Traverse City Record-Eagle

Ed Hungness: Reflecting on 'Reflections'
Last week I quietly observed the anniversary of writing this column for the Record-Eagle. Friends often ask how I come up with ideas for my column, which appears every other Sunday in the Northern Living section. Sometimes I wonder about that myself!
Ed Hungness: Measure twice, cut once
Not long ago I began working on a project in my favorite hangout. I started insulating the garage with the goal of eventually installing a shop heater that would keep it warm enough to melt the ice and snow off the vehicles and keep the floor dry during the winter months.
Ed Hungness: Navigating the golden years
This past fall, one could hardly read a newspaper or surf through the TV channels and not encounter a recent update about the swine flu -- or H1N1 as it is called. During the drum-beating period, I had my annual physical.
Ed Hungness: Radio's 'golden age'
Being a radio buff since the '50s, this little listening experience brought back some fond memories of radio's good old days. I feel fortunate to have enjoyed a portion of what was called radio's "golden age."
Ed Hungness: 1,000,000,000,000
Not too long ago, I saw a headline in our paper that got my attention. It said, "Senate passes $1.1 trillion bill." Like most old guys, I sometimes have too much time on my hands and I began to wonder how much that actually was.
Ed Hungness: Milestones mark the path
Sometimes I hear or read a word that perks up my interest. Recently, I heard someone use the word "milestone."
Ed Hungness: What were they thinking?
Thanksgiving is over for another year, and I hope most of you were able to enjoy the time visiting with friends and family during the holiday weekend.
Ed Hungess: Fife Lake's joyful noise
Thanks to the enthusiastic leadership of our choir director, Emily Elsen, the church choir is very active. Four years ago, this talented young musician became like the "the little engine that could." She had a vision of expanding the choir and molding it into a first-rate vocal group.
Ed Hungness: Enjoying being out there
The wind is blowing from the right direction this morning. I sit with my back against a white oak tree and watch as first light begins to show on the horizon. It is a cold, damp and a cloud-covered November morning.
Ed Hungness: Men buy and wait; women shop
I have come to the realization that men buy and women shop. When men go shopping, they are on a mission and their goal is to complete the mission. Women actually enjoy the process and delight in meandering through endless clothing and cosmetic departments with numerous pauses along the way.
Ed Hungness: Dinosaur likes voice
I can't imagine writing this column every two weeks without the use of my computer. I started using a computer in the '80s. Up until a few years ago I kept up with advances in new technology. I can still hold my own, but I feel like I'm being left behind in a wasteland of outdated programs and equipment.
Ed Hungness: The ever-changing outlet
Most people in this world don't even know it exists. It certainly isn't the famed beginning of the Mississippi River or the headwaters of the Nile. There were no battles fought on its banks and it doesn't even have a name. Most locals just refer to it as the Fife Lake outlet and some of us call it "the creek."
Ed Hungness: One sandy step at a time
As you approach the dune that is just north of Empire on M-109, you catch a few brief glimpses of it from afar. Your first impression is that you are seeing carpenter ants crawling up the face. As you get closer you realize that those ants are actually people hiking to the top.
Ed Hungness: Bittersweet Labor Day
On the first Monday of every September we observe Labor Day as we have been for more than 100 years. Labor Day honors the creators of much of our great nation's strength, freedom, wealth and leadership " the American workers. In northern Michigan, Labor Day has another significance.
Ed Hungness: Garden spoils not plentiful
One night the snow was blowing and the wind howling across the frozen lake. I was sitting in my overstuffed chair, staring into the fireplace and enjoying its radiant warmth when if finally came to me. I decided that in the spring I would plant a garden. What a stroke of genius!
Ed Hungness: Flashback to the '50s
Back in the 50s, only girls made appointments at their beauty shops. The guys simply went to the barbershop and waited their turn. I often wondered how Slim kept track of who was up next, but somehow he did. The barber you got depended on which chair was empty when it was your turn.
Ed Hungness: Judging a book by its cover
One morning my father-in-law pointed out a particular couple and he told me how they would rarely would speak to anyone they met on the street, even if they were spoken to. He mentioned that the woman in particular never smiled or made eye contact with anyone.
Ed Hungness: Where is your food from?
The majority of our electronic products, tools and appliances are made somewhere other than the USA. Our manufacturers explain that they are forced to export the manufacturing to other countries in order to compete. They claim that if they don't, they will go out of business.
