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2 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • november 27, 2017 • 11

4

“Speak Up” Mum on Conservative Predators In his Dec. 11 column, “Speak Up!” Thomas Kachadurian makes an absurd and unsubstantiated claim that “ridiculous,” “so-called” feminists are somehow enablers of the sexual assault or harassment committed

by Al Franken, Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, John Conyers, and Bill Clinton. Donald Trump and Roy Moore go conspicuously unnamed.

His argument is that party-loyal feminists aren’t rebuking these assaulters loudly enough — news to me. A friend even asked, “Has he not been on Twitter in the last 50 days?”)

Mr. Kachadurian wants to cast sexual assault as a liberal problem, not a human one. He then condescendingly educates victims and would-be victims about why exactly they should “speak up,” not considering why that can be so difficult.

I’m sorry, but the women and men wielding the hashtag “#metoo” are fortified by the courage of their peers. They can and will continue to speak up without finding solidarity in the guy who described our local farmers market as a “craft fair for women’s studies majors.”

Jack Hagen, Traverse City

Change is not spelled D-E-S-T-R-O-Y Coming up to the 2016 election there were few people in our country who would not agree that there were some very important changes that needed to happen. Sadly, all I have seen since January 2017 is evidence of destruction, both literally and figuratively. Despite the increase of natural disasters, our Environmental Protection Agency is being stripped of its resources; protections for our precious Great Lakes are being dismantled; and hatred and divisions in our population have been exaggerated to a level not seen since the Civil War. Is this really what the voters were hoping for?

Michael Moore was right when he said the supporters of this present administration wanted to throw a Molotov cocktail into Washington.

Unfortunately, those supporters, and the current administration, failed to give thought to what would rise from the resulting rubble.

It was obvious with the attempt to replace the ACA that there was no improvement ready to be brought forth, in spite of the fact that they had years to prepare. And, with the current tax reform fiasco, it is clear that very little thought was given to finding a way to benefit the average American. The head of the Treasury Department was not even prepared to provide documents necessary for an intelligent evaluation of the bill being presented. For legislatures to admit that “our donors told us not to bother calling them again if we don’t get this passed” leaves no doubt where their loyalties lie. Has our government really fallen to a level where it is for sale to the highest bidder? How much shame will be too much?

I shake my head iand wonder how much more change/destruction needs to happen before we, the American people, will stand up against this disaster and fight to take our country back.

Kelli MacIntosh, Traverse City

Boring News Not since the days of Richard Nixon has a president been so boring. I get more pleasure out of taking a walk around the block then to listen to Trump’s egotistical and demeaning whining.

On and on he yammers with meaningless and disconnected ideas and words delivered with less than honest intentions.

I wonder if the Republicans who elected him realize what a dud they gave us. Forget the whole Republican/Democrat thing. This is about Trump worshiping the sound of his own voice, which he dearly loves to hear. If his ability to lead this country were so profound and honest, we wouldn’t be so stripped of our pride in America under this man.

The Republicans banded together and voted this egotistical man into office to enhance their own agenda. After a lifetime of thinking that Republicans were the smart ones, and Democrats were just followers of whoever got elected, I now heavily chastise the Democrats for staying home in droves on election day.

At least Obama tried to make America a better place for all of us. His time in the White House did not embarrass us in front of our enemies and make America a country to be pitied.

William E. Scott, Traverse City

Heart of America Failing I am mad as hell — and at times at a loss for words to describe the thoughts and feelings I have regarding passage of the Senate tax reform bill. But here’s a word: betrayal. I feel betrayed by elected officials — Republicans to be exact. Are they intentionally trying to make a less educated, permanently poor underclass of 70 percent of the nation? Taxing university graduate students? Taxing (for the first time) university endowment funds?

Disallowing state and local tax deductions that have existed since the tax code was created in 1913? Reducing Medicare coverage? For what?

For the first time in American history, the middle and lower classes are getting poorer, and the tax bill is the knock-out punch.

The vast majority of corporate CEOs have indicated they have no plans to reinvest tax savings into new businesses in the U.S. that result from tax reform. They already have billions of dollars sitting idle overseas. And loan rates are still at historic lows, so money is cheap and flowing freely if they do need more. But they aren’t asking for more. Only 25 percent of the public is favor of the tax bill. So who is asking for more? It appears that it’s only elected Republicans in Washington — and their donors who threatened to stop campaign contributions if they didn’t pass tax reform this year.

America today is not like anything I knew growing up over the last 66 years. I feel America is dying, not because of 35 percent corporate tax rates. It’s dying because it has heart disease. America had a heart.

I’m not a conspiracy enthusiast, but Steve Bannon said clear as a bell, “We want to dismantle Washington.” The Washington that gave us highways (Eisenhower), civil rights (Lincoln and Johnson), clean air and water (Nixon), Yellowstone Park (Teddy Roosevelt), and the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (Gov. Bill Milliken)? Note that these were all Republicans but one. Where are the Republicans with a heart and conscience today?

Vote at every election. Vote for country over party. And vote to end gerrymandered voting districts November 2018.

CONTENTS

features Crime and Rescue Map......................................7

New Age for Medical Marijuana.......................10 Wren the Butcher..........................................13 New Year’s Eve, Up North...............................14 Downstate Destinations.................................17 Incidentally Christmas...................................18 Six Stellar Holiday Jaunts...............................21 Roy Aydelotte’s Loco Motives..........................25 Northern Seen...................................................29 Uncovering an Old Indian Trail...........................30 Wizards of Winter................................................38

dates...............................................34-37 music FourScore.......................................................38 Nightlife.........................................................43

columns & stuff Opinion.............................................................4

Guest Opinion.................................................31 Top Five...........................................................5 Spectator/Stephen Tuttle....................................6 Weird...............................................................8 Crossed...........................................................9 Modern Rock/Kristi Kates................................39 The Reel...........................................................40 Crossword...................................................42 Advice Goddess.............................................44 Freewill Astrology.........................................45 Classifieds....................................................46

Rick Newberry, Ellsworth, MI

Naïve Liberal Letters I saw two letters on the Dec. 4 issue that support my position that Liberals have no intelligent ideas, cannot reason critically, and therefore resort to outraged ad hominem to make themselves feel better. The attacks on Carole Underwood’s correct statements are nonsense. Bedtelyon’s are mindlessly nasty, borderline defamatory, and factually non-existent — they would warrant pistols at daybreak, or at least a straitjacket, in any sensible society. Verschaeve’s are more babble than anything else.

There are no “vast mineral resources” in Syria. President Trump has not seized control of any portion of the world’s opium production, let alone 90 percent. Such nonsensical statements do not do anything for the writer’s credibility.

Verschaeve claims to have been poor. Well, I’ve been knocked down so far I couldn’t see out of my shoes, and I did not whine, snivel, or demand that someone else bail me out. I learned from my mistakes, improved my worth in the labor market, and went on with life. It is factually correct that the lower half of income earners, on a net annual basis, pay no federal income tax. It is factually correct that the upper half — and specifically, the upper 20 percent — pay virtually all of the federal income tax revenues. So if you are in the lower half, don’t claim that you pay your way.

Verschaeve and Bedtelyon prove that what I always say about Liberals is true: They accuse their opposition of being and saying what they, the Liberals, actually say and are. If you want to know what Liberals are, listen to what they call their opposition.

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 129 E Front Traverse City, MI Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Katy McCain, Mike Bright, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Matt Ritter, Randy Sills, Kathy Twardowski, Austin Lowe Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Contributing Editor: Kristi Kates Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Jennifer Hodges, Craig Manning Michael Phillips, Steve Tuttle Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Charles Knapp, Maple City

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 3

letters Continued from previous page

Republican Deficits

The Republican party actually loves the deficit, since it will be its way to reduce entailments. Think about this: It was the Republican party who voted for President George W. Bush tax cuts, his wars in the Middle East, Medicare Part D, and the Wall Street bailout — none of which Republicans even tried to pay for. Currently, the Republican Party voted for a tax cut that appears to be adding $1 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Notice that the “deficit hawks” voted for this tax plan.

The current tax plan gives tax breaks to corporations and to the wealthy by increasing our deficit. Eventually, future generations will have to pay for it or programs that serve middle class, and the poor will be cut or eliminated.

While government stimulus to expand the economy is appropriate government intervention during a recession, we are currently at the lowest unemployment rate in a long time. Since the middle class and the poor have suffered with stagnant wages, tax relief to increase their income seems justified.

Such a move would most likely stimulate the economy and reduce income inequality.

Neither President Regan or Bush’s tax cuts paid for themselves. No nonpartisan group analysis of the current tax plan supports the conclusion that it will not increase the deficit.

Since the Republican Party supports the no-tax-increase pledge, then the deficit can only be reduced by shrinking the entitlement, which is their plan.

Ronald Marshall, Petoskey

Bipartisan Harassment

While waiting for my order at a local sandwich shop, I picked up the December 11 issue of the Northern Express and started to read the Kachadurian opinion piece, “Speak Up.” Given his history of opinion columns in the Express, I fully expected it to be full of snarky and smug diatribes searching for coherence.

His column began by taking aim at sex assault/harassment as acts of power and control, not sex. I was pleased to be reading a piece on a very tough social issue; I thought someone had hijacked his column.

But inevitably, his consistently demonstrated biases leaked out.

First, he took aim at one of his favorite boogiemen, “the media,” which was presented as a jumbled confusion of print and 24-hour news channels. No distinction is made between The New York Times, the print media that gave voice to harassed women, and the fake news of Fox and the National Enquirer.

Then he proceeded with a list of Democrats and entertainment elites who have been accused or are guilty of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

He must not be aware of Republicans (or is unwilling to call out his own) who are guilty or have been accused of sex crimes: congressmen Mark Foley, Dick Army, Blake Farenthold, and Dennis Hastert; John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, presidential candidate Herman Cain; Clarence Thomas; Judge Roy Moore; Bill O’Reilly, and, of course, Donald Trump.

Kachadurian, why do you blame “the women in the ridiculous pink hats” for not taking the initiative in combating this blatant sexism that the majority of us have been ignoring for all too many years? It is the responsibility for all of us to “Speak Up.” When confronted with sexual predators, we all too often turn our heads, afraid to speak up for fear of ridicule or being ostracized — or simply give a wink and a nod to the good ole boys.

Girls and women have been, for too many years, criticized for not speaking up in a culture that calls them liars (Trump says all 16 of his accusers are liars; Moore claims all nine of his accusers are liars), shames them, fires

SPEAK UP! them, or blackballs them.

Kachadurian, I appreciate your effort to write a piece about a critical issue, but please present a column that is void of bias and partisanship. Be honest with your reader. And remember that no decent human being should ever use the pain of others to further their own agenda.

Jack and Marnie Lee, Traverse City

Plato’s Cave

Around 380 BCE, Plato wrote “The Republic,” a dialogue about justice, education, and the ideal state or government. He promulgates that a philosopher-king must be intelligent, reliable, and willing to lead a simple life. These qualities are rarely manifested on their own but can be encouraged through education and study of good.

For Plato, visible objects must be illuminated to be seen, so it must be true that light must be cast on objects of knowledge to be seen. One dialogue within “The Republic” is one in which imagined people are in a cave, chained so that they face only the far wall and see only shadows. As they have spent their entire lives bound, that is all they know.

One prisoner is somehow released, and as he enters the outside world, he is temporarily blinded by the light. But then he sees a world of the sun, color, and nature. He is “shown the light.”

When he returns to the cave to enlighten those remaining, he is now blinded by the dark. His fellows believe that to have happened from his venture to the outside. They refuse to believe his discoveries (fake news) and refuse to leave the cave, as they know no better life.

Plato’s symbolism is that, just as light comes from the sun, so does truth come from justice. Goodness as the source of truth makes it possible for the mind to know, just as light from the sun makes the eyes able to see.

Max Old Bear, Traverse City

We Will Attack Back

What a month this has been — a sad month indeed. President Trump carried out his promised attack on our nation’s national monuments. He announced savage cuts to two of Utah’s wilderness areas: Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument (cut in size by 50 percent) and the new Bears Ears National Monument (cut in size by 85 percent). Little notice has been given to eight other national monuments that will face huge reductions in size, plus allow logging, mining, oil and gas drilling, off-road vehicle recreation, expanded grazing rights, and other development plans.

All this came about after 98 percent of the Americans who had submitted written comments to the proposed changes to national monuments said “leave the monuments alone.”

Extractive economic development schemes have won the Trump Prize at the expense of wildlife, fragile landscapes, Native American archeological treasures, tourism, and recreation such as hiking, birding, hunting, fishing, and rock climbing. I am deeply offended by what the president and his Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have done in their attack on our public places.

You should be sad too. With the Trump philosophy holding sway, Michigan’s very own Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks national lakeshores could be next. But the good news is that the national monuments have many friends. And we will fight back against these reckless policies.

We will use the only recourse left to us, the federal courts, to stand up for what is right. The 1906 Antiquities Act, passed by Congress and signed

by Teddy Roosevelt, never gave presidents the power to destroy national monuments — only to create them. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zinke, we’ll be seeing you in court. This cannot stand!

John D. Morris, Michigan Friends of the Red Rock, Traverse City

4 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

opinion

bY Mark Pontoni In the past several months, earthshaking accusations of sexual misconduct by men in politics, show business, the media, sports, corporate America, and more have begun to reshape our national social landscape. After the careers of Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Marshall Faulk, Garrison Keillor, Russell Simmons, Louis CK, Kevin Spacey, and many more have crashed and burned before our eyes, there seems to be a chance that the fallout might include a refreshing and respectful way to conduct business between men and women (or men and men, as the case may be).

What we have lost in comedy, cinema, music, sports, and political acumen will more than be offset by a better society … if we can all learn the consequences of sex being just another tool in the arsenal of the power hungry.

It’s impossible, however, to avoid giving credit where credit is due. It’s far too early for us to catalog all the national shame Donald Trump has, or will have, brought to our country through his reckless policies, his racist rants, his general lack of understanding of even the basic principles upon which our country was founded, etc. But we do know he deserves a lot of credit for bringing to our attention just how ineffective in eliminating sexual harassment monotone lectures by washed-up actors on cheesy videos are.

Trump’s long history of treating women in the most degrading manner possible was well known in his circle. I even got to witness it first-hand when we somehow ended up at the same wedding reception years ago. As I took a pause from the dancing to reload a couple glasses of wine, Trump walked over to me to give me a play-by-play analysis of various women on the dance floor. When he worked his way

“Trump’s long history of treating women in the most degrading manner possible was well known in his circle. I even got to witness it first-hand when we somehow ended up at the same wedding reception years ago.”

