Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

I was misinformed, or rather I didn’t fully check out my sources before I listed something that I thought was true. Several weeks ago, I mentioned that Susan Lucci was the daughter of comedian Phyllis Diller. Thanks to several readers, I learned that they were not related at all. At least I know that this column is indeed read by …

Most of the time when one goes “Out and About” to dine, your silverware is wrapped nicely in a napkin. We recently had the opportunity to attend a dinner event where the silverware was not wrapped in a napkin, but rather placed on the placemat. My wife and I noticed that the silverware was not arranged in the way that …

I consider myself to be a fun-loving person. I’ve been known to play a few practical jokes on friends from time to time, and I’ve had practical jokes played on me more times than I care to remember. We can all use a good laugh as long as no one gets hurt either physically or mentally. My oldest brother used …

Sorry for this late notice, but Valentine’s Day is this coming Saturday, February 14. It’s another one of those occasions when we let those we love know just how much they mean to us. We should do this every day, but especially on Valentine’s Day. The local merchants love Valentine’s Day. Eighteen billion dollars will be spent on gifts, and …

I’m one of the luckiest guys in town. I’m retired, am happily married to my best friend, and I keep busy volunteering. I love writing and am honing my writing skills by writing this column, plus a couple of other newsletters. For the past eight years, I’ve occupied a small office upstairs at LA’s Coffee Cafe. As a matter of …

Two weeks ago, I attended a meeting in Lansing for Leader Dogs. I’m currently co-chair for Leader Dogs in our Lions district. Organized in 1939, Leader Dogs has been providing guide dogs for those individuals who are sight challenged. As you get Out and About, you might have the opportunity to see a guide dog with its master, also Out …

Several years ago, I traveled to Korea to attend the Lions International Convention. I also spent several days in training, so it was necessary to take along extra clothing. I was, of course, limited to how much I could check as far as luggage, and how much I could take as carry-on luggage. I came up with a plan and …

I usually save cute sayings and trivia for the end of my columns, but because this is the beginning of a new year, I think it would be appropriate to start out with some new thinking for 2015: Practice gratitude. We could all benefit from doing more of this. Remember that tomorrow is always a new day. Do what you …

Welcome to 2015. The holidays are over for a while, so we all have time to do what we can to make the world a more loving place. This is not going to be an easy task, because there are some folks out there who live only to make a person’s day not worthy of mentioning in one’s diary or …

It’s hard to believe that 2015 begins on Thursday. I hate to wear out a phrase, but I just don’t know where this year has gone. I have to think hard to remember the seasons that have passed. Our summer was quite normal, with temperatures staying below ninety degrees most of the time. I’m not sure if we did have …