Podcasts about harbor springs

Michigan Weather and Women: Part 3 How did we ever get here? Based on a post by CleverGenericName, in 4 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Connected. "When I was fourteen, Mr. Johnson introduced me to a friend of his, Henry White, who was a master plumber. Henry was a high-functioning alcoholic whose temper had driven away all his old apprentices and journeymen. Luckily, I was always big for my age, and Mr. Johnson assured Henry that I was seventeen, turning eighteen in the next few months, so he took me on with the promise to make me an apprentice as soon as I was old enough. By the time that Henry learned my actual age, he had come to rely on me so much that he kept me on." "But what about school? Don't you need a high school diploma to become an apprentice?" "One good thing about growing up in a small town is that most people know the score. I made it to school when I could, and Henry and I worked a lot on the weekends, while Alison watched the rest of my siblings. Most of my teachers let me through with C's and D's, even though I must have missed half of my classes. Everyone knew that I was working with Henry and that I would need my high school diploma to become an apprentice, so they just kind of let me slip through. "I had well over 6,000 hours of experience plumbing before I even turned 18 and could formally become an apprentice. By that point, Henry was a significantly less functional alcoholic, and I was doing everything for his business; all the plumbing and all of the invoicing. He just signed off on the work. If anyone had ever looked into it, he could have gotten into real trouble, but we did smaller jobs for folks who didn't have a lot of money, so no one ever noticed or cared. "Just about the last thing that Henry did before he passed was to swear out my application to become a master plumber. Then one day I showed up for work, and he had died in his sleep. He didn't own much of anything, other than his tools, and he didn't have any family that I knew of, so I just kept on working." After a few minutes spent lying together in silence, I thought that Erin might have drifted off, but she had one more question for me before she did. "When did your mom leave?" I had never told anyone that part of my story; even my brother and sisters thought that Mom had just left one day, leaving me in charge. The reality was so much worse. "By the time Lane started school, Mom had already left us. Not physically, but in all the other ways that matter. She didn't work, and she regularly brought her 'boyfriends' back to our house to trade sex for drugs. Any support she got from social services went straight into her arm or up her nose. I was working long hours by then, to pay the rent and put food on the table, so sometimes that meant that Mary or my brother would be at home with Mom when I wasn't there. I knew it was playing with fire, but there was nothing I could do about it other than pray. "Normally, when I got home, I would blow my horn as I pulled into our drive and Lane would come running out to hug me and tell me about his day. So, I knew something was wrong when I came home late one evening, turned off my truck, and he still hadn't come out. I went inside, and Mom was sitting stoned in the living room watching TV. I asked where Lane was, and she just waved toward the back of the house. Alison and Sharon were out, so Mary and Lane were home with her by themselves. I found him in the room that we shared, cowering in the corner, with little Mary guarding the door. She was only eight at the time. "After a few minutes, I got Lane to tell me what was wrong, and he showed me his arm. Earlier, he had been in the kitchen and had bumped into Mom while she was cooking something on the stove. In a burst of rage, or maybe just evil, she grabbed his arm and held it against the burner. You can still see the scar on his arm today. "That was the end of it. I asked Mary to stay with Lane in our room, I packed Mom's things into the one suitcase we owned, and I drove her to the bus station. I bought her a ticket to Grand Rapids, gave her all the cash in my wallet, and waited with her until she boarded. I told her I would call the police if she ever came back. "Before she left, she spat on me and told me she wished I had never been born." I marveled at how flat my voice sounded, but to my surprise, my cheeks felt wet. I thought I had lost the ability to cry long ago. "Can you imagine that, abandoning your own mother? I'll probably burn in hell, but it was the only way I could think of to keep my brother and sisters safe. I haven't seen her since, although she used to call a couple of times a year asking for money. I didn't feel too bad about hanging up on her when she did, though, since she was still collecting family benefits for us all. Lane barely remembers her, which is likely a blessing, so I made up the story about Mom going away for the weekend and never coming back. "Since then, I have done what was needed for us to survive. When Alison finished school, she wanted to stay home to help look after the others, but I convinced her to go to college. I said that Mom had put aside some money for her tuition, but of course, that was a lie. I have been making the payments for her, but I wanted her to have the chance to just be young, for once. To get away from all of this, at least for a while." "But what about you, Davis?" "I don't matter." "Well, you matter to me." While I was speaking, Erin had wrapped both arms around me and was now holding me tight against her body. When I finished, my body was wracked by waves of uncontrollable grief, but she held me through it all. Eventually, as I started to calm down, she gave me gentle kisses on the nape of my neck and whispered to me in a soft voice. I don't remember what she said, but I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. The power came back on early the next morning, and Erin and I were the first people to wake up. She lay beside me with a small smile on her face. "You've had some hard times, Davis Crawford, but you have come out the other side. You're pretty amazing." I felt a sudden burst of both elation and fear as I returned her smile. "Thanks for listening and not judging me. I've never told anyone some of the things I shared with you." "It was my pleasure. Now let's get up and make some coffee." Looking out the window, the snowdrifts were over two feet high in places, but I knew they weren't going to get any lighter as the sun came out and they started to melt. "I am going to get started on the shoveling if you want to start on breakfast." Erin gave me a bemused look. "Or maybe, I am fully capable of shoveling snow, and we can get it done twice as fast by working together." A few minutes after we started, Lane came out to help. At one point, when Erin was on the other side of the yard, he started to speak. "I heard some of what you said to Erin last night. I never knew what Mom did to you, what you did to protect us. Thank you." "Ah, Bud. I never wanted you to worry. Mom wasn't well for a long time, and she made some terrible choices. But she's gone now, and you will always be safe with me." By the time we finished, we had worked ourselves into a lather, so I suggested to Wilma that she get a snow plowing service for the winter. She gave me a look that implied that somewhere there was a village searching for its idiot; and that idiot was me. "Oh, I have a service, but they take so long to come that they are useless if they bother to show up at all." Erin jumped into the conversation, looking pissed off. "It's part of my family and the McDougal's ongoing campaign to get Gran to move. I have told them how dangerous the game they are playing is, but they just don't seem to care." I thought for a minute, before walking a little ways away and making a call. When I returned, I had some good news for Wilma. "Go ahead and cancel your current service. If they aren't going to do the work, they shouldn't have a problem with not getting paid. I called an old friend of mine from school who runs a snow removal company out of Harbor Springs, who owes me a favor or nine. From now on, you will be at the top of his list." Erin and I texted just about every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we talked most nights when she wasn't working. We were both insanely busy; Erin was providing pediatric coverage for two hospitals that were three hours apart, and I was working as much overtime as possible, to save up for Christmas. Some weeks, the only time we had to meet in person was Sunday afternoons at Wilma's. Mary, in turn, was flourishing under Wilma's guidance. It seemed like she was channeling her emotions into her art, and I began to see the kind and thoughtful sister reemerge that I thought I had lost forever. She wouldn't show me the painting she was working on, but Wilma said she was making good progress, and that was all I needed to know. As it got towards mid-December, our thoughts turned to Christmas. Since Wilma's family was still boycotting the holidays, we decided to have a joint celebration like at Thanksgiving. Erin was going to be working at the hospital in Petoskey on Christmas Day, but we promised to keep Wilma company and to bring her a Christmas meal that she could eat on her break. In typical fashion, she tried to convince us that she would be fine with cafeteria food, but we would hear nothing of it. When we got to Wilma's house for lunch on Christmas Day, she had stockings laid out by the fireplace with a present for each of us. Santa must have had a very healthy budget, because he brought Lane a new fishing rod, Mary a set of expensive paints and charcoals, Sharon a contribution to her college fund, and Alison a specialized nurse's bag with a personalized stethoscope. Rather than a present, my stocking came with a small envelope that contained a pair of tickets to the traveling production of "Moulin Rouge" that was playing in Grand Rapids in March. Although I was happy to get a present of any kind, Wilma must have seen my look of confusion at the choice. "I was talking to Santa, and he mentioned that Erin loves musicals. Phillip used to take her to them when she was younger. He would put on his best suit, and she would get all dolled up in a dress with some of my jewelry, and they would go out for a fancy dinner before the show and have a grand old time." I looked at her in amusement, before replying. "Well, it seems that Santa is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. But I will have to say thanks, next time I bump into him." Our present to Wilma came in three parts. First, we included her in our Christmas cookie exchange, and Mary even gave her a double portion of the chocolate chip cookies she had baked. Second, the five of us committed to helping her catch up on the yard work and house repairs that had fallen by the wayside since Phillip passed. And finally, we pledged to do everything in our power to make sure that she could stay in her house for as long as she was able. Wilma hugged and thanked each of us with tears in her eyes, then looked over at Mary. "Why don't you get your present for your brother." Mary went to the studio at the back of the house and brought back what looked like a small painting, wrapped in Christmas paper. "I wanted to make you something to say 'thank you' for everything you have done for us. And for not giving up on me." When I unwrapped the painting, I was stunned. It was very different from Phillip or Wilma's more realistic works and had vibrant streaks of paint that burst across the canvas, meeting, seemingly at random, in explosions of color. The entire piece was chaotic, except for a single corner that was shielded from the turmoil by a solid arc of paint that was the exact color of my eyes. After lunch, Mary and Sharon kept Wilma company while Alison, Lane, and I went to see Erin at the hospital. Things were pretty quiet, so she had time to sit and eat her dinner with us. While she ate, I showed her pictures from earlier in the day. She laughed at one, in particular, of Wilma with her arm around Mary while they were wearing festive paper hats from their Christmas crackers. "Thank you for taking such good care of Wilma, Davis. She would never admit it, but the holidays would have been very lonely for her this year without you. It means the world to me that you could be there for her." We chatted a bit longer before I pulled out my present for Erin. It was a small flat package which she opened slowly. Inside was a framed drawing of Wilma's house, as seen from the docks, as she looked out the picture window in her living room. "This is amazing, who made it?" "I used to draw quite a bit in school. Since Mary has been working with your Gran, I thought I might give it another try, and I particularly liked how this one turned out." "It's beautiful, Davis. Thank you." She started to blush as she glanced over at Lane, before she slid a card over to me, and whispered, "Maybe you should wait to open this until later when you're alone." Inside the card was Erin's two-part gift to me. First, an invitation to visit her in Grand Rapids, and second, a night for the two of us in a suite at a very nice hotel. New Year's Eve was even quieter than usual at our house. Erin was working in Grand Rapids and was on call that evening. I spoke with her earlier in the day, however, and wished her a Happy New Year, and we sent each other kissing emojis at midnight. The rest of us spent the night playing board games. The only real excitement came a few days earlier when Mary asked if she could invite a friend to join us. "And is this friend a boy, by chance?" As far as I knew, Mary had never had a boyfriend, so this was a new development. Mary didn't have to answer, since her blush did the talking for her. "Do we know this boy?" "It's; It's James McDougal. But he's not like his brothers. He's a good guy." I had my reservations about all of the McDougals, but I was willing to give him a chance. I had only met James that one time at his parent's house when I had gone to get Mary, and he seemed polite enough. But since he was a McDougal, he was starting with two strikes and was in danger of going down swinging. To give Mary credit, James passed the first boyfriend test before he even made it into the house. When he drove into the yard, Munchkin was the first to greet him. He wasn't growling or barking like he sometimes did, or showing his teeth, but he was plenty intimidating. James waited patiently for him to approach before carefully scratching behind his ears. After Mary came out to greet James, Munchkin decided he was alright and fell in behind them as they came inside. Just after midnight, as he was getting ready to leave, James took me aside. "I just wanted to say, sir, that I am sorry for what happened with Mary a few months back. I should never have brought her over to my house without your permission, and I should have brought her right back home once I saw that my brothers were home. I promise you, that despite my bad judgment, I would have made sure that nothing happened to her, and I won't ever make that mistake again." I had to admit that James was growing on me. Chapter 5. It wasn't long before Mary introduced James to Wilma. I had to work on a Sunday in early January, so he offered to drive her to Wilma's in my place. I could tell he was nervous, and he was wearing a nice, collared shirt with some clean jeans, under his winter jacket. By the time he brought Mary home, his shirt was soaked in sweat, and he looked a little like a young man returning from war. Later that week, I asked Wilma what she thought of him. "He seems like a nice, polite boy and he sure is besotted with our Mary. While Mary and I worked on her latest painting, he did some chores for me, including chopping and stacking the entire half cord of wood you dropped off last week. But he didn't complain, and he was still smiling at Mary when he was done, so I think he will do." Wilma's relationship with the rest of the McDougals, however, remained tense, and they made it clear to me that continuing to help her would come at a steep cost. I ran into Calum one evening at the grocery store and he made their position crystal clear. "We've got a big job coming up in Indian River that you might be interested in. Starts in a week, and it would keep you busy for the better part of the next year, solid. The job is yours if you want it." "What's this job going to cost me?" "It's yours, no strings attached. But you wouldn't have time to help old lady Anderson anymore. You know, and I know, that it's time for her to move on from that land. It's what her family wants and it's what's best for her. I am sure that doctor down in Petoskey would understand, I figure she must be tired of looking after that grandmother of hers all the time anyway. Think how much more time the two of you would have together if you were working a regular nine-to-five kind of job. "On the other hand, if you don't work with us on this project, my family is going to take it pretty hard. Hard enough that we might reach out to our friends and neighbors to let them know that you are not a team player and that they may not want to do business with you." There it was. They were threatening to ruin me if I didn't do what they wanted. I knew they couldn't cut off all of my business since there were too many people in the lower peninsula who had been screwed over by them in the past. But they could sure make things tough for me. I am really bad at taking orders, however, particularly from dickheads like Calum McDougal. Calum had a cynical smile as he walked away. He didn't value decency or loyalty, so I was sure he thought he had won me over. All he had done was harden my resolve. I felt honor-bound to reach out to my friend who was clearing Wilma's driveway, though, to let him know that he might get some heat from the McDougals. He was surprisingly poetic in his response. "Fuck those arrogant worm-drowners and the horses they rode in on." Valentine's Day was never a big deal for me. Over the years, I hadn't had time to date, and I wouldn't have had any money to do anything special if I did, so the Hallmark holiday passed me by without too much fuss or bother. I had hoped things might be different since I was with Erin, but she was on call at the hospital in Petoskey, and I was pushing hard on a large multi-unit build that was on a tight schedule, so I was working six or even seven days a week until it was done. My work hadn't completely dried up since my run-in with Calum, but it had certainly taken a hit, so I was not in a position to turn down jobs, no matter how inconvenient. My one consolation was I knew I would see Erin in a couple of weeks when I visited her in Grand Rapids for the show. I had some flowers delivered to her at the hospital anyway, to let her know that I was thinking of her. That earned me an emoji-filled text and an enthusiastic video call when she was done with her shift. As the date of the show got closer, I started to get anxious. I had never been to a live performance of anything, except the occasional high school assembly, and I worried that Erin would be disappointed in my lack of manners and refinement. Wilma noticed my growing nervousness and decided that I needed a pep talk. "Listen, Davis. Erin likes you for who you are. She doesn't need or want you to act like some slick yuppie from the big city." "I know, Wilma, but I don't even know what to wear. The nicest outfit I own is still just a collared shirt over a pair of jeans." "Hmm, I can help you with that. I still have some of Phillip's old suits and ties, let's take a look and see what might fit." Half an hour later, Wilma had picked out a heavier dark charcoal-colored suit, a lightweight linen suit suitable for warmer weather, and a dark grey suit with tight pinstripes for me to try on. She had some shirts for me, as well, from when Phillip was younger. "Phillip wore that pinstripe suit the first time that he took me to the movies. I'll never forget that night, he looked just like Cary Grant. If you bring these suits to the tailor in Indian River, he should be able to take in the jacket and hem the pants to fit you perfectly. A good tailor can make these suits look like they were cut just for you." I didn't want to seem ungrateful, but I couldn't help but wonder if I would look funny in a decades-old suit. Wilma dismissed my concerns out of hand. "Let me tell you a little secret. If you buy a cheap suit, it will quickly begin to look tacky and dated. If you invest in a quality suit, it will age gracefully and become a timeless classic." Finally, Wilma selected a half dozen ties for me to try on and spent an hour teaching me how to tie a half-Windsor knot. "Get these suits altered, grab yourself a pair of polished black leather shoes, and you'll have those snooty pricks at the theatre thinking they are underdressed. And try to have fun. Erin loves the theatre, so if the two of you continue to fall in love, you will be going with her at least a couple of times a year, so you might as well enjoy it." I stood there in shock for a moment. "Do you really think Erin is falling in love with me?" "Well, yes, I do. And it's clear as daylight that you're in love with her too. But don't overthink things. Just go to the show and have a great night together. And here, take this with you as well," Wilma said handing me a navy blue pocket square with a distinctive paisley pattern. "Most men don't bother wearing a pocket square anymore, but I think they complete the look perfectly. You should wear this one on your date with Erin." Wilma took a final look at me and then slipped a twenty-dollar bill into my pocket. "That's for you to get a haircut before the show. Your normal 'shaggy mutt lost in a forest' look is adorable but not for your big date." The day of the performance approached with both aching slowness and relentless speed. We hadn't discussed it, but I knew (or at least strongly suspected) that Erin would have some expectations about how we spent our time together after the show. Unfortunately, I had no experience when it came to women other than a single kiss with Brittany Johnson back in my sophomore year of high school. I was terrified that I would disappoint her. To make matters worse, I had the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Grand Rapids to overthink things. By the time I arrived at Erin's apartment complex, I was a bit of a mess. My nerves were somewhat allayed, however, when Erin came running out to greet me with a huge smile on her face. "You made it! How was the drive? Wow, I love the haircut! I hope you're not too tired. I can't wait for tonight. I have been telling the girls all about you, and they are dying to see if the man lives up to the legend!" I guess Erin could see the sudden swell of anxiety on my face, so she took my hand. "Don't worry, the girls will love you, Davis. Why don't you grab your bag and come inside? I thought we could get changed here and then check in to the hotel before dinner and the show." Erin's housemates were really sweet, and the three of us chatted for at least an hour while Erin got ready before I excused myself to do the same. I put on Phillip's charcoal grey suit along with the crisp white shirt that Wilma had recommended. It took me four tries to tie my navy blue tie, but even I could tell that it made the colors in my paisley pocket square pop. Despite my nerves, I was still ready before Erin, so I rejoined her housemates in the living room while I waited. They kept sneaking glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking, so much so that I thought I must have done something wrong. Rather than second-guessing myself, I decided to take the bull by the horns and ask; better to be embarrassed in front of Erin's housemates than in front of her. "It's; it's not that you did anything wrong. It's just that you look; well, amazing; like an old-time movie star or something. Erin is going to swoon when she sees you." "You really think so?" I asked, still not sure of myself. Just then, I heard Erin's voice from behind me. "I'm sorry I took so long; we should head out before we're;" Erin went silent as I turned to look at her. She was wearing a floor-length emerald-green dress, which seemed to flow around her and mold to her curves, gathering delicately at her neck while leaving her back bare. Her sandy-blonde hair was styled in an elegant updo, while a few strands floated loose, framing her face. But, as always, what captured and held my gaze were her amber eyes, which danced and sparkled as she moved. My hands began to tremble, and I didn't trust myself to speak. "Do I look alright, Davis?" I took a deep breath that sent oxygen coursing through my body, as I found my voice. "I had no idea that anyone could look as beautiful as you do right now." Apparently, she liked my response, since her face broke into a wide grin. "You look mighty handsome yourself, Mister," she said while making a small adjustment to the knot of my tie. "Is that one of Grampy's suits? It looks amazing on you, and I love the tie and the; Oh; Oh, Davis. Is that Grampy's pocket square?" I could see tears forming in her eyes. "Wilma thought you might like it; that it might remind you of Phillip and the times he took you to the theatre when you were younger. I don't have to wear it, though, if you don't like it," I said reaching up to take it out of my pocket. Erin stopped my hand with hers, however, and then lightly ran her fingertips over the colorful square. "Gran was right. It reminds me of Grampy and now it will remind me of you. Please, I want you to wear it. For me." I felt a bit self-conscious pulling up to a fancy hotel in my ratty old truck, but it didn't seem to faze Erin in the least, so I decided not to worry about it. The suite she had booked was by far the nicest room of any kind that I had ever been in, but I tried not to seem like a country rube as I looked around. "Do you like it?" Erin asked a bit nervously, as she tried to gauge my reaction. "Honestly, I thought that rooms like this were just for celebrities and movie stars, and folks like that." "Normally that's the case, I guess, but for one night; tonight; it's ours." Dinner was lovely. I kept expecting people to see past my suit and realize that I was an imposter; just a plumber from the peninsula; not the kind of man who should be spending the evening with a woman like Erin. But she seemed to be having a wonderful time, so I began to relax. My anxiety was further abated when she leaned over the table and said in a low voice. "Jesus, the women in this place can't stop checking you out. I'm kind of wishing I had brought my bear spray now to keep them away. I need to excuse myself for a minute, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one of them trying to take my place when I get back." "Erin, I would never;" "I know, Darling. And frankly, they can look all they want because I know who you're going home with tonight." After that, I looked around the room with a new eye and noticed the subtle glances in my direction, and the shy smiles and blushes. I guess Phillip really did have good taste in suits. After dinner, we walked arm-in-arm to the performance hall, which was very impressive, with its soaring ceilings and plush velvet upholstery. Our seats were in a box on the right-hand side of the hall, which gave us a commanding view of the stage. As the lights went down, Erin took my hand in eager anticipation. I don't remember much about the performance that night; I spent more time watching Erin's childlike wonder than what was happening on the stage. Erin was still holding my hand at the intermission, and I felt a warm sense of contentment wash over me. "Oh, I forgot to mention, some of the largest donors to the hospital are hosting a reception after the performance. Would it be alright if we put in an appearance before we head back to our hotel?" I agreed without hesitation; a decision I would second guess before the night was over. It was close to 10:30 by the time the performance ended, and Erin held my arm, while resting her head on my shoulder, as we made our way through the hall to the reception. We each grabbed a drink, and we drifted through the small crowd until Erin was greeted warmly by a distinguished-looking older couple. Erin introduced them to me as the hosts of the reception, Mr. and Mrs. Wendel. "Please, just call us Tom and Martha. And you two make such a lovely couple. What do you do, Davis?" "I am a plumber, Ma'am," I replied, wondering how that news would be received by this obviously well-to-do couple, but I needn't have worried. "What kind of plumbing do you do?" Tom asked with genuine interest. "Mainly residential at this point, since I just got my master's license last year. A lot of the larger builders want to see some gray hairs on the heads of their skilled tradesmen, so right now, I am just doing what I can to pay the bills." "Amen, to that brother. I remember those days well. I started out, over 30 years ago now, as a dry Waller, and I spent more years than I care to remember doing whatever jobs I could get, just to get a foot in the door. It paid off for me in the end, though. Say, I am working on a development on the south side of town and was wondering;" Before Martha could stop him, Tom launched into a long and technical question about a challenge he was having with the plumbing for his new development. When I started an equally long and technical response, Erin kissed me on the cheek and whispered that Martha and she were going to go to the bar to get another drink. A few minutes later, I was still talking with Tom when a movement at the bar caught my eye. I looked more closely and saw that Erin was speaking with a tall, arrogant-looking man who kept trying to put his hand on her lower back, while she forcefully pushed it away. "My apologies, Tom, but could you give me a minute?" Without waiting for a reply, I walked over to where Erin was standing and slipped my arm around her waist, just as the man reached for her for a third time. "Hey, now," I said, trying to defuse the situation with a bit of humor. "At least buy me a drink before you make a move on me like that." His hand recoiled like it had been scalded, and his cheeks colored in anger. I could smell the alcohol on his breath from where I was standing. "Well, if it isn't the plumber," he said in a mocking tone. He must have been eavesdropping on my conversation with Tom, and he clearly wasn't impressed. "What did you think of the show this evening? Actually, that's hardly a fair question since you've probably never been to the theatre before. So, how about something more your level? I wonder what you would think of the bathrooms in my new penthouse. I am sure you would find them very impressive. I will give you a call the next time my toilet gets clogged, and you can come and check them out." He seemed very pleased with his insults, so he continued, a condescending grin on his face. "Anyway, Dr. Anderson, as I was saying, it was charitable of you to let the help see how the rest of us live, and I am sure he is having a good time and all, but it's past time for him to bring his daddy's suit home, don't you think? Why don't you leave him to it, and you and I can go have a drink? And then; who knows? I had dealt with people like this prick for my entire life. When you grow up with one abusive parent and no money, you get used to just about everyone feeling like they are better than you. There was nothing I could do about that, but I learned to use humor as a shield to protect myself and deflect attention. But sometimes humor just wasn't enough. And when humor failed, a more direct approach was called for. "You know, if you're trying to insult me, you're going to have to work a whole lot harder than that. But I doubt that hard work is something that you're too familiar with. I have been working since I was twelve to put food on the table for my brother and sisters. I have been a plumber since I was fourteen; by the time I was fifteen, I am sure I had already spent more time ankle-deep in shit than you've spent doing honest work in your entire life. "I didn't borrow this suit from my father because I don't know who my father is; that's right, I'm a bastard. But I am a bastard by circumstance and not by choice. I was born this way, what's your excuse? And since you asked, the suit I'm wearing belonged to Erin's grandfather, and you're right, I would never be able to afford a suit like this myself. But it's an honor to wear a suit that belonged to a man who loved Erin more than anything in this world. If I am really lucky, maybe she will let me love her just as deeply one day. "I may not know that much about musicals or the theatre, but anything that brings that much joy to Erin is more than fine in my books. So, I am going to continue to have a wonderful time with Erin this evening. Why wouldn't I? I am here with the most beautiful woman in the place, or;" I swept my gaze over to Martha, who was still standing beside Erin, "tied for the most beautiful, anyway." The man's face was now distorted with anger, and he took a step towards me. I stepped forward to meet him, my eyes never leaving his. Before, I had been speaking loudly for the benefit of those around us, but now I was speaking in a controlled voice, pitched for his ears alone. "You can say what you want about me, you prick. I have no respect for arrogant shitheels like you, so I just don't care. But before you ever think about putting your hands on Erin again, without her consent, you would do well to remember the Pipe Wrench Incident. "When I was fourteen, two of the men my mother was having sex with, in exchange for drugs, decided that my sister Alison should join in their fun. She was just nine years old. Luckily, I was home at the time, but I was just a kid, and they were fully grown men. When it was over, they were in the hospital, and I was cleaning my pipe wrench with some WD-40 and a rag." I looked him up and down once, dismissively. "Remember that story the next time you're tempted to touch someone I love." I turned to Tom who had come over to stand with Martha. "I'm sorry I interrupted your lovely event, and please don't hold my bad manners against Erin. I don't want to cause any more trouble, so maybe we should be on our way." Tom held up his hand indicating that we should stay. "Dr. Allen, you're drunk and making an ass of yourself. Please see yourself out. On your way home, please consider what you would like me to say at the next Board meeting regarding your behavior tonight." As a chastened Dr. Allen left the reception, Erin leaned over and whispered in my ear, "So, I'm someone you love, am I?" Before I could stammer a reply, Erin kissed my cheek and led me away to get a drink. We avoided the topic of Dr. Allen for the rest of the evening until we were on our way back to the hotel. "Did you really put two men in the hospital with a pipe wrench?" I chuckled softly before responding. "That part of the story is 100% true. What I didn't mention, though, was that they were both stoned at the time and facing the other direction. They would have killed me in a fair fight." It was close to midnight by the time we made it back to the hotel. We held each other's hands as we walked to the elevators, and Erin leaned against me as the doors closed. "Davis, how would you like this evening to end?" My heart started racing and my hands trembled. "I; I want to be with you. But, I have never;" "Are you still a virgin?" "I kissed a girl once, back in high school, but it was nothing like kissing you. I want you more than anything I have ever wanted in my life, but I don't want to disappoint you." Erin tried to stay calm as she replied. "So, you think that I am some kind of floozy who is going to compare you to all my past conquests?" "No, that's not it at all, I;" "Or do you think that I am so shallow that I will get mad at you if it takes a little while for you to learn what I like?" "No, I don't think that either;" "Okay, then. Here is what's going to happen. When we get to our room, you are going to move some of the furniture out of the way, while I put on some music. You still remember how to dance, right? And then we will take things slowly. I will let you know what makes me feel good, and you will let me know what makes you feel even better. And we will be together, and that's all that matters." And that is what happened. Erin started a playlist of songs that she liked, and we slowly danced together in our room. After the first song ended, she nuzzled into my chest as she loosened my tie and undid the first two buttons of my shirt. When the next song started, she started gently kissing and then licking my chest, causing my manhood to stiffen almost painfully. "Well, hello, my rather large friend. You need to be patient, for now. But if you're good, I may kiss you as well before the night is done." Her sensuous voice, and the image it evoked, were definitely not conducive to patience, and I let out a low moan of pleasure. "That's what I like to hear," she murmured as she untucked my shirt and continued to undo my buttons until she could run her tongue over my nipples and tweak them with her teeth. She looked up at me with sultry, half-lidded eyes. "It's okay for you to touch me as well if you want," she said, as she took one of my hands and slid it under the back of her dress and down to her silky-smooth cheeks. She slid my other hand under the front of her dress so that it cupped her tit, and she sucked in a breath as I stroked my callused thumb over her nipple. "Now some women like it when you;" I kissed her before she could finish her thought. "Erin, I don't care what some women like, the only woman I want is you." "Oh," she replied in a breathy voice. "Well, I like it when you're a bit rougher with my tits. Not right away, I need to be in the mood; like I am now;" She lost her train of thought as my hand enveloped and massaged her tit, squeezing her nipple lightly between my thumb and forefinger as I lifted it away from her body. "Mmmm, yes. Just like that, baby." I felt a wave of heat roll up the fingers on my other hand, so I slid it further down until I felt a small triangle of material, that was slick with liquid heat. I slipped my finger a little further and felt her long smooth cunt open at my touch. "Oh, Baby," Erin whispered huskily into my ear. "We are going to have so much fun tonight." It was strange going back to my regular life after my night with Erin. The time with her was so incredible, and so beyond anything I could ever have imagined, that it didn't seem real. To be continued in part 4. Based on a post by CleverGenericName, in 4 parts, for Literotica.

