Pier Points

If You Want to Resent Rich, Occupy the Capitol

2012-01-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

(From the January 12, 2012 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

One of the interesting developments of the past year was the“Occupy Wall Street” movement, which continues into 2012. This group of peoplestruggles to articulate what their motivation or purpose is exactly. But acommon refrain if any seems to be that they resent the wealth gap in ourcountry. That’s why they use terms like “one percenters” to describe thewealthiest of Americans, who have so many advantages over the rest of us, the“99 percenters.”

While theOWS members are protesting across the country, as their name implies they areparticularly upset with the wealthy who work on Wall Street, a euphemism forthe high finance industry that many blame for our country’s current economicstall. Indeed there is much to be angry about there, with executives atnumerous financial firms profiting mightily even as the work they did causedthe collapse of industries and retirement portfolios.

PresidentObama, never shy to seize opportunities, has been using the refrain “corporatejet owners” in speeches to gain leverage with voters in an election year. He istapping into resentment of the rich and uses “corporate jet owners” as a symbolof this anger. Never mind that many if not most corporate jet owners earned themoney to pay for the jets, use the jets for business purposes, pay sales taxwhen buying the jets, fuel tax when operating the jets, and employ many peoplewho build and fly the jets. A single corporate jet owner may provide moreeconomic boost than any single White House policy of the past three years.

But Obamapersists. He called out “corporate jet owners” again last month, right beforehe hopped on taxpayer-funded Air Force One for yet another vacation in Hawaii.He has set a record for presidential vacations in his first term even as hecalls this the worst economy since the depression.

Thepresident also lent his support to the Occupy Wall Street movement in a baldattempt to tap into the energy of this group of potential voters for later thisyear. One would hope that he spent some vacation time pondering the fact that asizable number of members of his administration, from Treasury Secretary TimGeitner right through the ranks of cabinet officers and advisors, came from thevery Wall Street firms whose protesters he seems to endorse.

Meanwhile,members of Congress don’t seem to be feeling the economic pinch as much as therest of us. Recent studies, reported in the NewYork Times and Washington Post,show a widening wealth gap between Congress and the average American. Themedian net worth of House of Representative members is at $913,000 compared to$100,000 for most Americans. The base pay for House members is $174,000. Thereare 250 House members, nearly half, who are millionaires. In other words, ifyou want to find “1 percenters” to resent, you can skip Wall Street and head tothe Capitol.

The notionof “rich Republicans” is a fallacy. Wealth has no partisan preference amongCongress members. In fact, some of the wealthiest are Democrats. Nancy Pelosi,the former speaker of the House and a democrat, is worth as much as $196million according to the New York Timesarticle. She never mentions her own flights on private jets to her district inCalifornia when she criticizes corporate CEOs. John Kerry, a democratic senatorfrom Massachusetts, in spite of his criticism of rich people not paying enoughtaxes, docked his $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island because it hasno sales tax on pleasure boats.

So what arewe to make of all this? First, in fairness, remember that the study reports themedian wealth of Congress members, so there are certainly some who are of moremodest means. We should not let the wealth gap feed a partisan divide, sincethere are rich politicians and private citizens of both parties. Also, giventhe fact that it costs a great deal of money to run for Congress, many of thesemillionaire public servants may have had wealth prior to being in Congress. Weshould not resent people merely for being wealthy. In fact, given their wealthand opportunities for a life of leisure or business pursuits we should admirepeople of passion and talent who decide to serve in Congress.

However,there have also been reports this past year that members of Congress takeadvantage of their privileged knowledge of government committees to make timelyand beneficial stock purchases. The Securities and Exchange Commission isinvestigating this breach of ethics. Also, we should be concerned that peoplewho represent us can’t relate to the economic realities we face when they makeproclamations and policies that will ultimately affect us more than them. Mostimportantly, we should be skeptical of politicians who claim to be for the“little people” when in fact they are merely exploiting the wealth gaprhetorically to remain at the top end of it.

Climate Change Subject Causes More Heat Than Light

2011-12-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

(From the December 8, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I’vebeen thinking about “global warming” recently, as the weather gets colder.

Currentlythe mantra of climate change is that the earth is warming significantly, and thatman is the cause. Others have doubts about the particulars behind this claimand the projections that come from it. But attempts to discuss the topicrationally seem to generate more warming instead of illumination.

Inspite of Al Gore and others trying to settle the issue rhetorically byasserting oversimplified mantras, there is much about the science of climatechange that is still open to rational and scientific consideration.

Attemptsto persuade people to the global warming cause by demonizing those with doubtscan only be counter-productive because that’s more propaganda than science. Noone likes to be told to accept something “because I said so.” This may be why aPewResearch Center poll last week showed that those who think global warmingis “very serious” or “somewhat serious” is down from 79% in 2006 to 65% thisyear, and those who think there is solid evidence that the earth is warming dueto man-made activity is down from 47% in 2006 to 38% currently.

Thediscussion needs to continue and should do so productively, which is best doneby employing the scientific method. Since the early 1900s, thanks tophilosopher of science KarlPopper, scientific theories were considered more legitimate if they couldnot be “falsified.” In other words, attempting to disprove science is part ofscience, not a denial of it.

Inthat spirit, we can consider a list of reasonable questions about the claims inthe climate change mantra.

Isthe current observable temperature warming trend significant? Some hightemperature records have been set in the past decade, but records have onlybeen kept for 150 years. Temperatures were much higher in earlier eras, andconsequences were not catastrophic. Read on.

Arelated question has to do with man being the cause of global warming. The KeelingCurve is a measure of the parts per million of CO2 in the earth’satmosphere measured since the late 1950s. The scale does go up since the firstmeasurements, but one can wonder if the span of 60 years is long enough toassert that this spike will continue to go up or whether it will level andreduce again in the future. Such a question is reasonable given that, aspointed out in an article in the October 2011 issue of NationalGeographic, there was a massive surge of carbon in the atmosphere 56million years ago in what is called the Paleocene-Eocene era. The magazinerightly notes that this carbon increase is unexplained, and certainly was notthe result of man-made causes. We have to consider that the increasingtemperatures in merely the past 60 years have multiple causes with some of thembeing natural. While humans burning fossil fuels may be part of the cause, thenatural scientific question would be what percentage of the variance in globaltemperature increase is explained by man-made causes?

Thatleads to a long-standing scientific caution about correlation and causality.Just because the increase in the number of factories and automobiles correlateswith increased C02 in the atmosphere, it does not necessarily mean than one isthe cause of the other. And again, if it is causal, what portion is caused byhumans and what are the other variables?

Measurementerror is another scientific reason for skepticism. There have been more than 1billion temperature readings, but the whole earth’s surface has not beenmeasured. Measurements have been taken in different ways in differentcountries, potentially leading to inconsistent data. The “urban effect,” inwhich a concentration of tall buildings increases surface temperature, couldskew data. And the satellite data and computer models used versus actualthermometer readings in many cases could be inaccurate.

Thequestion of whether all scientists agree, a common assertion, is also cause forskepticism. Leaked emails from climate scientists—one in 2009 and another justlast month, as reportedin the Guardian in the U.K.—shows efforts by some scientists attempting topublicly “smear” their skeptical colleagues, control who is part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), and expressing doubts about the conclusions and predictions of someclimate change studies. Those expressing science-based skepticism includeprofessors of atmospheric science, directors of centers on climate science, andstate climatologists for several U.S. states. They stress that water vaporaccounts for five-sixths of warming attributed to greenhouse gases and thatextreme weather is not increasing to any significant degree.

Ifyou want to win climate change arguments by saying you believe the scientists,you’ll have to specify which scientists you believe, and on which aspects ofclimate research.

Thebottom line is that the subject of climate change should be based on science,not assertion, over-simplified rhetoric, or blind belief or denial. DanielBotkin, president of the Center for the Study of the Environment and professoremeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, made this pointespecially well in his recent guesteditorial in the Wall Street Journal: “Global warming alarmists betraytheir cause when they declare that it is irresponsible to question them.”

Indeed,most academic journal articles include a section called “limitations,” in whichauthors recognize potential flaws in the research method or conclusions. Ifmore climate change scientists would acknowledge limitations, it’s more likelythat citizens would acknowledge the parts of their work about which we can becertain.

Newspaper Changes Can Feel Personal

2011-11-11T11:09:00.001-08:00

(From the November 10, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Itis like the casualties of war. First you hear general reports of Americansoldiers killed in a far-off country. Then you read a profile of a soldier froma town nearby who made the ultimate sacrifice. Finally you know someone wholost a family member, or that family member was your own. That’s when itbecomes what we call “personal.”

Whilecertainly not as serious as death and war, watching the slow decline of thenewspaper industry has parallels. First there are general stories about thenews media outlets in general struggling to retain audience in this Internetera. Then there are reports of lost advertising revenue. This is followed bynoticeable differences in the size and number of pages in some nationalnewspapers. Then some staff at a nearby newspaper are let go. Then homedelivery is reduced or eliminated. Finally, the “paper” exists online only ifat all.

Suchwas the case with the shocking yet what seems inevitable announcement that anearby newspaper, the Grand Rapids Press, will only deliver an actual paperthree days a week beginning early next year. I teach and study media, and Ihave watched and commented on the changes in media for several years now. Butthis? The first newspaper I read with regularity? The paper that I wrote forbriefly as a young college graduate with a journalism degree? Going from a“daily” to delivery only three days a week?

Thisis personal.

Igrew up in Grand Rapids. A newspaper landing on our front stoop is one of myearly memories. My parents didn’t allow us to watch much television, and therewere no video games, internet, texting or other distractions young people havetoday. So after doing my homework and playing while there was availabledaylight, I often would hang out in the living room and read the paper. Istarted the habit watching my dad, a plumber, come home from work and retire toa lazy boy chair, his thick gray socks sticking out over the pull-out footrest, a copy of the paper held in the air. It would be about 20 minutes beforehe put it down and dozed.

Ipicked up the newspaper the first time out of boredom and curiosity. But soonit was a habit. I had a natural interest in what was going on in the communityand the world. As someone who loved to read, I was fascinated that you couldhave a job doing that for a newspaper. Journalism became my first careercalling. Plumbing was never a consideration.

Sincethen I’ve moved into public relations and education. But I never lost my loveof a newspaper. I’m happy to say some of my students share that love. Notenough of them, according to conversations I have with classes as well asnational survey data about newspaper readership. However, some of them not onlyread online, but love an actual paper newspaper. They love the tactile pleasureof newsprint in hand. Several even said they love the smell of a newspaper. Ismiled to hear one say that a cup of coffee and a newspaper remain one oflife’s simple pleasures.

Butall that’s changing. The paper you are reading now still is delivered six daysa week. But it is also available on computer and mobile device, in variousformats. In one sense this sounds like progress. But I also worry. What aboutpeople who can’t afford computers or aren’t technically adept enough to readonline media? What about the online environment in which we are overwhelmedwith content but nevertheless can feel less informed? Will newspapers be ableto survive economically, or will they move to the Internet and then one dayjust cease to exist altogether as a cacophony of bloggers take over?

PerhapsI worry too much. There is much to gain from technological advances. I enjoyaccessing the Tribune wherever I am around the world when I travel. Themulti-media content, such as video clips and links to related content, enhancethe original reporting. The ability for readers to comment on articles, andeach others’ comments, adds a whole new community feeling to a communitynewspaper. It actually could improve what media scholars call the “publicsphere,” in which journalists report and society discusses politics and otherrelevant information of the day.

Idon’t really think newspapers are going to die. But they are changing. Maybe“casualties of war” is too strong a metaphor. It’s more like the feeling Iimagine my friends have when their children leave the home for college or ajob. There is excitement and pride about inevitable progress and change. Butthere is also a nagging, nostalgic twinge in the heart about losing somethingspecial.

Being Available is More Than It Seems

2011-10-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

(From the October 13, 2011 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Earlier this fall a retired campus minister told me that, inlooking back on his long career of working with the campus community, the mostimportant thing he ever did was simply to “be available.”

However,as is often the case with wise people of faith, what seems simple can actuallybe profound. Maybe it was coincidental, or maybe it was a case of having thatconversation on my mind, but my wife and I recently experienced the realitiesof ‘being available’ in multiple ways. Being available has had us involved withneighbors, co-workers and total strangers. We have interacted with people fromthe Tri-Cities and West Michigan to Temecula, California and Vestavia Hills,Alabama. We’ve even encountered people from locations as exotic as India andKalamazoo. They have ranged in age from toddlers to senior citizens.

Nearthe end of the summer, we were available for some long-time neighbors and goodfriends who were in the final preparations for a move to Temecula, California.We spent a good part of the daywith their young daughters, Marian and Carol, while their parents and brothersfinished packing. They played with our cats, and we played with them. We fedthem lunch. And we talked more in a few hours than we had in years. It was sadto see them move across the country after we felt like a friendship had beentightened. We already miss talking with them, and hearing Carol “cheer” for usas we are going for a run.

Anotherneighbor recently returned for a visit from Vestavia Hills, Alabama. She hadmoved there several years ago after her friend she was caring for in ourneighborhood died. We were available for her back then, as my wife took oursnow blower to clear the driveway for her. She said thank you in her sweetAlabama accent. We were hooked. We were available to her in many ways afterthat, listening to her struggles in dealing with the passing of a friend. Wechatted at our houses and went out to dinner. I joked I would buy the RosettaStone for “southern” so we could communicate even better. When she returnedrecently and we learned she had never been to Mackinac Island in her 70-plusyears, we got an extra room at a hotel and took her with us for our annual tripthere.

We’vealso been available to co-workers and old college friends. We know two couplesgoing through a divorce. We’ve had several meals with one to listen andencourage her. Another friend from Virginia stayed with us for a few days thispast summer, a time during which we did a lot of listening.

Anotherco-worker of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s not in a jobdescription to hug a crying co-worker, but it happened. My wife, a medicalsocial worker, was helpful in being available with information andencouragement. Another co-worker suffered the sudden death of her brother, inIndia. This is her second brother to die in a few years, and she had to travelthere unexpectedly to deal with this situation and return with her father whohas no one there anymore to care for him.

Wewere also available to a complete stranger. We were talking with a clerk weknow in Barnes and Noble when a young woman with two young children came in andapproached us. We paused to let the clerk answer her question. But it was notabout books—she asked if there were any shelters in the area. This perked usup. Again, my wife the social worker went to work with active listening tolearn the details of the situation and try to direct her to resources. Itturned out she was from Kalamazoo, and her father in Muskegon had a heartattack. But by the time she got to Muskegon he had been moved to a hospital inGrand Rapids. She had little money for a hotel and no gas to get to GrandRapids. Shelters in Muskegon and north Ottawa were full. In the end there was ashelter in Grand Rapids near the hospital with room for her, so we bought hergas, gave her a hug and our encouragement, and led her to find the way to GrandRapids.

Beingavailable seems simple because we can’t really do anything to heal or fixsituations of the people we meet. Just being available means listening, ordoing small things. But that has turned out to be profound. Being availableisn’t just about helping others. It’s about being open to new relationships, ordeeper connections with people you already know. That’s the part that has beenprofound, because even in difficult situations we have felt enriched by thefact that these other people were ‘available’ to us. As the Bible notes in theBook of Acts: “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

9-11 10 Years Later Still Close to Home

2011-09-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

(From the September 8, 2011 Grand Haven Tribune)

Itstarted out as such a beautiful day. The air was still warm but not so hot andheavy with summer humidity. The air was crisp without being frigid. It seemedyou could see for miles across a sky more blue than seemed normal or possible.

Soon,everyone was looking into that blue sky, but for reasons wrong and terrible. Itwas not to appreciate the beauty but to wonder at the horror that ripped it.Two planes flown into the World Trade Center towers. Nineteen previouslyunknown men with a wicked plot. Three thousand unsuspecting men and womenthinking they were at the beginning of a day at work and suddenly realizingthey were at the end of their lives.

Allof these numbers are remembered now collectively as “9-11,” the latest date ofinfamy our country has experienced. It is a tragic date comparable to thebombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, or the murder of Martin LutherKing Jr, on April 4, 1968, or the space shuttle Challenger disaster on January28, 1986.

Peopleusually say they can remember where they were and what they were doing on suchmomentous and terrible dates. I recall that ten years ago on the morning ofSeptember 11 I was trying to fax something to New York City for a freelanceclient. Because I was on deadline, I had not watched TV news or read newsonline that morning. Instead I got right to work in my home office. I rememberbeing surprised that the fax was not going through to New York. I knew New Yorkwas a busy city, but after multiple attempts at faxing I grew frustrated andturned on my computer to do some other work before trying the fax again.

Afreelance artist I work with had emailed me to say he was a little behind ongetting some work finished for me on account of “being preoccupied by the WorldTrade Center news.” This guy had a nutty sense of humor, so I grinned to myselfthinking he was making a bizarre excuse referring to the 1993 Trade Centerbombing. I kept trolling through emails. Then I saw a headline in ane-newsletter mention the World Trade Center and I thought this was too much ofa coincidence. I clicked on the link and read the story with my mouth open.Then I ran to the TV to see the live coverage of the horrible event. I tuned injust before the second plane crashed into the towers.

Instantly,my perspective on what was important that day changed. The fax I had beentrying to fax was a news release about a client. I don’t even remember thatclient right now. But I do remember talking to friends in the media in the daysand weeks that followed and asking how long they thought it would be before thenews was not dominated by the Trade Center story. Six months seemed to be theconsensus reply. Word of my client’s news would have to wait or be communicatedin other ways than the news media.

Thefall of 2001 also was my first year as a full-time faculty member at GrandValley State University. I was asked to participate in a “teach-in” on campus,which consisted of me and two of my faculty colleagues speaking to students atan outdoor stage on campus about the tragic news. Jonathan White, who is both apastor and criminal justice professor with expertise on terrorism, spoke aboutwhy terrorists would do such a thing. He subsequently was a consultant with thefederal government on this issue. Grand Haven resident James Goode, a historyprofessor with expertise on the Middle East, spoke about Middle Eastern historyand the possible motivations a few extremists from that part of the world wouldhave for attacking the U.S. I spoke about the media coverage of the event andhow students should inform themselves carefully and intelligently about mattersrelated to 9-11.

Manyof us thought we were far removed from this ugly event. But I saw “ground zero”in New York in person at least twice since then and was struck by the enormityof the tragedy. A student of mine had a sister who worked in the Pentagon andwas injured the day of the attacks. Another student lost her fiancé in the warin Iraq that followed. We all have dealt with the increased airport securityand become more familiar with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Al Queda.

Severalyears ago I toured the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii. The remains of sailorswho died on the USS Arizona remain entombed inside the ship where it sank inthe harbor, and oil still leaks out of the ship around the flag bedecked shrinebuilt over it. That event will never be forgotten. Even now, the memorial andnew towers continue to be built in New York. Far away from there, as I writethis and look at the flag on Dewey Hill, the tallest point of our much smallercity, I think we will always remember 9-11 as well. Our feelings may changefrom rage to grief to somber reflection, but we will always remember. I don’tknow how we can not.

Train Travel Has Its Advantages

2011-08-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

(From the August 11, 2011 Grand Haven Tribune)

ST. LOUIS—It sometimes seems that traveling by train has lost its appeal. Americans either drive because of their love affair with the automobile, or they fly because of their need for speed. Trains seem to be an artifact of previous centuries for the majority of us.

This point is illustrated in Grand Haven, where a stationary train is preserved on display near Chinook Pier. The former Grand Trunk Railroad depot now at the corner of modern day Washington and Harbor serves as a museum. The building itself is a sentinel to earlier days when trains were primary modes of transportation.

Historical records show that the last passenger train left Grand Haven on April 30, 1971, with 200 people aboard. The tracks had been built in the 1870s; the depot was built in the 1920s. A line ran through Grand Haven from Muskegon to Allegan as part of the Pere Marquette system until passenger service was taken over by Amtrak.

Amtrak named the train that now runs from Grand Rapids to Chicago the Pere Marquette. We who live in the Tri-Cities have to drive to Grand Rapids or Holland to board. I got on the train in Holland recently as part of a trip to St. Louis. I was originally thinking of flying as usual, but booked the train instead on a whim. I am glad I had the experience.

Apparently train travel is more than a nostalgic whim for many other Americans. On Monday morning the platform in Holland was crowded, and the Pere Marquette to Chicago was completely booked. The station in Chicago was crowded, and my train—the Texas Eagle—to St. Louis and ultimately San Antonio was very full as well. Conductors told me this has been typical lately, even though there have been regular reports of financial trouble for Amtrak.

A variety of other people take the train. I met a couple from southern Illinois who had attended a performance by their granddaughter at Interlochen. I also talked with a group of young professionals who had been in Chicago for the Lollapalooza music festival. It was amusing to be on a train hearing their debate about whether or not the aging band called “The Cars” gave a decent performance last weekend. There was a young family moving from Michigan to Texas where they had family and hopes of better jobs. There were also a variety of business people who busied themselves with briefcases, laptops and smart phones.

The obvious drawback to train travel is that it’s slower. Trains on tracks at ground speed can’t compete with the jet engines and as-the-crow-flies routes of airplanes. But that can be an advantage as well. In our fast-paced era of instant gratification and pressure to always go faster, the relaxed pace of the train was like a breath of cool air on a hot day.

Train travel has several other advantages. It beats driving because you don’t have to worry about traffic, directions, staying awake and the other stress of controlling your own car. As far as comparing it to flying, it struck me how many pros came to mind. There’s no invasive security screening (though Amtrak has its own police force and bomb-sniffing dogs and they are watching passengers come through the boarding gate in major stations and occasionally inspect a bag). There is much more leg room, as well as the ability to get up and walk around. On longer trains there is a viewing lounge and a dining car. Every seat has access to electrical outlets to re-charge laptops and phones. Phones actually can be on and they work at ground level.

Even though the train makes frequent stops along the way, the conductors make this an efficient process. I also enjoyed seeing the stops along the way. It was interesting to see everything from one-light towns to capitol cities as the train rolled on through. To me, the view was the best part of the trip. I got lots of reading done, but I found myself frequently looking out the window. On a plane you may have spectacular views from 30,000 feet of mountains, bodies of water, or the Grand Canyon. But from a train you can see the fields of corn and soybeans, backyards, town centers and other sites up close. Clouds out a plane window are only interesting for so long, but out a train window you can watch a group of people leave their old pickups on the curb of small town America as the enter a place called “Old Joe’s.” It’s amazing how fast the time passes with such visual variety.

I know I’ll fly again, especially when I’m in a hurry to get somewhere. But travel is more than being transported from one point to another. It’s about seeing everything along the way. Sometimes we save time at the expense of other enjoyable aspects of life. A train ticket can save you money, get you where you’re going, and actually give you back a sense of time and place that is too often as elusive as clouds these days.

We Need a Holiday Re-Focused on Liberty

2011-07-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

(From the July 14, 2011 Grand Haven Tribune)

John Adams was in town recently, and did he ever bring back memories.

It wasn’t the actual John Adams, of course. But the historical reenactor who came to Grand Haven as part of the excellent exhibit and series of events sponsored by the Loutit District Library did an excellent job. A small crowd gathered across from the library in central park for a ‘town hall meeting.’ The John Adams actor, in period dress as well as frame of mind, held forth on his life and political philosophy for nearly an hour before taking questions and continuing the conversation even longer.

He concluded with a mantra that defined his life and legacy: “independence forever!” It was noted that he and fellow founding father Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4^th, the day the nation continues to celebrate our independence to this day. Adams wrote a now famous letter to his wife, Abigail, noting that the celebrations on July 2^nd 1776 (the day the Declaration of Independence was actually signed) would be celebrated for generations. “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more,” he wrote.

That spirit of freedom is the “memory” that Adams brought back for me. But I wonder if the day we celebrate today has the emphasis on freedom that Adams envisioned for future generations. Most

Americans can associate July 4^th as “Independence Day,” the day we celebrate our independence from Britain. But it should be more than a historical fact we recognize on that day; it should be a present reality. The emphasis should not be on freedom from a particular government, but the personal freedom we should enjoy to this day.

Unfortunately, our “sweet land of liberty” has soured a bit from Adams’ day. Our liberties have been slowly eroded. In Adams’ time, the federal government collected no taxes from American citizens.

Today the federal tax code is seven times longer than the Bible. The federal government actually has too many agencies to count. It took a study by a center at Louisiana State University to determine there are more than 1300 agencies and departments across the executive, congressional, and judicial branches of government. More are being proposed even now. While of course some of these government departments are necessary and helpful in our more complicated times, much of what they do is place specific and burdensome regulations on many aspects of our private lives. As Adams pointed out in the park recently, in his day if people needed assistance it was neighbors, the church, and philanthropic organizations who stepped up. Now the government is the first stop for assistance, some of it legitimate but often not.

We also see the loss of freedoms at the state and local levels. Even neighborhood associations prescribe the specific location of fences and height of vegetation. A study by professors at George Mason University ranked the states in terms of fiscal policy, regulatory policy, economic freedom and personal freedom. Michigan is not the worst, but it ranks near the side of the scale for “least free.” The study also shows that states that are most free are attracting citizens from states that are less free. The study also showed that more economic freedom is associated with more personal income growth. Apparently, the spirit of John Adams’ America is alive among citizens at least.

We are supposed to be the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” But increasingly we are looking like the land of the regulated and the home of the “entitled.” Greece, often called the “cradle of democracy” long before the United States began it’s grand experiment in self government, has been growing its own government involvement and entitlements for the past several decades. It is not working out well there.

Years ago, Memorial Day was known as “Decoration Day.” Citizens decorated the graves of fallen soldiers, as well as street signs and house porches. But the focus seemed to be more on the decorations than the soldiers they were meant to honor. So the name was changed to Memorial Day to give renewed emphasis to the holiay’s original purpose.

I wonder lately if we should rename Independence Day to “Liberty Day.” Perhaps then citizens and those elected to serve would be reminded that this country is not just about getting out from under the heavy hand of Britain, but to be more free of government intrusion of any kind. In other words, we don’t celebrate the freedom of our government but of individuals and our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

State Park Passport System Has Pros and Cons

2011-06-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

(From the June 9, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

If there’s one standard pleasure of a West Michigan summer, it’s going to the beach. The air is warmer, Lake Michigan looks inviting, and the increased number of people in the Tri-Cities seems to validate why we stick it out here through the long winters.

So driving into the local state park has become an annual rite of passage. For as long as I can remember we would buy our state park sticker early in the year and place it in the windshield proudly, knowing we would get our money’s worth.

This year the state has a new system for vehicle access to state parks. The old state park sticker for the front windshield has been replaced by a “Recreation Passport” that gives a vehicle access into all state parks, state recreation areas and state boat launches. Camping fees are extra, as they were in the past. When you renew your license plate and purchase the passport, your new tab will have a special "P" printed on it. The passport costs $10, which is a big savings from the previous $24 fee for an annual state park window sticker.

There are pros and cons to this new system. The obvious positive is the cost savings. Not only is it cheaper, but if you have more than one vehicle you can get passports for both of them cheaper than one old sticker used to cost. In the past, we had to always take the same car to the beach, and if one of us had the car with the sticker the other had to pay the daily rate, walk in from a far away free parking spot, or just not go to the beach.

There’s also the added convenience of getting state park access taken care of at the same time you’re renewing your vehicle license tabs. It’s nice to see government efficiency in action.

I also like to see Michigan residents who live here and pay taxes here year around getting some kind of bonus. We welcome tourists of course, but it is nice to know that our state park access is less expensive and easier to acquire because of our state residence.

The lower cost and ease of purchase also has revenue benefits for the state. It wasn’t long ago that state government budget negotiations had state parks and recreation areas on the table for cuts and sale to private parties. The new passport program with its lower cost and ease of purchase will encourage more residents to take advantage and raise more income for the state park system. Also, if more people use the parks more often, the case can be made that we should keep the park land in state hands.

The only cons seem to be the administration of the new system, at least so far. Recently at the annual kite festival and on Memorial Day the lines to get into the Grand Haven State Park were backed up to Chinook Pier and even as far as US 31 at times. It could be that more people are using the parks than ever before. The fact is that in this first year of implementation of the new program people can get in without a passport until the month their license tabs are due for renewal. In other words, if your license doesn’t renew until September you don’t need to have a little “P” on your tab until you’ve had the opportunity to pay the $10 for it.

But I also think we’re seeing a problem I anticipated when the program was announced. A little “P” in less than 8-point type is hard to see. It’s also on the back of the car instead of the front. So now instead of rangers seeing your sticker and waving you on at the booth they have to ask each and every driver if they have a Recreation Passport. Multiply this times a few hundred and that backs up traffic, especially since lots of people don’t read newspapers and have to have the new program explained to them.

A news release last month from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources noted that each park will handle this differently. Some may let everyone drive right in and rangers will check cars for tabs later and ticket those without a passport. Others will be asking for them at the booth. The problem with the first is a lot of people who haven’t paid will knowingly or not just enter the park. The problem with the second is the added time at the park entrance.

I would suggest new signage that explains what the “little P” is and directs drivers to enter the park if they have the passport and stop at the booth if they don’t would be a big help to alleviate congestion. Otherwise the Secretary of State should send passport stickers for front windshields along with license plate tabs. The passport is supposed to make our recreation easier, not add to time in traffic.

It Would Be Easier to Run Like a Horse

2011-05-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

(From the May 12, 2011 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

My wife and I had just finished our daily run recently when a couple walking their dogs approached and asked us: “Are you two training for anything in particular?”

That’s a polite way of saying “what is WRONG with you? You better have a reason for running. We’re only out here walking because our dogs have to do their business.”

Actually, we are training for the River Bank Run in Grand Rapids. It’s the start of the running season for us, although believe it or not there are races even in Michigan all year long. We participate in races right through New Year’s Day and are pretty much training for something all year long.

But that couple’s question came back to me as I was watching news about the Kentucky Derby. We keep a training log of how many miles we run, which adds up to an impressive number. Our races are all in kilometers, anywhere from 5 to 25. But these horses, who seem to get far more attention than races involving human beings who run, only run 1.25 miles.

Actually, horse races are measured in furlongs, which are about one-eighth of a mile. Human races are measured in kilometers. So if you say you ran a 25K people are generally impressed, and then you explain it’s 15.5 miles and they seem less so. That’s why I usually just give the kilometer distance and let them think what they want. But furlongs would be even better. I could say I ran “eight” and not explain I’m counting furlongs and that I actual ran only one mile. Then, why not have human races in furlongs? Those horses have it easy. I’d rather run like a horse.

I know what you’re thinking. Pfbbbth (or however you spell that sound horses make).

Sure, those noble beasts can go about 30 miles per hour. It wouldn’t be accurate to say I ran like a horse just by using a different unit of measure. Well, maybe if I knew I only had to go a tad more than a mile I would speed up. Also, if I had a small man on my back wearing a funny polka dot shirt and whipping my flank I could get up to 20 miles per hour. Maybe. I probably won’t test that theory.

Anyway, the Kentucky Derby is called ‘Most exciting two minutes in sports.” For me the most exciting two minutes of sport are the last two minutes of any race I’m running. That’s because I know I get to stop soon, and there will be food. Come to think of it, that may be what the horses are thinking, if they think.

