Category Archives: education

November 10, 2025 · 4:30 pm

I’m a Bookaholic

I’ll admit, I’m a bookaholic—a person with a deep love for reading and an insatiable desire to buy and collect books, or both. There are various other terms for people with this obsession, depending on how far they take it. For instance, a bibliophile loves physical books, viewing them as objects, while a lectiophile’s affection is for the act of reading in any form, be it books, magazines, blogs, etc. Tsundoku is a Japanese term for people who habitually buy books but never read them.

My book collection is not as extensive as it used to be, and that includes both read and unread volumes. When I lived in my house, I had tubs of read books I didn’t want to part with stored in my basement. In my bedroom there was a 7-foot bookshelf, double- and triple-stacked with unread books, and still I purchased more.

When I sold my house to live and travel full-time in a 35-foot motor home, I was forced to reduce my collection. It was a long, painful day of sorting and re-sorting until I reduced my collection down to fit into a plastic tub that would hold what I had room for. I laid out all the unread books on my bed and sorted them into two piles, the ones I could part with, the ones I wanted to keep. The “keep” pile didn’t fit into the plastic tub. I then took my “keep” pile and sorted it again into keep and part-with piles. I repeated this process about four times, each more painful than the prior one, before they finally fit into the plastic tub. Believe me, it was packed tight, filling every little space to get as many in as possible.

Most of the books that didn’t make it into the plastic tub, went into my estate sale. Most of the tubs in my basement went into the estate, sale, but some books I gave to my kids. There were many good books, copies with author signatures, the complete works of Mark Twain, Poor Richard’s Almanacs, the original, hard cover set of The Chronicles of Narnia, all of the hardcover Children’s Book of the Month Club books from when my children were growing up, and more. I gave my son his favorite childhood book, Home for a Bunny, falling apart from continuous use.

Now I own a park model, which is only 406 square feet of living space, so my storage options are still tight. The RV Park where it is located has a free book exchange, and there are a lot of readers in the park. I regularly contribute books I’ve read and pick up books I haven’t read. My constant accumulation doesn’t stop there; I have a habit of buying books whenever I travel. My newest obsession is visiting used bookstores, so I doubt I will ever run out of reading material.

Image shows the author's bookshelves inside their park model home. This provides a visual confirmation on the limited space they have for storage. — The bookshelves in my park model. The top right is almost empty because that is where I place the books as I finish reading them. When the shelf is full, I determine what to keep and put those into a tub in my shed, then donate the rest. The refilling of the shelf with read books begins again.

I recently stumbled across an article titled The Benefits of Buying Books You’ll Probably Never Read. I never purchase a book without the intent of reading it, but I know that I may not read it immediately, or a year from now, or five years from now. I sometimes own books that are 10+ years old before I read them. Why? The topic is of interest to me, but I may not be in the mood to read it immediately. I like to “shop” my bookshelf to see what catches my eye as a read-now topic when selecting my next book. Remember that tub I brought from my home in 2019? Most of those books are still in it because I had an additional 15-20 books I brought and placed inside the RV for easy access, plus I purchase additional books every year during my summer travels. I periodically pull a few out of that plastic tub, but who knows when I’ll get through them all.

As I said above, I’m a bookaholic—a person with a deep love for reading and an insatiable desire to buy or collect books, or both. Because of my limited space, I no longer go to extremes —in my opinion — but others may dispute that. I consider myself a bookaholic who reads many but saves few. That said, the article about the benefits of buying books you’ll probably never read piqued my curiosity. This is especially true since I always thought it would be awesome to own a huge mansion with a designated library filled with books, along with a writing desk and comfy chairs near a fireplace for reading. I know —it’s a big dream for someone who has downsized into a small home.

I do love bookstores and museums, historical spots, and tourist attractions with book sections in their gift shops. Purchasing anywhere from 10 to 25 books while traveling is not unusual. Where do I fall mentally for this practice?

The Japanese Tsundoku practice has evolved to take on a positive connotation, with the act of surrounding yourself with books seen as a good thing. It indicates you have a fruitful relationship with knowledge and signals your need or desire for continuous discoveries and learning. Once I learned I’m mentally in good shape due to my book-buying habit, I decided to roam a bit further into this topic.

According to Psychology Today, the number and types of books you read can reveal insights into your intelligence, self-control, ambition, time management, and overall outlook on life. The article references a 2014 study published in Child Development that found that stronger early reading skills may predict higher verbal and nonverbal intelligence later.

A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that 67% of adults in the United States read an average of 12 books a year. Intelligent, highly successful adults are usually avid readers and far exceed the average. This is supported by the reading practice of well-known business people, such as Bill Gates, who reads about 50 books per year, and Elon Musk, who read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica by age nine and science fiction for over 10 hours a day as a child. Billionaire Warren Buffett spends an average of five to six hours per day reading. While the article only sighted successful men, I decided to delve into the female side of this.

Oprah Winfrey (mid-2025 ranked number one on Forbes list of America’s Richest Women Celebrities and number four on Forbes World’s Billionaires list) was reading by the time she was three and, like many top businesspeople, follows the 5-hour rule. This means reading at least one hour a day, or five hours a week. Taylor Swift (ranked number nine on Forbes World’s Celebrity Millionaires List 2025) is an avid reader and supporter of literacy and libraries. She was only 24-years old (she is now 35) when she partnered with Scholastic Books to make book donations to libraries in her hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania and current residence of Nashville, Tennessee. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is a French entrepreneur, philanthropist, writer, billionaire heiress, the second richest woman in the world. She is also an avid reader and the author of several books and is known for being a reclusive intellectual who spends her time at home reading and playing the piano.

While I haven’t yet achieved millionaire status (one can hope), my reading level usually meets the 5-hour rule. If things go according to plan, I have 1-1/2 to 2 hours of reading time every morning before Paul (my partner) gets up and turns on the TV, interrupting my quiet time. Depending on my schedule, I sometimes spend an hour or two outside reading in the afternoon, and a trip to the laundry mat gets me about two hours of reading time. If I’m alone for any meals throughout the day, I read while eating.

Painted on the brick of an old 4-story warehouse is the name John K. King Used and Rare Books Michigan's Largest. — Painted on the brick of an old 4-story warehouse building in Detroit, Michigan, is the name of the J. K. King Used and Rare Books, Michigan’s Largest. This is the largest used bookstore in the state, and well worth the visit.

For several years, I have kept a list of the books I read during the year. At the end of each year, I print the list and place it in the “All About Me” notebook I keep. The total number of books I read in a year range from 6 to 26. I’m going to beat that this year, as I’m already working on book 26 with two months of reading to go. Yippee! I love breaking my own record.

According to the Psychology Today article, I am an optimist. I don’t view my unread books as a burden or failure of self-control and time management. I see them as a future opportunity to engage with their content. I primarily read non-fiction, so most of my reading is a learning experience. I do blend a few pieces of fiction into the mix for fun. While I have more books than I could read in a year, collecting them is not compulsive hoarding, nor is it damaging to my social interactions.

With few exceptions, I now donate the majority of books I have read rather than keeping them, due to space limitations. I enjoy visiting used bookstores, where you can buy books at much lower prices. I maintain my membership with Barnes & Noble, though, because sometimes I have to purchase and read a new release. The Psychology Today article suggested slowing down the rate of acquisition and becoming more selective, not purchasing a new book until you’ve read one of a similar size. I don’t think that’s possible. I can’t wrap my head around such a ridiculous limitation.

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Tagged as 5-hour rule, accumulation, avid reader, Barnes & Noble, bibliophile, Bill Gates, billionnaires, bookaholic, books, bookshelf, buying books you haven't read, collecting, donations, Elon Musk, favorite books, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, Full-Time RV, John K. King Used and Rare Books, keep pile, knowledge, lectiophile, Michigan's largest used book store, obsession, opportunity, Oprah Winfrey, optimist, park model, pew research center, Psychology Today, reading, reading habits of the wealthy, sorting, storage, Taylor Swift, tsundoku, unread books, Warren Buffet, writing

October 17, 2025 · 7:00 am

Why Didn’t the U.S. Adopt the Metric System? – Part 3 of a 3 Part Series

In Part 1 of this series, I explained how I became curious about the planned conversions from the Imperial to the Metric systems of measurement in Canada and the United States. In Part II, I provided a history of Canada’s laws that enforced the conversion and where the country stands now in utilizing the Imperial versus Metric measuring systems. Now, let’s examine the United States’ history regarding the metric system, followed by my opinion on why it failed to implement the planned conversion.

The United States is a muddled mess when it comes to its measuring system. This inconsistency and lack of follow-through dates back to our founding fathers and continues through our failure to complete the transition to the metric system in the 1970s.

History:

When the American Colonies were being formed, the Founding Fathers decided to use an antiquated measurement system they inherited from the British Empire. Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution of the United States provided that Congress should have the power “to coin Money… and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures.” Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State in 1790, endorsed the use of a decimal system of measurement. The only fear was that the United States would be unable to verify the metric units without sending a delegation to France, which would be costly.

The metric system originated in France. The goal was to establish a uniform standard for all measurements and weights. The unit of length was a portion of the Earth’s circumference, and volume and mass were derived from the length unit. This was achieved by multiplying or dividing by 10 and its powers. Ten is much easier to work with than dividing by 16 (to convert ounces to pounds) or 12 (to convert inches to feet). The metric system is a decimal system with a base of 10, allowing for calculations by shifting the decimal point.

The French government officially adopted the metric system on April 7, 1795. A scientific conference was held from 1798 to 1799 to validate the system and design prototype standards, with representatives from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland in attendance. The adopted standards became official in France on December 10, 1799.

The United States was snubbed by France when it invited the other dignitaries to travel to Paris to learn the metric system in 1978. This snubbing was due to the U.S. entering into the Jay Treaty of 1796 with Great Britain, a French rival. France viewed this as a violation of its own treaty with the United States. It retaliated by seizing American merchant ships and refusing to invite them to the conference on the metric system.

The United States, having not taken part in this gathering, adopted the U.S. Customary System as our official form of measurement under Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in 1821. Part of the reason for this decision was fear that the metric system might fail following Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign during the early 19^th century. Napoleon imposed the metric system on the countries he conquered, making it a symbol of French control. When European countries revolted against French control, they returned to their original means of measurement. Even with this revolt against France, the metric system continued to grow in popularity. By the end of the American Civil War in 1865, most of Europe had adopted the decimal-based measuring system.

The metric system was gaining popularity worldwide, and although we had not been invited to the 1798 gathering in France to learn about the system, President Andrew Johnson recognized its importance. In 1866, President Johnson signed the Kasson Act, making it “lawful throughout the United States of America to employ the weights and measures of the metric system in all contracts, dealings, or court proceedings.”

France held another meeting of the world’s leading nations to discuss a new international version of the metric system, and the United States received an invitation and sent delegates. During the 1875 meeting, the United States and 16 other countries signed the Treaty of Metre, establishing the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The treaty also created the International Committee for Weights and Measures to oversee the Bureau and the General Conference on Weights and Measures to consider and adopt changes. A lab in Sevres, near Paris, was selected to house the international metric standards. The U.S. received its copies of these documents in 1890.

The Mendenhall Order of 1893 stipulated that the fundamental standards for length and mass in the U.S. would be based on metric units. This means the U.S. officially and legally recognized the metric system 159 years ago when Tomas Jefferson, in 1790, endorsed the decimal system of measurement. That standard was confirmed 132 years ago with the signing of the Mendenhall Order.

Current U.S. Standards

If you are like me, you probably read those last two dates and went “what!!!” If this has been our standard for over 132-159 years, why are we still not using the metric system? In my opinion, it is a combination of laziness, unwillingness to invest financially in the change, and, most importantly, lawmakers who were weak in committing to the change and developing a law that would mandate the conversion. Here is what happened that led me to that thought process:

Fast forward 78 years from the entry of the Mendenhall Order to 1971. The United States is still operating under the Customary Imperial system. The U.S. National Bureau of Standards recommended in 1971 that the U.S. transition to the metric system over the course of 10 years. This would mean that by 1981, the country would be fully converted to the metric system. The first problem was the weak law that enacted this process.