Michigan Weather and Women: Part 3 How did we ever get here? Based on a post by CleverGenericName, in 4 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Connected. "When I was fourteen, Mr. Johnson introduced me to a friend of his, Henry White, who was a master plumber. Henry was a high-functioning alcoholic whose temper had driven away all his old apprentices and journeymen. Luckily, I was always big for my age, and Mr. Johnson assured Henry that I was seventeen, turning eighteen in the next few months, so he took me on with the promise to make me an apprentice as soon as I was old enough. By the time that Henry learned my actual age, he had come to rely on me so much that he kept me on." "But what about school? Don't you need a high school diploma to become an apprentice?" "One good thing about growing up in a small town is that most people know the score. I made it to school when I could, and Henry and I worked a lot on the weekends, while Alison watched the rest of my siblings. Most of my teachers let me through with C's and D's, even though I must have missed half of my classes. Everyone knew that I was working with Henry and that I would need my high school diploma to become an apprentice, so they just kind of let me slip through. "I had well over 6,000 hours of experience plumbing before I even turned 18 and could formally become an apprentice. By that point, Henry was a significantly less functional alcoholic, and I was doing everything for his business; all the plumbing and all of the invoicing. He just signed off on the work. If anyone had ever looked into it, he could have gotten into real trouble, but we did smaller jobs for folks who didn't have a lot of money, so no one ever noticed or cared. "Just about the last thing that Henry did before he passed was to swear out my application to become a master plumber. Then one day I showed up for work, and he had died in his sleep. He didn't own much of anything, other than his tools, and he didn't have any family that I knew of, so I just kept on working." After a few minutes spent lying together in silence, I thought that Erin might have drifted off, but she had one more question for me before she did. "When did your mom leave?" I had never told anyone that part of my story; even my brother and sisters thought that Mom had just left one day, leaving me in charge. The reality was so much worse. "By the time Lane started school, Mom had already left us. Not physically, but in all the other ways that matter. She didn't work, and she regularly brought her 'boyfriends' back to our house to trade sex for drugs. Any support she got from social services went straight into her arm or up her nose. I was working long hours by then, to pay the rent and put food on the table, so sometimes that meant that Mary or my brother would be at home with Mom when I wasn't there. I knew it was playing with fire, but there was nothing I could do about it other than pray. "Normally, when I got home, I would blow my horn as I pulled into our drive and Lane would come running out to hug me and tell me about his day. So, I knew something was wrong when I came home late one evening, turned off my truck, and he still hadn't come out. I went inside, and Mom was sitting stoned in the living room watching TV. I asked where Lane was, and she just waved toward the back of the house. Alison and Sharon were out, so Mary and Lane were home with her by themselves. I found him in the room that we shared, cowering in the corner, with little Mary guarding the door. She was only eight at the time. "After a few minutes, I got Lane to tell me what was wrong, and he showed me his arm. Earlier, he had been in the kitchen and had bumped into Mom while she was cooking something on the stove. In a burst of rage, or maybe just evil, she grabbed his arm and held it against the burner. You can still see the scar on his arm today. "That was the end of it. I asked Mary to stay with Lane in our room, I packed Mom's things into the one suitcase we owned, and I drove her to the bus station. I bought her a ticket to Grand Rapids, gave her all the cash in my wallet, and waited with her until she boarded. I told her I would call the police if she ever came back. "Before she left, she spat on me and told me she wished I had never been born." I marveled at how flat my voice sounded, but to my surprise, my cheeks felt wet. I thought I had lost the ability to cry long ago. "Can you imagine that, abandoning your own mother? I'll probably burn in hell, but it was the only way I could think of to keep my brother and sisters safe. I haven't seen her since, although she used to call a couple of times a year asking for money. I didn't feel too bad about hanging up on her when she did, though, since she was still collecting family benefits for us all. Lane barely remembers her, which is likely a blessing, so I made up the story about Mom going away for the weekend and never coming back. "Since then, I have done what was needed for us to survive. When Alison finished school, she wanted to stay home to help look after the others, but I convinced her to go to college. I said that Mom had put aside some money for her tuition, but of course, that was a lie. I have been making the payments for her, but I wanted her to have the chance to just be young, for once. To get away from all of this, at least for a while." "But what about you, Davis?" "I don't matter." "Well, you matter to me." While I was speaking, Erin had wrapped both arms around me and was now holding me tight against her body. When I finished, my body was wracked by waves of uncontrollable grief, but she held me through it all. Eventually, as I started to calm down, she gave me gentle kisses on the nape of my neck and whispered to me in a soft voice. I don't remember what she said, but I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. The power came back on early the next morning, and Erin and I were the first people to wake up. She lay beside me with a small smile on her face. "You've had some hard times, Davis Crawford, but you have come out the other side. You're pretty amazing." I felt a sudden burst of both elation and fear as I returned her smile. "Thanks for listening and not judging me. I've never told anyone some of the things I shared with you." "It was my pleasure. Now let's get up and make some coffee." Looking out the window, the snowdrifts were over two feet high in places, but I knew they weren't going to get any lighter as the sun came out and they started to melt. "I am going to get started on the shoveling if you want to start on breakfast." Erin gave me a bemused look. "Or maybe, I am fully capable of shoveling snow, and we can get it done twice as fast by working together." A few minutes after we started, Lane came out to help. At one point, when Erin was on the other side of the yard, he started to speak. "I heard some of what you said to Erin last night. I never knew what Mom did to you, what you did to protect us. Thank you." "Ah, Bud. I never wanted you to worry. Mom wasn't well for a long time, and she made some terrible choices. But she's gone now, and you will always be safe with me." By the time we finished, we had worked ourselves into a lather, so I suggested to Wilma that she get a snow plowing service for the winter. She gave me a look that implied that somewhere there was a village searching for its idiot; and that idiot was me. "Oh, I have a service, but they take so long to come that they are useless if they bother to show up at all." Erin jumped into the conversation, looking pissed off. "It's part of my family and the McDougal's ongoing campaign to get Gran to move. I have told them how dangerous the game they are playing is, but they just don't seem to care." I thought for a minute, before walking a little ways away and making a call. When I returned, I had some good news for Wilma. "Go ahead and cancel your current service. If they aren't going to do the work, they shouldn't have a problem with not getting paid. I called an old friend of mine from school who runs a snow removal company out of Harbor Springs, who owes me a favor or nine. From now on, you will be at the top of his list." Erin and I texted just about every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we talked most nights when she wasn't working. We were both insanely busy; Erin was providing pediatric coverage for two hospitals that were three hours apart, and I was working as much overtime as possible, to save up for Christmas. Some weeks, the only time we had to meet in person was Sunday afternoons at Wilma's. Mary, in turn, was flourishing under Wilma's guidance. It seemed like she was channeling her emotions into her art, and I began to see the kind and thoughtful sister reemerge that I thought I had lost forever. She wouldn't show me the painting she was working on, but Wilma said she was making good progress, and that was all I needed to know. As it got towards mid-December, our thoughts turned to Christmas. Since Wilma's family was still boycotting the holidays, we decided to have a joint celebration like at Thanksgiving. Erin was going to be working at the hospital in Petoskey on Christmas Day, but we promised to keep Wilma company and to bring her a Christmas meal that she could eat on her break. In typical fashion, she tried to convince us that she would be fine with cafeteria food, but we would hear nothing of it. When we got to Wilma's house for lunch on Christmas Day, she had stockings laid out by the fireplace with a present for each of us. Santa must have had a very healthy budget, because he brought Lane a new fishing rod, Mary a set of expensive paints and charcoals, Sharon a contribution to her college fund, and Alison a specialized nurse's bag with a personalized stethoscope. Rather than a present, my stocking came with a small envelope that contained a pair of tickets to the traveling production of "Moulin Rouge" that was playing in Grand Rapids in March. Although I was happy to get a present of any kind, Wilma must have seen my look of confusion at the choice. "I was talking to Santa, and he mentioned that Erin loves musicals. Phillip used to take her to them when she was younger. He would put on his best suit, and she would get all dolled up in a dress with some of my jewelry, and they would go out for a fancy dinner before the show and have a grand old time." I looked at her in amusement, before replying. "Well, it seems that Santa is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. But I will have to say thanks, next time I bump into him." Our present to Wilma came in three parts. First, we included her in our Christmas cookie exchange, and Mary even gave her a double portion of the chocolate chip cookies she had baked. Second, the five of us committed to helping her catch up on the yard work and house repairs that had fallen by the wayside since Phillip passed. And finally, we pledged to do everything in our power to make sure that she could stay in her house for as long as she was able. Wilma hugged and thanked each of us with tears in her eyes, then looked over at Mary. "Why don't you get your present for your brother." Mary went to the studio at the back of the house and brought back what looked like a small painting, wrapped in Christmas paper. "I wanted to make you something to say 'thank you' for everything you have done for us. And for not giving up on me." When I unwrapped the painting, I was stunned. It was very different from Phillip or Wilma's more realistic works and had vibrant streaks of paint that burst across the canvas, meeting, seemingly at random, in explosions of color. The entire piece was chaotic, except for a single corner that was shielded from the turmoil by a solid arc of paint that was the exact color of my eyes. After lunch, Mary and Sharon kept Wilma company while Alison, Lane, and I went to see Erin at the hospital. Things were pretty quiet, so she had time to sit and eat her dinner with us. While she ate, I showed her pictures from earlier in the day. She laughed at one, in particular, of Wilma with her arm around Mary while they were wearing festive paper hats from their Christmas crackers. "Thank you for taking such good care of Wilma, Davis. She would never admit it, but the holidays would have been very lonely for her this year without you. It means the world to me that you could be there for her." We chatted a bit longer before I pulled out my present for Erin. It was a small flat package which she opened slowly. Inside was a framed drawing of Wilma's house, as seen from the docks, as she looked out the picture window in her living room. "This is amazing, who made it?" "I used to draw quite a bit in school. Since Mary has been working with your Gran, I thought I might give it another try, and I particularly liked how this one turned out." "It's beautiful, Davis. Thank you." She started to blush as she glanced over at Lane, before she slid a card over to me, and whispered, "Maybe you should wait to open this until later when you're alone." Inside the card was Erin's two-part gift to me. First, an invitation to visit her in Grand Rapids, and second, a night for the two of us in a suite at a very nice hotel. New Year's Eve was even quieter than usual at our house. Erin was working in Grand Rapids and was on call that evening. I spoke with her earlier in the day, however, and wished her a Happy New Year, and we sent each other kissing emojis at midnight. The rest of us spent the night playing board games. The only real excitement came a few days earlier when Mary asked if she could invite a friend to join us. "And is this friend a boy, by chance?" As far as I knew, Mary had never had a boyfriend, so this was a new development. Mary didn't have to answer, since her blush did the talking for her. "Do we know this boy?" "It's; It's James McDougal. But he's not like his brothers. He's a good guy." I had my reservations about all of the McDougals, but I was willing to give him a chance. I had only met James that one time at his parent's house when I had gone to get Mary, and he seemed polite enough. But since he was a McDougal, he was starting with two strikes and was in danger of going down swinging. To give Mary credit, James passed the first boyfriend test before he even made it into the house. When he drove into the yard, Munchkin was the first to greet him. He wasn't growling or barking like he sometimes did, or showing his teeth, but he was plenty intimidating. James waited patiently for him to approach before carefully scratching behind his ears. After Mary came out to greet James, Munchkin decided he was alright and fell in behind them as they came inside. Just after midnight, as he was getting ready to leave, James took me aside. "I just wanted to say, sir, that I am sorry for what happened with Mary a few months back. I should never have brought her over to my house without your permission, and I should have brought her right back home once I saw that my brothers were home. I promise you, that despite my bad judgment, I would have made sure that nothing happened to her, and I won't ever make that mistake again." I had to admit that James was growing on me. Chapter 5. It wasn't long before Mary introduced James to Wilma. I had to work on a Sunday in early January, so he offered to drive her to Wilma's in my place. I could tell he was nervous, and he was wearing a nice, collared shirt with some clean jeans, under his winter jacket. By the time he brought Mary home, his shirt was soaked in sweat, and he looked a little like a young man returning from war. Later that week, I asked Wilma what she thought of him. "He seems like a nice, polite boy and he sure is besotted with our Mary. While Mary and I worked on her latest painting, he did some chores for me, including chopping and stacking the entire half cord of wood you dropped off last week. But he didn't complain, and he was still smiling at Mary when he was done, so I think he will do." Wilma's relationship with the rest of the McDougals, however, remained tense, and they made it clear to me that continuing to help her would come at a steep cost. I ran into Calum one evening at the grocery store and he made their position crystal clear. "We've got a big job coming up in Indian River that you might be interested in. Starts in a week, and it would keep you busy for the better part of the next year, solid. The job is yours if you want it." "What's this job going to cost me?" "It's yours, no strings attached. But you wouldn't have time to help old lady Anderson anymore. You know, and I know, that it's time for her to move on from that land. It's what her family wants and it's what's best for her. I am sure that doctor down in Petoskey would understand, I figure she must be tired of looking after that grandmother of hers all the time anyway. Think how much more time the two of you would have together if you were working a regular nine-to-five kind of job. "On the other hand, if you don't work with us on this project, my family is going to take it pretty hard. Hard enough that we might reach out to our friends and neighbors to let them know that you are not a team player and that they may not want to do business with you." There it was. They were threatening to ruin me if I didn't do what they wanted. I knew they couldn't cut off all of my business since there were too many people in the lower peninsula who had been screwed over by them in the past. But they could sure make things tough for me. I am really bad at taking orders, however, particularly from dickheads like Calum McDougal. Calum had a cynical smile as he walked away. He didn't value decency or loyalty, so I was sure he thought he had won me over. All he had done was harden my resolve. I felt honor-bound to reach out to my friend who was clearing Wilma's driveway, though, to let him know that he might get some heat from the McDougals. He was surprisingly poetic in his response. "Fuck those arrogant worm-drowners and the horses they rode in on." Valentine's Day was never a big deal for me. Over the years, I hadn't had time to date, and I wouldn't have had any money to do anything special if I did, so the Hallmark holiday passed me by without too much fuss or bother. I had hoped things might be different since I was with Erin, but she was on call at the hospital in Petoskey, and I was pushing hard on a large multi-unit build that was on a tight schedule, so I was working six or even seven days a week until it was done. My work hadn't completely dried up since my run-in with Calum, but it had certainly taken a hit, so I was not in a position to turn down jobs, no matter how inconvenient. My one consolation was I knew I would see Erin in a couple of weeks when I visited her in Grand Rapids for the show. I had some flowers delivered to her at the hospital anyway, to let her know that I was thinking of her. That earned me an emoji-filled text and an enthusiastic video call when she was done with her shift. As the date of the show got closer, I started to get anxious. I had never been to a live performance of anything, except the occasional high school assembly, and I worried that Erin would be disappointed in my lack of manners and refinement. Wilma noticed my growing nervousness and decided that I needed a pep talk. "Listen, Davis. Erin likes you for who you are. She doesn't need or want you to act like some slick yuppie from the big city." "I know, Wilma, but I don't even know what to wear. The nicest outfit I own is still just a collared shirt over a pair of jeans." "Hmm, I can help you with that. I still have some of Phillip's old suits and ties, let's take a look and see what might fit." Half an hour later, Wilma had picked out a heavier dark charcoal-colored suit, a lightweight linen suit suitable for warmer weather, and a dark grey suit with tight pinstripes for me to try on. She had some shirts for me, as well, from when Phillip was younger. "Phillip wore that pinstripe suit the first time that he took me to the movies. I'll never forget that night, he looked just like Cary Grant. If you bring these suits to the tailor in Indian River, he should be able to take in the jacket and hem the pants to fit you perfectly. A good tailor can make these suits look like they were cut just for you." I didn't want to seem ungrateful, but I couldn't help but wonder if I would look funny in a decades-old suit. Wilma dismissed my concerns out of hand. "Let me tell you a little secret. If you buy a cheap suit, it will quickly begin to look tacky and dated. If you invest in a quality suit, it will age gracefully and become a timeless classic." Finally, Wilma selected a half dozen ties for me to try on and spent an hour teaching me how to tie a half-Windsor knot. "Get these suits altered, grab yourself a pair of polished black leather shoes, and you'll have those snooty pricks at the theatre thinking they are underdressed. And try to have fun. Erin loves the theatre, so if the two of you continue to fall in love, you will be going with her at least a couple of times a year, so you might as well enjoy it." I stood there in shock for a moment. "Do you really think Erin is falling in love with me?" "Well, yes, I do. And it's clear as daylight that you're in love with her too. But don't overthink things. Just go to the show and have a great night together. And here, take this with you as well," Wilma said handing me a navy blue pocket square with a distinctive paisley pattern. "Most men don't bother wearing a pocket square anymore, but I think they complete the look perfectly. You should wear this one on your date with Erin." Wilma took a final look at me and then slipped a twenty-dollar bill into my pocket. "That's for you to get a haircut before the show. Your normal 'shaggy mutt lost in a forest' look is adorable but not for your big date." The day of the performance approached with both aching slowness and relentless speed. We hadn't discussed it, but I knew (or at least strongly suspected) that Erin would have some expectations about how we spent our time together after the show. Unfortunately, I had no experience when it came to women other than a single kiss with Brittany Johnson back in my sophomore year of high school. I was terrified that I would disappoint her. To make matters worse, I had the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Grand Rapids to overthink things. By the time I arrived at Erin's apartment complex, I was a bit of a mess. My nerves were somewhat allayed, however, when Erin came running out to greet me with a huge smile on her face. "You made it! How was the drive? Wow, I love the haircut! I hope you're not too tired. I can't wait for tonight. I have been telling the girls all about you, and they are dying to see if the man lives up to the legend!" I guess Erin could see the sudden swell of anxiety on my face, so she took my hand. "Don't worry, the girls will love you, Davis. Why don't you grab your bag and come inside? I thought we could get changed here and then check in to the hotel before dinner and the show." Erin's housemates were really sweet, and the three of us chatted for at least an hour while Erin got ready before I excused myself to do the same. I put on Phillip's charcoal grey suit along with the crisp white shirt that Wilma had recommended. It took me four tries to tie my navy blue tie, but even I could tell that it made the colors in my paisley pocket square pop. Despite my nerves, I was still ready before Erin, so I rejoined her housemates in the living room while I waited. They kept sneaking glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking, so much so that I thought I must have done something wrong. Rather than second-guessing myself, I decided to take the bull by the horns and ask; better to be embarrassed in front of Erin's housemates than in front of her. "It's; it's not that you did anything wrong. It's just that you look; well, amazing; like an old-time movie star or something. Erin is going to swoon when she sees you." "You really think so?" I asked, still not sure of myself. Just then, I heard Erin's voice from behind me. "I'm sorry I took so long; we should head out before we're;" Erin went silent as I turned to look at her. She was wearing a floor-length emerald-green dress, which seemed to flow around her and mold to her curves, gathering delicately at her neck while leaving her back bare. Her sandy-blonde hair was styled in an elegant updo, while a few strands floated loose, framing her face. But, as always, what captured and held my gaze were her amber eyes, which danced and sparkled as she moved. My hands began to tremble, and I didn't trust myself to speak. "Do I look alright, Davis?" I took a deep breath that sent oxygen coursing through my body, as I found my voice. "I had no idea that anyone could look as beautiful as you do right now." Apparently, she liked my response, since her face broke into a wide grin. "You look mighty handsome yourself, Mister," she said while making a small adjustment to the knot of my tie. "Is that one of Grampy's suits? It looks amazing on you, and I love the tie and the; Oh; Oh, Davis. Is that Grampy's pocket square?" I could see tears forming in her eyes. "Wilma thought you might like it; that it might remind you of Phillip and the times he took you to the theatre when you were younger. I don't have to wear it, though, if you don't like it," I said reaching up to take it out of my pocket. Erin stopped my hand with hers, however, and then lightly ran her fingertips over the colorful square. "Gran was right. It reminds me of Grampy and now it will remind me of you. Please, I want you to wear it. For me." I felt a bit self-conscious pulling up to a fancy hotel in my ratty old truck, but it didn't seem to faze Erin in the least, so I decided not to worry about it. The suite she had booked was by far the nicest room of any kind that I had ever been in, but I tried not to seem like a country rube as I looked around. "Do you like it?" Erin asked a bit nervously, as she tried to gauge my reaction. "Honestly, I thought that rooms like this were just for celebrities and movie stars, and folks like that." "Normally that's the case, I guess, but for one night; tonight; it's ours." Dinner was lovely. I kept expecting people to see past my suit and realize that I was an imposter; just a plumber from the peninsula; not the kind of man who should be spending the evening with a woman like Erin. But she seemed to be having a wonderful time, so I began to relax. My anxiety was further abated when she leaned over the table and said in a low voice. "Jesus, the women in this place can't stop checking you out. I'm kind of wishing I had brought my bear spray now to keep them away. I need to excuse myself for a minute, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one of them trying to take my place when I get back." "Erin, I would never;" "I know, Darling. And frankly, they can look all they want because I know who you're going home with tonight." After that, I looked around the room with a new eye and noticed the subtle glances in my direction, and the shy smiles and blushes. I guess Phillip really did have good taste in suits. After dinner, we walked arm-in-arm to the performance hall, which was very impressive, with its soaring ceilings and plush velvet upholstery. Our seats were in a box on the right-hand side of the hall, which gave us a commanding view of the stage. As the lights went down, Erin took my hand in eager anticipation. I don't remember much about the performance that night; I spent more time watching Erin's childlike wonder than what was happening on the stage. Erin was still holding my hand at the intermission, and I felt a warm sense of contentment wash over me. "Oh, I forgot to mention, some of the largest donors to the hospital are hosting a reception after the performance. Would it be alright if we put in an appearance before we head back to our hotel?" I agreed without hesitation; a decision I would second guess before the night was over. It was close to 10:30 by the time the performance ended, and Erin held my arm, while resting her head on my shoulder, as we made our way through the hall to the reception. We each grabbed a drink, and we drifted through the small crowd until Erin was greeted warmly by a distinguished-looking older couple. Erin introduced them to me as the hosts of the reception, Mr. and Mrs. Wendel. "Please, just call us Tom and Martha. And you two make such a lovely couple. What do you do, Davis?" "I am a plumber, Ma'am," I replied, wondering how that news would be received by this obviously well-to-do couple, but I needn't have worried. "What kind of plumbing do you do?" Tom asked with genuine interest. "Mainly residential at this point, since I just got my master's license last year. A lot of the larger builders want to see some gray hairs on the heads of their skilled tradesmen, so right now, I am just doing what I can to pay the bills." "Amen, to that brother. I remember those days well. I started out, over 30 years ago now, as a dry Waller, and I spent more years than I care to remember doing whatever jobs I could get, just to get a foot in the door. It paid off for me in the end, though. Say, I am working on a development on the south side of town and was wondering;" Before Martha could stop him, Tom launched into a long and technical question about a challenge he was having with the plumbing for his new development. When I started an equally long and technical response, Erin kissed me on the cheek and whispered that Martha and she were going to go to the bar to get another drink. A few minutes later, I was still talking with Tom when a movement at the bar caught my eye. I looked more closely and saw that Erin was speaking with a tall, arrogant-looking man who kept trying to put his hand on her lower back, while she forcefully pushed it away. "My apologies, Tom, but could you give me a minute?" Without waiting for a reply, I walked over to where Erin was standing and slipped my arm around her waist, just as the man reached for her for a third time. "Hey, now," I said, trying to defuse the situation with a bit of humor. "At least buy me a drink before you make a move on me like that." His hand recoiled like it had been scalded, and his cheeks colored in anger. I could smell the alcohol on his breath from where I was standing. "Well, if it isn't the plumber," he said in a mocking tone. He must have been eavesdropping on my conversation with Tom, and he clearly wasn't impressed. "What did you think of the show this evening? Actually, that's hardly a fair question since you've probably never been to the theatre before. So, how about something more your level? I wonder what you would think of the bathrooms in my new penthouse. I am sure you would find them very impressive. I will give you a call the next time my toilet gets clogged, and you can come and check them out." He seemed very pleased with his insults, so he continued, a condescending grin on his face. "Anyway, Dr. Anderson, as I was saying, it was charitable of you to let the help see how the rest of us live, and I am sure he is having a good time and all, but it's past time for him to bring his daddy's suit home, don't you think? Why don't you leave him to it, and you and I can go have a drink? And then; who knows? I had dealt with people like this prick for my entire life. When you grow up with one abusive parent and no money, you get used to just about everyone feeling like they are better than you. There was nothing I could do about that, but I learned to use humor as a shield to protect myself and deflect attention. But sometimes humor just wasn't enough. And when humor failed, a more direct approach was called for. "You know, if you're trying to insult me, you're going to have to work a whole lot harder than that. But I doubt that hard work is something that you're too familiar with. I have been working since I was twelve to put food on the table for my brother and sisters. I have been a plumber since I was fourteen; by the time I was fifteen, I am sure I had already spent more time ankle-deep in shit than you've spent doing honest work in your entire life. "I didn't borrow this suit from my father because I don't know who my father is; that's right, I'm a bastard. But I am a bastard by circumstance and not by choice. I was born this way, what's your excuse? And since you asked, the suit I'm wearing belonged to Erin's grandfather, and you're right, I would never be able to afford a suit like this myself. But it's an honor to wear a suit that belonged to a man who loved Erin more than anything in this world. If I am really lucky, maybe she will let me love her just as deeply one day. "I may not know that much about musicals or the theatre, but anything that brings that much joy to Erin is more than fine in my books. So, I am going to continue to have a wonderful time with Erin this evening. Why wouldn't I? I am here with the most beautiful woman in the place, or;" I swept my gaze over to Martha, who was still standing beside Erin, "tied for the most beautiful, anyway." The man's face was now distorted with anger, and he took a step towards me. I stepped forward to meet him, my eyes never leaving his. Before, I had been speaking loudly for the benefit of those around us, but now I was speaking in a controlled voice, pitched for his ears alone. "You can say what you want about me, you prick. I have no respect for arrogant shitheels like you, so I just don't care. But before you ever think about putting your hands on Erin again, without her consent, you would do well to remember the Pipe Wrench Incident. "When I was fourteen, two of the men my mother was having sex with, in exchange for drugs, decided that my sister Alison should join in their fun. She was just nine years old. Luckily, I was home at the time, but I was just a kid, and they were fully grown men. When it was over, they were in the hospital, and I was cleaning my pipe wrench with some WD-40 and a rag." I looked him up and down once, dismissively. "Remember that story the next time you're tempted to touch someone I love." I turned to Tom who had come over to stand with Martha. "I'm sorry I interrupted your lovely event, and please don't hold my bad manners against Erin. I don't want to cause any more trouble, so maybe we should be on our way." Tom held up his hand indicating that we should stay. "Dr. Allen, you're drunk and making an ass of yourself. Please see yourself out. On your way home, please consider what you would like me to say at the next Board meeting regarding your behavior tonight." As a chastened Dr. Allen left the reception, Erin leaned over and whispered in my ear, "So, I'm someone you love, am I?" Before I could stammer a reply, Erin kissed my cheek and led me away to get a drink. We avoided the topic of Dr. Allen for the rest of the evening until we were on our way back to the hotel. "Did you really put two men in the hospital with a pipe wrench?" I chuckled softly before responding. "That part of the story is 100% true. What I didn't mention, though, was that they were both stoned at the time and facing the other direction. They would have killed me in a fair fight." It was close to midnight by the time we made it back to the hotel. We held each other's hands as we walked to the elevators, and Erin leaned against me as the doors closed. "Davis, how would you like this evening to end?" My heart started racing and my hands trembled. "I; I want to be with you. But, I have never;" "Are you still a virgin?" "I kissed a girl once, back in high school, but it was nothing like kissing you. I want you more than anything I have ever wanted in my life, but I don't want to disappoint you." Erin tried to stay calm as she replied. "So, you think that I am some kind of floozy who is going to compare you to all my past conquests?" "No, that's not it at all, I;" "Or do you think that I am so shallow that I will get mad at you if it takes a little while for you to learn what I like?" "No, I don't think that either;" "Okay, then. Here is what's going to happen. When we get to our room, you are going to move some of the furniture out of the way, while I put on some music. You still remember how to dance, right? And then we will take things slowly. I will let you know what makes me feel good, and you will let me know what makes you feel even better. And we will be together, and that's all that matters." And that is what happened. Erin started a playlist of songs that she liked, and we slowly danced together in our room. After the first song ended, she nuzzled into my chest as she loosened my tie and undid the first two buttons of my shirt. When the next song started, she started gently kissing and then licking my chest, causing my manhood to stiffen almost painfully. "Well, hello, my rather large friend. You need to be patient, for now. But if you're good, I may kiss you as well before the night is done." Her sensuous voice, and the image it evoked, were definitely not conducive to patience, and I let out a low moan of pleasure. "That's what I like to hear," she murmured as she untucked my shirt and continued to undo my buttons until she could run her tongue over my nipples and tweak them with her teeth. She looked up at me with sultry, half-lidded eyes. "It's okay for you to touch me as well if you want," she said, as she took one of my hands and slid it under the back of her dress and down to her silky-smooth cheeks. She slid my other hand under the front of her dress so that it cupped her tit, and she sucked in a breath as I stroked my callused thumb over her nipple. "Now some women like it when you;" I kissed her before she could finish her thought. "Erin, I don't care what some women like, the only woman I want is you." "Oh," she replied in a breathy voice. "Well, I like it when you're a bit rougher with my tits. Not right away, I need to be in the mood; like I am now;" She lost her train of thought as my hand enveloped and massaged her tit, squeezing her nipple lightly between my thumb and forefinger as I lifted it away from her body. "Mmmm, yes. Just like that, baby." I felt a wave of heat roll up the fingers on my other hand, so I slid it further down until I felt a small triangle of material, that was slick with liquid heat. I slipped my finger a little further and felt her long smooth cunt open at my touch. "Oh, Baby," Erin whispered huskily into my ear. "We are going to have so much fun tonight." It was strange going back to my regular life after my night with Erin. The time with her was so incredible, and so beyond anything I could ever have imagined, that it didn't seem real. To be continued in part 4. Based on a post by CleverGenericName, in 4 parts, for Literotica.

