Category Archives: memories

The Ides of March

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The middle of March will always bring memories of long family weekends in Grayling, MI.  Every year, we would attend the annual Michigan Recreational Canoeing Association meeting.  For my parents, it meant meetings, ordering merchandise for the summer ahead, and sharing ideas with other canoe livery owners.  As a child, it meant a long weekend swimming in the hotel pool, interspersed with time in the arcade and ordering pizza at least once.  Above all, I counted it as a sure sign of spring and the long summer to come.  Throughout my childhood, I considered it the first sign of spring – right up there with the return of the robins,

I loved going to the Holidome for the weekend.  My immediate family all attended, of course, but the entire conference took on the atmosphere of a family reunion at times.  When my aunt married, she and her then husband Kevin purchased a canoe livery on the AuSable.  We spent lots of time with Aunt Amy during RCA weekends.  In fact, when Aunt Amy later helped my mom and I place orders for the upcoming summer during the pandemic – an experience I hope to never repeat – it sparked a bit of nostalgia between sisters.  As Mom and Aunt Amy said, we were the association before the association.  They reminisced about the old meetings and some of the more memorable owners.  At one point, my dad even served as president.

Other liveries on the Rifle attended too.  One of my dad’s best friends at the time, Phil, owned Cedar Springs.  His wife and daughter, both named Connie, attended as well.  Both were family favorites.  Phil’s daughter taught with my mom for years, while his wife watched us while we were in the pool from time to time.  Every time we passed Cedar Springs on our annual overnight canoe trips with our dad, my sister Erica and I were treated to ice cream cones as we headed home on the river.

The White family attended as well.  White’s Canoe Livery happened to be the first canoe livery on the Rifle.  In fact, there would be no Russell Canoe Livery without White’s.  My grandfather got the idea from Don White and then started Russell Rent-a-Canoe out of what is now my home.  It all started in 1959 with a Ford pickup and a six haul of canoes.  To this day, the only person I know who knows the Rifle River as well as my dad is Ladd White, Don’s son and current owner.  I hate to think of the knowledge that will be lost when my dad and Ladd are no longer around.

Canoeing near the park in Omer ~ early 20th century.  The site of the former Omer park is just downriver from our main location in Omer.

For some reason, I seem to remember that there would be a March canoe trip as part of the meetings.  At one point, it may have been referred to as the Ides of March trip.  As a child, that fascinated me.  I could not understand why anyone would want to canoe in the winter.  In my child’s mind, canoeing and tubing meant one thing and one thing only:  swimming.  What was the point of canoeing if you couldn’t get wet?  That happened to be my biggest gripe about March.  March supposedly brings spring, and yet, it would be months before I could swim the river again.  It didn’t seem fair.

The Rifle River and Russell Canoe Livery will always be a part of me.  My first home happened to be near our main location in Omer.  One day, hopefully decades in the future, it will also be my last.  March is when it all starts to spring to life once again.  Reservations start rolling in, plans are made, and merchandise is ordered.  I love it all, especially our customers.  Here is to a wonderful summer 2024!

Creativity Is Everything

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I admit it; I am obsessed with creativity.  How do we access it?  How do we inspire and cultivate it in others?  I am especially concerned about this as a secondary teacher.  Over the last several years, I’ve noticed an appalling lack of creativity among students.  Many are content simply to move on to the next thing, complete the next step.  I particularly saw this during the pandemic.  It is what Robin Williams’ character in “Dead Poets Society,” Mr. Keating, discusses in one of his many monologues and develops into a theme throughout the movie, challenging the status quo, not to mention the idea of carpe diem.  Ultimately, his students pursuing their passions, against the wishes of their parents, lead to some horrific consequences.  While one would hope that such attitudes would have changed since the 1950s setting of the movie, I’m not so sure it has when it comes to education.  Unfortunately.

I’m just grateful that I have a creative outlet that I love.  Growing up, I loved the art class I took in high school.  Sadly, I can’t draw or paint well at all.  Yet, I loved coming up with different composition projects in various materials.  I can always come up with an idea.  Some, of course, are better than others.  I also adore art history and find it fascinating.  In the end, I wish I had had more confidence in what artistic ability I did have growing up.  Who knows where it would have taken me?