The Metric Conversion Act was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. It states that the metric system is “the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce.” Still, it permits the U.S. customary units in all activities. It states that all conversions to metric are “completely voluntary” rather than establishing the 10-year deadline recommended by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. Schools began teaching children the metric system, and some businesses made the change; however, the majority of conversions never took place.

Due to the U.S. failing to complete the conversion to the metric system, conducting business with foreign countries became more difficult. In 1988, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act amended the 1975 Metric Conversion Act. Federal agencies were now required to use the metric system in business activities, including procurement grants, by the end of the 1992 fiscal year. It designated the metric system as the preferred standard for trade and commerce and assigned the Federal Government the task of helping industry make a voluntary conversion to the metric system. The problem is that the conversion remains voluntary, and the private sector has no obligation to implement the change.

The result of these non-mandatory laws is that they left the United States out of sync with the rest of the world. It also means that some industries made partial or complete changes, while made no change at all. The United States is a hub of various measuring standards that are not mutually compatible.

Today, the U.S. uses the SI (International System of Units) on a daily basis. About 30% of products manufactured in the U.S. use metric units. Pharmaceuticals are all metric, and beverages show both U.S. customary and metric units. Film, tools, and bicycles are metric. U.S. coins & currency are produced using metric specifications. Wine and distilled spirits have been using only metric measurements since the early 1980s. Packaging uses metric units to provide net quantity, nutrition, and health-related information for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamin supplements, and other products. The U.S. lighting sector uses metrics for light output (lumens), peak beam intensity (candela), beam distance (in meters), and impact resistance (in meters).

Understanding Imperial Standards

This article begins with Part 1, which explains my curiosity about how our current measures were established. I’ve taken a wide-ranging approach to the subject, due in part to my curiosity and love of history, and partly because I believe that to understand where we are, we must know where we came from.

While all this history is fascinating, it still didn’t answer my question of how the Imperial System of measurements was established. These measurements appear to date back to around 450 CE (Common Era; a secular version of AD). It was then that the Germanic tribes invaded England and established a system of measurement that remains in use today:

An inch (ynce) was the length of three (3) barleycorns.
A foot was initially based on the length of a human foot. This led to inconsistencies in measurement, so the 12-inch foot was officially codified by King Edward II, likely because 12 has more factors, making it easier to subdivide for carpentry and construction.
A yard was established as a 3-foot construction standard.
An acre means a field and was considered the size of a field that a farmer could plow in one day.
A gallon represents the volume equivalent to eight pounds of wheat.
A mile was established by the British Parliament as eight (8) furlongs, or 5,280 feet. A furlong was a length based on a single furrow in a plowed field and was standardized by England’s government around 1300.

The United States is the only industrialized nation that hasn’t made the metric system compulsory. While cost is one factor, the main reason is the failure of Congress to make the metric system mandatory in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories. The U.S. made the conversion voluntary in laws enacted in both 1866 and 1975. The country has failed to adopt a unified system of metric measurement for transactions that affect the lives of ordinary citizens.

This has led to a hubbub of mixed measuring standards:

A football field is measured in yards, but footraces are measured using meters.
Mechanics use horsepower to measure an automobile engine’s power, but the same engine’s displacement is in liters.
Air pressure is expressed in pounds per square inch, which is equivalent to millibars for air pressure aloft, and inches of mercury for surface atmospheric pressure.

In the U.S. Customary System, there are over 300 different units used to measure various physical quantities. The failure of Congress to make conversion to the metric system mandatory has resulted in the U.S. being a hodgepodge of imperial and metric systems.

Basic Measurement Conversions:

1 mile = 1.6 kilometers.
1 foot (12 inches) = 30 centimeters
1 inch is about 25 millimeters or 2.54 centimeters
1 yard (3 feet) is almost 1 meter
1 kilogram is just over 2 pounds
1 pound is about 454 grams
In the U.K., 14 pounds = 1 stone

Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius is easy:
0 degrees Celsius (°C) is equal to 32 degrees Fahrenheit (°F)
24 degrees Celsius is equal to 75 degrees Fahrenheit
To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, use the formula of (c x 1.8) + 32

If you want to know more, you can use the World Wide Metric Conversion Calculator for converting pressure, temperature, length, weight, and volume. Just enter the measurement you have, and it will fill in all other boxes within that area.

In closing, should the United States have enacted firmer laws mandating the change to metric? Do you think it would be better if we were on the same measuring system as the rest of the world, or do you like being a stand-alone country using the U.S. Customary System adaptation of the British Imperial System? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Tagged as 1988 omnibus trade and competitievness act, american colonies, article 1 section 8 of the constitution of the united states, Canada, conversion, customary imperial system, founding fathers, france, french government, general conference on weights and measures, imperial system, internaitonal bureau of weights and measures, john quincy adams, kasson act, mendenhall order of 1893, metric conversion act, metric system, napoleon bonaparte, national bureau of standards, president andrew johnson, president gerald ford, si, treaty of metre, United States, us customary system

October 11, 2025 · 7:00 am

Why Didn’t the U.S. Adopt the Metric System? – Part 2 of a 3 Part Series

In Part 1, I explained how I became curious about the reasons the U.S. did not convert to the metric system at the same time Canada was making the change, leaving us as one of only three countries in the world that do not use the metric system of measurement. This section explains what Canada did to ensure it completed its commitment to switching from the Imperial to the Metric system during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In January 1970, the “White Paper on Metric Conversion in Canada” established the Canadian government’s policy regarding its conversion to the metric system. The document specified that Canada would utilize a single, coherent measurement system based on metric units for all purposes. They then developed the “Weights and Measures Act” in 1971 to recognize the International System of Units (SI) for use in Canada. The “Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act” in 1971 required the use of the metric system on most consumer packaging labels.

The change from Imperial to Metric took time in Canada and began in the mid-1970s. I was a high school student in the United States and didn’t concern myself with what was going on in Canada. I do remember them telling us that we needed to learn the metric system because the country was changing to that form of measurement. I also recall that there were many objections to making the switch. We did incorporate some changes rather quickly, the main one being the switch to one- and two-liter bottles of soda. I don’t remember many other changes being made.

In Canada, things were rolling along at a gradual but steady pace:

Temperatures in Celsius beginning April 1, 1975
Rain and snowfall in millimeters and centimeters starting September 1975
Road signs showing speed limits in kilometers in September 1977
Speedometers and odometers in cars are manufactured in metric units beginning January 1979
Gas stations were pricing and dispensing gasoline and fuel in liters in 1979
Fabrics and home furnishings were required to be advertised and sold in meters and centimeters beginning in December 1980
Conversion of food weight measurements for advertising and pricing in metric units, starting December 1983.

We tend to assume Canada is solely metric, rather than the melting pot of systems that actually exist there. Canadians still use imperial units rather than metric in some areas. In 1985, Canada exempted some small businesses from the requirement of metric sales. Other requirements were also revoked, including the use of metric alone for measuring gasoline, diesel fuel, and home furnishings.

Even given these leniencies to a complete change, if you travel to Canada, be prepared for your speed limits and mileage signs to your next stop to be in kilometers, gasoline is sold in liters, and if grocery shopping, have a calculator/cell phone handy to make conversions from metric sizing to imperial sizing. This information is especially helpful when determining the size of ingredients for a recipe.

Being a lifelong resident of the United States, I didn’t delve as deeply into Canada’s history of its measuring system conversion as I did into my own country’s. Watch for Part III, where I’ll give the United States’ history and why it failed to complete the conversion.

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Tagged as Canada, celcius, Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act, history, imperial system, kilometers, litres, meter, metric system, millimeter, road signs, speedometer, United States, Weights and Measures Act, White Paper on Metric Conversion in Canada

October 5, 2025 · 7:23 pm

Why Didn’t the U.S. Adopt the Metric System? – Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

Listening to a weather forecast on a Canadian TV station, the temperatures are given in Celsius. Paul, who grew up in Canada, makes the mental conversion easily. Paul grew up using the Imperial system of measurement, which is used in the United States. After he was an adult and had immigrated to the U.S., Canada converted to the metric system. Paul is an electrician, a profession that uses the metric system of measurement. That, combined with his frequent travel to Canada, means he is familiar with both systems and believes the metric is a more accurate means of measurement.

Paul frequently comments that the U.S. was supposed to make the conversion to the metric system when Canada did, but failed to fulfill their promise. I recall being in grade school when we were told that the United States would adopt the metric system. I wondered how valid Paul’s repeated comment was, so I delved into researching the topic.

Canada was making the transition at the same time and completed their conversion between 1970 and 1985. The United States never finished the conversion, despite agreeing to do so, and continues to use the Imperial System today. That made me wonder, why did Canada succeed, and we didn’t?

In my opinion, the U.S. failed to complete the conversion due to a lack of effort and unwillingness to invest in implementing the change. Businesses opposed the cost of having to retool and adjust standardized measurement systems, including bolts, pipes, and nuts, to metric measurements. The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 [ https://usma.org/laws-and-bills/metric-conversion-act-of-1975 ] made the metric system preferred, but not mandatory. This, combined with public resistance and the government’s inability to enforce the change, led to the failure to implement the change.

As of today, the United States is only one of three countries (the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar (Burma)) worldwide using the Imperial measurement system. The Imperial system [ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Imperial-unit ] (also known as the British Imperial system) originated from the British Empire, which ruled many areas of the world between the 16th and 19th centuries. Although the U.S. Founding Fathers made numerous changes in governing style when obtaining independence from Britain, they decided to maintain the Imperial system of measurement, despite the metric system growing in popularity.

A chart showing the Imperial vs Metric measurement and weight differences.

Rather than adopting it in its original state, the United States devised its own version of the Imperial system, known as the U.S. Customary System. It uses measurements of feet, pounds, and miles, but differs slightly from the British Imperial system. The most substantial difference is in volume:

The U.S. Customary fluid ounce is 29.573 ml; the British Imperial fluid ounce is 28.413 milliliters.
The U.S. Customary pint is 473.176 ml (16 fl. oz); the British Imperial pint is 568.261 ml (20 fl. oz).
The U.S. Customary quart is 0.94 L (32 fl. oz); the British Imperial quart is 1.13 L (40 fl. oz).
The U.S. Customary gallon is 3.78 L (128 fl. oz); the British Imperial gallon is 4.54 L (160 fl. oz).

The reason for creating the Customary version of the Imperial system was that the metric system was not yet fully developed. The Founding Fathers had a desire to establish a unique national identity and infrastructure, and tweaking the system to make it unique to the U.S. was their way of achieving this goal.

Myanmar (Burma) and Liberia use the Imperial system but are transitioning to the metric system; neither has a predicted completion date. Once their conversions are final, the U.S. will be the sole user of the Imperial system. In 2021, the British government announced plans to return to the Imperial system during its exit from the European Union. The changeover began but was abandoned in 2024 after consulting with the public and discovering overwhelming support for using metric units. They do still use the imperial system for things such as beer sales, road speed, and distance signs, and body measurements.

Although I found the metric system difficult to learn as a child, our government failed its citizens by not enforcing a complete change in the 1970s. A full conversion would have served business owners better in international trade negotiations and put us on equal terms with all foreign lands in understanding measurements when traveling.

All countries worldwide, including the U.S., Myanmar, and Liberia, have adopted or legally sanctioned the International System of Units (SI), the modern form of the metric system. Canada and the United States are both melting pots of the Imperial and Metric measurement styles.

Watch for Part II and Part III in upcoming blogs, which will deal with the law and the Canadian conversion, the laws and the United States conversion, and where the United States stands today.

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Filed under Canada, communication, decisions, Discoveries, education, home, Life Changing, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, reality, travel, Weather

Tagged as Canada, conversion, france, history, imperial system, law, Liberia, Metric Conversion Act of 1975, metric system, Myanmar, politics, public resistance, U.S. customary system, United States, world leaders

March 28, 2025 · 4:17 pm

Michigan Was a Slave-Holding State

I decided to share the link to an article published in the March-May edition of Michigan’s Freshwater Reporter. Michigan is known for being a free state that helped freedom seekers via the Underground Railroad. That information is accurate, but Michigan citizens also were slaveholders. You can learn more about this by checking out Michigan’s hidden history of slave ownership on page 4 of the Freshwater Reporter.