Like any seismic shift in the social order, there will be a long period of uncertainty about what norms will emerge from the chaos of neardaily revelations of another fallen star. We have pretty much exhausted our capacity to be shocked, even though we know for certain that, as we speak, additional accusations are scratching their way to the surface. It is not hard to imagine Hollywood stars, politicians, movie moguls, athletes, corporate bigwigs, etc., tidying up their offshore bank accounts in anticipation of the moment that they are going to be outed.

How did we get here? It was 37 years ago that sexual harassment in the workplace became illegal under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Since that time, men and women have had the opportunity to work out what is acceptable sexual activity and what is unwanted — and therefore illegal — sexual harassment. Most of us have been subjected to countless videos about sexual harassment in the workplace. As we watched lecherous men drooling over the new office worker while washed-up actors lectured us on proper behavior, we could confidently state that OUR workplace was a safe place for everyone. After all, we had watched the video.

So after all those years of properly groomed behavior, what happened in 2017 that blew up all that hard work we had done? Are 37 years of video-cleansed professional behavior by happy men and women down the drain because of Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer?

Without a doubt, we, like Time magazine, must acknowledge the bravery of those women who have come forward with their complaints. While we must try to avoid the hysteria that might lead to ruining careers of men who are falsely accused, we are in a period when women must be given the benefit of the doubt because we have for so long simply ignored what was obviously happening in every realm of our society.

over to my then-wife, who was dancing with some of her girlfriends, he gave me a graphic description of what he’d like to do to her. He didn’t know she was my wife … or maybe he did. I don’t suppose it matters. It was my first look at a couple of jerks: him and me.

In his lewdness and objectification of a woman he didn’t even know, I recognized how poorly I, too, had treated some women in my own life.

(This was pre-1980, so I hadn’t had a chance to watch any videos yet.) What Trump did for me in the late 1970s, he did for the entire country in Billy Bush’s Access Hollywood video revealed in 2016. At the moment we found out that a major presidential candidate was bragging about kissing this and grabbing that, we learned just how normal predatory behavior by some (many?) men in power could be. And then a month later, when we actually elected this lowlife to the Presidency, we learned that millions of people cared little that not much had changed since sexual harassment became a crime in 1980.

When 61,900,651 people loudly announced on Nov. 8, 2016 that kissing this and grabbing that were not only normal behaviors but also behaviors worthy of our highest elected office, we had certainly reached the lowest point in our history regarding respect for women.

But in that awful moment, perhaps a spark was ignited. Perhaps women everywhere, so long silent victims of predatory behavior, came to realize that enough was enough. Sure, more than a dozen women with credible stories of Trump’s criminal behavior weren’t enough to prevent his presidency. But maybe that spark was enough to ignite the tinderbox that has brought us to today’s daily exposés.

So thanks, Donald. Help is on the way.

You can read more of Mark Pontoni’s thoughts on education, politics, sports, and family at www.thegrumblings.com.

this week’s

top five

santa on the slopes

Bike Across I-75?

Grayling to Hartwick Pines Crossing Makes it Possible A bike trail linking Grayling and Hartwick Pines State Park now has its own dedicated I-75 crossing.

It’s the first non-motorized crossing over the interstate in northern Michigan. The project has been in the works since 1999 and will one day serve as a link in the Iron Belle Trail, a planned bike path that will run from Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula to Belle Isle in Detroit.

For now, it’s part of the Grayling Bicycle Turnpike, a six-and-a-half-mile trail that leads from Grayling to the state park. Prior to the bridge opening this month, riders had to cross I-75 on a narrow highway overpass and share the bridge with speedy traffic.

“Previously, northbound non-motorized traffic needed to cross the road and re-cross the road to not ride and/or walk against traffic on the narrow overpass,” said Wayne Koppa, member of the Crawford County multi-purpose trail committee. “It was not something you wanted to take young children across.”

Funding for the $1.9 million project came from federal funding, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Crawford AuSable Schools, the Crawford County Road Commission, Grayling Charter Township, and many donors.

tastemaker Lake Street Market Pecan Bars Lake Street Market in Boyne City has created a just-right version of that classic holiday favorite — pecan pie — in a rich, nutty-sweet small size that’s perfect for plating up at a big holiday gathering or unveiling at an intimate dinner.

“We got the idea from a customer, some dozen or so years ago,” explained market co-owner Chris Meyer. “They just wanted small-sized desserts, and since we don’t sell pie by the slice, we made these to fill that need.”

To make the bars, Lake Street Market blends pecans with local ingredients and an old standby recipe of their own.

“We use honey from Siegrist Farm, Shetler’s heavy cream, and butter, and we bake up that mixture on the same shortbread base we use for our brownies,” said the market’s other co-owner, Liz Glass.

The market’s brownies are almost fudge-like, with several kinds of chocolate included (most often Lindt and Scharffen Berger), so if you’re not a pecan pie person, you can fall back on this chocolate choice.

“The brownies, come to think of it, are another great holiday idea!” Glass said.

Pick either (or a mix of both!) at Lake Street Market in downtown Boyne City, 306 S. Lake St. lakestreetmarket.com or (231) 582-4450.

Join Santa on the slopes of Schuss Mountain at Shanty Creek Resorts, Bellaire, and ski for free on Christmas from 9am to 4:30pm. Pay it forward with donations of non-perishable food items, gently-used winter clothing, and/or household items to benefit local food pantries. shantycreek.com

Talking Naloxone in Norway The co-director of Harm Reduction Michigan, a Traverse City-based nonprofit dedicated to preventing heroin overdoses, gave a presentation at the International Naloxone Conference in Oslo, Norway, in November.

That a northern Michigan-based advocate would be asked to teach the international community about Naloxone shows just how far ahead the U.S. is in getting the overdosereversal drug in the hands of first responders, but it also reflects how bad the U.S. heroin epidemic is.

“The reason [I was invited] is, the U.S. opioid situation is among the most acute in the world,” said Maya Doe-Simkins. “They gave me the very easy task of, in just a few moments, to give them the story of American overdose prevention.”

Doe-Simkins said her message was that opioid addiction cannot be solved by stigmatizing and isolating someone who suffers from addiction.

“Those that provide connections save people’s lives, and those that provide isolation kill people,” she said. “It’s not heroin that kills people — it’s being alone, isolated and stigmatized that kills people.”

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spectator by stephen tuttle

ANNUAL

This is the season, we’re told, of peace and goodwill on earth, the birth day of the Prince of Peace. Or at least the day Christians have chosen to celebrate the birthday.

Tuesday, December 26th

Alas, we seem no closer to peace on earth or goodwill toward anyone than we’ve ever been. You could make a convincing argument for the contrary: less peace and open hostility everywhere.

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There is active fighting of one sort or another in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, the Chechnya region of Russia, the Ukrainian border ... there are more.

acknowledge his self-proclaimed greatness.

He uses social media like a 12-year-old trying to get even with the popular kids. Plenty of politicians from both sides of the aisle have gleefully followed suit.

And it seems some of us are anticipating the opposite of goodwill. Gun sales, which had slowed considerably during the Trump presidency, surged on Black Friday. Guns, mostly handguns, were one of the big sellers that day; the FBI received 210,000 background check requests, a single day record.

But there is some good news, too. Once we get away from the political hacks, dictators, and various warlords, and into the world in which most of us exist, things get a lot better.

We’re an awful lot better at peace and goodwill individually than our fearless leaders seem to be collectively. And not just at this time of year.

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The so-called Islamic State (ISIS), al-Qaida, and its mutant offspring have executed attacks in more than 30 countries. The thuggish murderers, whom we’ve elevated by calling them terrorists, still try to run over people or blow them up. Mass murders strike a couple times a week here in the United States without much fanfare unless the body count is shocking enough.

The world is infected with all manner of mayhem, with even worse potential on the immediate horizon, courtesy of a North Korean megalomaniac and an American president who acts like this a schoolyard taunting contest.

To be fair, there is always talk of peace.

Young Jarred Kushner, the president’s senior advisor and son-in-law, has been leading or organizing or doing something regarding negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. He hasn’t informed the State Department, so no one is exactly sure where he is with this project.

And we talk, one suspects with some futility, to the North Koreans. They’re also talking in Zimbabwe, where they just ousted a dictator; in South Sudan, while war rages; in Somalia, where famine could kill millions and so on.

Not much actual peace.

But surely there must be some goodwill someplace, even in politics.

OK, maybe not among politicians, nearly all of whom have misplaced their goodwill and can’t seem to find it. They’ve replaced common courtesy with scorched earth attacks.

It’s a bipartisan strategy carefully crafted through negative research and a willingness to be as unpleasant as possible. They do like to smile for pictures at their fundraising events, but that doesn’t really count.

6 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

It doesn’t much help we have a president who insults and demeans any and all unwilling to

And there really is plenty of goodwill among regular folks, local organizations and local folks working for national organizations.

There’s the Father Fred Foundation, Salvation Army, Women’s Resource Center, nearly all local churches, St. Vincent de Paul, Toys for Tots, and many, many others. They offer clothes, food beyond just a free meal, school supplies, and they’ll repair a furnace or patch a roof just because it is the right thing to do.

We’re an awful lot better at peace and goodwill individually than our fearless leaders seem to be collectively. And not just at this time of year.

While governments threaten and invade and bomb, individuals reassure, repair and resolve to help their neighbors. We talk about it more this time of year — and there is more good cheer now — but people are willingly making sacrifices to help other people every day. If we ignore the crass and ugly behavior of our politicians and look to our neighbors, the picture, and our hopes, become brighter.

Peace might be out of our hands given the temperament in some parts of the world these days. We negotiate with “cautious optimism,” but all the while the killing goes on.

Real peace remains the most elusive ideal.

Hope for peace is about the best we can do, holidays or not. But goodwill is a personal choice we can make simply by making it. It requires no legislation or ordinances or even much effort; a willingness to treat each other decently is enough.

There’s nothing preventing all of us from extending the kindnesses we share during the holidays to the rest of the year. Perhaps even our politicians would learn to follow our example. That would be a most excellent gift any time of year.

Crime & Rescue “GARY THE FLASHER” CHARGED A 78-year-old man who has faced misdemeanor sex-related charges over six decades faces life in prison after he was charged with aggravated indecent exposure as a sexually delinquent person.

Gary Douglas Keene is accused of exposing himself in front of a woman walking by his State Street home Nov. 27, according to charges. The woman told Traverse City Police she saw Keene at 7:30am staring at her and touching himself while sitting exposed in front of a glass storm door.

The charges against Keene chronicle similar allegations Keene has faced over decades, dating back to arrests that appear to have been sex related in 1967, 1970, and 1981.

In 1992, Keene faced an obscene conduct charge after a passerby spotted him engaged in a sex act with himself in a parked car outside of a grocery store. A witness told police they knew Keene as “Gary the Flasher,” according to the charges.

He was accused of exposing himself to passing female joggers in 2004 and 2005, and in 2010 police investigated after he was spotted without pants in his yard.

The unusual charge Keene faces carries a penalty of anything from one day in jail to life in prison. Asked for comment, Keene denied that he had ever faced indecent exposure charges.

MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD ABUSE A Kingsley man was arrested on charges that he squeezed a two-month-old boy by the chest, shook him, and then twisted his arms and legs, causing serious injury.

Neil Anthony Brown faces up to life in prison on a charge of first-degree child abuse. He is scheduled to be in court Dec. 22.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s deputies investigated in late November after the child was taken by his mother to the Grand Traverse Children’s Clinic, where she was told to immediately take the child to the Munson emergency room. There, a doctor determined that the child had suffered injuries in an assault.

Detectives questioned the 27-year-old suspect, who had taken care of the child the day before, and who admitted that he shook and twisted the child because he would not stop crying, according to the charges.

The child was transferred to Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids with several apparent fractures in the upper and lower body.

TEEN FACES SEX CRIMES A Boyne City teenager is accused of sexually assaulting three girls.

Ryan Christopher Bentley, 17, faces five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Bentley is accused of forcefully sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl and having sex with two other girls, ages 14 and 15, according to police affidavits.

Bentley is scheduled for a court appearance Jan. 9.

Bentley pleaded not guilty and was released on bond but was ordered to be held under house arrest with a GPS tether, Charlevoix County Prosecutor Allen Telgenhof said.

by patrick sullivan psullivan@northernexpress.com

WOMAN DRIVES INTO DITCH A woman faces drunk driving charges after she crashed her car and showed up at a party store.

State police were called Dec. 10 to investigate an assault, but troopers determined that the 30-year-old Kalkaska woman at the Blue Buck party store on M-72 had not been assaulted but had been in a verbal argument.

The woman left home to get away from the argument and, while travelling on W. Bear Lake Road, she lost control of her vehicle and ended up in a ditch. She walked to the store to ask for help.

The woman had a blood alcohol level that was over twice the legal limit and admitted she drove; she was arrested for drunk driving.

WOMAN KILLED IN CRASH A woman was killed, and a man was jailed for drunk driving causing death, following an Antrim County crash.

Sheriff’s deputies closed US-31 at S. Bay Shore Drive after a head-on crash Dec. 12 at 5:02pm.

Rapid City resident Heather Templin, 68, was killed in the crash; she was a passenger in a car driven by a 47-year-old Fife Lake man who was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The driver of the other car, a 27-year-old Central Lake man, was arrested for drunk driving causing death. He was not injured in the crash.

Deputies determined that the Central Lake driver was headed north when he crossed the centerline into the path of the other car, which was headed south.

MISSING WOMAN CASE SUSPICIOUS Officials suspect foul play in the case of a missing Grayling woman.

Michelle Ann Kukulski was reported missing Dec. 11, Crawford County Sheriff’s deputies said.

The 46-year-old didn’t arrive at a location where she was expected, and when family members started looking for her, they realized she hadn’t been heard from since Dec. 8.

Tracking dogs and state police and deputies searched an area where her cell phone signal last pinged while detectives tried to piece together what happened to her.

By Dec. 13, Kukulski remained missing, but her 1995 Chrysler Town & Country had been located and was processed for evidence. Deputies said at that point that the case was considered suspicious.

Anyone with information about what happened to Kukulski should call police at (989) 344-3228.

emmet

DRUNK DRIVER CRASHED A 67-year-old Williamsburg man was arrested for drunk driving after he crashed into a ditch in Leelanau County.

