We ran into a disappointing development this week with the funeral services for Specialist Robert Voakes who died in action in Afghanistan earlier this month.It seems needless to say that his death was "tragic" but it was. Voakes was from L'Anse, a graduate of Baraga High School just two years ago, a good, young man by all ... Continue Reading

It's that time of year again. I get out my golf clubs, stick them in the back of my car, and listen to them rattle back there for about a month or two before I finally summon the courage to bring them out to the golf course.Where I proceed to embarrass myself time and time again.I've taken lessons from three instructors ... Continue Reading

I'll admit it up front--I enjoy gardening. Adore gardening.Yeah, yeah, I know, it's silly, it can be time-consuming and expensive, it's bourgeois. Who are you trying to impress with your garden? Yourself? Your neighbors? Either way, it's a form of vanity.Well, I choose to think of it as so much more.First, it's therapeutic. ... Continue Reading

I took a trip downstate this last weekend and found myself in a shopping mall in Troy on Saturday afternoon. I hadn't been to a genuine mall with more than 100 stores and a food court in several months.It's funny because that used to be a regular part of my suburban life in Atlanta. Now, when I enter these wondrous palaces ... Continue Reading

We started something new on TV6 news in the last couple of weeks--we call it the Facebook Story of the Day.I'll admit right up front that I'm not entirely comfortable with the concept, but then again, I'm an old man who has gathered and presented news in the conventional, old fashioned way for more than three decades.I'm ... Continue Reading