim Festival of Races. I’ve become well-versed on its history and have interviewed many people who help make this race so very special and a premiere event for Flint. But my first experience with the Crim goes back a few years when I was working for the Social Security Administration back in the late 70s at the office formerly located Downtown on Stevens Street.
Visiting Equine Escape, a horse farm and equine therapy facility in Goodrich, brought back fond memories of my childhood growing up with horses in rural Maryland. We lived in a beautiful farmhouse that was built in the 1800s, located on 14 pristine acres of land surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. There was an old barn on the property, a summer kitchen, chicken coop and a stream-fed pond in the back near the woods.
One of my fondest memories is a hot air balloon ride I took on a calm, summer evening a few years ago. The first time I took to the skies, I was more than a little nervous. I have a fear of heights and wasn’t sure how I would react once the balloon was high in the sky. I mean, there are so many unanswered questions: Where will it go? Where will it land? What if I want to bail out? But it was a beautiful, balmy day at Seven Lakes Park in Holly – perfect conditions for a balloon ride, according to the captain who assured me there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
When I first moved to Michigan back in the ‘70s, I was petrified during tornado season. Where I lived in Maryland, tornados were unheard of. So, whenever I saw even a hint of a tornado threat, I ran to the basement! Nowadays, after living in Michigan for so many years, I am no longer petrified but I do have a healthy fear of tornadoes and I stay well prepared.