Deputies were called after the driver drove off the road on North Manitou Trail, south of East Duck Lake Road, in Leland Township Dec. 11 at 11:46am.

A deputy noticed the odor of alcohol while talking to the driver, and the man denied that he’d been drinking but said he had been drinking the night before. A breath test showed his blood alcohol level was two and a half times the legal limit, and he was arrested.

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Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 7

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Cai, a 28-year-old man in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, had plenty of time to consider traffic patterns as he waited for the lights to change during his daily commute. So much, in fact, that he decided to take matters into his own hands on Sept. 27 and paint new traffic arrows on the roadway. A traffic camera captured the whole project as Cai carefully added a straight arrow to the existing left-turn and U-turn arrows. “I saw the straight lane was always packed with cars, while the turning left lane has a lot of space,” Cai told police. “So I thought changing the signs would make my commute smoother.” The BBC reports that police fined Cai the equivalent of about $151, and crews removed the new straight arrow from the road.

Hair Trigger

Timothy Colton, 28, is cooling off in the Clark County (Nevada) Detention Center after being charged with arson and the attempted murder of his 66-year-old mother, who has limited mobility. The Nov. 27 altercation apparently started over a laundry dispute, but North Las Vegas police said Colton became aggressive and threatened to kill his mother and burn the house down. Fox News reports that Colton set fire to the front door and then ran away to hide under a car in a nearby parking lot, where officers found him. Police said he was “kicking the back seat door and hitting his head on the plastic partition between the front and rear seats” in the patrol car during his arrest. He was being held on $100,000 bail.

When Ya Gotta Go ...

Nemy Bautista of Sacramento, California, will not be posting a five-star review to Amazon this holiday season following not one but two alarming experiences. On Nov. 28, Bautista returned home to find a pile of what he thought was dog poo at the end of his driveway. But after reviewing his security camera footage, he discovered the poop perp was in fact a contract delivery driver for Amazon, driving a U-Haul truck. Bautista watched as the female driver squatted by the side of the truck, partially concealed by the open door, and left her mark.

Bautista called Amazon to complain, and a supervisor arrived hours later to bag up the evidence. The next day, Bautista got another package from Amazon, but the delivery person “tossed the package ... instead of walking up the driveway,” Bautista told FOX40. He said the package contained a “fragile porcelain figurine,” but it didn’t break. Maybe the delivery person was afraid of stepping in something?

On the Naughty List Cranberry Rosemary Spread

Always in season.

Always delicious.

For this and other recipes, visit GracelandFruit.com.

8 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

-- A man in Australia couldn’t wait for Santa to deliver his Christmas wish: a 5 1/2-foot-tall “Dorothy model” sex doll. So, according to the Victoria Police Kingston Crime Investigation Unit, he broke into an adult entertainment store in Moorabbin on Dec. 4 by cutting through a fence with bolt cutters and smashing his way through the door. After quickly loading Dorothy into the back of his van, he took off.

Security cameras caught the event, but the thief was disguised with stockings and a balaclava pulled over his head.

-- A mall Santa working the weekend shift in late November got more than he bargained for at Dufferin Mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when an unnamed woman unloaded a sleigh-full of obscenities on him, saying, “Do you have a sleigh? No? ... You’re not magic!

You’re not even real! I heard about it when I was a young kid!” A bystander with a cellphone captured the tirade on video, reported the New

York Post, and true to his spirit, St. Nick kept his composure and tried not to engage with the elf-hater. A mall spokesperson said the woman left without further incident.

The Passing Parade

Faye Preston of Hull, Yorkshire, England, loves her neighborhood -- even the homeless folks who gently ask for change, or, in Preston’s case, make love in her driveway. She stepped out one night in November to smoke a cigarette and saw a couple under a blanket in her drive, and decided to let them be. But when she went out the next morning, “They were having actual sex on my driveway. The movement going on under the cover was unmistakable,” Preston wrote in the Hull Daily Mail. Still, she was worried about running over them, so she called police, who eventually removed them.

“If I was homeless, I’d come here too,” Preston wrote. “Where else can you go for a posh meal, followed by cocktails in a swanky bar and finish the night stepping over some frisky homeless people fornicating on your driveway?”

A Message From God?

An 18th-century statue of the crucified Jesus that was removed for restoration from the church of St. Agueda in Burgo de Osma, Spain, held a surprise in a most unusual spot.

As historians removed from Jesus’s backside a section of the carving meant to look like a cloth, they discovered two handwritten letters dated 1777 and signed by Joaquin Minguez, thenchaplain of the cathedral. Minguez details life in the community, including harvest reports and diseases, and tells about the sculpture’s artist, Manuel Bal. Historian Efren Arroyo told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo it appears Minguez intended his letters to be a sort of time capsule. The original letters were sent to the Archbishop of Burgos for archiving, but copies were returned to Jesus’s hindquarters to honor Minguez’s intent.

Awesome!

Chuck E. Cheese restaurants are undergoing an evolution of sorts, and employees at the location in Oak Lawn, Illinois, were only following company protocol when they took sledgehammers to the plastic head of the animatronic mouse on Nov. 28. In a video recorded by a reporter with the Oak Lawn Patch, two female employees half-heartedly strike Chuck’s head for several minutes before it finally breaks apart. Meanwhile, other workers load furniture and games into a moving van. The Oak Lawn location has closed after experiencing a particularly difficult period, as it became the scene of violent brawls and gang activity. But they won’t have Chuck E. to kick around anymore.

Inexplicable

A suburban parking lot in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has been the scene of repeated crashes, as drivers there can’t seem to avoid the Sage Hill Rock -- a large boulder surrounded by yellow cement curbs. At least three photos of cars that have collided with the rock -- two hung up on it and the third tipped over on its side -- were posted on social media over the weekend of Dec. 2, according to the CBC. “I don’t know how you miss this big rock,” said Brangwyn Jones, who lives in Sage Hill.

An employee of a nearby business said the rock was placed in its spot to keep people from driving over the curb. The management company of the retail center had planned to remove it, but an uproar from community members (“It’s far too entertaining!”) may have stalled those plans.

Is an Atheist a Person of Faith?

Bill’s statement We can’t escape faith. In the book “The Courage to Be,” theologian Paul Tillich defines faith as the courage to claim “our being” in the face of the reality of our “nonbeing.” For Tillich, faith is the ability to go to the abyss, see the reality of our non-being, and step back from the abyss, courageously living into our being.

Doing this, we are making a statement of faith: Being is better than non-being! Life is better than death! The Rev. Dr. William C. Myers question I have for Dr. Tillich is this: Is not the person who Senior Pastor casts themselves into the abyss of non-being also making a at Presbyterian statement of faith? Are they not claiming non-being is better Church of than being? Death is better than life?

Traverse City Dr. Tillich sees faith as “the state of being grasped by the power of being itself.” I see faith more as the decision, or courage, to act upon a belief with uncertain consequences.

Professing my belief that an apple will hit the ground is not a statement of faith. Science has proven the laws of gravity.

Living a life where I choose to put the needs A LOCAL PASTOR of others before my own is a statement of faith.

With a few exceptions, I believe the common good is more important than my individual freedoms. However, there are, for those who live for themselves, many cultural rewards that suggest otherwise. The consequences of my beliefs are uncertain until they have been lived out.

Each and every day we make decisions based on our beliefs. Some decisions require little faith. Science, experience, or wisdom has shown us what is best.

Other decisions are not so clear. We have strong beliefs about what we should do, or the path we should take, but we have no proof. We step out “in faith” that the choices we are making are the right choices, but the consequences of our beliefs are uncertain until we act. Only when we live out our beliefs in faith will we know. Everyone, even an atheist, is a person of faith.

Scott’s statement A child was born to a woman who had never had sex.

In adulthood, that child conjured food for a crowd, walked on water, raised a man from the dead, and he himself came back to life after being executed. A holder of these beliefs is offered absolution for his or her earthly failings and an opportunity after death to commune blissfully forever with a loving, all-powerful, invisible being in another realm that no living person has ever seen.

Scott Blair Blair is a consulThese are faith claims. These things would not be considtant in the waste- ered were they not protected by the suspension of evaluation water treatment people grant to matters of faith. Faith is believing something field and vice president of the by will, in the absence of evidence, or even in the face of Grand Traverse evidence to the contrary.

Atheism results from an aversion to this way of believing.

Humanists.

Atheists suggest that adopting and reinforcing beliefs by faith will not yield understandings that align with reality. We are more interested in forming mental models through inquiry and evaluation of evidence. An honest inquirer is aware of limits on a person’s ATHEIST DEBATE ability to know and will hold understandings tentatively, in proportion to the amount and quality of evidence. This way of forming understanding is the opposite of faith; a person is not committing to a prescribed set of beliefs — rather, he or she is committing to a level of rigor in determining what warrants belief.

Some theists are anxious to insist that atheism requires faith. My armchair analysis of that psychology is that by attributing atheism to faith, they are asserting that atheists and theists come to our positions by the same mechanism, and therefore, our differing beliefs stand on equally sound foundations — as if we all chose our beliefs from a menu, and ordering the whitefish is as valid as selecting the salmon.

Honest, careful inquiry, the formation of tentative mental models, and the continual testing of those models, is a path toward an ever-better match between our understanding and reality. It is the opposite of faith.

CROSSED

Scott’s reply Does Bill’s use of the term “faith” include our feelings of confidence in daily assessments and decisions? That emotion of confidence has evolutionary roots.

To be noncommittal was probably a disadvantageous trait on the African savannah. So, the brain sometimes acts like the electoral college; it tilts a near tie into a decisive decision. This is useful day to day; it prevents too much dithering at the supermarket. But when seeking deep understanding, decisiveness is not the priority. A careful thinker deliberately resists emotional commitment to ideas so that they remain subject to new critique. This is “dispassionate inquiry” and is the opposite of faith.

To the degree that Bill is equating “non-being,” “the abyss,” “death,” and “those who live for themselves” with atheism, I suggest he is making unfounded faith-based claims about the lives and hearts of people who do not believe in God.

AND A LOCAL

Bills’s reply Like many atheists, Scott belittles what he believes to be some of the core beliefs of Christianity. On what basis? He doesn’t believe them himself. He offers no proof the claims are untrue. He just believes Christians are wrong. What Scott doesn’t realize is that most people of faith rely on observation, inquiry, and reason; just like our atheist sisters and brothers, we simply come to different conclusions. While I respect Scott’s right to his personal beliefs, it would be nice to see his evidence. If he has no evidence, by his own definition, Scott is making a statement of faith. Again, this is Scott’s right. But just because he doesn’t believe there isn’t a God doesn’t mean there isn’t. In the same way, just because I do believe in God doesn’t prove God exists. But my experience of God’s love, compassion, forgiveness, and grace is all the proof I need.

Agree statement Scott and Bill do not agree on what “faith” means, but agree that everyone makes decisions in life not knowing for certain what the outcome of their decisions will be. And they agree that something other than, or in addition to, evidenced-based inquiry is involved when people adopt religious tenets.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 9

NEW AGE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

New medical marijuana rules are coming, but not soon enough for some patients in northern Michigan

By Patrick Sullivan Michigan announced new emergency rules for medical marijuana facilities this month, and municipalities across the state are debating whether to opt in and permit provisioning centers or marijuana production.

But in northern Michigan, the supply of medical marijuana for many card-bearing patients has all but dried up since police raids Oct. 4 at eight dispensaries across Grand Traverse County. Following crackdowns elsewhere across northern Michigan, those raids shuttered the only remaining dispensaries north of Lansing or Flint.

“I’ve literally had 10 patients in front of me in the last week just sobbing. They are in tears,” said Misty Cassell, clinical director at Chronic Certification Center, a medical marijuana certifier in Traverse City. “They have no access at all whatsoever, unless it’s through the private caregiver system.”

DAYS OF UNCERTAINTY The new rules represent an attempt by legislators and regulators to solve a shortcoming in the design of the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act that prohibited licensed caregivers from serving more than five patients, a restriction that rendered medical marijuana business

models unworkable.

Cassell said she likes the new emergency rules, which are expected to be replaced with permanent rules in six months. The state Licensing and Regulatory Agency rolled out the emergency rules ahead of the new medical marijuana law taking effect Dec. 15 in order to limit interruption of medical marijuana supply.

Cassel said she doesn’t understand why dispensaries in Grand Traverse County were shut down months before facilities operating under the new rules could open.

“I think the emergency rules are great. I would think that there would be something they could do that would get these facilities up and running quicker,” Cassell said.

Cassell said she’s seen a steep plunge in applicants for medical marijuana cards since the raids in October.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Well, why should I renew my card if I don’t have access to the medication here in northern Michigan?’” she said. “Basically, we’re waiting for Traverse City to opt in, because that’s something they have to do. I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.”

Traverse City Mayor Jim Caruthers said the city has been waiting to see the emergency rules before taking action and now should move forward to opt in and create zoning for medical marijuana.

10 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

“This is what the citizens of our state said that they wanted, and I think we’ve got to craft something that makes sure it’s available to them,” he said.

People familiar with the medical marijuana industry across northern Michigan say it could be April at the earliest before medical marijuana is available to patients from provisioning centers operating under the new regulations.

LOBBYING TOWNSHIP BOARDS Steve Ezell ran Interlochen Alternative Health before it was shut down in the October raids. Prior to that, he said he was in business for over four years, he got along with his neighbors and his landlord, and never heard a complaint about his business.

“All of a sudden, kaboom, everything was shut down,” he said.

Ezell said former patients frequently leave messages at his shuttered office asking where they can turn now for medical marijuana. He tells them Lansing or Ann Arbor.

Ezell said he doesn’t understand why officials in northern Michigan have shut down the supply of medical marijuana entirely.

“I don’t understand why. It’s ‘Michigan’ medical marijuana,” he said. “Why is it enforced differently across the state?”

He said he is hoping to get back into business as soon as possible with a license under the new rules. In order for that to happen, he’s got to get the state to approve his license, and he’s got to convince Green Lake Township to opt in to permit marijuana provisioning centers.

Ezell and Cassell have appeared at Green Lake Township meetings and pleaded with trustees to opt in and allow provisioning centers. In November, they brought a dozen or so supporters to speak. Ezell said he wants to show officials that the people he serves are patients who are suffering, not stoners who want to get high.

Cassel said their efforts at least got the trustees to think twice about the issue.