Ed Hungness: Tasty summer traditions
When repeatedly visiting a particular place year after year, traditions seem to develop. Somehow they just evolve over time. Grandchildren are especially useful in creating these rituals. They have a knack for remembering little events that become etched in their minds, which are not unlike sponges.
Ed Hungness: What makes a father a dad
I read one time that any man can be a "father" but it takes a special person to be called "dad." How true it is. Fatherhood is so much more than just creating children. It carries with it a boatload of responsibilities as well.
Ed Hungness: The value of bacon grease
Do you want to get with the green movement but you cant afford a hybrid vehicle or a geo-thermal heating system? If you dont want a windmill spinning around in your back yard or cover your roof with solar panels, all you need to do is to start saving and utilizing your bacon grease.
Ed Hungeness: Times have changed
Reflecting back on my childhood days, I can remember feeling totally safe. During the summer, my neighborhood friends and I would be outside after dark, without parental supervision, playing kick-the-can or hide-and-seek.
Reflections: Ex-paper boys in good company
My favorite time of the year, except for the ice and snow, was December. It was customary for paper boys to get a tip or a Christmas present from the customers on their route. This delightful event usually took place while collecting the subscription fees during the weeks prior to Christmas.
Ed Hungness: Hope and change
I suppose another way of presenting the situation is that for every 440 homes across this great land, one homeowner is in trouble. It's still a problem but it sounds a little better, doesn't it?
Ed Hungness: Cycling through seasons
Before long the ice will be off the lake, the morels will make their brief appearance, summer residents will return and the seasonal cycle begins anew.
Ed Hungness: Behold a starry, starry night
Northern Michigan is blessed with a natural resource that the people of Detroit, Chicago and New York City don't have and probably will never enjoy. In fact, most densely populated areas of the world are lacking in this resource all together. That beautiful, free, eternal resource is starlight.
Ed Hungness: Ties that no longer bind
Recently I was sitting by the hearth enjoying a crackling fire and watching the snow drift down through the boughs of our big white pine. I had a steaming mug of hot coffee and all seemed right with the world. It's times like this, with the television turned off, that my mind begins to wander and sometimes I get inspired to write. For some reason, my thoughts were on neckties.
Ed Hungness: 'A penny saved' makes sense
If you are under 30, you might not be familiar with the phrase, "A penny saved is a penny earned." I wish I could take credit for the origination of the phrase, but I can't. Last month we were on a shopping trip to downtown Traverse City requiring us to park the car in a lot along the banks of the Boardman River. Parking meters greeted us as we exited our vehicle to begin the junket.
Ed Hungness: With resolve
I'm proud to say that in the first 38 days of 2009, I haven't broken a single one of my New Year's resolutions. Making resolutions is a curious custom that began during early Roman times. The new year was something to look forward to, like a fresh start, a new lease on life, and so on. Usually those promises to oneself revolve around change.
Ed Hungness: United, we can stand tall
It seems like we are living in the era of blamers. We even have a phrase, which describes this malady, called "the blame game." Our political representatives often point fingers at someone else rather than accepting responsibility for the messes that they get us into.
Ed Hungness: Burden of 'stuff' lifted
It's amazing how much clutter one accumulates during a lifetime. Much of what fills our closets, attics, garages and basements sits for years in boxes and never gets used. Rather than part with those things, we continue to store them and move the boxes from house to house knowing that someday we surely will find a need for whatever is in them.
Ed Hungness: What was your name again?
One of the challenges of living in a small town is that you have to remember more names. Here in Fife Lake with 500 other hearty souls there is plenty of breathing room for all of us. In the big city, it was a rarity if you ever bumped into anyone you knew. It isn't odd for us to be in Traverse City, Kingsley or Kalkaska and meet a neighbor or friend.
Ed Hungness: Old box tackles yearnings
About 10 years ago, while still living in Illinois, I received a wonderful gift. I have an uncle, my mother's brother, who has always lived in the city of Chicago. Uncle Bob, who is now in his upper 80s, decided that he was going to retire his fishing pole. During his younger years he didn't develop an interest in golf and he wasn't into spectator sports, but he loved to fish and hunt. I suppose that he began fishing as a child and, as with many of us who enjoy the pastime, it stayed with him.
Ed Hungness: Mr. Potato Head takes root
It is a once-a-year extravagance that I believe is intended to strengthen our resolve for what we are about to endure. Yes, it's time to get on with the Christmas shopping. Now I don't consider myself a Scrooge, but I wouldn't say that shopping is one of my favorite things to do. That is putting it mildly. I admit it: I hate to shop.