Rich History of Lebanese Baking with Maureen Abood Lebanon's culinary repertoire includes a multi-faceted baking tradition that is influenced by the country's history as much as by the diaspora the world over. Maureen Abood's new book, Lebanese Baking, offers a sweeping, deeply personal guide to the baked traditions of Lebanon. With more than 100 recipes and detailed process instruction, this is the first English-language cookbook of its kind. A tribute to Lebanese baking in all its forms, the book provides a tour in chapters, photos, recipes, and stories of the many facets of baking that make up and express the Lebanese culture of hospitality, feasting, community, sharing, and family. Growing up Lebanese American in Michigan, Maureen was immersed in a world of baking that evolved from historical traditions in Lebanon. When she finally traveled to Lebanon, she was exposed to an even broader understanding of the repertoire. The expansive population of Lebanese and Middle Easterners in Michigan also contribute to her ongoing research to capture and share Lebanese cuisine as deeply and broadly as possible. Join us with Maureen as she shares details of Lebanese Baking, its influences and her personal stories. Discover more about Maureen on her website at maureenabood.com, and enjoy shopping with a special discount using code ZAATAR15 at her Lebanese-inspired online shop of ingredients and tools at shop.maureenabood.com. Biography: Lebanese Baking is Maureen's second book on Lebanese cuisine; her first, Rose Water & Orange Blossoms: Fresh and Classic Recipes from My Lebanese Kitchen, was a Michigan Notable Book and an International Association of Culinary Professionals finalist. Her writing and recipes have appeared widely, including in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Saveur, Food52, and NPR. She teaches Lebanese cooking through her website and social media channels, and she lives in Harbor Springs and East Lansing, Michigan. Recorded via Zoom on November 19, 2025 *** CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO ✔ MEMBERSHIP https://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/ ✔ EMAIL LIST http://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/ ✔ S U B S C R I B E https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w ✔ F A C E B O O K https://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago ✔ PODCAST 2008 to Present https://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/ By Presenter https://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/ ✔ YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w ✔ W E B S I T E https://www.CulinaryHistorians.org