“They tabled it,” she said. “They had intended on voting that night, and Green Lake Township intended on opting out, but after listening to these patients, they did table it.”

“NOT SELLING TO STONERS” Ezell said he got into the medical marijuana business by accident. His wife had been diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo agonizing chemo treatments.

Someone recommended medical marijuana, and once she tried it to counteract the negative effects of chemo, it was like she was a new person.

“I’m 68 years old. I’m not into selling Misty Cassell marijuana to stoners with their hats turned sideways,” Ezell said. “These are legitimate patients. How are you going to say no to a veteran who’s served two or three tours in Iraq and is missing a limb?”

Ezell likes the new rules at first glance, but he believes Grand Traverse County should have allowed dispensaries to remain in business through December and been given a chance to transition into the new regulatory regime without interruption.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction, but unfortunately it’s not doing anything to help anyone in northern Michigan,” Ezell said.

Ezell said he believed he was previously in compliance with the murky medical marijuana law.

Previously, Ezell said he complied with the strict interpretation of the law laid out “I think they’re great,” Horner said. “The by court decisions that deemed registered state’s giving us a window of time to stay caregivers could grow and sell marijuana open and make sure patients have safe access for no more than five patients. He said his to their medication. ” business acted as a cooperative that brought That applies to areas where medical caregivers and patients together. marijuana businesses haven’t shuttered When the new law was passed in by police and prosecutors, asbeen has happened December 2016, he said he believed that was across northern Michigan, however. a signal from the legislature that gave tacit “In northern Michigan, there are some approval for dispensaries to sell marijuana issues going on in respect to the medical to registered patients without marijuana caregivers the strict requirement that that thought they were in specific caregivers were tied to “There was a lawful compliance with the law,” specific patients. way, and it was Horner said.

“Traverse City “At that point in time, we had an ordinance; Gaylord understood that we could start either to grow your had an ordinance. People selling to anybody that had a own if you have a thought that they were valid medical marijuana card,” patient card, or to operating under the law.”

Ezell said.

The facilities act passed have a caregiver, and last year will likely have its that’s all still true,” CEASE AND DESIST own problems and conflicts Grand Traverse County Cooney said. “It only in the way it’s interpreted, Prosecutor Robert Cooney said but Horner said he hopes it disrupted the supply he disagrees that the passage gives some breathing room of illegally obtained of the medical marijuana to patients and the people facility law in 2016 signaled marijuana.” that provide them marijuana. that dispensaries no longer had Chad Morrow operated to follow the law limiting how Cloud 45, a dispensary in Gaylord that was many patients a caregiver could have. shut down by police for good earlier year “If that’s what the state position was, well, along with other dispensaries acrossthis the city.

LARA came out with a policy statement Morrow pleaded guilty to two felony telling all of these illegal dispensaries to shut marijuana delivery charges on Dec. 7. down,” Cooney said. “It basically said, ‘You’re said he wanted to contest the charges, not going to get a license if you’re currently but He his lawyer convinced him it would be too operating illegally.’” expensive and too risky.

In the Oct. 4 raids, each of the eight Morrow said he basically pleaded guilty dispensary businesses was served a cease to doing what be legal to do once the and desist order from Cooney. They were emergency ruleswill take effect. He said the rules told that if they did not comply, he would file are called “emergency rules” because the a civil action against the owners to have their state realized they needed to do something business declared a nuisance. to prevent interrupting the supply of medical Cooney also said he is still considering marijuana to patients. filing criminal charges stemming from the “We recognized the emergency prior to raids. the government, and then the government Cooney defended the timing of the raids, recognized it, and what they are proposing saying they occurred in October because is exactly what we were doing,” Morrow said. that’s when the Traverse Narcotics Team brought him a case.

MONTHS FROM HARVEST “I had never received a complaint for a SIX Susan Leonard of Interlochen said she dispensary until the fall,” Cooney said. takes medical for glaucoma Cooney said he also disagrees that chronic pain frommarijuana arthritis. shutting down the dispensaries eliminated had a card since 2009, and she said access to legal medical marijuana for she’sShe’s suffering today because she’s lost her cardholders in northern Michigan. supply of medical marijuana after the Grand “There was a lawful way, and it was either Traverse County raids. to grow your own if you have a patient card, “I feel that the state needs to refund or to have a caregiver, and that’s all still true,” all our money if they aren’t going to give Cooney said. “It only disrupted the supply of us access to our medicine,” Leonard said. illegally obtained marijuana.”

“They need to allow some shops to be open, because we have paid our fees to the state.”

EVEN MORE TROUBLE IN GAYLORD made some trips to Lansing, but she Ben Horner, director of the Flint-based saidShe’s it’s too time consuming and expensive.

Cannabis Stakeholders Group who has She’s also planted her own plants, but she organized events to protest the medical said that’s not a short-term solution. marijuana crackdown that’s occurred in “It takes a long time for it to be ready; Gaylord over the last two years, likes the it takes about six months,” she “I kind new regulations and hopes they bring clarity of look at it like, would you takesaid. somebody’s across the state. blood pressure medicine away?”

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 11

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WREN THE BUTCHER Bratwurst and poutine and spaetzle, oh my! Follow your nose to the yellow brick building on East State Street in Traverse City, where Chef Adam McMarlin makes all that and more.

By Janice Binkert The logo for Wren the Butcher, the artisan sausage and rustic comfort-food restaurant that chef-owner Adam McMarlin opened inside the new State Street Marketplace in Traverse City last July, features a tiny bird perched on a huge meat cleaver. Some may find that an odd choice, but then, Wren is located right next to the Marketplace’s flagship operation and owner, Monkey Fist Brewing Co., which sports an equally quirky logo. And as it turns out, the Monkey and the Wren are quite the compatible neighbors.

“They make pretty good beer, and I make pretty good sausage,” said McMarlin. A match made in — well, in this case, a historic brick building that started out as a horse barn for the Traverse City Police Department in the early 1900s and was later a dry cleaning business before being transformed into the eclectic food, beverage and retail space it is today.

McMarlin explained how the wren came to land on the cleaver for his business: “Around the time we were about to open the restaurant, our youngest daughter was born, and we gave her the middle name Wren. Of course, I needed a name for the restaurant, too, and I already knew that we were going to incorporate the whole-animal butchery aspect into the menu, so the butcher/cleaver part was a natural. And somehow, adding ‘Wren’ to that just kind of had a nice ring to it, softening it a bit. I’ve actually started answering to ‘Wren’ now too, because people just assume it’s my name, and it’s easier to just go with it than explaining the whole thing!”

Some locals might know of McMarlin from his days at the former Bay Leaf on Park Street, or most recently from the Cooks’ House, whose owners, Eric Patterson and Jen Blakeslee, gave him their blessing when he unexpectedly got the opportunity to launch his own restaurant just a couple of blocks away. Perhaps portending his future path, he had worked in a butcher shop/grocery store during high school, in Detroit. He had also held restaurant jobs while pursuing a degree in psychology at Western Michigan University before deciding to veer off into the food industry just short of his senior year [Note: He recently went back and earned his degree, “To give my kids the example of finishing what you start,” he said.]

For the next couple of years, the aspiring culinarian cooked his way across the U.S., from North Carolina to San Diego, where his

girlfriend, a Traverse City native, was going to college. “I basically followed her to California,” said McMarlin, “and it worked out well. I got some excellent training from a respected French chef who became my mentor, and my girlfriend became my wife! We moved back to her hometown about seven years ago to open the Bay Leaf.”

Landing in his current space was “serendipitous,” McMarlin recalled. “I knew that at some point I wanted to open something of my own. I had kind of been looking around a bit for just the right place and time. When I heard about the plans for the Marketplace, I randomly emailed the real estate rep for it, roughly outlining what I wanted to do, and within a half hour, I got a call from the owner — it all happened very quickly.”

He went for a more casual menu with his new venture, rather than fine dining as he had done in the past. ”Sausage-making is something I really like to do, and you have a lot of flexibility with it,” he said. “There are so many types of sausages, and a lot of different dishes where you can incorporate sausage. But that’s not all we do — we usually have a couple of pastas and risotto, soups or salads, and sometimes desserts too. The menu changes a lot, especially in the little details, but we also make big changes as things come in and out of season — or if we just want to try something new. We let the availability of ingredients dictate our menu rather than being hard-nosed about what we want to do and then going and trying to find the ingredients.”

McMarlin gets his produce from local markets whenever possible and his meats through Cherry Capital Foods and area farmers.

“I recently found a great new lamb supplier (merguez sausage, anyone?), and a source for pork closer to Traverse City that raises Berkshire-Duroc pigs, the same breed I’ve been using all along,” he said. “They are fantastic.”

Plate composition is a key element of McMarlin’s cuisine. “Everything we put on a plate is meant to complement each other,” he explained. “The sausages are spiced and rich, so we pair them with things like Dijon mustard and our house-pickled vegetables, because that acidity cuts through the fat in the sausage. When you eat it all together, it’s balanced. The share plate (three different sausages, condiments, and other accompaniments) is a nice introduction to what we do, and it’s great for two to three people.

I think a dish just has to have great ingredients and be prepared properly so that everything in it

still stands out — not getting lost or trying to hide behind anything else.”

One top customer pick from the menu is poutine (fried potatoes, sausage velouté, cheese curds). “Like most of our food, it’s basically a simple dish,” said McMarlin, but it’s one of those things where a person will eat one and then also order one to go on their way out.” Other favorites are the farmhouse sausage (made with pork, white wine, garlic, coriander, fennel, mustard seed, fresh herbs) on a brioche bun, the daily gnocchi (currently with roasted chicken, leeks, and mushrooms), and the spaetzle (sautéed in butter, with crumbled sausage, sauerkraut, and parmesan). Together, these hearty dishes lend a kind of French brasserie vibe to the menu.

“This time of year is a good time for locals to come in,” said McMarlin. “It’s not as busy, and we have more time to interact with them.

I’d like to invite them to come and take a seat at the long butcher block bar that overlooks our kitchen. We incorporated it purposely, so that our customers could hang out and feel like they’re at a café. We wanted to create a casual, comfortable atmosphere, and also give them a chance to see what a professional kitchen looks like and what we’re doing here.

People will sit there and ask, ‘Hey, what are you making?’ And we’re happy to talk with them about our food.”

Wren the Butcher is located inside the State Street Marketplace at 329 East State St. in Traverse City. Open 11am–9pm Mondays through Thursdays, 11am–10pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 12pm–8pm Sundays. For more information, also about cooking classes, private dinners or catering, call (231) 252-8001, visit wrenthebutcher.com, or check out their Facebook page.

TRADITION AND RESPECT LEARNING FROM THE PAST

Butchery is a skill that someone in every family used to have in earlier times, of necessity, McMarlin pointed out. “For me, it’s a way to connect with the past, doing everything from scratch. You can get a better idea of the quality of meat when you have the whole product to look at — and it’s going to stay fresher longer and be more flavorful. If you have the skill to utilize all of the parts of it, it’s also more cost-effective and less wasteful. But what’s perhaps most important to me is respecting the fact that this was once a living creature, and being mindful of how it was treated and responsible about where you’re getting it and how you’re using it. This this animal lived its life to become food to nourish us.”

FOOD AND FUN

CALLING ALL AGES

The spacious Marketplace in which Wren the Butcher is located is a casual, family friendly destination. A large fenced-in patio allows guests to enjoy their food and drinks al fresco in the warmer months, and inside, there’s even a kid’s play area. Monkey Fist also regularly hosts bands or special events, including Trivia Nights and Cornhole Leagues. “Of course that draws people in who might also want some of our food to go with their beer,” said McMarlin. “We really enjoy being part of such a relaxed, fun atmosphere — it’s just one more benefit of where we are.”

(P.S. Wren will gladly serve the kiddies a plain sausage, potatoes, or pasta upon request!)

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 13

Here We Come, 2018!

Your New Year’s Up North Guide

By Kristi Kates Who’s ready for a little champagne and a lot of dancing? Get your best shoes on for this New Year’s Eve, as there’ll be plenty of dancing at northern Michigan’s biggest New Year’s Eve parties. Here’s what’s happening around the region Dec. 31.

ACME – Grand Traverse Resort New Year's Eve Dinner/Guest Celebration Snag your reservation now for the limitedseating New Year’s Eve dinner on the 16th floor of the resort’s tower, which will feature a special New Year’s Eve menu with wine pairings, plus acoustic music from John Pomeroy. If you want to take your New Year’s Eve to the next level, book an overnight stay at the hotel for the night, and you’ll be welcomed to a special New Year’s party for guests and club members only.

The Michigan Ballroom will be set up with arcade games, billiards, a DJ for dancing until 1am, and a balloon drop at midnight, plus an assortment of light foods and a cash bar.

WHERE: The Aerie Restaurant and The Michigan Ballroom in Grand Traverse Resort, Acme WHEN: 5pm–1am COST: Contact the resort.

INFO: grandtraverseresort.com or (231) 5346000 CHARLEVOIX - New Year’s Eve Bridge Drop Who needs to drop a ball when you can drop a bridge! That’s what Charlevoix does with the US-31 drawbridge over the Round Lake Channel Before the midnight drop, there’s an all-day party downtown that offers activities galore: horse-drawn carriage rides, S’mores, arts and crafts, and the popular Snowman Making Contest. Restaurant and lodging specials abound, and no pressure if you have to turn in early; Charlexoix hosts two big firework shows — one at 9pm and the other at midnight.

WHERE: Downtown Charlevoix and Bridge Park WHEN: Activities start at 1pm, event closes at 2am COST: Free to watch (purchase your own food/beverages) INFO: visitcharlevoix.com/bridgedrop GAYLORD – New Year’s Eve Bash Times Two at Treetops Start with Treetops’ prime rib buffet ($29.99 adults/$7.99 kids), and then choose from the Family Party or the Adult’s New Year’s Bash, depending on what kind of experience you’d like to have. The Family Party includes DJ music, special appearances by Disneythemed characters, balloon animals, cookie decorating, and a late-night snack and pop buffet. The adult version in the Oak Room is for those 21 and older, and includes live music, dancing, party favors, glow sticks, a cash bar, and late-night snacks. Both parties will enjoy fireworks at midnight.

WHERE: Treetops Resort Gaylord WHEN: 8:00pm–1am COST: Tickets start at $10 and vary by age group/party.

