Bill's Blog

I had an unforgettable day summiting Hogback Mountain with my son Oliver. He is growing up fast, and it was special for us to do something together in the rugged Huron Mountains of Marquette County overlooking Lake Superior. The Huron Mountains are old; the granite and metamorphic gneisses and schists are part of the Canadian Shield and are an estimated 3.5 billion years old in places. They have resisted erosion, including the glaciers. The pristine old-growth boreal forest of hemlock, yellow birch, sugar maple, and basswood are so cool and peaceful to walk through on a hot summer day.

We took about 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours round-trip hiking to the 1,220 feet / 375 meters summit. Thanks to the private Huron Mountain Club, the area was preserved and shielded from the widespread logging early in the 20th century. Combined with the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness further west, the area could easily be a National Park.

I had an optometrist appointment in the morning at Shopko Optical. I got a stronger prescription as my vision is deteriorating. The doctor said this is normal and I should plateau over the next couple of years. It had been three years since my last appointment.

We drove back in the afternoon and watched the end of the England versus Norway game. It was exciting but players flopping to get a foul or penalty drives me crazy! Can’t the referee see these guys are falling on purpose? I also dislike the offsides rule. I would set the rule based on the feet, not the entire body. Now, a finger, hand, shoulder, etc., nullifies an exciting play.

We spent the past two nights in the dormitories of Northern Michigan University. Our daughter Ocean will be starting in the nursing program next month. We were delighted when NMU scheduled an Orientation for families in July, which allowed us to participate! Our eldest son graduated from NMU last May and we are happy that Ocean will also become a Wildcat. NMU gives us in-state tuition and is one of two major universities in the Upper Peninsula. We have a home in Marquette and would eventually like to retire there, so it is good that our kids will love Marquette as well.

The orientation was well organized with sessions for both parents and students. I attended several sessions which touched upon finances, supporting your first-year student, and we even heard some opening remarks from the President. We slept as a family in Maple East, one of the new dorms in the Woods Complex, and ate at Northern Lights Dining Complex. We became familiar with the campus by walking to many of the events.

Ocean was a bit shy in meeting people, but she eventually got into the spirit. I hope she takes advantage of everything NMU has to offer. Young people today often tend to stay in their rooms watching screens instead of getting out and meeting people and having experiences. The university has invested a lot in infrastructure since my brothers attended the university in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They also improved their marketing by emphasizing the outdoors and the beauty of Marquette and the UP. Since the UP is sparsely populated, the university targets Chicago, Milwaukee, and downstate Michigan, where there are more potential students.

Nadia and I spent as much time as possible with Ocean during the three days. We also met with housing and admissions staff, as we are considering transferring Oliver to NMU to be with his sister. I would like to thank the NMU staff for an informative and engaging welcome.

I listened to the audiobook, “The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmond Fitzgerald” by John U. Bacon. The University of Michigan graduate was a journalist for many years at the Detroit News and writes non-fiction books about sports and history. I highly recommend his latest book! It gave me insight into the world of freighters on the Great Lakes, the economic history of the Great Lakes, and some touching stories of the sailors and their families. Below are my takeaways from the book.

• From World War II to 1975, the Great Lakes were the Silicon Valley of their time. It was the economic powerhouse of the USA with the most populous and richest states (PA, NY, IL, OH, MI, IN, WI, MN), besides Texas and California, being on the Great Lakes. I now better understand the term “The Rust Belt” that describes the economic and cultural decline from 1975 to 2026, with people and money leaving the Great Lakes for the American West and South. I predict a renaissance of the Great Lakes with climate change being favorable to them.
• Shipping is the most efficient way to move goods. It is 600 times cheaper to use a large freighter instead of trucks. This does not take into account the cost of maintaining highways.
• A Great Lakes freighter is designed much differently than an ocean freighter. Because the Soo Locks are shallow and narrow, ships need to be long and thin. This makes them harder to move in storms. A freighter can carry the equivalent of 17,000 automobiles’ worth of taconite.
• Great Lakes storms are more dangerous than ocean storms. The salt in ocean water dampens the force of the waves. Great Lakes freshwater waves are higher and closer together.
• Taconite is a lower-grade iron ore that freighters transported in the 20th century on the Great Lakes. Mining companies crushed rock and used magnets to draw out the diffuse iron in the ore. The powder was then rolled into small pellets for easier shipping.

