Archives in Category: Small Town Life

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Cemetery Sadness

Posted on June 14, 2006

This is Flag Day, when Americans celebrate and show respect for our flag, its designers, and makers over the past two hundred plus years. So on this day I want to honor three men I don’t really know, but whose

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Aaarrrggghhh!

Posted on April 11, 2006

The title for this essay simulates the sound of primal frustration, that feeling that occurs when one absolutely throws up one’s hands in exasperation at a given situation. When one runs out of reasons or excuses or possible explanations. I

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Clara

Posted on April 8, 2006

Today my next-door neighbor Clara turns eighty, and her family is holding a special party in her honor at Tosi’s, a local fancy restaurant. Like barnacles, there are memories attached here, since it’s the same restaurant where Clara and her

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Berrien Hills Country Club

Posted on March 14, 2006

The news is grim. Berrien Hills Country Club, which has served local communities and residents for over eighty years, is in trouble. Financial trouble. In fact, the club has voted not to open this year and to entertain offers to

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Obits Pix

Posted on February 27, 2006

Sometimes I’m caught off guard when I read the local obituaries. It’s not the words that puzzle me; it’s the photo that often accompanies them.

Case in point: A woman, eighty-eight years old, passed away recently; but the photograph that

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El Rodeo

Posted on February 26, 2006

It’s one of Benton Harbor’s best kept secrets; judging from its storefront appearance, maybe the owners want to keep it that way. But this weekend, El Rodeo took the gold medal for dining at a Mexican restaurant.

Earl usually doesn’t

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Doctor’s Office

Posted on January 27, 2006

This morning I arrived early and eager at my doctor’s office for my annual physical. Early because that’s the best way of guaranteeing the doctor will be on time; for, as the day wears on, my experience has been that

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Health Club Benefits

Posted on January 24, 2006

I’ve probably never given a health club a chance before now. Even when I belonged to the exclusive East Bank Club in Chicago, it was all about the massages and the manicures and meeting friends for dinner. Before that, I

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Disaster

Posted on January 4, 2006

The Sago Mine saga continues to unfold, as mining families begin to bury their loved ones and the sole survivor struggles for life. In the weeks to come, there will be recriminations all around.

For now, here is what I

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Final Preparations

Posted on December 23, 2005

It’s the Eve of Christmas Eve; and, judging from various emails and personal contacts, my friends and family are involved in an eclectic assortment of preparations, not all of them geared to the holiday.

My next door neighbor, Clara, is

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