MORE INFO: treetops.com or (888) 906-5668

14 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

PETOSKEY - New Year’s Eve at the Crooked Tree Arts Center Established in a bid to bring family and friends together sans alcohol to celebrate the arrival of the new year, CTAC’s unique celebration combines performances and workshops in music, theater, dance, and art that you can experience simply by wandering through the three different buildings participating in the event: the CTAC, the Petoskey District Library, and the Carnegie Building. Food and refreshments help keep everyone, well ... refreshed until the “Midnight at 9” (9pm) ball drop on Division Street, which lets everyone in the family welcome in 2018 together, and still get back home at a reasonable hour.

WHERE: Crooked Tree Arts Center, the Carnegie Building, and Petoskey District Library, all on Mitchell Street in downtown Petoskey

WHEN: 5pm–9pm COST: Adults $10, students $5 MORE INFO: crookedtree.org or 231-347-4337 TRAVERSE CITY – CherryT Ball Drop The CherryT (think “charity”) Ball Drop benefits local area food banks and downtown businesses with its proceeds, and you benefit, too, by getting the chance to dance away the old year right in the middle of the street in downtown Traverse City, with fireworks bursting overhead and a DJ cranking out the beats. Hang out with your fellow revelers (just a couple thousand pals, you know …) to watch a giant illuminated cherry drop at midnight.

WHERE: Intersection of Front and Park streets in downtown Traverse City.

WHEN: 10:00pm–midnight COST: Suggested donation is $3 or three nonperishable food items. Photo by Alan Newton MORE INFO: cherrytballdrop.com

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BOYNE HIGHLANDS – Harbor Springs The Highlands offers two options: a teen party, featuring DJ Ethan, from 10pm to 12:30am, and the Zoo Bar New Year’s Eve party for adults, which runs from 9pm to 1am and features live music from northern Michigan’s own The Remedee, plus snacks, party favors, and a cash bar. Free for resort lodging guests; $5 cover charge for the public. The torchlight parade and fireworks start at 9:30pm. INFO: boyne.com CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN – Thompsonville Crystal Mountain offers several different party opportunities: The Luau Family Fun Party runs from 4pm to 8pm, with games, crafts, and dancing. The teen DJ Dance party includes snacks, soda, and music in the Crystal Center. In the Vista Lounge, you’ll find live music and party favors for adults. Also for adults is the New Year’s Eve Bash, complete with more music, and the Bash Buffet. Torchlight parade and fireworks starting at 11:45pm. INFO: crystalmountain.com BOYNE MOUNTAIN – Boyne Falls Boyne Mountain is offering two parties: one in the Matterhorn room with kiddie cocktails and games for your youngsters, and for adults, the Snowflake Lounge will feature entertainment and drink specials for a $10 cover charge. The torchlight parade and fireworks at the mountain will start at 9:15, with the best viewing for all from the base of the hill near the Victor run. INFO: boyne.com NUB’S NOB – Harbor Springs You’ll have to take the late-night party elsewhere, but you can at least start the evening right with Nub’s Nob’s early torchlight parade, which starts on New Year’s Eve at the bottom of the Green Lift at 6pm. Nub’s Ski Patrol, along with the winter sports school skiers, will ski down Smokey with flares in hand to weave a pretty display of lights for the whole family. Free of charge. INFO: nubsnob.com SHANTY CREEK – Bellaire There’s plenty do on New Year’s Eve throughout the three villages at Shanty Creek. Kids’ Night Out runs 6–10pm with games and snacks; dueling pianos entertain the Family Dinner Show at 6:30pm; and the River Bistro will be the pick of sport fans, thanks to eight big screen TVs and indoor sporting games.

Rock out with The Rock Show at Ivan’s in Schuss Village — it starts at 9pm for a $10 cover — and then enjoy the big fireworks display over Summit Mountain at midnight. INFO: shantycreek.com.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 15

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Downstate Destination: Clare’s Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm

By Ross Boissoneau It’s not every day you see a gaggle of Santa Clauses, but where better to do so than when they’re surrounded by reindeer?

That’s the case each fall at Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm outside Clare. “We had about 100 professional Santas,” said Dave Aldrich, the owner of Rooftop Reindeer, of the annual Santa Convention he hosts. “I’ve got like 300 Santa Facebook friends.”

The Santas interact with the reindeer, learn about them, and even get some Santa and reindeer selfies. They come not only from across the state but also from across the country — 20 states in all. “There are a lot from California, Hawaii, Florida, where they never see reindeer,” said Aldrich. And it’s not just from the U.S. either: Santas from across the globe have been known to visit the farm.

“Denmark, Norway, Canada, Germany — they’re serious about Santa.”

And Aldrich is serious about reindeer.

He got his first reindeer nearly 30 years ago and currently has a herd of around 20. It’s important to have enough reindeer to go around, as he provides them to events across the state. “We do a lot in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, places like Greenfield Village, Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo. We do 140 events on the road,” he said. “We have 11 people working on the road. Each location gets two deer,” he said.

This year, for the first time, Aldrich took some of his reindeer to Petoskey and Harbor Springs. While the north country might seem a natural destination for the reindeer, Aldrich said it’s easier to go downstate, where the reindeer can appear at three or four events in one day. (And to answer the question, no, the reindeer don’t fly from event to event. Whether it’s because of possible stormy weather and the lack of a Rudolph-esque guide deer, or if it’s because two deer can’t provide enough lift, Aldrich won’t say.)

Aldrich came to the reindeer business

in a rather roundabout way. “It started as a hobby. I was raising horses and fowl — turkeys, peacocks. I got a couple Japanese and European deer, and a friend bought a couple reindeer from Alaska,” he said. He decided to concentrate on reindeer, and “pretty soon I had 35 in the backyard.”

As word got around about his reindeer, he began to receive contact from those interested in having the reindeer visit their holiday event. “I got calls from people, and before long it became a business,” he said.

While he’s been taking the deer to events for nearly three decades, it was only five years ago that he opened the farm to visitors, and it’s been a revelation. “It’s only open weekends. It just took off,” he said. That’s when the Santa conventions started.

Aldrich said the conventions aren’t the only time the farm is visited by jolly old St. Nick. “Over the summer, there isn’t a week goes by I don’t have at least one Santa here.

They come to Michigan for vacation, and they bring their Santa suit.”

Given their association with the holidays, other than visits from the occasional Santa the reindeer aren’t particularly popular the rest of the year. “They’re only in demand for about six weeks of the year. On Dec. 26, the phone stops ringing,” Aldrich said.

Aldrich is in the midst of turning the business over to his son Dan and Dan’s wife, Corrie Aldrich, who are taking over the business. “I’m 69 and can’t do what I did a few years ago. It’s a physical business. I can’t get out and vaccinate them and when it’s time to trim their feet. I do the booking — I’ve done it so many years.”

He likes to keep his own herd around 15 to 20 animals. The youngest of his reindeer is about six months old; the oldest 12 to 13. When the herd grows too large, he will sell some to other reindeer farms, but he admits he’s picky where his deer go. “I don’t sell to just anybody. They’re family, so they go where I know they’ll be taken care of. I send some to Colorado and New York — I’ve

got friends there.” While he’s known for his reindeer, they aren’t the only animals on the farm. Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm is also home to alpacas, wallabies, and Scottish highland cattle.

Aldrich got his first reindeer 27 years ago, and he bemoans the fact it took him so long to start raising them. “I wish I’d started 27 years sooner,” Aldrich said. “We’re really just a bunch of children,” he said.

Dec. 23 is the final day to visit the farm before Christmas. Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm is located at 2706 E. Stevenson Lake Rd. in Clare. For more information, go to RooftopReindeer.com, call (517) 749-4866, or email info@rooftopreindeer.com.

Raisin’ Reindeer

“Reindeer have been domesticated about 5,000 years. They’re not native to the U.S. and are USDA regulated — they’re the most regulated animal. You need three licenses.

There are a lot of whitetail diseases, even though reindeer don’t carry them. They’re pretty disease-free,” said Aldrich.

While his reindeer are comfortable with his dogs, that’s not typically the case. “A dog to a reindeer is a wolf. We keep dogs with them when they’re born. They learn to accept our dogs,” he said.

Reindeer are native to the most northerly climes and don’t do well in places where there isn’t a true winter. That’s why you won’t find Aldrich selling to places in the south or west where it’s too warm. While he says they can survive there for a couple years, that’s not what they were bred for.

“They’re a cold weather animal, and they need the cold to kill parasites.”

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 17

Incidentally Christmas The cinephile’s guide to spirited (but not quite saturated) holiday movie viewing.

By Meg Weichmann Whether you’ve already overdosed on Hallmark Christmas movies, are completely yuletide-phobic, or just want to celebrate the season with something that brings some less obvious tidings of comfort and joy, a Christmas movie that isn’t really a Christmas movie (i.e., Christmas is only tangential to the plot) might be just the ticket. So consider mixing things up and expanding your holiday horizons. Fact is, it’s often the movies that could seemingly be set at any time of the year — but nevertheless choose Christmas — that make the very best Christmas movies.

THE APARTMENT Only the great Billy Wilder could make such a cynical movie about attempted suicide, depression, alcoholism, and philandering men — and also fill it with sweetness and hope. Taking home the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1960, this Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine romantic comedy captures the malaise and loneliness of the Christmas season (I’m talking spending Christmas Eve by yourself in a cruddy bar) and also reminds us that, come the New Year, there may be a chance to start again.

CAROL Director Todd Haynes’ intoxicatingly seductive adaptation of the groundbreaking novel The Price of Salt is set at Christmastime in 1950’s New York. And this story of the exquisitely heartbreaking love affair between a glamorous socialite (Cate Blanchett)

and a salesgirl/aspiring photographer (Rooney Mara) allows for some sumptuous recreations of the glory days of department stores. Wood paneled, with glorious glass display cases, and decorated to the nines with trees, wreaths, bows, and sleds, the toy department where Blanchett buys a train set from Mara in one of the film’s most pivotal scenes is the stuff of bygone holiday dreams.

Lyndon) and unseen (the central tenants of season come into play more than you might think). Basically it’s the perfect Christmas movie for those of us who worship at the church of cinema.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY Christmas might be in the title, but you’ve never seen a Christmas movie like this.

For one, it’s an exceedingly dreary crime drama from noir master Robert Siodmak (The Killers). Two, it features girl-next-door Deanna Durbin as a sultry chanteuse singing depressing torch songs and definitely no carols. But most strangely, you’ve got Gene Kelly — yes, singing-and-dancing-beaconof-joy Gene Kelly, playing a menacing murder. As a bizzaro oddity alone, it’s totally worth watching, but even with its campy flourishes, the 1944 movie still holds up pretty well.

FANNY AND ALEXANDER Boy, do the Swedes know how to do Christmas, and boy, does Ingmar Bergman know how to make a film. Nothing quite compares to the Ekdahl Family’s beyondopulent Christmas, replete with songs, dancing, Christmas trees, decorations, presents, and lutefisk. It’s a cinematic celebration to end all celebrations, and this resplendent Christmas tapestry is the entire first act of Bergman’s three-hour family epic. (Tthere’s also a five-hour version.) But this being a Bergman film, it certainly isn’t all Christmas delights, and the darkness on the edges of the day draw together in an unhappiest of ways when the festivities end, making what follows for the family’s titular children, Fanny and Alexander, all the more meaningful.

EYES WIDE SHUT Stanley Kubrick’s final film. Then-power couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The longest shoot in film history. Beethoven’s “Fidelio.” Satanic orgies. All these things come to mind when one thinks of Eyes Wide Shut. But Christmas? Not so much.

Yet Christmas informs Kubrick’s sexual and moral odyssey in ways both seen (Christmas trees light nearly every scene with the same kind of attention candlelight got in Barry

KISS KISS BANG BANG Writer-director Shane Black is to Christmas what Hitchcock is to a cameo of himself and Alfonso Curan is to the color green.

Basically, he loves setting his films, from Lethal Weapon to Iron Man 3, at Christmas.

And this is perhaps the best to get the Black Christmas treatment. It’s got Robert Downey Jr., before he was everyone’s favorite snarky superhero, and Val Kilmer, before he was unrecognizable in a darkly comedic buddy-

18 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

cop noir. There’s so much whip-smart generic melding at play in this twisty crime caper, you might as well throw in some Christmas trimmings too.

MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW If the holiday season makes you want cleanse yourself with a really good cry, there’s no better way than by watching the unapologetically depressing and unabashedly tear-jerking “Make Way for Tomorrow.” Director Leo McCarey’s overlooked Depression-era masterpiece opens with a family Christmas celebration, and then things take a turn when the elderly parents lose their home, and none of their children have space for both of them. Separated from one another and in everyone’s way, the film confronts the painful and awkward realities of life without an ounce of the false uplift or saccharine sentimentality Christmas movies are so steeped in. It’s one of the most devastating and beautiful experiences you can have at the movies.

ROCKY IV Regarded as the most potently ridiculous film in the franchise, Rocky IV has always been my favorite of the Rocky sequels (save Creed, ’cause that is in a class of its own) because not only does Rocky defeat communism but he also SAVES CHRISTMAS! Filled with wonderful ’80s montages, a festive robot, and a hearty helping of jingoism, Rocky avenges the death of his friend Apollo Creed by going up against Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago on Drago’s turf in the USSR, making this Cold War relic its own Christmas miracle.

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Six Stellar Holiday Jaunts Don’t have time for a full Christmas vacation? Or simply want to stay closer to home this holiday season? Gift yourself and yours a mini getaway that won’t max out your mileage or wreck your wallet. By Kristi Kates

Sit Down for a Sleigh Ride When is it “lovely weather for a sleigh ride together,” as the song suggests? Pretty much all throughout the Christmas holiday season!

Head on out over the hills and through the woods at Cook Family Farm, where you’ll enjoy a perfect 40-minute respite from this hectic time of the year, with Belgian horses leading the way as you take in the beautiful countryside scenery from underneath a comfortable blanket. At the end, you’ll disembark at a picturesque cabin for a cup of hot cocoa and fresh-baked cookies, to head back to your holiday festivities rested and refreshed.

Your Destination: Cook Family Farm, 4282 Hayes Tower Road, Gaylord When: Call the farm to book ahead — reservations are required.

Cost: $150 per ride (Each sleigh can hold 1214 people.)