Angela Howenstein is a fashion stylist and content creator known for helping women over 40 rediscover their personal style with everyday, affordable chic. She believes getting dressed should feel fun, expressive, and confidence-boosting—not confusing or overwhelming. Her signature approach mixes high-low fashion—pairing timeless luxury pieces with budget-friendly finds to create looks that are polished yet totally approachable.Angela's career has taken her from the style capitals of New York and Los Angeles to collaborations with brands like Lilly Pulitzer and Oscar de la Renta. But it's her heart for real women that sets her apart. She's built a loyal community of women who want to look good, feel great, and answer that all-too-familiar question with style: “Where are you going in that?”Now based in Harbor Springs, Michigan, Angela shares stories of motherhood, marriage, and midlife with humor and heart—and proves that great style has no age limit.Website: https://angelahowenstein.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelahowenstein/LTK: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/angelahowensteinShop: https://shop.angelahowenstein.com/shop/My-ShopThank You to Our Sponsors: Jet Creative and UrbanStems!

July 13, 2025 ~ Host Dave Lorenz explores the Highlands of Harbor Springs for golf, the Young Americans Broadway-style dinner theater, the architecture and history of the Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, and more!

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes Julian Delos Reyes, company president, Craig Ryan Fine Clothing, started in Grand Blanc, and now at multiple Michigan locations. Welcome Julian, for the Michigan business community, bring us briefly up to speed on the company. Julian, congratulations on the new location! Why was Downtown Lansing the right next step for Craig Ryan Fine Clothing? You've expanded across Michigan over two decades—what makes this Lansing store feel like a personal milestone for you? What can shoppers expect from the new store in terms of experience, atmosphere, and selection? How does the Atrium Building's history—and Lansing's future—align with the Craig Ryan brand? As someone who grew up in the area and went to MSU, what does it mean to bring your business back home? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Watch MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/ Craig Ryan Fine Clothing Announces Expansion of Fifth Location in Downtown Lansing Michigan State alum returns to open new store in Michigan's Downtown LANSING, Mich. (June 18, 2025) - Craig Ryan Fine Clothing is proud to announce the opening of its fifth location in Downtown Lansing in July 2025, bringing over two decades of elevated style and personalized service to Michigan's Capital City. Founded in Grand Blanc more than 20 years ago, Craig Ryan has grown to include locations in Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Birmingham. Located in the historic Atrium Building on Washington Square, the Lansing store marks the next chapter in the company's steady expansion and long-standing commitment to delivering a premium shopping experience. This opening is also a personal milestone for company president Julian Delos Reyes, who grew up in the Lansing area and is a Michigan State University alumnus. “This feels like a homecoming,” said Delos Reyes. “I'm excited to reconnect with the community and bring our signature blend of style and service to a city that means so much to me.” The new location will feel both fresh and familiar, with a team of experienced professionals that customers will recognize. Shoppers can expect the same curated selection, personalized attention, and warm atmosphere that have defined Craig Ryan since day one. “The Atrium Building is an important part of Downtown Lansing's history, and with the construction of New Vision Lansing underway, it will continue to be integral to its future,” said Paul Gentilozzi, president and CEO of Gentilozzi Real Estate and New Vision Lansing LLC. “Welcoming Craig Ryan Fine Clothing to this historic space is an exciting addition. Craig Ryan will bring value not just to future residents, but to anyone who shops, visits or invests in Downtown Lansing.” Craig Ryan joins a list of new tenured tenants in the Atrium Building, including Clark Hill - Lansing, Middle Village, Downtown Lansing Inc., Element Massage, Craig Corey Vacations, Michigan's Children and more. The store will feature a full range of fine men's clothing, including standout brands like Peter Millar, Canali, Kiton, Jack Victor, Eton and more. About Craig Ryan Fine Clothing Craig Ryan Fine Clothing has been setting the standard in style and service for over 20 years. Known for its commitment to quality, timeless fashion, and personalized customer care, Craig Ryan offers a curated selection of fine menswear and accessories. With locations in Birmingham, Grand Blanc, Harbor Springs, and Petoskey and a new storefront coming soon to Lansing, Craig Ryan continues to expand its legacy across Michigan. For more information, visit craigryan.com.

June 13, 2025 ~ Paul broadcasting live from Walstrom Marine in Harbor Springs.

June 13, 2025 ~ State Representative Parker Fairbairn joins Paul live from Walstrom Marine in Harbor Springs.

June 13, 2025 ~ Tom Ervin, President Walstrom Marine joins Paul live from their Harbor Springs showroom.

In our final hour, we were joined by Frank Schwab from Yahoo Sports. He and Huge talked about the upcoming NFL schedule release later this week, gave their thought's on the Eagles/Cowboys in the season opener, they talked about the overseas games, talked about which NFL teams will surprise us this year, and much more. We were then joined by John Flynn who Coached at Harbor Springs along with his wife Amy, but were ultimately let go. He filled us in what he's heard in regards to why they were let go, told us how they plan to fight this, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We were joined by John Flynn who Coached at Harbor Springs along with his wife Amy, but were ultimately let go. He filled us in what he's heard in regards to why they were let go, told us how they plan to fight this, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the show, we're talking about the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, and more as we were joined by some of our great guests. We kicked off the show talking about the Detroit Lions as Scott Bischoff from the Detroit Lions Podcast joined us. It was released today that the NFL season opener will be the Eagles/Cowboys - so Scott and Huge gave their thought's on who the Lions could take on in their regular season open, talked about the first week of mini-camp, and much more. In our second hour we talked about the Tigers as we were joined by Alex Urban from the "Eat 'Em Up: Detroit Tigers Podcast." He and Huge talked about a rough series for the Tigers over the weekend, talked about what they really like about this team, gave their thought's on some players they don't think should be in the Major Leagues, and more. We were then joined by John Maakaron from the Detroit Lions Podcast and Sports Illustrated. John was at Rookie mini-camp last week, so he told us about who impressed him the most, he and Huge talked about who they would like to see the Lions play in week 1, and more. We were then joined by Tim Staudt from Staudt on Sports in Lansing. He and Huge talked about the Lions and who they'd like to see in the season opener, and much more. In our final hour, we were joined by Frank Schwab from Yahoo Sports. He and Huge talked about the upcoming NFL schedule release later this week, gave their thought's on the Eagles/Cowboys in the season opener, they talked about the overseas games, talked about which NFL teams will surprise us this year, and much more. We were then joined by John Flynn who Coached at Harbor Springs along with his wife Amy, but were ultimately let go. He filled us in what he's heard in regards to why they were let go, told us how they plan to fight this, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

032125 2nd HR FASCINATING David Martin DNA MYTH COLD HARBOR SPRINGS ACT THAT CHANGED SCIENCE FOREVER by Kate Dalley

Vic Verchereau welcomes Emily Emmott, who is the General Manager of Hotel Walloon. Enjoy the charm and hospitality of the early twentieth century along with the comforts of every modern amenity. Located in Northern Michigan, Hotel Walloon is settled against the breathtaking backdrop of Walloon Lake. This privately owned boutique hotel features spacious guest rooms, elegant design, rich history, and world-class service. Explore the beauty of Michigan from this central location. Travel from Walloon Lake Village to Petoskey, Boyne City, Harbor Springs, Mackinac Island, and Traverse City. Your Trip ambassador Vic Verchereau welcomes Emily Emmott, the General Manager of Hotel Walloon and shares the details of this special spot in the world on this edition of Michigan Corners. Listen in as you pack your bags! » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

"My piece “returning” was inspired by the field recording “in the turbine hall” by Cities and Memory. As I listened to the field recording, especially the resonance of the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, I immediately thought that it would blend well with some of my own recent experiments with resonance to create a new sonic landscape.  "The sound sources consist of field recordings of a playground in Syracuse, NY, and a ceiling fan in Harbor Springs, Michigan, that have been edited and processed in the studio (EQ, reverberation, etc.).  "Also included is a recording of various metal plates struck and dipped in water in my basement studio in Syracuse. An abridged and edited version of “in the turbine hall” is included in the second half of the piece." Tate Modern turbine hall reimagined by Edward Ruchalski. IMAGE: the wub, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Fresh episode from #MEMA24 in Harbor Springs, MI, talking with Dr. Henry Moss, discussing whippit abuse and smoking cessation. Two topics, one podcast!

