Category Archives: Michigan

Link to New Blog, Same Writer

I have started a new blog – http://www.theoccasionalpoem.com, also on WordPress – in order to share my poetry. Many of these poems have roots in The Great Isolation of COVID, when I set out to collect poems written 20 years … Continue reading

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Complete! Finished! Done!

August 8 – 10, 2020Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan Tom Writes . . .  Cranky Old Men with Stiff Legs and Sore RearsGlorious Michigan SummerTruly GRAND River We started at the southwest corner of Grand Rapids. The river loops south, … Continue reading

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Closing in on Our Goal: Halleluiah!

Joe Writes . . .  After starting in southern Jackson County during the summer of 2016 and paddling, in fits and starts, all the way to downtown Grand Rapids it is finally reasonable to contemplate the end of our journey. … Continue reading

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Two Days on the Grand in Photos

Joe Posts . . .  July 4, 2020 Your intrepid explorers, Tom (l) and Joe Neely. Click on individual photos for captions. July 5 Click on individual photos for captions. -30- We are glad you found our blog. If you … Continue reading

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A Grand 4th of July on the Grand

Tom writes… Fourth of July, 2020 Ada to North Grand Rapids The logistics of canoe-ing are monstrous. You already know our boat, the Billie V, lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, far from our current paddling area in West Michigan. Well, … Continue reading

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As the Brothers Resume Their Journey, Uncle Joe Calls BS

Joe Writes . . .  I’ve found a lovely spot for writing about getting older, here in front of the picture window in my living room. I can swivel the chair and look out over our lawn, with the sun … Continue reading

Posted in Aging, health, Men, Michigan, rivers, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Our Quest Resumes on the 4th of July!

Just as our nation declared its independence from the tyrannical rule of George III on the 4th of July in 1776, we will declare our independence from the physical decline of advancing age – and our disdain for the despotic … Continue reading

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The Headwaters Dam on the Grand River

Joe Writes . . .  With the news of the Edenville Dam failing on the Tittabawassee River near Midland and the resultant extensive flooding, I was motivated to take a 45-minute drive to the headwaters of the Grand River yesterday … Continue reading

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Polio: Two Plagues Ago

Joe Writes . . .  My mother wrote about the pandemic which most affected her generation, polio. It’s disturbing to note that while polio has largely been conquered, HIV/AIDS (the intervening pandemic) has not. There may be a lesson in … Continue reading

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New Skills Born of Necessity During The Great Isolation

Joe writes . . .  All of us have learned new skills during The Great Isolation. Out of necessity. My wife, for example, cut my hair and trimmed my Old Man Eyebrows and I look three thousand times better as … Continue reading

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