Info: (989) 731-1332 or cookfamilyfarm.com

Wonder at the Winter Solstice Mark the moment when Earth arrives at midwinter by visiting the Dark Sky Park for this special event. The winter solstice — the shortest period of daylight and longest night all year — is an astronomical event surrounded by cultural ceremony and customs; you can learn more about it at the park’s solstice program, during which you’ll also get the opportunity to hand-roll beeswax candles and participate in a drum gathering. The Dark Sky Park is open 24

hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can even pop up to Mackinaw City for some food after the event, then drive back to the park for some night sky viewing.

Your Destination: The new Waterfront Event Center at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park, 15675 Headlands Road, Mackinaw City When: December 21, starting at 4pm Cost: $5 Info: (231) 348-1713 or midarkskypark.org

See Art with Santa Did you know that Santa Claus is also something of an art aficionado? Pop in to the Crooked Tree Arts Center for a visit with the guy in the red suit — during which you can also enjoy complimentary coffee, cocoa, and cookies — and browse the galleries at CTAC to enjoy their current exhibits of artwork.

Later in the week (if you didn’t get all your gift requests sorted with Santa), stop back in to CTAC for the Artisans and Farmers Market, where in addition to the usual produce, you’ll find an eclectic selection of hand-crafted pottery, textiles, and other gift items; shop alongside live entertainment for some of the most unique gifts you’ll buy all season.

Your Destination: Crooked Tree Arts Center, 461 E. Mitchell St. Petoskey When: Santa visits 4–6pm, Tuesday, December 19; the market will be open 10am–1pm Friday, December 22.

Cost: Free to see Santa; gift costs vary.

Info: (231) 347-4337 or crookedtree.org

Do Some Discovering Set on 157 beautiful acres in Charlevoix County, complete with forests, fields, and a pond, Raven Hill Discovery Center lets you step away from the ordinary and immerse yourself in a world of fascinating exhibits covering everything from nature, animals, and crafts to science and evolving techologies. Climb inside a kaleidoscope or check out a collection of old-fashioned tools; experience what life might’ve been like back in the day in Raven Hill’s full-sized vintage schoolhouse; sign up for a class in printmaking or looming; and meet live animals including turtles and lizards.

Your Destination: Raven Hill Discovery Center, 4737 Fuller Road, East Jordan When: December 22 to January 2 from noon to 4pm daily (closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). Open Saturdays and Sundays throughout the rest of the winter months.

Cost: $10 Info: (231) 536-3369 or miravenhill.org

Have a Musical Holiday Classical music is a beautiful way to step out of the hustle and bustle of the season for an evening, and with this event being located right next to downtown Petoskey, it’s easy to walk over to the Gaslight District for an afternoon of holiday strolling, a pleasant dinner, and then arrive at the pretty church for an evening of impressive music by the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. This year’s annual holiday performance will include Handel’s Messiah, which will also showcase

a chorus and solo singers; plus additional music from J.S. Bach (Suite No. 1, BMV 1066) and Rutter (Carol of the Magi.)

Your Destination: Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church When: Concert starts at 7pm, December 15.

Cost: Reserved seating; tickets start at $25 for general admission (available at the website and at area chambers of commerce).

Info: glcorchestra.org or (231) 487-0010.

Tour a Candy Factory Want to pretend you’re Willy Wonka, or perhaps one of Santa’s helpers getting all of the sweets ready for Christmas stockings worldwide? Then take a day trip to Kilwin’s Chocolates in Petoskey; they offer fascinating tours of their chocolate factory, where you’ll get to watch treats like chocolate truffles, caramel apples, and peanut brittles being made. You’ll see the organized chaos that goes into creating Kilwin’s confections, like the conveyor belt that “enrobes” the candy treats in liquid chocolate. (Look out, Augustus Gloop!). – and bonus! You get free candy samples at the end of the tour.

Your Destination: Kilwin’s Chocolates, 1050 Bay View Road, Petoskey When: Tours run Monday–Friday from 10am–4pm on the half hour.

Cost: free Info: kilwins.com or (888) 454-5946.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 21

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22 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 23

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www.insuredwithcollins.com 24 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

By Kristi Kates When deciding on a city to live in, most people have a checklist in mind of the things they’d like to have in their new hometown.

For Traverse City’s Roy Aydelotte, who grew up in the metro Detroit area, he wanted his retirement city to be big enough to have all the basic services, some enjoyable pastimes … and it absolutely had to be a place that the Pennsylvania Railroad had gone to.

“Both of my grandfathers had worked for the ‘Pennsy’ — it’s my favorite railroad,” Aydelotte explained.

As you might have guessed, Aydelotte is a train aficionado.

He spent 11 years at the National Toy Train Museum in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where he volunteered and was then appointed chairman the last year he was there.

He’s currently the secretary of the Northern Michigan RailRoad Club (NMRRC), and he also runs his own model trains business, RoyzTrains, that specializes in model railroading repairs, upgrades, lighting, and more. His wife, June, even joins in from time to time, assisting at various train meets that the couple travel to.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK Aydelotte’s love for trains started when he was only five years old.

“I remember it was Christmas time, and my father decided it was time to get the

trains out,” he said. “He and a couple of his brothers had started collecting trains when he was a teenager. We were only allowed to play with the trains when dad was home; and if we ran them off the tracks, we kids were done for the day!”

His father’s collection was comprised entirely of Lionel-brand model trains dating back to 1938.

“Around 1976, my father passed away, and my younger brother, Bill, and I got together and said, ‘Well, what do we do about the trains’” Aydelotte said. “We divided them up at first, but eventually I got all of them, as his interest in the trains wasn’t as great as mine.”

By 1978, Aydelotte had set up a basic track, and in going through the trains, found that some of them needed work.

“I was living in Florida at the time, so I contacted a local repair guy. Under his tutelage and guidance, I learned a lot about fixing model trains. I think he was about 80 years old at the time. His hands would shake, so he’d have me do a lot of the work, and that’s how I learned.”

From there, his work in systems acquisitions for the U.S. Air Force kept him traveling back and forth across America.

“Whenever I was traveling, I’d seek out trains, at shops and local train meets,” he said.

ONE-TRACK MIND Today, he focuses mostly on high-end model trains.

“An engine for what I’m currently collecting might run $700 to $2,000,” Aydelotte said. “I’ve probably got eight different brands in my collection and over 2,000 items in all — 90 percent of them are engines and train cars. The current track I’ve got set up in my house occupies about 600 square feet.”

He takes a small portion of his collection to the Festival of Trains each year, where he joins his fellow NMRRC train enthusiasts in putting together a train display that measures 42 feet long and 20 feet wide.

“All of the members will put together a module, a section of track that’s four feet long and includes buildings and scenery, sometimes cars and people,” explained Aydelotte.

“The club owns the main track, and the modules attach to it to make one big, long display train set. We all decorate differently, so it’s really neat. This year, one half of the display is Christmas; the other half mixes city and country scenes. Most have buttons you can press when viewing the display to make lights go on, windmills turn, and such.”

CLASSIC CONNECTIONS Over 6,000 visitors view the Festival of Trains each year. In addition to the main display, the event also includes a variety of different gauge (size) train sets. For many, the festival is an annual seasonal tradition, a throwback to older times when classic toys like model trains were the pinnacle of what kids would find under their holiday tree.

For Aydelotte, the festival is yet another way to stay connected to his favorite hobby.

“There are two aspects I really like about model trains,” he said. “One: getting my hands dirty fixing the trains and then playing with them. Two: Like at the festival, I just love meeting other people who are interested in model trains.”

Aydelotte’s train repairing and customizing business is royztrains.com. Find the Northern Michigan RailRoad Club at nmrrc.org.

LET OFF SOME STEAM

Fast track it to TC’s Festival of Trains The 2017 Festival of Trains runs December 14–31 at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Traverse City at 322 Sixth St. Admission is $5 per person. More information on the festival can also be found at nmrrc.org, or you can search the festival page on Facebook.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 25

RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SMOKE AND PORTER! Sunday, December 31 4 Courses and a glass of Sparkling Wine

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In The Village at Grand Traverse Commons 231.932.0775 | sanctuarytc.com 26 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

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Traverse Bay sunrise roTary

Wishes to thank everyone who purchased raffle tickets to support Backpacks for Kids, B ourAY club’s signature service project.

TRAVERSE SUNRISE ROTARY Eacheveryone year this 1,400 wishes to thank whoproject donated provides prizes to ourover annual raffle tobackpacks benefit Backpacks for Kids, which is ourfilled club’swith signature project.

Thanksto to you, over 1,400 schoolchildren will school supplies deserving areadeserving children. receive backpacks filled with school supplies for the 2015/2016 school year.

We also want to thank those businesses and individuals who generously PeterDecember and Megan Raphael Integrity Businessprizes Solutions provided for the raffle held 6: Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club

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Pure Essence Salon and Spa Modus45 Brengman Brothers Crain Hill Vineyard Traverse City Opera House Nauti-Cat Cruises/Jack Noland RightFine BrainCigars Brewing Nolan’s Outback Steak House Jonathon B. Pub LittleOutback Bohemia-West SteakhouseEnd Family Tavern Bill Marsh Auto Service Little Bohemia Kramer’s Bread and Butter Wunsch Farms TC Downtown Development Authority Honor Bank Tom Krause Downtown Development Authority Mark O’Reilly

David Payne family Mark O’Reilly

for more information www.TcsunriseroTary .org for more information WWW.TCSUNRISEROTARY.ORG

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 27

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2. Ladies’ Night in TC was a success for these happy shoppers: Brittany Luea, Courtney Look, Katie Leonard, Tricia Williams, and Chelsey Mowry.

3. Bridgit Frank and Belinda Belanger enjoy some bubbly while shopping at Ella’s during Ladies’ Night in downtown TC. 4. Marissa, John, Ron, Jessica, and Jessica…the prize winners at the most recent Recess event, held at Fox Motors in TC. 5. Jay Tomaszewski and Sharon Neumann greet visitors at the door during Santa’s arrival at The Rock of Kingsley.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 29

By Craig Manning

THE RESURRECTION

Uncovering an Old Indian Trail

If you walk all the way to the end of the TART Trail, near West End Beach, you’ll see a few things. You’ll see Grand Traverse Bay, of course, and a nice view of Leelanau Peninsula. You’ll also see a white stone marker, painted with the number 33 and marked with a plaque that reads “Old Indian Trail Cadillac to Traverse City.”

That stone marker, it turns out, denotes one of the oldest pieces of Native American heritage in northern Michigan.

The Old Indian Trail consists of 33 markers dotted throughout Northern Michigan.

The first can be found on the shores of Lake Mitchell in Cadillac. Marker No. 33, at West End Beach, marks the end of the trail.

The trail these markers represent dates back to sometime in the 1200s. Multiple native peoples — particularly the Odawa and Ojibwe tribes — used the trail to navigate from the fertile land near Lake Mitchell to the waters of the Great Lakes. Back then, the trail was marked by burial mounds and dotted by villages. Today, those landmarks are gone, but the memory of the trail remains.

According to Woody Unruh, the founder of the Friends of the Old Indian Trail organization, it isn’t possible to hike from marker No. 1 to marker No. 33. While parts of the trail are walkable, thanks to sidewalks and sections of other trails like the TART, much of it crosses private property, highways, or undeveloped countryside.

History buffs aren’t entirely out of luck, however. Unruh says that the Old Indian Trail markers are meant to be followed as a driving tour of the path that native tribes used to use. Most of the markers are visible from the road and easy to spot from a car.

Restoring the stones fulfilled the goal of Unruh’s Eagle Scout project, but it didn’t mark the end of his involvement with the Old Indian Trail. For his senior project at Glen Lake High School, Unruh was tasked with doing something that would benefit the community. His mind flitted back to the Old Indian Trail. He’d restored it, but he wanted to make sure the trail could enjoyed for years to come. He didn’t want it to fall back into disrepair.

“That’s when I created the Friends of the Old Indian Trail organization, to help preserve the markers,” Unruh said. “The idea is to get other people in the community involved with taking care of the trail. I’m only one person, and I’m in college, so I just don’t have the time to do it all myself.”

Friends of the Old Indian Trail encourages volunteers to adopt a stone marker and look after it.

Those who do choose to adopt a stone agree to visit the stone “every year to every other year” to check on its condition. These volunteers are also expected to repaint the markers every few years as the existing paint starts to peel or fade. Other duties, such as keeping an eye out for missing plaques or fixing stones that have fallen down, are implicit.

According to the Friends of the Old Indian Trail website, 22 of the 33 markers have been adopted so far, including the ones in the Grand Traverse area. The other 11 are still up for grabs. Those who are interested in adopting a stone marker can learn more online, at oldindiantrail. weebly.com/adopt-a-stone.

Even just a few years ago, though, driving the Old Indian Trail would have been a challenge.

Unruh is currently studying meteorology at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant — a fact that has taken him away from the trail he helped to revitalize. Still, he says that he’s witnessed the fruits of his efforts as others have taken ownership of the trail and its legacy.

That’s where Unruh comes into the story. As a member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Unruh already had cultural ties to the Old Indian Trail, thanks to his heritage. He wasn’t fully aware of the trail’s significance, though, until his Eagle Scout leader brought it up to him as a possible scout project back in 2012.

“I’ve definitely been able to see the product of the organization,” he said. “For instance, a few months ago, I noticed that marker 25, just outside of Traverse, had been knocked down. It looked like it got hit by a snowplow.

The next time I drove by, someone had reset it. People are definitely starting to take care of the trail as if it was their own.”

Unruh dove in, following an old, outdated map of the trail that his scout leader had given him. It wasn’t easy. The earliest markers had been placed all the way back in the 1940s, while the most recent ones dated back to 1987.

Unruh is staying involved when he can, too. He’s still running the Friends of the Old Indian Trail website, and in September, he did a program with the Traverse City Senior Center where he led locals on a walking tour from marker 32 to marker 33.

For him, keeping in the loop with the Old Indian Trail is a way to stay connected with his heritage.

Almost everywhere, Unruh found that the markers were neglected, difficult to find, and in rough shape. Marker No. 14, for instance, had disappeared into the waters of the Manistee River. Other markers were broken, obscured by grass and weeds, or exhibiting obvious signs of weather damage. In extreme cases, people had stolen plaques from the markers, or used the markers themselves for target practice.

One target looked to have been hit by a car.

30 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Where possible, Unruh restored the stones, repainting them or replacing missing plaques. Two of the markers—No. 14 and No. 27—had to be replaced entirely.

“It helps preserve part of my history,” he said. “As a tribal member, it seems like there are not a lot of physical things in the area that help commemorate the culture.

The trail is a part of that. It's where my ancestors walked a thousand years ago.