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Tagged as freedom seekers, history, Michigan, slaveholders, underground railroad

November 22, 2023 · 4:52 pm

Summer Visit With Grandkids

My grandkids are 17, 11, and 8, and with me only seeing them once a year, I enjoy taking them on individual outings, plus a few family activities. Our stay in Michigan was longer this year, so I was on the go with various outings. Keep reading if you’re looking for things to do with kids in the Clare/Harrison, Michigan, area!

We started our visit by meeting my daughter, Caroline, husband, Rob, and the kids for dinner at Budd Lake Bar & Restaurant. After dinner, they came over to Hidden Hills Family Campground to visit. Kids’ interests are ever-changing, so I had lists of possible activities. I was surprised at some of the things they passed over and others they selected.

Corbin is 11 and spends most of his time playing video games. He is also harder to appease with activity selections. I wasn’t surprised when he picked Valley Lanes Family Entertainment Center for two of his outings. This complex contains bowling, putt-putt, an escape room, a pool, a laser maze challenge, bumper cars, an arcade, a pinball alley, and laser tag. They also have an on-site restaurant where we enjoyed lunch during both visits.

On our first trip there, we spent quite a bit of time in the arcade. Corbin was surprised I could “ride” a motorcycle so well, not realizing I had ridden the real thing before his birth. I enjoyed watching Corbin play a large selection of games that did not exist when I was hitting the arcades as a teen or when my kids were young. We enjoyed playing air hockey and skee ball, two throwbacks to my day. I spent a lot of time in arcades in the 1970s, so this was a fun outing.

Corbin also elected to go bowling, and we rolled three games on each trip. I hadn’t bowled in years and didn’t do well, but we had fun. When I was a teen, all scorekeeping was by pencil and paper. Now it is automated, including a variety of game selections and cartoons that cheer you on or laugh at your blunders. Quite a change!

On our second trip, Corbin decided to do the laser maze. They had a video screen outside the room, so I could watch his progress, which required navigating over and under laser beams to reach a specific spot in the back, hitting a button, and then navigating the maze again to the front and hitting the ending button. It displays your time and the number of lasers you broke. I chuckled when he said he would make a good burglar, as he only broke six lasers. I said I wouldn’t rely on that; it only takes one to set off alarms that call the cops.

Corbin’s other selected outing was to a water park. Since he had been to the one in Mt. Pleasant a few times, I took him to Zehnders Splash Village in Frankenmuth. Water slides aren’t my thing, but I enjoyed watching Corbin play in the pools, relax in the hot tub, float the lazy river, shoot down a water slide, and other activities. Our tickets were for five hours in the park. Afterward, we enjoyed lunch in the hotel restaurant before leaving.

Corbin is interesting. He appears to be a self-absorbed video gamer, but when he talks, you can tell there is much more going on in his brain than people realize. He uses intellectual phrasing when presenting his opinion and absorbs a lot of information on a variety of subjects.

Austin is 17 and likes history and museums. We enjoyed three different locations on a wide range of topics. The first was to the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabek Culture and Lifestyle. The museum has 15 areas in their permanent exhibit area about the Saginaw Chippewa Indians. It was interesting to learn about the Chippewa way of life and the oppressive things done to their culture over the centuries. Austin expressed disgust at the horrible ways Native American people were treated in the past.

Austin suggested the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth. This very interesting and unique spot opened in 1987, focusing on Michigan’s military and space heroes. It covers ten wars dating back to the Civil War, ending with Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. There are more than 900 Michigan veterans featured in exhibits.

The information is beautifully displayed in individual showcases about each person and includes some of their personal items. Three permanent galleries are dedicated to Michigan Astronauts and Space Pioneers, Service Cross Recipients, and the nation’s largest collection of Medals of Honor. When viewing a showcase that deals depicts how the Nazis destroyed the lives of innocent people, Austin commented on the horrible way the Nazis behaved. His comments made it apparent he had likely studied this subject in school.

Austin’s third outing was to the Longway Planetarium and Sloan Museum of Discovery. We were early for our planetarium show and mentioned it when I was purchasing a book in their gift shop. It was pouring rain outside, so the cashier gave us complimentary tickets to the show before ours. It was a different topic than the one we had purchased, and it was interesting. Sloan Museum is a hands-on learning experience. Austin is aging out of the museum but enjoyed the activities and suggested we go to the Real Bodies special exhibit.

Presented by Hurley Medical Center, Real Bodies contains real human specimens preserved to show how the human body works. This is more than skeletons; it includes muscles, lungs, heart, and more in beautiful exhibits. I highly recommend this exhibit, but only cell phone photography is allowed.

In touring the museums with Austin, it was interesting how much information he has absorbed about history from school or the reading he enjoys doing on his own. I was also surprised at his interest in the military, as I had not been aware of that.

ALEXANDRIA (Alex) is 8 and a girly girl, talkative and opinionated tomboy. This is why she has such a wide range of activities. We went to Day Escape and Spa for mani-pedis, her first. The salon enjoyed Alex because she was inquisitive and knew what she wanted. They said many of the young girls that come in won’t respond to their questions. Alex was stepping forward, voicing her desires. We walked into the pedicure room, and her tech asked if she wanted to select from a shelf that had mermaid polish on it. Alex looked at the display and said, uh, no, and turned to a large display of available polish. She pointed to three different colors she wanted; she made a different selection for her fingernails.

I was surprised when Alexandria selected the Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum for one of her outings. I had put that on Corbin’s list of possibilities because he has always liked vehicles, but he passed on the option. The museum has more than 60 motorized firetrucks, the largest collection in the world, and includes the FDNY Super Pumper, considered the T-Rex of fire engines. They also have over 12,000 antique and collectible toys.

Alex wore a dress and heels, catching the eye of museum docent Dave by asking him a question. Dave toured us through the museum, letting her into a gated area where antique toys were on shelves, encouraged her to climb up into all the firetrucks, which were labeled “do not climb, and told her when she was done looking around, she was going to drive a real firetruck—which she did! Alex drove a 38-foot firetruck with me in the passenger seat; Alex sat on Dave’s lap in the driver’s seat. We went around a rural block twice, with her turning the steering wheel and blowing the air horn when she saw people. I asked Dave how often they take kids out like that, and he said never; Alex is the only one. Definitely a once in a once-in-a-lifetime, memorable experience.

Alex selected Valley Lanes for one of her outings. Given the age difference between her and Corbin, the selection of games she made was different, and we had a lot of fun. Alex wanted to play miniature golf, which was an interesting 18 holes. I attempted to keep score, but I’m not sure if all the swings one of us took got counted.

I also took each of the kids for their own day of lunch and shopping for a few school outfits. Austin was in and out of the dressing room on his own, and other than showing me one outfit, he pretty much just told me whether they fit or not. It was hard shopping for Corbin as he has definite likes and dislikes, and the majority of clothes in his size were in his dislike category. Alexandria is very opinionated about what she likes. The only problem is her taste is in the older-looking girls’ section, but she is tiny and still wears little girl sizes for most things. She enjoyed trying on clothes, and it was like a modeling show as she posed for me to photograph each outfit.

In addition to my individual outings with the kids, we had a couple family outings. These were harder to fit in because Caroline works 6-7 days a week. We did manage to coordinate an outing with all three kids to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth. Bronners is the world’s largest year-round Christmas store, covering 2.2 acres plus 27 acres of landscaped grounds. If you are ever in Frankenmuth, Michigan, this is a must-see.

We also went on the Bavarian Belle Riverboat cruise. This is a one-hour cruise down the Cass River on a stern-driven paddlewheel riverboat and includes narration about the history of Frankenmuth. After the cruise, we shopped our way back through River Plaza to the car.

Another family outing was to the Children’s Zoo in Saginaw. Opened in 1929, this small zoo covers only 10 acres but has some interesting displays and over 150 animals. It’s a perfect spot for those who want to visit a zoo that doesn’t require a full day and miles of walking. We finished up with a late lunch at Saginaw Old Town Junction, where the kids wanted to sit upstairs with an overlook of the floor below. The food was good, and I shouldn’t have been surprised when Austin ate a half-pound hamburger with fries and then finished his sister’s fries. I forgot how much teen boys can consume!

We enjoyed visiting the Clare Historical Museum complex, which includes a museum, historic log home, blacksmith shop, and historical school. It was amazing how small the homes were where people raised many children. Entire homes were smaller than the family room in many of today’s houses. Ringing the school bell was comical, as Alexandria is so lightweight that the cord pulled her up off the floor as it rang. This is an off-the-beaten-path museum that is interesting and well worth the trip.

The final get-together with the family was a buffet meal at Ponderosa Steak House in Clare, which ended way too soon. It was a fun summer, and I always look forward to spending time with the kids.

I don’t miss the Michigan winters—I winter in Yuma, Arizona—but I miss the days when I lived a mile from the kids and had them at my house frequently. They grow up quickly!

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Filed under Activities, children, Discoveries, education, events, Family, grandchildren, kids, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, play, summer, tourism, travel, vacation

Tagged as antique toy and firehouse museum, arcade, bavarian belle riverboat cruise, bowling, bronners christmas wonderland, childrens zoo, clare, clare historical museum, day escape and spa, family actiities, firetrucks, Frankenmuth, grandkids, hands-on museum, harrison, hidden hills family campground, hot tub, laser maze, longway planetarium, mani-pedis, Michigan, Michigan Hearoes Museum, military heroes, miniature golf, Native American, native americans, putt-putt, Real Bodies, saginaw, Saginaw Chippewa Indians, sloan museum of discovery, valley lanes family entertainment center, video games, water park, Zehnders Splash Village, Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabek Culture and Lifestyle

October 10, 2023 · 7:21 pm

What Makes a Reader?

A recent conversation with three children ages seven, eight, and 16 made me wonder what makes some people like reading when others don’t. I used to think it was parental influence, but that doesn’t hold true because kids from the same family can have different preferences.

I considered whether children who struggled in school with the language arts became non-readers and those who grasped those subjects easily became avid readers. That also isn’t true. I know people who were strong language arts students but are non-readers and people who struggled in school but enjoy reading.

With no scientific studies to support or deny my theory, I decided it must be related to a person’s desire to escape reality—readers of fiction and fantasy or a thirst for knowledge—non-fiction and historical readers. Some memorial readers have compassion for learning about the struggles and accomplishments of others.

In coming to this theory, I looked mainly at my reading habits and then considered those of others. I realized that what a person absorbs from reading impacts how they think, sometimes for a lifetime.

We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and thin and feel...is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become. Ursula K. LeGuin

The Pew Research Center interviewed people who had read a book in the prior 12-month period. Their interviews revealed that 26% enjoy learning, gaining knowledge, and discovering information. The pleasure of escaping reality and becoming immersed in another world was the reason 15% gave.

Other reasons, in lesser amounts, include relaxation, the variety of topics they can find, spiritual enrichment, the mental challenge of reading, and the physical properties of a book—the feel and smell. I can relate to the last one because I like the look and feel of a book in my hands rather than reading on a device.

The Pew Research findings are comparable to my theory. An article on ReadingWise, What Impact Can Reading Have on Personality? comports with my view that reading books can impact personality. People, especially children, gather life experiences through the books they select. They learn about other cultures, personalities, social classes, gender, etc. This learning can make them more empathetic toward people who are different from them.

Not only does reading impact the child, teen, or young adult’s personality and social skills, but it can also influence what they select as their career, activities they participate in as an adult, and how they view home life. Some books I read as a child, teen, and young adult influenced the genres I read now, what is important to me as an adult, some career choices, and how I view some controversial topics.

Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene were written for female readers between the third and sixth grades. As a child, I read this series, borrowing from the local library and devouring several a week. As an 18-year-old teen detective in the 1930s, Nancy’s ability to sleuth out the answer to different occurrences at a time when women didn’t hold careers in such “dangerous” situations was intriguing. Her independence and bravery probably inspired many females to surpass the gender-expected roles.

I enjoyed reading these books, trying to figure out the mystery along with Nancy, and it created in me a lifetime love of mysteries and crime stories. It also inspired my love of conducting research.

Making a tremendous impact on my viewpoint regarding abortion is My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel. Published in 1969, the young adult novel covers four teenage friends, romance, the decision to engage in sex, contraception, loneliness, and communication. When Liz becomes pregnant, her boyfriend speaks to his father and then gives her $300 to get what at that time was called a back-door abortion. Abortions were illegal, so the medical care was less than pristine, with procedures done on the sly. This often led to complications or death.

