Deb Wuethrich

Now that's the kind of newsgathering I like to do - going to the places where they feed you.
On Tuesday night, I took some time to attend a Tecumseh District Library presentation "Elbow Grease and Wood Smoke: Michigan's Culinary History." It was presented by historians Larry and Priscilla Massie. The Massie's also have written an award-winning cookbook, "Walnut Pickles and Watermelon Cake: A Century of Michigan Cookery," which is also available at the library. I was surprised and delighted to see a recipe for Tomato Soup Cake in there, a cake my mother always made for me when I planned to visit. Many in the midwest have not heard of the concoction and go, "Ew. Tomato soup in a cake?" It turns the batter orange, but it is essentially a spice cake.
The Massie's both had pleasant demeanors and a good sense of humor as Larry held up mysterious tools from the couple's culinary collection, asking if the audience knew what they were used for. He got the audience to laughing when he showed how women used to determine the temperature of the oven before oven thermometers and sensors (by holding an arm in the oven and counting), telling how they could, chase the pain with a swig of solution for medicinal purposes that sat on the stove in a glass bottle, with the concoction made of 40 percent alcohol and a touch of cocaine.
As Larry talked, Priscilla cooked aebelskiver,a Danish recipe from 1890, which smelled so good. At the end of the presentation came the best part: the audience got to sample the soft little puffs rolled in confectionary sugar. DEEE-LI-CIOUS! Sometimes she adds blueberries or apples to them, Priscilla said.
The event will be described more fully in a feature story for Homefront Magazine next Fall.

Another Christmas season winds down, but it's not officially the New Year yet, so I will take a moment to talk about something I meant to blog about earlier: Santa letters.

 This year's Santa letters brought in some of the typical kid stuff like a generous spirit when kids mentioned what their brother or sister (or parents) wanted first and THEN listed their own requests. One little boy was a tattletale, however, stating that his sister was "on the naughty list because she was mean to me."

 There were signs of the tech age we live in, requests for XBox 360s, dsi's, laptops and cell phones (from first and second graders!) But a couple requests stood the test of time: Barbie's, Hot Wheels and a hope for a Chutes and Ladders game. Some children were readers, looking for those chapter books, which was good to see.

Kids put the niceties in their letters. How is Rudolph? the elves? Mrs. Claus? Is Rudolph real? They showed their curiosity: "Leave a photo of you and the reindeer," one precocious child wrote. "Write back so my friends will know you're real."

Many of the letters listed general requests, but one youngster had a very specific numbered 21-item list! Sounds like a Type A personality to me.

A few of the children said "thank you" for last year's gifts, but as one child told Santa, "Sorry, but I don't remember my favorite presents from last year." That's something for adults to keep in mind. It's not about the "things," it's about the memories of the experiences, the traditions, the L-O-V-E of the season, and those who engage in giving, especially to those less fortunate, will know this even more.

While the anticipated presents were prominent in the letters, there is one letter that lingers in my mind. It was from a second grader. "Dear Santa, This year can you please use a little Christmas magic to make my parents get along better?" 

I first saw the huge green insect about four days ago. As I came up the steps leading into our house, I noticed a big splotch of green on the railing. Upon closer look, I could see that it's a praying mantis. It's long body is at least four inches long. Now that it has been there for several days, even through a hard wind storm, I'm curious as to why it chose to latch onto the rough wood there and not in the grass or on the rose bushes.

It's my understanding that the female praying mantis bites off the head of its mate during mating, so I've wondered if this bug is just resting from such a session, or if she's laid eggs there, since they stay with them, I have read. I can't see any, but then I don't want to get too close because I don't want it to jump up in my face. That would freak me out. Whether it is a male or female I don't know. I hear they are solitary creatures (especially when the females get rid of the males the way they do). 

  The cat, who also shares the front stoop when she goes outside on a leash, apparently has not seen the praying mantis yet, and the insect (are they really insects?) must not consider her much of a threat because it's still there. I did probably give it a scare the other night while letting the cat in. As I opened the door, my other hand reached over to the rail, and I felt something odd, and suddenly realized I had placed it atop the mantis, which kind of gave me the "willies." But when I looked, it had just moved a couple of inches over the side, but clung stubbornly to its place on the rail.  It was still there when I left for work this morning. 