During the school year, I used the image of the Edmond Fitzgerald in a presentation to the school community. I was using a ship as a metaphor for the school, and the Board of Trustees sets the course for the ship and looks out for storms, but does not load cargo or steer the boat daily. No one in the audience knew about the Edmond Fitzgerald. The ship sank in 1975 off the east coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so of course all Yoopers know about it. Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot released a 6 and 1/2 minute ballad about the tragedy in 1976, and it reached #2 on the pop music charts in the USA that year. I guess referencing a ship that sank 50 years ago would not be a common reference for an international and younger audience. 🙂

I was thinking about the Edmond Fitzgerald yesterday while I was swimming in Lake Superior. We visited the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and “hiked” to the Presque Isle River Beach on the far west side of the park. We were in mixed company (non-hikers) and got off to a late start, so needed to keep our walking distance to a minimum. People who have never seen one of the Great Lakes doesn’t understand their size. They have the power and vastness of oceans. Walking along the shore and taking in the intense greens of the trees, the red of the rocks and soils, the blue skies and the never-ending grey horizon of the water always invigorates my soul. The water was cold but not too bad and Jimmer and I managed about 10-15 minutes in the water. We collected some beautiful rocks and driftwood and had a great late afternoon/evening by the water. The sun does not set until 10:00 PM at this time of year.

We stopped at the Northern Waters Casino and Resort to watch the Mexico versus England match. The Ojibwe tribe owns a nice casino/hotel on their reservation just outside of the town of Watersmeet, a 30-minute drive from Caspian. I see that European teams are the majority of the quarterfinals with five teams already in and a sixth, Swizterland, taking on Colombia.

We celebrated America’s 250th birthday yesterday. We had friends over for the classic Fourth of July BBQ of bratwursts, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, and strawberry cream dessert. My brother Jim and his wife attended, as well as our good friends, Scott and Heidi Bociek. It was a beautiful summer evening as we contributed to the noisy neighborhood when Jim brought an old box of bottle rockets he found in his garage. We finished the evening by going up to the Stambaugh Airport to watch the fireworks display. We also visited with many of my old high school friends.

It was a beautiful, relaxing, summer day for me. Nadia and I worked out in the morning at the West Iron County School fitness room, courtesy of my brother who is a teacher at the school. I did an hour of yoga while Nadia was on the exercise machines and in the weight room.

Iron County is a cycling paradise with many smoothly paved roads and little automobile traffic. I had another glorious mid-summer ride yesterday, completing a loop from my house to Ski Brule Resort. Cycling brings me happiness, and I can’t get enough of rides. The hills in Michigan are challenging but not the spirit-breaking mountains of Uzbekistan. On yesterday’s loop of 30 kilometers or so, I encountered a handful of cars. My daughter Ocean practiced driving by taking Oliver and me to Ice Lake for a quick swim to freshen up before dinner. I try to get a dip in an Iron County freshwater lake daily while I am here in the summer. So far, I have swum in Ottawa, Sunset, and Ice Lakes.

We had a lot of laughs and great conversations and it was a fantastic way to celebrate America’s birthday.

We had the honor last week to serve as witnesses for my brother Jimmer’s blessing of their wedding vows. Jim and his wife Michelle have been married for over 20 years, but were only bonded civilly. Lately, Jim’s Catholic faith has become stronger, and he wanted to bless his matrimonial vows. Father Michael Chenier planned a touching ceremony for us, and I had the privilege of serving as a lay reader for the ceremony. Jim married the former Michelle Lusardi and they live in Michelle’s hometown of Iron Mountain, Michigan.

The ceremony took place at the Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, aka the Immaculate Conception Church, on the north side of Iron Mountain, Michigan. The parish dates back to the 1890s when recent Italian immigrants working in the local iron ore mines formed the “Italian Church”. Iron Mountain is a 45-minute drive east of my home in Caspian, and the north side of the city is still known for its Italian culture, including famous NFL football coach and NFL Network commentator Steve Mariucci and Michigan State Basketball Coach Tom Izzo. The church was completed and blessed by Father G. Pietro Sinopoli on January 1, 1903. That is ancient history for America! It was a strange juxtaposition of a Mediterranean courtyard and Italian-style facade set in the northwoods of an Upper Peninsula former mining town. That is America. They treated us to lunch at the Moose Jackson Cafe downtown afterwards.

It was a sweet and touching ceremony, and Nadia and I were happy to be there for them.

My daughter Ocean wanted a day of walking and shopping in Manhattan, so we headed down to the SoHo neighborhood. I didn’t know that “SoHo” stands for “South of Houston (pronounced HOW-ston by New Yorkers) Street”. No surprise, I am not a big shopping guy, but I enjoyed watching Ocean and Nadia bond and have fun together. The day was also an insight into contemporary youth culture for me. Ocean went to Instagram to find a trendy bagel shop and landed on Leon’s Bagels, which were pretty good. She loved eating a bagel and people-watching in Washington Square Park in the neighboring Greenwich Village. The area originally was a burial ground for the poor and victims of yellow fever in the early 1800s. It is estimated that the remains of 20,000 to 25,000 anonymous people are buried under the park. Today it is a vibrant public gathering place and we enjoyed watching some Norwegian soccer fans enjoying the city.

