Mark My Words

The Constantine High School class of 1992 hit a milestone this past Thursday as we “celebrated” 20 years to the day that we graduated from high school. While it doesn’t seem like 20 years could possibly have passed already, at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago. Today, several of my former classmates and I are making plans …

I like to think that I have been active in the community as it relates to supporting the numerous causes that are out there. I have cleaned parks, signed petitions, bought my fair share of Girl Scout Cookies, donated to the food pantry, raised money to help prevent child abuse and the list goes on and on. It seems that …

Mother’s Day is one of those days where I spend a lot of time reflecting. As you may recall from previous columns, my mother, Judith (Wellington) McGlothlen, passed away at the age of 39 following a battle with cancer. Being just four years old when she died, my memories of her are few and far between. In fact, the memories …

Several years ago a couple of friends told me that I should seriously considering getting on “MySpace.” Social networking was the way of the future and I was going to be left behind if I did not create an account and join the fun! I had heard about the site, but at the time, I did not really see a …

I am not one to play the lottery very often. I buy scratch-off tickets now and then, and usually I am not very lucky. I think the most I have won on one ticket is $50. I remember where I was when I bought that ticket and what kind of ticket it was. My wife and I were shopping at …

When it was announced that Sir Elton John was going to play at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo it set off a shock wave of excitement around this area that has not been seen in quite a while. But with all the enthusiasm for the big show, there were those who questioned “why.” Why Kalamazoo and Wings Stadium when the much …

As I was signing in to check my email the other day, a story caught my eye. The headline read, “Emails from dead man’s account helping family and friends find closure.” That headline drew me in. I have always wondered about the afterlife. Is there an afterlife? Is there such a thing as ghosts and spirits? Can we see or …

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Not true! The names that we call people and the words that we use can be hurtful and devastating. Words can leave a very negative impact when used improperly, especially in this day and age of 24-hour news, YouTube, internet blogs, Twitter, and the like. I refer, …

Life is about choices. Choices can create stress. Stress is annoying. As much as I hate to admit it, making a decision can be a time-consuming process for me. I am definitely not a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of guy when it comes down to it. I think. I wonder. I debate. And even then, I …

I hate to admit it, but I can be a rather “forgetful” person. For years I used to pride myself on the fact that I knew where anything was at any given time. And if I didn’t know, I would find it. Guaranteed. My Grandma Wellington used to tell me that, when I was staying the night or weekend at …