There would be other advantages to making human races more like horse races. Spectators could wear something other than jeans and sweatshirts. They could break out the cravats and broad brimmed hats and floral dresses. I’ll bet 5ks and 10ks would fall out of fashion quicker than a three-year-old thoroughbred. Speaking of bets, spectators should be allowed to bet on human runners. It could cut down on race registration fees and the races that are fundraisers for nonprofits would do a whole lot better.

In horse races the honors go to those that “win”, “place,” or “show.” I’ve heard that’s a fancy way of saying first, second, and third place. I don’t care. I never win. I think it would be an improvement to give awards to people who just show up.

We human runners could even give ourselves funny names like the horses have. An accountant who runs on weekends could call himself “Tax Bracket.” A mechanic could be known as “Front End Alignment.” I have dibs on “Gotta Hurl.”

If we would only be running a few furlongs instead of a bunch of miles or kilometers, we wouldn’t need to drink just water or Gatorade either. We could join the crowd and have a mint julep or something else more tasty and exotic.

This may be one of my less practical ideas. I’ll have to stick to the conventions of human running. I am sort of serious about those mint juleps though. If the River Bank Run has time to make those available at an aid station with about one furlong to go, it could redefine the most exciting two minutes in sports. At least for me.

Should the Tri-Cities Become One?

2011-04-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

(From the April 14, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I live in Spring Lake Township. When I go to the bank or the library I’m in the Village of Spring Lake. I pass through Ferrysburg when I drive to church, and end up back in Spring Lake Township. I am writing this column at a coffee shop in Grand Haven.

But in all of the above, I never feel like I have left town.

Maybe you feel the same way. You could live in any one of the local cities, villages or townships, but you really don’t envision yourself crossing borders when you go about your daily activities. When you meet people from somewhere else and they ask where you live, you probably just say “Grand Haven” even if you live in Spring Lake, Ferrysburg, Robinson Township or any other place beyond the technical boundaries of Coast Guard City.

So I started thinking recently about why all these local municipal entities don’t just merge. This idea has taken on more plausibility recently since just to our east a group calling themselves the “One Kent Coalition” has started talking about merging Kent County and Grand Rapids. Advocating for folding the county into what would be a much larger city are some big players, including former mayors of Grand Rapids suburbs and other community supporters. They are still debating it there, and it will be interesting to see if a merger of Kent County and Grand Rapids happens or not.

But either way, it seems to make some sense that we talk about it here. I’m sure there would be some reasonable objections, but there also are reasons that combining municipalities makes some sense.

Among the objections would be the loss of local representation. If you live in Ferrysburg or Spring Lake, you might fear that your civic voice would be drowned out in a larger entity. However, that could be addressed by the structure of a new, merged city. Former separate cities and villages could be considered districts or wards, and a new city charter could stipulate that each district have appropriate representation on a city council.

Similarly, some would worry that one combined city would be difficult given the variety of local ordinances, building zones and laws. But a new city council could either work to derive common laws, or allow separate zoning by district.

Taxes would be another issue I’m sure. With a long history of different local elected officials, and different opinions of local citizens on ballot proposals, special assessment districts, and millages, tax rates are different. Those could be preserved as distinct tax rates as well until certain bonds are paid off, and eventually the new city could work out a common tax code for the newly united city.

That leads to one of the advantages. In a merged municipal entity, services could be combined as well, which would be a case for lower taxes for all. We already have shared police service with Spring Lake and Ferrysburg. Many other services and jobs could be combined as well. I know the people who currently hold those jobs would be understandably upset, but the taxpayers have the say on how many “employees” they need. I heard about another area of the country where there was a municipal merger and costs declined 20% and the number of employees was reduced from 7,000 to 5,000. In an era of constant public budget crisis, that seems like good sense. A Grand Rapids Press editorial pointed out that it takes 537 legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives to run the whole country, but in Grand Rapids alone there are 637 people overseeing local governments. Maybe downsizing is overdue.

Years ago, when Rix Robinson was one of the first settlers to the region, there were no bridges or easy crossings of the Grand River and Spring Lake. It may have made sense then that three separate communities rose up where water clearly and dramatically separated them. But today, with bridges and modern transportation, there’s little reason for separate cities and villages. The local Chamber of Commerce and Community Foundation recognize the obvious reality and serve the whole area. It’s time to at least talk about doing the same with local government.

Branding Grand Haven an Interesting Challenge

2011-03-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

(From the March 10, 2011 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

So what is Grand Haven’s downtown brand? Or should I say, what is Brand Haven?

Last week the Grand Haven Tribune reported that Grand Haven is one of four cities chosen to be part of a new downtown branding program run by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). This is interesting because I would not associate MSHDA with downtown branding—a little branding irony there. I also couldn’t find anything about this pilot program on their web site, possibly because it’s still so new. Anyway, the other cities are Boyne City, Clare and Niles. In 16-20 weeks, downtown Grand Haven will have a brand new brand.

So, you’re asking, what does this mean? Well, often branding is little more than a logo. It started years ago when ranchers used hot “brands”—metal shaped into a unique design, such as a “circle T” or a “triple R”—to sear a mark into their cattle to indicate they belonged to their ranch. I don’t think we’ll see hot metal rods or smell the burning flesh of downtown merchants, but we’ll probably be exposed to some unique Grand Haven logo by the time the first summer tourist rolls into town.

Logos can’t be taken lightly. Think of McDonalds’ “golden arches” or the Nike “swoosh.” People see those iconic symbols and associate them immediately with the intoxicating aroma of French fries or athletic prowess. None of the branding literature I’ve read points out that you should not think of French fries while exerting yourself in sports. For that you need common sense.

Common sense helps in branding too. Because you need more than merely a logo to really be successful. This is especially true when branding a city, or a destination. You probably have never overheard anyone say something like this: “If you have to ask me why I’m going to Podunk, you obviously haven’t seen their logo!” This is why highly paid consultants usually recommend... a slogan!

Slogans are short phrases that capture the essence of a brand. Nike made a lot of hay with their “Just do it” campaign. I should know. I just did it. So Grand Haven needs more than a big GH inside a circle or something. It needs a slogan. Something like “Just come here!” Or maybe, “Grand Haven: Between Holland and Muskegon.” I could offer something really compelling, but I am not being highly paid for this column.

I will tell you what some of our neighbor cities did recently, to give you an idea. Zeeland garnered a lot of attention with its “Feel the Zeel” campaign. You can see how that’s going on their blog. Downtown Grand Rapids launched a campaign with a counter-intuitive, reverse psychology slogan of “Keep it a Secret.” If you never heard of it you can see how fabulously successful it has been!

But if brands are only a logo and a slogan, they can really backfire. If McDonalds’ food was overpriced or unsatisfying, if Nike’s products were cheaply made, their logos and slogans would be the source of laughter and not positive association. It’s what those of us who teach and practice ethical advertising and PR call “putting lipstick on the pig.”

So Grand Haven needs more than a logo and slogan. It needs to ensure that the experience people have when they come to downtown Grand Haven is unique, special and positive. It has to be so positive and unique that they tell others about it. This is why the Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently renamed themselves “Experience Grand Rapids.”

Grand Haven does have some unique characteristics. There already are people who choose to come from Grand Rapids and places farther away to enjoy the area, including downtown. But while logos and slogans are fun and creative, the most important part of branding is often a combination of a unique offering and some very routine basics that will help meet and exceed visitors’ expectations. That means downtown merchants who offer things that people want and they can’t get anywhere else. It means a unique environment, such as the new streetscape and the proximity to the channel and Lake Michigan. But it also means adequate parking, stores that stay open past 6 p.m. and free coffee for college professors. I threw that last one in to see if you’re paying attention. But, it could be a unique part of the brand.

Even more important than all of the above is that everyone in downtown Grand Haven “lives” the brand. That means actually believing in and working to deliver the experience that the final brand proposes to offer. We’re between the windy city and the motor city. We can’t ask people to “feel the zeel” or experience Grand Rapids. But we are who we are.

I’m eager to see and hear what that is exactly.

Sustainable movement provides food for thought

2011-02-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

(From the February 10, 2011 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Many people don’t give a lot of thought to how the food they eat is made or from where it comes. But increasing discussion of obesity epidemics and rising food prices has given momentum to something called the sustainable food movement. Leaders in the effort describe it as a shift from industrial based agriculture to a food system in which healthy, nutritious food is available to all.

This Saturday, February 12, you can learn more about this concept right here in Spring Lake at C3 Exchange, at 225 E. Exchange Street. The local event is actually part of a national “Change the Way You Eat” event based in Manhattan with live webcasts being shown around the country.

I was asked to be the emcee at the Spring Lake event, but will be in Chicago with a group of students. I thought the least I could do was mention it in my column to help alert people who may be interested in attending. (See the end of the column for details about attending the local event.)

“Change the Way You Eat” is a TEDxManahattan event, so named for the popular TED events around the country. TED stands for technology, entertainment and design and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.” The scope has broadened from the original three categories, and the “x” events are actually independent from the TED organization. Only 250 people will be live in the event in New York City, so the viewing parties around the country, such as in Spring Lake, were arranged to expand the reach. Renae Hesselink, the vice president of sustainability at Nichols & SustainAble Solutions who is hosting the Spring Lake event, says the local event is limited to 100. But they are working to secure permission to allow more attendees.

In Manhattan, and viewed around the country, speakers with various backgrounds in farming will share their insights and expertise about growing and distributing food. Video clips from the national TED conference will also be shown.

The event in Spring Lake is sponsored by the North Ottawa Sustainability Coalition and the Muskegon Area Sustainability Center. Numerous local vendors will be present to showcase sustainable food initiatives in West Michigan. There will be three local speakers. Attendees can enjoy a “local sustainable lunch” for $5.

So why might you want to attend this event? Well, if you’re like my wife and me, you may wonder why you drive by local orchards only to find cherries and apples and other produce from the State of Washington. With all the asparagus just north of us we were getting it shipped in from South America. No offense to these other places, but we have to wonder what that does to our local economies. We also have to wonder what the processes required to preserve food for a long time to ship them long distance does to our bodies.

Everyone from scientists and medical experts to Oprah have embraced the sustainable food idea. As noted in Oprah magazine, paying more attention to what you eat, where it’s from (i.e. local) and how it’s grown can help you reduce the risk of obesity, avoid chemicals, and wake up your taste buds. As noted in a 2008 article in her magazine, “the food that passes your lips often has as much resemblance to its natural state as a chicken nugget does to a barnyard hen.”

As the New York Times noted in an article on the subject last spring, Americans have become adept at producing food efficiently and cheaply. That may be a good thing, but there are consequences and costs that come with cheap efficiency as well. We may be reaching a point where it makes sense for economic and health reasons to reconsider the food chain we’ve been living with for decades now.

No doubt there will be differences of opinion. Many might just feel uninformed about the contents and origin of their food. That’s why the event this Saturday provides an enticing food for thought.

If you want to attend the event in Spring Lake, you may pre-register by emailing Renae Hesselink at RHessel281@aol.com. Otherwise, registration on Saturday at the event will be open at 9:30, with the event starting at 10:30. You can also watch from your computer at www.livestream.com/tedx.

Some Banks Now Too Big for Us

2011-01-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

(From the January 13, 2011 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Last year’s economic news included stories about large banks being bailed out by taxpayers. Most Americans are not financial experts, but the phrase “too big too fail” entered our vocabulary as we watched huge banks getting cash from the government. Pinstriped big city boys who work with hedge funds getting a hand from the hard earned tax dollars of blue collar workers who trim hedges.

The predictable outrage that ensued all across the country led to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation was co-authored by senators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, who have been the chairs of the senate and house banking committees from 2006 til the recent election changed committee chairs. Dodd and Frank meant well in their legislation, which seeks to ensure that consumers get clear information about financial products such as mortgages and credit card applications, and also puts an end to taxpayer bailout of banks. But it’s hard to be too confident in their reform since these two also assured Americans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage and financial institutions, were “financially sound” right before their collapse.

Also, while federal laws often have good intentions, there are almost always unintended consequences. So while the Dodd-Frank Act seeks to eliminate “hidden” fees for consumers, it did not eliminate or restrict fees. In fact, the other aspects of the act that add more regulations on banks has led to an increase in banking fees for everyday consumers, the very taxpayers who only recently bailed out these banks.

I noticed this recently while going through the mail. There certainly is more transparency from banks. The information about new fees coming to our accounts was in bold. But there are new fees coming, and the ways to avoid the fees are increasingly challenging to everyday consumers.

My wife and I have been with the same bank since we were old enough to have jobs and accounts. The bank changed its name no fewer than four times in the past two decades. But we stuck with them. Given the recent changes, however, w are now in the process of changing banks.

The bank we are currently with received $25 billion in bailout money. In the third quarter of last year, they had a 23% increase in profit, pulling in $4.42 billion, or $1.01 per share. Their 4th quarter profits rose 47%. They still have challenges, such as lost revenue on defaulted mortgages and loans and regulations on what had been profitable investment banking practices. But they are still the number two bank in the country in asset size.

But as it turns out, being big in banking is not an asset or a consumer appeal any more. The law won’t let them be “too big too fail.” But on their own they have become too big for us. For several years now, I have grimaced when looking at my bank statement. The balance seems large to me, but the corresponding interest earned has been a joke. All that money sitting there for them to invest and I can only get a few cents. I understand the market is challenging right now. But banks are not for investment any more. In fact, banks are primarily for the security of keeping money in a safe place and the convenience of being able to write checks or pay bills online. Other than that, cash under the mattress looks like a better option.

Recently, the mattress has looked even more appealing. The letters we received from out bank outlines new monthly fees unless you keep a relatively high minimum balance or regularly use other banking services. This means you have a lot of money sitting there just to avoid being charged a fee that is 100 times more than the interest your money earns. Or you get penalized for not using the bank’s services. So many people of average means are faced with having assets that are not “liquid.” Other people who live paycheck to paycheck are being priced out of the banking system altogether. They’ll be forced to cash advance and check cashing businesses for loan and bill payment needs, where they will face additional fees.

Fortunately, there is another bank in town that has better options. Their literature seems to speak more to actual banking customers. There are lower minimums, better rates, lower fees and better options to avoid the fees. We’re moving our accounts to them. They are a smaller bank. That’s a big deal.

(Addendum--when we went to move our accounts, we got a small town touch at our big bank. So we did keep two accounts at the big bank, and moved the others to the smaller bank. Maybe the local bankers can tell the corporate chiefs in the big city what actual customers think).

Emphasis on Charity Could Relieve Stress from Budget and Tax Debates

2010-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

(From the December 9, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

As we approach the end of another year, our governments at local, state and national levels are having serious talks about balancing their budgets. It’s about time, of course. But the current seriousness of the talks has amplified calls to cut government spending and/or increase taxes.

Spending and taxes are two sides of the same coin, of course. The government has no money of its own. Government is “of the people,” and it is the taxes we pay that are the source of any funding the government has. So balancing government budgets always comes down to reductions in spending that has gone beyond the amount of taxes collected, or simply increasing taxes to provide for the increase in spending.

It sounds simple. But when you talk about raising taxes, people complain that they are taxed too much already and that government has grown too much. But proposals to cut government spending produces protests from those who would lose something they currently receive from a government program.

In the middle of this paradox is another conflict that goes beyond just a spending vs. revenue equation to consider values. You will note that government programs to provide health care, social security, food stamps, subsidies and others are called “entitlements,” implying that people who receive funding from the government are entitled or have a right to receive money from the government. But the government gets its money from other people, so some would disagree that one person who lacks something has a “right” to have it provided by others.

That’s why businesses refer to the same programs, such as health insurance, not as a right but as a “benefit.” Years ago, no one had health insurance from their employer. It was provided by some businesses as an incentive to attract and retain good employees. Over time the practice spread to the point that is not seen as an added benefit from an employer but an expected right.

But there is third way that can get us beyond the old spending vs taxes and rights vs responsibility debates. We could put more emphasis on the non-profit sector and the role of charity in society. The government and private sectors of society get the majority of our attention. But in this season of giving, the third sector, the non-profit realm, deserves emphasis and could provide answers to the debates we keep having about the role of government and the appropriate level of business taxes.

In fact, that is a more distinctly and historical American thing to do. When Alexis de Toqueville, a French political thinker and historian, toured the fledgling United States, he noted with admiration the philanthropy and charity of Americans who helped out neighbors in need. That was part of the spirit of America back in the 1800s, when the majority of the country’s residents were relatively recent arrivals from somewhere else who were trying to enjoy the freedom to make it on their own in the new country. In contrast, back in Toqueville’s Europe, people depended on a benevolent monarch or government to assist them. Toqueville himself advocated that charity as opposed to government should help the poor.

Things are more complicated today, and it would not be wise nor kind to cut all government programs that help the needy. But as idealistic compassion meets the realities of finite budgets, the role of charity is sadly lacking from economic discussions. There are numerous reasons to encourage individuals and corporations to make voluntary charitable contributions as opposed to mandatory taxation. Charity—usually encouraged by making charitable contributions tax deductible—has numerous advantages. For one, acts of charity removes some of the burden on the government. Also, charities can be more efficient and accountable than the government when it comes to administering programs. Since donations are voluntary whereas taxes are mandatory, nonprofit organizations have to work harder to ensure continued support. Donors can check up on charities on the Web site Guidestar.org to make sure funds are being used well to meet an organization’s stated mission. The government merely expects taxes, and citizens have a slim chance knowing specifically how tax dollars are used in the maze of government structure.

Charities also can get a lot of the politics out of the way of helping people. Politicians have to appropriate funding to various programs and much energy is lost debating how to divide the tax dollars. With nonprofit organizations, individual donors—not politicians--make the decision about where and how their own money can be used to help others. If you want the government to address an issue you are fond of you can write your congressperson or senator and may or may not get a response. With charities you can write a check to the causes you care about most and will get a thank you letter.

At the time I’m writing this column, there are two dominant stories in national politics. One is the report of the President’s Debt Commission with recommendations about how to reduce our ballooning annual deficit and compounded long-term national debt. The other is the 11^th hour debate about whether and how to extend the lower tax rates that otherwise will expire and rise to higher levels in January. None of us can be certain how or even if the budget and tax issues will be resolved. But we all can be certain that a donation we make to a nonprofit organization will be appreciated and put to good use. Best of all, we don’t have to wait for government agreement. We can just decide, and give.

An Open Letter to Political Victors

2010-11-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

(From the November 11, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Many students of history may know that George Washington, the father of our country and one of the first to be elected to American public office, didn’t run for a second term as president. It may be lesser known that the reason for this was an aversion to the hostility and incivility he faced from the news media and his political opponents.

So perhaps the rancor and vitriol in the recent election season are simply a long-standing part of American culture. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change. In fact, this election—and the two preceding it—were all about change. We have changed back and forth from party to party as if the will of the people were a pendulum.

But there’s a reason for all this change. Voters care less about political party than they do about policy, or more importantly, performance. So one lesson for the victors of Tuesday night, no matter what your party, is that politics is not about sport, or power or who “won.” You were elected. You were hired. We are not your fans. We are your employers. Get to work and do now what’s best for citizens. Don’t jockey and delay and do what’s best for your party or your next election.

I have some other advice for politicians who were elected last Tuesday.

Don’t gloat. Don’t play the game of who controls the senate or house, or this committee or that committee. It’s not about you. It’s about us. You didn’t get votes because people wanted you to win. You got the most votes because more people thought you could do what’s best for the state or country. As someone said on Twitter: “I don’t want my congressman to fight for me, I want him to compromise for me.” Exactly. That’s what most of us want. We’re don’t mean what Harry Reid defined as compromise when he gave Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska an exemption on his state’s Medicaid payments in order to get his vote for health care legislation. That’s not compromise; that’s bribery. Compromise isn’t doing favors for people to coerce a vote on policy. Compromise is giving up something to get something—when drafting policy.

Compromise isn’t perfect. But that’s what politics is. Our founders designed our system to have “factions” in order to prevent the tyranny of the majority. James Madison in particular advocated this in the Federalist Papers (number 10 to be exact). So debate, argue, disagree. But in the end, compromise. Get something done. We want action and solutions, even if they aren’t perfect or exactly what everyone wants. No one wants gridlock. Principled opposition on key aspects of policy is honorable. Refusing to bend at all on policy is childish. You give us gridlock and stalemate, and we’ll send you home. Play nice with the other politicians on the legislative playground. And try to play on the merry-go-round, where you can all work together to gain momentum. Avoid the teeter-totter for a while—we’re tired of seeing the only way for one to go up is to put the other down.

Don’t forget us, even though the election is over. Our interests and passions continue. Don’t look at it as if you have our vote. What you have is responsibility, to listen to and do what’s best for all of us, even those who didn’t vote for you or didn’t vote at all. Yes, that’s complicated because we don’t all agree on all issues. But that’s part of your job. Weigh our input with your own judgment and act accordingly.

Watch the rhetoric. Yes, the news media encourage pithy sound bites that can win back slaps from political colleagues and loyalists in the party. But elections are won by the independent thinkers in the middle. We are unimpressed by dirty digs. Speak with reason and substance. Keep dialogue a safe distance from the red herrings and red meat served to extremists of both parties.

Stay humble. Power corrupts, and you need to beware. Politicians call themselves public servants but too often seem to act as if the capitol is a self-service trough for their own ambitions and political allies. Be stewards of the public’s interest and resources. We are watching the numbers in the government’s and our own budgets more than the number of seats your party holds.

Actually read bills before you vote. That’s the essence of your job. Even if that means not going over your make-up before your stand-up with Fox or CNN, do it. Then, be prepared to explain your vote. Speaking of reading bills, we’d like to as well, thank you. There was this idea of making them available for the public to read before they were voted on by all of you. Because, after all, we’re your bosses and might have some thoughts for you. Don’t cave to pressure that if you just approve a law we’ll all like it later once we see what it’s all about. Many of you promised transparency, even audacity. Instead we got opacity. We’re not stupid. We want to know what’s going on; we demand it.

If all of this causes you some stress, don’t worry. You have great health care. In fact, yours is the best in the country, and one of the few health care plans that didn’t change due to the health care law. I’m paying nearly twice the copay for less coverage. That’s why I feel ok giving my burden to you.

Your next review is in 2010. But we may be in touch before then.

Respectfully, your constituent, fellow citizen, employer.

On Community Art Competitions

2010-10-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

(From the October 14, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

During the past month, I have been overwhelmed by art. For the second year in a row Grand Rapids hosted ArtPrize, the phenomenal community activity/art competition that has garnered national and international attention. This year Grand Haven’s downtown decided to piggyback on the effort by offering ArtWalk.

My wife and I made valiant efforts to see as much of the art in both cities as we possibly could. With a smaller number in Grand Haven, we saw all of it. In Grand Rapids, we saw as much of the 1,700 or so pieces as we could, even though we did not see some until after public voting was over.

Some might think that Grand Haven hosting ArtWalk was an unoriginal copy of Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize. Well, success often leads to imitation. The ArtPrize planners didn’t mind. ArtWalk was a natural extension of the art fairs the community has had for years on Washington Street and at the marina, and a further expansion of efforts to lure people downtown in the off-season.

Having participated in the two events, I would say both were successful. It was impressive to see such varied works of art and such an interesting range of subject matters, materials, media, treatments, and messages. I was also impressed by the fact that artists have to be broadly educated to perfect their techniques and convey the messages in their art. Knowledge of metallurgy, chemistry, math, physics, history, sociology and various other disciplines were often necessary for the artist to complete their work.

One advantage of both ArtPrize and ArtWalk was the ability on occasion to talk to the artists about their work. This was the inspiring part. If they weren’t present, the written statements about their work were often compelling. Artists create their art for a variety of reasons, and they are not all ‘professional’ (i.e. full-time self-supporting) artists. A woman who works at Perrigo had a humorous personal story next to the stained glass piece she displayed at the Grand Haven Community Center. A fireman from Boise, Idaho was present to talk about his work displayed in an old building in downtown Grand Rapids. Learning about artists was as interesting as seeing their art.

ArtPrize got more attention than ArtWalk, but that also came with some controversy. An art professor at a school in downtown Grand Rapids was quoted in national media snobbishly suspecting the abilities of the masses to actually select the best art in the ArtPrize competition. Perhaps she has a point that there is a level of expertise in judging art. But she expressed that point of view in a less than artful way. None of my degrees are in art, but I’ve been to MOMA in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the Smithsonian in Washington DC, and the de Young in San Francisco. I have a decent sense of good art, and I suspect many others do as well. Also, like an amateur regarding an abstract painting, this professor seemed to have missed the point. ArtPrize (and ArtWalk) is about engaging the community and getting people involved with art. Rather than look down her nose at those she assumed were uneducated in art, she could have seized the occasion as a teachable moment. Another professional artist who curates exhibits at the Meijer Gardens did just that—writing guest columns in the Grand Rapids Press that were informative without being pretentious.

Another insult came from the New York Times writer who reviewed ArtPrize. A mostly positive review of the event, he nevertheless had to point out that it was in an “unlikely” place for such an emphasis on art--Grand Rapids. I wonder what he would have said about Grand Haven? It would only seem unlikely to find good art events in Grand Rapids or Grand Haven to someone who knows little to nothing about West Michigan. In the art world, as surely as you mix blue and yellow to get green, the combination of arrogance and ignorance produces a New Yorker.

If I have any criticisms, they have to be around the voting process. In Grand Rapids they make it easy by just asking people to give a thumbs up or down (or nothing) after reviewing a work of art. But with so much art to see, they need to give more than eight days to participate. Also, the artists at busy spots have a distinct advantage than those on the outskirts. In Grand Haven, it was more possible to see all the art, but I wonder if everyone did before voting. Also, while separating the art into categories was nice, it was hard to select just one from each category.

As for the winners, the art professor in Grand Rapids was made to look silly when a drawing by another art professor was selected as top winner. I have to say I was a bit surprised to see photos of the Grand Haven pier and lighthouse win first and second place in photography as well as overall winner for ArtWalk. The compositions were excellent, but the subject matter seems overdone. I know the pier is the iconic symbol of our community, but isn’t it a bit cliché for a photo subject by now? Maybe not. As an artist told me once, “good” art is what people like.

In the end, there were lots of winners. Artists who didn’t take home money got more exposure for their art. Businesses and organizations who displayed art benefited from more awareness of their location. Participants got to see lots of art and get more familiar with their communities.

Forum on Church Inclusiveness Clarifies Several Points

2010-09-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

(From the September 9, 2010 Grand Haven Tribune)

The community forum sponsored by the Tribune last month to discuss changes at C3 Exchange, formerly Christ Community Church, in Spring Lake could be deemed a success. It was very well attended, panelists were open and thoughtful with their responses, the audience was patient and attentive, and even though disagreement remains, there is more understanding and clarity about the beliefs of C3 Exchange as well as traditional churches in the community.

As moderator of the forum, I tried to offer opportunity for all panelists to answer questions and clearly express their point of view. I think they did marvelously, with clarity, good humor and mutual respect. Credit goes to Ian Lawton of C3 Exchange, Rev. Dennis Snyder of Nortonville Gospel Chapel, and David Wisen of Harvest Bible Chapel Spring Lake for their participation in the forum.

As a community member and a columnist, I also want to share what I took away from the event. I list here several thoughts I had as a result of the forum.

C3 Exchange has a right to do what it wants. There is no doubt that some people, including perhaps former members of Christ Community Church, are upset at the new focus and the removal of the cross at C3 Exchange. But not all agree with everything other churches do either, and in our free democracy it is always prudent to respect the constitutional freedom of religion and expression for others so that you can continue to enjoy it for yourself.

C3 Exchange is not a threat. Again, while the change at C3 Exchange might offend the sense of what some people have of what a church should be, they are not forcing their alternative view on anyone. Ian Lawton repeatedly said people are free to choose traditional churches if that is what they want, or become part of C3 Exchange if they agree with the alternative.

C3 Exchange is no more or less inclusive than other churches. People with like-minded beliefs congregate, others don’t. If, as Lawton said, C3 “takes the Bible seriously but not literally,” they exclude people who do take the Bible literally.

Sometimes traditional churches can be exclusive for the wrong reasons. Rather than focusing on the worship of Jesus Christ, some imperfect mortals in my own experience seem to be fixated on petty irrelevant things such as how people dress or other human cultural differences rather than the unity of faith.

The Bible is not “just a book” of theological opinion. It is a compendium of 66 books, with multiple authors, divinely inspired, offering historical accounts. Using it as proof text against itself is not spurious science, as alleged at the forum, but rigorous, convincing and quite common among historians. Validity and reliability are found in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy as well as the letters in the New Testament that bear witness to events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Numerous external sources corroborate the historical claims of the Bible.

C3 Exchange’s changes are not really new. In fact they are as old as Christianity itself. In the 17^th chapter of the Book of Acts, which is an account of the work of the apostles shortly after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven, the Apostle Paul goes to Athens where men have statues to every god, including an unknown god. He spoke to Greek leaders in the famed Aereopagus about Jesus; some sneered, others believed. Today the idea that the divine is in everyone is the same as secular humanism. The assertion that no one has a hold on absolute truth is postmodernism. But that’s old too; even Pontius Pilate, as recorded in the 18^th chapter of the Gospel of John, asked Jesus “what is truth?” just before his crucifixion. Since the time of Christ many people have believed Jesus was the Son of God and the only way of salvation, and others have not. In our community we see evidence of that ancient debate continuing.

Churches are not inclusive or exclusive, people are. The Christian Gospel is an invitation. It says all are sinners, but also that God loved us all and sent his son Jesus to pay for our sins, all we have to do is believe that to gain eternal life, and then we should live our lives in gratitude for that wonderful gift. It is not about whether there is a cross on a building, but who is in your heart. Only you can accept or reject the invitation.

In the end, it is up to each individual to consider what they believe and the basis of those beliefs. Then each person may include themselves with people who believe likewise, and act according to those beliefs.

Being Too Connected Can Make Us Less Connected

2010-08-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

(From the August 12, 2010 Grand Haven Tribune)

I was in line at Butch’s Beach Burritos earlier this week and saw a sign on the cash register: “No Cell Phones.”

I had to ask why. Do they flummox the mechanical workings of the cash register? Add radiation to the burritos?

No, I was told. It’s because people take calls while in line, and then make everyone wait for their conversation to end before they place their order. Or they talk loud and the cashier can’t hear other people who are ordering.

In other words, it was a problem of human nature, not a technical issue. Too many people still haven’t caught on to cell phone etiquette. It also is but one example of the paradox of our modern communication era: everyone is so connected that they lose connection with the people immediately around them. This has been demonstrated, hilariously and sadly, numerous times on the pier, as my wife and I witnessed two people walking hand in hand only to use their free hands to send text messages to other people.

The problem goes beyond just cell phone use though. Our modern technology has made us all so frenetic. Our wireless devices have made us too “wired”, as if on caffeine overdose. At the same time, our ability to be connected to almost everyone almost all the time has resulted in us losing precious contact with the people right next to us. “Social media,” for all its communication advantages to compress time and space, have at the same time made us anti-social in our immediate context. People seem more inclined to get attention than to pay attention. This is affecting safety and driving laws, as well as interpersonal relationships.

Since the telephone—the original one tethered by a wire to the wall—first became ubiquitous, there has been praise and caution with advances in technology. There’s no doubt that new technology adds convenience and efficiency for professional and personal use. I use the technology myself. But there has to be balance.

