Category Archives: Uncategorized

Girls just wanna have fun, boys just wanna be dumb, and writers just want to write. Better yet, they want people to read their writing. This is what a devoted diaspora of now-freelance journalists continues to do in West Michigan. … Continue reading →

As I run downhill into the great wide green park, a Tom Petty song pours through my earbuds: I got someone who loves me tonight I got over $1,000 in a bank, and I’m all right Look deep in the … Continue reading →

Memorial Day, 2012: One of the few clear images I have of Dad in World War II is of him slung into a kind of hammock, reading below deck of the USS Cabot in the South Pacific. It was a secret spot … Continue reading →

Dear Mom, Today I sewed a button. I sewed it onto one of Dad’s old shirts, the short-sleeved one with blue, grey, white and red vertical stripes. I wear this shirt from time to time, not just because I like … Continue reading →

The man was looking up and snapping something with his cell phone. I looked up too, coming out of Family Fare with two bags full, and smiled: an exquisite rainbow. It was remarkably distinct, fully spanning the eastern sky from … Continue reading →

Lately some very old songs have been making their way into my head, seemingly emerging from deep memories stirred by recurring thoughts of my late parents. One of them is “You’ve Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley,” an American gospel … Continue reading →

Recently checked into the studio with my longtime bandmate and West Michigan music critic John Sinkevics to record a theme song for his talk show, “Local Spins Live,” on 1340 AM. All props for the expert vintage recording to Tommy … Continue reading →

For all the abuse it takes from critics, the Academy Awards serves at least one useful function: It makes us go to the movies. We rush during this final week to see the best-picture nominees so we can feel some … Continue reading →

One of the great virtues of the “Star Trek” enterprise was the optimistic outlook of its creator, Gene Roddenberry. The shows reflected his basic faith that the human endeavor was ultimately worthwhile, and that it was possible for the human … Continue reading →

I stopped my skiing in the tunnel of pines, my own private entrance to Narnia, and looked around as I always do. The late afternoon-sun blinked through the boughs. Far-away sounds mingled with the nearer chirps of birds. I closed … Continue reading →