I'm always surprised when October/November rolls around and there is some new construction taking place along the nation's roadways. I saw this over the weekend while traveling to and from New York, through Pennsylvania and Ohio, and back home in Michigan. It seems in recent years, not all projects take place in the hot summer months. Since a lot of it is from ARRA money, I guess it's extending the jobs out and keeping people employed for as long as possible into the season.

Coming up US 23 in the Toledo area on Sunday afternoon, we encountered a stop and go slow-down. Some guys were actually tearing up the concrete -- on a weekend. What's always amazing to me is the activity going on in other cars. As everyone tries to squeeze into one lane, there's always those who will whip by the traffic accommodating the merge, and of course, when they HAVE to blend in, it slows the rest of us down even more. It's just darn inconsiderate. 

I've also noticed the multitasking that seems to take place in the cars as we slow down to a crawl. You almost always see someone on the phone, waving their hands as they talk. Ii've seen people reaching to the back seat, whether tending a child back there or doing who knows what. 

Just a few random thoughts today on some random topics. Recently NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope discovered there are 25,000 new, never before seen asteroids floating around up there. Reports note that 95 of these are considered "near Earth," which only means that they are within 30 million miles of us. The project cost $320 million and was launched in December so scientists could use this ultra-sensitive new technology to get a better idea of what else is out there. I guess we are not to be too concerned about the asteroids, because the scientists say they are not a threat to Earth. When we hear such things, though, we think of the science fiction movies, like Bruce Willis' Armageddon where a bunch of macho guys are sent up to blast it to pieces before it hits the Earth full force. I guess if one really is headed this way, though, we won't be able to do much but wait for it to come, since the space program isn't what it used to be. Isn't an asteroid collision what some speculate brought the end to dinosaurs on the Earth? Bet THEY didn't see it coming!

  Another cruise through news reports shows a lot of concern about teens, especially, engaging in something called "i-dosing," where they go to a website and get digital sounds that supposedly mimic the high of drugs such as marijuana or cocaine. The action is said to alter brain waves and a person's mental state. As this concern has spread, some experts (neuroscientists and others) say it's just a "virtual" experience, an "imaginary" ecstasy. I guess the biggest concern is that  people who seek out these sites, especially young people, may be led to Websites or other sources of real drugs. (Just when you think you've heard it all, something new pops up prompting worries about kids and what they are exposed to.

There were two or three occasions during Monday night's Tecumseh School Board meeting that offered opportunities for discussion. The board's newest members obviously had no hesitation in asking questions and throwing out ideas as newly elected president Ed Tritt and Stanley Ames (new treasurer) both weighed in on some issues, along with the others, and requested more information from school administrators.

Bob Kelley, who came on the board in June, filling the final year of a vacancy, has asked questions for clarification from his first meeting night. Most present board members seem comfortable asking questions, or even admitting that they feel pressured if decisions need to be made the same night as issues are discussed.

Tritt made it clear Monday night that he is never one to favor same-night decisions, however admitted he could see the necessity of getting approval for a quick posting to reinstate the principal's position at THS. "We're behind the 8-ball," he said. Tritt also closed the meeting by stating, "I appreciate the free flow discussion. That's how it should be." 

It may be a subtle changeover, but I think maybe the dynamics have shifted just a little bit with the seating of the new board, not that there wasn't opportunity for discussion before. If this week is any indication, however, we will, perhaps, see more discussion and more clarity and public exchange of information with this new group as issues come before them. 

I was a little surprised to learn that my cat's name, "Lucy," was among some of the trendiest for dogs OR cats. A feature article I saw a while back pointed out that we pet owners definitely consider our pets as parts of our families, and that there are fewer pets named "Fido" of "Spot" anymore. Many of us name them after celebrities, authors, or other people with names we just like. My choice of Lucy came with celebrity roots, sort of. She came from a Tecumseh cat colony as a rescue kitten with a colony mate, a male. I thought on it awhile before renaming them from their kitty-care names (Tecumseh Cat Coalition rescued mine as part of their Trap Neuter Release program, but these needed more care than to return them) of Mr. Mittens (he had big feet) and Winky (one eye had to be surgically removed, it was so diseased.) They soon became Charlie Brown and Lucy, from the Charles Schultz cartoons. Charlie passed early from FIP, but Lucy, the formerly sicklier one, seems pretty hale and healthy. She also knows her other names: "Sissy," as in "Charlie's sister," when I am using the lovey-talk to her. "Trouble" as in "Here comes Trouble" when she climbs down from the high perch over the refrigerator when my husband comes home. Pets seem to pick up on all these. Among the most popular names for dogs are Lucy, Jack, Bella, and Charlie. Cat names include Lucy, Molly, with a few of the old ones like Tiger in the mix. Whatever we call them, pets bring sunshine into a cloudy day. They're almost always entertaining. So what are some of your stories of how you came to name your pet? Just thought it would be interesting to hear some.

