In 1852, in the northwestern region of the Mitten, a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty went against the advice of the local inhabitants and planted the first cherry orchard on the Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay. To everyone’s surprise, his stone fruit crop flourished and soon thereafter, cherry trees dotted the land. The
A life lived with no regrets … Who really does that? Who goes through life without couldas, shouldas and wouldas? Aren’t those three things sort of unavoidable? It sounds like an impossible dream to me. If I woulda paid more attention in school, I coulda been a doctor or something. Shoulda done it. If I
As I write this late on Sunday night, March 22, the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500* has fallen 990 points since its February 19 high of 3993. That makes for a 34.27% decline in approximately three weeks. I’m not going to sugar-coat this: the actions of local governments to shut down
To paraphrase wording used frequently in these trying times, I am older than 60 and have a pre-existing condition. That’s right: I am a Monster Kid. That’s what horror film-crazy folks who grew up in a certain age like to call themselves, specifically Baby Boomers who watched Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man and their kin
“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!” The Three Little Pigs I took my three-year-old grandson, Elijah, for his first trip to the used book store in Fenton the other day, introducing him to the joy of finding books to read. He was delighted with his finds, walking out with three children’s books,
Old pond A frog jumps in – The sound of water The poem above is one of the most beloved and well-known haikus in all of Japan written by Matsuo Basho, a master of the artform. The Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that reflects the relationship of nature and the Zen mind of
The COVID-19 coronavirus spooked the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 3,600 points during the last week in February, and had large swings the following week. The market’s concern is not related to the “human cost” of the virus – the virus’ infection rate is low. At this writing, China had roughly 80,000
As I type this, I am sheltering in place – at my place. Why is it that the minute someone tells you that you can’t do something, you suddenly want to do it? How many times have I mulled over the idea of staying in my cozy house, a little stay-cation of sorts, just me
Los Angeles is one of my favorite places to go for a long weekend. Everything about a visit to L.A. sings the sweet song of vacation – the sunshine, the beach, the other tourists scrambling about taking pictures. It’s a strange place, but a beautiful one and the perfect place to make an escape. Growing
“Marty, I’ve got to tell you I love the first season of ‘The Irishman,’” Chris Rock quipped from the Oscar-night stage last month. His comment was ostensibly aimed at director Martin Scorsese, who from the audience good-naturedly accepted the ribbing of his 3½-hour gangster epic. “The Irishman” was highly anticipated, with stars Robert De Niro,
If you are really lucky and have a friend who is a teacher, they may just ask you to read to their class this month. Don’t say “no” – if you do, you’ll miss out. You’ll never have a more captive audience than a classroom full of elementary school kids, listening as you make a
“The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.” Ben Hogan Yes, it’s that time of year – Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins at 2am on Sunday March 8. On that morning, we will “spring forward” and set our clocks ahead one hour, thus losing one hour of sleep! Many people look forward to the
