WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Next Monday is Labor Day. This is generally the last chance to participate in the usual summer activities. It’s a national holiday, so there will be no mail delivery and the banks will be closed, and most importantly, there will be no garbage pick-up that day. As a result, everyone’s trash will be picked up one day later than usual.
Adventurous types might want to travel north to Mackinaw City and walk the “Mighty Mac” with thousands of other walkers. You also have the option of staying right here in Three Rivers, where we have our own “Bridge Walk”. Every Labor Day, the Three Rivers Women’s Club sponsors this event, which is open to men and women of all ages. Three Rivers has approximately twenty-two bridges that cross our three rivers, and fifteen of them will be monitored by members of the Women’s Club. The headquarters for the “Bridge Walk” is in Scidmore Park, where you can register for the walk. This is where you’ll also find the famous bake sale. All proceeds received from the sale go towards the Three Rivers High School scholarships. So, why travel all the way up to the Straits of Mackinaw, when you can have just as much fun right here where the Rocky, Portage and St. Joseph Rivers meet?
What’s more American than a hot dog, or apple pie? How about coffee? Now, some might say that coffee comes from South America. This is true, but Kona Coffee is grown around Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii. The last time I checked, Hawaii is part of America.
Many Americans can’t get their day started without a cup or two of java. If you want proof of this, visit almost any local restaurant or coffee shop early in the morning, and you’ll see quite a few regulars sitting together and discussing the world’s problems over several cups of coffee. Coffee and conversation go hand-in-hand.
Back in the day, you could get a cup of coffee for ten cents and it was a bottomless cup. Nowadays a cup of coffee might cost $1.50. For a bottomless cup, you might pay close to $2.00.
You might consider having your coffee at home, but then you’d miss out on chatting with friends. Somehow having coffee out, with friends, makes coffee taste better. If you don’t have any friends, but love your coffee, it’s suggested you use distilled water when brewing coffee. A coffee guru would even suggest that you chill the distilled water first. It gives the coffee a purer flavor, particularly in communities with hard or chlorinated water. It also prevents the accumulation of mineral deposits in your coffeemaker. Another guru suggestion is to add a pinch of salt to your ground coffee before brewing a pot. It’s been said that this will reduce the bitterness and even enhance the flavor.
If you love flavored coffee, but would rather not venture out to the local coffeehouse, you could give your own coffee a special touch by adding one teaspoon of ground cinnamon or a grating of orange peel to the coffee before brewing. Not only will the coffee taste great, but the aroma will be enticing to the senses.
If you’re tired of throwing your coffee grounds in the kitchen wastebasket, you might want to place them into the planting holes of acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, and blueberries. This will enhance their growth.
Now, please don’t think I’m promoting having your morning coffee at home. Quite the contrary. I’m merely giving you something to talk about with all your friends, as you enjoy that cup of happiness at the local coffee shop
“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.
See you Out and About!
Submitted by Norm Stutesman
