Out and About – Week of August 25th

It’s difficult to watch a newscast without feeling depressed. Hardly a day goes by when you don’t hear of someone being murdered, someone getting killed in a terrible accident, or someone losing their home in a fire. I could go on and on about the bad news that is thrown at us by the media. The truth is that bad news sells papers and bad news makes the five and eleven o’clock news on television. This is one reason for this column. Please read this column after you’ve read the front page news, because I want each of you to have a positive feeling about life when you finally put this paper in for recycling.

The last thing I want to do is depress you folks, but I want to touch briefly on “bullying”. Most people think that bullying takes place only in our schools and that children are the only ones who face this demon. If you believe this, you are WRONG. Bullying takes place in the everyday workplace, and adults are the ones affected. A friend of mine was recently relieved of her position at work because another person had bullied her to the point of making the act of going to work not worthwhile. This “bully” was, and probably still is, very good friends with the owner of the business. As a result, the “bully” never was in the wrong. You see this quite a bit on television, and it’s not on the news. A lot of the time, the scenario goes, “I can do whatever I want, but if you do the same, I’ll make you regret it.”

If any of you readers are experiencing the act of being bullied, please make the attempt to get it corrected. Perhaps the only thing you can do is to make and leave a paper trail. In other words, document every incident and get a witness or two. No one should have to live and work in an environment where the bully controls the situation.

Here I go again. Back in the day, there existed a coffee shop called “The Squeeze In”. It was located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Michigan Avenue in Three Rivers. It consisted of a coffee counter and stools, and most of the patrons were very skinny. There were several unique coffee shops in town back then, but The Squeeze In was probably the most unique because of its size. You had better know what you wanted to order when you entered, because once you were inside, you didn’t have room to change your mind.

There have been several businesses that have occupied the space that once was The Squeeze In. Some have worked out, and some have not. One of the problems facing this location is the availability of a place to park. This has now been corrected. It therefore gives me great pleasure to introduce Ms. Laura Porter. Laura is the owner of Bali Salon and has been inside The Squeeze In since October 2013. The days of a ten cent cup of coffee only exist in the history books, but a ready smile and a “Personalized Experience” are alive at one-half North Main Street in historic downtown Three Rivers. Perhaps you are not in need of a cosmetologist at this time That’s okay; stop in anyway and say “Hi and welcome to the neighborhood”. It was nice to meet you, Laura. I hope that you’ll find Three Rivers as friendly and hospitable a place as we’d like it to be.

As I get Out and About the Three Rivers area, I always notice folks taking advantage of the many parks that are abundant. Scidmore Park is probably the most popular because of its location and the play area that has been provided. By the way, it is pronounced “Sidmore”, not “Skidmore”.

In the first district, you have Lafayette Park and Bowman Park. We used to call Bowman Park, “Statue Park”, because of the Civil War soldier’s statue. One big difference, and perhaps someone can enlighten me on this, is that there are no benches in Bowman Park. Why? It’s big enough, and it would be the perfect place to sit and watch the world pass by. Lafayette Park has a couple of benches, and both parks are on North Main Street. There must be a reason and I’m interested in knowing the answer.

A reminder of the 4th Annual Bridge Walk here in TR on Monday, September 1. Registration will be in Scidmore Park, with the walk going from 9 AM – Noon. The three mile walk will go from Wood Street to Hoffman Street, then west to Main Street, and finally south to Scidmore Park. No need to walk the Big Mac up north, when you can walk the bridges of Three Rivers for FREE.

See you Out and About! 

Submitted by Norm Stutesman