During the past few months I’ve been doing projects around the house that involve manual labor. My hands have been busy with “old fashioned” tools, the kind that prevent me from checking email, social media sites, updating my status, or texting. It was interesting to me that at first I felt anxiety about being out of touch. But I soon learned that it is extremely liberating to NOT feel a compulsion to send bursts of personal information about myself to legions of “friends” or “followers” every few hours. Nor did I feel the urgency to respond immediately to everyone who contacted me. My pulse relaxed, my spirit lifted, and even the chemistry in my brain seemed to work more fluidly.

Instead of having multiple, quick, computer-mediated messages with people scattered across the globe, I had long, thoughtful, face-to-face conversations with real friends and my wife. These friends became so without requiring me to click on some button on a computer. My wife has a nice voice, and beautiful eyes. Nothing Apple or Facebook comes up with can top that.

So while new media technology helps us conduct business, develop and maintain relationships, and communicate efficiently, it also has its downsides. It can encourage us to value the quantity of our “friends” as opposed to the quality of our relationships. Technology also seems to put a premium on speed and brevity, depriving us of the pleasure of deep and complex thought. More profoundly, for all the advances in connecting to other people, I fear many people are losing contact with themselves. They use technology to advance a desired image of themselves, rather than knowing and acting as their genuine selves.

In the end, the issue comes down to balance. Just because you have access to donuts, it is not wise to eat them all the time. The same goes for technology. I think we’d all be better off if people would follow two simple rules for communicating in our modern high-tech environment:

1. Give preference to the human being next to you vs the device in your pocket or hand. Those devices have voicemail and other features that allow you to respond later if you are busy. For example, don’t respond to your phone if you are walking the pier, talking to someone in your office, or ordering a burrito at Butch’s.

2. Make a distinction about what’s really urgent and important. You don’t have to text, email, tweet or execute any other newborn verb constantly. Instead of acting like Pavlov’s dogs responding to a bell whenever your new message indicator lights up your Blackberry or iPhone, show that you have evolved some human self-restraint.

Who knows, if you’re not staring at a palm-sized screen, you might exchange glances with a stranger next time you’re in line at Butch’s. You could have a conversation, using nothing but your mouth, eyes, and ears. You could even become friends.

Painting House Combines Frustration, Satisfaction

2010-07-09T08:47:00.001-07:00

(From the July 8, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

There’s an old joke about a man who finds an old dusty lamp. When he rubs it a gorgeous genie comes out. She says she will do anything he says, as long as he can request it with only three words. A good joke-teller pauses here to allow listeners’ minds to wander and imaginations to work. But the man doesn’t hesitate in his answer. He says: “paint my house.”

The joke is funny because it’s an unexpected answer. But I have a new understanding for that man. I was supposed to be enjoying summer by now, relaxing at the beach and otherwise not working so hard. But now that I’m well into painting the upstairs and main floor of my house interior, fantasizing about a genie painting my house seems perfectly reasonable.

When we bought the house we hired someone to paint. We were busy clearing out of the old house and handling other details of moving. We thought hiring a painter made sense for that reason. Otherwise we would have painted the house by ourselves. I remember being a little impatient as we waited for the painter to finish rooms so we could move in. Now I have a new appreciation for the time it takes to paint.

On the other hand, the professional we hired had it easy. Our house was empty. All he had to do was paint. We seem to spend the majority of the time moving things out of rooms so we can actually get to the job of painting. Where did all this stuff come from? I don’t remember moving this all into the house a dozen years ago. I won’t mention any names, but there is one occupant of our house who could seriously take this opportunity to clear out a few things. They could be donated to a theatre company, any number of missions, or the Imelda Marcos shoe museum. It’s just a thought.

I’ve had other thoughts as we slowly move through this project. One of them came to me as I stood on a ladder, sweating, thinking it would be a whole lot easier to just cover the walls with posters from NASCAR and Snap-On Tools and go sit on the patio with something cold to drink. I’m not even in to NASCAR or tools. I’m just coming to the point that any way to cover the walls quickly is starting to seem like a superior idea.

Not really of course. Painting is much better. How else could I acquaint myself with the beauty of colors like “delicate lace,” “soft chamois” and “tuscan winds.” Paint manufacturers use names like this so we don’t mind spending more on a bucket of paint. Anyone can offer tan or brown or white. But when the stuff I’m rolling on my walls is called “tuscan winds” I start to develop a loyalty and admiration for the specific brand of paint. Plus, if and when we finish this project, we can tell our guests we did this room in “soft chamois.” They will say “ohhh!” We will feel creative, sophisticated and relieved, like Martha Stewart once she got out of prison.

Of course, those paint colors can be confusing too. The little color samples they let you take home sure look nice, but the actual paint can leave a different impression. This can be a frustrating process. If you are a man getting ready to paint your house with your wife, I can give you a heads up. It starts by spending hours playing with various options and holding samples against the wall. This process is sort of like World Cup soccer, because it involves holding up colored cards and you can plan on “extra time” that seems to never end. Once colors are actually selected, you feel you have made major progress and actually buy paint. But be warned—actually painting does not mean the decision process is done. I thought painting, like baseball, involved no crying. I was wrong. I’ll spare all the details, but to paraphrase the Good Book, sometimes a man has to humble himself and repaint.

As I write this, we are approaching the final two rooms that need to be painted. I am getting eager to be done. It has been hard to see the blue sky and sunshine and be stuck inside listening to weather reports and Home Depot paint department ads while I’m pushing a paint roller. I am hopeful that I’ll finish the project with time to enjoy the beach and my patio. If the weather turns bad just as I finish the project, I’ll just sit inside and stare at my walls.

Only One Main Reason for College: Learning

2010-06-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

(From the June 10, 2010 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

While waiting to take home a couple of burritos from the Tip-a-Few, I overheard a woman complaining to a friend that her daughter had to take “useless classes” in college. Why, she asked in exasperation, is a student required to take classes in history if she wants to be a nurse?

I didn’t jump in to the conversation that night, even though I’ve had many good conversations with strangers at the Tip. But perhaps I should have responded. I actually hear that comment a lot about college, that so many classes are unnecessary. Frequently my students at GVSU tell me that they are working to get their general education classes “out of the way” so they can focus on the courses in their major area of study. I always tell students who make this comment that such general education classes are not in the way, but are in fact there on purpose.

But that’s the problem. Most people have lost sight of the purpose of college. In the current economic shift, students and their parents are being told by everyone from the governor on down that a college degree is the key to a good job. That’s not entirely wrong. There is lots of data that shows employment rate and household income goes up proportionate to college education. But such a simple, albeit practical, view that “degree = job” leads to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for students.

The problem is that too many view college as mere job training as opposed to higher education. They see the curriculum as a checklist, rather than an opportunity. I actually have students ask me what electives they “have to” take (electives are courses that students can choose, or “elect,” to take that are not required for their major). These courses could be related to a chosen career path, or they could be something a student takes to satisfy general curiosity (which, by the way, may end up being related to a chosen career path). Too many people approach college as something to get through rather than something to savor.

I tell my students their college experience will be more productive and enjoyable if they approach each class with a “burnin’ yearnin’ for learnin’.” Some laugh at this. Others eventually embrace the idea. The latter are the ones who don’t ask if they “have to” read something. They read things on their own because of natural curiosity. They stay after class to talk about something not because it’s on the test but because it’s interesting. And if you think this is merely idealistic, consider this: the students with a passion for learning are also the ones who make the biggest impression when being considered for internships and jobs.

What I’m really talking about here is an old concept called “liberal education.” That’s not liberal in terms of political ideology, but related to an education in the liberal arts. Liberal can also mean a lot, as in a liberal helping of mashed potatoes. The idea is that students are not just narrowly “trained” in specific skills for a certain job, but they are broadly educated in multiple academic disciplines or subjects. The primary benefit of taking classes that some deem “not relevant” to a career is that it strengthens the mind in the same way that doing multiple exercises or “cross-training” strengthens an athlete’s muscle. Why ride a bike when you are training to run a race? Because you will be a stronger runner.

More importantly, a liberal education gets students to think beyond themselves to consider social responsibility. A good college education should prepare students not just to be a good employee, but to be a good citizen. As Peter Berkowitz of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution said in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, “liberal education supposes that while individual rights are shared equally by all, the responsible exercise of those rights is an achievement that depends on cultivating the mind.” In other words, complaining about taking “unrelated” classes is really a selfish attitude.

It’s also impractical. If I can’t convince students that being broadly educated is important for all the reasons above, I’ll stoop to the pragmatic and self-interested argument. As it turns out, in every occupation that requires a college degree, employers want to hire people who can do more than just perform basic job functions. As the saying goes, even monkeys can be trained. Employers want people who can take initiative, anticipate and adapt to change, innovate, solve problems, create new opportunities and so on. It’s not enough to be able to do a job today; you have to think for tomorrow. That requires a liberally educated mind.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is noted for saying “we make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” To paraphrase, if you see college as just classes to train you for a job, you may end up making a living. But if you approach college as an opportunity to learn, you’ll give yourself a diverse and satisfying life. That’s not a bad standard by which to live.

On the other hand, people who can’t understand the need to take courses that are not immediately connected to a job might want to choose a different anthem as a theme for their life. I’d suggest a lyric from American musician Jackson Browne, who crooned sarcastically: “I’m going to be a happy idiot, and struggle for the legal tender.”

Business Deserves Cheer, not Bashing

2010-05-14T07:30:00.001-07:00

(From the May 13, 2010 Grand Haven Tribune)

It seems that bashing business has been in vogue in the past few months. At the national level, people have been angry about tax dollars bailing out large auto companies and financial institutions. Outrage has been expressed about the huge salaries commanded by top executives, well out of proportion to their average worker. Goldman Sachs executives received a congressional tongue lashing for suspected fraud in the way they handled investments. BP is taking a lot of heat for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

While these examples might seem to justify anger, they are only a few specific examples. The general anti-business rhetoric is unfair and alarming. President Obama said in a recent graduation speech that he believes at some point you have made enough money. He seems to articulate an attitude that many have about making money. There is an assumption that successful business people gained their wealth dishonestly. Again, that may be true of some people, but the majority of wealthy business people I know worked very hard and earned whatever they have. It’s not up to other people, not even the president, to say when they’ve worked too hard.

I’ve noticed this business bashing locally as well. An organization I consult with was criticized recently by being called “pro-business.” I’m not sure why that’s a bad thing. Trying to help nurture business and economic growth helps entire communities, not just businesses. Also, never mind that the same organization has done lots of work in the area of environmental sustainability.

On another occasion recently I was in a meeting with other professors. One mentioned that a chemistry professor had left to take a job at a chemical company. An assistant dean said the university just couldn’t compete with the salary. Another professor said the professor could be persuaded to stay if she wanted to be able to look at herself in the mirror in the morning. Really? This attitude that going to work for a business is somehow evil seemed incredibly narrow to me. I wanted to pointed out to the colleague who said it that he had probably already benefited by that chemical company’s products three times that very day.

In fact, ever since Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, humankind has increasingly benefited by the “division of labor.” Businesses provide the products and services we need. That’s just one benefit of business.

They also provide employment. At a time when most of us have neighbors and friends who have been looking for work for months or years, we should be cheering on businesses so they can hire more employees. Data from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth shows that in 2009 businesses of various types accounted for more than 77,000 of the 101,200 jobs in Ottawa County. Government, education and health make up the remaining 23, 000 jobs.

Keep in mind that it is the businesses that pay for the government and education jobs through taxation. Employees pay income taxes. But additionally, businesses pay tax on business income. And they pay a lot. Michael Boskin, an economics professor at Stanford and fellow at the Hoover Institution, reported in the Wall Street Journal recently that the U.S. has a 39% corporate income tax rate, including state taxes—the second highest rate of any advanced economy. Add to that the real estate property tax, and personal property tax on manufacturing machines, computers and other items used in the business. Some communities on the east side of the state are going into debt just because an auto plant is no longer using a single piece of heavy equipment.

That tax burden provides considerably more to the coffers of the five units of government in north Ottawa County than households. But even with that, according to Joy Gaasch, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Ferrysburg, businesses give even more to the community through philanthropy. Everything from the annual United Way campaign to projects like the Community Center and North Ottawa Dunes benefits mightily from local businesses.

So I don’t understand all the business bashing. Especially when our national government keeps growing, and public educators at recent local meetings complained of declining funding, I would think people would be thanking business. It doesn’t make sense to complain about debt in government and public education and then bash the very source of revenue that sustains them.

If people think being pro-business is bad, I wonder what anti-business would lead to. Central planning in Eastern Europe was a colossal failure. The current example in Greece shows what happens when the number of public employees overwhelms the private sector. As Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of England, said: “the main problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.”

While there will always be a few bad apples, by and large the “other people” who start and maintain businesses provide products, services, jobs, and public funding. We should stop bashing them, and cheer them on. We’ll all share in their success.

Simple weekend errands turn into adoption

2010-04-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

(From the April 8, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Last weekend I fell in love at a store in Muskegon. I wasn’t looking for love. But that’s just the way love is. You walk around a corner, your eyes meet, and boom!--love. My wife was next to me when it happened.

We were running some errands on Saturday. They were relatively boring errands. As we were out and about, we stopped in at Pets Mart. We had no reason to be there. We haven’t had pets since our two cats died over a period of two years from 2006 to 2008. Since then, we would occasionally go to Pets Mart just to look at the cats brought in every other Saturday by Cat Tales Rescue, a no-kill shelter and adoption center.

Our visits were part of the grieving process. Just being able to see cats helped a little bit, since we missed our two so much. But we weren’t quite ready to adopt again. It takes a while to get over lost pets. Pet owners know this. Pets become like children. Their antics and habits are every bit a part of your home and life as all your other routines. When they die it takes a long time to realize they are not there—just like with people. You see an object out of the corner of your eye and think it is a cat. You sit down in a favorite chair to read and wonder why there is no cat on your lap. Every time your mind plays these tricks and brings back memories, you grieve a little more.

But you can’t just replace pets. They aren’t mechanical parts. They have personalities that add to the reason you love them. Getting new pets too soon can make you feel more guilty than comforted. It’s like getting married soon after the death of a spouse. It just doesn’t seem right.

So when we went into Pets Mart, it was always just a casual visit. It was a way to be with cats since we didn’t have them at home anymore. In the back of our minds we thought we would one day take in cats again, but we didn’t know when.

Now we know that a year and a half is too long of a time to be without cats.

When we walked in the store last Saturday the first thing I saw was a cage with two orange kittens. I had always wanted an orange cat. Maybe it’s a subliminal effect from those “Morris the Cat” ads. For whatever reason, I just find orange cats compelling.

Also, we had grown used to having two cats in the house. We had one at first, which we adopted from my sister-in-law when her roommates didn’t want a cat around. The second one came along as a stray and just hung out under our porch so we adopted her. It was nice to have two cats. They entertain each other when we’re away, and they entertain us when we’re home. So I always thought when we adopt again we’d get two, preferably siblings so they get along with each other. These two orange cats at Pets Mart were five-and-a-half-month old brothers.

But what really sealed it was when we held them. Judy Austin, the woman who runs Cat Tales, was happy to encourage it. And she told us how loving these two little guys are. They proved it when they started purring even in the strange atmosphere with we two strangers holding them.

We had no chance. We had no choice. We told Judy we’d take them.

Of course, we hadn’t planned on going home with cats as well as all the groceries and other items we picked up on our trip. So we arranged to pick them up Monday. That evening and in the few days since, the bonding process has progressed rapidly. It’s nice to hear meows, purrs, and the pitter-patter of padded paws. They are fun to watch and play with. I can tell they are happy to have a permanent home. We named them Humu and Nuku. That’s a play off the name humuhumunukunukuapua’a—which is the name of the state fish of Hawaii. It’s complicated, but let’s just say that has special meaning for us. Plus, it is kind of funny to name our cats after a fish. I also doubt anyone else around here has cats by that name.

Now is a good time to adopt cats or other pets. Spring is when new litters are born, and often they are separated from their mothers. Also, at all times of year people move or for some other reason can no longer care for their adult cats. I would encourage you to visit a no-kill shelter like Cat Tales, which has 40 cats on site plus volunteer “foster parents” dedicated to finding permanent homes for cats without euthanasia. Take in a cat, or two (or dogs if you prefer), and provide a good home for an animal. You’ll find they will in turn make your home a better place as well.

Thinking of taxes, tea, and coffee

2010-03-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

(From the March 11, 2010 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I’m thinking ahead one month and back 217 years. One month from now it will be almost April 15, the deadline day for paying taxes. Meanwhile, roughly 217 years ago, in 1793, a group of disgruntled Americans tossed a bunch of tea into Boston Harbor because of their anger about taxes.

My how history seems to repeat itself. One of the more popular current political stories of the past year has been the “Tea Party,” a group of Americans who are motivated by their anger at the increase in taxes and the size of government. They even had their own convention last month in Tennessee.

Those early Americans were upset about the British East India Company being allowed to import tea to the colonies without paying taxes. The decision to allow this further angered Americans already protesting about “taxation without representation.” So they made their point.

Taxation without representation seems to be an issue today as well. It’s shocking to look at the difference between the gross and net amounts on a pay stub and realize how much is being sent to Lansing and Detroit—and how little seems to come back. Meanwhile, news reports reveal how much of the current activity in Washington D.C. happens behind closed doors. Unions, associations, and corporations with lobbyists have special access to meet with people in the White House and Congress, many of whom had “issues” paying all THEIR taxes, if you recall. When the U.S. Treasury Secretary and a Congressman who heads a tax committee didn’t pay their personal taxes, maybe the Tea Party is on to something.

Now, such organized revolution is not my cup of tea you might say. But as I have grown frustrated with taxes lately, such desperate action does have a certain appeal. For years our politicians have been talking about cutting taxes, simplifying the tax code and making the tax code more fair. But every year it seems that we pay more taxes and it gets harder to do so. When I say harder, I don’t just mean the difficulty in parting with my hard-earned money. It’s the process of actually figuring out what I owe the government.

Lots of folks bring their records and forms to an accountant and let them handle it. But that costs money, and you still need to keep records during the year. Some of you, if you’re like me, try to prepare your tax forms yourself. If you qualify to use the “E-Z” form, it is in fact, easy. But if your income becomes a little greater or more complicated you need to use the long form with various and assorted schedules and additional forms and worksheets. I did mine recently and when I printed out the final paperwork it was more than 30 pages.

Even with tax preparation software the task doesn’t get a lot simpler. TurboTax and other such programs ask you a series of questions to ensure you don’t forget anything. But there are so many questions! And every year there are new tax laws, meaning you have to buy the tax software every year. Why does filing taxes have to be so taxing? If you’re required to do something, the least the government could do is make it easier to comply. I mean, by comparison, the government allows you to get married by answering one simple question, once, and you’re all set. You don’t have to answer a set of difficult questions year after year. (At least not to the government.)

In the past several years the government has pushed “e-filing” your taxes. They promote it as being free and easy. It is neither. It’s not easy because you have to go through the process I already described before you “simply” click and electronically file your taxes. It’s not cheap because you have to go through an accountant or buy tax preparation software in order to file electronically.

Even having completed the process, and even if you get a return, there is no sense of relief. The government takes a sizable chunk of your money. If you track your personal finances using Quicken or some other software, run a pie chart report on your expenses. You’ll probably find that taxes are the single greatest expense category you have, even more than your mortgage or groceries.

And that’s just income. We also pay property tax, and sales tax. There are various “sin” taxes on tobacco and alcohol. There are even estate or “death” taxes.

The irony is that poor people originally pushed for an income tax. They realized that tariffs, the government’s main revenue source, were forcing them to pay more for products. And so an income tax was introduced but was assessed mostly to the wealthy class. According to tax historian John Witte in a PBS documentary, all that changed during World War II. In 1939, at the beginning of the war, only 15 percent of Americans paid any kind of income tax. By the end of the war, 80 percent did. The change was part of a rationale that the US needed the money for the war effort. So patriotism prevailed and more of the masses started paying taxes as well.

Today, with payroll deduction and automatic deposit, most people take taxes for granted. And the increase in taxes—in spite of campaign promises—just keeps growing along with the size and role of government. We’ve moved a long way from what our founding fathers envisioned and described in the Constitution as a federal government with “limited and enumerated powers.”

Maybe what we need is not a Tea Party, but a Coffee Party to wake people up to that fact.

Considering a Fish for Governor

2010-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

(From the February 11, 2010 Grand Haven Tribune)

“Asian Carp Enters Governors Race.” That headline was in another area newspaper last weekend. At first I laughed at the ambiguity of the headline—a fish running for governor! Hilarious.

Of course, what the headline really meant was that the Asian Carp issue had become a point of debate in the governor’s race, with two candidates having different ideas about dealing with the problem of this invasive fish. Basically, this large fish came into the Mississippi River having been carried in the ballast of international ships. It made its way all the way north to Chicago and is now threatening to enter Lake Michigan from the Chicago River. People are worried the fish will destroy the current species of fish in Lake Michigan and thus destroy the fishing business. The debate centers on whether or not to seal off the Chicago River and channel to the Mississippi River.

But then I got to thinking (this can be dangerous for me). I thought, what if the Asian Carp actually ran for governor? Well, one of them anyway.

When you think about it, our current governor came to Michigan from Canada via California. Our current president came to Washington from Hawaii via Chicago. The Carp would enter Michigan from Asia via the Mississippi River and Chicago. In fact, it hasn’t been in Chicago long, so it’s less likely to be corrupted by Chicago-style politics that some people fear. An idea for a campaign slogan: “Asian Fish? It’s no Blagojevich.”

As for people worried about the Asian Carp damaging the environment and business, well, consider this. Can a fish do more damage than any other politician? Maybe if we send the Asian Carp to Lansing they’ll be too busy to mess with Lake Michigan.

Fish are like politicians after all. They do most of what they do below the surface. They only emerge once in a while to make a brief appearance, have their moment in the sun, and cause a splash. If you get them out of their element they flip and squirm, eventually flapping their gills with eyes wide open and making a funny pouting expression. If you leave them out too long they just, well, they stink. At this point they are covered by the newspapers.

Everyone seems to want reform in government, so maybe putting a fish in charge is the kind of radical change we need. A fish would offer a new view of the scales of justice. They’d knock our current leaders off their perch and give us salmon else to talk about. The presence of a fish in charge could spawn some innovative new ideas from a new perspective. For example, education reform might be possible since fish spend most of their lives in schools. They wouldn’t do anything just for the halibut. We might finally move closer to e-fish-ent government. It might even be possible to end the partisan bickering and everyone would get along swimmingly.

In time, the fish politician concept could really take off. There could even be democrat and republican fish. We would all enter the voting booth and review a ballot of candidates and running mates from either party. It might read something like this: One Fish; Two Fish; Red Fish; Blue Fish.

But, this whole plan will likely fail. Everyone knows politicians watch polls carefully. In the same way, fish are fearful of poles. We’d have a tough time luring the Asian Carp to run for office. And of course, fish can’t run anyway. This idea just has no legs.

So, I guess we’ll have to settle for a human as governor of our state. And as for the rest of us? We’ll be left to carp about politics.

Winning Over Winter, With or Without Wine

2010-01-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

(From the January 14, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

It gave me a feeling eerily reminiscent of the 1920s. No, I wasn’t alive then. But I have published a paper about that decade and have read a lot about the era. Anyway, I was in downtown Grand Haven last Friday night for the “Wine About Winter” event sponsored by the main street DDA.

I saw a sign on the window of Gallery Uptown that read: “We are sorry. There is no wine.” Then I overheard a man in a trench coat and a fedora explain that the state government and local police had put a stop to the alcohol.

So, our economy has been compared to the Great Depression and now we have to deal with prohibition again?

Not exactly. As this paper explained in a front page article last Saturday, there were certain permits missing and rules misunderstood. So there’s no need to start a speakeasy in Spring Lake, or to start smuggling Michigan Merlot from Al Capone’s alleged hideout near Paw Paw.

Nor, as it turned out, was there any reason to whine about the absence of wine from the “Wine About Winter” event. People took the situation in slushy stride, as they meandered from business to business in downtown Grand Haven to view the work of local artists, shop a little, and enjoy some snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. The mayor himself was proffering “fake wine” at his shoe establishment.

Wine wasn’t really the purpose of the event. It was merely an incentive. The real purpose was to get people out of their homes on a cold, post-holiday, winter night. That happened. Neither the presence of snow nor absence of wine seemed to prevent it.

It was by many measures a successful event. People were bumping into friends, chatting with artists, and generally enjoying themselves. I’m not sure how sales were for the businesses, but the added exposure can’t hurt. I heard more than a few people comment that they hadn’t realized a store was there, or what was in a particular store.

Apart from the return for businesses, I think the event was a success just for being a “victory” over winter. There is this notion that winter in the north is despised, a cruel joke, a burden to endure, a force that keeps us all inside for months. Well, as they say in Pella, baloney!

We northerners are a hearty bunch. Sure, we complain a bit about blizzards, and driving conditions. But most of us also deal with—and even relish—the winter season. In fact, far from keeping us inside, winter provides an incentive to appreciate the outdoors. My wife and I enjoy the unique perspective in winter while running along the Grand River. We have seen Bald Eagles perched in the bare limbs of an oak, or soaring over open water in search of a meal. Cross country skiing provides uniquely exhilarating experience, whether by night on the lighted trails at Pigeon Creek Park, or by day in the wooded dunes and beach vistas at Hoffmaster State Park. Sunny days in winter can be spectacular, with rays of light glistening on new snow or shimmering on ice formations. But even the more common cloudy days have a stark beauty to them.

There are other advantages to winter too. There are no mosquitos. That’s enough right there to appreciate winter, if you ask me. There’s also no lawn care or yard work. Sure, snow blowing and shoveling can be a chore, but at least there’s no mowing or weeding. Also, the snow covers any bald spots or blemishes in the yard. Coffee tastes better when the mercury falls. Cuddling makes more sense. Even if you’re one who doesn’t like winter, at least you’ll have to admit this season makes you appreciate the other ones.

Many of us pine for warmth and envy those in southern climates at this time of year. But many of my acquaintances south of the Mason-Dixon line tell me they miss the snow, wish they could experience four distinct seasons, or wonder what it’s like to snow ski.

So there was no wine at “Wine About Winter.” There was also no whining. Because most of us realize that winter happens, every year about this time. So we deal with it. Some of us even embrace it.

I’m already looking forward to the completion of an ice rink on the first block of Washington Street where the road construction is currently on hold. Even after the road improvements are completed, such an idea could be good for Grand Haven on an annual basis. The city could even combine ice skating with the DDA event. Locals and visitors would come downtown to shop, view art, skate, and just generally enjoy winter. Who knows, with this much time for planning and getting proper permits, it might even be possible to serve wine next to the rink.

In 2011 we could see the first “Ice Wine” event. Or “Drink at the Rink.” Even if not, I’m sure we’ll all endure and enjoy winter just fine.

It's the Season of Excuses, and Inspiration

2009-12-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

(From the December 10, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

Some people think of this time of the year as the holiday season. Or the end of the fall season and the beginning of the winter season. Or the season of love, joy, peace and so on.

All of that may be true. But it is also the season of excuses. That’s because final projects are due and final exams are happening on college campuses across the country. The excuses are coming in like a Canadian cold front.

I follow a group of professors on Twitter who maintain anonymity as “annoyedPRprof” so they can say what they really want to say to students. Here’s a sampling of some recently released frustrations:

“You have 891 points out of 1000 and you want an A? Too bad you showed up to class late 12 times this semester. I counted.”
“You "forgot" to take your final exam? Really?”
“Independent study does not mean no accountability. You must finish the work we agreed on, I don't care how passive aggressive your emails are.”
“When students don't turn in / submit assignments, do they think I won't notice and just give them an A anyway? Sheesh.”
“The 60 minutes you spent asking for a project extension could have been used for other things...e.g., finishing your project.”

These are funny, in a “misery loves company” sort of way. The reason I and some of my colleagues in the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University laugh at these excuses is because they are all too familiar. Let me give you a few examples of excuses I have received and the responses I give, or want to give (I’ll let you decide).

Excuse: “My grandma died and I have to go to the funeral so I can’t turn in my paper on time. Response: Just out of curiosity, is your grandma a cat? Because Professor Smith said your grandma died in September when something was due in her class, Professor Charles said your grandma died in October right at midterm time, and Professor Brown said your grandma died just last month when you were supposed to make a presentation in his class. (Yes, we talk to each other).

Excuse: “My girlfriend and I drove to Wisconsin.” Response: Wisconsin is a good place for you. Your story has holes in it like Swiss, and your performance so far this semester stinks like cheddar aged a week too long.

Excuse: “I forgot to set my alarm.” Response: Well, here’s an alarm for you—you get an F on what was due today.

Excuse: “I decided to change the focus of my project because what I had intended to do was too hard so I need to turn in the project late.” Response: You mean you decided to start the project an hour before you wrote this email, right? Bummer. I decided not to give extensions on assignment deadlines because then I have to grade them later—and that’s too hard.

Excuse: “My best friend got concert tickets for the night of the exam.” Response: It looks like your BFF is going to ruin your GPA. LOL.

Excuse: “The printer was out of paper.” Response: And you’re out of luck. By the way, how long does it take to add paper to a printer? That would only be a problem if you decided to print five minutes before class.

Yes, the excuse season can be frustrating. In weaker moments, I fantasize about getting even. I think to myself that when students ask me for a letter of recommendation, to complete a graduation audit, or to sign approval for any number of their needs, that I will reach into this list of excuses and offer one back at them. Or stare at my lap and send text messages to friends, then look up and say, “like, huh?”

But I won’t. A common trap for professors is to dwell on the excuses because they demand attention, when in fact they are rare among students. Most of my students are outstanding young people, striving for excellence, creatively brilliant, and even inspiring. There are good stories there too.

One story I heard earlier this week really moved me. A student came to me with tears in her eyes. I half expected a sob story and a lame excuse for why she couldn’t meet a deadline. Instead, she told me that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 cancer and wanted to drive the two hours home to tell her parents. She didn’t want to tell her parents this news over the phone, even though she realized this would mean missing class. Of course, I said, I completely understand.

Then came the inspiring part. She said she is really excited about her project and wanted to present in class as scheduled later in the week. I told her that was up to her, that I admired her courage, and would be thinking about and praying for her.

Now I’m tempted to have this standard response for future excuses: I’m sorry, I was just thinking about a student just diagnosed with cancer who is presenting her project on time. What was your excuse again?

Beach Towns Are All Alike Except When They're Different

2009-11-09T21:42:00.001-08:00

(From the November 12, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

SAN DIEGO—We walked along Harbor Drive, admiring condominiums with a view of the water. We strolled up one one-way street and down another, surveying the options for dining and shopping. We took to the boardwalk, where joggers and walkers enjoyed the nautical scenery while getting in some exercise.

We aren’t in Grand Haven though. We’re in San Diego. I’m here to deliver a paper and attend a public relations conference. My wife is here because, well, because she wanted to come along. I also met up with 13 of Grand Valley’s finest students who are here for a companion conference, and an alumna who is working on a graduate degree here. We were all a little dismayed the other night, while having dinner together, to learn that the weather in West Michigan was unseasonably nice. If there’s one thing you don’t want to miss in West Michigan, it’s the Indian Summer. There is little joy in being in 80- degree weather when it’s nearly as warm back home.

