Brunch with Bridge

A LONG TWILIGHT: It can be hard to tell when one’s motives are about preserving heritage, or just resenting change. (Photo by Flickr user Letting Go of Control; used under Creative Commons license) Living deep in a forest, there’s no slap of morning newspapers on our front porch. A satellite dish tucked into a circle […]

THE HAUNTING: Year after year, season after season, ghost stories are reliable sellers, tapping into our deepest yearnings. (Photo by Flickr user Andrew McFarlane; used under Creative Commons license) I have noticed, at several bookstores, an entire row dedicated to tales about Michigan ghosts with titles like “Haunted Michigan: recent encounters with active spirits,” “Michigan’s […]

SPARKLING: Having survived child sex abuse, Lansing’s Tashmica Torok started the Firecracker Foundation to help other survivors. (Courtesy photo) You think you know your friends. I met Tashmica Torok about three years ago. In the span of an hour I was pretty sure I’d made a friend for life. She was a hilarious, smart, driven, […]

A TEACHER LEARNS: Carmen N’Namdi has learned a few things in her years as an educator, chief among them that education should not be strictly job training. (Courtesy photo) I ran into Carmen N’Namdi at the opening of the “Detroit Resurgent” photo exhibit opening at the Michigan State University Museum recently. Although we were at […]

WILL THIS BE ON THE FINAL? College students have always blown off steam, but today they swallow a lot more than goldfish. (Photo by Flickr user mikep; used under Creative Commons license) September brings with it autumn, the return of football, cooler temperatures, and thousands of young adults to college campuses. Michigan’s state constitution insists […]

AN EMPTY PLAYING FIELD: As long as we’re playing fantasy football and baseball, why not a fantasy Michigan legislature? Points would be scored on the basis of whose team gets the most legislation passed. (Bridge photo by Nancy Derringer) If there was a Michigan Fantasy Legislature, who would be the top draft pick? OK, hear […]

WHAT ABOUT US? Women protest at the U.S. Supreme Court during arguments over the Affordable Care Act in March 2012. (Photo by Flickr user Tabitha Hawk; used under Creative Commons license) About eight months ago, I called my heath insurance provider to gather information about adding maternity coverage I might need at some point (At […]

WHEN PIGS FLY? Events like Art Prize have given Grand Rapids a big-city feel that welcomes a native son – and former bigger-city boy – home. (Photo by Flickr user HarrisinMI; used under Creative Commons license) Just over a year ago, my wife and I moved our family back to Grand Rapids after nearly a […]