Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

Since returning home to Three Rivers in  1996, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those years I spent growing up here in my hometown. I long for those days when things seemed simpler. The downtown didn’t have any empty buildings. There were several shoe stores, cafes, ladies and men’s clothing shops, two active movie theaters, a couple of newspaper …

If I stopped spending money at the grocery store next week, they would never even notice I was gone. If you and I were to take a small fraction of our grocery money and spend it at the Farmers’ Market, we would help a local farmer pay the rent. We might even help save his farm. Please watch this paper …

This evening (Tuesday), the community gathers at Belle Epoque to celebrate Al Heivilin. Al was chosen as this year’s Bruce C. Snook Citizen of the Year. If you do not have a ticket for the banquet, I’m afraid you’re out of luck, because tickets will not be available at the door. On behalf of the Three Rivers Lions Club and …

If it weren’t for friends on LinkedIn, I would have forgotten that this month marks nine years of doing the “Out and About” column. The column has changed a bit since the first column in April 2006, but my enthusiasm for putting it together has only grown. There never seems to be a lack of things to comment on and …

The last time I checked, we humans have five senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. If you were to count “common”, that would be six. “Common” is probably the one sense that most of us are missing, and that is a shame. If I had to give up one of the other five, it would be a very difficult …

Parenting is probably the most challenging task a person can undertake. In most cases, learning how to parent is strictly on-the-job training. Oh, you can take classes on how to properly parent, or how to handle certain situations, but these classes and handbooks are most of the time written or conducted by individuals who have never been parents. It is …

I enjoy working crossword puzzles, especially puzzles found in this newspaper. There are some that I find challenging, and, luckily for me, there are some that are not that much of a challenge. I feel that by doing crossword puzzles, my mind gets some exercise. Like my father and my sister, I use a pen when working a puzzle. I …

I’m at the age when some of my friends are having body parts either removed or replaced. A hip replacement here, a knee replacement there, or a gall bladder removed eventually. Someone once said that you should do any desired traveling while you’re young enough to enjoy it, because later on, you’ll be too busy having things done to your …

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. In Chicago, they put something in the Chicago River that turns it a very noticeable shade of green. Here in Three Rivers, we have a hard enough time just keeping the rivers free of debris. Should you choose to celebrate this special day, please do so responsibly, because tomorrow is another work day, and since I’m …

I normally place these trivia items at the end of this column, but I’m sure everyone has had enough of the winter weather, so I thought I’d add these fun-facts at the beginning. Fear not, for I’ll add something at the bottom of the column. Some fascinating facts that you might enjoy knowing. I didn’t check SNOPES, so I won’t …