I think September is one of my favorite months of the year. It’s the last month of summer and the weather isn’t too hot, the sunsets and sunrises are brilliant, and it offers the last chance to enjoy the final days of summer before the fall chill sets in.
It was 43 years ago, August 8, 1974 – a day that I will never forget – when Richard Milhous Nixon resigned as President of the United States of America. For me, it was a very exciting time in my life. I was living in Washington D.C., working as a secretary for President Nixon’s speechwriters. I worked long days and sometimes long into the night when a speech was being written. I had recently married and was enjoying life as a newlywed. After growing up in a very small town, I loved visiting the plethora of museums, restaurants and art galleries, attending cultural events, and all the diversity the city had to offer.
My City Magazine has recently highlighted the art collections of various Greater Flint community members. I’d like to tell you a little about my own.
School’s out for the summer! Like most kids, I couldn’t wait for the last day of school when I was growing up. There was so much to look forward to – lazy days in the sun and a huge pile of Nancy Drew mysteries to read while sitting in the old red rocker on the back porch. But what I looked forward to most was our family summer vacation. We always went somewhere exciting.
Memorial Day is the time we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. It is a day of remembrance, parades and ceremonies. The Memorial Day weekend is also the kickoff to summer, and many people in Michigan head up north to camp, fish, go boating, or enjoy a picnic or barbecue with family and friends. I recently recalled a particular Memorial Day weekend – the worst ever!
Okay, I admit it: I’m a cat person. I come from a family of cat lovers and there hasn’t been a day in my life that I haven’t had a cat as a pet. That’s why I was very upset when I received a hysterical telephone call from my daughter, in tears, telling me her beloved cat, Maddy, had gone over the Rainbow Bridge. I was upset, because I have lost dearly-loved pets and I knew how she felt. Our pets become so entwined with our lives that when they die, it feels like we’ve lost a family member. My daughter was forlorn for many days.
Nothing puts a spring in your step faster than a warm, sunny spring day! And if we are lucky, the warm spell we enjoyed at the end of February will continue on into March. But it’s Michigan, so you never know. It could be raining, storming, 20 degrees below zero … or we could get a foot of snow in March (or April, or May). Nothing surprises us Michiganders. Regardless of the weather, the month of March brings us much to look forward to.
Football fans all around the country eagerly await the annual contest between the champs of the NFC and AFC … the final game of the National Football League season and the year’s biggest sporting event – the Super Bowl. I have to admit, I’m not a big football fan, but I love to watch the Super Bowl! There is something special about watching the “best of the best” compete, and gathering with friends and family to cheer for your favorite team. Or, maybe I like it because of the abundance of yummy food that is involved (not to mention a friendly wager among friends and football squares). In any event, much of the world will be watching on February 5 as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots.
Goodbye, 2016. Hello, 2017! It’s a brand new year, and I’ve already made up my mind: this is going to be a very good one. I made a few resolutions; but before I do that, I always take some time to reflect on what happened in my life in the last year. I then decide what memories I will leave behind, and what I will take with me and hold on to.
There is no flower that says Christmas more than the poinsettia – with its vivid, red leaves that have been said to symbolize the Star of David. Just how did it become known as the Christmas flower?
I remember the very first year I was old enough to vote. My father asked me who I was going to vote for the presidential election. When I told him who I was voting for, he literally cringed. He didn’t try to discourage me from voting for my choice – what he did do was ask me to do my homework and truly look at the candidate to see if they stood for the values I believed in. I never forgot his advice.
The days are growing shorter and the evening air is crisp and cool. The leaves are changing and autumn is upon us! I love this season – and what I like best about it is the food.