On this episode of the Club + Resort Talks podcast, Rob Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of Club + Resort Business, chats with John Woodeshick, SVP and General Manager of The Hills Country Club in Austin, Texas. Woodeshick discussed the comprehensive renovations at the club's Live Oak Golf Course. These efforts are part of an ongoing reinvestment project at the club focused on creating a refined yet inviting environment that best serves today's members. The Hills is one of several properties identified by Invited to be included in its multi-year, multi-million-dollar reinvestment strategy aimed at enhancing the company's diverse portfolio of clubs. Work at The Hills began in 2021 with a renovation project at The Signature Course at the club, as well as the opening of The Chophouse, a new, elevated dining experience in 2023. Nearby, Westlake Country Club, a sister property, is going through three phases of renovation. Phase 1 started in November 2022 with enhancements to the racquet sports facilities, aquatics and Icehouse Bar and Restaurant. The second phase will transform the golf course and practice facilities into a well-rounded, challenging, and beautifully maintained layout. The course will be completed and unveiled in November. The final phase will include the renovation of the main clubhouse and will touch everything from dining, private events, locker rooms, audio-visual equipment, family areas, parking lots, and landscape. Rob and Senior Editor Phil Keren also discussed projects and initiatives happening in Michigan, Washington, Texas and Pennsylvania. The Highlands in Harbor Springs, Mich. will host a new event on the Epson Tour in 2025. The inaugural Great Lakes Championship will be contested on The Highlands' Heather Course from June 9-15, 2025. “Hosting this prominent event underscores our commitment to golf and further highlights northern Michigan as a premier destination for exceptional golf,” says Mike Chumbler, President and General Manager of The Highlands. The dining experience at Canterwood Golf & Country Club in Gig Harbor, Wash. has been reimagined through the opening of The Stablehouse. The new name pays homage to Canterwood's rich equestrian roots as the club's name originated from the community's beginnings as a private equestrian community. The dining area has been renovated, the menu overhauled, and the space restructured to better serve members. A private dining area was built to accommodate private gatherings, while the bar space was doubled in size from the previous one to provide a more spacious and comfortable setting for guests. A second big name in golf is now connected with the Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia, Pa. The Cobbs Creek Foundation received a grant award from the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation to construct a junior putting green on the revitalized Cobbs Creek Campus. The $250,000 grant will provide all funding for a 20,000 sq.-ft. Jordan Spieth Family Foundation Junior Putting Green for young players to be introduced to the game of golf. The junior putting green will be built outside of the TGR Learning Lab, the educational center under construction on the campus. The TGR Learning Lab will provide year-round education programs for local youth and is being developed through the Cobbs Creek Foundation's partnership with TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity. The Cobbs Creek Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created in 2018 to restore the Cobbs Creek Golf Course and to return the site to its status as one of Philadelphia's historical landmarks.

Eve's family moves to Harbor Springs, a small lake town nestled along the shores of Northern Michigan. Her parents are eager to make a new start-and new friends. But Eve soon realizes there is something sinister about Simon and Marigold Blackwell. When Eve's cousin, Alice, dies and is said to have committed suicide, she knows something fishy is going on. Alice would never take her own life. Things get complicated further when the Blackwell's nanny disappears without explanation. The Blackwells endear themselves to Eve's family, gaining the trust of her parents. Simon claims to be a prophet and expects his prophecies to be obeyed. Eve is frightened by the things Marigold says she is be able to see in the spirit world. Eve struggles to resist their manipulation, but the Blackwells steadily gain control of everything in her life-disrupting her plans for college and hopes of marrying her soulmate. After what seems like an eternity of resisting the hold the Blackwells have over her, Eve faulters. She fears a curse and the safety of her family if she refuses the Blackwell's demands. She finally gives in and joins them. Eve finds herself on a plane to the Soviet Union. The Blackwells have persuaded her to take an internship at The House of Angels, an orphanage they run in Armenia. Eve soon discovers there's something evil going on. She sets out to find the truth and is determined to do everything in her power to protect the children, even if it means sacrificing herself.

June 14, 2024 ~ Tom Ervin, President Walstrom Marine joins Paul in Harbor Springs.

June 14, 2024 ~ Paul broadcasts live from Walstrom Marine in Harbor Springs.

New endowed fund to foster next generation of women's health leaders   To close the gap between women's health research and other scientific disciplines, Ward and Mari Walstrom of Harbor Springs have made a $1 million gift to bolster education and research in the MSU College of Human Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.  The Walstrom Family Endowed Women's Health Research Fund is creating an early-career training program to increase the number of scientists and clinicians pursuing a lifelong career focused on women's health care and research.  The program pairs medical and graduate students with research teams and will support independent research projects. Four College of Human Medicine early-career graduate students, including one third-year medical student, were recently selected and awarded the endowed funds; each will utilize the philanthropic funds to push forward current research projects, which would not have been otherwise possible.  Three Spartans describe the impact the gift will have on women's health. Dr. Richard Leach is professor and chair of the MSU College of Human Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Health. Shannon Harkins is a PhD candidate and Walstrom fund recipient. And Roksolana Sudyk is a future Spartan MD and Walstrom fund recipient. Conversation Highlights: (0:19) – Leach on the strengths, mission, and evolving excellence of the MSU College of Human Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.   (5:01) – Leach on the Walstroms and the impact of their gift.  (11:24) – Sudyk on her path to MSU, her passion for women's health, and meeting the Walstroms. (15:54) – Harkins on her passion for women's health, her research project, and meeting the Walstroms. (31:02) – Sudyk was attracted to MSU by the College of Human Medicine's focus on women's health and equity. And she describes her research project. Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

www.atravelpath.com https://delicioats.com?sca_ref=2606128.heLxZNHtFuUse code “PATH”   Wow! What an information-filled episode this was as we welcomed back Joe and Kalyn from Open Roading to Travel Tips! We learned a ton about Mackinac Island in Michigan, and after speaking with them, it sounds like such a fascinating place to visit. It certainly doesn't hurt that they spent a full season as Joe worked at a campground near the island (more on that in Part 1.) In this episode you'll learn all about:   Mackinac Island First of all, it is pronounced MackinAW, and Joe informed us pretty quickly that if your pronounce it they way it is spelled, the locals will be quick to correct you. The small island offers an escape from the modern world, as there are no cars on the island. Everything is either on foot, horseback, or bike.   Biking Bike rentals are a popular activity at Mackinac Island, and the eight-mile loop along the edge is a scenic and peaceful ride. They shared the tip of renting a bike on the island as opposed to renting one and bringing it on the ferry. This way, if something happens with your bike, the company is on the island to fix it. We also cover the best time to visit, nearby attractions, where to stay, and so much more! You'll definitely want to listen to this episode a few times if you plan on making a trip. And if you haven't heard of Mackinac Island or weren't considering visiting it, after listening I'm sure it will be on your list.   3,2,1 Countdown 3 Things to Bring to Mackinac Island: ·        Bike ·        Warm Clothes ·        Comfortable Walking Shoes 2 Complaints or Things You Should Be Prepared For: ·        Smell of Horse Manure ·        Dress Code at Grand Hotel ·        Bonus: Bugs 1 Thing You CAN'T Leave Mackinaw Island Without Doing: ·        8 Mile perimeter bike ride   Chapters ·        00:00 Introduction to Mackinac Island ·        05:30 How Long Should Someone Plan to Spend on Mackinac Island? ·        06:30 When is Mackinac Island Shut Down/Best Time to Visit? ·        09:15 Dog Friendly/Kid Friendly Activities on Mackinac Island? ·        11:30 Bike Rentals ·        12:30 Lodging & Transportation ·        15:00 Activities ·        16:30 Overall Cost of Mackinaw Island ·        18:45 Planning and Reservations ·        20:00 Favorite Food Spots ·        21:30 Nearby Attractions ·        23:00 Delicioats.com use code PATH ·        24:00 3, 2, 1 Countdown     Ferries ·        Shepler's Ferry: https://www.sheplersferry.com/ ·        Mackinac Island Ferry Company: https://www.mackinacferry.com/     Lodging ·        Mackinac Mill Creek Camping: https://www.campmackinaw.com/ ·        Grand Hotel: https://www.grandhotel.com/#   Restaurants/To Do ·        Millie's On Main: https://www.milliesonmain.com/ ·        Sanders Fudge: https://sanderscandy.com/pages/stores ·        Ryba's Fudge Shops: https://ryba.com/ Mackinac Family Heritage Pass (gets you into multiple locations in the area) https://tickets.mackinacparks.com/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=MSHP&c=3 ·        Butterfly House: https://www.originalbutterflyhouse.com/     Fireworks ·        Saint Ignace: https://stignace.com/event/fireworks-over-the-bay/2024-05-25/ ·        Mackinac City: https://www.mackinaw-city.com/mackinaw_city_events_bak.php     Nearby Attractions ·        Wilderness State Park and Beach: https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=509&type=SPRK ·        Harbor Springs: https://www.michigan.org/city/harbor-springs ·        Petoskey: https://www.michigan.org/city/petoskey-area ·        Charlevoix: https://www.michigan.org/city/charlevoix ·        Drummond Island: https://www.visitdrummondisland.com/   Previous Podcast Episodes ·        Indian Lake State Park and Upper Peninsula: https://atravelpath.com/michigan-upper-peninsula/   Music ·        Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): ·        https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever ·        License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS   Disclaimer *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   Transcript Host: Hey Joe and Kalyn, welcome back to the Travel Path podcast. Thanks so much for being here again.   Guest: Thank you for having us.   Host: So, if anybody missed part one, we delved deep into your full-time travel lifestyle with your fifth-wheel RV. We covered everything from your work camping life to budgeting and all the other aspects of living on the road. Today, for travel tips, we're focusing on one particular destination. Where are we talking about today?   Guest: Yeah, we're going to Northern Michigan and specifically Mackinac Island. Surprisingly, a lot of people haven't heard of this little island up there.   Host: That's awesome. How much time have you guys actually spent on Mackinac Island?   Guest: On the actual island, I think we've done four trips, four days in total. But we spent the entire summer in Mackinac City, which is just a ferry ride away from the island. So, the entire area is kind of immersed in Mackinac City, Mackinac Island, this whole space. And as a public service announcement to your listeners, it is spelled M-A-C-K-I-N-A-C Island, but when you go there, make sure you pronounce it "Mac" or the locals will be very eager to correct you.   Host: That's a great travel tip. You always need to know exactly how to pronounce where you're going, otherwise that can happen. What made you guys want to share about this destination today?   Guest: It's actually one of my favorite places because there are no cars allowed on the island at all. So, it really feels like you're stepping back in time. Everything is either accessed by walking, biking, or taking a horse taxi. Even the "garbage trucks" are horses pulling wagons to pick up the bins. It's just a quaint little place we've fallen in love with.   Host: Sounds amazing. So, Mackinac Island is a great destination for someone who likes what type of experience?   Guest: I would say a more laid-back experience, obviously. You're not rushing from place to place because you don't have a car. But if you want to be a bit more active, there are walking and biking options. And if you enjoy quaint shops, popping into boutiques, and indulging in the fudge, it's perfect. There are around 15 to 20 fudge shops on the island. And if you're into history, there's a fort and other old structures to explore.   Host: The Grand Hotel sounds fascinating. It must be quite an experience.   Guest: Definitely. It's very old and still functioning.   Host: Sounds like a place where you'd really be stepping back in time when you visit. How long do you think someone should plan a trip for to get the full Mackinac Island experience?   Guest: You can do the full experience in a day. But something we really want to do is spend the night sometime. We hear that it's a different atmosphere after the last ferry leaves for the day. The foot traffic builds up throughout the day, but you can see everything you want in a day or even an afternoon. It's a place you want to come back to and experience again and again. I think it's not just like one and done and yeah forget about it.   Host: Perfect, so you could do it in an afternoon and just make it part of your trip to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. But of course, you could keep going back there every day, just taking the ferry over. I think it's nice to have that versatile type of trip. Now, I know that Mackinac Island does shut down for part of the year, correct?   Guest: Yeah, yeah, I believe it's October. I mean, shut down, quote-unquote, if they can get through the ice, they will run a ferry. But most people are not taking that back and forth unless they're locals. There is an airport on the island, so if you're living on the island and can't get out via ferry, you can pay, which is pretty pricey, to take a flight out. And then you have to pay weight actually in the grocery and items that you bring back, in addition to the trip.   Host: Wow. So, what would you say is the best time of year to visit to avoid the ice and flying situation?   Guest: Yeah, July and August are probably going to be my favorite. I know people are like, "Oh, go maybe in the spring or the fall to avoid crowds." But the problem with the springtime is there are these things called midge flies, and they are like clouds of black flies all over the place, specifically by the water. And Mackinac Island is surrounded by water. So, if you go in May and June, expect to have that experience, which may color your entire view of the island. July and August are really the best, and then September, it's just getting really cold because, again, it's on the water. And so that breeze coming off the water is pretty cool. And when she's saying black clouds of midge, she is not exaggerating. Like, they are clouds. And if there's any white surface, the white surface just becomes black with these flies. They don't bite, but they are just a pain. Along with the time frame though, if you really want to enjoy the island, there's two ferry companies, Shepler's and Star Line, and Shepler's is the main ferry company. And you want to get on one of the first two boats out to the island because if you jump off one of those first two boats, you're one of the first people on the island, except for anybody who's spent the night the night before. And the streets are quiet and clean and, yeah, and clean. Everything is horses. And so, you really get the peaceful downtown. And there's a courtyard in front of the castle, and you can really just kind of walk through the courtyard, take pictures, and there's nobody around. And like I said, throughout the day, the amount of foot traffic builds, everything starts getting more and more crowded. So, your most enjoyable time will be those two to three hours in the morning.   Host: That's awesome. So, don't sleep in those days. Plan to get up and get over there.   Guest: Yes.   Host: Awesome. Now, would you say it's a dog and kid-friendly place? Have you seen a lot of families there or pets at all?   Guest: Well, that's a great question. For the dogs, I'm not sure. I've seen them take smaller dogs. In fact, I know you can because they sell tickets for them to put them on the ferry. But I guess it depends on where you take your dog. If you take your dog with you everywhere, you can take them on the island. There's not going to be anything, unless they're going to scare horses. I wouldn't — that's true — if they're afraid of horses or if they're going to bark at horses, probably not a good idea. Interestingly enough, selling tickets in the campground store all summer, we sold ferry tickets, and the number of times I would see one parent come back to the campground with the kids was very high. You know, one parent would come back and the kids would be getting ready to go swimming and be like, "Oh, did you enjoy your island?" And, "Oh, my husband's still there," or "Oh, my wife's still there." But the kids weren't having a good time. There's just not a lot of kid-friendly entertainment. There's history and things like that. But if you're walking and biking and shops, yeah, not a lot of transportation where the kids are going to get a break, where they're not going to be on their feet or not going to have to walk places. However, I would say in Mackinac City, which is where you're either going to from Mackinac City or St. Ignace, you're going to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island. There are three indoor water parks in Mackinac City, and so the kids really, really loved those. So, you can still take your family to the area and enjoy Mackinac City. And it's my understanding that you can get one wristband that will go to all three of those indoor water parks as well.   Host: Oh, very cool. So that's something that you could go and like you said, go in the morning, go to Mackinac Island, take the family, and just plan to be there for maybe a couple of hours or where your kids' threshold is for being able to walk and pop in and out of shops, and then head back. And then you've got those really fun activities that they can kind of look forward to throughout the day. So, I think that's perfect.   Guest: Exactly.   Host: And we have talked about transportation. Obviously, you're either taking the ferry or you're flying over there. But do you bring your own bikes? Do they have bike rentals once you get over there?   Guest: You can totally bring your own bikes. So, I think it cost — this last year, I think $16 per bike. Okay, that was more than I remembered. But anyway, it costs you to take your own bike. You can rent them over there. There are places on the island that you can rent them from as well. But don't rent them from the mainland and then take them over. It's not going to be as cost-effective. It's not really that expensive to rent the bikes on the island. The only thing I wouldn't rent the bikes is off the island and then pay to bring them over because if they break down on the island, you don't have anyone to replace that, whereas if you rent on the island, the company will ride out to you with another bike so that you can keep going. So, that is nice to know.   Host: Wow, very good information. Yeah, that's a good tip. So, lodging. I know you said there are hotels or boutique hotels that you can probably stay at on Mackinac Island, which you haven't done yet. But where are you staying when you are going there in your camper?   Guest: Specifically for RVing, there are RV parks on the Mackinac City side, and I think there's an RV park in St. Ignace. There's also a couple of casinos in the area that allow some overnight parking. So, if you're looking just for a quick overnight, you might be able to just pop into one of the casinos and park there overnight. I do recommend — and you know I'm not a shill for them, I worked for them, I'm done — but the best campground I think in that area is Mackinac Mill Creek. They have over a mile of their own beachfront property. So, they have a beach that you can walk your dogs on, they have a beach that's dog-free, and it's just really a beautiful place to stay if you're planning on staying for more than one or two nights. Yeah, it's kind of spaced out so the spaces feel a little bit like a state park with trees and everything, so we had a look at the other campgrounds in the area, and I think Mackinac Mill Creek by far would be the most enjoyable.   Host: Awesome. And how are you getting from your campground to the ferry?   Guest: So, you can take a couple of ways. If you're taking your bikes to the island, there's actually a rail trail that goes right to the ferry parking lot that you can ride your bike to the ferry parking lot and then just jump on the ferry. Otherwise, there's ferry parking pretty close by and they will shuttle you to the ferry. Or, a lot of times, campgrounds in the area have shuttles that run from their campground again to the docks. And not a lot of people know this, but there's free parking if you can get there early enough behind the Rusted Spoke.   Host: That's specifically for that one ferry company, right?   Guest: Yeah, they're rebranding, it's hard to keep it straight. That's specifically for that one. They are very much in competition, so you don't want to park in one slot and go to the other.   Host: Very good. So, what is there to do at night? I know you guys have not stayed there and really experienced the full nightlife. I'm not sure the last ferry, so maybe what do you do right before you get on the ferry or what do you do once you get off the ferry back in the city area?   Guest: Yeah, there are a lot of different restaurants there that you can go to. But if you're staying on the island, something that we would like to do the next time that we go is they have dinner at the Grand Hotel, which is very, very pricey, and you have to really dress up for it, no jeans, like you need to be wearing suit coats. So, it's again that kind of step back in time to another era. And so, that would be like a fun date night activity that you could do at the Grand Hotel. And then as far as just general activities throughout the summer, generally every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, there are fireworks that are launched from either St. Ignace or Mackinac City. It rotates depending on the day, and you would be able to see those from the island or from either mainland.   Host: Very cool, that's awesome. So, I guess transitioning, speaking about nighttime, any good sunset spots you guys have found?   Guest: Pretty much everywhere, I think, because it's on like this, where the sun sets is kind of like on the water. So wherever you are, like on the beachfront, either on the island or over in Mackinac City, watching the sunset from one of those locations, you'll be able to get a good view.   Host: Yeah, perfect. And now, because you guys are very budget-conscious, and if you haven't listened to episode one, make sure you do that. I have enjoyed seeing all your posts on your social media every month because you keep us updated that way, so it's really nice. But would you say the overall cost is more or less than you expected when you visited Mackinac Island?   Guest: I think it's about what I expected because you are paying for the ferry and then you're paying to rent a bike, so you have to factor that in. And when you're on the island, really the only extra things that you would be paying for are activities. So, like, whether you're getting into the fort or you're paying for a horse taxi carriage ride or you're buying souvenirs from the shop. So generally, I think it was what we expected. To save probably the most amount of money and to have a good experience is to buy a ferry carriage ride combo ticket. Those are actually some pretty good deals rather than just taking the ferry and then getting to the island and deciding you want to do the carriage ride. And especially if you're not a fan of maybe biking or walking or you're not able to, that's a really great way to explore the island.   Host: Perfect.   Guest: One thing that is not budget-friendly is the Grand Hotel, like Kalyn said. You can't tour the hotel without paying, and then any meal there, anything that they have there, I mean, it's just... I think dinner was over $100 a person. Yeah, it's another level.   Host: Is that the same thing as the castle you referenced earlier?   Guest: No, you meant the fort. Oh, castle, sorry. The fort is the historical — this is a step back in time. Oh, no, no, no. Castles, forts too, though.   Host: Those are definitely a step back in time.   Guest: Yeah. And you can get a pass, I think, from any really the stores sell them, the campgrounds sell them. I can't remember the name of the pass, but I'll have to look it up and let you know, you can put it in the show notes. But it gives you access to the fort and to like a butterfly garden there, and to another place. So if you buy like the one-time pass, it's actually worth the that amount if you go to all the locations that are featured on the pass.   Host: Awesome, very good tip. Yeah, we'll definitely link that in the show notes. Now, did you guys have to make any of your reservations ahead of time or do you feel like if you were just decided you wanted to head there you could get a ferry ticket and go on the island and enjoy the day?   Guest: Yeah, you could totally buy everything day of, especially if you're getting on those first boats. Actually, if I was getting on the first boat, I'd want to buy my ferry ticket the day before. All the tickets are untimed, so you just buy it and then it's first come, first serve to actually get on the boat. So if you get there and the line is too long, you're just getting on the next boat as opposed to the first one. Yeah, and they run about every half hour to an hour.   Host: Perfect. So for campsites too, are they pretty flexible?   Guest: So, campsites, I would book further in advance if you are planning on staying for a weekend. If you can stay Monday to Thursday or Monday to Friday, you'd probably be fine booking anytime. I know Mackinac Mill Creek has 600, I believe, campsites, so they have the capacity, but they do fill up on the weekends, especially if there's any sort of holiday weekend going on. And so I think the other campgrounds fill up as well. But yeah, if you're staying Monday through Friday, you could just drive in and get a site.   Host: Very good info. So, how about food spots? What did you guys find any favorites?   Guest: Yeah, I don't know, we're not great foodies, so we eat PB&J. We do just pack sandwiches and save some money. But one of the restaurants that we did like on Mackinac Island was Millie's on Main, and we went there twice, and we got different things each time, and it was really, really good. The two fudge shops that I recommend, like I said, there's so many on the island, so you could actually just have fun sampling them all. But we really liked Sanders and Ryba's Fudge the best, so I would try those first.   Host: Perfect. I'll take those recommendations, do my own little fudge tour there. Yep, it's the humidity, right? Is it really humid there or is that not so?   Guest: So, we lived in Florida for six years, and it did not feel like Florida at all. So, it was interesting because when certain people would arrive there, it was never really got above 80 the whole summer, and there would be some people, and I can't remember where they were from, that would be complaining about the heat, and Kayla and I would just kind of look at each other and be like, "Where are these people from?" It's not hot. And so, it definitely didn't feel like if you're used to a Florida humid, it is nowhere near anything like that.   Host: They're from northern Michigan.   Guest: Probably.   Host: Too funny. Alright, and if you haven't mentioned it already, any other nearby attractions either on the island itself or outside the island maybe near your campground that you haven't mentioned yet?   Guest: Yeah, there is a Wilderness State Park, which you could stay there in an RV, but we found I liked the beach there the best. It was the quietest. It didn't seem like a lot of people knew it existed. So that is one place I would go. If you want more quaint towns, you can go a little bit further south of that into like Harbor Springs and Petoskey and Charlevoix. They're cute, just lakeside towns that you can visit. And then if you want to go north, kind of to the east side, we visited Drummond Island, which not a lot of people have heard about. It's very outdoorsy, like not as quaint as Mackinac Island but definitely more for like, what is it, four-wheelers, ATVs? Yeah, if you were into being more active. One thing too, one thing too with the Wilderness State Park and that area in general is the Wilderness State Park is a dark skies park. So if you are going to Northern Michigan and hoping to catch the northern lights, that is a good place to set up if you've seen that, you know, that, hey, the northern lights are possible tonight. It's a good spot to go.   Host: That's very cool, and if you don't get the Northern Lights, you probably get some awesome stargazing, so take that. Perfect. So I think now we'll transition to the 321 countdown. Hey, guys, I wanted to take a quick break to tell you about Delicia Oats. We've been enjoying Delicia Oats for many years, and they have helped fuel us for those extra-long hikes. They are flavored oats that come in a pouch and are very easy to set up. Just add water, give it a shake, and let it sit overnight and enjoy the next morning. Or you can add boiling water if you like them served hot. We've also added them to our morning smoothie or sprinkled some into my yogurt for some extra flavor and to help fill me up. You can make them in less than a minute, and there is no cleanup, which is huge for us on the road. Now, if you're like me, the first question you'll ask is, how much added sugar is there? And here's a big one for me, no added sugar. They come in a variety of flavors. My personal favorite is Cherry Chocolate. Enjoy them for yourself by placing an order at DeliciaOats.com and use the coupon code PATH at checkout. That's DeliciaOats.com, D-E-L-I-C-I-A-O-A-T-S.com, and use the coupon code PATH.   Alright, the final three segments of the podcast, 3-2-1 countdown. I just want to say too, you guys have rocked this interview talking about Ma Island. Thank you for being so detailed, and I feel like this is a place everyone, when they talk about going somewhere, it's out west, it's down south, but people sleep on Northern Michigan. There's a lot of cool things, fun things to do so out there. And I think we're lucky we had some insider knowledge working at a campground for a whole season. And if you're looking to go to Northern Michigan, we had it with Jim and Michelle, episode six or seven, I believe, and they talked about Upper Peninsula, and there really wasn't much overlap here. We could really listen to both episodes and have completely different things to do. So if you're going to do an extended stay there, definitely tune in. But we'll start wrapping this thing up here. So, what are three things you're packing when you're heading to Mackinac Island?   Guest: I think number one is if you do have your own bike, pack your bike because that's hands down the best way to visit the island in our opinion. Dress in warm layers because you've got sometimes a cold ferry ride out in the morning and a cold ferry ride back in the evening, and then it will warm up throughout the day. And then good walking shoes, whether you're biking or walking, make sure you're really comfy as you're getting around the island.   Host: Nice, bring your own bike, good walking shoes, and warm clothes. What are two complaints somebody might have or things they should be prepared for before visiting?   Guest: So, it's an island where the primary source of transportation for a lot of things is horses, so it's going to smell like two things on the island, especially as the day goes on. It's going to smell like fudge and it's going to smell like horse poo. So that, a lot of people, they come back and they're like, "I wasn't prepared for that." So, again, if you go early, a lot of the horse poo isn't out yet, it's been cleaned up from the day before. But as the day goes on, it's going to smell a little bit more. And along those same lines, don't step in the mud puddles because they're not water. And then the second one is the Grand Hotel. A lot of people go expecting to be able to, "Hey, we're going to get to walk around the Grand Hotel, see a tour," and whatnot, and they're surprised that A, it costs money, and B, there's a dress code. At certain, is it all day to get in the Grand Hotel? The dress code, I think it's more at night.   Host: Yeah.   Guest: But, you know, they're just surprised that they can't go in in their shorts and a t-shirt. But you can walk the grounds, like the courtyard, which is very beautiful. So, smell some of the restrictions at the hotel, maybe a bonus would be bugs if you go at a certain time of year.   Host: Yes, that's an interesting combination, horse poo and fudge, and don't get them confused which way you're downwind from. We've talked about a lot of things to do on Mackinac Island, but what is one thing, if you had to pick one thing, you could not leave without doing?   Guest: The eight-mile perimeter bike ride. Yeah, I know we keep bringing up bikes, but it truly is so enjoyable. And you start in the town, and then you kind of get out of town, and you just have trees overhanging and you're by the lake the whole time. And it's, again, with that back in time feeling with you being on a bike and not driving, the perimeter, it really helps you just slow down and savor and enjoy the experience.   Host: That's great. That does sound, I feel like it sounds like a really great place, but when you bring the factor that there's no cars, it just makes it that much more kind of alluring and desirable to go to, just to take a step out of for a little while and get on an island where you're riding bikes, it's horseback sounds like a really wonderful place.   Guest: Yeah.   Host: Well, guys, thank you for being so thorough with this podcast. We definitely want to add this to a stop at some point. And guys, if you're listening to this podcast right now, you saw, you heard how thorough they just were, and the part one was exactly the same. They shared their story on how they started out, how everything from budgeting and their entire basically their five past five years traveling full-time. So definitely tune in to that one. And Joe and Kayin, before we let you go, where can our audience find out more about you guys?   Guest: Yeah, we're on YouTube, youtube.com/openroading, and same place on Instagram at openroading. And we respond to DMs there primarily.   Host: Awesome. Alright, guys, thanks again.   Guest: Yeah, thank you so much for having us. This was a lot of fun.

