Walking With History

History can often be dry and uninteresting, or sometimes it can totally come alive and capture every part of your imagination. It can tell us who we are and what lives we could experience and know. In our every day walks everything could suddenly be different - it could become a world where we might walk beside people, and sometimes can even stand side by side with that day in a different time. When I think of those times in the early part of the century, I often think of my own favorite haunts in our small town. They are often those that look and feel of the town's early history. And if I tightly close my eyes I can almost see those people wandering in and out of my world.

What makes any place historical is often more than simply its age, or the nostalgia that it can call to mind. The Holland Peanut Store at 46 East Eighth Street offers an inviting combination of mouth watering aromas. From the roasted nuts and homemade chocolates that seems to permeate the air of the small store, and that's only the beginning because this establishment has a large selection of goodies for special holidays, or any kind of important occasion, but this store holds close a family history too that makes this confectionary gem a strong memory both past and present to many in our community.

The store, which has been a part of the city's fabric for over a hundred years, has so much more to offer than just tantalizing scents and memories, though. With square bins fit tightly together filled with all varieties of candies, glass cases filled with roasted nuts and specialty chocolates, colorful piñatas, storage tins, and an assortment of other small gift items. Their homemade ice cream creation the Nutty Paddle Pops are sensational!

But sometimes history here can be clothed in other forms too. Sometimes it can be found in the buildings that really have come to symbolize a city's center. One such icon here is the Tower Clock found on the corner of 8^th Street and River Avenue. Built in late 1892 this building first housed the Holland City Bank, and later the Chamber of Commerce. But the main attraction of this place is the huge clock that looks down over much of our downtown. Saved from destruction and restored by many donors including some wealthy patrons the Tower Clock in 1988 became a part of the changes that was known as the Streetscape project that brought to life our whole retail district. From an important beginning to continued life that huge time piece has continued to stand over lives, and many more stories than even I can imagine.

The First Colors of Spring

And so begins spring...The first of the spring colors are arriving, from the daffodil fronds, to the purples, whites and yellows of the crocuses in my yard. I've seen to tips of tulip leaves for weeks but to actually see color is a real gift.

Tomorrow will bring rain and spring-like temperatures so I am in hope sof capturing more flowers with my lense!

Life in the Fast Lane

Life here has become brighter, if not warmer. We've had temps in the high 30s, but the sun has shown spectacularly! Sun is something that we got little of this winter which is really hard for some people. I simply appreciate that golden orb in the spring because it means a new season.

So what is it about the seasons that I like? Everything! Each has a beauty all their own and like people, they have nuances within their personalities that aren't all beauty. In our world today there is no part for the things that:

1. slow us down and irritate our schedules.

The world isn't geared for interruptions like a little 'ole snow storm. Where in our drive to succeed and control our personal world did we loose the joy that comes from slowing down and marveling in the natural world? Yea, I know I'm ranting, but I wish I knew how to share the gift of seeing the natural around us instead of a seeing nothing but a huge and continuous hindrance to our way of life.

Between the Covers of a Book...Loving to Read

Reading has always been an escape from my every day world. When I was young it was that mysterious destination to escape to when my learning disabilities made me feel like the class joke in elementary school. I always picked books that were from a different time period and learned through them to enjoy history and different and more exotic worlds from my own simple Midwest surroundings.

After fifth grade the world and the different cultural worlds began to fascinate me, and from then on I was more into biographies and stories of Europe, the Middle East and far East. It took many years to find my way back to fiction and mysteries, but when I rediscover them in high school I couldn't get enough of it! From Sherlock Holmes to Anne of Green Gables I rediscovered worlds that were sometimes similar, and sometimes foreign to my own American experience. I really enjoyed the world, the people, and the many places I found between the covers of my books.

As a young mother I was often confined at home with sick children a book became my only escape during a busy day, and I began reading more, and later in the evenings so as not to be disturbed. But I also read with my toddlers, and as they grew we started sharing books at the dinner table. I would quickly devour my own meal, and then read a chapter or maybe two from books I thought my boys might enjoy. From Gary Paulson to Arthur Conan Doyle we discovered together the wilds of a northern forest, or the smoggy streets in a London of the 1800s.

As they grew we also discovered that they shared my difficulties with learning and began our cooperative struggle to a path through the maze that was the school year. Though they had some difficulties that carried on into their adult lives they also had a strong love for a good story which often helped them past some of adulthood's early frustrations. Don't get me wrong - for people who have reading problems, it isn't easy to like, or even enjoy reading but a love of a good tale often helped them climb that mountain toward cracking the code of letters, and the meanings of the written word.

Now we enjoy sharing favorite authors and different genres in the book world. We don't always agree on who we like to read, but we always revel in the discussions of the ones we do. Now I'm reading with my grandkids, and loving those discoveries all over again.

A Long Drawn Out Good-bye

Life has gotten more than a bit crazy for me lately, things breaking down and needing to be replaced, all the stuff that makes for an interesting spring time. I want to work in my garden!! I'm sick of snow, cold weather and simply winter in general. We washed my car today so of course it's going to snow 3-6 inches tomorrow. UGH!

