Cristina Trapani-Scott: Relentlessly Local

It was a hot, hot weekend for all of those who participated in the 2010 Lenawee County Relay For Life. Kudos to all the teams who braved the boiler for a good cause. I came out for the Survivor Victory Lap and some of the pre-opening ceremony activites. As always, it was a grand event and all of the volunteers did a great job. Here are some video highlights.

 Since people are familiar with my daughter's journey as she grows up in the world of little people, I thought I'd share this week's column in my blog. The following is what ran in the Aug. 12 issue:

 I typically refer to my children as Kid One and Kid Two, but I figure in this case they won’t mind me calling them by their actual names.

 This weekend my daughter, Kiki, my mom, Maria, and I all attended a Little People of America (LPA) Motor City Chapter gathering. Josh, my son, was unable to attend because he was camping. For Kiki, life has posed a few challenges. She was born with a rare form of dwarfism called Kniest Syndrome. In medical terms, she’s missing Type II Collagen in her cartilage. In regular folks like me terms, her cartilage looks like Swiss cheese, which is not how cartilage is supposed to look. The result is she is small and she has arthritis-like symptoms that make it difficult for her to walk long distances. The ends of her bones are larger and the shafts are thin and small, so it’s apparent when looking at her that there is some kind of disability.

Each year, I write a little bit about my day or days at the Lenawee County Fair. I typically end up covering a few of the events there, so I make one or two trips to the fair each year, sometimes with kids and others without.This year, I filmed the highlights of one of my trips to the Lenawee County Fair.

I went on Thursday to talk to some people for a story, but I always look around at the exhibits. I love the static exhibits, especially now that I'm more into growing my own food and making my own things than I've ever been. I'm fascinated with the baked and canned goods, because I have this urge to can at least one thing from my garden, so some winter night when I'm longing for spring and wishing for the bounty of my garden I can pull it out and know that at some point things will grow again.

I love the animals, too, and enjoy seeing the youths I typically see in the schools I cover tending to their animals and making friends with 4-H members from all over Lenawee County. 

My first stop was the rabbit barn, where I was sure to find Tecumseh resident Nancy Pape-Findley. I run into her every year at the fair at least once. Her son, Aaron, was gracious enough to bring out his rabbit, Buck, for my video.

I also visited the birthing tent, where I found a kid (baby goat) climbing on his mom's back to get a good view of what was in the next pen. It made my think of my own children and their curiosity. It was like at moment the little guy might say something like, "Hey Mom, what's over there?!"

I didn't grow up with 4-H or farms or county fairs. I have vague memories of visiting the state fair. We lived in the burbs. The only animals we ever tended to were our dog and cats and the occasional baby bird that fell from its nest. So, covering the fair is something I look forward to each year.

So, I have a few writerly things coming up that I thought I'd take a brief moment to share.

• Tuesday, July 20, at 7 p.m. I'll be hosting a regular essay writing group at Borders Books in Canton, Michigan. I know that's not Tecumseh or even Ypsilanti. Canton, however, is where I grew up, so I'm giving my old hometown a nod. I'm hoping that it will be well attended and become a regular monthly event. 

• Saturday, July 24, at 2 p.m. at Borders Books in Canton, again. I'll
be reading and discussing my story that appears in Cup of Comfort for a
Better World. I'll also be signing books.

• Monday, July 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. I'll be in Tecumseh teaching a found poetry, altered books class for Community Arts of Tecumseh. There is still time to sign up. Call 423.0000. If found poems don't interest you, there are plenty of other classes going on throughout the summer.

• Monday, Aug. 9, I'm co-teaching a Book in a Box Poetry Workshop with Britton-Macon School art teacher Taina Bundshuh. I'll be teaching the poetry part and assisting Taina with the book in a box part. 

That's about it for now. 

Just yesterday I was riding home from work hoping to catch a swim with my kids before the thunder and lightning rolled in. By the time we got to the public pool the sky was dark and threatening and a roll of thunder in the distance kept us from catching a swim for sure.

We went home, somewhat defeated until my dear daughter mentioned we hadn't done our girly painting our nails fun night that we'd been planning for a while. So, we gathered the 12 or so bottles of nailpolish she's collected from who knows where and she, my mom and I all painted each other's fingernails and toenails. One bottle just happened to be a glow in the dark color. We oohed and ahed and just had to use it to see if it would really work. It did. All three of us crammed in my tiny bathroom, closed the light, and giggled with glee when a bunch of nail-shaped glowing orbs appeared.