Our final episode of season 3 is the conclusion to Chris' conversation with Taylor Dueweke, an independent filmmaker who is working on a project to tell the stories of the property that holds both the Club Manitou and the Club Ponytail. They continue their conversation about both eras of the property along with Taylor's project which is set to tell the tales of people who experienced the Club Ponytail in person. If you were someone who had the opportunity to experience the Club Ponytail at its peak, please reach out to Taylor himself on his website: www.taylordueweke.com/pony-tales -no matter how small of a story you have, he would love to speak with you! This conversation is timely as the property on which these two infamous clubs were located is currently up for sale and Taylor, along with his partner in the project Nate Graham (The realtor of the property) are looking for a buyer who will help protect and save the property from behind torn down and a new house being built. If you are someone interested in an investment in the history of Harbor Springs and Northern Michigan in general and have the funds, check out the property for sale yourself! We here at Tales of Northern Michigan's Past would love to see it preserved! https://www.grahamre.com/listing/472478-8470-pleasantview-lane-harbor-springs-mi-49740/

As our season 3 comes to a close, Chris was able to sit down with Taylor Dueweke, an independent film maker who is working on a project to tell the stories of property that holds both the Club Manitou and the Club Ponytail. They talk about both eras of the property along with Taylor's project which is set to tell the tales of people who experienced the Club Ponytail in person. -Stick around for next week for a bonus episode that continues this conversation between Chris and Taylor Dueweke just in time for the holidays!- If you were someone who had the opportunity to experience the Club Ponytail at its peak, please reach out to Taylor himself on his website: https://www.taylordueweke.com/lead-collection -no matter how small of a story you have, he would love to speak with you! This conversation is timely as the property on which these two infamous clubs were located is currently up for sale and Taylor, along with his partner in the project Nate Graham (The owner of the real estate business which is currently selling the property) are looking for a buyer who will help protect and save the property from behind torn down and a new house being built. If you are someone interested in an investment in the history of Harbor Springs and Northern Michigan in general and have the funds, check out the property for sale yourself! We here at Tales of Northern Michigan's Past would love to see it preserved! https://www.grahamre.com/listing/472478-8470-pleasantview-lane-harbor-springs-mi-49740/

Aug. 13, 2023 ~ Host Dave Lorenz previews the 10th Annual Balloons Over Bellaire event and Clean Coast Great Lakes Conservation Week in Harbor Springs. Plus, he looks at Turtle Creek Casino near Traverse City, and the "Wild Where You Are" documentary series about finding natural wonders in Michigan.

