Columns

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” -Abraham LincolnKissing Facts You Might Not Know

An interesting question was recently asked, “Who made God?” Whoa! Growing up in a Catholic Christian home we were taught that God always existed and that he created us. I am reminded of a song by Rich Mullins that reflects…

By Scott SullivanEditorAm I Dead Yet?Hell froze over last week, along with the rest of Michigan. Trees were exploding everywhere. That’s right. “During spells of extreme cold,” notes the National Forest Foundation, “when trees haven’t had time to acclimate, the…

It’s been a quarter-century since the death knell sounded for those old chests of drawers in libraries.Were you card-carrying member of the Olds era, you remember them. Three sections of cards, alphabetically organized according to author, subject, or title.We started…

My son and I have always toyed with the idea of living in Greenland. I being drawn to the heat, couldn’t survive 50 degrees below zero. My son on the other hand is drawn towards the cold and has fancied…

It finally happened. I am retired! Who could ask for more? Then it happened. We had planned to sell the office, but God had something better in mind. Through the grapevine I learned of a doctor who may be interested…

By Scott SullivanEditorTrumping the SharkThere’s go big or go home, then there’s stealing a shark out of an aquarium. Three sharknappers did so in San Antonio last month, smuggling it out in a baby stroller.Viewers’ knee-jerk reaction to coo at…

1-22 Stoppel-cr By G.C. StoppelTwice, in less than 12 hours and from two different sources, I heard basically the same message on how to deal with the swirling chaos in much of the news.The first was when I watched the…

Every few years, the same frustrated question resurfaces: With all the money, technology and brainpower in the world, why haven’t we cured cancer yet? It’s a fair question. We’ve put men on the moon, decoded the human genome and carry…

By Scott SullivanEditorAge of InnocenceI can’t tell you how many women mistake me for Tom Brady. Is it my movie star looks? Seven Superbowl rings? Status as football’s GOAT? Untold millions?“No,” said Madge at the Pullman Tavern. “It’s your personality.…

The year that my late wife Pat turned 95, MENSA sent a reporter to interview her about her nine decades as a professional artist and writer.The writer first asked who or what inspired her to become an artist. Pat explained…

Not long ago, I set aside part of my workday to ask the Internal Revenue Service a simple question. This wasn’t a complicated audit issue or a dispute over taxes owed. It was a basic inquiry that should have taken…

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” -Eleanor RooseveltWelcome 2026. May this year bring us all more together and more understanding…

I just had the experience of officiating at a friend’s funeral. Though not a frequent church goer, she professed a personal relationship with Jesus, prayed often, and though a sinner like the rest of us, did her best to live…

By Scott SullivanEditorMr. Sunshine“In the depth of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus Good ol’ Al, Mr. Sunshine. Camus’ opening for “The Stranger”: “Mother died yesterday. Or perhaps today. I’m not sure,”…

Every December, Sen. Rand Paul releases his annual Festivus Report, a nod to the fictional holiday made famous by Seinfeld. The tradition includes an “airing of grievances,” and for taxpayers, there is no shortage of them.I just got the opportunity…

When the holiday season began to wind down I checked the little recipe box that contained the names and addresses of people on our Christmas card list. Every year a few new names are added. Every year a few more names get…

“Great men are rarely isolated mountain peaks; they are the summits of ranges.” -Thomas Wentworth HigginsonI’ve come to the conclusion that in life, you only have two things to worry about, whether you’re healthy, or whether you’re sick. If you’re healthy,…

By Scott SullivanEditorBowl BingeThey said it was impossible — watch every holiday college bowl game — and dumb to boot, which meant somebody had to do it. Why not me?First things first: head to Tiny Giant to stock up on…

In the 1950 movie “Harvey” Jimmy Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a certifiable eccentric befriended by 6-foot invisible rabbit named Harvey.It’s a light comedy, but at one point Dowd says something meaningful: that in order to be liked, one had…