Over the last few years, I’ve subbed for an art teacher whom I got to know fairly well during student teaching.  I always loved subbing for her.  I had fun watching students work on their projects, including ceramics.  It made me want a place of my own just to create.  I have everything I need, including space.  I just need to take the time to make it happen.

What’s sad is that we live in a society that greatly rewards conformity.  As adults, we get caught up in work and other obligations.  Most of us have precious little time to further develop our creativity.  Can you imagine if we did .. or at least valued creativity?

Vitamin C – Graduation (Friends Forever) (1999)

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Vitamin C – Graduation (Friends Forever) (1999) (Video) (Lyrics)

(Written February 12, 2024)

I came across the video for “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by accident this past weekend.  Sometimes nostalgia slaps you so hard in the face that it cannot be ignored.  While I can’t say that “Graduation (Friends Forever)” was ever a favorite, it did leave an impression when it first came out during the spring of 1999.  How could it not?  I graduated from high school in 1999, and quite frankly, the target audience.

In the midst of watching classic videos from the 80s and 90s, YouTube saw fit to suggest “Graduation.”  Thinking “why not?,” I found myself transported back 25 years.  What struck me most about the video wasn’t the song at all.  Frankly, I still find it way too saccharine.  Instead, I thought about how I could have guessed the year from any still photo from the video. Not a cell phone in sight.

It cracked me up.  The video definitely fit the late 90s aesthetic that we all thought so bleeding edge at the time.  In fact, the girl’s outfit in the video, the layered yellow tank top with the orange/yellow slip skirt, reminded me of one of my go-to outfits in 2001.  The only difference?  I didn’t layer tank tops.  Instead, I wore a jean jacket over a yellow tank top.  I remember it vividly because I loved that outfit and that look so much at the time.  Maybe it is time to bring it back.

While I can’t say that I loved or even liked high school (I couldn’t wait to graduate and move on), it is fun to look back from time to time.  After watching the video, it hit me that this June will mark 25 years since I graduated from high school.  How?  Just how? Interestingly, “Wear Sunscreen,” a spoken-word release based upon an essay, became popular during the spring of 1999 as well, even though it dates to 1997.  See below.

The advice still holds.

“Ladies and Gentlemen … to the Class of 1999 … “

Nelly Furtado – I’m Like a Bird (2000)

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Nelly Furtado – I’m Like a Bird (2000) (Video) (Lyrics)

(Written February 11, 2024)

Late to the party, I discovered Nelly Furtado’s incredible album “Whoa, Nelly!” nearly a year after it dropped.  It became a huge part of the soundtrack to my semester in Quito, Ecuador during the fall of 2001.  If I was traveling across Ecuador, I had “Whoa, Nelly!” with me.  “I’m Like a Bird” happens to be the breakout single and the most well-known song on the album, but the entire album is incredible.  “Trynna Find a Way” and “Turn Off the Lights” stand out as well, but it remains one of the rare albums I can still listen to in its entirety.

Why did I like it so much?  Wanderlust, probably.  The entire album is about making your way in the world, figuring out what you want out of life, and every other 90s inspirational/motivational cliche one can imagine.  Nelly just did it a bit better than others.  What always struck me about this album, the song themselves, the music videos, and Nelly herself is the originality of it all.  “Whoa, Nelly!” as a whole definitely fit the late 1990s/early 2000s aesthetic perfectly.  Yet, something unique about Nelly herself stands out and shines.  And then there is the uniqueness of her voice.  There is no mistaking it.

Originality always resonates with me, and I think that is why I love this song and the entire album so much.  I can’t help but think of all of the adventures I had across Ecuador, including the bio research station Tiputini (in the Amazon), Otovalo, the Galapagos Islands, and more each time I listen to Nelly.  There is nothing quite like being 20 and having the entire world before you.  “Whoa, Nelly!” captures it well.

One of the highlights of my semester at la Universidad San Franciso del Quito, an epic trip to biological research station Tiputini in the heart of the Amazon (la selva)!

