Columns

Out and About: Tornado, kudos, and sugar

Out and About: Tornado, kudos, and sugar

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 2 min read

“If wrinkles must be written on our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.” -James A. GarfieldThe cities of Three Rivers and Union City made National News a week or so ago.…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 5 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorDouble ThreatThok-thok-thok. One blow after another is good in pickleball for the players. Less so for editors who assume — i.e. make an ASS of U and ME — Saugatuck City Council March 9 would rubber-stamp its Parks…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 7 min read

Sometime in the 1970s my late wife Pat was hired to run an elder artists program for the City of Chicago. Her job was to recruit senior citizens to design and make art to be sold in places like Carson…

Mike’s Musings: Speculators, not war are driving gas prices higher

Mike’s Musings: Speculators, not war are driving gas prices higher

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 4 min read

Every time Americans pull up to the pump, they’re told the same story: gas prices are high because of global supply problems, geopolitical tensions, or refinery issues. Those factors certainly play a role. For instance the war with Iran has…

Out and About: Outgrowing life, Daylight Saving, and babies

Out and About: Outgrowing life, Daylight Saving, and babies

Editorial Staff Mar 13, 2026 2 min read

“The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” -Charles DickensSix Signs You Are Outgrowing Your Life

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Mar 11, 2026 4 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorThe WendigoA pickleball brawl broke out on Spruce Creek Country Club courts Feb. 8 in Port Orange, Fla. Seems Tony Sapienza, 63 and wife Julianne, 51 and a rival senior couple fought over rules, Tony hammered plaintiff in…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Mar 11, 2026 5 min read

I love laughter within boundaries of good taste. We laugh when we see a pompous, self-important individual slipping on the sidewalk; it is not funny when it happens to one of The Olds or someone who is disabled. Rule #1:…

Mike’s Musings: A tornado for the ages- so many pitch in to help

Mike’s Musings: A tornado for the ages- so many pitch in to help

Editorial Staff Mar 11, 2026 4 min read

When the tornado tore through Three Rivers, Michigan on the afternoon of March 6, it left behind a landscape that residents will remember for years. In a matter of minutes, powerful winds—later rated an EF-2 tornado with speeds near 130…

Out and About: Old age, shoulder pain, and comfort

Out and About: Old age, shoulder pain, and comfort

Editorial Staff Mar 6, 2026 2 min read

“The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” -Woodrow WilsonOld age is not for sissies. A year ago, I suffered a heart attack and spent about six weeks at home recovering from Quadruple Heart By-Pass surgery. Since…

May I Walk with You? PRAYER, PENANCE, AND PEER-PRESSURE

May I Walk with You? PRAYER, PENANCE, AND PEER-PRESSURE

Editorial Staff Mar 6, 2026 3 min read

As I was speaking with some friends about being religious a few questions came to mind. The first was that while you can ask Jesus to be and the Lord and Savior of your life, can you ask Jesus to…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Mar 4, 2026 4 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorPizza ParadigmsPapa John’s has premiered a pan pizza it proclaims will “change the paradigm in pizzas.”To crack the code of what that meant, two newly- dubbed Pizza Performance Poobahs were peer-anointed a $20 budget (“Don’t go over $30)…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Mar 4, 2026 7 min read

My father would occasionally remind me that the older I got the better I would have to dress so I wouldn’t look like an old codger.Then he would point to someone and quietly add: “That fellow over there, he is…

Mike’s Musings: Opinion: It’s Time to Ban Cell Phones From Classrooms

Mike’s Musings: Opinion: It’s Time to Ban Cell Phones From Classrooms

Editorial Staff Mar 4, 2026 3 min read

Walk into almost any classroom in America today and you’ll see a familiar sight: heads tilted down, thumbs scrolling, students half-present as glowing screens command their attention. Teachers often joke that they’re competing with a device designed by some of…

Out and About: Iceland, hunter safety, and the electric bill

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

“Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” -James BryceDid You Know?

May I Walk with You? HEALINGS WOUNDS

May I Walk with You? HEALINGS WOUNDS

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

I recently read the title of a book by Bishop Eric Varden called Healing Wounds, so I bought it. Who can’t use a little healing now and then? Yet, as I pondered the title, I thought, “What if it is…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Feb 25, 2026 4 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorNine LivesThe concurrence of cats voted mayors in more and more communities and Larry marking 15 years as Britain’s First Feline and Chief Mouser reeks of conspiracy.Nowhere is the West’s decline more clear than when pussy posses pounce…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Feb 25, 2026 6 min read

I watched a DVD of George Clooney’s 2005 film, “Good Night and Good Luck.” It’s as relevant now as it was two decades ago in theaters.It’s the story of American news (radio, print and television) Edward R. Murrow when he stood…

Mike’s Musings: A Moment Worth the Wait — Why the U.S. Hockey Gold Feels So Good

Mike’s Musings: A Moment Worth the Wait — Why the U.S. Hockey Gold Feels So Good

Editorial Staff Feb 25, 2026 3 min read

Sometimes a sports moment turns into something bigger than a medal — it becomes a balm for a weary national psyche, a reminder of resilience, pride and unbridled joy. That’s exactly what happened when Team USA’s men’s hockey team edged…

Out and About: Cat facts, Valentine’s Day, and loss

Out and About: Cat facts, Valentine’s Day, and loss

Editorial Staff Feb 20, 2026 2 min read

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” -Harry S. TrumanDid You Know?

May I Walk with You? REPENT, REJOICE, RELAX

May I Walk with You? REPENT, REJOICE, RELAX

Editorial Staff Feb 20, 2026 3 min read

Dealing with anxiety has never been a thing I do well. Especially now that I am retired. Being a psychologist and helping others deal with anxiety and depression was one of the ways I dealt with my own anxiety and…