Basic HTML Version
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
March 20, 2014
It's been a bad couple of weeks.
Seriously.
While I was thinking about how
badly my head hurt, I transposed a
young woman's name in her wed-
ding announcement and managed
tomake her mother's first name her
last name and then proceeded to
make about a dozen typos in the
announcement of her upcoming big
day. I can only imagine how popu-
lar I was when she and her family
opened the paper and read that
miasma of mistakes just before her
wedding day.
There is only one excuse I can
think of, well, other than the four-
day migraine headache, for making
such a mess of her life-changing
announcement.
It was the birthday.
See, I really didn't think it would
bother me, because usually, they
don't. Hey, I'm old, I've gotten used
to that fact of life. My body sure
doesn't look the way it did inmy 30s
or even my 40s----and to be honest,
well, things no longer work exactly
theway they diddecades ago either.
Ya think?
Especially my brain. See, I used
to be a reasonably bright woman.
Yeah, I know, hard to believe, but
honestly, I did OK on Jeopardy,
often, much better than OK. Like, I
never, ever missed the Final
Jeopardy question…I was, truly,
almost infallible and it was amatter
of great pride and egowithme.
Then the years started to creep
up on me, I guess, because recently,
during the Tournament of
Champions, that damn Alex
stumpedme, twice.
Then last month, after weeks of
hanging over my head like a black
cloud, the dreaded birthday
arrived. I was truly miserable.
Miserable.
My beloved spouse made one of
his most valiant efforts ever at
cheering me up, too. He sent flow-
ers, he bought jewelry, he arranged
a special lunch…and I was just so
preoccupied with officially turning
into such an old woman, I could
barely enjoy it.
Did you get that part about the
jewelry? I mean, I must have truly
been miserable if I couldn't appre-
ciate that. It was really, really great
jewelry.
So, I've realized that I have been
stressed about that big number and
the big day and being old for sever-
al weeks. And, believe it or not, I
have plenty of other things to be
stressed and anxious about. I don't
need the aggravation of some old
fat womanwearingmy clothes.
Yep, there I was in a local store
and happened to glance up at a
mirror, something I try to avoid at
all costs lately. There she was, this
old, tired fat woman wearing my
coat. When I realized I was looking
at myself, I ran back to the office to
check out plastic surgeons on the
internet. With enough money, and
time, I could
look 29 again,
but unfortunate-
ly, I don't have
enough of either. Maybe I'll start giv-
ingmy age inCelsius.
Don't give me any of that "You're
only as old as you feel," crap, either,
because, dammit, I feel old. "Age is
only a number, after all." Yeah, well
so is your IQ, which in my case no
longer seems to reach room tem-
perature.
Old is old is old and the young
have absolutely no tolerance for it.
They make fun of us old folks who
don't understand tweeting, sexting
and all that other stuff that keeps
many of them from ever experienc-
ing face-to-face interaction with
other humans.
Don't get me wrong, it isn't that I
don't understandwhat it is or how it
works, I just don't understand any-
body, of any age, wanting to be
involved in or participating in it.
Really, who cares what your lunch
or dinner looked like? When I get
feeling like my meals are that
important to anybody but the wait-
person or me, I'll know that I really
have begun that rapid decline
down the slippery slope of senility.
And after the mess I made of
that wedding announcement, I
apparently don't have far to go.
When we first heard about the new research facility com-
ing toCantonTownship, we have to admit to a little attitude.
Because, to us, it's about time that Canton was recognized
state-wide and nationally for the exceptional community it
is. That it was chosen as one of only three such research lab-
oratories in the country and that the federal government
would be pouring more than $70million into the facility and
private industry another $70 million or so made us smile
broadly and take a “we told you so” attitude.
For decades, literally, CantonTownshiphas been the epit-
ome of good local government at work. When the township
faced some financial shortfalls due to drops in tax revenue
several years back, officials took immediate corrective
action and put the township back on a very sound financial
footing. They managed to achieve that admirable goal with-
out putting any undue burden on the residents or businesses
and continued to provide some of the best public service in
the state.
