Great ideas for a Michigan vacation this summer
Andrew Norton
In yesterday's Detroit Free Press there is a plethora of things to do and places to visit this summer - and guess what? They're all in Michigan! :D
Read MoreAll Things Michigan
Michigan travels, events, photos, and more
Perfect attendance for 13 years gets Constantine grad a new car
Andrew Norton
Andria Baker made a deal with her dad when she was in the 4th grade. She saw in the paper that an area senior with perfect attendance got a new car when he graduated because he had perfect attendance all through school. She had perfect attendance up to that point and made the deal with her dad, Tim. Tim Baker made good on the deal and Andria received the new car at her graduation party. Factoring in snow days, she went to school for 2,516 days during her 13 year stint at Constantine Public Schools.
Just for some perspective on the numbers - Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken made headlines when he broke Lou Gehrig's record and played in 2,632 straight games over sixteen seasons.
From someone who did not have perfect attendance throughout their entire public school career this just boggles my mind. It's an incredible feat and it's pretty cool that she got a car out of the deal.
Kudos, Andria! :D
Bottom of the 9th, two outs for Tiger Stadium
Andrew Norton
Any group wishing to preserve part of the field and home plate grandstands of Tiger Stadium is running short on time. June 1 is the official deadline for groups/individuals with a plan and, more importantly, money to save a portion of Tiger Stadium.
Read MoreThe Things They Carried
Andrew Norton
This photo is from last year's 4th of July Parade in Constantine, Michigan. With yesterday being Memorial Day and thinking of parades and our soldiers both past and present I thought I would share this photo.
This photo (and blog post) is titled 'The Things They Carried' as that is what popped in my head when I saw this mother/soldier marching in the parade. I have read Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" which deals with the mental and emotional aspects of war and immediately thought that this photo illustrates just that both metaphorically and physically.
She is surrounded by the things she carried.
God Bless our Veterans and current service men and women. Thank you for all that you do.
Read MoreReason #1232 why I don't buy the newspaper
Andrew Norton
We stopped and bought a paper today because we wanted to know what time the local Memorial Day parade was going to be. The front page of the Kalamazoo Gazette said in regards to Memorial Day Parades, "A Complete List is on B-2." Cool, I thought. When I looked at B-2 only Kalamazoo areas had their parade times listed. What kind of a complete list is that?
So, I turned to the internet and searched - White Pigeon Memorial Day parade. The first result was ironically enough for the Kalamazoo Gazette blog at mlive.com.
Read MoreGive Greensky Bluegrass a listen
Andrew Norton
Greensky Bluegrass got their start in the Kalamazoo area back in 2000. The members are - Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), Anders Beck (dobro), Michael Devol(bass), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin). I first stumbled upon Greensky Bluegrass while searching for Bluegrass music at internetarchive.org. There is a good amount of live recordings from various Greensky Bluegrass concerts available. My current favorite is the December 2006 performance at the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, Michigan.
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