Weather all over is crazy, and extreme too. So my wish for the coming week - after all this craziness is 45 to 50 degree temps and just a little bit of spring...please!

Recession and Change

Monday is past, and yet we've had many changes today. Wall Street had a major drop courtesy of Bear-Sterns, and our recession riddled economy has frightened many, so what is life coming to today - tomorrow and on into the future?

Life in Michigan isn't easy now, tool and die jobs that use to be secure and something to be proud of are leaving for other countries and leaving many in this economy fearful and scratching their heads. If we send those jobs away many will retrain - but what about those who are in their 50s and will probably not be considered for other jobs because of their age? Where do they go? We have seen in our country so many different types of discrimination that we don't see it affected those who are older as a real problem. And this is only one of the many jobs that are disappearing. The jobs that are replacing them are service jobs with low salaries, with little or no benefits.

Are there answers to the conundrum we face over job loss and an economy that is sinking as fast as the government is throwing money at the problems? All these questions are are important to answer if we are to solve the financial crisis in this country. We need to look at how much we need to change our live styles to better accommodate our new economy. We need to look closely at our present consumerism driven society and begin to make changes both personally, and as a nation. Can we do it? I certainly hope so.

A Special Day

It is Monday, March 17th...St. Patrick's Day!

May you be blessed with sunshine
And a spring day.
May your heart be
Buoyed with hope,
And grounded in love!

The Stirrings of Spring

Winter is till trying to remain on stage, but ever so gently Spring is moving into the spotlight and making her warm personality felt in our daily lives. Today was sunny and almost 50 degrees. There are nubs of tulips peeking out through muddy gardens and even the grass has a greener tint.

I am ready to dig my fingers into the warm earth and recreate my garden again this season. Winter is a lovely season but there is little creatively that can come from that cold and white world. With the blue sky comes the first blossoming of colors this year, and I for one am ready to see, smell and touch that vibrant world once more!

St. Paddy's Day

What is it like, if you’re really Irish? Is it a once a year thing that is all green beer, and a rollicking good time on that one saint’s day a year? The simple answer is of course no. Though we’re a people that enjoy a great tune and time together with friends we aren’t into green beer, that’s an American invention much like the wearing of nothing but green. We do like a good pint, but for many of us any saint’s day begins with church and ends with a meal and family.

The old fashioned word melancholy often is used to describe our attitude toward the world and that to is often part of who we are. Pain can often bring out that black side in all of us, but the small joys give strength and bring us together.

So why have the Irish become so much a part of the consciousness for many here in America and around the world? Through poverty and loss we’ve seldom lost our sense of humor, or our need for music to dance away the problems of any day.

So what makes us special? Probably the very fact that we know how to celebrate, how to put problems on the back burner and rejoice for the simple joy of being alive - come share this time, let’s raise a glass together to good music, good spirits, family, friends and all that is good in our lives!

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig!

May the blessings of light be upon you,
Light without and light within,
And in all your comings and goings,
May you ever have a kindly greeting
From them you meet along the road.

Eagles Fly!

Here begins the rush to spring. By now everyone is passed even tolerating snow, slush, ice and frigid temperatures! I mean it really makes the journey in to work yucky!

Now, of course that's not true for the real winter enthusiast, they are those who wait for the ski trips and snow mobile rides that make the winter fun. But why is it that we don't like winter as a culture? If you think of the Native cultures that live up in Canada and beyond you know there are many descriptions and names for snow. So why is it that we get cabin fever? Some of it has to do with our culture that doesn't value the natural world much except in a picture frame, or if we do we want to keep out there - in the National Parks, or the wilderness areas. We're in the modern world and we cannot let this winter weather affect our commute to work, or to where ever we have to get right now.

If you died as a wealthy man or woman, but never experienced a sunrise sitting on a porch as a forest came alive you've missed the world. If you haven't watched the birds at a feeder or seen a hawk or an owl on the prowl for food you've really missed out on nature's beauty. John Denver's song is right and fits me perfectly we are so into technology and miss what makes life really tick - the gifts of nature all around us.


He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin home to a place hed never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door......

And the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
I know hed be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high................

(Check out the whole set of lyrics the next time you get the chance, and appreciate the gifts all around you.)

Season's History

Last night the last snow flakes of winter fell.
They're talking warmer days and sunshine,
Winter is history, they say.

When does yesterday
Become history?

The blue sky no longer
Peeks around the clouds but
Shimmers in an cloudless sky.

Now becomes something new,
And spring, dancing out into
A blinding spotlight begins that
New Day.
Yesterday, is history.

Kindness, a Necessity of Life

Kindness is the highest form of intelligence. - Wayne Teasdale

Honestly, I'm not one who appreciates quotes. They touch certain people, but are usually geared more for the generalities of life. They hit home because we want so badly to be one of those people who is thought of as one who does those good, or important things. But too often our world of running at high speed all day every day, and not getting enough sleep helps to create the kind of people we really don't want to be - despite our very best intentions.

But this quote isn't encouraging or cajoling, it only makes a simple statement that in a world of high level genius, and great thinkers a simple action is truly the highest form of thought…the act of being kind to one another.