I was following a blog recently about the changeover going on in the reading world from physical copies of books to e-books using one of several new electronic readers on the market. Whenever I see such discussions, my heart sort of sinks at the thought of the potential demise of the published, hold-in-the-hands books. But not everyone shares my sentiment.

There are those who talk of how "green" it would be not to cut down trees to publish books. Some forget, however, that electronics are made to be replaced and what we buy today will come in a new, improved format within a couple of years. Think eight-track tape players, the cassette years, and on to CDs; the Beta vs. VHS period for videos (anybody remember that?) that preceded DVDs; and now we've come to the downloadable nature of almost everything. Proper disposal of no longer useful electronics and their batteries continues to present something of a problem.

Of course, there are those who predicted the personal computer would do away with a need for paper, but many of us still file copies of what comes off the computer and we like to be able to see it in that format for easy reference and writing on. We're not necessarily technophobes, but some of us have preferences that don't involve going into cyberspace territory all the time.

Part of the discussion I found interesting included the images of a home with no books on the shelves, or no more libraries or bookstores in which to savor new titles while browsing. In my house I'm constantly trying to decide which books I can do without, usually donating some, so I can fit in new purchases. I can see the space saver angle of the new readers. But I can't imagine a home without actual books.

I just hung up from a phone call received here at the Herald during which a man asked if others realized that being a part of a TV show called “Best Schools in Michigan” was something that any school district that was willing to pay $25,000 dollars could do — schools like Lincoln, mentioned in an article on annarbor.com today. The Tecumseh School Board held a special meeting on Monday night to discuss the possibility of TPS being included on a March 24 edition of the show on WXYZ Channel 7 Detroit, and voted to do so.

“It’s a scam,” said the man on thephone. “And it looks like our school board has been duped again.” He said he did not want to be named and just wanted others to know that there was no real criteria to be considered one of “the best” except to pay the money.

Some of the Tecumseh School Board members appeared to be feeling a little pressure to decide quickly on Monday night. Jason Sines said outright that he would prefer to take a little more time to consider what all this package with marketers Sussman/Sikes would include, both for the airing and afterward. Sines is becoming known as the board member who sometimes sounds a warning, not necessarily to nix a plan, but to proceed with a little more caution. He wanted more time to consider all the options surrounding the athletic complex last year. Sines said he would have liked an opportunity to look at what other marketing firms might have to offer because it was an area in which he was not an expert and had nothing to judge whether the $25,000 for this particular package, designed to market the school’s positive assets and boost its image, was a good deal or not.

There was a pretty amazing story that came through theHerald this week about how Monica Andrews, a dispatcher in the Tecumseh PoliceDepartment, followed up on some 911 “hangup” calls that the Lenawee CountySheriff Department had reported. The calls originated from an address on UnionStreet. When the Sheriff Department answered, they could hear someone screamingin another language. Miracle one may have been their taking it another step bycontacting the TPD. After officers were dispatched a couple things happened.They learned that the home’s current resident was at work. They also learnedfrom a neighbor that a woman, who was thought to be Chinese, lived there acouple of years ago. (Miracle two? That someone remembered that and shared itwith police?) Back at the dispatch center, Monica put two and two together –the cries from the calls seeming to come from someone speaking a foreignlanguage and the fact that someone who might have spoken a foreign languageonce lived at the address that registered with the cell phone. She obviouslyalso knew a little about how cell phone 911 calls can be dispatched from thearea where the phone’s service originates rather than where you are, somethingthat surprised me and may be news to others as well.