NHL – National Hockey League Last Night Ottawa Senators 6, Detroit Red Wings 2 Anaheim Ducks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 2 Senators 6, Red Wings 2 – Giroux has goal, 3 assists as Senators beat Red Wings 6-2 Claude Giroux scored the tiebreaking goal and had three assists, Thomas Chabot had a goal and two assists and the Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson also scored to help Ottawa win its second straight after a two-game skid. Cam Talbot finished with 22 saves. David Perron and Tyler Bertuzzi scored goals for the Red Wings, who have lost two straight after winning seven of eight. Magnus Hellberg had 36 saves. Ducks 4, Blackhawks 2 – Ducks snap Blackhawks’ 5-game win streak with 4-2 victory Max Jones scored the go-ahead goal, Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, and the Anaheim Ducks ended the Chicago Blackhawks’ five-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory on Monday night. Isac Lundestrom and Jakob Silfverberg also scored, Mason McTavish had three assists, and the Ducks won their third straight game. Lukas Dostal made 24 saves after losing his previous five starts. Tyler Johnson had a power-play goal and an assist, and Andreas Athanasiou scored for the Blackhawks, who had been on their longest run of sustained success since winning five in a row in January 2020. Petr Mrazek gave up four goals on 33 shots. Tonight Detroit Red Wings at Ottawa Senators, 7:00 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks at Arizona Coyotes, 9:00 p.m. NHL – Maple Leafs up ante in East by making trade with Blackhawks The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks. Their latest big trade comes the day after division-rival Tampa Bay paid a hefty price to acquire forward Tanner Jeannot from Nashville. Talent continues to flow to Eastern Conference contenders ahead of the NHL trade deadline Friday. In recent days, New Jersey got big winger Timo Meier from San Jose and Boston traded with Washington for Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov.  Toronto sent a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a second-rounder in 2026, prospect Pavel Gogolev and forward Joey Anderson to the Blackhawks for Lafferty, McCabe and conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and ‘25. Chicago is retaining half of McCabe’s salary.  Dubas, in his fifth season as Leafs general manager, said talks with Chicago counterpart Kyle Davidson predated trades by the Lightning and Bruins, but isn’t downplaying the value of keeping up knowing how difficult the first couple of rounds will be this spring. NBA – National Basketball Association Last Night Charlotte Hornets 117, Detroit Pistons 106 Hornets 117, Pistons 106 – Ball fractures ankle in Hornets’ 117-106 win over Pistons LaMelo Ball made six 3-pointers before breaking his right ankle in the third quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106 for their fifth straight victory. Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Gordon Hayward had 19 points for Charlotte, which is still second-to-last in the Eastern Conference standings — ahead of only Detroit. Ball finished with 18 points. He was hurt on a non-contact play, and the Hornets announced after the game that he had fractured his right ankle. Hamidou Diallo and James Wiseman each scored 23 points for the Pistons. Tonight Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. Indiana Pacers at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m. NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball Tonight Toledo at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m. Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m. Miami (OH) at Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m. Michigan State at Nebraska, 9:00 p.m.                 Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 8:00 NCAAMBKB – Houston stays at number 1 The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble. Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Alabama had five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received eight. UCLA and Purdue rounded out the top 5. The Boilermakers held at No. 5 despite losing to No. 15 Indiana. The rest of the poll, only No. 20 Providence kept the same position from last week. NCAAWBKB – 36 weeks and counting for South Carolina South Carolina is No. 1 for the 36th consecutive week. That ties Louisiana Tech for the second-longest run atop The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll in history. Only UConn with 51 weeks has a longer streak. Indiana stayed at No. 2 despite a last-second loss to Iowa. Utah was third with LSU and Maryland rounding out the top five. Iowa was seventh with Virginia Tech eighth. UConn fell five spots to ninth after losing to St. John’s. Notre Dame is 10th. South Florida re-entered the Top 25 at No. 25. Florida State dropped out. MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training Yesterday Chicago Cubs (ss) 12, Cleveland Guardians 4 Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Chicago Cubs (ss) 0 Chicago White Sox 10, Seattle Mariners 1 New York Yankees 8, Detroit Tigers 5 Today Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, 3:10 p.m. Tennis – Novak Djokovic breaks record for most weeks ranked No. 1 Novak Djokovic has broken the record for the most time spent at No. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman. He begins his 378th week in the ATP’s top spot on Monday to surpass Steffi Graf’s 377 leading the WTA. Djokovic already held the men’s mark. He eclipsed Roger Federer’s old ATP standard of 310 weeks in March 2021. Djokovic returned to No. 1 this time by winning the Australian Open in January. After Djokovic and Graf on the all-time No. 1 weeks list are Martina Navratilova with 332 and Serena Williams with 319. The computerized rankings began in the 1970s. Soccer – US women’s soccer coach paid 27% as much as men’s coach U.S. women’s coach Vlatko Andonovski earned 27% as much as American men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in the year ending last March 31, down slightly from 28% in the previous year. Andonovski earned $446,495, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation’s tax filing, including $50,000 in bonus money for the Americans’ third-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics. Berhalter earned $1,641,398, including $300,000 in bonus money in a year that included winning the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. NBAGL – NBA “G” League Last Night Lakeland Magic 123, Motor City Cruise 108 Tonight Grand Rapids Gold at Memphis Hustle, 8:00 p.m. Glen Oaks Community College 63, Southwestern Michigan 55 ECHL – ECHL Hockey League Today Kalamazoo Wings at Indy Fuel, 10:30 a.m. MCCAA – Junior College Athletics Tonight Women’s Basketball Southwestern Michigan College at Lake Michigan College, 5:30 p.m. Kalamazoo Valley Community College at Glen Oaks Community College, 5:30 p.m. Men’s Basketball Southwestern Michigan College at Lake Michigan College, 7:30 p.m. Kalamazoo Valley Community College at Glen Oaks Community College, 5:30 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Girls Basketball – District Quarterfinals Division 1 at Portage Northern (1st round at local sites) Mattawan 52, St. Joseph 48 After St. Joe took a 1 point lead with 78 seconds left, Mattawan outscored St. Joe 5-0, all at the free throw line and held on for a 52-48 win over the Bears.  Delaney Elsmore had a game high 22 points for Mattawan, who advance to play top seed Kalamazoo Central on Wednesday.  Jaslynn Ward had 13 points to lead St. Joe, who finish the season at 8-14.  Eleah Hedstrom added 12 and Elenor Conway scored 11 points for St. Joe.  Lakeshore 52, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 42 Emily Lockman led the Lancers with 18 points as Lakeshore advanced to Wednesday’s District Semifinals against Portage Central, after a 52-42 win over Kalamazoo Loy Norrix.  Paige Lies added 13 for the Lancers while Megan Wurster had 10. Portage Central 43, Portage Northern 38 Division 1 at Battle Creek Lakeview Battle Creek Central 44, Harper Creek 24 Gull Lake 54, Sturgis 20 Division 2 at Edwardsburg Benton Harbor 43, Berrien Springs 32 Benton Harbor slowly started pulling away as the Tigers defeated Berrien Springs 43-32 in the opening round at Edwardsburg. Desrae Kyles led the Tigers with 15 points while Jmya Jordan had 14 in the Tigers win. Grace Constable led the Shamrocks with 10 points.  Benton Harbor advances to Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against host Edwardsburg at 7:00, which will be live on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM. Division 2 at Vicksburg Marshall 47, Battle Creek Pennfield 38 Division 2 at Hopkins Hamilton 62, Allegan 30 Division 3 at Bloomingdale Bloomingdale 49, Bangor 35 Division 3 at Lawton Delton-Kellogg 42, Comstock 15 Lawton 45, Galesburg-Augusta 39 Division 3 at Constantine Union City 39, Constantine 31 Division 3 at Coloma Cassopolis 54, Bridgman 34 Division 4 at Michigan Lutheran Our Lady of the Lake 52, Watervliet Grace Christian 13 New Buffalo wins over Countryside Academy by forfeit Division 4 at Decatur Byron Center Zion Christian 41, Decatur 23 Lawrence 69, Eau Claire 22 Division 4 at Mendon Marcellus 34, Burr Oak 30 Tonight Boys Basketball St. Joseph at Grand Haven, 7:00 p.m. Battle Creek Lakeview at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m. Benton Harbor at Coloma, 7:00 p.m. Michigan Lutheran at Bridgman, 7:30 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake at Holland Black River, 7:00 p.m. Wyoming Lee at Countryside, 6:30 p.m. South Haven at Berrien Springs, 7:00 p.m. Portage Central at Caledonia, 7:00 p.m. Mattawan at Holt, 7:00 p.m. Kalamazoo Central at Muskegon, 7:00 p.m. Parchment at Gull Lake, 7:00 p.m. Three Rivers at Constantine, 7:30 p.m. Niles at Dowagiac, 7:15 p.m. Brandywine at Edwardsburg, 7:00 p.m. Coldwater at Otsego, 7:15 p.m. Lawton at Paw Paw, 7:15 p.m. Plainwell at Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m. Buchanan at Vicksburg, 7:15 p.m. GR West Mi Aviation at Allegan, 7:15 p.m. Zion Christian at Galesburg-Augusta, 7:00 p.m. Delton-Kellogg at Hopkins, 7:15 p.m. Martin at Muskegon West MI Christian, 7:00 p.m. Fennville at Wyoming Tri-Unity, 7:00 p.m. Bangor at Bloomingdale, 7:30 p.m. Cassopolis at Centreville, 7:30 p.m. Decatur at Comstock, 7:30 p.m. Hartford at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m. Marcellus at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m. MHSAA – Michigan High School AP Rankings Boys Basketball Division 1 1. Detroit Cass Tech (5)                         (21-0)  75 2. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice             (20-1)  70 3. North Farmington                               (17-1)  64 4. Grand Blanc                                      (19-2)  59 5. Muskegon                                          (19-2)  57 6. Ann Arbor Huron                               (19-1)  48 7. Detroit U-D Jesuit                             (17-4)  43 8. Kalamazoo Central                          (18-2) 41 9. Grand Rapids Northview                     (17-4)  38 10. Port Huron Northern                       (18-3)  23 Others receiving votes: Lansing Waverly 22, Grosse Pointe South 16, Okemos 14, Warren De La Salle 9, Mason 7, Hamtramck 3, River Rouge 3, Saline 2, Troy 2, Mattawan 2, Jackson 1, Oak Park 1. Division 2 1. Warren Michigan Collegiate (3)          (18-2)  71 2. Warren Lincoln                                  (18-4)  63 3. Olivet                                                (20-0)  62 4. Romulus Summit Academy (2)               (18-2)  61 5. Grand Rapids South Christian              (18-3)  49 6. Grand Rapids Christian                       (15-5)  39 7. Hart                                                  (20-0)  38 8. Standish Sterling Central                  (18-0)  37 9. Grand Rapids Catholic Central            (15-6)  31 10. Big Rapids                                        (17-2)  25 Others receiving votes: Ferndale 21, Ludington 20, Boyne City 17, Croswell-Lexington 13, Bridgeport 12, Cadillac 12, Kingsford 9, Onsted 5, Benton Harbor 4, Flat Rock 4, Wyoming Lee 3, Saginaw 2, Marshall 1, Whitehall 1. Division 3 1. Detroit Loyola (3)                             (20-1)  87 2. Laingsburg (1)                                   (19-0)  80 3. Flint Beecher (2)                               (16-3)  79 4. Napoleon                                           (19-0)  64 5. Iron Mountain                                    (18-1)  55 6. Grandville Calvin Christian                 (19-1)  52 7. Watervliet                                       (18-3) 45 8. Brandywine                                     (18-2) 42 9. Traverse City St. Francis                    (17-3)  41 10. Ecorse                                             (13-3)  23 Others receiving votes: Blanchard Montabella 23, Cass City 23, Brown City 21, McBain 21, Saginaw Nouvel 20, Maple City Glen Lake 9, Ovid-Elsie 8, Bad Axe 5, Beal City 4, Jonesville 4, Riverview Gabriel Richard 4, Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port Laker 3, Erie-Mason 3, New Haven 2, Tawas 2. Division 4 1. Painesdale Jeffers (3)                         (19-1)  71 2. Munising                                            (19-1)  61 3. Taylor Trillium Academy                      (16-1)  59 4. Hillman                                              (18-2)  44 5. Baldwin                                             (19-1)  43 6. Genesee Christian (2)                         (15-5)  42 7. Lake Leelanau St Mary                         (15-3)  39 7. Powers North Central                        (15-4)  39 9. Mio Au Sable                                      (17-1)  37 (tie) Wyoming Tri-unity Christian            (15-5)  37 Others receiving votes: Bellevue 34, Ironwood 27, Gaylord St. Mary 27, Rudyard 7, Onaway 7, Kingston 6, Watersmeet 5, Mackinaw City 4, McBain Northern Michigan Christian 4, Detroit Douglass 4, Hillsdale Academy 2, Norway 1. Girls Basketball Division 1 1. West Bloomfield (4)                           (20-2)  74 2. Rockford                                           (21-1)  67 3. Flint Carman Ainsworth (1)                (19-0)  65 4. Detroit Renaissance                            (18-1)  62 5. Grosse Pointe North                          (19-2)  53 6. Farmington Hills Mercy                      (19-3)  49 7. Wayne Memorial                                  (17-5)  39 8. Byron Center                                     (19-3)  35 9. Temperance Bedford                            (21-1)  29 10. DeWitt                                            (20-2)  27 Others receiving votes: Coldwater 18, North Farmington 15, Jackson Northwest 12, Kalamazoo Central 11, Canton Salem 9, Holt 8, Utica Ford 8, Saline 6, 18, Grand Blanc 6, Belleville 5, Lake Orion 2. Division 2 1. Grand Rapids West Catholic (5)          (21-0)  75 2. Detroit Edison                                   (16-3)  70 3. Chelsea                                             (21-1)  64 4. Lake Fenton                                       (22-0)  59 5. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard                  (19-3)  56 6. Haslett                                             (21-1)  50 7. Vicksburg                                         (22-0) 44 8. Frankenmuth                                      (19-2)  38 9. Lansing Catholic                                (17-5)  37 10. North Branch                                   (20-2)  27 Others receiving votes: Goodrich 25, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena Academy 16, Escanaba 11, Detroit Country Day 8, Dearborn Divine Child 6, Big Rapids 5, Redford Westfield Prep 3, Standish-Sterling 3, Olivet 1, Warren Fitzgerald 1, Marysville 1. Division 3 1. Buchanan (1)                                  (19-1) 70 2. Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory (3)          (15-6)  68 3. Blissfield                                           (21-1)  59 4. Lake City (1)                                      (21-1)  55 5. Hancock                                             (19-1)  53 6. Dansville                                           (18-2)  41 7. Hemlock                                             (19-3)  38 8. Traverse City St. Francis                    (19-2)  36 9. Kent City                                           (19-3)  31 (tie) Brandywine                                 (20-2) 31 Others receiving votes: Sanford-Meridian 21, Calumet 15, Ovid-Elsie 14, McBain 13, Evart 10, Hart 9, Ithaca 7, Sandusky 6, Watervliet 5, Brooklyn Columbia Central 5, Bronson 4, Elk Rapids 3, Plymouth Christian Academy 2, Harbor Springs 2, East Jackson 1, Saginaw Valley Lutheran 1. Division 4 1. Maple City Glen Lake (5)                     (18-2)  75 2. Kingston                                            (21-1)  68 3. Mackinaw City                                    (21-1)  61 4. Gaylord St. Mary                               (19-3)  58 5. St. Charles                                        (20-2)  54 6. Petersburg Summerfield                      (19-3)  42 7. Norway                                              (19-3)  27 8. Baraga                                               (17-5)  24 9. Martin                                             (17-4) 23 (tie) Pittsford                                       (18-3)  23 Others receiving votes: Portland St. Patrick 20, Cedarville 18, Colon 14, Hillman 13, Lake Linden-Hubbell 13, Fowler 12, Brethren 11, Morenci 11, Ontonagon 9, Genesee Christian 6, Ewen-Trout Creek 5, Carney-Nadeau 4, Manistee Catholic Central 4, Indian River-Inland Lakes 3, Adrian Lenawee Christian 2.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 15. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 18. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoBen Doornbos, General Manager at Nub's Nob, MichiganRecorded onOctober 10, 2022About Nub's NobClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Fisher familyPass affiliations: Indy PassReciprocal pass partners: NoneLocated in: Harbor Springs, MichiganClosest neighboring ski areas: The Highlands (4 minutes), Mt. McSauba (35 minutes), Boyne Mountain (37 minutes), Otsego (55 minutes), Treetops (1 hour), Shanty Creek (1 hour, 9 minutes), Hanson Hills (1 hour, 22 minutes), Mt. Holiday (1 hour, 26 minutes), Hickory Hills (1 hour, 41 minutes), Missaukee Mountain (1 hour, 41 minutes), Snow Snake (1 hour, 58 minutes), The Homestead (2 hours, 11 minutes), Crystal (2 hours, 14 minutes), Caberfae (2 hours, 14 minutes)Base elevation: 911 feetSummit elevation: 1,338 feetVertical drop: 427 feetSkiable Acres: 248Average annual snowfall: 123 inchesTrail count: 53 (24% double-black, 49% black, 20% intermediate, 7% beginner)Lift count: 10 (3 fixed-grip quads, 4 triples, 1 double, 1 carpet, 1 ropetow - view Lift Blog's inventory of Nub's Nob's lift fleet)Uphill capacity: 17,075 skiers per hourWhy I interviewed himWe all have those places that made us skiers, that wrecked us or rescued us, that in our private worlds are synonymous with skiing itself. For me those places are Mott Mountain, Apple Mountain, Snow Snake, Caberfae, Boyne Mountain, and Searchmont. Without those places I am not a skier, or at least I am not the particular version of a skier that's writing this newsletter. These are, in order, the first, second, third, and fourth places I skied; the place I learned to thread bumps; and the place I learned to navigate little drops and off-piste terrain. The first two are dead, the others survive in various states of modernized. In my head they all stand available at any moment for viewing, a tattered Stu-flix, a vault of skinny-ski adventures crashing through 1990s stop-animation reels.But there's a seventh ski area in my mental vault: Nub's Nob. It's a funny name, perhaps jarring if this is your first time seeing it. I happen to think it's the best ski area name in America. It's simple, memorable, intriguing, evocative of what it is: a 427-foot locals' bump with an Alta-grade following of devoted locals.That's not the same thing as having Alta-grade skiing (who does besides Snowbird)? But consider this: across the street lies The Highlands, the Boyne-owned runner formerly known as Boyne Highlands. The Highlands is larger than Nub's. It has one high-speed lift and is dropping in another next year – a six-pack so fancy that it makes the iPhone 14 look like a block of aged Roquefort. Highlands' season pass costs a bit more than Nub's, but it comes with days at Big Sky, which is like buying a microwave and getting a free car as a thank-you gift.None of it matters. Well, it probably matters to some people. But Nub's is the opposite of the endangered indie. It may be the best ski area under 500 vertical feet in the country: a big, sprawling trail layout; numerous and redundant lifts; grooming that makes an Olympic skating rink look like a Tough Mudder course; glades everywhere; and, like any Midwest ski area with a stocked trophy cabinet, an absolute flamethrower of a terrain park. Nub's is that lost treasure of Midwest skiing, rare as a 200-grade Boone-and-Crockett trophy buck: the balanced mountain. Grooming, yes, of all kinds, but bumps always on Twilight Zone, and maybe also on Chute (like many Michigan ski areas, the runs stack side by side on the trailmap, creating half a dozen that you could tuck into Park City's pumphouse). Several times per decade the ski area punches new glades into the forest. And since Nub's has one of the world's best snowmaking systems, supplemented with a reliable train of lake-effect and an ability to ninja-dodge freeze-thaw cycles, the whole mountain opens in the early season and often stays filled to the edges into April.Bad people can ruin a great ski area, of course. I can stay salty for decades over unprovoked attitude from a liftie. But I've been skiing Nub's Nob for as long as I've been skiing and I've never encountered anything other than an Extreme Welcome. The lifties chitter-chatter as you load and Patrol lets you ski where you please and the bartenders are tolerant of pitchers ordered in bulk at 11 a.m.My first day at Nub's was one of the weirdest ski days of my life. It was my sixth day ever on skis and I was geared up in sweatpants and a discount-superstore winter coat of the sort that rips when you yank the zipper open too sternly. We arrived in the snowslammed evening with tennis ball-sized flakes drifting in the wind. I did not have goggles of course and scoffed at the notion. At age 17 I had lived all my life in snowy climes and had never once needed such decorative nonsense. In a catastrophic freefall down Valley or perhaps it was Scarface I understood at last that storm-skiing sans goggles was like swimming without water: painful and really quite impossible. In the baselodge I purchased the least-expensive pair of goggles I could find, which I believe cost $25, an astonishing sum for a bagboy earning $4.50 an hour at the local Meijer superstore.Nub's excused the error. The upside of place-based defeat is the clear path to redemption. In all phases of my ski life I have returned to Nub's and it has always had something useful to say, something I couldn't exactly find anywhere else. I still can't, and I needed to poke around in the machine a bit to try and decode the trance.What we talked aboutWhen snowmaking starts at Nub's Nob; the mountain's earliest and latest openings ever; “bottom line, the ski industry in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan doesn't exist without snowmaking”; why freeze-thaw isn't really a thing for Nub's; “if you can open, you should open”; the path from $8.25-an-hour rental tech to general manager; Marquette Mountain; Nub's incredible seasonal employee retention rate; Jim Bartlett, the ski area's legendary general manager; not breaking a good thing; becoming the boss of the people who taught you everything you know; how Nub's Nob got its name; whether Nub's will stay independent over the long term; “where skiers go”; going deep on the Green lift upgrade: why it won't be a high-speed lift, when it's coming, and whether it will be green; whether the ski area considered wiping out the front-side lifts in favor of a six-pack; the tug-of-war between Fixed-Grip Bro and Detach Bro; why Orange won't be a high-speed lift either; comparing a modern fixed-grip Skytrac chair to a 1978 Riblet lift; why the new lift won't have a carpet load; why lifties need to talk to skiers; the installation and maintenance cost of a fixed-grip versus a high-speed lift; why the new lift will be the same length but occupy a smaller footprint; whether the new lift will load and unload at the same spots as the current Green lift; whether Nub's will sell the chairs; the Blue chair Killer; why the Blue lift isn't coming back; the power of the ropetow and where we could see more on Nub's; long-term plans for the Purple and Orange lifts; “there's something special about riding a double chairlift”; regional differences in safety-bar culture; “I'd like to have a super-modern lift fleet”; whether a lift from the bottom of Pintail Peak to the top of Nub's Nob South would make sense; how Nub's continues to develop new terrain on essentially the same footprint; how to access Nub's endless glade stash; why Arena and Tower glades don't continue farther skier's left along their respective ridges; the glades always open in Northern Michigan; Nub's last big expansion opportunity and what kind of terrain sits in there; keeping the parks rad Brah; the return of the halfpipe; why Nub's doesn't build earthwork features; the importance of night-skiing; considering lights on Pintail Peak; the history and secrets behind the Nub's Nob snowgun; “you can fix everything with a pipe wrench” and why the ski area is happy with a low-tech snowgun arsenal; long-live the metal wicket ticket; “we always think of technology as making our lives better, but sometimes, it's making our lives worse”; the competitive and cooperative dynamic between Nub's Nob and The Highlands, which sit across the street from one another; why Nub's finally joined the Indy Pass; the ski-industry problem that Indy Pass is solving; why Nub's is rolling with 32 Indy Base Pass blackouts; looking out for the little ski areas down the street; and how much it hurt to finally push Nub's peak-day lift-ticket prices over $100.    Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewA lot of pretty obvious reasons: the new Green Chair, the resort's decision to at last join the Indy Pass, the obvious example of another thriving indie belying the whole Megapass-Killbot theory. But we booked this pod in May, weeks before the Indy announcement (which I knew was coming), and the chairlift upgrade (which I didn't). The simple fact is that I'd had Nub's Nob on my interview-the-GM list since Storm day one, and I finally reached out and we set everything up pretty quickly.This is a good time, however, to restate something that's core to this whole operation: this podcast is for everyone. And by “everyone,” I mean every ski area of any size. If it has a lift, I'm interested. For now, that means the United States, but I will fold Canada in soon enough. That will probably remain the focus over the long-term, but if you are running a ski area of any size anywhere on Planet Earth*, consider yourself relevant to The Storm Skiing Podcast.But from a practical, logistical point of view, I have tried very hard to balance the podcast across regions. This does not mean that I will guarantee an equal ratio of Western, Midwestern, and Northeast interviews (I haven't quite gotten to the Southeast yet; I will soon, but there are only a couple dozen ski areas down there, so pods focused in the southern states will likely always be infrequent). But I will promise a consistent flow of Midwest pods. It's where I came from, where I learned to ski, and it's one of the world's greatest and most vital ski regions.When the season's ski mags would drop each August in my early ski years, I would flip through slowly, hopefully, for any nugget of writing on Midwest ski areas. It was like searching for ice cream at a hardware store. No one cared. If a ski magazine was 200 pages, the West got 195, the East got five, and the Midwest got mentioned whenever a writer noted that Big Sky was owned by the same outfit that owned Boyne Mountain. It was a different, internet-less world, of course, but I am now in a position to create the sort of immersive ski area profiles that Teen Stu longed to see about my local bumps. These will keep landing in your inbox as long as The Storm does.You can view all past and future Storm Skiing Podcasts by clicking through below:*I will also consider ski areas on other planets.What I got wrongThe opening day of Michigan's deer-hunting season is a big deal. Like day-off-from-school big deal. And I don't mean parents pull their kids out while the non-hunters press on. I mean every Nov. 15 is a school holiday like Thanksgiving or Labor Day or Christmas. Our morning announcements each fall would warn us to watch out for sugarbeets – an enormous root crop stacked in clearings to bait deer – that had bounced off transport trucks on M-30. Deer hunting in Northern Michigan is a big deal.So, during a discussion about Nub's previous years' opening dates, I told Doornbos that it was pretty bold of him to open on the first day of deer-hunting season, after I thought he'd referenced a recent Nov. 15 opening. Doornbos rolled with it, but I realized while editing the pod that he had actually said Nov. 16. Oops.Why you should ski Nub's NobMichigan has 39 active ski areas, according to the National Ski Areas Association. This is the second-most of any state, behind New York, which sports 52. About two-thirds of Michigan's ski areas sit in the Lower Peninsula. This is a useful distinction: Lower Peninsula skiers rarely hit the Upper Peninsula (UP), and UP skiers rarely ski below the Mackinaw Bridge. Geography explains this disconnect: the UP's ski areas are mostly bunched in its western portion, far closer to Wisconsin than the population centers of Michigan. Marquette Mountain, the closest non-ropetow bump, is seven hours from Detroit airport, but fewer than five hours from Milwaukee. In that time, Southeast Michigan skiers can be at Keystone (with help from an airplane).That's all background. What I'm getting to is that the Lower Peninsula only has a half dozen or so well-equipped, substantially built-out ski areas with respectable vertical drops (relative to their neigboring hills): Nub's Nob, Caberfae, Crystal, Shanty Creek, Boyne Mountain, and The Highlands. Otsego Club, a longtime private joint, recently opened to the public, but its infrastructure is a bit creaky. So if you're planning a best-of-Michigan tour, these are the six to hit.But if you only have one day to ski Michigan before an asteroid crashes into the planet and wipes out life as we know it, pick Nub's. I'm not sure that it has the best terrain of those six – Highlands, I think, is equal in its sprawling videogame-ish dimensions. Nub's isn't the steepest – Boyne Mountain has the most consistent pitch along its extended main ridge. Nub's is probably also the least-resort-ish of the six, with little onsite lodging. But, like Caberfae, another family-owned bump that is on a constant crusade to enhance the skiing, Nub's is defined less by what I can easily point to and more by what's hard to describe. By that thing called atmosphere, a sort of sense of place that collectively descends upon all who ski there. It's not a thing you can order, like a lift, or something you can streamline, like parking. It's just something that is. You'll have to go and see for yourself.Podcast notes* I make the point several times that Nub's Nob is constantly upgrading. The ski area has collated an excellent timeline, starting with the ski area's 1957 founding. Skim this page and Nub's decades-long commitment to constant, mostly subtle but always impactful improvement is obvious. I wish all ski areas would create something like this.* A 2016 obituary for longtime owner Walter Fisher, who bought Nub's Nob from founder Dorie Sarnes in 1977 and owned it until he passed away (his family continues to own the ski area). An excerpt:Jim Bartlett — who joined Nub's that same year and now serves as its general manager — noted that the ski area has added significantly to its amenities since then, expanding from about a dozen runs to 53.“The business has grown almost continuously since Walter bought it in 1977,” said Bartlett, who described Fisher as “absolutely one of the most sincere, thoughtful, kind, classy men I've ever met.” …With neighboring Boyne Highlands Resort establishing itself as a ski area with extensive on-site lodging, Bartlett said Walter Fisher decided early in his Nub's involvement to pursue another niche — wanting the property to become "the best day ski area in the Midwest."Nub's would phase out its own limited lodging options so it could channel resources toward skiing amenities, grooming and snowmaking operations and food and beverage options. The ski area's offerings have since achieved regional and national recognition on numerous occasions.* Doornbos and I also talked extensively about Bartlett, who served as general manager from 1987 until handing the job off to Doornbos in 2017. An excerpt from this excellent profile by Kate Bassett:General Manager of Nub's Nob, Jim Bartlett, is a guy who has earned a nationwide reputation as a leader and champion of the old-school-cool Harbor Springs ski resort. But that's not the reason Jim Bartlett is a person whose story is worth telling.He's on top of the hill. He's at the bottom of the hill. He's in the maintenance garage. He's in the cafeteria. He's at a chairlift on-ramp. He's in the rental area. He's in the parking lot. He's everywhere. He's Nub's Nob's JB. …In his tenure at Nub's Nob, first as area manager and then as general manager, following the death of his mentor, legendary snow maker Jim Dilworth, Bartlett has turned 14 runs into 53, four chairlifts into nine, 15 patented snowmaking guns into 292, plus added a Pintail Peak Lodge, new locker room and so much more. The most impressive part? He's done it without sacrificing Nub's signature vibe, best described as a home away from home.Bartlett's an expert in snow making techniques. A public relations superstar. A guy who understands the importance of blending tradition with new technology. He's even learned how to make peace with the Midwest's occasionally uncooperative winter weather. In short, he's like a walking, talking master's class of how to run a resort that's focused 100 percent on skiing and riding.* We go deep on the Green lift upgrade, which Doornbos announced in an excellent video last month:* Nub's Nob is The Storm's fourth podcast focused explicitly on a Michigan ski area - I've also featured The Highlands, Boyne Mountain, and Caberfae:I should have another Michigan episode coming next week - and it's a good one. Listen to the end of the pod to find out who.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 112/100 in 2022, and number 358 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Land Investing From the Road: Update Number 3 (LA 1863) Transcript: Speaker 1: Steven, Jill here. Speaker 2: Hello. Speaker 1: Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Speaker 2: And I'm Jill DeWitt, broadcasting from Hall, the MotorCity from Detroit. Speaker 1: Today Jill and I talk about land investing from the road and this is update number three. We started in Arizona, we worked our way across the country. Spent way too much time because we were having a blast in Colorado. Didn't spend too much time, but had a blast in Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin. Speaker 2: So last week when we were recording, we were coming to you from Traverse City, Michigan. As you can see, we didn't make it that far. We have a lot of family to see and we're actually having a good time. You know what? We have a lot of family to see and the weather has been cooperative. And those of you who know Michigan, especially know the northern parts, it's so pretty with your lakes. It's just awesome. My favorite's been Harbor Springs now. Now I moved, I keep changing my favorite places. Speaker 1: There's a huge, huge gap between the sale prices for houses and sale prices for land, which is great for us. Speaker 2: It's true. Speaker 1: So the whole time that we've been doing this, Jill and I have been researching land, land values, all the way, every time we get in a car. So I've come up personally with a bunch of places I want to send mail throughout. Speaker 2: Yeah. Isn't that interesting? So wait, let me just go... I want to continue that thought for just a minute. We're on the north west side of Lake- Speaker 1: St. Clair. Speaker 2: St. Clair, okay. And I've noticed homes around here. You can get a home for $200 000 to $300,000 and then there's lots for $200 000 to $300,000. So you're right, these numbers being all over the map are good for us. Speaker 1: It is great for us. Where we're sitting is not a place you want to buy land at all. But there have been places on the way here where you got 5, 6, 7 and mostly upstate Michigan, we call it up north here, $800,000 houses. And then lots are on the MLS for $20,000 in the same vicinity. So those are great places to send mail. Speaker 2: Well the Michigan started to come out there for a second. Speaker 1: Oh yeah? Speaker 2: Yeah. I like it. Speaker 1: I'm not happy about it. Speaker 2: It's good. Speaker 1: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free and I hope by now Jill and I instruct a handful of new and existing Land Academy members in a one on one class called Career Path. So it's for people who, this is already your career or you want it to be career called Career Path. I think Jill, you got a class coming up, right? Speaker 2: And by the way, October 12th, as this launches we are 10 days out. I may still have slots for recording, I do. As of, when this is releasing, I'm not sure. But if this is something that you really think about, please schedule a call with me and you could actually schedule a call with me. Just go to landacademy.com/careerpath, scroll down and there's a spot to click on and schedule a call and I'll call you. If you think, "Ah, shoot. You know what Jill? I think this is the direction we're going. I think I'm ready for it or I just don't want to wait that long to get ramped up. I got this. How fast can I get to your level?" That's who Career Path is for and I will happily have a chat with you and even Jack too. Speaker 1: Or, "Haha, we passed you guys a long time ago, but we could use your advice." Speaker 2: Oh, not usually that, but that's okay. Anyway, just to click on that, schedule a call and I'll have a chat with you and we'll figure it out. So, thank you. All right, so back to the question Kim wrote, "I have a purchase agreement signed and there are three owners. The seller I'm talking has stated he has talked with ma...