That’s what got me to thinking about the similarities and differences between San Diego in southern California and the Tri-Cities of western Michigan. The weather was supposed to be different this week and wasn’t too much. Maybe there are other aspects that are similar as well, I wondered. It turns out there are.

I mentioned the downtown’s proximity to water, and even the aptly named Harbor Drive that both communities share. This common attribute was enhanced when I glanced up one day and saw a Coast Guard boat and dingy cruising along not far from the boardwalk. I did a double take—Coast Guard boats are a common sight in Grand Haven. I had to remind myself that I was in San Diego.

There are other similarities as well. Both communities have a Harbor Island. We also noticed signs around San Diego about Art Prize (OK, that was Grand Rapids, but it was a regional event). Both communities are distinguished by bridges that enable vehicles to cross over water in such a way that boaters are not impeded. Both have cruise ships, cargo ships, and a fishing industry.

But there are also differences. Unfortunately, these differences make Grand Haven pale like a northerner’s skin compared with this southern California city. Their Harbor Island is accompanied by Shelter Island and Coronado Island, which have sizable communities, a historic hotel and Navy bases. Our Harbor Island has a coal plant. Both here and in Grand Haven the Coast Guard saves lives. But in San Diego they are also concerned with interdiction of drug smugglers and illegal border crossings. In the Tri-Cities, SeaDoos with an inappropriate number of life preservers seem to demand the most attention. In San Diego people can go to a spacious zoo in the hills of Balboa Park to enjoy looking at giraffes, rhinoceros, elephants, hippos and many other kinds of exotic animals. We shoot deer in the city.

In San Diego the cruise ships depart for Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera for adventure in tropical rain forests, coral reefs, and volcanoes. Our cruise ships carry Europeans looking at fall leaf colors and sand dunes. Their cargo ships arrive with containers of fruits from Latin America. Our ships carry gravel and coal from Cleveland. We always used to be impressed at the size of the salmon being cleaned at Chinook Pier. In San Diego we felt small watching swordfish so big they had to be hoisted to the pier with a crane. Moored in San Diego is the U.S.S. Midway, a massive aircraft carrier that now serves as the flagship of naval museums. We have the bell of the Escanaba and a dingy. Grand Haven is called Coast Guard City USA, which is certainly a point of pride. But San Diego refers to itself with a more general and confident self-esteem as the “Finest City.” Maybe this is why if you say you’re from San Diego, no one asks where that is. But if you say you’re from Spring Lake or Grand Haven, Michigan, they most often do.

My wife and I did our part to put Spring Lake/Grand Haven on the map, so to speak, down here in southern California. My paper was named “Top Faculty Paper” at the conference, and my wife won her age group in the Shelter Island 5K that we ran while in town. Our names and hometown were announced at both events, and we proudly explained where we live and boasted of our closeness to Lake Michigan and distance from Detroit. We expressed glowing pride and pointed out the unique features of our beach town. My wife won a sweatshirt and a free night at a local hotel at the race awards ceremony. That means we’ll have to come back to San Diego. By the time we do, I’m hoping people will recognize where we’re from. “Oh, Coast Guard City!” they’ll say. Or, “No kidding, you actually live in the city that has the musical fountain!?”

Otherwise, we might just say we came over the bridge from Harbor Island and let people think what they want.

Movie Making Won't Be Magic for Lakeshore

2009-10-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

From the October 8, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune.

Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that the film “What’s Wrong With Virginia” is currently being shot in Grand Haven and 30 other locations on the Lake Michigan shoreline. It will be exciting to witness some of the filming, meet actors, and eventually see the film and try to see what settings are recognizable.

But beyond that temporary curiosity, there’s not much to get too excited about.

There have been other movies shot in the area and the region was not made famous. Recall “Road to Perdition” several years ago, starring Tom Hanks and including a scene at a beach house on Lake Michigan near Port Sheldon. Other than some local excitement, few people who saw that movie would know where the scene was shot.

But that’s fine. Do we really want to be recognized in a Hollywood production? I think not. Usually people from Los Angeles and New York make fun of the Midwest in their movies. I doubt the people in North Dakota think they were fairly or positively portrayed in “Fargo.” In fact, that movie is often cited by people who mock the Midwest, adopting the accent used by lead characters and suggesting that all Midwesterners talk funny. I’d hate for the film currently being produced in our area to include dialogue or images that become fodder for amateur comedians across the country to associate some unkind attribute with Grand Haven.

I don’t know the storyline of the movie, but if it evokes positive characteristics then it would be nice if the movie would boldly make obvious that the film is being shot in Western Michigan. It would be great if the film exposes the rest of the country to the beauty of our environment. What a refreshing surprise it would be if the industry and integrity of our people were cast as positive values and not bizarre anomalies to be scoffed at by goateed and turtle-necked moral relativists with drug problems and an abundance of ex-wives, if they ever got married. But such enlightened respect is as rare as natural physical features among Hollywood elite.

Maybe I’ll be surprised. But I suspect that either West Michigan will be only used as a backdrop for this movie and will be anonymous, with the houses and shops and other props being in “Anytown USA.” Or, we will be regarded as quaint folk who are nice but in an unsophisticated way. We will be ridiculed with faint praise.

Not only will positive fame be illusive, so will riches. A big deal has been made of the state offering tax incentives for filmmakers to create movies in Michigan. But it is questionable how much income is brought to the region. Actors and film crews come from elsewhere, so there’s not much of a local employment boost. Maybe lodging and dining establishments will get some business during filming, and that’s good. But it’s not phenomenal.

But, not to despair. Would we really want to be “discovered” by Hollywood? That could have negative consequences. Soon beachfront property would be bought up faster than you can say “Malibu,” and the real estate market would skyrocket. That would be good for local realtors, but the rest of us could say goodbye to ever owning a home on the beach. We’d have to fight to keep our parks from becoming gated communities. We’d have to deal with the likes of Nick Nolte and other washed up Hollywood “leading men” stumbling drunk out of area bars causing a ruckus. Prima donna actresses would parade down Washington Street, eventually turning local merchants into overpriced boutiques similar to Rodeo Drive. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie might move here—with two dozen kids. Yikes! Roads would be closed frequently by film crews. It would get old quickly if you just want a cup of coffee at Jumpin’ Java but are held back by a dolly camera shooting yet another movie scene.

OK. Maybe none of that will happen either. And that’s good. There’s nothing wrong with filming “What’s Wrong With Virginia?” in our neck of the woods. There’s nothing wrong with Grand Haven either. We’re just a typical community. I hope the film doesn’t insinuate otherwise. But I won’t get too excited either way.

It’s just a movie.

H1N1 Has No 'Influenza' on Me

2009-09-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

(From the 9/10/09 Grand Haven Tribune)

It’s September. The harvest moon rises early in the evening. The sun sets sooner. The Lake Michigan water has turned colder. There are football games on TV. Kids are back in school and salmon are back in the channel. And according to one waitress at the Tip-a-Few, the tourists are gassin’ up and goin’ home.

But the biggest sign of fall this year is the return of cold and flu season. K-12 and college students are receiving carefully worded letters of caution to prevent illness. Adults can’t miss discussion of the flu pandemic in the news, complete with maps of how many cases of the current strain of flu are in each state or country in the world. There’s even an iPhone application to see how many reported cases of flu are in your area. Yes, there is an app for that, and it’s nothing to sniff at. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has even declared that next week is the official start of flu season.

But I remain underwhelmed by all the frivolous fear of the flu. I was a little worried earlier this year when it was called “swine flu.” But they stopped calling it that because apparently pigs had very little to do with this virus. Pigs have very little to do with anything in my life. Except maybe for their contributions to the construction of footballs, and certain parts of my breakfast. But other than that, I hardly would give the little porkers a thought. That’s why a name like swine flu caught my attention. Can you catch a cold from catching a football?! Might I be having bacterial bacon for breakfast?!

No, of course. But then the scientists who monitor public health these days did a very scientific and 21^st century thing. They renamed the disease from something that was an actual word and potentially scary to something that sounded very scientific, very digital, very unfrightening. Since the name swine flu didn’t fly, they called the virus H1N1. How can anyone be afraid of that? It sounds like it could be some scientist’s passcode to the main computer at the CDC. It reminds me of the cute robot from “Star Wars” named R2D2. Is H1N1 his little brother? If you tell someone you have H1N1, will either say “huh?” or “that’s cute! Did you get C3PO too?” Now, if you tell them you have the swine flu, you get respect.

How are people going to get sick days for H1N1? I imagine some poor guy explaining between coughs that he can’t come to work on account of H1N1. His boss is likely to say, “Right, pal, and I got a case of ESPN. Get yourself to work!”

There may be an argument to give diseases more friendly names. Maybe people would be more likely to get the recommended shot for something they can pronounce and that maybe even reminds them of a cousin. Going to see the doctor because the government is warning about something callledH1N1 could cause people to worry that it’s just a plot and they’ll get beamed up or have their brain attached to the “Matrix.”

Hurricane season happens at the same time as flu season, or those big storms have very nice names. In 2009 the hurricane names so far have been Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, and Erika. If the weather cooperates, we might get to meet Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, and Joaquin. People can identify with these names. People will prepare for Hurricane Fred. If there was a warning for a storm called BH12, I’m thinking they’d just shrug.

No, as illnesses go, H1N1 just doesn’t register with me. The plague, whooping cough, shingles, and even the gout have more pizzazz in my book. In fact, the original word “influenza”, from which we get “the flu,” is a fine word with an interesting history. The word influenza comes from the Italian language and refers to the cause or “influence” of the disease, which was originally blamed on bad astrological influences on a person. More advanced medicine and knowledge that cold weather can bring on the virus led to the connotation "influence of the cold," which is why today we speak of the “cold and flu” season. Seems like a perfectly fine name to keep using, even if there are different kind of flu bugs out there.

So I’m not going to worry about H1N1. I’ll just keep doing what I always do to avoid getting the flu. I’ll follow the instructions on the bottle of medicine: “take one dose per day and keep out of reach of children.”

Stanley Cup Runneth All Over Grand Haven

2009-08-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

My wife and I were heading back from the beach yesterday afternoon when I saw an unusual crowd in the parking lot of Butch's Beach Burritos. "Crazy tourists," I said. My wife had a different reaction: "It's the Stanley Cup!"

Huh? This woman doesn't even watch hockey. Could she know what she was talking about? I couldn't get a look because I had to navigate beach traffic. So we pulled in to the YMCA parking lot and ran back to Butch's. By the time we got there, the parking lot was at a normal level of activity. The Cup was gone.

So I channeled Wayne Gretsky and thought: we gotta go to where the Cup will be, not where it is!

My wife came through again. "I bet they'll go to Pronto Pups," she mused.

So we took off, parked behind some condos, and...score! There was Lord Stanley's Cup, surrounded by corn dogs on sticks instead of hockey sticks. Pittsburgh Penguins Coach and Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma was posing with passersby and delighted Pronto Pups proprietors.

We walked down the street and followed the cup to the Dairy Treat, where they filled it with mint chocolate chip ice cream and let people eat from it. The entourage moved from there toward Washington Street and other spots in town.

For one day, Grand Haven had what Detroit could not get this year.

Brainstorm Leads to Ideas for Boardwalk

2009-07-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

(From the July 9, 2009 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

Downtown Grand Haven merchants are posting “Support the Boardwalk” signs in the windows of their shops. It’s part of a celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the boardwalk, as well as an effort to keep the boardwalk along the channel in good repair for years to come.

The project seems to be picking up momentum. Last weekend when my wife and I walked along the channel, we noticed people selling boardwalk t-shirts to raise money for the effort. Earlier this week I had lunch at Downtown Dogs and noticed the eatery is offering a “Boardwalk Brat,” with 50 cents of each purchase going to the boardwalk fund.

So I started thinking. I do that sometimes. What are some other ways to raise a few bucks for the boardwalk? I came up with 10 ideas.

1. A reality TV show. Get two families to run competing hot dog stands along the boardwalk. But you have the moms work with the opposite families. Meanwhile, they all have to compete in a series of weird obstacle course events. Finally, the team that sells the most hot dogs after a month wins a prize. It’s a combination of the Apprentice, Survivor, and Wife Swap. Trust me, once the Michael Jackson memorial is done, Americans will be ready for something like this. Any network would love to pick up such a show. The ad revenues will be huge.

2. A “Boardwalk Bucks” tourist tax. Residents of the Tri-Cities can show their ID and walk for free, but others will have to proceed through turnsytles and deposit “Boardwalk Bucks” (available at local merchants) in order to enter the boardwalk. This will make the boardwalk even more popular. Have you ever seen the lines to go through turnstyles at Six Flags or Disney? And, it will force more people to patronize local merchants.

3. Issue tickets to irresponsible dog walkers. These people routinely ignore signs prohibiting skateboards or they don’t clean up after their dogs. I once read about something called a “poop deck.” I think it was in Moby Dick or the Caine Mutiny. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but my idea is to build a poop deck just off the boardwalk, where dog owners who don’t pick up after their pets will be forced to stand in shame until they pay a fine. Based on my observations, we could raise all that’s needed with this idea alone.

4. A local Monopoly tournament. Participants would pay a small entry fee and play as normal with a prize for the winner. But anyone who lands on Boardwalk during the game would have to pay real money, with proceeds going to the local boardwalk effort. We could even create a Grand Haven version of the game.

5. Federal stimulus money. Just this week various government officials were calling for more stimulus money because the economy doesn’t seem to be recovering fast enough. In the past, the main criteria for receiving federal funds was that projects be shovel ready. I have seen many families with children walk the boardwalk down to the beach, with their children eagerly wielding plastic buckets and shovels. I think we qualify.

6. A benefit concert. We bring in groups to sing songs referencing boardwalk or walking, such as “Under the Boardwalk” or “Walking on Sunshine.” Hold it in waterfront stadium and charge a premium for proceeds to go to the boardwalk.

7. Hold a Boardwalk Walk and Run. My wife and I run all over the Tri-Cities, including the waterfront. I think from Chinook Pier to the lighthouse and back is about four miles. It would be a fun course, and t-shirts already have been made. A portion of race entry fees would go to the boardwalk fund.

8. Piracy. You read that right. The Grand Haven High School mascot is a buccaneer, a fancy word for pirate. May as well start living up to the name. Get some high school athletes, probably from the swim team, to jump into the channel and board the largest yachts coming through to demand ransom. All of the money “collected” would support the boardwalk. Pirates would not be allowed to seize any booty. But if the yachts have a good sound system they would be allowed to shake their booties for a few minutes before swimming back to the pier with the loot.

9. A boardwalk food festival. Most people walking the boardwalk are also eating something either as they walk or afterwards. A three-day festival featuring everything from the classic Pronto Pups to this year’s new waffles on a stick could be featured. Not only would this be a great promotion and sales boost for the vendors, but a portion raised for the boardwalk would likely be substantial.

10. Pay toilets in the campground. Let’s face it, campers use the boardwalk more than anyone. We may as well take advantage of the fact that they’re a captive audience. If they have to make a deposit before they, you know, we’d raise funds faster than you can flush at the thought.

I’m not sure if the boardwalk committee will like these ideas. If not, they could just ask for donations or something. See you out there.

PETA Off Course in Bid for Grand Haven Lighthouse

2009-06-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

(From the June 11 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I didn’t know whether to laugh or roll my eyes when I read in this paper one week ago that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has requested rights to use the Grand Haven lighthouse for a center for “fish empathy.” My initial response was one word: please.

The leadership of PETA wants to use the space to offer vegetarian food and give out little toys that say fish are “friends, not food.” They justify this as a good use of the lighthouse because after being used to protect people at sea, they say, it now makes sense to use the lighthouse to protect sea life.

No. This does not make sense. For one, lighthouses do not protect. They guide. Fish don’t need guidance. They find their way to harbors and upstream reliably each year. If anything, PETA seems to have lost direction.

It was particularly amusing to read that PETA officials think people will be less likely to “stick a fork” in fish once they learn how “sensitive and intelligent” fish are.

Really? How do they know that? Did the fish tell them? I know from going out with friends who are avid fishermen that fish are intelligent. That’s what makes the little suckers so much fun to catch. But sensitive? Maybe after they’ve been marinated or brushed with lemon and butter.

Seriously, did PETA officials ever consider that fish eat other fish? From my perch (no pun intended) high atop the food chain, I think that makes humans very sensitive and intelligent indeed. Rather than carp about my diet I wish these people would find salmon else to complain about. (OK, puns intended there).

You don’t have to think long about the food chain to realize that everything from birds to bears eat fish. Does PETA have a problem with that? I’d suggest they have a fish empathy session with an eagle and a grizzly and see how far they get.

In fact, Jesus endorses the consumption of fish. One of his most famous miracles involved feeding a huge crowd bread and fish. No commentary or footnote I’m aware of explains that he passed out asparagus. It was fish. His first followers were fishermen too, and they were even helped by the Lord to increase their catch.

I’m curious about the position of the average PETA member on the abortion issue. Have they considered that a human fetus is “sensitive and intelligent”? Maybe the lighthouse should be an outpost for the pro-life movement. Given the choice between the importance of a fetus versus a fish, I don’t have to think more than a second. Speaking of choice, if PETA members are pro-choice then they should allow people to choose what to eat without harassment. They can abstain from eating fish. We can all say pass the tartar sauce.

This objection to fish eating is also offensive to other cultures. As you go around the world you’ll encounter populations who revere cows and would never dream of eating beef, even though we Americans love our steaks and hamburgers. Meanwhile, other cultures think nothing of dining on dog, which we consider a domesticated part of our households. Well, we can shake our heads at the difference, but it’s a stretch to take over a local symbol such as the lighthouse to argue the point. Especially when so much of our local culture revolves around fishing, as a business and recreational activity. The charter captains I’m sure would be upset by the partisan PETA propaganda on the pier. But even more so will be our fellow citizens of more modest means who can’t afford a boat and enjoy the pier as the location for their fishing. To set up shop there is as, well, insensitive as it would be to protest fishing in a fish-dependent culture such as the Japanese or the Inuit in northern Canada.

The National Historic Lighthouse Act of 2000 allows nonprofits to use lighthouses for education, recreation, cultural or historic preservation. I don’t think what PETA wants to do fits any of those criteria; in fact it flies in the face of a key recreational and cultural aspect of the Tri-Cities. I hope the National Park Service considers this when they respond to PETA’s request.

Yes, let’s stick a fork in this crazy idea and consider it done. Instead, let’s start a new group named for my initial reaction to this lunacy: please. Or PLEASE, as in People Love Eating Animals, So Enjoy!

Presenting Tim's Most Influential People

2009-05-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

(From the May 14, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

I don’t think I’ve been particularly influenced by Michelle Obama. Same goes for Rush Limbaugh. Ditto that for the guys who invented Twitter, Senator Edward Kennedy, or Nouriel Roubini (who supposedly predicted the economic crash, meaning he influenced no one, at least not soon enough).

All of these people and more—a total of 100 individuals—are included in the annual TIME 100—The World’s Most Influential People. I’m sure TIME Magazine has a point with some of them. They certainly influence us indirectly with inventions, public policy and other elements of common life they had a hand in. We should not take their contributions to society for granted. To a degree, they are influential. Just not the entertainers; especially not George Clooney. Tiger Woods also has not influenced me, as evidenced by the fact that I have gained no additional influence over my golf ball whenever I play.

The truth is, if someone came up to me and asked me who really influenced me, none of the people on TIME’s list would pop into mind. At the same time, the individuals I would think of would never occur to TIME editors I’m sure. So, I give you: Tim’s Most Influential People.

I’d have to start with my parents. I know some people in TIME helped negotiate world peace and so forth. But I’d have to say learning to tie my shoes and go potty by myself was a more pressing concern when I was growing up. Call me selfish. But where would I be without those skills today? Once I had the shoelaces and bathroom situations mastered, they moved on to other things. They limited my TV watching, probably instilling a life-long love of reading that led to all three of my careers. Their greatest influence was leading me to a faith that has guided every aspect of my life. Not bad for an immigrant and a plumber.

Add to my parents my in-laws. Most people roll their eyes at the mention of in-laws. I got lucky—a second set of parents whose values are consistent with my own mom and dad. Their additional influence has been making me aware of commercial airline flight schedules, investment advice, health issues, and some of the intricacies of auto repair, to name a few. They also had a daughter of whom I’m quite fond.

That daughter is now my wife and arguably one of the most influential people in my life currently. She brings the Food Network to life in our home. If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, she pretty much has a vice grip on my aorta. She also gives my heart a workout. After I introduced her to running, she persistently influences me now to get out there and run, usually for more miles than I intend. She also taught me the concept of compromise. For example, if I want to do one thing, and she wants to do another, we “compromise” and do what she wants. I get that now.

The educators in my life can’t be left out. There was the middle school English teacher who hung parts of speech from the ceiling to help us understand and enjoy sentence diagrams. A professor when I was an undergraduate visited me in Washington DC when I was a kid on my own in the big city doing an internship. The chair of my doctoral dissertation committee has a work ethic and patient guidance that directly influence how I engage my own students today.

Speaking of students, they influence me as well. They write papers and do projects that teach me. They inspire me when they go on to jobs that involve innovative application of what they studied in college. And they keep in touch! Just this past month I’ve spoken with current and former students who are working in advertising for Google in Ireland, teaching English in China, serving as executive director of an organization seeking a cure for a rare disease, and starting social media efforts for a major corporation.

Friends and neighbors make the list of Tim’s Most Influential People. They provide help, humor, feedback and perspective at just the right moments in life. Whether in person, on the phone or via email, this network has influenced or confirmed many a decision in my life, from the proper time to apply lawn fertilizer to how to handle an issue at work. Those two things aren’t related, by the way.

There are others who have influenced me and I don’t want to leave them off the list, but I am running out of room. Let me just say that this last group made the impression on me that humility is a good thing. I honor them by not mentioning them here.

Spartan Pride Not Defefated

2009-04-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

(From the April 9 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I am not a sports writer. This is not the sports section.

But this is a special circumstance.

Earlier this week, the Michigan State Spartans played in a national championship game of basketball. They lost. You might even say they got blown out, creamed, annihilated, tarred by the Tar Heels.

But, that’s not the whole story. I have to write about it.

It was interesting this year to see a sidebar on the usual national media chatter about basketball. Along with the talk, the predictions, the utterances of defensive strategy, posting up, three-point percentages, fast breaks, runs, inside the paint, and other sports-related jargon, there was a more interesting narrative.

National sports columnists and cable TV news anchors were talking about the Spartans’ run through the tournament not just as a sports story. They were lifting the young men from East Lansing to symbolic status. It became an occasion when sport was a metaphor for life.

In this case, a handful of young basketball players under the direction of a man with the improbable name Izzo became the embodiment of the entire state of Michigan. And the NCAA basketball tournament played the role of the economy.

It didn’t make sense, really. What does a handful of young men playing a game have to do with the pressing reality of the current economic doldrums?

On the one hand, nothing. The basketball tournament was like Nickelodeon theatres during the depression of the 1930s—a diversion from the overwhelmingly negative truth.

But then again, maybe basketball had a direct relationship to economics. It’s not for nothing that economics is called the “dismal science.” It is hard to come to solid, empirical agreement on causes and effects in economics. When it comes to forecasting the future, it seems there are as many opinions as there are dollar bills in circulation. Many economists talk not only about static cause and effect relationships, they talk about fuzzy concepts like rationale, mood, exuberance, momentum, confidence, destiny, and, yes, rebound.

These are the same concepts with which people were talking about the Michigan State Spartans this past few weeks. That’s what caught my attention, and what I will remember, more than any slam dunk, fast break, rebound or even final score.

There are various indicators reported as a way of “keeping score” on the economy. There are unemployment rates, increases and decreases in CPI, GDP, stock market indexes and the like. But these scores don’t always reflect the experience of each individual.

It is the same for me and the Michigan State-North Carolina game.

The score and other statistics about that contest would tell an entirely depressing tale. The Spartans got whipped by a superior team. But my experience is different.

I watched a group of young kids, most of them from blue collar towns in Michigan, rise to an incredible occasion. They emerged with dignity from poor backgrounds. They avoided the lure of a gang life. One escaped from a war-torn foreign country. By some reports, they came together like more than a team. They were like a family. That doesn’t end with a final buzzer.
All season long they had fought for respect and been disregarded, in the same way the State of Michigan is panned as an economic lost cause. But they persisted, against a wave of setbacks. They hoped. They worked hard. They eventually proved people wrong, going up against better teams and winning, including two number-one seeds in the tournament. They won with scrappy hard work, more so than flash, and this is what endeared them in the end to so many fans. This is what made a group of college basketball players a symbol of economic hope.

I was impressed as well by how they spoke, and how their coach spoke about them. The players were gracious and calm in their remarks, always offering more hope than bravado, more gratitude than pride. Someone taught them well—their parents, their professors, their coach. The thing that impressed me most was when Coach Izzo spoke of his players’ attributes, and among them mentioned that they graduate. Meanwhile, the storyline for North Carolina was that several players gave up pro contracts and returned for their senior year to win a championship. Not a degree, a championship. While the ball didn’t drop as often for the Spartans as it did for the Tar Heels Monday night, I think our boys have more reason to hold their heads high.

People often say when a team loses, “there’s always next year.” Indeed there is. Michigan State has some young players who will be back next year, giving them a good chance at another opportunity to win a championship.

But there’s also right now. Right now I am proud. Coach Izzo motivated his team all year with the words of the NCAA tournament theme song, “One Shining Moment.” They lost the final game. But I think they shone nonetheless. For more than a moment. In more than a game.

Reading Seems a Lost Art, Forgotten Pleasure

2009-03-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

(From the March 12, 2009 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

A few months ago, my wife and I were on a date night at an area book store. (Yeah, I’m a cheap date, but that’s not important now. ) She came up to me laughing and handed me a book: “How to Read a Book.” We both thought it was funny. A book about reading books! Sort of like a coffee table book about coffee tables.

But on closer inspection, I saw this was an actual, well, book. In fact the book, written by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren originally in 1940, is a best-seller and considered a classic. It has been reprinted several times.

So I did what one does with actual books—I read it. The authors cover a lot of topics related to reading books. They review the goals of reading, either for information or understanding. They outline the levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, and analytical. They even give detailed guidance for reading various specific types of book, from ‘practical’ to literary, from science to history. In other words, this book was far more serious than we originally thought.

This caused me to think a little more about reading. It seems to be something taken for granted today. So many jobs involve reading—in business, health care, manufacturing and any job you can think of there is some reading required. When you can read, you assume everyone can and does.

But, that’s not the case. In January of this year, the U.S. Education Department released statistics stating that more than 32 million, or about 14 percent of Americans, are illiterate. Some people literally cannot read at all; others are ‘functionally’ illiterate, meaning they can’t read and comprehend at a level necessary to understand instructions, follow road signs, or perform a job. These people need more personal attention than a book on how to read a book.
However, I worry about the rest of us who can actually read, myself included. Adler and VanDoren appear to be addressing educated people in the ways to engage in critical thinking to expand mental acuity and depth of understanding of a variety of complex subjects. Back in 1940, radio was a new medium that was all the rage. Perhaps the authors of this book worried that people were sitting in their rocking chairs by the fire and just listening to people talk versus reading text. They wrote the book to encourage and help people maintain their intellectual capacity.

Imagine how they might worry today. With television and the various temptations of the Internet, I wonder if many people read books anymore, or if they do, if they read them well.
There’s no doubt that television has eroded people’s reading habits. News comes to us constantly in bite-sized morsels, with visuals and audio. While studies show that newspapers and magazines do still have readers, percentages are consistently less than TV. I notice in the way people write that they are not avid readers—spelling, word choices, and punctuation reflects they are mimicking what they heard on TV, not what they have read. I will admit that after a long day of work it is easy for me to collapse in front of a television. That’s because for me, like probably so many other people, work involves reading—emails, reports, memos, and various other documents. The thought of reading a book seems like an extension of “work” versus a break from it.

Even when we do read, the Internet has taught us to be fans of brevity. Online, we talk about “pages,” but we mostly seek instant, concise nuggets of information. Studies show that most people won’t bother to scroll past the first page of search results, or in most cases past the bottom of the screen once they found the information for which they were seeking. To read a book as compared to this fast-paced environment is a shock. Nothing but actual pages one must turn with a finger. There may be photos and illustrations, but no links to click on or embedded video.

One aspect of the World Wide Web—social media—hasn’t encouraged book reading either. Facebook, MySpace and similar sites cultivate short-attention spans with the addictive need to check status updates. Web logs, or blogs, contain posts that are typically only a few paragraphs. Twitter, the micro blog application, limits literary contributions, called “Tweets,” to 140 characters.

At the end of the day, it seems we have lots of information, but less knowledge perhaps. We do lots of surface scratching, and have little depth to our understanding.
But there may be help in the form of another technology: the Kindle. This device, sold by Amazon, enables owners to wireless download actual books, which can be read with a special technology called electric ink. Books—as in multiple pages and chapters. Who knows? The Japanese have been reading books on their cell phones for years. A Kindle application is already available for iPhones and iPods. Maybe those inclined to gadgets will “discover” books.
I’m a bit of a gadget hound myself, but still prefer to read books in the old-fashioned, bound paper format. Last week, which was Spring Break where I teach, I stayed home. I spent a little time experimenting with social media since I teach it and advise clients on its appropriate use. That was interesting. But I also went to the library and checked out a novel to read. That was refreshing.

Local Business Offers Assurance in National Economic Uncertainty

2009-02-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

(From the February 12, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

The worst part of the current economic situation is the uncertainty. People who have been laid off wonder if and when they’ll get a new job, what kind of job, how much it will pay. People who have jobs wonder and worry if they’ll still have a job in a few months. Homeowners and businesses wonder if they’ll be able to get loans for homes, buildings and new ventures. College students wonder about getting student loans for next year’s tuition. Everyone wonders if the stimulus will work or not, and when.

Add to that the uncertainty that comes with working with large, national businesses and mortgage companies in this climate. I feel fortunate that I have a job and am able to pay my mortgage and insurance premium. I am pretty confident that at least my personal accounts are in order.

But, unfortunately, nearly all of us have to do business with large, national companies that have been mentioned as part of the national economic meltdown. Last month, an experience I had with Countrywide, the giant mortgage company, added to my uncertainty about the competence and integrity of some of our nation’s largest financial institutions.

It started with an innocent looking piece of mail from Countrywide. I almost threw it away, figuring it was junk mail. Don’t get me started on that—many blame ‘predatory’ lending practices through relentless marketing for getting lots of consumers in over their heads in the first place. But that’s a subject for another column. I opened the letter just to be sure what it was and was shocked to read that I didn’t have adequate homeowner’s insurance and that Countrywide would be forcing “lender-supplied” insurance on me.

This is where the uncertainty was created. I knew for a fact that my insurance policy was adequate and that premiums were paid up. So was Countrywide incompetent for not keeping accurate records? Or was there something more sinister at play—an attempt to force one of their other products on me? I was uncertain.

