September 2016 archive

Up from Under the Bridge, Eh?

Pure Michigan campaign ads had persuaded trolls—residents of Michigan’s lower peninsula, like me—to crawl out from our homes south of the Mackinac Bridge. It was Labor Day weekend, the last chance for many families to head up north before the start of a new school year. For my family, this was the perfect time to explore the …

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Mount Adams

Crouched in a blinding sleet storm on Mount Adam’s summit, I was alone and numb all over. Stranded in howling mist and 50 mph winds, it was early afternoon on what was supposed to have been a normal tranquil June day in 1989. Any thoughts of a view south 3,000 feet above the Great Gulf …

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Hot Blacktop Ch. 15 – Racing Under Caution

Saint still reeled from Sienna’s departure. She needed the sense knocked into her after the nonsense she threw at him in the garage. Did she really think he was going to give up on her? Saint would set her straight once he found her. When he moved to find his clothes, his head throbbed but …

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This Is Your Brain on Sentences

Words express emotions, actions and sensations. Both short Hemingway-ish power sentences and long clause-embedded beauties force me to marvel at the craft, inventive structure and grammatical placement. I go back, reread and savor an author’s phrase word by word. Reading is good food for the brain. Now science proves what literature already knew. Neuroscience News …

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Trip of a Lifetime – Australia and New Zealand: Part 5

Tuesday, April 5: Our group gathered in the hotel lobby for a visit to a predominately Maori school, Kaitao Middle School in Rotorua. Kaitao is a recipient of Grand Circle Travel donations. Roger again acted as our chief for purposes of introductions. A few selected students and staff welcomed each of us with the traditional …

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