Land Investing From the Road: Update Number 3 (LA 1863) Transcript: Speaker 1: Steven, Jill here. Speaker 2: Hello. Speaker 1: Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Speaker 2: And I'm Jill DeWitt, broadcasting from Hall, the MotorCity from Detroit. Speaker 1: Today Jill and I talk about land investing from the road and this is update number three. We started in Arizona, we worked our way across the country. Spent way too much time because we were having a blast in Colorado. Didn't spend too much time, but had a blast in Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin. Speaker 2: So last week when we were recording, we were coming to you from Traverse City, Michigan. As you can see, we didn't make it that far. We have a lot of family to see and we're actually having a good time. You know what? We have a lot of family to see and the weather has been cooperative. And those of you who know Michigan, especially know the northern parts, it's so pretty with your lakes. It's just awesome. My favorite's been Harbor Springs now. Now I moved, I keep changing my favorite places. Speaker 1: There's a huge, huge gap between the sale prices for houses and sale prices for land, which is great for us. Speaker 2: It's true. Speaker 1: So the whole time that we've been doing this, Jill and I have been researching land, land values, all the way, every time we get in a car. So I've come up personally with a bunch of places I want to send mail throughout. Speaker 2: Yeah. Isn't that interesting? So wait, let me just go... I want to continue that thought for just a minute. We're on the north west side of Lake- Speaker 1: St. Clair. Speaker 2: St. Clair, okay. And I've noticed homes around here. You can get a home for $200 000 to $300,000 and then there's lots for $200 000 to $300,000. So you're right, these numbers being all over the map are good for us. Speaker 1: It is great for us. Where we're sitting is not a place you want to buy land at all. But there have been places on the way here where you got 5, 6, 7 and mostly upstate Michigan, we call it up north here, $800,000 houses. And then lots are on the MLS for $20,000 in the same vicinity. So those are great places to send mail. Speaker 2: Well the Michigan started to come out there for a second. Speaker 1: Oh yeah? Speaker 2: Yeah. I like it. Speaker 1: I'm not happy about it. Speaker 2: It's good. Speaker 1: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free and I hope by now Jill and I instruct a handful of new and existing Land Academy members in a one on one class called Career Path. So it's for people who, this is already your career or you want it to be career called Career Path. I think Jill, you got a class coming up, right? Speaker 2: And by the way, October 12th, as this launches we are 10 days out. I may still have slots for recording, I do. As of, when this is releasing, I'm not sure. But if this is something that you really think about, please schedule a call with me and you could actually schedule a call with me. Just go to landacademy.com/careerpath, scroll down and there's a spot to click on and schedule a call and I'll call you. If you think, "Ah, shoot. You know what Jill? I think this is the direction we're going. I think I'm ready for it or I just don't want to wait that long to get ramped up. I got this. How fast can I get to your level?" That's who Career Path is for and I will happily have a chat with you and even Jack too. Speaker 1: Or, "Haha, we passed you guys a long time ago, but we could use your advice." Speaker 2: Oh, not usually that, but that's okay. Anyway, just to click on that, schedule a call and I'll have a chat with you and we'll figure it out. So, thank you. All right, so back to the question Kim wrote, "I have a purchase agreement signed and there are three owners. The seller I'm talking has stated he has talked with ma...

Land Investing From the Road: Update Number 3 (LA 1863) Transcript: Speaker 1: Steven, Jill here. Speaker 2: Hello. Speaker 1: Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Speaker 2: And I'm Jill DeWitt, broadcasting from Hall, the MotorCity from Detroit. Speaker 1: Today Jill and I talk about land investing from the road and this is update number three. We started in Arizona, we worked our way across the country. Spent way too much time because we were having a blast in Colorado. Didn't spend too much time, but had a blast in Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin. Speaker 2: So last week when we were recording, we were coming to you from Traverse City, Michigan. As you can see, we didn't make it that far. We have a lot of family to see and we're actually having a good time. You know what? We have a lot of family to see and the weather has been cooperative. And those of you who know Michigan, especially know the northern parts, it's so pretty with your lakes. It's just awesome. My favorite's been Harbor Springs now. Now I moved, I keep changing my favorite places. Speaker 1: There's a huge, huge gap between the sale prices for houses and sale prices for land, which is great for us. Speaker 2: It's true. Speaker 1: So the whole time that we've been doing this, Jill and I have been researching land, land values, all the way, every time we get in a car. So I've come up personally with a bunch of places I want to send mail throughout. Speaker 2: Yeah. Isn't that interesting? So wait, let me just go... I want to continue that thought for just a minute. We're on the north west side of Lake- Speaker 1: St. Clair. Speaker 2: St. Clair, okay. And I've noticed homes around here. You can get a home for $200 000 to $300,000 and then there's lots for $200 000 to $300,000. So you're right, these numbers being all over the map are good for us. Speaker 1: It is great for us. Where we're sitting is not a place you want to buy land at all. But there have been places on the way here where you got 5, 6, 7 and mostly upstate Michigan, we call it up north here, $800,000 houses. And then lots are on the MLS for $20,000 in the same vicinity. So those are great places to send mail. Speaker 2: Well the Michigan started to come out there for a second. Speaker 1: Oh yeah? Speaker 2: Yeah. I like it. Speaker 1: I'm not happy about it. Speaker 2: It's good. Speaker 1: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free and I hope by now Jill and I instruct a handful of new and existing Land Academy members in a one on one class called Career Path. So it's for people who, this is already your career or you want it to be career called Career Path. I think Jill, you got a class coming up, right? Speaker 2: And by the way, October 12th, as this launches we are 10 days out. I may still have slots for recording, I do. As of, when this is releasing, I'm not sure. But if this is something that you really think about, please schedule a call with me and you could actually schedule a call with me. Just go to landacademy.com/careerpath, scroll down and there's a spot to click on and schedule a call and I'll call you. If you think, "Ah, shoot. You know what Jill? I think this is the direction we're going. I think I'm ready for it or I just don't want to wait that long to get ramped up. I got this. How fast can I get to your level?" That's who Career Path is for and I will happily have a chat with you and even Jack too. Speaker 1: Or, "Haha, we passed you guys a long time ago, but we could use your advice." Speaker 2: Oh, not usually that, but that's okay. Anyway, just to click on that, schedule a call and I'll have a chat with you and we'll figure it out. So, thank you. All right, so back to the question Kim wrote, "I have a purchase agreement signed and there are three owners. The seller I'm talking has stated he has talked with ma...

Which potato chip reins supreme? Well, we had no choice but to do a draft with Brett to find out. We also discuss Dave watching Norm Macdonald's final comedy special, Papa John's appearance in Harbor Springs, the MOST down bad dude we've ever seen, and recapping This Weekend in Fun. Support us on Patreon and receive weekly episodes for as low as $5 per month: www.patreon.com/circlingbackpodcast Purchase a Circling Back Candle: www.vellabox.com/circling-back Watch all of our full episodes on YouTube: www.youtube.com/washedmedia Shop Washed Merch: www.washedmedia.shop (0:00) Fun & Easy Banter (13:23) Recapping This Weekend in Fun (31:10) The Potato Chip Draft (59:30) Let's Talk Norm Macdonald (1:06:20) Papa John Does Harbor Springs (1:11:23) The Most Down Bad Dude Ever Support This Episode's Sponsors Sunday: www.getsunday.com/steam20 (20% off) Ten Thousand: www.tenthousand.cc (CIRCLING for 15% off) Solo Stove: www.solostove.com (STEAM for $10 off) Keeps: www.keeps.com/steam (First Month FREE)