Traverse City Record-Eagle

Betty Werth: Twin themes of golf and taxes
Steve was all set to fill in our tax return a few weeks ago and then decided to go hit balls in the yard. The course wasn't open yet, but that never stops him. Golf is all he can think about. In fact, every time I brought up taxes, he brought up golf, as if the topics are related.
Betty Werth: The art of looking good
You've seen those studies that say "The average American spends two years of his life waiting at traffic signals." I want someone to do a study on how long we spend looking for our glasses. I suspect I have already wasted five years looking for my glasses, and I've only had them for six.
Betty Werth: This is a 'hot spot' -- really
When it comes to the best spots to live on God's green earth, northern Michigan is sometimes referred to as a "best-kept secret." That "secret" is particularly well hidden right now when, at first glance, this looks like where hell finally froze over. But once the snow melts and spring arrives, it's hard to find any place prettier.
Betty Werth: Reality show makes sense
As I was lying on my couch one day I came across a home fix-up show. The camera panned in on a pale whale of a house -- shabby, overgrown and stuffed to the dormers with junk. A van roared up and 60 minutes later the house was clean, trim and looking 50 years younger. I wonder if they make people calls?
Betty Werth: The 'perfect' New Year's Eve
Have you ever had a "perfect" New Year's Eve? The kind that was so much fun you want to do it again the exact same way? And no matter how hard you try, you can't repeat those same exact steps, regenerate that same euphoria, re-align those same stars?
Betty Werth: Turkey lore: Read it and eat it
If you are a red-blooded American, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas you will be having turkey for dinner. Statistically, it's almost un-American not to. Ninety percent of American homes serve turkey for Thanksgiving (!) and 50 percent also serve it for Christmas. (The turkey industry obviously does pretty well but I wonder about the actual turkeys. Do they get their cut?)
Betty Werth: Deer: Trying to keep things even
Over the years I have written about the firearm deer season from a number of different angles. I have examined its purpose, its history, its credo, its grip. I have looked at its food, fashion, weapons and accoutrements. From where I sit there's only one critical point of view left.
Betty Werth: Halloween is your chance to be fat
I don't know just when this happened, but Halloween has been taken over by adults. Having declared it too unsafe and/or pagan for kids, adults have snatched the holiday away like taking candy from a ... yeah. Exactly.
Disturbing signs of the times
I don't know much about football, but when U-M and Notre Dame teams both lost one weekend, and the Lions won, one of my co-workers said, "Good heavens. It's Armageddon." I knew God would send a sign, but I never thought he'd do it through sports.
Betty Werth: No predicting this summer's great weather
It has been a spectacularly beautiful summer if you like 80-90-degree temperatures, brilliant blue skies, and enough sun to freckle an albino.