Ocean next wanted to go to the Brandy Melville flagship at 509 Broadway in SoHo. I had never heard of the store, the clothes looked like a Banana Republic or Gap, to me, nothing special. However, for teenage girls, as I was joking, it felt a bit cultish. HBO’s Brandy Hellville and the Cult of Fast Fashion tells the origin story of the company and their use of social media influencers to develop a devoted brand loyalty. I felt like I was working at a girls’ school, monitoring high school break duty. It was easy to identify the company’s demographic. Brandy Melville Italian CEO, Stephen Marsan sounds like a creep.

Some other highlights from the day were walking around the “campus” of New York University. I put campus in quotes because it was basically nice office buildings in Greenwich Village, not the typical camps (see my Adrian College visit blog post). We also walked by Nord Anglia’s NYC campus as well, again, just an office building. I had to take a break and explored Union Square while the girls continued shopping for shoes and clothes. This was the site of the 9/11 memorials and America’s Labor Day (early September), began from protests taking place in the 19th century. I found the Teach Yourself Arabic book ($10) I was looking for at the Strand Book Store. I could have spent the entire day in there exploring its “18 miles of used books”. It started in 1927 and is the last remaining book store from that era.

I am lucky to have two beautiful women in my life!

I have really enjoyed helping my daughter Ocean prepare for her driving tests. Most people start the process when they are 15 years old, but since Ocean lived internationally, she is starting at age 18. For 18-year-olds in the State of Michigan, you do not have to attend a licensed driving school. She is required to pass an online theory test followed by a driving test after 30 days. We spent the past few days reviewing “What Every Driver Must Know” handbook issued by the State of Michigan. She passed her test and earned her “Learner’s Permit” from the Michigan Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is what other states call the Department of Motor Vehicles. She now needs to log at least 50 hours of driving, 10 of which are in the evening. She will then be eligible, starting August 1, to take the driving test at one of the regional testing centers. I also refreshed my driving knowledge, but most importantly, spent quality time with my daughter (and son). I want to make sure she is a safe driver. The Secretary of State’s staff was very helpful and I appreciated their extra attention to our unique situation.

The last time I walked the Adrian College campus was probably April 30, 1990, the day after I graduated. I returned after 36 years+ when we spent the night in Adrian on our way from Freeland to our home in Caspian, Michigan. The NCAA Division III private, liberal arts college is located in the southeastern corner of state. It was about as far away as I could get from my hometown and still be in the state of Michigan. I chose Adrian College over St. Norbert College and the University of Michigan because I wanted to play on the basketball team. I also wanted a smaller school (in the late 1980s, Adrian College I remember had an enrollment around 1,200 students) and somewhere that no one from my high school graduating class attended. I guess I wanted a fresh start!

It was a good decision for me looking back. I received individual attention from my professors, was able to do a lot of activities, including play basketball, commentate the football games for the college radio station, radio track Red-tailed Hawks, complete my student teaching at Columbia Central High School, etc. I was immature and didn’t take full advantage of all that it had to offer, but overall, it helped me on my journey and get my first teaching job that started my career in education.

It was such a long time ago and I was trying to recall the buildings that I frequented all those years ago. I remember living on the second floor of Stevens Hall (see photo above) in the quad. The campus felt smaller to me. I walked to the cafeteria and remembered that was where I first saw Kate Abbot, my first serious girlfriend. I also spent a year in either Jarvis or Estes Hall, I couldn’t remember which one. I don’t think I could have found the locations of my off-campus housing. We nicknamed them “The Dawg House” (after the Adrian College nickname, the Bulldogs) and the Maumee Mansion (after Maumee Street). I stopped by two of the fraternity houses I used to frequent and they were still there. The Phi Kappa House moved to another house near the campus.

I was pleased that Adrian College is thriving! Demographics in Michigan and the USA are not favorable for universities. There are less 18 year olds graduating from high school and a significant number of universities are in financial trouble. I read a bit about the demographics impacting university enrollment and it cleared a couple of misconceptions I had. My graduating class of 1985 (~100,000 graduates in Michigan) was on the downslope from the Baby Boom, the post World War II effect of people having more children, which peaked in 1980 (~125,000 graduates). Following that was an “echo boom” in 2008, peaking at ~117,000 graduates. Since 2008, the number of graduates has decreased to ~99,000 graduates in the Class of 2023. Unlike 1985 however, the decline will not rebound and persistent declines will continue through at least 2050. Some universities expanded around that 2008 boom and are not able to adjust to declining enrollment in recent years. Several universities closed, including Siena Heights (Catholic university in Adrian) and Finlandia University (former Soumi College in Hancock). The hardest-hit public universities are the mid-tier regional campuses. Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Ferris State, Saginaw Valley State, Northern Michigan, and Lake Superior State have all lost 25% or more of their enrollment since their peaks. These institutions are not closing — they have public funding — but they are cutting programs, laying off faculty, and in some cases consolidating departments to survive on smaller student bodies. The universities that are growing are University of Michigan, which is trendy now, and Grand Valley State. Michigan Tech and Michigan State are holding steady.