Of course, these sorts of letters always come on the weekend. When I tried to contact customer service all I could get was an automated message telling me the status of my account and so forth. I would have to wait til Monday to talk to someone and sort out this mess. Ironically, I received an email from Countrywide that weekend saying they had a special on home equity loans and that customer service agents were available all weekend long! But that was for new (i.e. unsuspecting customers). No help for poor saps like me who are long-time customers who are being wronged.

A quick side note on that. Am I really a customer? I never had a say in whether or not I would do business with Countrywide. And I can’t take my business elsewhere. As many of you know, when you apply for a home loan even at a local bank, that loan is sold to a large mortgage company for servicing, often before you even make your first payment. We have no consent. Given the negative news I’ve seen of Countrywide for excessive executive compensation and special favors to heads of Senate committees, I would take my business elsewhere. But I can’t. I’m not a customer—I’m a hostage.

So on a Saturday at home, while Countrywide focused on reeling in new customers, I was left on my own. I did note the letter said something about updating information on their web site. So I logged in to my account, entered the details about my insurance policy, and clicked submit. I hoped that was the end of it. But I was still uncertain. So I contacted my local insurance agent, Ron Knoll of the Oakes Agency. It was still the weekend and I expected I might hear back from him Monday. But he responded within the hour, assuring me he would contact the mortgage company first thing Monday and straighten things out.

He did. He called me Monday before noon and said he had confirmed that both his agency and my insurance company had sent the latest policy information to Countrywide. I thanked him and felt reasonable sure that with my update of the web site and his call of confirmation the situation was over.
But no. I got another message from Countrywide saying it wasn’t settled. I checked the web site and noticed the data I had updated had been changed back to what they had before. I was furious. It was the weekend again, so no help available from a real person at Countrywide. So I emailed Ron again.

That Monday he was on the phone again and insisted on a letter from Countrywide confirming my account was in good standing. I received that later in the week. And then, hilariously, the next day I received a letter dated a week earlier saying I still had inadequate insurance. No doubt the nasty letter was automated. At this point, I just laughed.

“Caveat emptor” is an old expression in business. From Latin, it essentially means “buyer beware.” In other words, it is up to buyers to ensure that they are getting good quality for what they buy. But that’s hard to impossible for us to do in all cases these days when dealing with large businesses that automate so much of their relationships with people.

In these uncertain times, I am glad for local business people like Ron Knoll. He makes it his business to look out for me. Others seem to overlook us to look out for their business. I’ve never met anyone from Countrywide, yet they control my largest financial investment. My local insurance guy I know. I see him in coffee shops and riding bikes along Lakeshore Drive. It’s a small thing, but I appreciate the certainty that comes from working with local businesses.

Dog Movie Evokes Cat Memories

2009-01-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

(From the January 8, 2009 Grand Haven Tribune)

As 2008 drew to a close last week, I was more morose and reflective. I could blame the mood on the abundance of snow, the cold temperatures, or the lack of sunshine that often causes the onset of “seasonal affective disorder,” better known as the winter blues.

But that wouldn’t be honest. I would have to attribute my sad pensiveness to a dog, two cats, a book and a movie.

Some time ago, my wife handed me a book that belongs to her sister, and encouraged me to read it. It’s called “Marley and Me,” and features the sweet, droopy mug of a golden Labrador retriever puppy on the cover. I shrugged and set it aside for a while. It’s not that I don’t like dogs or books. I was just a bit preoccupied reading books dealing with political philosophy and communication theory. I hope you can forgive me my selfish indulgence into such light literary fare.

With some time off during the holidays, I retrieved the book about this Labrador. I set aside dog-eared copies of scholarly works to immerse myself into a tome that actually mentioned dog ears. I took my wife’s word that it was a good read, and I also was intrigued that it was written by John Grogan, a newspaper columnist with roots in western Michigan.

As it turned out, the book was to me as a stick is to a retriever—I couldn’t put it down. My reaction is not unique. “Marley and Me” is a best seller. The movie of the same title led the pack in gross receipts last weekend. When my wife and I attended a matinee at the Grand Haven 9, there were few if any available seats. As the book came to life on screen in front of us, children and adults alike giggled and sniffled at the corresponding humorous and sad moments in the life of someone else’s dog.

But I think there is something more to all of this. I think people laughed and cried at the antics and trials of Marley because they are reminded of their own pets. The popularity of this book and movie is probably not due to the fact that they reveal the uniqueness of a particular animal. Rather, “Marley and Me” is about you and me and millions of others and their pets. We laugh and cry because we know the joy of unconditional love that animals give their human companions, and we know the pain that comes from the separation made inevitable by the shorter life spans of canines and felines.

I’ve known that over the past several years. I inherited a cat named Mindy from my wife’s sister when we were dating. Mindy was named for my eventual sister-in-law’s favorite soap opera star. I would have changed the name to something more suitable for me, like Selma Hayek, but I didn’t think this was my cat. I thought it was a temporary situation while my future sister-in-law moved. As it turned out Mindy—the cat and her name—stuck. I had a “daughter” from my wife’s sister even before we were married.

But Mindy and I bonded. After breaking her of an uncanny habit of tipping over drinking glasses, we got on just fine. She loved to sit on my lap, snuggle next to me in bed, and lick my beard with affectionate kitty kisses. She was also gracious enough to let my wife move in once we were married, and even became her constant companion in the kitchen. Her nickname became “moocher” for her persistence in begging for people food. She would take a seat at the table with us, eerily human like, and stare us down as we ate. When we weren’t looking, she would haul off everything from corn on the cob to homemade biscotti and gnaw and nibble in feline delight.

One day while working in the backyard of our house in Grand Rapids, my wife hollered something about a cat. I thought Mindy had escaped. But it turns out we were being visited by a stray. She was hungry and seemed to be sleeping under our porch. She had fluffy white hair with a slight brown swirl in it. We looked around the neighborhood and could find no owner. So we fed her, took her in, cleaned her up, and named her “Latte” for the color of her fur.

Latte and Mindy got along well as step-sisters. Latte was more sedate than Mindy. But we were amused by her desire to speed through the house, and by the contortions she went into when she groomed her long fur with her tongue. One of the best memories is of the two of them as they lay supine on a pillow above our heads in bed, purring in symphonic harmony.

Latte passed away in the spring of 2006. Mindy followed her to feline heaven this past June. So reading the book and seeing the movie about a strange dog named Marley brought back familiar feelings about my two cats. I made my own memorial movie about them this past weekend. It won’t play in theatres, but the scenes will play in the hearts of my wife and I for years to come. I suspect that’s the way it is for all people who have ever allowed a pet into their homes and their lives.

Basic Economics for Tricky Times

2008-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

(From the December 11, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune)

Like many of you, I’ve been thinking a lot about the economy lately. As I pondered our current financial fate, the thought occurred to me that I had similar musings on the matter previously. In fact, four years ago, in January of 2004, I wrote a column about the economy that seems eerie to re-read today.

Back then, I suggested we look at how our economic obsession affects us. But then I meant an obsession with consumption and growth. I feared that too many people were getting carried away by financial measures of happiness and that the eventual end of that behavior and thinking would be anything but happy.

I may have been right.

Today we are obsessed with the economy for the opposite reason—its rapid collapse. Our conversations are dominated by words like bailout and bankruptcy, foreclosure and liquidity.

As I said then: companies want to grow in sales volume and expand to new markets. Consumers want to get bigger homes, newer cars and clothing styles, the latest gadgets. And to a degree, as Adam Smith, author of the famed economic tome “Wealth of Nations,” would say, this is a positive cycle of exchange, a necessary economic engine. But maybe, I wondered four years ago, that engine could be geared down a notch.

Now, the engine hasn’t been geared down by us. It has blown a gasket because of our relentless pushing on the accelerator. Banks extended too much credit. Too many citizens bought bigger houses than they could realistically afford, or “bought” cars with no money down, never thinking that eventually they would be asked for actual money.

Four years ago, there were others thinking that maybe we were putting ourselves in danger with too much economic excess. I mentioned a CEO who pondered in a Business Week article: “What if people already have everything they want to buy?” An Associated Press report in 2004 on annual economic forecasts projected that the federal budget deficit will reach a record $500 billion in 2004. Sounds like a bargain today. Dick Grasso, former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was ousted because his $188 million compensation was deemed excessive. He was the first executive to lose his job for being paid too much.

Too bad that trend didn’t stick. Fast forward to this week in 2008 and I read that the president of Merrill Lynch had to be talked down from his insistence on a $10 million bonus. The amount is nearly equal to the losses the firm suffered under his watch. He thought he did a good job preventing further losses and orchestrated the sale of the firm to Bank of America. How far have we come when people want bonuses for not failing worse?

In the past, I suggested that maybe not everyone needs an SUV, unless you have to haul lots of stuff or pull a heavy trailer. Since 2004 we have seen gas prices slingshot above $4 and back down again. We are seeing auto company executives go hat in hand to Washington, like reckless children asking for an allowance increase.

It’s ironic that “sustainability” is one of the more popular business trends these days. It’s the idea that businesses should be managed for long-term viability, factoring in economic as well as environmental and social equity factors. But we’ve learned that the economic attitudes of the past were not sustainable.

So, I humbly submit some principles that should guide our thinking so that we are hopefully in better economic shape in four and 40 years from now.

One, think long-term. Businesses are in bankruptcy or begging for bailouts because easy credit, mortgages, and payment plans were not sustainable. They managed the books on a quarterly basis to please stockholders and boards who wanted to see an increase every quarter for quick portfolio gains instead of making prudent decisions that would position companies to endure long term. Consumers fell into this trap too. Too many people wanted to “drive new every two” or get mortgage deals that delayed, but inflated, interest payments. Ask yourself what is the total you will pay for something, not what the monthly payment is.

Two, distinguish between wants and needs. Many children have been cautioned with this warning. Too many adults need a time out on this one. Think. Do you need a Hummer or will a simple sedan get you where you need to go (and probably more cheaply)? Do you really need a house three times the size as the one you grew up in? Do you really need that gadget, those clothes? Or do you want them, because the economic engine is racing, and you’re excited, and—like a child says—all your friends have those things?

Three, consider that if you don’t have the money now, you can’t afford it. Resurrect the idea of a budget and live by it. Live within your means, not within your dreams. Use credit cards for the convenience of not carrying cash, and pay the balance every month. If you can’t handle that, get rid of your credit cards.

This isn’t tricky economics. And if it sounds simplistic to you, it is. But too many businesses and individuals in our culture took their eyes off the ball. We were diverted like kittens with a flashlight on the wall.

It’s a basic concept that the economy depends on the production and consumption of products. But it is also a fundamental truth that controlling one’s finances may lead to the possession of fewer things, but not less happiness and security.

Campaign, Election Provoke Humor and Gratitude

2008-11-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

(From the November 13, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune.)

If you’re like me, you are glad the election is over. Citizens were tired of the barrage of advertising and allegations. Both candidates inspired a lot of people to vote, but they also inspired comedy as a coping mechanism for campaign fever. By the end of the long campaign, it seemed the true winner was Saturday Night Live and other late-night comedy programs.

In fact, the campaign and election made me so punchy that I considered, facetiously, announcing my candidacy for president in 2012. It occurred to me as I reviewed the past campaign that I have many of the apparent qualifications to lead this country. Excuse me, this “great land of ours.”

First, think of McCain. Now look at my picture. Bald white guy. Enough said. Sure, he ultimately lost, but he came close. I would have a better chance. I wouldn’t say “my friends” so much, unless of course we’re talking about the people who “friend” me on the numerous social media Web sites I plan to join.

That’s right—I can use a computer. Vote for me. I’ll be on Facebook.

You might also see my face on a book. I’m pretty young yet, but between now and 2012, I plan to write two autobiographies to extend my personal brand. Bill Clinton had a book called “Man from Hope.” Obama has a book called “Audacity of Hope.” The working title for my books are: “Man! That’s Audacious!” or “No Hope for this Man.”

Of course, Obama will be running again, so I’ll have an uphill battle against an incumbent. My strategy is to compete with him head to head.

Obama campaigned on change. But in four years, I will represent the change. My slogan will be: “Is it that time already? Change.” One of my ads is already in production. It goes like this: “You change your shirt every day. Shouldn’t you change your president at least every four years?” We will adapt the ad for southern states: “Shouldn’t you change your president as often as you change your shirt?” The voice-over on the second one will be provided by Larry the Cable Guy.

Obama impressed many because he edited the Harvard Law Review. So did my first cousin. (It’s true. Look for the name Robert Niewyk just above Obama’s in the roster of the Law Review in the Obama biography video). But I have also edited newspapers, yearbooks and magazines not only in college, but as a professional.

Obama has an interesting international experience, with a multi-racial family and experience abroad. Well, I am the son of an immigrant, and have worked for short periods of time in Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, and France. Obama spoke overseas to crowds of thousands. I spoke overseas to crowds of 37, but I have time to build on that.

Speaking of family, I should tell you that my dad is a retired plumber. With all the mentions of Joe the Plumber in the last election, this fact has to score me some electoral points. I’ll recall the story of how I asked my dad, Butch the Plumber, to spread the wealth around. He just muttered something about what I was spreading and told me to go mow the lawn. People will eat that up.

A lot of people, when pressed to explain why they voted for Obama, point out that he ran a good campaign. Well! I’ve run many campaigns. In fact, I’ve won awards for them. I teach classes on campaigns. This should be a cake-walk. Since policy seems secondary to the American voter, I’ll just run a whiz-bang campaign, short on policy and long on platitudes.

There is one major liability I face. My middle name is Scott. The opposition will no doubt start Internet rumors that I am secretly Scottish and wear a kilt around the house. Not true! I’ll protest. Then they’ll accuse me of skirting the issue. It’ll be hard to win that one.

Yes, it’s fun to poke fun at our political system, the candidates who run for higher office, and the ridiculous 24/7 media cycle that is more opinion than news. But the truth is, the alternative to our system is not that funny. In many parts of the world, the people have no voice. Violence is the only agent of change. For all the flaws and follies of our elections, and regardless of which candidate wins, we are blessed.

The best part of the past campaign was the humanity of it. The gracious concession speech by McCain, the fighter whose love of country did finally show through. The drama of Obama’s grandmother dying just hours before her grandson achieved his improbable goal. The multi-hued sea of faces in Chicago, oblivious to the cold and the colors of their skin, yearning to breath history. Jesse Jackson--who was on the balcony with Martin Luther King on the awful day the articulator of that dream was silenced—crying at the sight of the dream realized. The Obamas and Bushes, greeting each other at the White House, the people’s house, and walking inside calmly to discuss the peaceful transfer of power.

Yes, I’m grateful the election is over. I am also grateful that we have them.

Public Relations Should Be Good for Democracy

2008-10-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

From the October 9 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune.

I teach public relations. That’s not always easy during a presidential election. People often associate public relations with the negative aspects of political campaigning, in particular the negative ads and the “spin” that goes with candidates’ claims.

Some of my faculty colleagues across the country think we should make a distinction between PR and politics. Others, including myself, think we should continue to stress what we teach, that PR should be building mutual relationships with the public through transparent and honest communication.

Certainly, there are bad examples of public relations professionals behaving badly. The lies and deceptions of PR people have been a part of giving the PR profession a bad name. But here’s the thing: many of the deception is done by people who don’t have an education in public relations and their job title might not even be public relations. But when they do something deceptive, the media and the public call it public relations. It’s as if PR were synonymous with deception, which it is not. To believe that would be to believe all journalism is like the National Enquirer, or that all chemists run meth labs, or that all priests are pedophiles. The majority of public relations professionals practice honestly.

In fact, public relations properly understood has a central and ethical role in democracy. The PRSA Code of Ethics mentions democracy as the context for the values and provisions of the code, notably by asserting that public relations professionals should seek to enable “informed decision-making in a democratic society.”

The spin you see in campaigns is either done by political operatives who know nothing of PR, or by PR people who have lost their way. It is not the essence of PR.

That essence is seen in the common academic definition of public relations: “the management function that seeks to identify, establish, and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and all the publics on whom its success of failure depends.” The key to this definition is mutual relationships. I’ll spare you the technical descriptions of theoretical models about public relations practice, but the methods advocated by people like me who teach PR are characterized by the key concepts of collaboration, negotiation, and mediation. In this model, PR professionals listen as well as communicate to their publics.

Understanding public relations as dialogue to achieve mutually beneficial relationships is the proper way to see the profession as a positive and ethical contributor to democracy. This understanding of public relations is related to what Alexis de Tocqueville called “self-interest properly understood” in his famous book, “Democracy in America. ” As he described it: “American moralists do not pretend that one must sacrifice himself for his fellows because it is a fine thing to do so. But they boldly assert that such sacrifice is as necessary for the man who makes it as for the beneficiaries.” While Tocqueville was talking about relationships among individual citizens, the same can be said today of relationships between organizations and their various publics. Public relations professionals should see that considering public benefit is in the best interest of the organizations and candidates they represent, and part of their ethical and democratic role.

Critics of public relations characterize the profession as “spin” that distorts citizens’ ability to discern the truth. But early writers about democracy point out that truth is a complicated matter. What some call “spin” may not be deliberate lies, but a legitimate, alternative perspective of the truth. To label public relations as only and always something negative is a form of rhetorical censorship.

In 1644, John Milton made a plea for open deliberation in his “Aereopagitica.” The title of this speech, intended for the Lords and Commons of the Star Chamber court in England, is a reference to the Aereopagus, a court of ancient Athens that included 300 elected citizens. The essence of Milton’s argument with the government was that government censorship, even if well intended, does great harm to society. Milton is famous for his plea to “let truth and falsehood grapple; whoever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter.” In other words, ethical/democratic public relations practitioners should allow and seek out opposing views for the good of the public. Critics of public relations should not condemn PR but recognize it as a profession that enables otherwise still voices to be heard in open democratic dialogue.

Similarly, in his book “On Liberty,” John Stuart Mill notes that the truth is not always black and white. He argues that citizens will not pick a “winner” but find a consensus among the multiple points of view offered. “Truth,” Mill wrote in 1859, “in the great potential concerns of life, is so much a question of the reconciling and combining of opposites.” It serves no helpful purpose to label one argument as truth and another as “mere public relations” if both contain elements of truth. Public relations critics and professionals alike should view PR communication as contributing to different perspectives worthy of consideration and deliberation by the public.

Public relations properly understood involves reconciling a candidate’s or organization’s interest with the interest of the public. The ethical and democratic role of public relations is to help provide equal and diverse expression, to encourage deliberation, and to enable informed decision-making. Public relations professionals do have an ethical obligation to represent points of view fairly and honestly. But citizens have a civic duty to listen to all sides, without labeling views as “mere public relations,” and then decide with discernment.

Not Here, Not Now, Not Ever Again

2008-09-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

(From the September 11, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune)

“On the night of August 17, the word "nigger" and a caricature face were spray-painted on the driveway of a Park Township family. This was discovered the next morning by the teenage son; one of the daughters asked her mother, "Does this mean we will be killed?"”

These were the words in an ad that ran in this newspaper this past weekend. They brought to my mind the original news account of the defacing of a local family’s property, and my reaction to the incident when I read about it last month.

At one level it is hard to believe that in 2008 we are still confronted with the unfortunate and hostile use of the ‘N’ word. It would seem that we have come so far from Martin Luther King Jr’s exhortation to judge one another by the content of character, no skin color. We have seen so many African American and other racial minorities excel in this country, in business, the arts, education, journalism, and governance. Indeed, we have an African American running—and seriously contending--for the highest office in the land. This is part of the shock of encountering the overt racism in our community so recently.

Then again, sadly, perhaps we should not be surprised that racism has reared its ugly and ignorant head once again. The successes of racial minorities I mentioned are celebrated by many of all races—but there are some who see the success of others as a threat to themselves.

Or perhaps, the perpetrators of this spray-painted crime had a bad experience or encounter of some sort with one person of black skin color. They reacted the only way they could with their lack of courage and intellect—name calling in the dark of night.

It may be that the juvenile graffiti goon thought what he or they were doing was funny. I hope they now realize, in silent shame, that their judgment is as immature as their sense of humor.

What makes me shudder most was the question of the young daughter in this family: “does this mean we will be killed?” What a question! It all at once reflects innocence and a grievous loss of it. Just as racist attitudes can be learned by its perpetrators, the potential consequences of bigotry are absorbed by its youngest victims.

A long time ago, a chaplain taught me a valuable life lesson. I was complaining to him about the inability of some people to get along peacefully. He pulled two pens from his pocket and asked me to describe them. I played along: one was black, one blue; one pall point, one felt tip; one opened with a click and one with a twist, and so on. He smiled, and told me I was typical running through a list of contrasts and differences. I could just as easily have described the similarities of the pens: both were made of plastic, from his pocket, used for writing, and so forth.

Such is an unfortunate reality of human nature. We have a tendency to focus on differences rather than what we have in common. First of all, differences among people are not only not that threatening most of the time, they are what adds strength to society, innovation to business, and excitement to our daily lives. In fact, the Bible, in the Book of Revelation, offers a view of Heaven as an extraordinarily diverse place, filled with a multitude of people “from every tribe and tongue and nation.”

We humans have far more in common than we have that distinguishes us. In fact, the word community is derived from the Latin word for common. We all need food, shelter, and jobs. We all desire to have friends, live in peace, get an education.

We all hope to never hear our children ask if we will now be killed.

In the end I was pleased by the ad I saw in this paper last weekend. It appears that a “multitude” of people in West Michigan would rather stress our commonalities than our differences. These people signed their names under this statement:

“NOT HERE. NOT NOW. NOT EVER AGAIN.
As concerned residents of West Michigan, we extend our support to the Park Township family whose driveway was recently defaced with an offensive racial slur and picture. We want the family to know that anyone who did this does not reflect us or what we want our community to be, and we support efforts to bring the person or persons to justice. We will work to see that no other family living here now or in the future experiences the same shock and pain. A diverse and welcoming community creates economic and wonderful cultural benefits. But inclusion depends on all of us. We, the undersigned, pledge to promote justice, celebrate our diversity, and act as anti-racists in our personal and community lives.”

Good. The real ‘minorities’ in this community are any who think of racial differences as a negative thing. Let’s hope there are fewer of them with each passing year.

Access Key to Tri-Cities Greatness

2008-08-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

From the August 14, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune

August is a great time to be in the Tri-Cities. It is a delightfully lazy month between the frenzy of Coast Guard Festival and the return to the routines of another school year. It’s a great time for local residents to enjoy what the Tri-Cities has to offer

But sometimes I worry if common local residents are in danger of losing access to the things that make the area so great. The idea came to me when I recently read a review of a book by Barbara Ehrenreich, “This Land is Their Land: Notes From a Divided Nation.” Ehrenreich is known for her earlier book, “Nickel and Dimed,” about the struggle to make a living on minimum wage. The book was adapted as a play and performed at Grand Valley State University this past spring. Her new book makes the case that the wealthy in our society have slowly been robbing common folks of access to the truly beautiful places in our country. “If a place is truly beautiful,” she opines, “ you can’t afford to be there.”

Ehrenreich speaks from her own experiences traveling in places like Jackson Hole and Key West. Mansions, she complains, have taken up most of the scenic spots. These may be select and extreme cases, but I wonder if the potential for such a scenario is possible in Grand Haven and Spring Lake. We don’t have mansions on the order she is talking about. But there certainly has been an increase in the number of large homes and condos, including those that are merely second-homes for the wealthy who only are here a few weeks of the year. We are not adding public space at the same rate.

Take water, for example, which is perhaps the greatest asset of our community. We all live in proximity to a great lake, as well as Spring Lake and the Grand River. And we all have access to each waterway. But when you think about it, there is only one small public beach on Spring Lake, and a pay launch facility and park in Ferrysburg with no swimming. There are about a half dozen area DNR ramps and parks on the Grand River. As for Lake Michigan, most of us are limited to state, county, or township parks. All of that is great, but boat ramps don’t provide access to people without boats. And as the area—not just the Tri-Cities, but the communities nearby whose residents make day trips to the beach--becomes more populated, there’s a danger that access will be denied to people who arrive at full parks.

We recently had friends in town from Virginia. We advised them to drive down Lake Shore Drive on their way from our home to visit family in Hudsonville. But we had to explain that the road offers few actual views of Lake Michigan, because most of the property there is privately owned. Waterfront homes include large wooded acreage between the lake and the public road. The view is blocked; access denied. Owners have that right, and have paid a pretty penny for the privacy, of course. But a part of me is saddened to think of hard-working locals of modest means who can’t steal a glance of God’s given glory because some wealthy family from Chicago had to sequester the “cottage” they visit a few weeks a year behind majestic oaks.

In Hawaii they have a policy that requires any new private hotel or condo development on the water to include a public access easement. They are an island state, with plentiful waterfront. But the policy is a good one, and one that could be considered here.

Ehrenreich points to other effects of mansions mania in hot spots around the country. Huge homes have led to inflated home prices throughout the local market where they are built, as well as higher rents. I would add that higher tax assessments could be an eventual consequence of the proliferation of new condos and homes in our community. I shudder to think that these increases might force long-time residents of more modest accommodations to relocate.

The impact doesn’t stop with just the housing market. The influx of seasonal and permanent residents with deep pockets often leads to an increase in boutique shops, fine dining and other amenities. While that sounds nice and will no doubt be a shot in the arm to the local economy, it will be troubling if the local market gets out of balance and caters too much to the cashmere class. There needs to be a middle ground between escargot and cheeseburgers, between Wal-Mart and Armani.

We do have a wonderful place to live. Each evening, I feel grateful as I look west toward the setting sun and enjoy the pastel hues of a summer sky. But with more condos rising into that sun set scene, I worry a little too.

One Night Camping in Two Tents Proves Too Tense

2008-08-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

From the July 10, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune

Last month in this column I wrote about ‘stay-cations.’ I shared that my wife and I had little travel planned this summer other than a weekend in Ludington to camp and run the annual half-marathon that goes through the state park. What with gas prices and the hassles of packing, unpacking and so on I opined that staying home right here in the glorious Tri-Cities vacation destination made a lot of sense. Well, as Paul Harvey says, now you’ll hear the rest of the story.

The day my column appeared, we headed north for Ludington. I should have re-read my own column and just stayed home.

True to form, even though we were only going away for a weekend, it took us til late afternoon to be ready to leave. We got up to Ludington, set up our tent and the gazebo tent over the picnic table, and went for a little walk along Hamlin Lake. A family was fishing from the boardwalk next to the lake and the woman said, “Hey, don’t you live in Spring Lake?” It turned out they were our neighbors from just down the block. We talked to them for a while and laughed about the coincidence of running into them in the campground.

Maybe it was no coincidence. I think it was a sign that we should have all stayed in our neighborhood. You’ll see why in a few paragraphs.

Later that night, after having dinner in the great outdoors, we were discussing what to do for the remainder of the evening when a few drops of rain started to fall. We decided to head into the tent and read for a while before getting a good night of sleep.

Then it started to rain harder.

An avid backpacker, I tried to tell my wife that when it rains this hard it doesn’t rain long. “It will probably be a great downpour and then stop; we may even see the stars tonight,” I tried to assure her.

Soon, I was the one in need of assurance. The rain kept coming, and it kept coming hard. “It’s really coming down!” one of us said, as if we expected it to come up. It was like a fire hose trained on our tent. Even right next to each other, we had to yell to communicate. The rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Loud thunder. The kind that makes your chest pound with each roll and peel. The lightning was bright and nearly constant. It was as if airborne paparazzi were taking photos of our campsite.

We know that our tent can withstand rain pretty well. But this Mason County Monsoon was no ordinary rain. Because of the force, drops started coming in where the zippers come together in the tent doorway. Because of the volume of rain, pools started accumulating by each of the tent’s two doors. Just before midnight, the rain ceased momentarily. I took an absorbent towel and used it as a shammy to mop up and ring out the water in the tent. No sooner had I finished this task than it started raining again. Hard. It lasted til after 3 a.m.

We made the best of it. We tried to read for a while. I was reading about Hemingway on some adventure in Africa. He was in a tent too. He had guides to take him on his hunt. He had wild game cooked over an open fire and exotic beverages to enjoy as he surveyed the landscape. I know Ernie is from Michigan and I enjoy his writing, but I would respect him more if he had endured a night in a tent during this kind of thunderstorm. I made a note to myself: write a novel called “Middle Aged Man and the Michigan Monsoon.”

I had other thoughts during the night too, as I alternated between dozing, feeling around to see if water had spread on the floor of the tent, and being shaken awake by thunder and lightning. I re-examined my position on water boarding as a means of getting prisoners of war to give up vital information. I tried to remember the last time I reviewed my life insurance policies. I thought about my bed at home in Spring Lake, in the house that just had a new roof applied.

In the morning we learned that 11 inches of rain had fallen. There were reports of tornados touching down just north of us. We learned the campground did not have a tornado warning siren. When we had set up camp, we envied those with lots right along the shore of Hamlin Lake. Not in the morning—those lots were now part of Hamlin Lake. Water had risen to the level of picnic table benches. Campers were wading knee-deep on their lots. Canoes that had been set next to campers were now “beached” on the campground road. Several dozen boats from the public beach in the campground had been carried up by the rising waters and floated through the dam and out toward Lake Michigan. Water was soon at the top of the dam, and several boats were wedged into it. Water started coming up more in the campground, across the road and to the middle row of campgrounds. Ultimately, the sheriff drove around and announced a mandatory evacuation of the state park. Because of this, the half marathon run was also cancelled.

We complied willingly. We collected our race shirts and headed home. Our one weekend of camping had turned into a one-night ordeal. Relaxation in two tents had proven to be too tense. Our vacation turned into an evacuation. I should have taken my own advice and stuck with a summer long stay-cation.

'Stay-cation' Not a Bad Idea for Tri-Cities Residents

2008-08-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

From the June 12, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune

By the time you read this, I will be on vacation.

Why am I not more excited?

We’re going away for a long weekend of camping up north. Sounds nice, and yes, it will be fun. But in some ways I would just as soon stay home.

For one thing, there’s the gas price situation. It is hard to believe that 10 years ago when we moved into our current house a gallon of gas could be had for less than a dollar. At four bucks a gallon, even in our four-cylinder car with good mileage, that starts to make you think twice about driving more than necessary.

I also am nervously looking at the skies. All the rain we’ve been having is great for our lawns and the lake levels. But when you’re on vacation in the “nylon condo” (that means tent for you rich, fifth wheel-haulin’, home-on-wheels “campers”), rain in the sort of frequency and quantity we’ve had lately is not exactly conducive to relaxation.

The there’s the whole hassle of it all. I know the point of vacation is to “vacate” your normal circumstances, surroundings and routines. It’s good to get away, completely away in new surroundings and not be tempted to do any work or projects around the house. But all the planning, packing, unpacking...it seems like just a different kind of work and not a break.

Lots of people are talking about the idea of a ‘stay-cation’—taking off work but just staying home—because of the gas prices. But the more I think about the concept, the more it seems like a good idea. That’s especially true for those of us who live in the Tri-Cities.

It always amuses my wife and me when we return home from a vacation up north. As we return to the Tri-Cities from our vacation destination, with car packed to the gills with camping gear and kayaks and bikes strapped to the roof and trunk, people no doubt assume we’re arriving in Grand Haven to begin a vacation, not returning home from one. After we unpack, we ask each other what we want to do now that we’re home from a summer trip. Often we go to the beach—which is the same thing we had been doing on vacation.