As we were having our night of girl fun, it dawned on me that I heard this Youtube video on the NPR as I was driving home. I called it up, and we couldn't stop laughing. This is a group called Improve Everywhere, and they stage crazy improvisational things in public places. They have filmed about 75 of these. 

I know this isn't hyper local, but I couldn't resist sharing.

On a recent really hot day, I dragged poor Jake Larson and Patrick Bates of JTE around town in order to get some shots for a feature story on the duo. They were good sports. It's alway fun talking to musicians and artists in the community, and I couldn't resist getting shots of them here and there since they brought along their guitars.

The guys have a packed summer schedule. Many of their performances are for private parties. They do, however, have a few upcoming public shows that I've listed below.

• Saturday, July 17 - Rose Run Breast Cancer Run (Petersburg, MI) - 7 a.m. (phew, that's early!)
• Monday, July 26 - Lenawee County Fair Bandshell - 2:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug.14 - Sequoia Campground - 7 p.m. 

One of the things I love most about my job as a reporter here at the Herald is that I get to sit with random folks for a couple hours and chat. To me, that is the essence of being relentlessly local. Often, as I’m gathering the actual story, what surfaces is so much more. Just recently I visited with John and Ruth Deming. The intent was to get a story about a local resident who makes award-winning cookies, but as is the case when people share their stories it felt more like a conversations with friends.
In fact, the Demings’ warmth struck me immediately. They are social people and welcomed me, a virtual stranger, into their home. Well, I’m almost a stranger, as I learned through our conversation. I’d received a note of encouragement from Ruth a few years back when I was going through my treatment for breast cancer and writing extensively about. She, too, is a breast cancer survivor.
When I walked into the Deming home, it felt like I’d walked into the home of longtime friends. If I had a sense of smell, I’m sure I would have been hit by the lingering sweet smell of cookies just baked. My eyes were instantly drawn to an array of plants in the front window, the largest of which had greenery that curled in all directions. That was Ruth’s night blooming cereus. She’s a bit of a green thumb, and she showed me a picture of one of the blooms, which only opens at night, and told me that she calls one of the local florists when she knows a flower is about to open.

I made my way a couple of weeks ago to the Community Arts of Tecumseh Garden Party held at Bonnie Auten's art studio on Saturday, June 5. Yes, I'm a little slow on the uptake. It's been a busy couple of weeks. That was, of course, the weekend of storms that blew through, so I was a little behind in putting together video footage of my visit.

I walked in sometime after 1 p.m. as the party was well under way and artists were milling about making art and chatting. I moseyed on into Bonnie's studio first thing to say hello and caught her telling a story about colors to kids. If you haven't seen her studio, it's an artist's dream. Her vibrant drawings are hung throughout. It made a perfect setting for a party celebrating the arts in Tecumseh. 

The event was an art lover's paradise. There were tables with all kinds of handmade goodies. Painter Dian Rentschler had her easel up and was hard at work on a painting of the front door outside the Auten building. Anne Flora was making felt flowers and Mary Rochelle Burnham was drawing caricatures. 

I shot a quick video of the event to share with Tecumseh Herald readers.

Clinton High School held its commencement ceremony Sunday, June 6, in the gymnasium. Hundreds came out to see the Class of 2010 on their special day.

My friend Phoenix Hatch has started a blog called Dear Michigan, From New York, With Love. He writes love letters to his love (another friend of mine) and to Michigan where his love lives. What I find compelling about these little pieces is that they paint a picture of my home state—my Michigan, our Michigan—in such a beautiful way that it makes me sad and happy all at once. It makes me sad that I've taken my lovely home state for granted for so long and happy that someone outside of our borders here can see the beauty through all the darkness that has surrounded us as of late.

Whenever I'm frustrated with the heaviness that we've experienced here in Michigan and all the negative news, I think about Phoenix and about seeing Michigan through someone else's eyes, someone who is longing to come here and live and work, which is counterintuitive to the exodus we've experienced lately. 

I'm not knocking anyone for leaving. We have to do what we have to do to. I'll admit that the thought has crossed my mind to leave for greener pastures at times, but there is something that makes it hard to leave. For me, it's that I want a place to call home. My family has transience in their blood. We made the leap across the pond not so long ago and then it feels like we've been rootless ever since. That's why I look with envy on those who have been rooted here in this community for generations. There always is a place to come home to.

Something in Phoenix's words reminds me that Michigan is my home, reminds me that there really is something to be said for long stretches of road that open up so you can see for miles, for the cool splash of fresh river water on your face, and for long lazy days on my deck watching cardinals, robins and goldfinches flit about.

Thanks Phoenix for reminding me that I love Michigan, too.