In the book, Liz starts bleeding profusely during the car ride home from her abortion. The entire scenario impacts not only the girl who endured this horrific illegal abortion but also destroyed the friendship group.

Reading this book as a young teen impacted my viewpoint on abortion for life. As an adult, I have always been pro-life but also pro-choice. I believe that a person, especially under circumstances such as sexual abuse of a child or an adult rape, deserves the right to decide whether to abort during the first trimester of the pregnancy.

The only thing that has changed in my mind over time is due to advancements in medical technology. I do not condone aborting a pregnancy when the child can sustain life outside the womb.

True Crime and/or True Detective magazines were in our home, belonging to my parents. As a child, I loved devouring these magazines full of true crime stories. While they were probably not the best reading material for someone so young, they influenced my preference for true crime and legal books.

Agatha Christie is a well-known mystery writer, and as I outgrew the Nancy Drew books, books by this author became a favorite selection. During this same time, I also enjoyed Alfred Hitchcock’s writings. I primarily read fiction during my early-mid teen years, and these were my primary focus.

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad is a title I remember ordering from Scholastic and reading in elementary school. This non-fiction book influenced my future love of non-fiction and interest in reading about the oppression of enslaved people and blacks.

Black Like Me is a non-fiction/memoir written in 1961 by journalist John Howard Griffin. Griffin, a white man, had his skin temporarily darkened and traveled to the Deep South to learn what it was like to live under the terms of segregation. It was amazing how he was treated very differently when living as a black man vs. how he was treated after allowing his skin to lighten and was again regarded as white. It is a real eye-opener on how badly people judge others based on the color of their skin.

Sybil was published in 1973, and I read it around age 13 following its release. This is the true story of a female being treated for dissociative identity disorder. Sybil had 16 separate personalities, likely developed as a coping mechanism due to severe physical and sexual abuse by her parents. This book influenced my opposition to child abuse, and in high school, I did a term paper on abuse.

F. Lee Bailey wrote The Defense Never Rests in 1971, and I read it as a young teen shortly after publication. F. Lee Bailey was a well-known criminal defense attorney, representing clients such as Albert DeSalvo (the Boston Strangler) and Patty Hearst. In the book, he discusses many of the cases he defended. This book impacted my interest in the law and helping criminal defendants.

It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations - that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own. Katherine Paterson.

There are many others, but these immediately came to mind when I thought about books from my youth. Those I remember after over fifty years most likely influenced my outlook on life. What is their impact on my life?

I was a community opinion columnist for The Times Herald in Port Huron for several years, expressing my opinion on controversial issues. I am currently working on a book about CPS taking my granddaughters and adopting them out to strangers rather than my husband and me. I have given testimony before legislative committees regarding the problems with the Michigan sex offender registry, and I went back to school in my 50s and became a paralegal. I am now considering becoming a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), which means advocating for children who are in foster care.

My reading is almost 100% memoir and non-fiction. I live and travel full-time in an RV and buy books from the areas I visit. Learning about the history of places I visit is enjoyable.

What do you read? Did what you read as a child and teen influence your life choices? Share your thoughts below.

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Filed under assumptions, career, children, decisions, Discoveries, education, exploration, impressions, Life is a Melting Pot

Tagged as agatha christie, black like me, Carolyn Keene, child, children, CPS, fiction, genre, habits, harriet tubman and the underground railroad, influence, john howard griffin, language arts, memoir, My Darling My Hamburge, nancy drew mysteries, non-fiction, paul zindel, personality, pew research center, reading, social skills, sybil, teen, the defense never rests, times herald, true crime, true detective, young adult

April 3, 2022 · 7:56 pm

35 Unique Things About Michigan

Although I now travel and spend more time outside of my birth state than I do in it, Michigan still holds a place in my heart for its many unique qualities.

Michigan is the only state that consists of two peninsulas. The “mitten” is the lower peninsula and is where I grew up, in the “only Eaton Rapids on earth.” The mitten is surrounded by Lake Huron on the East, Lake Erie on the South, and Lake Michigan on the west. To access the upper peninsula (the U.P.) you need to cross the Straits of Mackinac, a 5-mile channel connecting Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The north shore of the U.P. is on Lake Superior.

If that isn’t enough, here are 35 more things that make Michigan a very special place.

Boat Night in Port Huron. Copyright 2015 Grace Grogan
Photo by Grace Grogan, copyright 2015
Paint Creek, Rochester Michigan. Photograph by Grace Grogan, copyright 2014
Bond Falls. Photo by Grace Grogan
Silver Lake Sand Dunes – Dune Jump. Photo by Grace Grogan
Middle Island Lighthouse. Photo by Grace Grogan
Port Huron to Mackinac Race. Copyright 2015 Grace Grogan
St. Clair Board Walk. Photo by Grace Grogan.
The Thomas Edison Depot Museum sits under the Blue Water Bridges on the Thomas Edison Parkway in Port Huron. Photo by Grace Grogan
Pointe Benzie Light Station. Photo by Grace Grogan

Detroit is the Car Capital of the World. Home to the “big three,” Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and Chrysler LLC, the state handles 24% of all automotive manufacturing in the U.S.
Michigan is the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries in North America. The American Battery Solutions Inc. manufacturing facility is located in Lake Orion and employs more than 100 workers. In support of this the Governor is working to develop the nation’s first wireless charging infrastructure on public roads.
Alpena is the home of the world’s largest cement plant. Lafarge Alpena has been in existence since 1907 and employs more than 200 workers.
St. Clair is the home of Diamond Salt Company, established in 1886 when a new process for making salt was patented. It is the world’s largest marketer of salt, supplying salts for culinary use, manufacturing, agriculture, grinder, pool use, water softening, and ice control.
Southwestern Michigan is home to the largest Dutch settlement in the United States, with almost 300,000 residents of Dutch heritage. Dutch residents are most prominent in the five counties of Allegan, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon, and Ottawa.
Rogers City boasts the world’s largest limestone quarry. The site is 7,000 acres, of which 3,000 acres are actively mined. The quarry has an anticipated lifespan of an additional 100 years.
Elsie is the home of the world’s largest registered Holstein dairy herd. Green Meadow Farms is a family operation established in 1922. With 80 employees, they raise all livestock and do all field and crop work on their 8,000 acres. The farm has a milking herd of about 3,900 registered Holsteins.
Enjoy the longest freshwater boardwalk in the world in St. Clair. The boardwalk is along the St. Clair River, an international border with Canada. The St. Clair River is one of the busiest waterways in the world with more than 5,000 ships traveling the water every year. With more freighter traffic than the Suez Canal and Panama Canal combined, it’s an excellent spot for freighter watching.
Colon is the magic capitol of the world and home to Abbott’s Magic Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of magic supplies. The city has more than 30 magicians laid to rest in its cemetery, more than any other cemetery in the world.
Michigan Sugar Company is the largest sugar factory east of the Mississippi river, the largest sugar refinery in Michigan, and the fourth largest sugar refinery in the United States.
Michigan ranks #1 in state boat registrations. St. Clair County ranks #1 in the U.S. for the number of boat registrations per capita.
Port Huron is home to largest freshwater sailing event in the world. The annual Port Huron to Mackinac race began in 1919 and more than 200 boats enter the race each year.
The state has about 54,800 farms covering 10 million acres and producing $6.5 billion in products yearly. Michigan is the largest producing region in the world for Montmorency tart cherries and Traverse City hosts the annual National Cherry Festival every July. The state is one of the top producers in the U.S. of grapes, apples, peaches, and blueberries.
Livestock population is significant, with about one million cattle, 78,000 sheep, 3 million chickens, and one million hogs. Livestock products account for about 38% of all agricultural output.
Sault Ste. Marie was founded in 1668 by Father Jacques Marquette, and it remains the third oldest remaining settlement in the United States
In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established in any of the states. It was originally named Catholepistemiad and was located in Detroit. The name was changed in 1821 and the university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841.
Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was the first institution of higher learning in the nation to teach scientific agriculture.
The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. It spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac and took 3 years to complete. It was opened to traffic in 1957
Kellogg Company made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers discovery of producing flaked cereal was an accident that sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.
Vernors ginger ale was created in Detroit and is the first soda pop made in the United States. It was an accident. In 1862 pharmacist, James Vernor, was trying to create a new beverage. He was called away to serve in the civil war, leaving his “experiment” behind. When he returned four years later the drink in the oak case had developed a delicious ginger flavor and Vernors was born.
The Detroit Zoo opened in 1928 and was the first zoo in America to feature cageless, open exhibits allowing animals to roam free. In 1968 the zoo’s Penguinarium was the world’s first zoo building designed exclusively for penguins. In 2001 it opened Wild Adventure Ride, the nation’s first zoo simulator, and the Arctic Ring of Life, the largest polar bear habitat in North America.
Michigan is only place in the world with a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while still underway. It has been operating 140 years.
The state boasts 3,224 miles of freshwater shoreline, the longest in the world. It also has the longest shoreline of the 48 continuous states. There are an additional 11,037 inland lakes and 36,000 miles of streams.
The state has 124 lighthouses and navigational lights. The oldest is the Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse, constructed in 1829.
It is the first state to provide in the constitution for the establishment of public libraries in each township and city, set forth in Article XI, Section 14 of the Michigan Constitution of 1908. It was also the first state to guarantee every child the right to a tax-paid high school education.
Isle Royal National Park shelters one of the largest moose herds in the U.S. The park is 206.73 square miles and is the 4^th largest lake island in the world. As of 2019 the island was home to 14 wolves and 2,060 moose. The moose herd was 2,400 at its highest point in 1995.
Upper Michigan Copper Country is the largest commercial deposit of native copper in the world. By the 1860s the upper peninsula was supplying 90% of America’s copper.
Michigan fared worse than the rest of the country during the depression between 1930 and 1933. The state’s unemployment rate was 34%, while it was only 26% in the rest of the country. This is because out of work automotive workers were starving to death by the early 1930s.
Michigan has the first auto-traffic tunnel built between two nations, the mile-long Detroit Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River was completed in 1930. This was the third underwater auto tunnel built in the United States.
The world’s first submarine railway tunnel opened between Port Huron and Sarnia, Ontario in 1891. It is both the first submarine tunnel and the first international tunnel.
In 1879 Detroit telephone customers were first in nation to be assigned phone numbers to facilitate handling calls.
In 1929 Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world
Grand Rapids is home to the 24-foot Leonardo da Vinci horse, II Gavallo, the largest equestrian bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere.
Michigan is the great lakes state because its shores touch four of the five great lakes. We get our name from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian word meaning “large lake”
Detroit is the birthplace of Motown Records. Motown artists include Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Diana Ross, Four Tops, The Supremes, Al Green, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, The Commodores, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, The Drifters, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Fats Domino, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and more.

The state has even more interesting facts setting it apart from the rest of the country and world, but I had to stop somewhere. I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of my home state.

Share where you are from and what makes your home state unique.

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Filed under Activities, Blue Water Area, Discoveries, education, events, exploration, farm, Festivals, home, impressions, Lake St. Clair, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, nature, reality, tourism, travel, Upper Penninsula

Tagged as abbotts magic company, agriculture, alfarge alpena, alpena, arctic ring of life, auto-traffic tunnel, battle creek, boat registrations, chrysler, colon, copper country, dement plant, depression, Detroit, detroit river, detroit windsor tunnel, detroit zoo, diamond salt company, dutch settlement, Eaton Rapids, elsie, floating post office, ford motor company, free education, freighter, freshwater boardwalk, freshwater shoreline, ft gratiot lighthouse, general motors, ginger ale, great lakes sate, green meadow farms, holstein dairy herd, isle royal national park, j.w. wescott ii, james vernor, kellogg brothers, kellogg company, lake orion, leonardo da vinci horse, lighthouses, limestone quarry, lithium-ion batteries, livestock, Mackinac Bridge, magic capitol, Michigan, michigan state pllice, michigan state university, michigna sugar company, mitten, moose herds, mowtown records, national cherry festival, only eaton rapids on earth, Ontario, penguinarium, polar bear, Port Huron, port huron to mackinac race, public libraries, rogers city, sarnia, sault ste marie, st clair, st clair river, submarine railway tunnel, suspension bridge, University of Michigan, UP, upper peninsula, vernors, wild adventure ride, wireless charging infrastructure

April 12, 2021 · 5:48 pm

Not Smart Enough

Imagine back to when you were in the 8^th grade, about 14 years old. You must make a decision that impacts the balance of your time in school. You can take a vocational program, which you attend to grade 12, or a university prep program, which you attend to grade 13.

