June, 2010 I was born impulsive, at least according to my family and long-time friends. I don’t have to look far for an example of this, just over toward Rosie the Mutt, who is snoozing nearby as I write. Rosie’s eyes met mine when I… Continue reading
September, 2010 It’s been especially hot and humid recently in western Michigan, but that hasn’t stopped my Aunt Letha from canning this year’s peaches, out on the old stove in what they call the pole building. Now that she’s in her… Continue reading
(This is a column we first published in 1997. It’s been tweaked over the years as my own perspective changes! Hope you enjoy it. –SBL) One morning about a hundred years ago, 54-year-old Agnes Bailey took a walk around the farm in search of her… Continue reading
So, how are things at your house? At our house…well, I’ll be honest, it’s been a little different this past 18 months. Advertisers, pinched by the economy, buy smaller ads and run them in fewer of the Our Town areas. Since we plan to stay in… Continue reading
Maybe you use Twitter, maybe you don’t. Either way, though, you probably have an opinion about the idea of sending out and receiving 140-character messages off and on all day. Up until recently, my opinion has been this: Twitter’s not for me…. Continue reading
Years ago, I was involved with a group called Vote Kids ‘92 that was promoting candidate awareness of child poverty. During the meetings, I bonded with a genteel and wry older lady I’ll call Edna. Edna told me about a similar group that she had… Continue reading
We have published a lot of columns here about our greyhound, Toby, since we adopted him seven years ago. But this will not be one of them. Toby’s gone. After a sudden, painful decline, he was eased into doggie heaven by the same gentle vet who put… Continue reading
You might want to read this if you are really a dog person, and you are wondering what happened with Toby. I wouldn’t inflict this on anyone else! Warning: it’s sad. We’re still guessing about exactly what went wrong with Toby. The most… Continue reading