Not The End, The Beginning – Part 3

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Cousin fun on the Rifle River, Omer, Michigan. June 2023

Part 1

Part 2

This year will mark my 12th year back working at Russell Canoe Livery.  Each year, I love it even more and appreciate what my parents and grandparents built.  Without the canoe livery, pursuing my teaching career, and student teaching in particular, would not have been possible.  None of it would have been an option.  Only when I returned to the family business in 2013 did I fully understand just how much my mom contributed to the canoe livery.  After retiring from teaching in 2010, Mom became more involved in the business.  Only in 2013 did I begin to take over some of her responsibilities.  I had to reconsider what I wanted and the narrative I had created for myself.

Growing up, I always looked up to my dad and Grandpa Buttrick.  Both businessmen, I saw how both had created a life for themselves using family businesses.  In Dad’s case, the seasonal nature of the canoe livery allowed him to pursue other interests and provide us with a great quality of life.  As his sidekick, I grew up watching Dad making decisions about the business.  Prior to building the Crystal Creek shower house in 1992, I went with him to check out similar showerhouses.  One of my earliest memories is going with Dad in his truck to unclog the artesian well across the road in Crystal Creek Campground.  I used to argue with him when Erica and I would catch the bus from our house behind Crystal Creek to our main location in Omer.  He, of course, wanted us to ride in his bus.  Knowing that he wouldn’t let me bounce around in the back of the bus, I wanted to ride with anyone else.  Dad often won.

Grandpa Buttrick, on other hand, moved his young family from Marshall, Michigan to Standish, Michigan to take over his grandfather’s business:  Forward Corporation.  On our yearly trip to the Upper Peninsula with my Buttrick grandparents and cousins, we always had to stop in Gaylord to check on his convenience stores.  He loved the business, and due to a unique set of circumstances, I managed one of his convenience stores for a few years.  Through that experience, I learned just why he loved that business so much.  If I hadn’t moved back to Michigan in 2005, I would not have had the opportunity to get to know Grandpa Buttrick so well before he passed away in 2007.  Like teaching, business runs deep in my blood.

Late 90s at Russell Canoe Livery.
Hard at work!

When I graduated in 1999, I attended Michigan State University to pursue a business degree in supply chain management.  I quickly decided to pursue a Spanish degree too.  I couldn’t give it up.  Both of my older cousins earned degrees in supply chain management from MSU as well.  I knew the program, and frankly, the subject still fascinates me.  Even though I didn’t end up with a long career in supply chain, those experiences during my years at MSU made a deep impression on me and still shape how I view the world.

The processes of working so closely with my parents on all things relating to the canoe livery and establishing my teaching career gave me a whole new appreciation for my mom.  I will never understand how she taught kindergarten for 15 years.  Two half-days substitute teaching in kindergarten were more than enough for me.

As time went on, I slowly realized that the canoe livery would not have been nearly as successful without Mom and Grandma Reid.  Dad may have had the vision and made it happen, but it would not have been possible without great customer service provided by us all.  I may have grown up wanting to follow in Dad and Grandpa Buttrick’s footsteps, but I followed in my mom’s instead.  I just faced a different set of circumstances.

Toby Keith – Beer for My Horses (Featuring Willie Nelson) (2003)

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Toby Keith – Beer for My Horses (Featuring Willie Nelson) (2003) (Video) (Lyrics)

Written February 10, 2024

Toby Keith.  I can’t help but feel that his death is the end of an era. The lyrics to “Beer for My Horses” have been running through my head ever since I learned of his untimely death early Monday morning.  Even though I’ve never truly been a full-fledged country music fan, I loved most of his music.  What I don’t love, I simply haven’t discovered yet.  While my heart will always belong to pop/rock, alternative, classic rock, etc., Toby Keith will always remain one of my favorite country artists.  Songs such as “I Love This Bar,” “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” “Whiskey Girl,” “American Soldier,” and so, so much more were always a part of the soundtrack to my college years and early 20s.  I don’t think it is possible to even discuss popular music in the early 2000s without mentioning Toby Keith in some form, and that isn’t even considering his lasting impact on country music.