Once you make your decision, you cannot change to the other program. Now, consider being that 8^th grade boy and before you make that decision your school principal informs you that you aren’t “smart enough” for college, so you better go vocational.

That is the way school in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada was in the mid-late 1950s when Paul Cannon attended. He followed the advice of his principal. The question is, after hearing the principal’s assessment of his abilities, what did Paul do with his life?

The Teen Years

Paul was not afraid of water, and unbeknownst to his mother he and his friends would climb Inglis Falls in the summer. This was the largest of the four waterfalls in town and has a 59-foot cascade. I’ve seen in the fall with a slow flow of water. It is huge!

Inglis Falls in Owens Sound, Ontario, Canada — Inglis Falls in Owens Sound, Ontario
Photo by Grace Grogan

When Paul was about 14-15 years old he became certified as both a swim instructor and a lifeguard. He worked as a lifeguard at the community pool and taught swimming to adults and children both there and at the YMCA.

Paul was interested in science and technology, and around age 16 he and three friends learned about an Army surplus store in Toronto selling non-working ham radios for parts. The store had ten radios, and they purchased them all. The intent was to build two or three operating ham radios from the parts, and they did!

Paul and his friends had fun communicating on the radios for about a year. None of the teens had taken the required test to become licensed ham radio operators so were broadcasting illegally. An officer tracked them down and removed the tubes, rendering the radios inoperable. Years later as an adult Paul took the test and became a licensed ham operator.

Paul always had an interest in aviation and was a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in Canada growing up. The group’s intent was to introduce 12-19 year old students to flight. As a CAP cadet, Paul received education regarding citizenship, leadership, physical fitness and general aviation. In Canada today one out of every five pilots is an ex-air cadet and 67% of commercial airline pilots began as air cadets.

Bush Pilot

When Paul was 16-17 years old he got a summer job working for a bush pilot in a nearby town. That first summer Paul performed miscellaneous jobs and ran errands. When the summer ended the owner told Paul if he returned the following year the owner would teach Paul to fly.

Paul returned and became a bush pilot, flying a Beaver pontoon plane. Bush pilots fly in remote areas, and Paul’s job was to deliver supplies to cabins in the wilderness. You have probably seen this in movies where a plane lands on a body of water, docking near a cabin to leave supplies.

All pilots must learn how to read the weather, and because pontoon pilots land on water, they must also evaluate the water’s surface before touching down. Accommodations must be made for wind direction, the direction and speed of the current, and any obstacles that may affect their landing. Once on the water the pilot must follow all marine rules.

On one flight Paul was landing to leave supplies at a not-yet occupied cabin when the engine on his plane blew. Oil splattered the windshield and the plane stopped before he was near shore. Pontoon planes must carry a paddle for this type of situation. Paul shut down all systems on the plane, then climbed out to sit on one of the pontoons, straddling it like a horse. Paul then paddled his way to shore. If you think rowing a boat is difficult, try an airplane!

There was no radio communication, so Paul unloaded the supplies into the cabin and hunkered down for the night. His boss had expected him back before dark, so when Paul didn’t return the owner went out the next morning, flying Paul’s route. When he spotted Paul’s plane, he touched down so see what was going on. Paul already had the cowling off the plane, but neither Paul nor his boss had the tools or knowledge to repair the engine.

Beaver Pontoon Airplane
Photo by Grace Grogan

The owner said he would be back, and when he landed the second time he was accompanied by a mechanic and tools. The owner left Paul and the mechanic to work on the engine. The two spent another night at the cabin before repairs were complete. The plane Paul flew only had one seat, the pilot’s. Once the repairs were complete, the mechanic strapped himself onto the top of a cargo box in the plane and rode back with Paul.

Bush pilots are required to carry a bush pilot’s rifle because situations such as the one above or an unanticipated stop in the wilderness can put you in danger. If Paul was flying his route and saw severe weather ahead, he would land the plane and beach it. Using ropes he would tie the plane to trees to secure it during the storm. When performing these tasks, he always had to be on the lookout for bear.

Paul continued working as a bush pilot for a year after graduating high school, then left for Toronto to attend college.

Radio College

Radio College of Toronto, Ontario trained students in electronic engineering technology and had a focus on tubes and digital electronics. Electronics technology was the wave of the future in the early 1960s.

While Paul was attending college, he lived in a boarding house with 17 other men. They were housed two to a room, with no locks on the room doors. The home was run by a single woman who ran a tight ship. She made all beds every day and washed the sheets once a week.

Board included breakfast and dinner Monday thru Friday. Paul quickly learned that when sharing a table with a large group of men there were no second helpings. You better get a sufficient amount the first time a dish went around the table. Lunch and weekends boarders were on their own for meals, but could use the kitchen and food she had as long as they cleaned up afterwards. This was a very different type of living than Paul had growing up as an only child.

One evening Paul and his roommate heard a knock on their door, which immediately flew open and in rushed the landlady. She didn’t say anything but hurried over and threw open the window, reached into her pocket to grab a pair of scissors and reached out. The next thing Paul heard was glass breaking on the sidewalk below. Apparently one of the borders owed the landlady money, and she suspected he might try to slip out. By cutting the string to the bundle of belongings the border was lowering from his third-story window, the landlady made it clear she knew what he was up to. No one knows if she collected the money owed her or just enjoyed a bit of revenge.

Paul rode the streetcar to and from college, and sometimes hitch hiked his way back to Owen Sound on weekends to visit his parents. If living in a boarding house and using public transportation bus wasn’t enough of a challenge, Paul was doing this on crutches. Paul played B-Team Hockey and did competition ski jumping. Unfortunately, he landed a jump wrong, breaking his ankle.

Paul quickly learned that in a time of need, crutches make a great weapon. One day Paul got off the streetcar and some guy, thinking he had one-up on Paul, knocked Paul’s books out of his hands. Paul may have been a bit disabled, but not unarmed. He swung one of his crutches around and clobbered the guy. A police officer saw the exchange, came over to pick up Paul’s books and make sure he was okay. When Paul left the scene his attacker was in the back of a police vehicle.

Using city transportation when dating was something Paul learned could be difficult. On one date Paul took a girl out, then escorted her home, staying to visit until about midnight. Big mistake! When he got to the bus stop he had missed the last bus in that area, so he walked down to the next line, just in time to miss the last subway of the night. He ended up walking all night to get back to the boarding house. Thank goodness it happened on a Friday night, and he was able to sleep when he arrived there the next morning.

Work and Electronics

After graduating from Radio College, Paul took a position installing and repairing x-ray machines throughout Canada. This took him into every Canadian province, a position that nurtured his love of travel and photography. His goal was to emigrate into the United States, work his way west and eventually end up in Australia. He didn’t make it past Michigan.

Immigration into the United States took about a year. Paul needed to find a job that would hold the position for six months while he completed the immigration process. He was about 23 when he got his first job in Michigan doing the same thing as in Canada. Paul was living the bachelor’s life, driving a convertible and working in hospitals throughout the tri-state area of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, where there was plenty of female staff to date.

Many people do not realize that immigrants must register for the draft six months after they become permanent U.S. residents. Paul registered during the Vietnam era and knew how to fly the same type of plane being used in the war. Each year he was obligated to check in at the military office, and each time he met new criteria for a waiver so was never drafted.

Career Change

Paul was talking with an electrician and learned they made more money than Paul was in the electronics field. Paul purchased code books and studied to become an electrician. Though not licensed, he got a job working for Morgan Electric. When a client requested a special electrical job, Paul volunteered for the assignment. The client was impressed with Paul’s work and offered him a job working for their company.

Paul made the job change. Always looking to advance, Paul later applied and got a job in skilled trades as an electrician at the Ford River Rouge plant. Unfortunately the plant did layoffs before Paul had 90 days in.

Needing work and the economy being bad, Paul took a job working on an ambulance. It was on-the-job training, they were not paramedics. The crew would perform basic first aid and transport patients to hospitals. This was during the 1967 Detroit riots and runs were often into dangerous areas. It wasn’t all bad though.

One run was to Governor Romney’s home. The governor’s wife had fallen and injured herself, requiring an ambulance transport. Paul also delivered two babies during his time on the ambulance. One laboring woman looked at him and said, “it’s my first” and he responded, “mine too.”

When Paul’s father notified him Pittsburgh Glass Works was opening a plant in Owen Sound and needed skilled trades workers, Paul applied and was the first electrician hired. He moved back to Owen Sound and lived there for two years. The glass plant job gave him experience in trouble shooting factory machinery, which would pay off later.

When the economy improved Paul moved back to Michigan and took a position at Allied Chemical in Mount Clemens. An electrical inspector saw his work and volunteered to sponsor Paul for taking his journeyman’s test. You cannot take this test until you have verification of 10 years of experience working as an electrician and a sponsor. Paul passed the test and immediately began studying for his master’s license.

You must work as a journeyman for a minimum of two years before taking your master’s exam. When Paul reached the qualification period he took the test and became a master electrician. Paul then started his own electrical contracting business, Trojan Electric. This electrical contract work was in addition to his full-time employment. His business was lucrative enough to necessitate employing a work crew.

While working at Allied Chemical in Mt. Clemens, Paul saw an ad for skilled trades at the Ford Motor Company Paint Plant. Paul applied and went into Ford as a re-hire. He remained at Ford as an electrician in skilled trades for the balance of his working life, retiring out of the Ford Utica Trim plant.

Back to Flying

After Paul immigrated into the United States, he checked into getting his pilot’s license. The bush pilot Paul worked for never had him keep a pilot’s logbook, so there was no record of his time in the air. Paul had to start over. Lessons were easy because he knew how to fly, he just had to master landing on solid ground.

Pilots must learn navigation and weather patterns, plus cloud types and cloud levels for flight. Paul can look down the road when driving and recognize rain that is coming down but not reaching the ground. He can also see it ahead and predict the time the vehicle will drive into it. Navigational training allows him to know the direction he is driving based on the sun.

Paul purchased his own plane, a Cessna 177 RG (RG means retractable gear) and served as an adult member on the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The Civil Air Patrol is an Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that was founded in 1941 to mobilize civilian aviation resources for the national defense.

Cessna 177 RC — Cessna 177 RG
Photo obtained off Internet

Paul underwent training in CAP to fly both counter drug operations and search and rescue. He enjoyed his time working on missions, which often ran one to two weeks at a time. He also volunteered his time working with CAP cadets, taking them up in his plane for a ride or assisting at special cadet outings. The CAP has the same officer ranks as the Air Force, and by the time Paul retired from service he had achieved the rank of Major.

Paul’s love of aeronautics led him to volunteer his time at the air show held each year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He worked in the sound center manning the sound control for the music and announcers during the air show. This required balancing the voice and music, plus timing the music for the air acrobatics of the plane.

Paul learned to be prepared for the unexpected. A woman was narrating her husband’s performance when his plane crashed. Her reaction was a blood-curdling scream into the microphone. Paul immediately cut the sound.

Paul enjoyed his time at the air show, meeting celebrities and working with pilots to time their music to their performance. It was a week of both work and fun, affording him full access to the air show grounds.

In His Free Time

When Paul was ready to move out of the city, he purchased five acres of property in St. Clair, Michigan and built a home. Paul was the contractor for the job. He ran all electrical wiring in the home and finished the interior. This included building the staircase leading to the second floor and installing all kitchen cabinets and countertops. He did this while working full-time at Ford Motor Company and running Trojan Electric.

In addition to volunteering his time with CAP, Paul participated in a computer club and remains a member of the Blue Water Shutterbugs Camera Club. Paul served as treasurer in both clubs. His photographs are sold on Alamy and Fine Art America, and for several years he sold them in fine art shows. Paul spent several years teaching photography, originally in a classroom setting, then one-on-one. He customized lessons to fit his student’s needs, including how to operate a camera, how to take better photographs, and how to process photos in Photoshop.