It's cool to have that commemorated and preserved so that future generations can enjoy it.”

MIDDLE-CLASS TAX REFORM LEGISLATION: BAIT & SWITCH DECEPTION guest opinion

bY David Frederick Two distinct categories of problematic issues exist respective to the ‘middle-class tax reform’ legislation currently being rushed through Congress. The first of those pertains to the content of the bill. The second relates to the process in which it was developed and ramrodded through the legislative process.

The central component of the bill’s content reveals a fundamental flaw: The middle-class tax reform bill is a third reiteration of the Republican Party’s trickle-down concept of economics. Proponents of this supply side economic concept predict that by providing unearned ‘entitlements’ (i.e., substantial tax cuts) for large corporations and the wealthiest segments of the population, that benefits will, over time, trickle down to small businesses and families with lower socioeconomic statuses. It is additionally predicted that making these types of tax cuts will have the positive effect of lowering the national debt.

option than funding unearned entitlements.

An additional problem with the content of the tax reform bill is its name. The bill’s proponents continue to refer to the bill as middle-class tax cuts. The name implies that the primary intention of the legislation is to provide substantive tax reductions for the middleclass.

That is the bait used to gain public support for this legislation. The switch in this bait and switch scheme is that it actually provides largescale, permanent benefits for those who need them least and relatively miniscule temporary support for middle-class families. Deceiving voters constitutes an abuse of power.

While the content of the bill is both flawed and deceptive, the process used to develop and promote it is even more problematic.

Simply stated, the process used to bring this legislation forward demonstrates a profound disregard for the values traditionally used to define a constitutional republic founded on democratic principles.

(That would be us.)

While the rich did get richer, as would be predicted, there was no perceptible benefit for small businesses or middle-class citizens, or slowing the growth of the national debt.

Two empirical tests of the concept have been conducted. The first proof-of-concept test was conducted during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. It was undertaken as a bipartisan tax reform effort and included 30 public hearings. The second test of concept took place during the BushCheney administration. In each instance the tests failed to produce the predicted results.

While the rich did get richer, as would be predicted, there was no perceptible benefit for small businesses or middle-class citizens, or slowing the growth of the national debt.

There is no reason to believe that repeating the implementation of this concept for a third time will change the outcomes.

It would, however, be interesting to know what the results would be if tax cuts, rather than being provided as unearned entitlements, had been used as earned incentives for enabling corporations and individuals to qualify for those benefits.

Earned based incentives include things such as: capital investments for improving corporate infrastructure; investing in additional manufacturing facilities; expanding the number of employees; upgrading the value of current employees by providing training programs; and enabling employees to become better consumers by increasing wages and/or benefits.

A problem with this idea is that many of these incentives are already in place but not being used. Increasing the size of tax cuts associated with corporate participation in an incentive-based program is a more logical

In this regard, consider the recent actions of Speaker of the House and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. Both enabled and encouraged their caucuses to develop strictly partisan versions of tax reform packages. No public hearings were required, allowed, or held prior to these bills being brought up for votes. Congressional members, who are not members of the Republican Party, did not have the opportunity to read these bills, let alone study or consider the bill’s contents, before the votes took place.

By participating in this exclusionary practice, both Republican leaders acted to ensure that one-half or more of all American voters (i.e., all Democrats and Independents) were denied the right to have all members of Congress, irrespective of party affiliation, involved in the development and consideration of this legislation, which if enacted, will impact every American citizen and household.

The United States is not a single-party state. The Republican Party should not act as though it is. Such exclusionary actions are unacceptable. If not currently illegal, they should be. Laws are an effective way of overcoming ethical shortcomings.

David Frederick, a resident of northern Michigan for nearly 50 years, has retired from public sector employment. He is deeply concerned about the fate of the middle class.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 31

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SUGAR and SPICE

Wizards of Winter

and everything nice, local, organic, and FRESH!

aim to make nights merry and bright

By Ross Boissoneau Scott Kelly just wanted to make a difference. He knew the food banks in his hometown area of Frenchtown, New Jersey, were running dangerously low, and with the holidays approaching, he wanted to help. Kelly decided the best thing he could do was a benefit concert.

“We had a food pantry in need. The lines were two blocks long,” said Kelly in a phone interview. “I recruited some friends and did a couple shows in high schools and churches to raise some money.”

The keyboard player and his friends, including bassist Steve Ratchen and his wife, vocalist and flutist Sharon Kelly, focused on some of their favorite sounds for the season: traditional holiday tunes and music by the megalithic Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The concerts in 2010 were a huge success in raising money for the food bank, and the band had a blast.

What he didn’t expect was the rapturous reception from the audience. “They said, ‘We want to buy your record.’ We didn’t have one,” he said. But that got the ball rolling, and rather than record holiday covers, Kelly decided the way to go was to create original music. That would also set apart his band, dubbed the Wizards of Winter after a Trans-Siberian song.

One problem: while adept at various musical styles, Kelly had never written music himself. But where there’s a will, there’s a rock opera, and he and his cohorts set about creating their own rockinfused holiday musical tale. They debuted Tales from a Northern Star at shows in 2011, once again raising money for charities.

Kelly says the concept fits somewhere between the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and another perennial holiday favorite, Mannheim Steamroller. “It sits between them — there’s a show and more traditional music,” said Kelly.

Over the years Kelly became friends with current and former members of the TSO, and today vocalist Guy LeMonnier and narrator Tony Gaynor, both onetime Trans-Siberian members, are part of the Wizards of Winter. The group is a dozen strong. While its stage show isn’t as over-the-top as that of its main inspiration, it nevertheless features a stage full of musicians, with flute, violin and vocalists galore alongside guitars, keyboards and drums.

It shares another similarity with those other holiday titans: While unabashedly a rock concert, it is meant for all ages. “It’s become a family tradition for us,” said Kelly, and hopefully for audiences as well, which he said typically range from 8 to 80.

“It’s a search for the meaning of Christmas,” Kelly continued.

“There’s some religious meaning, we visit Santa Claus. We try to keep it family-friendly — it’s a wholesome family show, but there are points we let it rip. We are prog metal. ‘The Journey’ is a takeoff on ‘Tarkus’ — I’m a Keith Emerson fan.”

Kelly said the band includes veterans of local groups and national touring acts, from those who studied music in conservatories to those who gained experience on the road and in the studio. Bassist Dave Bizigotti is a longtime member of the metal scene. Violinist Ellie Krasner comes from the string octet Barrage 8, the offspring of the multi-genre string band Barrage. Bassist Greg Smith has collaborated with Billy Joel, Alice Cooper, the Turtles, Alan Parsons, and a host of others from across the musical spectrum. In addition to the TSO, LeMonnier has worked in musical theater, television and commercials. Their talents all come together under the watchful eyes and ears of Kelly.

While there was no album that first year, the group has now produced two recordings, with a third that has been written, with just some additional recording and post-production yet to do. Then it’s on to the first non-holiday album. “We’ll kick back and put it together this summer,” says Kelly.

The group still supports various charities through its concerts, from food banks to Habitat for Humanity and others. And besides the good work, Kelly said the interactions with and appreciation from the audience keep him and the band happy to be performing.

“We thank the audience for supporting independent music. There’s no label, no Live Nation. It’s 22 people on the road, a 26-foot truck, and two buses.” And a sack full of gifts in the form of holiday music and a rollicking show.

260 e. 10th st. t.c.

947-0191 oryana.coop

For Traverse City area news and events, visit TraverseTicker.com

The Wizards of Winter appear at the City Opera House Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7:30pm. For tickets and information, call the box office at 9418082 or go to CityOperaHouse.org.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 33

dec 16

saturday

A POLAR EXPRESS BREAKFAST: 9-11am, After 26 Depot, Cadillac. Featuring Santa & Mrs. Clause arriving by fire truck. “The Polar Express” will be read at 10am.

231-468-3526. $4.99.

-------------------A VISIT WITH SANTA & JENNY, THE STORYTELLING ELF: 9:30am, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Wear PJs! tadl.org

-------------------“UGLY” T-SHIRT WORKSHOP: 10am-noon, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Presented by Interlochen Center for the Arts’ Visual Arts students. Bring your little one to create a cool/UGLY t-shirt to take home. Santa will also be around. greatlakeskids.org

WINTER SOUNDS HOLIDAY CONCERT: 5pm, Michigan Legacy Art Park, Thompsonville. Featuring Benzie Central High School Chamber Choir. Also enjoy a short winter hike & bonfire with hot chocolate. $10 suggested donation. www.michlegacyartpark.org

COOKIES & COCOA WITH SANTA: 6-8pm, East Jordan Tourist Park Log Building. Santa & Mrs. Claus will listen to your Christmas wishes.

231-536-7351.

-------------------WARREN MILLER’S “LINE OF DESCENT”: 6:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Presented by GT Ski Club & Boyne Mountain Resort. Kick off winter with this ski film. $15.50. cityoperahouse.org/line-of-descent

--------------------

A DANCE STARRING THE PINE RIVER JAZZ BAND: 7-9:30pm, Alba Public School, Alba. Donation.

-------------------HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: 1-3pm, East Bay Branch Library, TC. Enjoy appetizers, cookies & punch. Seasonal songs will be performed by Miriam Pico & David Chown. tadl.org/event/ holiday-open-house

-------------------MADRIGALS AFTERNOON MATINEE: 1pm, Stafford’s Perry Hotel, Petoskey. Enjoy lunch & a performance by Petoskey High School’s Madrigals Show. 231-347-4000. $15 adult, $10 child.

--------------------

WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION: 1-4pm, Three Pines Studio, Cross Village. Workshops, food & fun. threepinesstudio.com

--------------------

“ANNIE”: 2pm & 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, MainStage, TC. Enjoy this classic musical. $15-$28. mynorthtickets.com

-------------------“THE NUTCRACKER”: 3pm & 7pm, Harbor Springs Performing Arts Center. Presented by the Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet.

Tickets range from $5-$50. crookedtree.org

-------------------CHRISTMAS CANTATA: 4-6pm, First Presbyterian Church, Elk Rapids. Featuring the Elk Lake Community Choir. A free will offering will be taken to benefit local charities.

-------------------BOYNE MOUNTAIN HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: 5-9pm, Boyne Mountain Resort, Boyne Falls. The Village Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place at 5:30pm, & Pictures & Wishes with Santa Claus runs from 6-9pm.

There will also be horse drawn sleigh rides, caroling, a family holiday movie, holiday treats & much more. boyne.com/boynemountain

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

--------------------

-------------------AUTHORS SIGNINGS: Horizon Books, TC. 122pm: Dan Hendrix will sign his book “The King’s Daughter.” 2-4pm: Karen Anderson will sign her book “Gradual Clearing: Weather Reports From the Heart.” 4-6pm: Nancy Tucker will sign her book “Double Danger.” horizonbooks.com

16-31

--------------------

A CLASSY CHRISTMAS: 7pm, E-Free Church, Gaylord. Enjoy classic Christmas music featuring E-Free Talent & Children’s Choir.

989-732-2647. Free.

VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING: 10am, Horizon Books, lower level, TC. Discuss the COST OF WAR. Free. vfp50.org

december

--------------------------------------HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: 7-9pm, Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall. Jetty Rae (bluesy folk rock) & Younce Guitar Duo (jazz, flamenco, gyspy guitar & other world music) will perform songs from their latest Christmas CDs. Advance tickets: $10 students, $17.50 adults.

Door: $22.50. brownpapertickets.com

--------------------

“THE NUTCRACKER”: 7:30pm, The Opera House, Cheboygan. This favorite holiday ballet is presented by the Interlochen Arts Academy Dance Company. $25 adults, $10 children. tickets.interlochen.org

-------------------“CHRISTMAS SCHOONER”: 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. A musical based on the historic Great Lakes voyages of Christmas tree ships during the late 1800s & early 1900s. $15-$20. mynorthtickets.com/events/the-christmas-schooner

-------------------KENNY G. - THE MIRACLES HOLIDAY & HITS TOUR 2017: 8pm, Little River Casino Resort, Manistee. Enjoy instrumental icon Kenny G. Tickets start at $50. lrcr.com

dec 17

Featuring tours, screenings of a short silent film & popcorn. Admission: $5 adults, $3 students, free for children under 6, & $15/family. musichouse.org

“THE NUTCRACKER”: 3pm, Harbor Springs Performing Arts Center. Presented by the Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet.

Tickets range from $5-$50. crookedtree.org

HOLIDAY CONCERT: PETER BERGIN: 1pm, Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Community Room, TC. Enjoy holiday music with this pianist & vocalist. tadl.org/event/holidayconcert-peter-bergin

ANNUAL AUCTION & CONCERT BENEFIT: 4-6pm, Empire Town Hall. EACC Emergency Fund Auction & Concert. Live music by Freya. 231-326-5584. empireareacommunitycenter.org

--------------------

sunday

SANTA BREAKFAST: 10am2pm, Stafford’s Perry Hotel, H.O. Rose Room, Petoskey.

Children 12 & under eat free with the purchase of an adult breakfast. 231-347-4000. staffords.com

-------------------AUTHOR SIGNING: 12-6pm, Horizon Books, TC. Karl Manke will sign his book “The Adventures of Railcar Rogues: A Murder Mystery.” horizonbooks.com

-------------------MUSIC HOUSE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: 12-4pm, Music House Museum, Williamsburg.

We are a Delta Dental PPO Provider for Lower or No Copays!

Detroit’s Queen on the Blues Thornetta Davis performs at the Freshwater Art Gallery and Concert Venue, Boyne City as part of the Freshwater Concert Series on Fri., Dec. 29 at 8pm. Davis has opened for Ray Charles, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Etta James, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and many others, and is the winner of over 30 Detroit Music Awards. Tickets: $30. freshwaterartgallery.com

-------------------A DANCE STARRING THE PINE RIVER JAZZ BAND: 2-5pm, Torch Lake Café, Eastport. Donation.

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

PETOSKEY MADRIGAL SINGERS: 4:307pm, Christ Episcopal Church, Charlevoix.

A dinner will follow in the church Parish Hall.

Reservations required: 231-547-6322. Free.

--------------------

FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL SINGA-LONG: 5pm, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Petoskey. Featuring guest soloist Amy Cross & Brian Bogdanowitz on the pipe organ.

MUSIC OF DAN FORREST: 2pm, First Congregational Church, TC. The NMC Grand Traverse Chorale and Chamber singers will join area choirs in this concert. 947-6698.