So, what is it that made him so popular and memorable?  Personally, he always reminded me of the older brothers of classmates.  The ones that were either too cool or cautionary tales, depending on your perspective.  Those with just a hint enough of danger to make them attractive.  He never cared what others thought, and he never shied away from his rural upbringing.  In fact, he celebrated it, and we loved him for it.  In spite of everything, he remained true to himself and wasn’t afraid to celebrate his love for his country.  All of that resonated with me and so many others.

By the way, if you haven’t watched the video to “Beer for My Horses,” check it out.  It is even better than I remember.

Not The End, The Beginning – Part 2

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Not The End, The Beginning – Part 1

When I went back to school in January 2014, just over 10 years ago, I admit, the idea of being an older student intimidated me, especially online courses.  When I graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) in 2004, online courses were not nearly as developed as they are now.  Due to a combination of landing a full-time position in Houston, Texas within a week of graduation, moving across the country, my stubbornness, and adjusting to working in corporate America full-time, my first experience with online classes did not go well.  That early negative experience stayed with me.  Fortunately, I adapted.

During the academic year, I planned to attend class and work on coursework two to three days a week while substitute teaching as much as possible.  To add insult to injury, I didn’t just take classes at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU).  No, I decided to enroll at Delta College too.

There were two reasons why I enrolled at Delta.  First, realistically, I could save money when compared to SVSU.  Second, I decided to complete a writing certificate while working towards my teaching certificate.  In the end, I had a wonderful experience at Delta College.  My history and writing classes, all taken at Delta, are among my most treasured.

My decision to complete the general writing program at Delta College stemmed from my involvement with Mid-Michigan Writers.  I attended their Gateway to Writing workshop in the fall of 2013.  That day, I happened to hear a group of Jeff Vande Zande’s students talking about how much they enjoyed his class and the wonderful writing program at Delta.  Vande Zande, who happened to be the keynote speaker that day, taught a screenwriting class at the time.  A few years later, his screenwriting class changed the way I look at movies forever.

At SVSU, I had to decide which secondary endorsements I planned to pursue.  In addition to Spanish, I had to choose between social studies and English.  Social studies won.  In 2019, I started a new position as a middle school teacher at St. Michael School and began taking classes to earn my English endorsement.  As with so many things in my life, I didn’t want to have to decide between two great options, so I didn’t.  I did both.  In spite of a pandemic, scheduling conflicts, and other considerations, I finally completed my English endorsement in May 2023.

In the end, I resigned my position in order to finally complete my English endorsement.  As incredible as it seems, SVSU, even in the aftermath of a global pandemic, offered no online or evening options for the two classes I still needed.  It wasn’t the only reason I left St. Mike’s, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d never be able to finish.  It ended up being for the best.

Sadly, that summer, approximately a month after I resigned, the assistant principal at St. Mike’s – and so, so much more – passed away.  It is safe to say that my life would be very different without Norma Vallad.  I certainly would not have landed at St. Mike’s without her involvement.  So much of our school culture revolved around her down to every last detail.  I still can’t imagine St. Mike’s without her.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to face that prospect in the fall.

By the time I finished my English endorsement last May, I felt such a deep sense of closure.  After all these years, no more educational pursuits to chase – unless, of course, someone would like to pay for a masters degree or PhD.  As far as I am concerned, I have nothing left to prove.

Teaching left me conflicted.  On one hand, I had come way too far to give up on teaching.  Yet, my first full year of teaching coincided with the Covid 19 pandemic.  I saw first hand how the pandemic affected teachers, students, parents, administrators, and everyone else.  The apathy I saw and experienced still haunts me.  As I reconsidered my role and future in education, little did I know that the best was yet to come.