Paul Cannon now lives and travels throughout the United States and Canada in a 35-foot motorhome, towing a Jeep Rubicon. I am lucky to be living and traveling with him on his latest adventures. We enjoy visiting new places and navigating off-road trails. We produce videos of our adventures and share them on our YouTube Channel, Rolling Thru North America, Travel With US!

Not Smart Enough?

Can you imagine if Paul had only been “smart enough” for college what he might have done with his life? Maybe it is a good thing he did not attend a 4-year college. Paul may have not been ‘smart enough” in his principal’s eyes, but what he has accomplished in his 78 years of life has been diverse and interesting.

Writer’s Note: This was originally written entirely from memory based on information I garnered from Paul over the past six years. After publication Paul read the above and advised me of some minor corrections needing to be made. Those changes have been made and the writing is now accurate.

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Filed under assumptions, Canada, career, children, decisions, Discoveries, education, employment, exploration, Full-Time RV, hobbies, home, impressions, Life Changing, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, Photography, time, travel

Tagged as air plane, alamy, aviation, beaver, blue water shutterbugs camera club, boarding house, bush pilot, Canada, CAP, cessna 177 rc, citizens air patrol, college, computer club, counter drug operations, economy, electrition, Fine Art America, flight, ford motor company, Full Time RV, governor romney, ham radio, immigration, inglis falls, install, jouneymans license, lessons, lifeguard, masters license, morgan electric, Ontario, owens sound, photography, pittsburgh glass works, pontoon plane, radio college, rolling thru north america travel with us, search and rescue, swim instructor, toronto, trojan electric, university, x-ray machines

September 2, 2019 · 2:58 pm

My First Week as a Nomad

My first six days as a Nomad were interesting, fun, and sometimes frustrating. In many ways it feels more like a vacation rather than a lifestyle change. It is relaxing and interesting, and sometimes not at all what is planned. If I can experience all this in six days, I can’t imagine what the future will bring.

On Monday we left Port Huron, Michigan and traveled to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Our original plan was to stay only two nights, but after reviewing travel information about the surrounding area decided to extend our stay to a total of four days.

On Tuesday we visited the Bush Pilot Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. Paul was a bush pilot when he lived in Owen Sound, Ontario as a teen so this was on his “hit list.” The museum was interesting, with several planes on display inside the hanger where the museum is located. We viewed two movies, the first was an “on board” experience with a bush pilot, and of course took the rider through a series of mistakes and mishaps that can happen on a plane, including an unexpected storm, dozing off with the plan on autopilot, and more. The second movie was in 3D and took you into the heart of fighting forest fires. You experienced time in flight with the commander of the entire firefighting operation, in flight with a pilot doing water drops, and on land with a ground firefighting crew. Both movies are well worth the time it takes to view them.

A small town about four hours northwest of Sault Ste. Marie is the home of Winnie-the-Pooh, and houses a statue of Winnie, as well as a Winnie-the-Pooh and Railroad Museum. I wanted to go there so a day trip was planned. Part of the trip goes along the shore of Lake Superior, and we figured we would find photo ops along the way. A visitor guide worker had told us about an off-road trail on that stretch which Paul wanted to check out. We didn’t locate the trail she used, but did access a logging trail, which about 20 minutes in we decided was not offering any photo ops so turned around and continued on our journey.

We did find a couple spots to stop and take photographs of Lake Superior, and a small rapids and river we walked in and photographed. It was interesting that this entire route had very few towns, gas stations, or any other type of business or rest area to stop at. So scarce they were practically non-existent. We saw a rest area/visitor center which made a good stop for a few minutes. They had a small gift shop where Paul decided to pick up a couple energy bars to tie us over until lunch, which we planned to eat in White River. That purchase turned out to be a very good decision.

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We munched on our energy bars, and decided to stop for gas as we rolled into White River, because we would need it to make the full journey back to Sault Ste. Marie. There were barriers up across the gas pumps and an attendant walked over and informed us that the pumps were not working because the entire town of White River had lost power and nothing was open. We drove through town and took pictures of the Winnie-the-Pooh statue. The attendant was correct, absolutely everything, including the museum we had just driven four hours to visit, was closed so we started our journey back.

Not too far south of White River was a small gas station with full-service pumps. The attendant there shared that the last time White River lost power they were out for a week. He also let us know that there was a restaurant on Hwy 17 just south of Wasmus where we could get lunch/dinner. By now it was after 2:00 pm and we were definitely getting hungry.

We drove the two hours south and located the restaurant. Our luck had not yet changed; on the front door hung a sign that they were closed until 5:00 pm. It was only 4:30 so we decided to drive on. We were not far from our campground when we found The Voyageur Lodge, which included a small restaurant. The menu was limited, but the food very good. Paul had an open face hamburger, which had gravy to which he added mushrooms and onions. It normally included fries and coleslaw, but he switched the fries for onion rings, which he said were very good. I opted for a fish sandwich which also came with fries. The sandwich was made with whitefish which was lightly breaded and very nicely done. We shared a butter tart for dessert, also very tasty.

Our final day in Sault Ste. Marie we drove into town and visited the historical canal sight. At the end of the island was a swing damn, one of only nine built and the last in existence. It is used in emergency situations if there is a problem with the lock. This is also where the lock is located for small boats, and we were lucky enough to see two of the Soo Locks Tour boats use the lock at the same time. The difference in elevation between Lake Superior and Lake Huron is 21 feet, so quite interesting to observe the lock in operation. A nice way to finish out our stay.

Friday morning we said goodbye to Sault Ste. Marie and drove east through Ontario, stopping at a small campground in Lavigne, Ontario. We are here only for two nights. One day of rest and computer work before continuing our journey to Ottawa, the capitol of Canada, where we plan to spend four days.

We did take some time from our paperwork to photograph some very decorative scarecrow displays around town. These have been prepared as part of a plowing competition in September. I finished out our last night in Lavigne with a walk around the park, taking a few photographs of Lake Nippising, which the campground is located on.

So far my life as a nomad has been interesting and relaxing, even if Winnie-the-Pooh’s hometown did leave me a bit frustrated. I guess in this lifestyle you simply have to go-with-the-flow when rocks appear in the river.

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Filed under Activities, Canada, decisions, Discoveries, education, exploration, impressions, kids, Life is a Melting Pot, memoir, Michigan, nature, summer, tourism, travel, Upper Penninsula, vacation

Tagged as auto pilot, bush pilot, Bush Pilot Heritage Centre, Bush Pilot Museum, campground, Canada, Capitol, change, forest fire, frustrating, future, go-with-the-flow, hanger, historical canal, information, interesting, intresting, Lake Huron, Lake Nippising, Lake Superior, Lavigne, lifestyle, logging, Michigan, movies, nnomad, Ontario, Ottawa, owen sound, photo ops, planes, plowing competition, Port Huron, railroad museum, rapids, relaxing, restaurant, Saulte Ste. Marie, scarecrow, soo locks, storm, swinging damm, The Voyageur Lodge, travel, visit, Wasmus, water drops, White River, Winnie the Pooh

August 6, 2019 · 9:51 pm

Life is not meant to be lived in one place

I have reached the point of excitement. My new lifestyle will soon be moving from life in an RV in my local area to actual life on the road. I am now on my last two weeks of work, with the 16th of August being my final day. I am training someone to take my place at work, will soon have the closing date on my house, and once that is completed we will set off on our new lifestyle.

This past weekend Paul and I opened up the “basement” storage in the motor home and got the last boxes out of my car and into the RV. Not everything is sorted and organized the way we want, but I am at least officially in the motor home totally and completely. The next two weeks will be a whirlwind of finishing up things at work and training my replacement, a doctor’s appointment, turning in my lease vehicle, finishing up paperwork, listing the second home I own for sale, and closing on the home I was residing in. In someways the day when I can “hit the road” seems so far away, and yet so close. Time passes quickly when trying to get everything finished in the final moments. Trave as far and as long as you can

We are now starting to plan the first leg of our travels, and it is exciting and a bit nerve wracking at the same time. I am semi-retiring prior to retirement age, so will need to do remote or seasonal work while on the road to supplement the spousal pension I receive. Until I have a steady income from remote or seasonal work I will be concerned about finances. That is just me.

At the same time, if I didn’t jump at this opportunity now to travel full-time I know I would regret it for years to come. You only live once, so might as well make the most of it. What are that chances that I will ever again run across the opportunity to live full time in a motor home traveling Canada and the United States with a person with whom I am compatible who is also a fellow photographer?

I hope this is a life style we can enjoy for several years. The opportunity to experience a variety of cultures and the diversity of nature as we travel cross country is something I am looking forward to. As I travel I plan to keep a journal about my travels. I enjoy freelance writing and hopefully you will see my writing and/or photographs not only in this blog, but also in published magazines and journals.

If you have any “must see” locations in Canada or the United States, please share.

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Filed under career, communication, decisions, Discoveries, education, exploration, hobbies, impressions, Life Changing, Life is a Melting Pot, nature, reality, spring, summer, time, tourism, travel, vacation, winter, work, Writing

Tagged as "hit the road", "must see", Canada, diversity, excitement, freelance, home, journal, journals, journey, life, lifestyle, locations, magazines, motor home, nature, opportunity, pension, photographer, remote work, road, RV, seasonal work, semi-retire, training, travel, United States, work, writer

July 22, 2018 · 9:41 pm

Bulleted Reunion

I had the pleasure of attending my 40th High School Class Reunion in Eaton Rapids, Michigan this weekend. The coordinators did a fabulous job of pulling the weekend together with a variety of activities to keep people on the move. This was especially nice for those of us traveling in from out of town, especially those traveling from out-of-state.

This is my bulleted list of memories of the weekend.

Meet-and-Greet at Eaton Rapids Medical Center Conference Room.
Great desserts!
Friendly conversation with classmates.
Tammy (Ball) Albright’s face sign
Olive burgers and beer at Abies Bar
Woman’s bathroom is small with two toilets, no stalls.
Breakfast at Darb’s Patio, always yummy!
Glitch in planned tour of high school – Honor Society students are prepared to do tour, school is locked and they don’t have keys.
Classmate makes a couple calls and resolution is on the way.
Dave Johnson, teacher when we attended, later principal, now retired, has master key to school and comes to rescue, conducts the tour, and does an awesome job of sharing the way it was when we attended, and what changes have been done over the years.
Touring the high school after 40 years brings back memories, including these mentioned during tour:
- The Cold Tongue
- The smoking bathroom
- Pep Rallies
- After home game dances
- Band/band camp
- Typing class
- 1-2-3 Roll’em Ferndock
- World History class lectures in auditorium
- Theater performances in auditorium
- Mr. Phillips math classes
- Mrs. Lohrke, English teacher
- Mrs. Shimnoski and Mrs. Tuthill, Business/Secretarial Block teachers
- Various athletes, coaches
- Teachers and counselors now gone but long remembered
- Library no longer has a comfy seating area of bean bag chairs, chairs, etc.
- Senior Bench (now gone)
- The former layout of the school compared to what it is now
Non-Reunion Activity: Quick stop-over to visit with my sister for a couple hours
Walking a block to the Red Ribbon Hall for the reunion because I thought all parking in front was taken; there were still open spots.
Some classmates’ appearance has hardly changed, very recognizable.
Some classmates have changed a lot — thank goodness for name tags!
Being surprised at how many people recognized me immediately.
Good food, good desserts.
Good conversation with old friends and classmates.
1978 Graduate photo frame for shooting pics
Fun slide show of “then and now” pictures of classmates.
Party Favors: Eaton Rapids glass and notepad
The Red Ribbon Hall has very good acoustics = loud atmosphere.
A lot of us still drink, but not like we used to!
Many of us no longer “close down the bar” and left before the party was over.
Cell phones are great for event pics…I didn’t see a single “real” camera all weekend.
Facebook sharing of activities and photos on the ERHS Class of 1978 Page
Sad realization that we have lost 11 classmates, a nice memorial table was set up.
A quiz of things about our last year of school – presented by Mrs. Wheeler, former teacher.
Each classmate was to stand and give their name (maiden) now and where living…which grew as it went around the room to name, where living, married/years, occupation, children/grandchildren.
Amazing how many people have stayed in Eaton Rapids and/or the Greater Lansing area.
Surprised at how many have moved out of state, or resided in several states.