One of the things that we feel sets Canton apart is the
shared attitude of all the elected officials there. Service to
the public seems ingrained with them, They, and every
employee we have ever encountered in Canton Township
Hall, all seem to share a genuine desire to help people. They
all seem to believe that it is their job to serve the best inter-
ests of township residents, even if theymight be having a bad
day.
We have heard countless residents talk about the service
they have received when visiting the Canton Township
Administration Building. We've heard repeatedly about how
Supervisor Phil LaJoy took the time to become involved in a
resident's problem or answer a question. We've heard, too,
about Township Clerk Terry Bennett coming out of her
office to help people with questions or concerns. Treasurer
Melissa McLaughlin is considered an anomaly by residents
who have had less-than-cordial receptions in other commu-
nities. She is, like Bennett, reportedly willing to personally
help residents and others who may have questions or need
assistance.
The public safety department, both police and fire, is
exemplary in Canton Township and continue to quietly and
efficiently provide some of the very best service in the state.
So with all that, it was no wonder to us that the federal
government and the task force members chose Canton to
house this new facility. Initial reports were that the facility
would provide nearly 10,000 jobs between the Canton
research laboratory, which will work on developing light
metals for industry, andOhio.
The University of Michigan, Wayne State University,
Michigan State University, Michigan Tech, Alcoa, Boeing,
General Electric, Honda North America and Lockheed
Martin are all a part of the consortium that will send
research engineers and developers to the Canton facility to
improve the materials used in manufacturing across the
nation.
This “teaching facility” which will see flocks of burgeon-
ing engineers is quite a coup for Canton Township and for
the state but it is no more than the community deserves.
They have the infrastructure and the environment to handle
this project with efficiency and grace.
We think the federal task force assigned with making this
decision did a fine job in choosing Canton. Actually, we don't
think they couldhave done any better.
Congratulations.
We think the federal task force assigned
with making this decision
did a fine job in choosing Canton.
”
Choice of Canton for new facility was wise
Bad press
undeserved
in Romulus
The
Romulus
Police
Department took some pretty hard
knocks in the last year or so and all
the horrible accusations surround-
ing the former chief and several
detectives on the force are once
again front and center in the
media.
We can only hope that everyone
realizes that what was past is past
and the new city administration
and command officials inRomulus
are doing some remarkable work
to earn back the trust and confi-
dence of the community. One of
those many efforts began three
years ago with the Romulus offi-
cers taking Random Acts of
Kindness Week to the streets.
Patrol officers began stopping
motorists driving carefully and
rewarding them with Subway gift
certificates, a pleasant surprise for
many drivers in the area.
This year, Ofc. Keith Haynes
took the effort even further and
involved several volunteer stu-
dents from the high school. Rather
than gift certificates to drivers,
Haynes took suggestions from local
mail carriers and located homes in
the city where the snow and ice
were in need of shoveling. Haynes
and several other officers, some
city officials and the student volun-
teers showed up on porches and in
driveways of senior citizens and
shut-ins, bright red shovels in
hand, and began to clear thewalks,
driveways andporches.
We call that a real community
effort and a random act of kind-
ness that won't soonbe forgotten.
This was a great idea and the
officials and officers in the city and
the police department deserve
high praise for this effort to take
public safety right to the front door
of local residents. Let's face it,
police interaction with high school
students and most members of the
public, is usually not a happy expe-
I don't need the aggravation of
some old fat woman wearing my clothes.
”
Can we just blame it on the old-lady birthday?
See
Press,
page 7
Send us your letters
The Associated Newspapers welcomes all letters to the editor.
Letters should be addressed to:
The Editor, Associated Newspapers P.O. Box 6320, Plymouth, Michigan 48170.
All letters will be considered for publication andmay be edited for content, space and length.