Stay tuned for Part 3 …

Ghosts of Christmases Past

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It never seems to fail.  Come the first week in December, I get overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done before Christmas – decorating, shopping, cards, planning, and so much more.  As a teacher, that doesn’t even include everything that needs to be wrapped up before winter break.  December, and Christmas in particular, are such a whirlwind of emotion and activity.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas.  In fact, I adore it.  My December 18th birthday just adds to it all.  The reality that I am another year older doesn’t always help.  I am old enough to miss several people who are no longer with us, particularly my grandparents, all of whom loom large in my Christmas childhood memories.  Somewhere in the first week of December, I hit a wall, and frankly, I don’t want Christmas to come at all.  Yet, it always does, and somehow, everything gets done on time.  New memories are made.  I just wish that it wasn’t such a messy process.

As with anything else in my life, I have to get over my idea of “perfection.”  Who cares if I decorate later?  I am decorating just for myself.  Who cares if I leave up my Christmas a little longer?  I still want to enjoy it once the craziness is over.  It is time to move on and continue not caring what others think.  It will all work out in the end.  I will get plenty of time to spend with family and friends over break, and maybe even a chance to rest.

What is it about the Christmases of our childhood that bring back such vivid memories that we long to recreate?  The thing is, it is in my blood.  My mom adores Christmas.  When mom and dad were newlyweds, she started playing Christmas music in October.  After spending nearly a week in the hospital after I was born (yes, I am that old, and my mom was sick when I was born), my parents brought me “home” on Christmas Eve.  In fact, they didn’t take me home.  They took me directly to Grandma Buttrick’s for the Christmas Eve festivities.  I don’t believe we arrived home until the next day.

I often wonder what that Christmas Eve 1980 at Grandma and Grandpa Buttrick’s was like.  The only evidence I have that I was there are pictures of my parents holding me as I was decked out as Santa in a Christmas sleeper with a Santa beard bib.  I wasn’t even the only one celebrating her first Christmas.  My cousin Abby would turn one year old a few months later.  It is fitting that we shared a first Christmas, just as we shared so many other childhood memories and fears.  Christmas would not be the same without cousins.

As if two babies at Christmas wasn’t enough, 1980 represented the first Christmas in Standish.  Earlier that year, Great, my great grandma, moved from Marshall, Michigan to Standish in order to be closer to her sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  I grew up hearing about all of the epic Christmases in Marshall at Great’s house.  My mom and her sisters still marvel at how their mother packed everything for Christmas for five girls and then hauled it all across half the state.  I imagine I get the same look in my eyes when I talk about Christmas Eve at Grandma Buttrick’s – or our entire itinerary – that my mom and her sisters get when they talk about Christmas in Marshall.

I can envision a time when my nieces and nephews will reminisce about the Christmases in Omer at Grandma Lala’s and Papa Chocolate Mik’s house, the house in which I grew up.  I love to see how much they enjoy spending time together, even if it is absolute chaos.  I just hope that I help to create a little bit of Christmas magic for them all.

Author Profile: Anne-Marie Oomen

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Michigan author Anne-Marie Oomen visited Saginaw Valley State University
and the surrounding area in April.

Anne-Marie Oomen

I am ashamed to admit it, but I have yet to fully read one of Anne-Marie Oomen’s memoirs or books of poetry, even though I own two of her books (signed) and have attended a couple of her writing sessions (one for teachers and other, this past spring, open to the general public), as well as a reading from her latest book, As Long As I Know You:  The Mom Book.  I’ve only read and heard snippets of her work … so far.

What I’ve read and heard thus far is wonderful, and knowing the topics/subjects/genre included in many of her books, I know that I will love them.  How could I not purchase a book titled Love, Sex, and 4-H?  Then there is As Long As I Know You:  The Mom Book.  I can’t wait to read it.  The passages that she read during her author event, along with the anecdotes she shared about herself, her mom, and writing the book, definitely left me hooked.

What I really want to discuss today is her capacity as a teacher.  Just over a month prior to the shutdown orders signaling the official start of the pandemic, I had the opportunity to attend a day-long writing program aimed at teachers.  Titled “Homecoming:  Coming Home,” it was sponsored by the Saginaw Bay Writing Project.  Anne-Marie Oomen happened to be one of the presenters that morning.

During her allotted time, she taught us the term ekphrasis – a method of using different works of art to create various forms of writing, whether poetry, personal essay, or short story.  Imagine studying a painting and then creating a poem from your experience.  That is ekphrasis.

