Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

I’ve been retired for almost four years and find myself busier than I was when I was punching a time clock. I’ve heard from other retirees that, if you do the right thing after you retire, you don’t have time to work for someone else. I guess I’m doing the right thing, because I still get up early in the …

Twice a year I make my much needed trip to the dentist. I’ve visited the dentist this way for as long as I can remember. My mother would be proud of me, I’m sure. Visiting the dentist is not the same as going to your eye doctor, or should I say optometrist. I’ve felt discomfort during my appointment with the …

If you’re reading this and have not voted, please do us all a favor and get out and vote right away. Today is Election Day. You have a chance to possibly make a difference. If you decide not to vote, then in my opinion, you have no right to complain about the outcome of the elections. As promised, here are …

We only have seven more days of mudslinging, name calling, and falsehoods. A week from today is Election Day. We will no longer be plagued with non-stop political ads during every commercial break on television. The mute button on my remote is just about worn down to a mere stub. I can’t imagine how much money has been spent over …

If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you know that I can be quite nostalgic. I sometimes spend too much time dwelling on the past. You might say that my “Memory Bank” is quite full. What I’m leading up to is that I was thinking the other day about how things have changed over the past couple of …

A few weeks ago, my wife and I attended her fiftieth class reunion. She graduated from Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, and her class was the first to attend all three years in the new building. My wife was part of the Reunion Planning Committee, so she had been working on the reunion for the past year and one-half. …

Last July, we spent a week in Canada attending a Lions Convention. I wrote a little about it, but recently discovered more information that I thought would be helpful to pass on to anyone planning to visit our neighbors to the north. There are some Americans who do not appreciate having “foreigners” in our beloved country. If you are traveling …

Walking has become the thing to do. This past Labor Day, we had the “Bridge Walk” here in Three Rivers, and they also held a bridge walk across the “Big Mac” on the same day. The bridge walk up north is more popular, but the one here in TR, I’m sure, was more fun. Perhaps the last “walk” of the …

We don’t have any trees on our property, but every year I’ve been kept busy raking up leaves and disposing of bushels of walnuts. Our neighbor has trees, and believe it or not, one of them is a walnut tree. The mystery as to where the leaves and walnuts come from is, of course, a no-brainer. We have terrific neighbors, …

For those interested, a brief update on my health condition. I have been a diabetic for several years and in August 2013, my doctor put me on insulin. He also mentioned that, if I would take better control of my diet and lose some weight, my condition would improve. On September 2, I visited an endocrinologist in Ann Arbor. I …