Time passes so quickly. How is it we have already been out of school forty years? Many thanks to classmates Julie and Jane Brenke, and their sister Jill, for organizing the reunion as well as several others who stepped in and assisted them.

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Filed under Activities, anniversary, celebration, communication, education, events, freindship, friends, friendship, Life is a Melting Pot, memoir, Michigan, school, time

Tagged as 1978, 40th, Abies Bar, Alley Kat, classmates, Cold Tongue, Darb's Patio, Dave Johnson, Eaton Rapids, Eaton Rapids Medical Center, facebook, graduation, Greyhounds, high school, honor society, library, memorial, memories, Red Ribbon Hall, reunion, Roll'em Ferndock, senior bench, tour, weekend

September 6, 2017 · 10:36 pm

Does nature know when school starts?

Summer has been rolling along nicely here in Michigan. The temperatures have been a bit up and down, but for this state that is normal. For the most part though it was summer weather, summer wear — flip flops, shorts, tank tops, and sunblock.

Then it became the last week of August. The temperature turned cooler, people were in a variety of clothing styles, an indication they weren’t quite sure what the weather was going to dole out and were making their best guess. You would see someone in shorts, then someone in pants, a tank top then a sweatshirt, sandals then boots. Why? Because even though it wasn’t “cold” it felt that way to some.

Does nature know kids are going back to school and that temperatures must drop to get children in the mood for school? Is this a system of reminding parents that if they haven’t purchased that exhaustive list of school supplies they need to handle it now? How did the school schedule get established in the September to June rotation so that children are attending during the coldest months of the season?

I have learned that our traditional September to June school schedule was established at a time when the United States was a farm-based society and children had to help with spring planting and fall harvesting of crops. The September to June schedule with three months off in the summer best suited the needs of children being able to help in the fields during the main production period with as little interference as possible in their education.

Even though we are no longer a farm-based society and industrialization has ended the time of children needing to be taken out of school to help with farm duties, the schedule has held pretty close to the traditional rotation for decades. My statement thank teachers

A number of states have tried to increase the hours of a school day, lengthen the period of time that students attend, and some have attempted a year-round school schedule. What many places have found is that increasing the number of hours a student attends also increases operating costs for the school district and many can not afford the increase.

The level of learning, length of time a student spends in school, methods for teaching, and every other aspect of education in this country is constantly being evaluated and changes made. The length of the school year is normally determined by a specific number of days or hours of instruction. One hundred eighty days (180) is the minimum required by many states, five states require more than 180 days, and five states require less than 175 days. Here in Michigan students are required to attend a minimum 180 days.

So what this all means is that it is now September and for the next 9-10 months there are certain times of day when we may be delayed by a school bus. We will see children carrying backpacks loaded down with books, lunches, and a number of other necessities for school. The rotation of school sports, PTO meetings, parent-teacher conferences, homework, report cards, and school breaks is now in session. Whether nature knows it or not, the school year has begun.

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Filed under Activities, children, education, exploration, Family, farm, kids, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, nature, parents, school, summer, time, Weather

Tagged as days, education, farming, June, nature, planning, routine, schedule, school, school year, September, teachers, temperature, tradition, weather

June 23, 2017 · 12:06 am

Matthaei Botanical Gardens

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If like me you enjoy taking photographs of flowers and/or nature, this is a wonderful place to visit.

Matthaei has several options to fit everyone’s needs or desires. There are several trails that are open sunrise to sunset seven days a week, plus the conservatory, garden store, lobby and display gardens are open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Admission is free; they do have a donation box inside the conservatory, and there is a reasonable parking fee of only $1.50 per hour or a maximum of $5.00 per day. With the size of the venue I opted to pay the daily rate immediately. _DSC6631

I arrived at 8:30 am. It was quiet, with only a few people quietly walking out onto some of the trails. I grabbed my camera and tripod and decided to walk the Sue Reichert Discovery Trail, which circles Willow Pond. This trail is only 4/10 of a mile, which they estimate to be a ten minute walk. I meandered slowly, taking pictures and stretched it into almost an hour, taking time to sit down a couple times on benches that were available.

The difference in time is whether you walk like the average person or walk like a nature photographer, skimming the area for possible subjects to photograph. Doing so can make a fast walk take quite a while and is why I prefer to partake in such places either alone or with other photographers who understand the time frame needed to fully enjoy the area.

I decided to do the outside gardens first, and in looking over the map not only did I not go up into the Children’s Garden, but I also missed the Perenial Garden, Grower’s Garden, MiSo House and Bonsai and Penjing Garden. I started in the Gateway Garden, a relaxing spot with benches, rocking chairs and fountains. I took photographs of flowers there, in the Marie Azary Bock Garden and in the Sitting Gardens before meandering down the Commons, which are bordered by two other gardens on the east and bench seating on the west.

The commons leads you into the Alexandra Hicks Herb Knot Garden. Here you will find chipmunks scampering back and forth amongst the plants and sometimes climbing up on them as well, but trying to capture them in a photo is difficult. They are quick little guys! Once I completed my photo rounds of the herb garden I strolled between that and the perennial garden and went through a vine/plant covered tunnel which led to the opening of the children’s garden. I had the option of going up into the children’s garden or taking a nature trail around the children’s garden. What I opted to do was take a short trail not shown on the map into the Oak Openings Garden.

There was nothing to attract my photographer’s eye in the Oak Openings Garden with the exception of wild strawberry plants that had begun bearing fruit. It was the bright red of the fruit that grabbed my eye as I looked down to scan the ground for photo subjects. I followed the trail through the Upland Woodland Garden and across into the Wet Woodland Garden. Unfortunately the hot weather we had been having left nothing wet, it was, on that day, better termed a dry woodland. Nothing caught my eye for photographs, so I proceeded into the Great Lakes Garden, which led me into one end of the Prairie Gardens, then the Coastal Gardens and back up where I started in the Gateway Garden. Unfortunately a group was there partaking in the rocking chairs or I would have grabbed one for a nice relaxing break.

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By now I had been wandering for a few hours and decided to take a snack break before visiting the Conservatory. One thing to keep in mind, the conservatory does not sell meals, only a limited selection of snack food, candy and beverages. If you plan to be at Matthaei Botanical Gardens for several hours you may want to consider packing a cooler with beverages and lunch or snack food. I had not planned that far in advance, so I purchased a small trail mix and flavored water. There are one or two small tables where you can sit inside to consume your snack, and there are also tables available outside on the deck. Food and beverages are not allowed inside the conservatory.

The Conservatory has three main areas, the Tropical House, the Temperate House and the Desert House. Here you will find many plants and blooms to view and/or photograph. On this day there was a water Lilly in full bloom, Cocoa trees, pineapples growing, sausage trees with their “fruit” hanging in abundance, and numerous other flowers and plants. The Desert House has the majority of their cactus growing in raised display beds, making it easy to enjoy and photograph the wide variety. I’m sure this was also done to preserve the fingers of little ones who may be touring with their parents. Some of those cactus spines are pretty long and wicked looking!

I spent about five hours touring the trail, gardens and conservatory, and I didn’t see it all. Keep in mind I was walking slow, took several rest breaks on the numerous benches that are available throughout the property, and was taking photographs. The average person might tour it at a much faster pace.

I would like to go back and walk some of the trails I chose to skip, plus with anything growing outside the gardens and trails are a constantly changing canvas with growing seasons and weather. If going they do recommend appropriate footwear for walking the natural areas and that you stay on paths due to poisonous plants such as poison sumac and poison ivy growing in natural areas. The Massauga rattlesnake also inhabits the area. I did not encounter any slithering reptiles, but did enjoy the “music” of unseen frogs as I walked around the pond.

If you are in the Ann Arbor area I highly recommend a visit to University of Michigan’s Mattaei Botanical Gardens.

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Filed under Activities, birds, Botanical Gardens, bugs, Discoveries, education, environmental, exploration, flowers, insects, Life is a Melting Pot, Michigan, nature, nature center, Photography, spring, summer, tourism, travel, vacation

Tagged as attractions, cactus, children, conservatory, desert, flowers, gardens, herbs, Mattaei Botanical Gardens, nature, perenial, photography, plants, tourism, tourist attraction, trails, tropical, University of Michigan, wildlife

April 13, 2017 · 10:58 pm

Benefits of Hitting a Brick Wall

When I started this blog my intent was to begin building a reader base and to also write a book about the events that surrounded my husband and I attempting to foster and adopt our granddaughters. We were denied contact, denied the ability to foster, DHS fought the recommendation in our favor on adopting the oldest child, and the girls were eventually adopted out to strangers, not family. I wrote about it in Attempted Adoption: An Emotional Whirlwind three years ago.

I also began a memoir at the same time about the events surrounding that time in our life. I got the first draft of the first four chapters written and then my life turned into a turmoil and I sat it aside. I have had it tumbling around in my brain and do want to get back into the writing.

At the time I was working on those first four chapters I knew something didn’t seem right but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I have just completed reading The Truth of Memoir by Kerry Cohen and now know what was wrong. I was writing when I was still angry at what happened. If you write from an angry/frustrated viewpoint you do not treat the people in your book fairly. I wanted to get back at Child Protective Services, Department of Human Services, Michigan Children’s Institute, the guardian ad litem, the judge…everyone who had a part in denying us our grandchildren. There were other people who also frustrated me, such as my son’s ex-wife who was addicted to pain killers, which played a roll in the children being taken, and my son who was caught doing home invasions and went to prison for a lengthy enough period of time that his parental rights would be terminated.

When I started the book I felt it important to tell our story, to help people realize that this is a corrupt system and it is a nationwide problem. At the same time I was out to make those I felt treated us unfairly look bad. While their behavior may have been deplorable, I still need to treat them with fairness in the book, meaning I need to stress that it is my viewpoint. I also need to make allowances for the fact that these people were doing their job, and recognize that it can be a pretty horrid job to be involved in. While emotion is important to a memoir, so is understanding and fairness.

Memoir - not about blame or hurt So what do I do now? I pick up where I left off and keep on writing. When I have completed the first draft I will go back and re-work, edit, and tweak every chapter. From a legal standpoint I have to determine for which persons I will use real names and which people will have their name changed. As I work my way through the writing and editing process I may on occasion share a small section here as a post.

My brick wall was life, but in the end it was a good wall to hit when it came to my writing. I have had time to process the events now. While I may not agree with the process and outcome, I can now deal more fairly with each person in my memoir. The benefit of hitting that wall is that my writing will now be better because of it.

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Filed under Adoption, celebration, Child Protective Services, children, Coping, CPS, Department of Human Services, DHS, education, Family, Foster Care, Life is a Melting Pot, memoir

Tagged as adopiton, book writing, brick wall, corrupt., CPS, DHS, emotion, MCI, re-write

June 17, 2016 · 11:15 pm

Why do we have to play fair?

In my local newspaper this week there was a comic posted that said “and for those who did not graduate today…Please step to the stage to receive your Certificate of Participation.”

Sadly, that is what this country is coming to. Those who achieve are not given proper recognition because it might hurt the feelings of those who did not achieve.

Earlier this month I learned about a Texas high school that would not allow students to wear their National Honor Society stoles during graduation. This is an honor, those students worked hard to achieve those honors and deserve the recognition. What was the schools reason for banning the stole? Administration was fearful that other students might feel excluded. EPSON MFP image

Hello world! If you do not do the work to achieve then you should be excluded. That is life! That is reality! How can we expect people to lead balanced, productive lives if they never learn that life isn’t fair. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Regardless of what happens you continue to move forward and improve yourself. You struggle, you push forward, you cope.

This is not a new thought process. It began years ago. When I was in school not everyone made the sports teams, not everyone won the spelling bee, not everyone was in the speedy readers group. Some people just weren’t good enough. If you participated in an activity some people got ribbons for winning, some people got nothing. That was the way it was and we all knew it. Whatever you were doing some received recognition for being the best, some people sat on the sidelines with a dream of someday achieving great things as well. Dreams. Goals. Striving for a better future.