After explaining the process and providing us with examples of her own work, Anne-Marie Oomen had us create our own art inspired piece.  She brought with her a large collection of postcards.  I chose one with a portrait of Annie Oakley on the front, “little sure-shot.”  I enjoyed the experience and still have a digital copy of her presentation from that day.  I left realizing that I could easily create vision boards on Pinterest to gather my thoughts and ideas for various writing projects.

Anne-Marie Oomen used the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
to demonstrate the process of ekphrasis.

As wonderful as that experience was, a few months ago I learned that Anne-Marie Oomen was to be a guest scholar at Saginaw Valley State University.  During that time, she conducted a similar writing session open to the general public at the Marshall Fredericks Museum on SVSU’s campus.  I am so glad that I attended.  It made me look at one of my favorite museums in an entirely different light.  I left with a notebook full of ideas and even a rough draft.  The following evening, Anne-Marie Oomen held a reading at the Wirt Public Library in Bay City, sharing snippets from As Long As I Know You:  The Mom Book.  I’m so glad that I attended as it brought back so many memories of the short few months I had living with Grandma Reid before she needed more care than I could provide.  It is never easy watching someone you love age and decline.

I took something away from each of Anne-Marie Oomen’s events.  On top of sharing her love and knowledge of writing, she is a wonderful teacher.  Better yet … she is a Michigan author willing to help aspiring writers and teachers.

Anne-Marie Oomen’s latest book As Long as I Know You: The Mom Book details her experience dealing with her relationship with aging mother.

Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1976)

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Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1976) (Video) (Lyrics)

(Written May 7, 2023)

“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down

Of the big lake they called ‘Gitche Gumee’ …” (Gordon Lightfoot 1976)

There is probably no more iconic opening lyric in modern music history.  Sadly, Gordon Lightfoot died on May 1st, 2023 at age 84.  In capturing the story of the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald in song, he immortalized the iron ore carrier, its crew, and its disputed demise for generations to come.  In a sense, it has become an elegy for all those lost on the Great Lakes over the centuries.

Growing up in Michigan throughout the 1980s and 1990s, we learned about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald through Lightfoot’s lyrics.  Personally, I’ve been fascinated ever since.  It is easy to see why so many are still drawn to the story.  First, it is a fairly “modern” shipwreck.  The Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.  They had enough lifeboats, modern radar, and radio communication.  In fact, Captain McSorley’s last radio communication with a nearby ship, the Arthur M. Anderson, was “we are holding our own.”  That chilling fact alone sends my imagination reeling.

Next, there are lingering questions as to exactly how the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.  Some say that she ran aground on Six Fathoms Shoal, while others believe that the hatchways were not properly secured.  Then, there are those who believe one of the Three SIsters – a reference to gigantic waves developing on Lake Superior in the wake of incredible fall storms – doomed the ship.

In fact, the subject of the Edmund Fitzgerald still garners a lot of local interest in Michigan.  In September 2022, former reporter and Edmund Fitzgerald researcher Ric Mixter presented information on the wreck at the old court house in Omer.  I happened to attend his presentation, and for such a small community, there was standing room only.  Ric Mixter, a former reporter for local WNEM TV5, went on to present in Bay City and other nearby communities as well.  What’s great about his presentation is the depth of his research, his respect for those who died in the tragedy, and his obvious love for the subject matter.  He lets his audience decide for themselves the ultimate cause of the wreck.  After I attended Ric Mixter’s presentation, I compiled some of his resources in the post All Things Michigan.

Finally, Gordon Lightfoot’s master songwriting draws one into the tragedy.  WIth lyrics like “ice water mansion” and “Does anyone know where the love of God goes, When the waves turn the minutes to hours?,” it becomes a timeless folk song dedicated to the power of the Great Lakes.  By telling the story in a basic timeline format, he immortalizes the old cook and Captain McSorley, along with the rest of the crew, for all time.  I can’t think of a better tribute to the 29 men that lost their lives that fateful November day.  It is one of the most haunting songs I’ve ever heard and fully deserves its rightful place in the history of timeless American folk songs.