Ed Hungness: Full of turkey -- and thanks
Next week we celebrate one of my favorite holidays. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in some form or fashion since the early 1600s. There are many myths that have developed over the years about Pilgrims and their funny hats, Plymouth Rock and what they ate for Thanksgiving dinner. Some are true and others are stories that evolved and have been embellished along the way.
Ed Hungness: So we shall never forget
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 2,911,900 WW II veterans who are still living. Unfortunately they are passing away at the rate of 900 per day, or 328,500 per year. Nov. 11 is Veteran's Day. It's a time to honor those who have fallen in battle, who are still living, or who have quietly passed away in hospitals or nursing homes.
Ed Hungness: An 'Emerald' gem
I've always been fascinated with maps and even more so with out-of-the-way places, especially islands. Just like the Manitou Islands, which we visited last year, Beaver Island is one of those spots I wanted to add to my list of destinations. Earlier in the year, we mentioned our idea to some good friends who agreed to join us and together we made plans.
Ed Hungness: A changing stage
The words "the four seasons" may mean different things to each of you. It could be the name of a hotel where you once stayed, or it might remind you of a musical group with the same name. A few may even remember the 1981 Alan Alda movie with "the four seasons" as its title. To me it reflects the ever-changing stage upon which we live here in northern Michigan.
Ed Hungness: Change came to phone booth
You might remember the old saying about how something has "gone the way of the buggy whip," meaning there's just not a real big market for it anymore. I came to the realization the other day that just like the buggy whip it's been a while since I've seen a pay phone.
Ed Hungness: Old path gives new direction
Fortunately, we have made many new friends since moving to northern Michigan. We've met most of them through neighbors, church activities and volunteer work or at Saturday morning breakfasts. Eventually, the question comes up. "How is it that you moved to northern Michigan?" If we were talking to our friends back in Illinois, the question was a little different. They would ask, "Why in the world would you move to northern Michigan?"
Ed Hungness: 'A piece of cake' is stale
Last September, my favorite sister and brother-in-law came to spend a week with us. They live in South Carolina and often tease us about living in the Arctic. With their 105-degree temperatures and 98 percent humidity, they found the cool air of northern Michigan rather refreshing. I don't think they are quite ready to pack up their furniture and head north, but they definitely enjoy visiting the area.
Ed Hungness: If you drive, don't guzzle
The other day, I drove to the village to run a few errands. It's sort of a ritual for me that developed since my retirement. I guess I could go in every two or three days, but we always like to get a paper and retrieve the mail from the post office box. On a recent visit, I parked next to a pickup truck. As I got out of my Jeep, I noticed that the vehicle was running and its owner wasn't in it.
Ed Hungness: I'd seen it all " until this dropped
When you have been around the block a few times, you think that you've seen and heard just about everything. I once thought I had seen everything when I first observed a gal pay $1.50 for a bottle of water when there was a drinking fountain right next to her. Then there was my initiation to a popular coffee shop where they actually got people to pay $4 for a cup of coffee. Recently, I filled up my gas-guzzler and it cost me $80.
Ed Hungness: Island hopping, Michigan style
Before my wife and I settled in northern Michigan, we would visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore during our summer vacations. This region offers a wealth of things to see and do. We camped in the Platte River Campground and hiked many of the trails in and around the dunes area. Whether we were on Pierce Stocking Drive standing on the overlook or doing the dune climb, our eyes would always gaze out to the Manitou Islands.
Ed Hungness: Slice of Rockwell's Americana
Recently, I was looking at some of the art of Norman Rockwell. Most of you can remember his wonderful works that graced the covers of The Saturday Evening Post. In 1916, the 22-year-old illustrator painted his first cover and continued to be associated with the magazine for the next 47 years. In total, Rockwell painted 321 covers for the Post. Most of them reflected the quality of small-town life in America.
Ed Hungness: Dad heads for the couch
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Today is the one special day of the year that honors all men who have raised children.
Ed Hungness: Seniority's many benefits
A few weeks ago, Kathy Gibbons wrote a humorous column about senior discounts and how she is not looking forward to qualifying for them. In short, she is still on the senior cusp and has not officially entered the world of old fogies. Well, I have and it's not so bad.
Ed Hungness: Breath of fresh air
Wouldn't you like to have a dollar for every time you heard someone say, "Didn't winter seem much longer this year?" Funny thing is that I have uttered the same phrase multiple times.
Ed Hungness: Those darn socks
Last week, my wife was busy doing laundry, which she claims is one of her favorite chores. She was holding my favorite pair of warm, heavyweight socks.