Adrian College invested a lot into infrastructure since I left. They started an ice hockey program and built an ice arena. They put in an artificial turf football stadium on campus. When I was at the school, they used the Adrian Maples High School field. They also put in an indoor football field/track in a bubble dome structure, renovated the athletics track, added really nice tennis courts, an on-campus baseball/softball field to round off the improvements. In my final year, the college opened the Merillat Sports Center with a basketball arena. The old Ridge Gymnasium was converted to a student center. The Phi Kappa house was torn down and moved to a different house. Everything looked well taken care of, and I imagine the college is doing fine.

It was a trip down nostalgia lane for me and I loved it. We drove the long 8-hour drive to the Western Upper Peninsula later that morning. With better roads and a higher speed limit, the trip has been reduced by almost 2 hours since I used to drive that in the late 1980s.

It was a glorious summer day in New York City! We started our final day in the city by taking the subway to the Midtown Manhattan Flatiron District. We delighted in watching the dogs in Madison Square Park, and we spotted actress Lena Hall walking her dog with a coffee in hand. TNadia’s all-time favorite television show is Friends, and so we had to visit the Friends Experience. I haven’t seen Nadia so excited about something in a while! I purchased the full experience for her that included a coffee at Central Perk, and we took photos in recreations of several sets from the show. In speaking with the employees, most of the customers are tourists and women. The television show ran from 1994-2004 and is a global phenomenon, still making money in syndication and Friends Experience venues in Brisbane, Mumbai, Las Vegas, Mexico City, and New York.

Ocean wanted to picnic in Central Park, so we headed back uptown. It was an absolutely perfect day, with blue skies and pleasant temperatures. I am impressed with the number of people the park can hold and still feel like you are in a forested park. We called Oliver and Owen, and all three of the kids expressed the desire to someday live in New York.

We finished off the day by attending the Broadway play “Giant” starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. Dahl is a famous children’s author (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Giant Peach, etc.). The play focuses on an afternoon meeting in the summer of 1983, of Dahl, his fiancée, and representatives from his publishing company in the summer of 1983. Dahl wrote a review of Australian author Tony Clifton’s book about the 1982 Lebanon war that had critical views of Israeli government and military and anti-Semetic views. The publishers were concerned that piece would hurt sales of his latest book, The Witches. They were trying to convince him to retract and soften his tone towards Jews in general.

We were captivated for the full two hours. The playwright Mark Rosenblatt builds Dahl’s point of views and arguments through the play. We went from maybe Dahl is pushing back against over zealous cancel culture to towards the end of the play, yeah, he doesn’t like Jews. There were several audible gasps from the audience as they reacted to Lithgow’s comments. I was happy that Ocean shared the experience with us of seeing some of the greatest professional actors in the business ply their trade only a few meters away on stage. I didn’t see many teenagers in the audience as it was mostly retired people. The play started a good conversation between us and it was refreshing to have views like this out in the open in a forum that encouraged thoughtful discussion. The topics are very relevant today as Israel continues to defend itself against Hezballah and Lebanon, provoking some of the same views 40 years ago.

Dahl is one of the top 40 best selling authors of all-time with estimated 300 million books sold. His books are still popular today, decades after his death in 1990. His estate did apologize for his anti-Semetism.

We are slowly recovering from jet lag and the long flight from Tashkent to JFK. I spent the morning getting my driver’s license renewed. I couldn’t do it online outside the USA, even with a VPN. MiLogin has good security because as soon as I went online in the USA, I was able to log in and renew my license.

In the afternoon, we drove to Allentown, Pennsylvania, so Ocean could open her first bank account. We bank with TD Bank because they specialize in international teachers who need a US bank account. Ocean needs a bank account and it is one of many things we are doing to set her up to be on her own in the USA at her university. Our school uses TD Bank so I took a photo outside the bank to send to the business office.

We also stopped at the Apple Store in the Lehigh Valley Mall. I bought a new iPhone and the girls got headphones. We drove back to Freeland, Pennsylvania in the late afternoon. Uncle Jack made Polish pierogi. Delicious! Freeland is Trump country and you see a lot of flags like the one above promoting the Right to Bear Arms.