Columns
Pat’s Bits and Pieces: Cooler weather coming – that means Halloween!
Well, with the middle of October gone by now, it looks like our brief revisit of summer temperatures may be just about over with. It has been a bit cooler this week but we might get a brief reprieve. The…
May I Walk with You? IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!
Why is it that we seem to worry more in the middle of the night? The common accepted thought is that the more rational part of our brain sleeps while the irrational part keeps on. It’s at those times that…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorBlowupIt was a tough week for Tropicanas. LasVegas blew up the Tropicana Oct. 9, then Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., hours later.The former hotel and casino, the Sin City Strip’s last…
Mike’s Musings: My fear of “Bambi” makes me a nervous Driver
The social media memes showing vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz fumbling with loading his shotgun at a pheasant hunt reminded that this is the time of year when my mind sometimes wanders to “Bambi” and the confrontations I have had with…
Life as Performance Art
I read an online religious news service article saying hunting was a form of conservation fulfilling God’s instructions to Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth. That is an interesting perspective.For many years The Commercial Record printed a…
“Out and About” Writing, Painting, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” -Zig ZiglarLast week I had the privilege to meet with a group of writers. They are not as well known as they should be,…
HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK
By Frank Passic LAKE SHORE RAILROAD ONCE SERVICED ALBION With the mention of Jackson County railroads a few weeks ago in this publication, we are reminded that Albion has its own memorable railroad history which was a part of…
Looking Out: The best thing about autumn
by Jim Whitehouse “What’s your favorite season of the year?” I ask my pal Snooker. I’m hoping he says winter so I don’t have to feel like the Lone Ranger about my own preference. “Fall,” he says, taking a sip…
Pat’s Bits and Pieces: You can sure tell it is October in an election year
I know I’ve written quite a lot about fall lately, but this has sure been a beautiful week. Lots of sunshine, cooler weather, low humidity and trees are beginning to show color all over the area. I believe the color…
May I Walk with You? WAR AND RELIGION
Someone said to me recently that most of the wars ever fought were over religion. It was as if he was blaming war on religion and that if we did away with religion and religious people that there would be…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorDating BaseWhy do I need DatingAdvice.com? At my age I do only blind dates and carbon dating. Still, for us fossils, there’s always something new.The website says “hardworking” is the one word single women use most to describe…
Mike’s Musings: Donate if you can, Helene a monster
We all are too familiar with it now. I am writing about the devastation that we witnessed in western North Carolina last week. Hurricane Helene, which swept through Florida quickly and then motored up to the Carolina’s within a blink…
Looking Out: Nothing but chunky
by Jim Whitehouse “We could use the Victorio Strainer machine,” I say to my beloved wife Marsha as we stand looking at a huge bag of apples. I’m referring to an old-fashioned gizmo we’ve had for decades. You cut the…
May I Walk with You? COMMANDMENT NUMBER III
“Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.” One doesn’t have to look far torecognize that some of American culture no longer practices keeping Sunday as a day for God, family, and rest. In the past things were different. Many remember…
Pat’s Bits and Pieces: You can sure tell it is October in an election year
I’ll bet you thought I was going to write about fall color… well not quite yet, although it is getting a little more colorful out there.Surprisingly the fall color level is just about the same here as it is up…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorLossWe’re not out of the woods on bird flu. Nor sky either. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development warns although deaths are down, we cannot relax our vigilance.MDARD Director Tim Boring says Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza…
Life as Performance Art
At one time or another, almost every child born in the United States has given at least a passing thought to the idea of being the President. It is a noble idea, and more than anything else, it indicates…
Mike’s Musings: National debt crisis- here’s one lawmakers solution
Readers of this column know I have been an avid proponent of balancing the federal budget. Our leaders simply refuse to turn off the money spending spigot, i.e., one has to only listen to the two presidential candidates and their…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorDead in the WaterOur Physics Made Simple series has been on hold due to popular demand. Not that physics is so complex it’s incomprehensible, just my writing. Are physicists geniuses or the rest of us so dumb we…
Life as Performance Art
As I have written many times in the past, I have long been entranced by newspapers. You might, quite rightly, accuse me of being addicted to them. It has been that way since I was in elementary school and…