Just this past weekend we went for a walk on the beach and noticed a large number of out-of-state license plates. People were here from Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Georgia and elsewhere. It kind of makes us feel good to realize that we live here. It kind of makes us feel ashamed that we don’t appreciate it, savor it, enjoy it more often.

There are times that we look at the waterfront homes and the downtown condos sprouting all over and shake our heads. Many of these are second homes for families from other cities. These residences have twice the square footage and several times the asking price than our permanent home. If you let it, a feeling of jealousy can well up within. But then I think that these poor (poor being a relative term) saps have to go back to Chicago, or Detroit, or wherever they spend the majority of their year. They “vacate” their vacation home. We get to stay in this vacation destination.

Which brings up an interesting point about vacations. The word stems from Old English or Latin or French and means essentially to “be unoccupied.” That implies leaving your home, but not necessarily. A vacation can also mean that a person, not their home, is unoccupied. In other words, take a break from work, don’t occupy your hands or head with stressful actions or thoughts. You can achieve that state of being unoccupied even as you occupy your home. It may take some discipline to not answer the phone, check email, or wander into the home office.

Another meaning of vacation, according to some dictionaries, is to spend time with family and friends. You don’t need to leave home for this either. In fact, given my brutal schedule during much of the year, it is nice to be at home and actually spend quality time with my wife. Being delightfully unoccupied, we can linger over meals on the deck or enjoy a drink on the moonlit patio without the constant weight of work cutting short such moments. Yes, a stay-cation means I can stand still, and even force time to do the same for a while.

So, I’m looking forward to an extended stay-cation after returning home from the planned weekend vacation. I’ll leave my “second home” rolled up in the garage, and take my bike down to the state park. I’ll read good books to keep my mind unoccupied with work-related thoughts. I’ll have long walks and casual, uninterrupted conversations with my wife. I’ll be free of planning and packing. I’ll use little if any gas. I won’t have gone anywhere, but I will have arrived in a good place.

Local Schools Show Their Excellence

2008-05-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

(From the May 8, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune)

When I was asked by the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation to speak at their annual “Excellence in Education” dinners, which recognize students who are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and the teachers who inspired them most.

Obviously, these people have a handle on excellence in education. But I thought I would affirm their accomplishments and possibly inspire them further with my personal thoughts on what makes education excellent. I hope they inspire you as well.

1. Excellence in Education is Hard Work.

Students honored by the Foundation are in the top 10 percent of their class. But that is just evidence of their excellence, not what makes them so.

I’m sure the parents, teachers and friends of high achieving students know how much time they spend reading, studying, asking questions, writing and re-writing. Some students may appear to be naturally smart, but there is lots of work involved that people don’t see. As Sophocles said: “To DO is to learn.” That implies activity associated with learning. In other words, work.

2. Excellence in Education is Curiosity

To be excellent in education, you need to wonder. You need to go beyond the bare minimum, completing an assignment exactly as asked. We overuse the word “wonderful” to mean something trivial, as in “have a wonderful day.” In fact, the word means full of wonder. That’s what makes education excellent as well, on the part of both students and teachers. Both need to maintain a constant curiosity, to wonder about why things work the way they do, how to try things differently, what other people think, and so forth. Assuming you already know everything is boring. Having a sense of wonder makes life, truly, wonderful.

3. Excellence in Education is Broad and Deep

It was Aristotle and the Greeks who first introduced the idea that people should be broadly educated in the basic subjects: math, science, language, music, art etc. Colleges continue that tradition today in what is called a “liberal arts education.” It means that you have a liberal helping of ideas, concepts, theories and experiences in your education.

How does this relate to your eventual career? Look at it like weightlifting. If you are on a sports team—football, volleyball, whatever—you no doubt practice the fundamentals of the sport. But you also probably did something called training—lifting weights, running and so forth. Now, on game day, you don’t take the field and rip off 10 reps on a bench press. But, by having done the training, you are better able to tackle, block, bump, set spike—whatever the sport requires. The same is true of a broad and deep education. It gives you the mental muscle to handle new educational challenges.

4. Excellence in Education is Passion

College professors are required to write a philosophy of teaching. As part of mine, I include this line from the poet William Butler Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”

So, what does that mean?

Here’s what I think. Education, certainly excellent education, is not about filing up your head with facts. You might all remember that funny cartoon where a little boy in a classroom raises his hand and when the teacher calls on him he says: “My brain is full. Can I go home?” We laugh because that’s ludicrous. Our brains are not receptacles that can be filled up with information. They are much more complex.

That’s why excellent education is about lighting a fire. That means, getting something started, being inspired. I think this notion speaks to teachers who experience the thrill of former students contacting them to say what they are now doing and relating it to being inspired by their teaching. That ‘s a great result of teaching, and a sign of excellence.

Fire brings warmth and light. I hope our local students’ future education is so excellent that they are not merely filled with facts, but warmed and enlightened by it.

5. Excellent Education is Attractive

I have a colleague who says this to his students. Only he uses a word that really gets their attention: “studying is SEXY!”

Maybe you are surprised by this. My colleague’s point is that too many students think ‘excellent” students are geeks or nerds or dorks whatever word kids use today to describe young people who study a lot. That’s wrong. It is so immature to be attracted to other people merely by their body, or the fact that they wear the currently popular brand of jeans, torn in just the right spot, with the specific logo. What mind-numbing conformity.

Rather, I encourage young people to seek out friends who can have entire conversations without using these words: awesome, amazing, like, or dude. People who are deep thinkers and command extensive vocabularies should be the ones exalted, not derided, in our schools. Yes, it’s sexy to be well educated. I encourage students to not hide their excellence, but to share it and seek it out in others.

6. Excellent Education is Ongoing

It was very impressive to hear about what these local ‘excellent’ students plan to do next. Most of them are going on to college. But I reminded them that even after getting their degrees, I hope they continue a love of life-long learning. If you work hard in school, the joy of learning becomes contagious. It’s a habit for life. People who get this realize that education is not about filling up their heads, like buckets of information. It’s about being drawn to the warmth and light of a fire. I would hope all members of the Tri-Cities community are inspired by the excellence of our area students and teachers.

Bus Proposal is Good First Step Toward Regional Mass Transit

2008-04-08T05:06:00.000-07:00

(From the April 10 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

The seeds of this column were planted a few years ago in the basement of a museum in Angers, France. Those seeds were fertilized by realities experienced here in the Tri-Cities. They were watered recently by an article in this and other local papers about a unique proposal.

The proposal is to launch a regional, inter-city bus system. Civic leaders from the Tri-Cities as well as Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Holland are talking about working together to provide a regional bus system. It would be possible to take these buses for express trips between these metropolitan ‘hubs’ of the West Michigan region.

Buses don’t usually generate excitement. They are seen at the bottom of the transportation pecking order, as the unfortunate necessity for people who can not afford to have their “own” transportation—a car.

Oh the things we do for love. Here in Michigan in particular, we all have a devotion to our cars. The auto was born here. Cars are not just transportation; they are status symbols, personal expressions, private spaces. Actually riding a bus voluntarily would seem to violate a sacred truth of American and Michiganian liberty.

But let me go back to that museum basement in France. Angers is a city of about the same size as Grand Rapids. Its downtown is attractive and walkable. The city has a major river running through it. There are also neighborhoods and suburbs outside the central city that require a car or taxi to reach. So, in the museum basement, there was a futuristic exhibit. It showed video footage of people at various parts of Angers—downtown, a shopping area, the university campus. And then it superimposed a modern, efficient, electric train onto the scene. It showed people moving about the community freely, happily, without pollution, and with minimal expense. Buses were also part of the picture, taking people to specific locales the train could not reach.

I have long had a similar futuristic vision for West Michigan. That’s why the bus system gets me excited. It’s not just a government welfare program for people who can’t afford transportation. It’s a long-term strategy that affects us all. I know the objections people have to taking a bus: they are crowded with other people; you can’t have the solitude your own car affords you; you can’t listen to your own radio stations or CD music.

But, a bus system has advantages for all of us, both in terms of your personal self-interest and the common good. For one, the current gas prices are fluctuating, but do seem to be at a higher relative rate for good. Taking a bus for city-to-city trips will simply make more economic sense in the years ahead. Anyone who travels highways 31 or 96 knows there is lots of movement between cities in West Michigan. It’s a safe bet that half the labor force in Spring Lake commutes to one of the other cities in the area. Many of us shop or otherwise recreate in other cities, and many of our Tri-Cities visitors come from other addresses in the region. Buses would generate considerable cost savings.

Parking is the other major hassle alleviated by busses. If you get off the bus, you are simply there. You have no need to search for, or pay for, parking. Parking is at a premium in almost every area of the region. I know I’ve had to hunt for a spot in Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon and even here in Grand Haven at certain times of the year.

There are also common benefits to busing. Among them are cleaner air, less congestion on the roads, and the knowledge that the less fortunate can get to jobs, shopping and recreational activities.

You wouldn’t have to give up your car for good. You may have to go to areas of a city not served by a bus line, or you might need the car to carry sales material or other items that would be impractical to haul by hand on a bus. But on occasion, the bus would make sense for lots of us.

I can give some anecdotal evidence of the plausibility of buses for the masses. At Grand Valley State University, there are more than 1 million riders per year on the Rapid, the Grand Rapids public bus system. They have several routes that take students, faculty, staff and any community member between campuses in Allendale and downtown Grand Rapids, and they also serve student apartment centers and popular shopping areas. I took this bus myself when I taught a night class in Grand Rapids. The trade off from giving up the personal space in my car was in my favor. I left the driving to someone else, saved on gas, didn’t have to frantically search for parking before class, and even caught up on reading during the trip.

So, these busses between the Tri-Cities and other regional cities could serve our needs for commuting, shopping, recreating and save us money and a portion of the breathable air. But this is only a first step.

We should also seriously consider light rail electric trains along the highway corridors. Imagine being able to leave your car at a park and ride lot in Nunica or Grand Haven, hop a climate controlled, high-speed train, read or do other pleasant activities during the trip, and take local, hydrogen-powered buses to your specific location in your destination city.

We should move forward with the inter-city bus plan, but also think long-term of a regional mass transit train system to complement the buses. We should have the same vision that was on display in that museum in France, before our own museums are the only place we can see what it was like to have open, uncluttered areas in West Michigan.

Being Neighborly is More Than A Wave

2008-03-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

(From the March 13 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

The weather people tell us we set some records for snowfall in February. The snowfall and cold weather contributed to feelings of isolation and a temptation for us all to “cocoon” ourselves inside our homes while winter raged outside.

Winter in particular is a time of year when we don’t see or talk to our neighbors very much. Other than a brief wave while shoveling, running the snow blower or quickly retrieving the mail, the climate gives us little opportunity for casual outdoor conversation. According to some articles I’ve read, in our modern times neighbors talk less than they used to all year round. That may have something to do with construction of larger homes without front porches, in neighborhoods without sidewalks. Or it could be the hectic nature of everyone’s lives these days. I’m not sure.

But as it turns out, this winter is one during which I have thought a lot about neighbors. In past winters, when the snow was occasionally heavy, several of our neighbors have come to our rescue with snow blowers while we struggled stubbornly with shovels. Last year we finally conceded to buy a snow blower for ourselves. So, this year we’ve repaid the favor and helped out a neighbor who travels a lot. We cleared the snow so he could return to an open driveway.

Meanwhile, one of our other neighbors lost his job. Another neighbor has quietly, anonymously, generously, provided the first neighbor with gift cards to a local supermarket. Even though we are not personally affected in this case, this act of thoughtful compassion makes us glad to live in such a neighborhood.

Being “neighborly” took on a deeper meaning recently. An older gentleman who lives a few doors down has gradually weakened in a struggle with disease. He had lost his wife four years previously. His kids would stop by now and then to visit and help with a few things. A friend from the south moved in with him and provided companionship and comfort as his condition declined. They were planning to marry if he had not become sick. My wife, ever thoughtful, noticed this from a distance and took our snow blower to their house to clear snow on more than one occasion. She retrieved their mail for them. She talked with them to provide a small measure of emotional support.

Apparently, other neighbors had been doing similar deeds. When he passed away last weekend, we were alerted by a phone call from another neighbor. We in turn shared the news with others in the neighborhood. When my wife and I brought some food over and ended up talking for a long time with our neighbor’s surviving fiance, we noticed in the front hall was a dish to be returned to a neighbor who had provided a meal. We heard stories of other neighbors who had looked in on them. We also talked a lot about how odd it is that this was the first time we had really talked at greater length.

It is odd to attend receptions at funeral homes and memorial services. Why is it at these occasions that we often learn more about people than we ever knew when they were with us? We learn their histories, their family stories. More of their personality is revealed in retrospect. Is it not a shame that we learn most about some of our neighbors at their funerals than at their mailboxes, front doors, or kitchen tables?

Fortunately, that is not the case for all of our neighbors. We have gone kayaking, sailing, and boating with some of the neighbors who happen to live closest to us. We have chatted in the driveways. We’ve attended positive life events of neighbors too, such as graduation receptions and weddings. Having lost a lesser-known neighbor, I’m even more glad to have gotten to know these others.

A neighbor is someone with whom we are acquainted only because of location. The simple fact of living next to or near someone makes them a neighbor. There is no blood connection as with family. There is no bond or choice, as with friends. The only common connection is proximity. Yet we have so many incentives and benefits to getting to know our neighbors. We can have fun, or help each other out with simple household tasks. We may even be there for each other when death comes near.

We all speak of who we are “close” to. Often that means an emotional closeness. But sometimes being literally close to someone is important too. Neighbors can be more than a coincidence of a real estate decision. They can be close not only to our homes, but our hearts. They can be as close as friends and family, perhaps even closer. Indeed, such is the nature of a real neighborhood.

Day to Celebrate Marriage Should Involve Heads as Well as Hearts

2008-02-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

(From the February 14, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune)

It’s cold outside. There’s a minus sign in front of the number our digital thermometer gives us as an indication of the outside temperature. We’re told by the authorities to stay inside because of the extreme weather. So I stand at the window of our library in the front of the house and look out the window, at the light-up candy canes that remain from Christmas. It has been too cold to take them inside. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I will rotate them so they are not a row of eight candy canes, but a row of four red and white hearts.

Frozen hearts doesn’t seem like a good image for Valentine’s Day. It would seem they should be warm, or even hot. Or perhaps not. Maybe Valentine’s Day should be less about our hearts, and more about our heads. I say that because when I think about Valentine’s Day, I feel confronted with another one of many contradictions in our society.

On the one hand, we celebrate marriage. You probably read or hear a version of the story every year. The cruel Emperor Claudius had outlawed marriage because he thought unmarried men made better soldiers. A priest named Valentinus married people in defiance of the decree til Claudius had him beheaded on February 14. This makes Valentinus perhaps the first to lose his head over marriage. It also marks the beginning of a day that we celebrate to this day in recognition marriage.

But there’s the contradiction. Our society doesn’t celebrate marriage beyond this day anymore. I recently saw the original cast of “Family Ties” on the Today Show. The director of this 1980s situation comedy said Hollywood moguls at that time were doubtful about the potential of a show that actually depicted a married man and woman. Today, at least as reflected in our entertainment and news media, marriage seems an afterthought for many. Living together, co-habitation, and free love are hip. Valentinus would be called a fool by people who by personal choice rather than civil decree choose not to marry or to divorce on a whim.

Instead, on Valentine’s Day, our society seems to celebrate some notion of love. They even get that part wrong. Our English language inhibits our understanding of the word. The Greeks had several words for love. Among them were “eros,” which referred to lust and intercourse, and “agape,” which had implications of almost divine, self-sacrificing and thoughtful love. Hollywood is confused and dwells on the former. What’s needed in our society is marriage understood and celebrated in accord with the latter term.

That’s how the Apostle Paul—a single man—described love in a letter he wrote to people in Corinth about 200 years before Valentinus. Paul wrote: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs.”

In other words, it deals with the thorns on the roses. It recognizes the mistake of equating love with fluttering eyelids and beating hearts. True love is less about excitement and ecstasy than it is about comfort and commitment. It’s not about the wildly beating heart but the familiar touch of a hand. It’s not about heavy breathing, but pleasant conversation. It is not about seeking pleasure in the moment, but cherishing the gradual accumulation of years of shared episodes in life.

Another revolutionary captured that spirit of love. Jose Marti was a Cuban who served as a leader in the fight for independence from Spain. He was also a poet who penned these words about love: "Love is . . . born with the pleasure of looking at each other, it is fed with the necessity of seeing each other, it is concluded with the impossibility of separation."

It seems that too many today celebrate Valentine’s Day as if they are Charlie Brown regarding the little red-haired girl from a distance, too caught up on the pleasure of looking at each other. We need more emphasis on the impossibility of separation.

So, on a cold day, with a warm heart, I contemplate my candy cane hearts from the window. When the snow melts, these decorations will be put away, stored unceremoniously with the other accumulated marital clutter. They’ll return next year.

What is more important is what happens between February 15 of this year and February 13 of next, and all the days of all the years to come. Perhaps none of us will have lives worthy of a Harlequin romance or a made-for-TV love story movie. But why hold such folly in our hearts? Instead, we should use our heads and decide to savor the love we have, all year long. There will be kisses in the kitchen, hands held on the pier, folding laundry, dusting, mowing the lawn, doing favors for the other just because, minor repairs, a few crises, meaningful conversations, and maybe even an exotic vacation now and then. All of it, the mundane and the marvelous, can happen together with the one person to whom we have been “joined together.” Having so decided in our heads, we will certainly feel it in our hearts. That’s worth more than one day of celebration.

It's Strange Waking up to 2008

2008-01-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

(From the January 10, 2008 Grand Haven Tribune)

During the holidays, I took advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. But lately, as I get focused on the new year, I’ve been wondering if I’m still dreaming. I’m having a mild case of the Rip VanWinkle effect. Or in this area, it could be DeWink, VanderWinkenBerg, or Winksma. Anyway, it’s as if I slept for decades and am waking to bizarre realities.

First, it’s pushing 60 degrees and it’s January. Driving home from work the other night, there was thunder and lightning that gave me an inkling of spring.

Speaking of warmer weather, it still seems bizarre to me that an Oscar Award was given to that global warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” It’s actually not even a film documentary. It resembles a slide show. If I had been sleeping 20 years, I would wonder how a mundane PowerPoint presentation could win next to digital animation and special effects.

Speaking of guys who speak in near monotone, it could strike one just waking up as confusing to hear all the recent discussions about Carr and Les Miles. One might think the topic is fuel efficiency. But no, this was actually about football coaches, not the auto industry.

Speaking of unique industries, it seemed as if I slept through a decade or two when I read local news reports about Muskegon recently. For one, there is talk about putting a Casino in the old SPX plant. Gosh, lose a major employer, and replace it with opportunities for the citizens who are left behind to put what little money they have in shiny, humming machines. What a forward-looking idea! At the same time, area leaders envision a fleet of floating windmills 22 miles off shore in Lake Michigan to generate power. That truly is visionary and innovative. Imagine, West Michigan could have control of two precious commodities—fresh water and energy. We could be to the next century what Saudi Arabia has been to the last.

Speaking of unique distinctions for our state, Michigan and Rhode Island lost more population than any other states in the country in the past year, according to recent reports. North Dakota is hanging on to people, and we are not? I must be dreaming. It reminds me of the 1980s recession, when bumper stickers asked the last one to leave the state to turn out the lights.

Speaking of lights, wasn’t that holiday light show amazing? I remember when Harbor Island was a barren wasteland during the winter. This past holiday season there were cars streaming in to witness lights and music more tightly choreographed than Russian pairs Olympic figure skaters. Now we have a winter counterpart to the musical fountain.

Speaking of staged presentations, even those of us who have seen actors and peanut farmers chosen to be our leaders must give pause when considering the current election process. Mention the slate of candidates and it sounds like the set up for a joke. For example, “an African-American, a woman, a southern Baptist minister, and a Mormon businessman walk into a New Hampshire café…..”

Speaking of spending lots of money for video, my wife and I were shocked at Blockbuster recently. We hadn’t rented DVDs for a while, and were stunned to be charged $4.39 per DVD—even the old ones. It’s as if the video stores want us to go with video on demand from our cable and Internet providers. This may be the way to go, with HDTV prices coming down and digital broadcasts inevitable.

Speaking of noticing details on the faces of television personalities, it was a surprise to see David Letterman and Conan O’Brien sporting beards when they returned to the airwaves recently. Their having beards made it more obvious to me that you see so few of them on TV. It was as if they were asleep with Rip VanWinkle and woke up to a newly hirsute hilarity. They grew the beards in solidarity with the writers on strike, but will likely shave them soon. Letterman did on the air the other night.

Speaking of routines and schedules, it has been unusual to hear the term “trimester” so much lately. Of course, around here anyway, the term doesn’t refer to expectant mothers as much as it relates to the public school calendar.

Back to calendars. Just into our second week of the year and so many things to think about. It’s exhausting. I need a nap.

This Year, Why Not Santa for President?

2007-12-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

(From the December 13, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

It’s been a perfect storm. First, the presidential elections have encroached on Christmas territory. We’ve got debates and election coverage crowding into annual ‘Frosty the Snowman’ TV specials. In fact, if you were paying attention, you may have noticed that there actually was a snowman asking a question in one of those silly UTube debates. I actually remember the snowman better than any of the candidates. There are more people running for president this time around than there are BCS bowl games.

Meanwhile, there’s a writer’s strike going on in Hollywood. In response, the networks are airing reruns, reality TV, and more Christmas specials.

It’s bad enough during most of the year when Hollywood and Washington pine for our attention. But now the intensity has risen. The writers’ strike is getting more testy, and the politicians apparently feel that the primaries should move up in equal proportion to the number of candidates.

The Grinch can take the year off. Politicians and writers are stealing Christmas this year.

But then one night, as I flipped channels and saw glimpses of stump speeches and bad sitcom reruns, it hit me—Santa for President.

Why not? Let’s combine fiction, Christmas, and politics once and for all. There are lots of good reasons.

For one, Santa’s not a bad candidate. He makes all kinds of promises every year. Some people don’t believe him, but how is that any different from the other candidates pre-primary? You want a new Wii or Play Station? Sure. Reform Social Security? No problem. That new monopoly game that takes credit cards? It’s on the list. Free health care for everyone? Ho ho ho!

He looks like a politician too, when you think about it. He always wears the same suit, and could stand to lose some weight.

Santa has a distinct edge in some areas. One, with all the milk he drinks on Christmas Eve, and his endorsement of stockings, he has the dairy associations and textile industries locked up for support.

He’s strong on foreign policy too. Santa has name recognition all over the world. In fact, he’s actually part of traditions in more countries than George Bush can name, or pronounce.

Speaking of foreign countries, think of how much he can save us on travel. He takes that sleigh of his all over the world without burning any fossil fuels. We could moth ball Air Force One during a Santa presidency.

His one liability could be outsourcing. Everyone knows he has his toys made by elves at the North Pole. This will likely upset the unions and other protectionists. But, if he’s smart, he could turn this negative into a positive. Move the elves to Washington, and get rid of Congress. Shoot, some of our congressmen are older than elves as it is. Plus, those elves are pretty industrious—they might actually get something done.

We’d keep Teddy Kennedy though. With his red nose, he could come in handy if Rudolph is ever unable to fly. That’s Rudolph the reindeer, by the way, not Rudolph Giuliani. That Rudolph’s face was read on “Meet the Press” recently, but not his nose. Plus, he can’t lead a sleigh. He has his own driver.

Santa could draw on some of the other candidates for his administration. Dennis Kucinich, for instance, admitted during one debate that he has seen a UFO. Since he’s savvy of the night skies, he could be Secretary of Sleigh Navigation. Then again he’s also kind of short and has big ears. Maybe he’d be a good director of FEMA—Federal Elf Management Administration.

The again, let’s just make a fresh start. All our current congress people and presidential candidates should be sent to the “Island of Misfit Toys.”

Santa can pick his own cabinet from some well-known Christmas TV special friends. Frosty could head up a special task force on global warming. Let’s face it—he has a strong personal interest in that cause. Ebeneezer Scrooge would make an excellent Treasury Secretary. He’s on top of every penny. The Nutcracker could be Secretary of Defense. With a name like that who’d want to mess with him? Plus, the uniform is impressive. Santa could handle national security by himself. No need for a Patriot Act or wiretapping for him. He’s already had a naughty and nice list for years. Finally, the Grinch would make an excellent vice president. He has a rather dour demeanor and lives at an undisclosed location most of the time.

This is all silly fantasy I know. But, if Santa ever did become president? Well, my heart would grow three sizes that day.

Begging for Candy Makes for Strange Holiday

2007-11-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

(From the November 8, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

Last week Wednesday I came home to a familiar and yet strange sight. Familiar because I have seen it before. Strange because, well, it’s strange.

Cars were parked all over my neighborhood. Children (and not a few adolescents and teenagers) were dressed in all manner of costume. They traipsed across lawns (and sometimes shrubbery) going door to door, seeking candy.

Of course, I’m talking about Halloween.

I wonder how many people really think about Halloween beyond the concept of dressing up and getting free candy.

There’s quite a history to Halloween. The Druids, who were Celtic priests, celebrated New Year on November first to mark the transition from the period of light to a period of darkness, stemming from their worship of the sun god. Their festival was called Samhain, and the three-day affair involved people dressing up in costumes made of animal skins and animal heads. Hmm, I hit a deer the week earlier. Had I done my research earlier, I could have saved the carcass for my own ‘traditional’ Halloween costume. Maybe not. I’m glad the little kiddies marching through my neighborhood have costumes made of nylon and polyester.

In the first century the Romans introduced a holiday to Europe known as Pamona Day, named for the Roman goddess of fruits and gardens. It also happened on November 1. It was blended with the Celtic celebration, making the annual event even bigger. Pamona? Don’t we have a park by that name up in Fruitport? That’d make a nice location for a Halloween event every year. Maybe all these people who show up in my neighborhood begging for candy could head there instead and beg for fruit. I mean, why not return to the roots of this annual ritual.

Later, in the year 835 AD, the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints—and possibly to counter the pagan rituals on November 1. This day was called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. I wonder how the church could condone dressing up as devils, but I get the saints and angels part. It’d be interesting to ask the “little devils” going through my neighborhood, “who’s your favorite saint?” If they answer with the name of a bonafide saint, I’d give them an apple. Or maybe a wafer.

Of course, the Protestants also tried to co-opt this ancient tradition. They celebrate Reformation Day near the end of October. It hasn’t broken into the Halloween tradition of “trick or treating” however. If it had, these children would dress like John Calvin or John Wesley and show up on front porches reciting catechism. I’d give out king size Snickers bars if that ever happened. Or maybe Wilhemina peppermints and windmill cookies (inside joke to those of the Reformed persuasion).

In any event, many of these influences have blended together today to give us an event exploited by candy makers, greeting card companies, and of course, children. After one of my typical 10- or 12-hour days, I find it odd to have youngsters dressed as cats, athletes, ghosts, and what looks like Brittney Spears on a bad day (that one scared me most) flocking to my neighborhood. Even understanding the ancient past of this tradition, I wonder if it makes sense now for modern times.

For one, we have an obesity problem in this country. Should we really be co-conspirators in this plot to give the next generation a sugar addiction? What lesson comes from a plastic pumpkin full of calories?

Also, isn’t “don’t take candy from strangers” a well-known mantra that parents tell their kids? So, what’s with the carloads of total strangers coming from remote corners of distant townships to seek smarties and gummy bears from me and my neighbors, whom they’ve never met? If you’re going to ask for candy, it seems to make sense to keep it among families and friends.

Finally, the door-to-door begging thing has me stumped. These days, I hear again and again from employers that the younger generation has no concept of personal responsibility, initiative, or self-sustainability. Kids today, so I’m told, have too much of an “entitlement” attitude. Maybe we should think about the consequences of sending them out like beggars to collect candy.

Well, maybe I shouldn’t take so much time thinking about the odd nature of well-established social norms. I’ve got other things to do. In fact, there’s a fake pine tree in our storage room that needs to be placed in our library and adorned with lights and a collection of balls and knick-knacks.

Government Best at Local Level

2007-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

(From the October 11, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

It would be easy to be disenchanted with government of late.

In Washington the two dominant political parties seem more intent on scoring political points than in actually serving the people they represent. We have senators and representatives better known for their “wide stance” in airport bathrooms and cash in their freezers than for sponsoring any significant bills. When they do pass legislation, it seems padded with riders and earmarks that pat the backs and line the pockets of friends.

In Lansing we recently witnessed a long and bitter battle over the budget. Sure, there may have been sound and principled ideological perspectives that had state politicians pulling all-nighters to debate the budget. It was the old cut spending versus raise taxes dialectic. But there was a lot of partisan positioning going on too, a lot of posturing for the next election versus serving the people who voted for them in the last one. Even with a passed budget that prevented an extended government shutdown, there is lots of uncertainty about state policies and finances. The only certain thing is that there will be more bickering and rhetoric. No wonder some have called for a part-time state legislature. And, while I can look forward to paying more state taxes, I will not see any direct benefit of more being ‘rendered unto Ceaser.’ No wonder the tax collectors were always the bad guys in Jesus’ parables.

But I got to thinking recently about that old expression “all politics is local.” I could amend that to say that government is at its best at the local level. At least you tend to see a more tangible benefit of having government. Here at the township level I am witnessing the provisions of government that are as fundamental as in the time of the Roman Empire—water and roads.

No, there are no aqueducts being built. But I did stumble across the annual drinking water report from the North Ottawa Water System. My goodness, there’s a lot of chemistry involved. The municipal system checks out water thoroughly, monitoring for all sorts of ingredients, and reporting quantities in parts per million or even billion. It was no doubt impressive when Jesus turned water into wine. But it seems almost miraculous that local water supply is checked for lead, copper, arsenic and selenium, not to mention other things that are hard to say or even type after a long day.

It’s easy to take a lot of this for granted. But it’s a painful fact known to any who have traveled overseas or pay attention to international news that a significant portion of the world population does not have clean water. I used to work for an international mission agency whose staff included several missionaries in Africa who spent most of their time drilling wells. Seems simple to us, but in some countries in Africa there isn’t good equipment to get through bedrock and bring up clean water from an earthen aquifer. I was reminded of this recently while reading National Geographic and seeing photos of families crowded together in make-shift shacks, doing their cooking and bathing in the same fetid pool of water. Consequently, many get diseases that could be avoid but for clean water. Meanwhile, we can go to our faucets, fill a glass and take a drink without fear. That’s pretty significant. I’m grateful the stuff coming out of my tap doesn’t contain any stuff I can’t pronounce.

It does make me laugh about this bottled water craze. People of larger wallets and lesser minds, who are susceptible to fashion, lug around their bottles of “Fuji” and “Ice Mountain” or “Aquafina.” They’ll insist it’s cleaner, tastes better and so on. Bunk. I’ve seen more than a few tests that show tap water from an average city system is more healthy than many bottled waters (some of which, by the way, are pumped out of the ground just a few counties north of here). It’s why I laugh when I see a bottle of “Evian” and remember that the brand name is nothing more than “naïve” spelled backwards. My wife and I, avid runners, drink lots of water every day. We have empty water bottles we saved from previous road races and fill them up with tap water and store them in the fridge. Delicious. Refreshing. Healthy. Free. Government water. Our tax dollars at work.

