Month: February 2020

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Visiting the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan

This Presidents Day weekend, we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together as a family and enjoy the places that our state has to offer. Michigan winters can be long and brutal, and the feelings of cabin fever are very real. I’m a homebody as much as the next person, but there are only so many times you can watch “Frozen 2” (we’ve been averaging 1.5 times a day since buying it last week), break up arguments between two sisters, and keep a new puppy from chewing up the house or your hands.

Having plans outside of the house helps break up that routine, and until the weather warms up and sun starts to shine with some regularity, indoor activities are essential for survival.

On Monday, we made the drive to Portage, Michigan to visit the Air Zoo for the very first time. I’ve seen photos from friends’ visits there, and it’s even mentioned in our girls’ Goodnight Michigan board book. But truthfully, I had no idea what it was all about.

Earlier in the weekend, we had visited Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing, a favorite spot of ours for exploring and getting some energy out. I still remember going there when Margot was a week old because we had been spending weeks in the house celebrating the holidays and waiting for her arrival that we needed to get. Out. Of. The. Damn. House. We love Impression 5 for visits, summer camps, you name it. We bought a family membership during that visit, and used it quite often with family and friends. After that year, we ended up letting the membership lapse with Stella starting full-day school.

We decided to renew our I5 membership on Saturday’s visit. At $75, it’s a really great deal for our family to visit the museum throughout the year, and it also gives us a discount on summer camps. On top of that, my friend Brittany alerted me to the fact that an Impression 5 membership means free admission to the Air Zoo for the month of February. What a deal!

General admission to the Air Zoo for adults is $15.95, $14.95 for kids 5-18, and free for 4 and under. That means we saved almost $50! Beyond the free admission, our visit to the Air Zoo was well worth the drive toward Kalamazoo.

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Interview: Life on the road with Anne Brummel of “My Fair Lady”

Wharton Center for the Performing Arts is continuing its 2019-20 Broadway season later this month with one of the most beloved musicals in history. The Lincoln Center Theater production of “My Fair Lady” is making its way to Wharton Center February 26th-March 1st.

Anne Brummel

I had the opportunity to interview Anne Brummel, who is currently performing in the Ensemble and as the understudy for Mrs. Pearce. Brummel is touring the country with her young son Harlen and husband Michael Williams, who is also a part of the “My Fair Lady” cast. I spoke with her about working and traveling with family, always being prepared as an understudy, and why “My Fair Lady” is an enduring favorite.

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The grocery store griever

Today was a good lesson in remembering that you never know what someone is going through in his or her life at any given time.

This morning I had an interaction with an older gentleman named Bob at my local Kroger grocery store. I’ve encountered him on a few occasions over the years, often when I’m trying to quickly grab groceries on a rare weekday morning that both kids are at school. Weekday mornings are a popular time to go to the store for parents who stay home and retirees; it’s often a pretty quick, quiet shopping experience.

I’m guessing Bob is in his late 70s or early 80s, and due to my darn Midwestern sensibility of smiling at strangers I pass in the aisles and saying good morning, I’ve been a target of his conversations more than once. It always happens in the deli/bakery area, it seems, and Bob begins his conversations in the same type of way.

Today, he looked at my hands on the grocery cart, said something to me about how I have all of my fingers, and then did the missing thumb trick that appears to be popular with older men of a certain era. I still remember my dad’s uncle doing the same trick, and how much it blew my mind to learn the secret.

I politely laughed and tried to take my gaze toward whatever I was looking to buy in that deli area. Today, it was pita chips. From there, he asked as he always has if I’m from the area. I said yes. He went on to say, as he has before, that he bets I’m from the area along a certain road where all of the people with money live. It’s always a strange comment and weird assumption, but I tried to stay polite as he told me what neighborhood he lives in. He’s told me this before.

It’s always at this point that I look around for a life raft, some other shiny object person to grab his attention so I can slip out of his tractor beam, or try to appear to have a sense of urgency to move along the aisle.

He moved on to talking about his grandkids and great grandkids, and I knew this routine. “Some of the names of kids these days, I tell ya! Are you from the United States?” he asked me. “Yes,” I replied. In my head I prayed he wouldn’t start saying something racist. “Because I don’t care if someone’s from here or not, but… some of the names people give their kids these days!” At some point, he dropped in a comment about that guy in charge with the funny hairdo (Trump). “That Donny… he’s doing a good job.” The sweet, innocent way Bob said it made it sound like he was talking about one of his grandkids in the first grade.

Again, I tried to keep one foot out of the conversation, because why get into a politics conversation with Bob when he’s feeling like the guy with the funny hairdo is doing just fine?

Bob talked even more about his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids and their funny names, noting that they weren’t related by blood because they weren’t his children. This was a new detail I hadn’t heard about before.

Then he shared something even more personal. His wife Betty died in December. The quiver in his voice was palpable. “Would you like to see a picture?” he asked as he pulled out his wallet to show me anyway. He pulled out a photo of Betty. “We’ll be together again. I can’t wait to join her.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “She’s up there.”

I told Bob that I was so sorry. He said their anniversary was in late January. “Do you know how many years we were married? Are married… we’re still married even though she’s gone. Fifty-two years.” I told Bob I was so sorry.

Bob had tears in his eyes. He started to talk about his health problems and joked that his friends tell him his problems are with his head. Sometimes he slipped back into his standup routine about his (great?) grandkids’ names, which include Maddox and Sebastian, and how he can’t spell or pronounce them half the time. “My name’s Bob. My wife’s name is Betty.” Normal names, he said.

I wasn’t sure how to wrap things up. I said that it was wonderful they had so many years together. His voice quivered as he said how much he missed her. “I can’t wait to join her,” he said again.

I told him to take care. “God bless you,” he said.

“My name’s Stefanie. It was nice to meet you, Bob,” I said.

“Stefanie. See that’s a nice name!” he said.