Then somewhere along the line people decided that wasn’t fair. Every child should have the opportunity to be on the team. Every child should be recognized for their participation. Everyone should receive a special certificate, not just a chosen few. It has to be fair, no one should feel left out. No one should feel they have underachieved.

fair getting what need to be successful Have we really done those children a favor? I don’t believe so. If a child never learns that sometimes life isn’t fair, that sometimes you win and sometimes you loose and that is okay, how can they learn to cope with the realities of life when they become an adult. They don’t. I think that is why we have so much violence, so many underachievers. They never learned to push for the top. It has been handed to them every step of the way.

I realize that there are some people who simply do not have the ability to achieve greatness. They may have developmental disabilities, they may be physically impaired, That is okay. People are different. Don’t hand them a sympathy ribbon. Let them compete at their own level with others on the same plateau they are and let them achieve greatness within a group of their own peers. This will help them learn to work toward a goal and obtain recognition for hard work.

If we go back to letting children experience wins and losses they will learn to cope with life. They will learn to set goals and improve themselves. They will have more self-worth than they have by constantly receiving a token certificate of recognition. Don’t they deserve that? I think they do.

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Filed under children, Coping, decisions, education, Family, kids, Life Changing, Life is a Melting Pot, parents, reality, school

Tagged as Equal, Fair, family, Grace Grogan, life, Life is a Melting Pot, loosing, ups and downs, winning

May 19, 2016 · 10:50 pm

Evolution of Women

The passage of time can make one forget the history they have lived through or witnessed. We are so used to having women executives, doctors, police officers, professional athletes, newscasters, and more that we forget there was a time in the not so distance past when those type of careers were not possible for women.

I stumbled upon some newspaper articles from 1972, 1976 and 1980 regarding women and their changing role in society. It was interesting to read what people thought and accomplished back then. My teen years, the 1970’s, were spent during a time of great strides in equality and achievement for women. Not all believed those accomplishments were to the woman’s benefit. 70's picketers equal rights

Women that were 92 years old and 73 years old contributed to an article written in 1976. These women believed that in the past men treated women with much more respect. Women were treated like fine porcelain, something special that a man was lucky to get. These elderly women felt times were better when women were put on a pedestal and a “man was a man” and provider. Women were homemakers, did not vote, did not work outside the home, and were never subjected to profanity. Women were the protected sex. 70's screw sexists

But women did not want to be protected. They wanted to achieve equal rights, and the 1970’s helped them march toward that goal. An article I read from 1980 stated that the status of women has never been altered so suddenly or dramatically as in the 1970s. Until I read the article it never occurred to me, but in brought back memories. I do remember these things being achieved and making news. Here are a few 1970’s achievements:

Equal Rights Amendment
Introduction of the word chairperson and Ms.
Legal permission for women to keep their names after marriage
Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972 prohibited discrimination in education.
Boom in women participating in collegiate sports
Class action lawsuits for sex discrimination
Forbid sex bias with creditors against women — prior to this a woman had to obtain her husband’s consent to obtain credit in her own name.
Unemployment benefits could not be withheld from pregnant women
Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978 prevented women from getting fired from their workplace for being pregnant.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980 was the first time the court recognized sexual harassment in the workplace.
1972 – Ability to participate in the Boston Marathon.
Most states would recognize marital rape, but it did not become criminalized until 1993.
Roe v. Wade, 1973 protected woman’s right to have an abortion.
Girls obtained the right to play little league baseball.
Service academies were ordered to admit women
Women became more visible politically
Big gains in sports: women became jockies, professional players of basketball, tennis, golf and football;
Large gains in jobs: firefighters, police, construction, building trades, airline pilots.

70's - picketers against era Even with all those accomplishments there was still inequality. Equal pay for equal work was not achieved in 1980. Women still held was were termed “pink collar” jobs, meaning they still held the lesser level and lower paying jobs of secretary an clerk. Women earned 57% of men’s wages; women with four years of college earn less than a man with an 8th grade education.

When something stirs a memory, other memories come into play. I remember my parents discussing some of those achievements with disgust. They too felt that women were overstepping their boundaries and becoming unfeminine. Women today acknowledge their feminine side in dressing, but in the 1970’s the goal was to achieve a look similar to a mans. Pantsuits were high fashion. To accomplish your goals in a man’s world you must look and act like a man.

The Evolution of Women has taken place, and the female gender continues to evolve as we achieve greater standing in the eyes of the world. It will be interesting to see where this next decade takes us.

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Filed under career, communication, Coping, decisions, education, employment, handicapp, Life Changing, Life is a Melting Pot, memoir, time

November 13, 2014 · 9:43 am

Toot My Own Horn

As a writer I love putting thoughts down and sharing them. This week I am going to share two columns I recently had printed in the local paper…I’m going to toot my own horn.

It seems as if the government is getting involved in our lives more and more, taking control in areas they never have in the past. Once such area has to do with the regulation of school lunches, so I wrote a column School Food Guidelines Will Not Solve Kids’ Nutrition Problems. I am sharing it with you here both as a link and with a copy of the column posted below in case the link no longer functions, as sometimes happens with newspapers.

The other column is on a subject much more personal to me. My grandchildren were taken by CPS, parental rights terminated and although my husband and I tried to foster and adopt our granddaughters CPS/DHS fought us all the way. That battle is the subject of a book I am writing. I recently wrote a column that Foster Care Policy Change is Modest Given the Need for Reform.

I hope you enjoy the subjects on which I have chosen to “toot my own horn”. If you have any accomplishments to share, please do in the comments section below.

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Filed under Adoption, Child Protective Services, children, CPS, Department of Human Services, DHS, education, Family, food, Foster Care, grandchildren, kids, Life is a Melting Pot, lunch, nutrician, school

Tagged as Child Protective Services, foster care, government, Grace Grogan, grandchildren, grandmother, life, Life is a Melting Pot, lunch, Michigan, nutrician, school, school nutrician, writing

September 4, 2014 · 9:44 am

Let’s Get Prepped

Corbins First Day of Preschool September 3, 2014

Corbin ready for preschool. Photo by Caroline Kelch.

This week as the children in Michigan returned to school I was thinking about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. There were numerous Facebook postings of children on the first day back at school. Photos were posted of my grandsons. I don’t remember my mother taking the “first day” photographs every year, but I did take them of my children and that seems to be a popular modern activity. In reflecting on back-to-school preparation and school routines there are generational similarities that may or may not be an improvement.

Austin and Corbin ready for school. Photos by Caroline Kelch.

I was of elementary school age in the 1960’s. Back-to-school preparation involved getting 2-3 new outfits, new shoes, tennis shoes for gym class, new pencils, an eraser, a box of crayola crayons and a notebook and loose leaf notebook paper, and of course your metal lunch box, carefully selected with your favorite TV show on the outside and a matching thermos to carry your beverage. There were no book bags or backpacks.

If you lived in town you walked to school, if you lived in the country you rode a bus. There is a home movie of me and other students walking to school my kindergarten year on the shoulder of a road. There were no sidewalks and we walked with cars driving past us on the roadway. My first grade year we moved to the small town where I grew up. Subdivision streets did not have sidewalks, so again we all walked on the side of the road. Somehow we all managed to survive the hike each way without anyone getting killed or kidnapped. Today’s parents would most likely cringe at the thought of sending their young children out to endure such a walk on a daily basis.

In the classroom each student had a desk with a lift up top so you could store all your supplies inside. School started at 9:00 am with the Pledge of Allegiance, and then class instruction began. There was a 15 minute recess in the morning, and another recess in the afternoon. A hot lunch could be purchased or students could pack there own, and there were no restrictions on what could or could not be brought to school to eat. Lunch was a one-hour period in which students sat wherever they wished in the cafeteria and once done eating would get up and go outside to play for the remainder of the lunch period. If it was cold weather this involved walking back to your classroom area, unsupervised, to put on your hat, boots, etc. and then exit onto the playground. School was dismissed around 3:20 pm. Latch-key did not exist, everyone went home after school. While some kids had extracurricular activities, for the most part the time after school was open for to play with friends, watch TV or do chores. Elementary level students rarely had homework.

When my children were in elementary school in the early 1990’s shopping for school included several outfits, shoes, gym shoes, backpack, folders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, Kleenex, glue sticks, highlighters, red pencils, lunch boxes, thermos, and other items I have since forgotten. If you lived within a mile of the school your child was a “walker”, but the majority of the parents drove their children to school. There was always a long line of vehicles going in and out of the school parking lot. School began with announcements over the intercom system and each classroom then had the option of saying the Pledge of Allegiance. When my oldest child was in third grade the district we lived in eliminated recess and it was never restored. The only physical outlet the children had was gym class once a week, and art class. Children who could not sit still or pay attention for extended periods of time were diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and medicated. At lunch time students had assigned tables, sat with their classmates, and had to remain there until lunch was over. Lunch was a quick affair, only 20-30 minutes to get your food and eat. If a child forgot their lunch money or lunch they were offered a free peanut butter and jelly sandwich. With most children coming from two income families, many children went to latch-key after school or had other organized activities in which they participated either immediately after school or in the evening. My kids were no exception, participating in cub scouts, girl scouts, Awana, Karate, dance, and probably a few other things I have forgotten.

Now zoom forward to the 2010’s. I have grandchildren who are in elementary school. Clothing and shoe requirements are about the same as they were when my children were young. Backpacks are a must and children ride the bus to school even if they live in town. My daughter deals with a lengthy list of required school supplies. Many schools have supply lists available in advance at major stores so people can stock up. You are not purchasing supplies for just your child, some items are shared with the entire classroom. Required supply lists include notebooks, paper, folders, pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, glue pens, erasers, scissors, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and snacks to share with the class. Young children often have a lunch box as well. Schools are managed tightly for security, teachers meet the youngest grades outside as they exit the bus, and escort them back to their buses at the end of the day. Entrance to the school is only possible through the main entrance, all other doors are locked to prevent entry from the outside. Most schools have eliminated the Pledge of Allegiance because of its reference to “One Nation Under God” and the fact that this reference might offend some people. Classrooms have a mid-morning snack time using food provided by students. Classrooms and/or schools may have restrictions on certain food items due to other children having allergies, with peanuts and/or peanut butter being a frequent restriction. I believe there is limited recess time for the children to go outside and play and do not know what the arrangements are for lunchtime seating but assume it is a controlled and organized system. Many children are scheduled with after school activities.

What I question is whether things have improved over the generations. Things were far more relaxed in the 60’s and 70’s than they are now. There was less structure giving children more opportunities to make their own decisions and they had more unscheduled free time. More time was allotted for play/recess during the school day which allowed students to expel excess energy and learn social skills such as how to resolve conflicts on their own. You rarely heard of children being medicated for disorders, allergies were practically non-existent, and violence such as stabbings and shootings in schools were extremely rare, basically non-existent. If children got into a conflict or fight they may have been sent to the principal’s office, but suspensions from school for such conflicts were not common. If our parents worked we went to a friends house after school or by around age 11 were allowed to let ourselves into the house and stay there alone until our parents came home. Actually many of us were babysitting other children by the age of 11 or 12. Parents of today may read this and wonder how we survived without having our lives properly organized. The answer, we learned how to cope with boredom, how to socialize and resolve conflicts without violence and how to take care of ourselves so that we were well prepared to go out into the world and be productive members of society.

Children that grew up in the 80’s, 90’s and the 2000’s have led a much more structured lifestyle. Their time has been mapped out for them with activities, video games and TV to prevent boredom. School days are organized with where to sit, who to socialize with at lunch, and any physical or verbal conflict results in suspension due to “zero tolerance” policies. Children do not learn how to conquer boredom, resolve conflicts or care for themselves because their time and care is mapped out for them on an hour-by-hour basis. In my opinion this has resulted in increased violence amongst young people who are frustrated, angry, over-scheduled, and have never learned coping mechanisms for boredom and conflicts. While not all children demonstrate these symptoms and many are successful, there are also a high number who are unable to adjust to the realities of adult responsibilities.

While it is doubtful that things will ever change back to what they were in prior generations, I think it is important to look at the overall affect our lifestyle is having on our children and try to make whatever adjustments we can to make sure that they learn all the skills they need to be successful academically and socially in school and later in their adult years.

I welcome thoughts on what you think on this topic. Whether you agree or disagree, an active discussion is a great way to open minds and consider different viewpoints.

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Filed under children, education, Family, grandchildren, kids, Life is a Melting Pot, school

Tagged as back-to-school, change, education, family, Grace Grogan, Life is a Melting Pot, memoir, school

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