And if that’s not enough, the local government just started repaving the roads in my neighborhood. We had noticed a sudden, rapid decline in the road surface. Cracks became ruts, which became craters. But they’re on it. After waiting a few months, crews showed up one morning recently and started scraping the road, preparing it for repaving. Soon, my returns from work into the neighborhood will not be an obstacle course. I wouldn’t say I live on easy street, but at least the street I live on will be smooth again soon.

So there you have it—water and roads. These are things we take for granted, but which are are rarely well supplied in many parts of the world. So I am grateful for government in this regard. God bless America. At least my part of it.

Parents Online Adds New Dimension to Life

2007-09-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

(From the September 13 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I get a lot of emails every day. Some of them are quite surprising. None was more so than one I received recently from my parents.

There was nothing unusual in the message. The thing that was so surprising was that I got an email from … my parents!

Just this week I read a report that people over 55 are online in relatively equal numbers to those who are under 25. It took a while, but the computer and all its features has made its way into most demographics now. Still, my parents are a tad older than 55, and they had resisted the computer era for a long time. So it was indeed a surprise when I got an email announcing they had joined the legion of emailers, and asking for the email address of my sister in Spokane so they could surprise her as well.

Here’s the irony: my parents spent so many years trying to keep me and my siblings IN line; now they have joined us ON line.

My mom and dad used to joke about not using a computer. “We have a Web site,” my dad would say. “It’s in the lower corner of the garage window.” My mom referred to her well-thumbed study Bible as the only search engine she needed. Well, now they have gone from the era of Ishmael to the time of email, from Isaac to iMac.

For a time I advised them that at their age, no longer being part of the work force, they could do just fine without a computer. After my wife and I offered them a brief lesson in the fundamental aspects of using a computer mouse at the Spring Lake Library, that sentiment was confirmed. Navigating a computer was perhaps more trouble than it was worth.

However, in addition to having kids in different cities, they have a large group of younger friends at their church who send announcements via email. They got tired of feeling left out of that loop. They also have a neighbor who works with computers who was willing to help set them up.

So far they’ve made the transition quite well. A new computer resides in my sister’s old bedroom (a fine trade-off in my opinion; I wanted to trade her in for a video game system years ago). Other than one cell phone call from my dad about how to open and view received emails as they familiarized themselves with new software, I haven’t heard of any troubles. In fact my mom tells me that even though she pushed for the computer, my dad has spent much of the time online. The other day he was musing about a job at home and went to the computer, did a search for “countertop wax,” and was amazed at the results. Since they have a dial-up, I encountered a persistent busy signal the other night when I tried to call and check in on them. There’s no one home to yell at them for tying up the phone line.

Now the adjusting may be on my part. I have sent a couple of emails to my parents. But I have to remember to do so. I’m still not used to the fact that it’s an option to include them in a list of recipients when I send out a message. It will also take a little getting used to seeing their name in the “sender” line when I receive email.

But it will be nice as well. They’ll be able to send quick updates without waiting for us to be available to talk on the phone. It will be more affordable for them to stay in touch with my sister who lives three time zones away. And I’m sure they’ll enjoy the multiple benefits of finding all sorts of information on line. My mom might get into downloading recipes. My dad could pursue more information about tools and methods for home projects, or order John Deere merchandise online. They could research travel ideas for their next trip. The list goes on and on.

Who knows what’s next for them. Maybe they’ll have an actual Web site instead of making a joke about a spider web in the garage window. Maybe they’ll have a MySpace page to connect to their various friends. Or maybe not. My mom or dad will probably insist that, in spite of having a computer, “Our space is the well maintained yard and garden we enjoy.” They would probably tell me that in an email though.

Smokers Are Invasive Species

2007-08-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

(From the August 9, 2007 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I just had a realization. Smokers are different from the rest of us. In fact they are a different species, an invasive species.

Ironically, I had this epiphany this week in the land of tobacco—Virginia—where I have been telling friends about the beauty of our Lake Michigan beaches. But at one point I had to admit it’s not all perfect. I explained about the algae caused be zebra mussels, the depleted fisheries caused by the goby, and the cigarette butts in the sand caused by smokers.

That’s right—zebra mussels, goby fish, and smokers. All three are strange, invasive species despoiling Lake Michigan’s balanced ecosystem.

A little history may help to explain. Zebra mussels and goby fish are called invasive species because they are not indigenous to the Great Lakes. They come in the ballast water of ships from afar when it is released into our fresh water. These species wreak havoc when they invade our local waters. Our state and federal representatives are trying to enact laws forcing ships to dump their ballast in the ocean, before they enter the Great Lakes.

To understand smokers as an invasive species requires a little more history. Here in Virginia, tobacco plantations are interwoven into local and national history. Within the past few months, the National Geographic ran an article about how the early colonists adapted tobacco-growing practices from the Native Americans, and soon this part of the country all along the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River was virtually a contiguous tobacco farm. But as long as there has been tobacco, there have been efforts to ban its use. The Atlantic Monthly pointed out in a small article a few months ago that such efforts date way back to the 1600s. But bans on smoking have never held.

Now, the tide seems to be turning against smoking once again. New York City, which made smoking in public not only acceptable but fashionable back in the ‘20s, has a ban on smoking in public places. France, the cultural pinnacle for many global elites, has done the same thing in the past year. Even Hollywood, which used cigarettes and cigars as props to glamorize actors, has recently done some rare introspection about the consequences of including smoke in so many scenes. So it’s not entirely surprising that several Michigan municipalities, and most recently the Ottawa County parks, have enacted smoking bans.

I applaud the ban. But I’m not holding my own breath that other people will stop exhaling smoke. Just as goby fish and zebra mussels will be hard to eradicate, smokers are unfortunately not going anywhere.

My skepticism stems from legal reality. Smokers will invoke their “rights.” To some extent they have a point. It’s their body. More appropriately, it’s their funeral.

On the other hand, as is the case with all legal tensions, there is the notion of responsibility to society that counteracts the argument about individual rights. Smokers need to think about a host of ways their messy habit negatively affects society. But they don’t. They upset the balance. This qualifies them as an invasive species.

Smokers of course are harming their own lungs and other aspects of their personal health when they inhale. But there are also numerous scientific articles demonstrating the harm of second-hand smoke when smokers exhale. That leads to cost as another social consequence of smoking. Insurance costs are higher for all of us because of the huge number of cases of cancer, emphysema and other diseases born by those who insist on smoking. Even if you have a non-smoker’s discount on your health insurance policy, there’s a good chance part of your premium pays for oxygen tanks and other treatments for those who didn’t exercise personal responsibility toward their own health or that of society at large. General quality of life and common courtesy are another aspect of responsibility smokers should consider. Aside from the health risks, smokers need to consider that many of us do not want to smell smoke when we dine or recreate. Smokers may have a right to smoke. But the rest of us have no less right to breath God’s good fresh air. Quality of life also relates to litter. The main reason the Ottawa County Parks enacted the ban on smoking is because 50 percent of the litter they must pick up from the beaches is tobacco related. Just as zebra mussels abandon their shells on the shore, smokers leave their butts behind on the sand.

I reflected on this one day at one of our beaches just before traveling to tobacco country. Two young ladies near my wife and I smoked almost constantly while at the beach. Upon finishing a cigarette, they snuffed it in the sand next to their blankets. When they left, they picked up everything except the leftovers of their selfish indulgence. They are either too selfish or ignorant to see the difference between the sand in a common ashtray and that of a previously pristine natural wonder.

I shook my head and went for a walk. I saw zebra mussels at the water’s edge. I saw goby fish on the pier. And I saw countless cigarette butts in the sand. Sigh. I wish all of the invasive species upsetting the balance in our lakes and beaches could be discharged as ballast far out to sea.

Study Should Help Us Keep House in Order

2007-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

(From the July 12 issue of the Grand Haven Tribune)

I’ve noticed an interesting confluence of information recently that all seems related.

First, I read a study that shows that Ottawa County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The same study showed that most of the growth is happening in suburbs and townships surrounding core cities.

Then I got my summer tax bill, and observed once again that the majority of the taxes we pay in the summer go toward public schools in one form or another. The township newsletter that came with the tax bill included an item about the completion of a statewide wetlands inventory. It can be accessed at Michigan.gov/deqwetlands.

Finally, I read an article that said Ottawa County will be conducting a housing study. The study will be broken down into four quadrants and consider an economic overview, residents perceptions of the safety and affordability of housing, the potential market for additional shelters and special needs housing, among other things.

The central thread connecting all of these things in my mind is growth, and the potential impact of it. I know that growth is generally a good thing for economic and other reasons. You only have to travel to other parts of the state to experience a depressed, declining city to gain a grateful perspective for the hustle and bustle in the tri-cities. However, promoting and celebrating growth needs to be tempered with some careful consideration of consequences. Or to put it in public relations terms, we need to consider whether all publics benefit mutually from their relationship with the community. This is where the housing study can ensure that our area’s ‘house’ is in order.

A long time ago, when I was a reporter for a newspaper in another city, I covered a city commission meeting at which the plans for a new apartment complex were being discussed. I’ll never forget the audacious words of one councilman who complained that more apartments “cheapened” the culture of the city.

I was living in an apartment at the time.

Such an attitude is dangerous. It shows an elitist perspective that those who live in an apartment or trailer are somehow lesser citizens. We must remember that there is a population for whom an apartment or other rental property is their only option. We should also not make the mistake of assuming that apartment dwellers do not pay taxes—they pay property taxes indirectly through their inflated rent, and they pay income tax as well. That income tax is taken out of paychecks they receive for doing the many service jobs that are so vital to a community. The study should ensure that we have enough quality rental properties to accommodate this hard working yet low-income segment of our population.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what the study uncovers regarding the need for shelters and special needs housing. It is easy and tempting in a small, resort community to assume that the problems of homelessness, mental illness, and physical disability only occur elsewhere. We may be a beautiful community, but we are not Shangra La. There is a practical reality and moral obligation for any community to provide for those who truly need such consideration.

At the same time, we should ensure that we have enough affordable, entry-level home ownership options for people who decide to stay and achieve the American dream in the Tri-Cities. While I don’t begrudge anyone from enjoying their material success, I have to admit it pains me more than a little to see the proliferation of condos and “cottages” in our community, realizing that these are second homes that sell twice what I paid for my primary residence. When I think that some can’t even afford to own their own dwelling, I shake my head. Even though the new developments and monster condos garner all the excitement and attention, the housing study should shine a light on the more important information about the need for shelter and affordable housing.

The wetlands inventory is also interesting related to all of this. Wetlands have both economic and ecological value. People move to our area primarily for all the access to water for sport and recreation. However, it’s been alarming to see the increase in construction closer to or on areas that would seem to be protected wetlands. There’s a trend for people to “build” versus “buy” their homes these days. But in our current market, it would be interesting to know how many existing homes could accommodate new move-ins. It would also be helpful to encourage residents to reside in the urban areas, leaving the wetlands natural for the recreation of everyone, and to provide their vital ecological benefits such as filtering pollutants and providing wildlife habitat.

Finally, I would hope the housing study would look at the impact of added housing and population on our schools as well as demand for infrastructure like roads and sewers. I don’t have children, but I don’t mind paying taxes to support public schools because education of a community’s children has great value to all of us and is a shared responsibility. However, I’m not made of money. I worry that all this growth will soon lead to a millage request to build additional primary and secondary public schools. Also, all the new housing brings more cars and people who need and affect our roads, water supply, sewer systems. The argument is always that growth brings more revenue, but it also necessarily increases costs to a community. What is the tipping point? Are we planning for that? Who will pay for new structures and services—current taxpayers, new residents, developers?

I don’t have all the answers, but I hope the survey asks some good questions. I’ll look forward to hearing the results of the survey and the necessary plans that come from it.

Smoke Signals Carry South

2007-06-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

After my earlier post about smoking restrictions on Muskegon beaches, I''m glad to see the Ottawa County Parks Department will institute a complete ban on smoking on county beaches. If only the state park would follow suit.

Trash is the reason for the ban--more than 50% of trash on the beaches is the butts and packages of cigarettes and cigars. Yuck!

But the smoke is another good one. Second-hand smoke is proven dangerous. And even though beaches are outside, we non-smokers still suffer downwind from inconsiderate puffers.

They may complain, but you know, every right comes with responsibility. If they think they have a right to smoke, they should have proven they have the responsibility of not using the beach as an ashtray. But smokers are inferior people, generally. If they ignore surgeon general's warnings and aren't responsible for their OWN health, why could we expect them to be socially responsible with regard to others and the environment?

We can't. That's why they brought this ban on themselves.

No Boo-Hoo for Bil-Mar

2007-06-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

I'm glad the DEQ denied Howard Meyers his plan to expand the Bil-Mar restuarant and area parking. The reasons given are sound (see the Muskegon Chronicle version of the story), and recognize the views of the residents nearby and not just this one business.

Meyer can expand his restaurant. He just doesn't have to go to extremes. His statement that he will appeal this decision only shows his arrogance.

If he wins the appeal, I say boycott the Bil-Mar.

No Smoking on the Beach

2007-06-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Muskegon for creating a no-smoking section of the beach.

Trouble is, the smoking section of the beach is to the south, downwind of the folks who prefer not to inhale second-hand smoke. Also, it doesn't look like enforcement will be heavy.

Nevertheless, good of the Muskegon folks to try to clear the air on this issue.

Upgrading Can Be So Degrading

2007-06-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

(From the June 14, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

Call me Tim 2.0. Or, if I’m honest about my age, Tim 4.3. The point is, I’ve upgraded. As I’m realizing, upgrading can be exciting, but it can also be….degrading.

You can see this by the ‘upgraded’ photo that now accompanies my column. I had lasik surgery and no longer need glasses. I will, however, continue to make a spectacle of myself when I have the opportunity. But seriously, what an amazing upgrade to my human eyeballs. When I got glasses back in the ninth grade, I dreamed that such a tool would be able to ‘zap’ me back to 20/20 vision. Now it’s a reality for so many people.

On the other hand, my new photo also is a little degrading to me. That’s because, while my mug does not bear spectacles, it also has considerably less hair. I can go to the secretary of state’s office and tell them to remove the “corrective lens” item on my driver’s license. However, they may need to put a question mark next to “hair color.” I am now “follicle challenged,” a “person of scalp.” How degrading.

I thought about this while weeding the garden the other day. I was pulling grass from around some trees and yucca plants. Taking a break, I sighed when I surveyed a part of the lawn where grass would not grow. It grows where I don’t want it, and it won’t grow where I want it. The same is true of my hair now. It doesn’t grow in the natural location—the top of my head. It must have entered a relocation program, because now hair is appearing on parts of me that would seem to have no use for hair. How degrading.

The same upgrade/downgrade phenomenon happens with machines. I finally had some time to upgrade the operating system and applications on our home computers. I must say, there are some pretty slick enhancements with the upgrade. Old bugs are worked out. The bells and whistles are fun to use. But at the same time, there are issues. It can take time to learn these new features and functions. And some of the old features and functions aren’t on the new versions. Worse yet, some of the upgraded software is no longer compatible with some peripheral equipment and older documents. It’s sort of the way my newly aerodynamic noggin is no longer compatible with our old wedding photos. How degrading.

A similar feeling happened when we recently went to upgrade our cell phones. We were hoping newer models would improve reception and allow for some enhanced functions. Yes, the style of the phones and the colorful screens are an improvement from our old monochrome versions. But once again, some things we liked about the old phones are no longer possible. For example, we can’t record our own voice commands. So when I use the “upgraded” technology to call home, my new phone dials the office. It was a little confusing to hear a receptionist answer what I thought was the home phone. Some days, it would be nice to have a receptionist at home. “Mr. Penning,” she would say from behind a counter, “the main floor bathroom is open now. You may go in.” But that might be a little degrading too.

Meanwhile, back to the cell phones. I no sooner had signed a new two-year service agreement for a new “upgraded” plan than I got a shocking email. I was informed of my next bill due, showing a balance that had an extra digit. It made me want to show one of the centrally located digits on my right hand to the cell phone company and ask if they could hear ME now. Turns out, their “upgraded” computer system had counted a one-minute-and-four-second phone call as a 24-hour call. The call was to one of my clients, who said she would testify if need be that we hadn’t talked for an entire day. Eventually, the clueless wireless company credited my bill. But the experience was frustrating, and a little degrading.

Next on the list is a new television. The one in our basement den shows bizarre colors and jerky lines. It’s hard enough to see a hockey puck without all that, so we’ll have to upgrade to a high definition, digital TV. We all have to anyway before 2009 when broadcasts will be all digital. This means I’ll have to upgrade our cable service as well. And that means my well-educated but increasingly shiny head will turn red when I sheepishly ask some 19-year-old salesman a bunch of questions about how this upgraded TV stuff all works. How degrading.

Oh well, what is life if not give and take, a constant trade-off of being upgraded and degraded. I just hope I can enjoy the current version of myself all my stuff for more than a few years.

Local Radio Provides More Than One Kind of Rhythm

2007-05-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

(From the May 10, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

I have always been fascinated with radio. As I kid, I remember working with my brother to build our own radio in the basement. I was thrilled when it worked. We turned the dial and shouted with glee when we heard broadcasts. It was astonishing to think that this sound just came through the air all around us, like magic.

As I grew up, my interest in radio continued. I was more particularly concerned with content, such as finding out about new music to staying informed with news reports. As a media communication scholar, I am again fascinated with the technology of radio, ranging from iTunes, podcasts and MP3 players to satellite and high definition (HD) radio. But as complicated as radio becomes, there is one thing I will never take for granted: the local radio station.

That’s why I was particularly interested to read that WGHN, our local station, will potentially be sold to a man from outside the community. My heart sank a bit as I pondered the possibility that WGHN would become like a fast food franchise, offering the same menu of content as countless other stations belonging to some giant conglomerate owner. WGHN would cease to be “the rhythm of the lakeshore” and become merely an economic interest for someone from far outside the station’s broadcast signal.

But things don’t look so bad. Will Tieman, a Lansing man who founded the Spartan Sports Network, is not a conglomerate. If the Federal Communications Commission approves the sale of WGHN, it will be the first and only station he owns, according to local news reports. He has also indicated he wants to keep WGHN a local station, including maintaining the staff and programming. He plans to visit leaders and residents of WGHN’s coverage area, which also is a sign that the station will continue to reflect the uniqueness of the area.

Having a radio station that is responsive to and in touch with the local community is important for a variety of reasons. WGHN itself has a section on its Web site proclaiming “the importance of local radio.” It cites a study by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters in which a large majority of Michigan residents surveyed indicated they continue to listen to local radio in spite of the emergence of satellite and Internet radio.

Other national studies indicate why so many of us still are loyal to local radio. A 2000 study by the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) revealed that 90 percent of national survey respondents think an important function of radio is to inform people about community events. Additionally, three-fourths said that radio should identify community problems, and a majority said local news is very important as compared with national news. A 2005 study by Arbitron, a company that measures radio station audiences, said that even those with iPods and satellite radio listen to “terrestrial” radio only 15 minutes less per day.

The federal government has long been concerned about the “public interest” of local radio as well. The government has authority to regulate the radio and television business because they use ‘public property”—the air around us—to broadcast on a limited spectrum of frequencies or channels. That’s why way back in 1941 it established rules about local radio ownership. These rules are reconsidered regularly, and changed in 1996 as part of the Telecommunications Act. The FCC is currently studying how station ownership in the current market affects programming and radio station audiences. But the current rules still limit the number of stations a single entity can own in a given market, depending on market size. Part of the reason for this limit is to create a level playing field for business, that no one owner could monopolize a radio market. But there’s also the concern that local communities have local programming.

Everyone has different musical tastes and preferences for news sources. But local radio still has an important niche that no one else can beat—local information and flavor. WGHN has been filling that niche for years, and we’re lucky that it appears they will continue to do so with new owners.

Consider what WGHN offers to the Tri-Cities area. First of all, there’s the local news. You can’t hear local election results on satellite radio or some station that’s programmed from out of state. WGHN even won two awards for news last year—from the Associated Press and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. They also give local weather with a local insight. At times I’ve heard a host comment on the view of the channel from the studios at One South Harbor. That’s specific local information!

WGHN also provides a host of local information no other station can provide. There have been times I’ve lingered in the locker room at the YMCA to hear the closing minutes of a local high school sports contest. The proprietors of the Bookman, a locally owned bookstore, come on the air to recommend new books. The station does live remote broadcasts with other local businesses, such as City Farmer. The station profiles local nonprofit organizations and broadcasts local church services.

I’m still fascinated with radio, including the rapidly changing technology. But, perhaps because of the explosion of radio and other media technology, the thing I appreciate about local radio more than anything else is the sense of community it provides. When WGHN offers us the “rhythm of the lakeshore,” they are not only providing a musical backdrop for our daily lives. The station and all that they broadcast reflect and contribute to rhythm of life itself for all of us fortunate enough to live on the lakeshore.

What Spring Lake Government Needs

2007-04-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

After the residents of Spring Lake Township voted against having a 'professional' township supervisor, the township is moving ahead with plans to seek a 'professional' township supervisor.

One would hope that such a 'professional' would understand that government, at least in this country, is of, by, and for the people. In other words, the government leaders should heed election results that represent the voice of the people.

What the current township leaders really need is a civics lesson. Or, judging by the way they act towards each other lately, a session with Dr. Phil. Maybe a kindergarten teacher. Perhaps a 'time out.' It seems that the less they do, the better off we citizens are.

Ultimately, what they all need is to become professional themselves. To be a professional does not necessarily possessing an appropriate degree, license or years of experience. It means understanding that your job is a service to society, and practicing accordingly. That's the reason lawyers, doctors, accountants etc are called "professionals"--because they provide forums for civil resolution of disputes, health care, and other services that maintain social stability and well being.

Stability and well-being are sadly lacking in Spring Lake Township these days. Not for the lack of a professional manager, though. It's due to the lack of professional behavior by those fellow citizens elected to serve us.

Library Deserves Help Moving to Next Chapter

2007-04-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

(From April 12, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

Several years ago I had the opportunity to interview Patrick Sheane Duncan, a native of Hamilton (near Holland) who is best known as the author of “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” The film, starring Richard Dreyfus, was indirectly inspired by a library. In fact, the working title of the film was “Mr. Herrick’s Opus,” a nod to the library in Holland that Duncan visited frequently as a child. One of many children from a poor family, Duncan frequented the library as a form of entertainment and self-education. Years later he reaps the benefits. He started writing screenplays because he found too many products of Hollywood to be unimaginative. His imagination, sparked at a local library, has been fodder for a variety of stories. He continues to be a voracious reader as well.

Duncan isn’t alone. There are 18,000 people who are card-carrying advocates of libraries. That is, they have Loutit District Library cards. The interest in books and libraries has a long tradition. Cicero is reported to have said, “If you have a garden and library, you have everything.” Herbert Samuel opined that “a library is a thought in cold storage.” I have a bookmark with a quote attributed to Erasmus: “When I get a little money, I buy books. If there’s any left over, I buy food.” Then there’s this gem from an unknown commenter: “Knowledge is free at the library; just bring your own container.”

That last one is only true to a point. While a library card costs nothing, there are costs associated with maintaining libraries. That’s why the Loutit District Library Board is seeking voter approval of a bond proposal on the May 8 ballot to help fund renovation and expansion of the library’s Columbus Avenue building. I sat down with two board members, Dennis Craun and Sue Robertson, who chairs the Community Library Improvement Committee. They made a good case.

First, they resolved the location issue. There was considerable opposition to building an entirely new library at a different location. Critics didn’t want to lose the downtown location, and thought the relocation was too costly. The board listened and worked with the community and architects to come up with a plan that will keep the tradition of the current building and also meet the needs of a growing community and list of library patrons.

When the library was built in 1967, Craun explained to me, it was designed as a city library. It now serves not only the City of Grand haven, but Ferrysburg, Grand Haven Township, Robinson Township and northern Port Sheldon. The population the library serves has tripled. Plus, as Robertson pointed out, the original library plan could not have envisioned the demand for CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, and computer access. As the library has tried to accommodate demand in its current space, the available seating for patrons has declined from 100 to 20 seats. It is definitely a crowded place. It is also well used, with circulations over 200,000 for the past five years according to the library’s annual report.

Thus the plans for renovation and expansion. The plans would provide an 80 percent increase in space for the library. The extra room would allow for more books of course, but also a used book room, an area for public computing, more comfortable seating areas and a fireplace, and a room for programs such as author presentations and children’s reading hours.

While an increase in your tax bill is never welcome, the impact of the library’s request is minimal. For an owner of a home with a $150,000 market value, the average annual additional property tax will be $8.25. That’s comparable to buying one paperback book, two tickets to the Grand Haven 9 Theatre (even after they announced their price reductions), or taking the family out to a fast-food dinner. Plus, what you get for it yields long lasting and widely shared benefits.

I’m also impressed that the library board didn’t come asking for taxpayer money till they had worked very hard to secure other funding. If the proposal is passed May 8, taxpayers will provide $3.4 million of an $11.5 million project. They raised $1.3 million in donations, and they have accumulated $1.8 million in savings. The remainder will come from funding from the library’s current millage.

So the Loutit District Library has listened to the concerns of the community, it has served an ever-growing community’s library needs, and now it asks for a little help to move into the next chapter of its existence. I must confess that I live in Spring Lake and am not affected by this proposal. But I did support Spring Lake’s library expansion and have been glad I did ever since. I encourage you to support Loutit Library’s small yet significant request. You may be supporting another screenwriter in the making. But even if not, it’s worth doing for the community, and yourself.

Cooking Has Become New National Pastime

2007-03-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

(From March 15, 2007 Grand Haven Tribune)

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet, the song goes. It is supposed to capture all that is America.

Unfortunately, NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in this country, and soccer still tops the sporting heap in most of the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Chevrolet has taken a back seat—or, to really use a bad automotive metaphor—been run over by Toyota and other imports.

That leaves hot dogs and apple pie. Two out of the four ingredients of that old song, a full half of our national identity, is related to food. And unlike baseball and Chevrolet, food seems to be a passion that is really taking off.

In fact, by my observation, food has become a sport in its own right. It is our new national pastime.

I’m not necessarily talking about food as actual sport, as in food fights. Nor do I refer to those odd eating contests, where rather rotund contestants inhale obscene numbers of hot dogs, chicken wings, pies, or whatever else the contest is about.

I’m talking about the fact that so many mainstream Americans are so into food, and in particular, cooking. Much of this was caused by, and is evidenced by, the cable television channel called Food Network.

For a short time, I was worried that my wife was dating some guy named Emeril. We’d be in our kitchen and she’d say: “Emeril says gahhhhlik makes this better,” or “I learned from Emeril that essence is the special ingredient in this chicken dish.” Finally I learned this guy was some chef who had his own shows on the Food Network.

Bam! I thought. That’s what this is about. So I was prepared when she mentioned the names of other male food superstars—Alton Brown, Bobbie Flay, Tyler Florence, even someone known as the “Naked Chef!”

The real struggle came whenever I was ready to check scores on ESPN, I found the TV had been tuned to Food Network. At first this frustrated me, but then I started watching. If I had been worried about my wife’s relationship with Emeril, she now has to wonder about my infatuation with women named Rachel, Giada, and even a southern grandmotherly type named Paula Deen. Talk about spicy dishes! And these women are attractive, too.

Now, our kitchen is home to all of these names, as well as an increasingly sophisticated and diverse culinary vocabulary. We don’t just have sauces and dressings. We have remoulade, bisque, the ‘trinity’, herbs de provence, rubs. We don’t just cook, broil, or grill. We now brine, baste, sear, and braise. When I said food has become like a sport, this is what I mean. There are sports fans who basically want to know the score. And there are sports fans who can discuss at length the merits of specific rules, the strategies behind each specific play in the playbook, and the relative talents of each player.

That leads to another phenomenon. Sports nuts have lots of equipment. A guy can basically play baseball with a glove, a bat and a ball. Or he can have several mitts, several bats for different situations, batting gloves, baseball pants and shoes, and so on. My wife now has gone beyond the basic cookware to a plethora of pots and pans and assorted accessories, the purposes of which are often a mystery to me. Now she has more kitchen tools than I have power tools. In fact some of her kitchen tools are power tools. When she uses them she has this bizarre look on her face that usual means I should go away, but that I will eat very well before the night is through.

Just as sports enthusiasts acquire all manner of books and specialty magazines, the same is happening with food. There are numerous magazines all about food and cooking. Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray have their own food themed magazines. Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Eating Well are a few others. My wife has countless recipes from these and other magazines, as well as downloaded from the Food Network Web site and other sources. And whereas sports teams have their playbooks, those into the sport of food have their cookbooks. Boy, does my wife have her cookbooks. If I live to be 100 and eat three meals a day, we will perhaps sample half of the recipes therein. Wherever we travel we usually visit a bookstore. I pick up something from the history section, a good novel, or the classics of literature. If I lose myself browsing, she is always easy to find—in the cookbook section.

While this food obsession seems to me at times to be out of hand, we may need to continue watching the food shows and reading the food magazines. That’s because there are still some things I don’t understand. For example, if cheese is essentially mold, what makes cheese get moldy? What makes Teflon stick to the pan?

But these are things to ponder over dinner. Let’s eat!

Muskegon Right to Get Butts Off Beach

2007-02-13T16:07:00.000-08:00

Kudos to our neighbors to the north.

Muskegon is looking at the possibility of banning smoking from city beaches, according to an article in the Muskegon Chronicle.

They say they removed more than 4,000 butts, and that cigarette related trash is significantly more than food trash. Which proves a theory I have: since smokers don't care about their own bodies, they are slobs when it comes to public places. They treat the beautiful beach that belongs to all of us as if it is their personal ashtray.

I say go Muskegon. And may Grand Haven follow suit quickly. I know, some will complain that smoking is being banned all over the place and that the beach is outside, for goodness sake. Right, but if smokers can't handle the responsibility of properly discarding their smoking trash, then they shouldn't have the right to smoke on the beach.

Snuff said.

Some Facts Enlighten Discussion About Teacher Pay

2007-02-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Recently, the Tribune published an editorial from another newspaper that was critical of teacher pay. That editorial prompted several angry letters to the editor. So angry in fact, that the editor had to respond to those letters.

Teacher compensation is clearly a sensitive issue. But the debate usually devolves into symbols and assumptions. For example, commenting what kinds of cars teachers drive could be an indication that they are paid better than some suspect. But it could also mean that the teacher has a spouse with a good job that allows them to afford a premium vehicle. Or maybe some teachers chose to go into more debt and get a car they really can’t afford on a teacher’s salary.

Similarly, in this debate there are many assumptions. Teachers assume they work harder than people realize, but it may be they don’t realize how hard others work by comparison. Also, many assume teachers are poorly paid because that claim is uttered so often. But few ever really explain how a teacher’s pay compares to that of other jobs.

So it was interesting timing that we had this debate again in our local paper in the same week that the Manhattan Institute issued a report called “How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?” You can read the full report for yourself online at www.manhattan-institute.org.

