http://www.record-eagle.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:00:57 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_280094555.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_280094555.html My son had his first foray into civil disobedience this fall. He's hooked. The corporation that owns my son's school dismissed the principal on a Wednesday. No reason was given and no one even officially told the students the principal was gone. The frustrated students were in planning mode before the last bell of the day rang. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_252095520.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_252095520.html What do you call someone who fits in between "family" and "friend"? Who are the people who aren't technically kin, but they're still the people you depend on, people you'd take a bullet for, people whose dirty laundry you're familiar with but you still love them? For me, it's the Labor Day picnic people. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:04:00 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_224095226.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_224095226.html I got a kick out of a recent New York Times story about parents sending their kids off to sleep-away camp, then checking on them multiple times a day. The story was hilariously headlined "Dear Parents -- Please Relax, It's Just Camp." My own kid, 15, went to camp this summer for two weeks. It was math camp at the University of Michigan and I still am stunned that I raised a kid who wants to go to math camp. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:00:59 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_209093247.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_209093247.html Finally, Malawi gets the spotlight. Thanks, Madonna. Your movie and upcoming appearance at the Traverse City Film Festival have put this tiny African nation on the lips of people who had never heard of it before. My sister, Dr. Terrie Taylor, a native of Traverse City, has been running the Blantyre Malaria Project in Blantyre, Malawi, for close to a quarter-century now. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:00:57 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_196095030.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_196095030.html Death is a frequent enough visitor to our farm that I'm nervous every morning and evening when I go out to the barn. Our dog killed a duckling the second day we had them. He just wanted to play with it, but the result was tragic. It turns out chickens can just up and die with no sign of illness or distress. Their little hearts explode or something. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:00:56 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_168095531.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_168095531.html We just had our basement finished. It doubled the square footage of our house. There are only three people in my family, so we weren't put out with 1,000 square feet. We could still get away from each other and, while we tripped over the dog a lot, we didn't necessarily trip over each other. But there are books. In fact, there are about 2,000 books. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_133095520.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_133095520.html Raising a baseball fan is no big deal. You've got a little kid following you around everywhere, with a baseball game going in the background. When you hear the crack of the bat or the roar of the crowd, you shush the little kid (gently and lovingly, of course), listen to the action, then let the kid resume the autobabble. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:57 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_098094545.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_098094545.html I vacationed in the Third World this year. It wasn't a mission trip. It wasn't "volun-tourism." It was just a vacation. Besides leaving a trail of U.S. dollars, I didn't do anything to help anyone. Instead, they helped me. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:50:00 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_077093552.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_077093552.html Can you sum up your life in six words? Last month, Smith magazine, an online publication published a book of six-word memoirs it gathered from its readers and some luminaries. "Not Quite What I Was Planning ..." (the title and one of the entries) contains almost 1,000 autobiographies. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_045100033.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_045100033.html Here's a brainteaser: Kim turns 11 this month. Her son turns 15 in April. Huh? Kim was born Feb. 29. She's a leap year baby. Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_017100222.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_017100222.html My son, now 15, saw "Once" at last summer's film festival. It changed his life. The only music on his Christmas list was the soundtrack for "Once." He started tinkering on the piano. I'm pretty sure he wanted to grow up to be an Irish busker. Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_354093213.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_354093213.html I grew up skiing at Holiday Hills. It's all grown up, too. It's now a mount. It was the kind of place -- still is -- where your parents could drop you off, then come back several hours later to collect you, all cold and pink-cheeked and tuckered out. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:00:58 +0000 http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_333094731.html http://www.record-eagle.com/jodeetaylor/local_story_333094731.html I love the name of this section, "Our Town," but I always wonder if it should be plural. Does anyone claim just one town? Only about 15,000 people can claim Traverse City as their residence, according to the 2000 U.S. Census; the rest of us live in the neighboring villages and townships.