The focus of the report is to add some facts to the constant assumptions underlying the debate. The organization did a national survey of compensation of teachers and other professions on an hourly basis for more meaningful comparison. In other words, comparing annual salaries doesn’t make sense because teachers have more time off and often work on nine-month contracts. While teachers might argue that they work very hard during those nine months, often taking work home, the study considered that. They note that those in many other professions also take work home. I can attest to this point personally. Before I became a full-time professor I worked as a professional journalist and public relations professional. I would concede that hours worked in any job is not confined to time in the office, but overlaps considerably to the home, evenings, and weekends. The data in the Manhattan Institute report includes total hours worked for perhaps the most truthful salary comparison we have.

So, what do the numbers tell us when pay is compared in this equitable fashion? Here are some highlights straight from the report:

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average public school teacher in the United States earned $34.06 per hour in 2005.

• The average public school teacher was paid 36% more per hour than the average non-sales white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty and technical worker.

• Full-time public school teachers work on average 36.5 hours per week during weeks that they are working. By comparison, white-collar workers (excluding sales) work 39.4 hours, and professional specialty and technical workers work 39.0 hours per week. Private school teachers work 38.3 hours per week.

• Compared with public school teachers, editors and reporters earn 24% less; architects, 11% less; psychologists, 9% less; chemists, 5% less; mechanical engineers, 6% less; and economists, 1% less.

• Compared with public school teachers, airplane pilots earn 186% more; physicians, 80% more; lawyers, 49% more; nuclear engineers, 17% more; actuaries, 9% more; and physicists, 3% more.

• Public school teachers are paid 61% more per hour than private school teachers, on average nationwide.

• The Detroit metropolitan area has the highest average public school teacher pay among metropolitan areas for which data are available, at $47.28 per hour, followed by the San Francisco metropolitan area at $46.70 per hour, and the New York metropolitan area at $45.79 per hour.

From these facts, I’d like to make a few observations about the issue of teacher pay. One, I would stress that teachers should be well paid. I don’t even have kids in school. But as a citizen, I believe in the importance of quality education. Kids who receive a good education in K-12 will be more fun for me to teach when they get to college. Also, good education provides more labor for our local economy, and these jobs in turn lower crime rates. So, with education being such a vital social and economic factor, we should compensate teachers well for the influence they have.

Secondly, teachers ARE paid well. As the statistics show, when figured on an apples-to-apples comparison, teachers do very well compared to other professions. So I now have a factual basis with which to disregard any whining from teachers about not being fairly compensated. Especially when you figure that teachers in Michigan are among the highest paid in the country, and that the benefits package on top of salary is the envy of most workers in any profession.

There are many related issues in the debate about education. But the facts above speak for themselves with regard to teacher pay. I’d suggest all sides stop arguing based on impressions, and start with an honest admission of the facts.

Class dismissed.

What the Tri-Cities Y Should Try, and Why

2007-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

Local newspaper reports and subsequent evidence show that the new Tri-Cities YMCA director is working on a membership drive. Their message is centered around the fact that people should join to fulfill New Year's Resolutions to get healthy. The incentive is a waiver of initiation fees.

Not so sophisticated an approach in my opinion. For one, the same strategy has been tried by every health club on the planet. This does nothing to distinguish the Y from Norton Pines and other local options for exercising.

More importatly, the Y needs to ask its current members about their satisfaction level. People talk more than ads do. There are some issues with parking, hours, the state of the facilities--particularly the hot tub and sauna, as well as some exercie equipment--and maybe other factors as well. Beyond that, the Y should look at membership trends and see if there is any pattern that should be addressed. Related to that, exit interviews with people who did not renew or went elsewhere should be seriously considered before trying to lure in new members.

Messages as they are seem to assume that everyone wants to join the Y, they just need to know about it. That's naive. A little advertising exercise is needed before the new Y director is in shape for the promotion game.

I Blog, Therefore I Am

2007-01-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

By now, many of you have heard of this phenomenon called “blogs.” It’s one of those modern terms that combines two words, Web log, into one: blog. As the name implies, a blog is essentially a log or diary kept by an individual online.

There are many types of blogs. Some company presidents keep blogs. Politicians are writing blogs. But the overwhelming majority of blogs are by everyday, average people. They write about everything from the inane to the insightful. There are a lot of kids blogging about what they did that day, who they like at school and so forth. Others are taking on major social issues and bringing forth viewpoints not found in the mainstream media. Bloggers have been credited with breaking major news stories, creating buzz about a product, and affecting public opinion.

Communication professors like myself get all excited about this sort of thing. It’s something new to study and talk about. This blog trend is radically changing the media landscape by putting the tools of communicating to large audiences into the hands of the citizens. Concepts like “media democracy,” “social media” and “consumer sovereignty” keep cropping up.

I won’t get into a full discussion of the pros and cons of all of that in this column, though. On a more basic level, the blog phenomenon—also called the “blogosphere”—is interesting to contemplate. According to Blog Pulse there are 40 million blogs, with another 40 thousand new blogs added each day! Others estimate even more blogs are out there. So now technology has devised ways to search blogs for topics relevant to specific interest categories. As one reader noted on a site called technorati that helps “tag” blogs with key words that identify their content, “With 55 million blogs, at least some of them have to be good.”

I have also read surveys in which very few people indicate they have ever read a blog. It seems that only a few blogs are read with any regularity. The remaining millions are just voices in the blogosphere wilderness. This raises the question: why blog?

In the 17th century the French philospher Rene Descartes said “I think, therefore I am.” It’s a simple statement but with deeply profound philosophical implications. While the exact meaning of the quote is debated, some have maintained that it means people are certain of their existence, or significance, because of their ability to think. It may be a loose connection, but today I think many people are blogging not because they have anything important to say, but because they feel with so many other bloggers out there they must join in to lend proof of or significance to their existence. On the other hand, maybe they just think it’s fun to blog.

I have decided to blog for several reasons. I started a local professional blog last year because I thought it was a way for me to offer commentary on my profession—public relations and advertising. It’s a local blog because I only discuss matters related to advertising and public relations here in West Michigan. There are many blogs just about public relations, and I thought I couldn’t really add a lot to that conversation. But by focusing locally, I can perhaps do something meaningful. I am asked often for my opinion on subjects like this, so I decided to get proactive. So, it is a way to facilitate discussion about my profession. If you want to read this blog, “GRPR”, it can be found at http://gr-pr.blogspot.com

Now, I have decided to start a second blog focused on the Tri-Cities. This also will be a way to facilitate discussion, and to have fun. Many of you have asked me if my columns are online. Some are, at the Grand Haven Tribune Web site. But I thought that, beginning this month, I will start posting them to a new blog, called “Pier Points.” As I have time, I will add previous columns for the full archive to be there. I only write a column once a month, but I often have more than one thought a month! So I may use this new blog to post comments on Tri-Cities or other issues periodically between columns as well. The best part about the blog is that you can post comments to a specific item right in the blog. You can also continue to use the “Letters to the Editor” section of the Tribune.

If you are interested in reading the blog, you can find it at http://.pierpoints.blogspot.com

See you in the blogosphere.

The Best Christmas Gift--Not Shopping

2006-12-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

My wife and I recently watched the DVD “Christmas With the Cranks,” a comedy based on the John Grisham novel “Skipping Christmas.” It was hilarious and thought provoking, as good comedy should be.

The story is of a family in suburban Chicago whose only daughter has joined the Peace Corps. Since they envision her being away for two years, the husband gets to thinking. He also gets to calculating. He determines that all they spend on Christmas every year could be saved and spent on a cruise instead, with cash to spare.

It takes him some time to convince his wife to go along with it. But then the troubles begin. Office workers are miffed that he won’t play along with the gift-giving rituals at work. Neighbors are incensed that they don’t decorate their home with the Frosty the Snowman on the roof. And the policemen are suspicious when he doesn’t purchase the annual fundraising calendar. Friends are perturbed that they aren’t having their annual Christmas Eve party. Then, chaos ensues when their daughter declares she’s coming home with a new Ecuadoran boyfriend with just hours before Christmas Eve. The couple scrambles to put together a party and welcome their daughter home without letting on they had planned a cruise instead of their family tradition.

Moral of the story? It is nearly impossible to fight social norms and rituals.

So, how did we get this tradition of giving gifts at Christmas? Well, of course the obvious answer is to trace it back to the three wise men described in the Bible. They brought gifts to the newborn Jesus (or some say he was two years old by the time the wise men got to him). But our gift giving has strayed a bit from that original example. For one, while gold is still popular, it’s hard to find frankincense these days, and I’ve never seen myrrh at the mall. Secondly, the wise men bought gifts for Jesus, not for each other.

I think that Christmas gift-giving, like many traditions, started with good intentions and then lost its mooring and meaning.

Today, Christmas is a secular celebration of retail revenues. Stories in the news are about what kind of holiday shopping season retailers expect, how our shopping activity will affect the economy, and what the trendy gifts and gadgets are. There are many vague references to the “true meaning of Christmas” that are never explained, but the implications are about giving to others—not necessarily a bad thing—versus the message of God’s gift of his Son as a savior to mankind. It makes me think that the wisest men and women among us today would stop shopping.

Well, if there is not a star in the east, there is a bright spot on the Internet. It’s called buynothingchristmas.org. It’s a Web site spawned by a movement to, as the name implies, buy nothing at Christmas. If only the Cranks had such support in the movie.

I quote here from the introduction on the Web site:

“This Christmas we'll be swamped with offers, ads and invitations to buy more stuff. But now there's a way to say enough and join a movement dedicated to reviving the original meaning of Christmas giving.
Buy Nothing Christmas is a national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites but open to everyone with a thirst for change and a desire for action.
Buy Nothing Christmas is a stress-reliever, and more people need to hear about it. You can change your world by simply putting up one of the posters (or make your own) in your church, place of worship, home or work. Be sneaky about it if you have to. The point is to get people thinking. It's an idea whose time has come, so get out there and make a difference!”

The poster referenced is an image of Jesus face and the words: “Where did I say you should buy so much stuff to celebrate my birthday?” It’s a free download.

They have other resources as well. There’s a song called “Buy Nothing at All” you can download. There are kits for plays and other Christmas activities. And there are a host of ideas for giving “love” at Christmas, such as cakes and coupons you can make for a free back massage.

May tradition still has you bound. Maybe you can go shopping for sweaters and DVDs and other stuff and still celebrate the Christmas. But I think this Web site and its philosophy are worth checking out. As an item in a youth group study kit says: “Image is everything? Well don’t get pegged as a mindless consumer. Be a rebel this Christmas.”

Of course, on that I would say buying nothing at Christmas is not rebellion. It’s a recognition that we in this modern secular tradition have been rebelling against the “true meaning of Christmas” all along.

Setting Clocks Back Ticks Me Off

2006-11-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

So, as usual, we set our clocks back this fall. It has become a ritual. As I understand it, this “daylight savings time” was first enacted to give farmers and others who needed it more daylight to do chores in the short days of winter. But I got to thinking about it this year, and feel that it’s really a bunch of malarkey.

First of all, we’re not really saving any daylight. We have the exact same amount no matter what we do with our clocks. We’re merely shifting our schedules. And while this might seem to be a benefit when there is more light in the morning for a while, we lose this perceptual benefit very quickly. In a few weeks, after the sun has continued on its seasonal quest for the southern hemisphere, we in the north will drive to work in the dark and drive home in the dark whether we shifted our clocks or not.

But of course we have to mind the time. Everything is coordinated by hours and minutes in modern society. Schools, work, transportation schedules, and of course, the big one—television! If there were no time, we would fall apart.

I also wonder why the clock changing happens around Halloween. We enact this futile attempt to save daylight right about the time all the little pre-school pirates and wee witches come out begging for candy. They’re all dressed to scare the living daylights out of us, thus negating any savings of said daylight we might have actually accrued.

Actually, speaking of ancient customs like Halloween, the whole concept of a “clock” is pretty ancient. Around the year 1000 I’m sure men and women and children merely woke up when it was light. They then made us of available daylight until it was time to return to the hut or cave to build a fire for warmth, light and cooking. Eventually they went to sleep, and started the process over again the next day. There was no real concept of time. It was irrelevant. In fact, if anyone referred to time they would have been clubbed on the head. Can you imagine some guy named Grog stretching by the fire and saying, “Well, I’m gonna turn in early. I need to get up at 6 a.m. to hunt and gather.”

It’s a bit funny that we consider ourselves so civilized today. But in creating time and timepieces, we have imprisoned ourselves to a degree. We are addicted to knowing what time it is. We ask each other that question frequently. We have appointments set by time, not by when we are ready to do something. Our work is measured by time, “time and a half”, over time. We are delighted when we have time off. In fact, it is when we are most like the cavemen of millennia ago that we feel privileged now. How often have you heard someone boast about being on vacation and not even looking at a clock? Exactly. It’s freedom.

But, for better or worse, civilization is guided by time. And we try to manage the inevitable rotation of the sun and the planets according to our schedule. How laughable. As the Bible says, we can be certain of the “rising of the sun and the setting of the same,” so why get in such a dither about changing our man-made time-measuring devices. I hear that for our neighbors to the south, in Indiana, coordinating time zones was a key ballot proposal this election day. It’s as if a majority of voters can take on God and say, “Let there be more light in certain regions of Indiana.”

This business of time zones has me fascinated too. Having traveled internationally, I know how such time measurement can have practical value. You want to avoid calling someone when they are sleeping at 2 a.m., so being aware of different time zones is important. It can also be bizarre. One time when returning from Asia, I flew from the east to the west, going backward through time zones. When I landed that I realized that I had arrived home one hour before I left. At least according to the way mankind keeps track of dates and time. In reality I had been in the air some 14 hours. Period. No big deal. But these self-constructions of time can blow our minds on occasion.

I suppose nothing will change. As hard as it is to change clocks twice a year, it would be even more difficult to change the way the world perceives of this thing called time. But as for myself, I’m going to try to not get so obsessed about it personally.

“Time waits for no man,” the saying goes. I say, that’s fine. Time, you go on ahead without me.

It's Sometimes Hard to Have Faith In Government

2006-10-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

As an undergraduate student, I majored in journalism and minored in political science and marketing. As a doctoral candidate, I am exploring how democracy is enhanced or hindered by the journalism and public relations professions. So I’m a fan of democratic government.

But I have to say that it has been hard to have faith in government lately. I keep reading about government goofs, and worse, at the local, state, and national levels.

Just recently I was shocked at a quote in this very newspaper by a local elected official who shared this gem of wisdom: “the people buying the condos in downtown Grand Haven might have more than one car.”

Ya think?!

Let’s see. Is it really surprising that people buying condos that cost twice an average middle class home might have the financial means to buy a second set of wheels? Is it hard to imagine that the people buying these condos, which are very likely a second home, would be the kind of people to buy a second vehicle as well? One only need take random glances at the driveways on Grant, Pennoyer or any other street in Grand Haven to see that two vehicles is the norm. You don’t need to be an honor student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard to determine parking needs. You should, though, if you are a local government leader, think about these things before the condos are built, before the site plans are approved. It’s called “planning.” Look into it.

My wife and I and countless other individuals walking along the channel have wondered aloud about the parking issue that is emerging in Grand Haven. New residents downtown might indeed have two cars. They might want to have friends over. New businesses and residents will draw more people to town. This is good. But they will all need to park. If they can’t, they might not come back. This is bad. What’s the plan?

Moving on to the county level, I’ve been amused and dismayed to read about Ottawa County’s $40,000 spelling error. Sure, mistakes happen. But spelling “public” wrong on a ballot is hard to fathom. You could say it’s an “l” of a mistake. Maybe they should have left it as is, saved us all a lot of money, and probably increased voter turnout. We know from pollsters in Florida that the average American can’t read a ballot anyway. The $40,000 saved on reprinting ballots could have been used to provide signage for new Grand Haven parking lots. Less the fee of a parking consultant, and a spelling consultant to make sure the signs are correct.

At the state level, I’ve been dismayed by the gubernatorial debates. I’ve also really always wanted to use the word gubernatorial in a sentence. Now I’ve done it twice. Anyway, you would think that a debate between people who hope to represent all of us could have the civility we all expect and deserve. Instead, the tone and informational quality of these debates was on par with reality TV. Call it “Survivor: Political Debate.” Can we vote them both off the island?

At the national level, we’ve also got sex scandals—again. An insane narcissist in North Korea is developing nuclear weapons, but our news has been about a senator sending naughty messages to a congressional page. In a sense, this breach of trust is big news. But you’d think our leaders could lead and represent us in a way that would make us proud. How can we trust our economy and defense to people we can’t trust to be around young people? Of course, I can’t resist pointing out the hypocrisy here as well. Get this: a senator gets caught sending naughty emails to a page and appropriately resigns, and TIME magazine declares the end of the Republican party. But when we had a sitting Democratic president who actually had sex in the oval office with an intern, and lied about it, we were chastised for not separating a person’s personal life from their ability to do their job. Had Senator Foley been a Democrat, he would be declared a “victim” for being accused of anything, and anyone who pointed out his misdeeds would have been labeled a homophobe.

The only concrete action the federal government has taken recently has been to approve building a 700-mile fence along our 2000-mile border with Mexico. Perhaps we should have the legislators proposing this take a long walk on a short pier. Or, maybe leave the border alone and fence in the congressional pages, or the senate, or both—but not together.

I’m not sure how all of this is related. Government issues from local to national, from parking to sex. I guess there is one connection between parking and sex: it should be illegal and morally unconscionable to pay for either one.

Drive-In a Way to Look Ahead to the Past

2006-09-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my wife and I read in this paper that the Getty Drive-In Theatre and Muskegon would be closing. We looked at each other and said, “have you ever been to a drive-in?” Neither of us had. So we decided to go just to say we had known the experience before it was permanently lost to a previous era.

Apparently, many of you thought the same thing.

The Getty is still open. Judging from a recent visit, it appears to even be thriving. After the threat of closure, many West Michigan residents re-acquainted themselves with the drive-in experience, and many more were introduced to the idea for the first time. It has led to a resurgence in drive-in movie-goers.

By coincidence, I read an article in TIME magazine about drive-ins in August, during the same week that we took my nephew to the Getty Theatre to give him the drive in experience. TIME notes that after the first drive-in came into existence in Camden, New Jersey in 1933, the concept grew steadily. But, like many other things in modern life, the drive-in fell prey to air-conditioned megaplex theatres, VCRs, DVDs, TiVo, video on demand via cable television, and the ability to download films from the Internet. By 1995 there were fewer than 500 drive-ins left in the country.

But, since then, the number has grown to 658. Why the turnaround? There are lots of opinions and theories, with truth in all of them.

One reason has to be price. The Getty offers double features for a reasonable rate compared to conventional theatres. With no need to build and maintain a large indoor theatre, they can keep their costs low.

Another reason has to be the combination of two great American pastimes—camping and movie watching. At the drive-in, you can sit outdoors—or recline in the seat of your vehicle—and watch the film. You can be outside in the fresh air and be entertained by the latest feature films. It’s sort of like a silver screen campfire.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that our summers are preciously short in Michigan. People can’t give up their entertainment addiction, but they also want to be outside while the weather is nice. The drive-in accommodates both desires simultaneously.

I also think there is something about humanity that periodically rejects the inevitable onslaught of technology. With all the electronic entertainment options we have, there is a pull to the simplicity of the drive-in experience. For the young, of course, it may simply be something “new” to them. But for others, it may feel refreshing to unwind figuratively along with the literal unwinding of the reel of film.

It is interesting. I looked around at the setting when we were at the Getty recently and couldn’t help but think about scenes in the developing world that were ironically similar. I was in the Philippines once and noticed a billboard for the movie “Back to the Future” in a remote part of the country. In this case, I was told, it was likely a bootlegged VHS copy of the film that would be shown by battery-powered projector onto a bed sheet hung from a tree. The locals loved it. Of course, for them it may have been their only option.

A few weeks ago, sitting in camp chairs on the little grassy berm in front of our car, I enjoyed the two films as a bit of nostalgia. I was experiencing something I had only known about from the old TV show “Happy Days” or other historical references. For my nephew, Matthew, it was a new experience. There were some surprises for the eight-year-old.

“I thought there would be sounds in the movie; I didn’t expect speakers next to the car or sounds on the car radio,” he said. “I expected the screens to be smaller.”

He also expressed a few disappointments.

“I didn’t like sitting outside and watching the movie because it was getting kinda cold,” he admitted, although he did say there was a better view outside compared to a regular theatre. He also liked that you got to see two movies—even though he fell asleep during the second feature.

So, drive-ins persist against the advance of time. It’s modern entertainment in a nostalgic setting. Many are choosing drive-ins against options that would seem more convenient and comfortable. For all the advances in technology, human beings still have a basic yearning for simplicity. There’s something reassuring about that.

If you want to know what I mean, there are only a few more weeks of drive-in season left.

Being A Tourist Helps One Appreciate Tourists

2006-08-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

OK. I admit to having been a snob. Living in the Tri-Cities created in me a certain feeling of entitlement to the wonderful benefits of our area. I found myself annoyed with the additional traffic, parking hassles, and other inconveniences of tourists in Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Ferrysburg.

But I recently came to feel a little more sensitive to the feelings of tourists when I was one myself.

I’m writing this in a hotel room in Napa Valley, California—and in several airports and airplanes en route to West Michigan—and reflecting on what it means to be and host tourists.

Several times in California we heard locals comment negatively about tourists. In San Francisco there were several shopkeepers and people on public transportation who complained about the extra crowds getting in the way. Up along the Pacific Coast and in Napa Valley we overheard locals complain as well about long lines at restaurants, crowds at beaches, slow traffic, and scarce parking spaces. The owner of a new coffee shop expressed delight at “tourist season” because her cash register was really ringing, but mostly people were put off by out of towners.

It was interesting to hear this commentary and know that it was about me, even if not directed specifically to me. I have felt the same way in the summer months when stopping somewhere to get coffee, going out for a meal, trying to park at the state park beach, waiting to turn left onto Beacon Boulevard. In California, away from home, I had become the very subject of my frustration.

But I can see things the tourists’ way now. While I was on business, I also was in an area I have not been to often. So, I wanted to go slow, look around, and enjoy myself at a relaxed pace. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I should try to do that more often at home. I’ll try to be more patient with people who drive slow, gawk at the water and otherwise seem “in the way.” I can’t begrudge them a desire to look around. We live in a beautiful place, and they want to see it. They are on vacation and want to relax. I should let tourists serve as a reminder that I should not take our area’s beauty for granted. I should follow their lead and relax more.

Another thing I noticed—or will notice at the end of the next credit card billing cycle—is how much money I spent. The food, transportation and a few other activities and items I consumed will single-handedly support the central Californian economy for the next month, or so it seems.

I now have something else to think about while I wait in line at Tri-Cities restaurants and other establishments. All the people I’m waiting for are unloading their vacation funds from somewhere else into our local economy. They are giving local retailers and vendors and good profit, which enables them to be here in the first place and serve all of us locals year round. I can be more patient in line now.

The following thought also occurred to me--would we really rather live in an area where no one wants to visit? Rather than be bothered by the influx of traffic and activity to our area in the summer, we should be proud of the endorsement of the Tri-Cities as a “destination” for vacationers.

Often when I visit a place I wonder what it would be like to live there. I wondered that along the coast of California at ocean beaches, in sprawling farms of Napa, in small villages like Calistoga in the hills and mountains. And I admit, it could be a beautiful place to live. But I hear that comment about Grand Haven and Ottawa County a lot from tourists I happen to talk to. They often comment that it must be great to live here. I always agree.

Heading home again I look forward to the not only the familiar, but the fabulous. We have a great place to live. And for the remaining weeks of summer when I encounter out of state plates, slow traffic, lines at stores and restaurants and questions about the obvious, I’ll be happy. And I’ll be helpful, answering questions and offering tips about the area whenever I can. I’ll do so because I understand that they are on vacation, and I understand again that I am lucky to live year-round in an area they chose to visit for a week.

Vision for Parks Needs to Continue

2006-07-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

A recent issue of TIME Magazine included a package of articles about Teddy Roosevelt. Now 100 years removed from the middle of his second term as president, it is interesting to look at this man and his vision for the country as it entered a new century. One aspect of his visionary legacy that stands out is his understanding of the need for parks.

In his first term (1901-1904), TIME reports, he created five national parks and 50 bird and other animal reservations. Roosevelt, who developed a love of the outdoors after dealing with asthma as a child, wanted to ensure that all Americans in future generations could enjoy our great country’s great natural attributes as he had.

There is rarely if ever a legacy that did not begin with a vision. And so, 100 years after Roosevelt was president, I was impressed to receive a brochure about the vision for Ottawa County parks that is equated with our own legacy as the residents of this county. Titled “Our Parks…Our Families…Our Legacy”, the brochure spells out the numerous accomplishments of the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission in the past decade. It also illustrates planned initiatives for parks throughout the county in the years ahead. And, it makes the important point that it will take the vision and investment of all of us to ensure that these initiatives can come to fruition. The purpose of the brochure, distributed by the Ottawa County Parks Millage Renewal Committee, is to vote “yes” to renew the Land Legacy millage first approved in 1996.

The original concept of a park, according to various sources, is a place free of houses and other structures for the nobles to go and hunt. In our modern era, a park is better known as an area of open space for citizens to enjoy recreation. One hundred years ago, when Roosevelt proposed setting aside large tracts of federal land as parks, he had preservation of land and the access of the common man in mind. Some back then, in a vast open country, may have considered such actions unnecessary. But again, he had vision.

Here in Ottawa County in 2006, the vision is easier to grasp. As the well-monied “nobles” of our day acquire private properties on Lake Michigan and inland lakes and rivers, it is increasingly important that we ensure access to these natural resources for the common man. And even away from the water, the time to preserve open space for recreation is now. According to U.S. Census data, Ottawa County grew by 7.2% from 2000-2005, to a population of more than 255,000. To put that in perspective, we have 566 square miles in the county. In 2000, there were 421 people per square mile; now we’re up to 451 people per square mile and growing. That’s two and a half times the population density of the State of Michigan overall.

Ironically, one of the reasons people move here is because of the open space and access to recreational waters. While growth is good for the economy and brings many benefits, it is also important to plan for growth and to ensure that it is sustainable. Environmentalists, business owners, and government leaders all have the same at stake here—ensuring a quality of life that will retain employees, customers, citizens and taxpayers.

As I looked through the brochure that came in the mail, it was not just a pitch for money or an accumulation of data. I read it as a scrap book of good memories as I reviewed all the Ottawa County parks. I recalled frequent hikes at Rosy Mound, walking with county naturalists at the newly acquired North Ottawa Dunes property, biking the Musketawa Trail, kayaking the Grand and Pigeon rivers, cross-country skiing at Pigeon Creek and Hemlock Crossing parks, and anticipating all of these activities and more at the newly acquired lands planned to become parks. The vision of county leaders and citizens in the past made all of this recreation possible for me—a common man. The same is true I know for many of you.

I’m not a rich man, but I feel wealthy when I consider where I live. Every time I fly home from Miami, New Orleans, San Francisco or anywhere else, I glance down from the airplane window and delight at the site of the Lake Michigan shoreline, the dunes, the rivers and lakes, and the spreading green below. And while many other regions of the country have exciting attributes, I consider myself lucky to live here for the natural quality of life we enjoy.

And even though I am not rich, I can certainly afford $16.65—that’s the amount per year this .33 mills proposed will cost the owner of a $100,000 home. As the brochure says, that’s about the same as a fast food restaurant meal for three. It’s certainly less than the cost to fill up an SUV or a boat these days. It’s even less than the $24 for an annual state park vehicle pass. I’m going to vote “yes” to invest that amount to maintain and grow our parks, to establish our legacy. I hope you’ll do the same.

Family and Friends Show Focus in Funeral

2006-06-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

It had all the ingredients of a made-for-TV story. There was an unusual turn of events, and plenty of raw human emotion. And so news media from around the world, both broadcasters and print reporters, arrived in west Michigan to cover this compelling story, the funeral of Laura VanRyn.

You’ve no doubt heard the story yourself about VanRyn, of Caledonia, and her fellow college student Whitney Cerak, of Gaylord. The two Taylor University students were in an accident six weeks ago. At the time, officials declared the Cerak had died and that VanRyn had survived with serious brain and other injuries. For several weeks, families thought it was VanRyn at the Spectrum Health Brain Injury Center. Only recently did the truth emerge—officials had mistaken the identities of the two young women. VanRyn was the one who had passed away.

That mistake is what made all of this newsworthy for the media. This was little reporting about the original accident beyond the local and regional media where the two women lived and went to school. But this past weekend, reporters from CNN, the New York Times, People Magazine and many other national media outlets came to west Michigan to tell this story of mistaken identities, shock, and grief.

But the national media perhaps got a different story at the funeral.

Van Ryn’s father, Don, set the tone for a different story right away when he began the funeral by addressing the misidentification and that some people had encouraged them to file a lawsuit. Such a scenario could have easily been expected. One only has to watch cable TV coverage of various accidents and crimes to see the story drag out as a legal battle. But VanRyn put any notions of that to rest by speaking from his Christian perspective that Christ encourages us to forgive rather than to seek vengeance.

His perspective was followed and reinforced repeatedly. Laura’s siblings recalled her simple capacity for happiness. Her college roommates and friends shared her college sports and academic accomplishments. All of them spoke of her—and their own--faith in Jesus Christ, and what that means at a time like this. It was all very moving, as might be expected at a funeral. But it was all the more moving for the peaceful, positive flavor of the event.

It so happens that two of my friends and colleagues who are members of the West Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America responded to a request from Kentwood Community Church, where the funeral was held, to help handle the large number of reporters at the event. Neither felt the media were particularly surprised at the expressions of faith, since the family’s Web log (blog) about Laura had been publicized and included many spiritual themes. But both said it was interesting watching the media reaction to the event.

“It was interesting standing in the back of the media room and watching their reactions as speaker after speaker essentially preached the Gospel for an hour and a half,” said Bruce Schedlbauer, who normally handles communication for the Ford International Airport. “By watching their faces I could see a little curiosity and wonder at how the family and friends conducted themselves in the midst of this painful event.”

Overall, both of my friends said the media conducted themselves very well. Rather than exploit the occasion for a sensational story, as some criticize the media of doing, the reporters at the event respected the family’s wishes for privacy at a very personal moment. They also dealt with the faith aspect in different ways.

“I would say that there were different levels of sophistication when it came to how the service was covered,” recalls Phil DeHaan, who handles media relations at Calvin College. “Some media made only passing mention of the faith of the family; other outlets centered their coverage on the relationship the VanRyns have with their Lord and Savior.”

DeHaan notes that one station in Indianapolis actually read from the family’s blog, quoting Psalm 18 on the air. He also points out that the ABC reporter had attended a Christian college, and the People Magazine reporter had family in the area. So not all national media representatives find matters of faith to be foreign or beneath mention.

Beyond the media reaction, I wonder about the reactions of their viewers and readers across the country. At times when we do seem so consumed by news of violence, hatred, and revenge, I would hope that in comparison the testimony of the VanRyns and their faith community provides hope. It’s that difference that makes this story newsworthy to me.

In the end the story did have a turn of events and deep human emotion, but perhaps not what lots of people expected. A story that could have been about anger was instead about peace and forgiveness. The prospect of sudden anguish and doubt was overwhelmed by the peace flowing from a deep and long-held faith. An incident described as being about confusion at a time of death became a message about certainty in this life and the next.