--------------------

BROKEN TOOTH EXPERTS Dr. Dennis Spillane • Dr. Shawn Spillane • Dr. Trevor Kay

Over 30 Years Experience 638 Willow Drive Bellaire, MI 49615 • 231-533-5001 Rd., Ste. A, Williamsburg • 231-486-6878 Additional Location Now Open - 4480 Mt. Hope (Just off M72, near US HWY 31 N)

34 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

JINGLE BELL 5K: 5pm, Warehouse District, 221 Garland St., TC. Please bring a nonperishable food for ACTS Food Pantry. Wear festive & reflective clothing. $15 advance or $20. tctcjinglebellrun.com

Dec 18

monday

AUTHOR SIGNING: 10am6pm, Horizon Books, TC. Karl Manke will sign his book “The Adventures of Railcar Rogues: A Murder Mystery.” horizonbooks.com

-------------------CAMP KESEM INFORMATIONAL MEETING: 10:30am, Michael’s Place, 1212 Veterans Dr., TC. Learn about a free resource - Camp Kesem at Michigan State University. Meet with the community outreach coordinators about this camp for kids who have lost a parent to cancer, have a parent who is in treatment for cancer, or who have a parent who has survived cancer. RSVP: Melissa@MyMichaelsPlace.net or 947-6453. Free. mymichaelsplace.net/events/camp_kesem_

-------------------SOUP & BREAD: 6-8pm, The Little Fleet, TC. Presented by The Little Fleet & Soup and BreadTraverse City. Local chefs & bakeries will donate their culinary creations. People are asked to pay what they can. Benefits the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center. The Little Fleet is also donating 10% of all beverage sales during this event to TBCAC. traversebaycac.org

-------------------AUDITIONS FOR “ROMANCE GUARANTEED”: 7pm, Old Town Playhouse Studio Theatre & The Depot, TC. This comedy has roles for two women & one man. oldtownplayhouse.com

--------------------

DECEMBER HERE:SAY: Presents That Week...

At this live storytelling event, scheduled performers will tell their true tales of “that” week. 7pm, The Workshop Brewing Co., TC. Suggested $5 donation. heresaystorytelling.com

dec 19

tuesday

GET CRAFTY: Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Create a fabric scrap tree ornament. Held at 11am & 2pm. greatlakeskids.org

------------

AUTHOR SIGNING: 12-2pm, Horizon Books, TC. Richard Fidler will sign his book “Of Things Ignored and Unloved: A Naturalist Walks Northern Michigan.” horizonbooks.com

-------------------MEN’S SHOPPING NIGHT: 5-7pm, East Jordan. 231-536-7351.

-------------------CROOKED TREE SCHOOL OF MUSIC WINTER COLLAGE CONCERT: 6pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center Theater, Petoskey. Featuring students from the CTAC Strings, Jazz, Ukulele, Rock & Youth Orchestra programs. Free. crookedtree.org

-------------------2 HOUR COOKING CLUB: “COOKING FOR A CAUSE”: 6:30-8:30pm, Fustini’s of Petoskey. Make great food with friends, & then enjoy what you’ve made together. $25/person.

A portion of the class fee will be donated to Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan. fustinis.com

-------------------“RESOLVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF”: 6:30pm, TC. This meeting is presented by the NW Michigan NT Support spouse group. For NT spouses, partners or ex-spouses of individuals with Asperger’s.

The exact TC location is provided when the neurotypical family member joins the NW Michigan NT Support private Meetup group at: www.meetup.com/NW-Michigan-NT-Support/ or contacts Carol Danly at: 2007danly@gmail. com or 231-313-8744.

--------------------

AUDITIONS FOR “ROMANCE GUARANTEED”: (See Mon., Dec. 18)

-------------------NCCA CHRISTMAS PROGRAM: 7pm, New Covenant Christian Academy, Interlochen.

Students from NCCA will perform “Tell Me the Story” in a musical presentation. Free. newcovenantchristianacademy.org

--------------------

NMC CONCERT BAND - HOLIDAY CONCERT: 7:30pm, Milliken Auditorium, Dennos Museum Center, NMC, TC. Tickets: $12 adults; $7 students & seniors. mynorthtickets.com

dec 20

wednesday

AUTHOR SIGNING: 122pm, Horizon Books, TC. Phil Stagg will sign his book “Waterfalls of Michigan: The Collection.” horizonbooks. com

-------------------THE CONSTANT READER BOOK GROUP: 5:30pm, Leland Township Library. A book group for people who love to read & read a lot, but don’t have time or the inclination to read a book club pick each month & want to discover new authors & genres, & get recommendations from other Constant Readers. Free. lelandlibrary.org

-------------------TC RIDES TO SEE THE LIGHTS: Presented

by Norte. Enjoy a short & slow winter community bicycle ride through TC neighborhoods to see the Christmas lights. Dress warm & bring a couple cans of food for friends at The Jubilee House. Meet at Right Brain Brewery, TC at 6pm. elgruponorte.org

-------------------MADRIGAL SINGERS: PETOSKEY HIGH SCHOOL CHORUS: 7pm, East Jordan Community Auditorium. Free.

dec 21

thursday

INTERACTIVE STORY TIME: 11am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “The Very Hungry Reindeer.” greatlakeskids.org

-------------------AUTHORS SIGNINGS: Horizon Books, TC. 12-2pm: Jeffery Schatzer will sign his book “Visions of Sugarplums.” 2-4pm: Heather Shumaker will sign her book “Saving Arcadia.” horizonbooks.com

-------------------BENZIE COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-8pm, The Garden Theater, Frankfort. Admission: $5/ person bringing a gift for the Door Prize Exchange; $10/person with no gift for Exchange.

--------------------

12TH ANNUAL BLISSFEST WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION: 5:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Ross Stoakes Theater, Petoskey. Enjoy sweets, hot chocolate, a movie & the Solstice Silent Auction. Featuring Samuel Seth Bernard, Mark Lavengood, Robin Lee Berry, & Katie Lee & Friends. Benefits the Blissfest Community Outreach Initiative.

Student member: $7; student or member: $10; & adult non-member: $15. blissfest.org

--------------------

SOLSTICE CONCERT: SOLD OUT: 6:30pm, Old Art Building, Leland. Featuring Mezraq Ramli on oboe & David Husser on piano. Enjoy songs from Sinatra, Streisand, Kern, Porter & other Christmas classics. There will also be a dance performance by the Dance Leelanau Ballet troupe with Hillary Voight. Hosted by the Leelanau Community Cultural Center. $15 adults; $5 10-18 years of age; & free for 9 & under. mynorthtickets.com

-------------------SECOND ANNUAL WINTER SOLSTICE PARTY: 7:30-10:30pm, The Village Arts Building, Northport. Enjoy western swing & rockabilly with The Hot Biscuits. Presented by the Northport Arts Association. $10 advance;

$15 door. 12 & under, free. 231-386-1113.

-------------------THE WIZARDS OF WINTER: “TALES BENEATH A NORTHERN STAR”: 7:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Featuring original members of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra & rock industry veterans from Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent Band & others. Tickets: $40.50, $24.50. Students: $15. cityoperahouse.org/ the-wizards-of-winter

dec 22

friday

EXPERIENCE INTERLOCHEN

HORIZON BOOKS, TC EVENTS: 10-11am: Story Hour - “Christmas.” 12-2pm: Richard Alan Hall will sign his book “For Better or Worse.”

2-4pm: Marina Call will sign her book “Eastbound, I Think.” horizonbooks.com WINTER BREAK PROGRAM: 10am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Children will frost & decorate their own cookie to eat or take home. greatlakeskids.org

-------------------CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY DINNERS: 11am1pm. Held at Charlevoix Senior Center, Boyne Area Senior Center & East Jordan Senior Center. Enjoy a holiday dinner, live music & more.

-------------------HOLIDAY FLICK N’ FLOAT: 1pm, West YMCA pool, Silver Lake Rd., TC. Featuring a 60’ aquaglide obstacle course in the water, along with floats & noodles to enjoy while watching a holiday movie on a large screen. All children under age 10 must pass a swim test (& any person at the lifeguard’s discretion). Children 10 & under must be accompanied by an adult. Free. gtbayymca.org

-------------------STORYTIME WITH SANTA: 7-8pm, Shanty Creek Resorts, Lakeview Spa, Bellaire. Enjoy Christmas stories with Santa & decorating Christmas cookies. Free. shantycreek.com/ event/storytime-santa

dec 23

saturday

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: 9-11am, Inn at Bay Harbor, The Sagamore Room, Bay Harbor. $19 adults, $12.50 ages 6-12, & free ages 5 & under. innatbayharbor.com

--------------------

The Accidentals Jan. 27

The Accidentals return to their alma mater to play a not-to-bemissed concert on Sat., Jan. 27!

Multi-instrumentalists Sav Buist (IAA 12-13) and Katie Larson (IAC

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: 9-11am, Shanty Creek Resorts, Lakeview Restaurant, Bellaire. $11 adults; $8 ages 4-12; & free for 3 & under.

Families who bring in a canned good for a local food pantry will receive an additional $1 off. shantycreek.com/event/breakfast-santa

05, 08-12/IAA 12-14), joined by

CREATE A GIFT FROM CARDS: 11am-4pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. TEENS: Fold cards to create a small gift box. tadl.org/ event/create-a-gift-box-from-cards

and infectious songs. Come see

--------------------------------------DROP-IN CRAFT: MAKE A HOLIDAY BUTTON: 11am-2pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Drop in to work on a themed craft at your own pace. For ages 3-12. tadl.org/event/ drop-in-craft-make-a-holiday-button

drummer Michael Dause, will blow the roof off of Corson Auditorium with their powerful the dynamic and nationally-popular band named among Yahoo Music’s “Top 10 Bands to Watch in 2017”.

-------------------AUTHORS SIGNINGS: Horizon Books, TC. 122pm: Mike Struwin will sign his book “Campfire Stu & The Backwoods Jamboree.” 2-4pm: John Mitchell will sign his book “Grand Traverse The Civil War Era.” horizonbooks.com

-------------------TANNENBAUM BLITZEN: 6pm, Shanty Creek Resorts, Ivan’s at Schuss Village, Bellaire. Enjoy a community pasta buffet, torchlight parade down the face of Schuss Mountain, Christmas carols around the tree, Christmas cookie decorating & a visit from Santa. $13 adults; $8 ages 5-12; & free for 3 & under. shantycreek.com/ event/tannenbaum-blitzen

tickets.interlochen.org 800.681.5920

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 35

oc 31

Mon, Dec 18

Ladies Night $1 off drinks & $5 martinis w/ Jukebox

“Where Friends Gather” Featuring Super Greek Food in a Relaxed Atmosphere

Wed, Dec 20 - Get it in the can for $1 w/ DJ Fasel

TUESDAY NIGHT

Thurs, Dec 21- DJ DomiNate

starts at 8pm

Fri, Dec 22- Happy Hour: Joe Wilson Trio

WIN GIFT CERTIFICATES!

Buckets of Beer starting at $7 from 2-8pm

TRIVIA

2012

Tues, Dec 19 - $2 well drinks & shots OPEN MIC W/HOST CHRIS STERR

214 E Front St • Downtown Traverse City

231-946-8932

$1 off all drinks

Then: Freekbass

Sat, Dec 23 - Freekbass Sun, Dec 24 - Closing at 9pm Mon, Dec 25 - Merry Christmas (Closed)

Tues, Dec 26 - $2 well drinks & shots OPEN MIC W/HOST CHRIS STERR Wed, Dec 27 - Get it in the can for $1

with DJ DomiNate

Thurs, Dec 28 - DJ PRIM

$1 off all drinks

Fri, Dec 29 - Happy Hour: Chris Sterr

Then: Mainstays

Buckets of Beer starting at $7 from 2-8pm

Sat, Dec 30 -Mainstays

Sun Dec 31 - HEAD FOR THE HILLS LIVE SHOW THEN: G-SNACKS & 2 BAYS DJS

941-1930 downtown TC unionstreetstation/myspace.com

LOCAL TICKETS ONE PLACE 12/19

NMC BAND CONCERT

12/31

TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA

dec 24

sunday

“TOGETHER WE SHINE”: 5pm, State Theatre, TC. Interfaith celebration of love & peace in a family-friendly service of stories & music.

With Rabbi Chava Bahle & Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse. Carols at 5pm; service from 5:306:30pm. Free tickets available: 947-4800. stateandbijou.org

dec 25

monday

SKI FREE WITH SANTA: Join Santa on the slopes of Schuss Mountain at Shanty Creek Resorts, Bellaire & ski for free on Christmas from 9am-4:30pm. Pay it forward with donations of non-perishable food items, gently-used winter clothing &/or household items to benefit local food pantries. shantycreek.com/event/ski-free-santa-2

-------------------FREE CHRISTMAS DINNER: 1-3pm, East Jordan United Methodist Church. Enjoy this free buffet dinner. 231-536-7351.

dec 26

tuesday

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: 12-5pm, Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay. Explore easy to moderate trails & then warm up with drinks & food. Hearth & Vine Café will provide beef & bean chili, white chicken chili & a grilled sandwich. Last snowshoe rental ($15) is at 4pm. blackstarfarms.com/snowshoesvines-wines

dec 27

wednesday

MOVIE MORNING: 10amnoon, Peninsula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. Watch “Wall-E” (G) in your pajamas! tadl.org/ event/movie-morning

-------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Tues., Dec. 26)

-------------------RANGER-LED SNOWSHOE HIKE: Meet at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, Empire at 1pm.

Snowshoes will be loaned at no charge to participants who do not have their own. Reservations required: 231-326-4700, ext. 5010. Free. nps.gov/slbe/index.htm

-------------------PIZZA & PIPES: 6-8:30pm, Music House Museum, Williamsburg. Gourmet Pizza Dinner & Concert with Red Wings Organist Dave Calendine. $25 adults; $10 children 10 & under. musichouse.org

dec 28

thursday

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Tues., Dec. 26)

------------

AUTHOR SIGNING: 2-5pm, Horizon Books, TC. Murray Howe will sign his book “Nine Lessons I Learned from my Father.” horizonbooks.com

--------------------

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 800-836-0717 // TICKETS@MYNORTH.COM

36 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

MEET & GREET A BALLERINA: 3pm, Benzie Historical Museum, Benzonia. Isabella Cowles, ARAD, dancer with the Alabama Ballet, will perform Nutcracker excerpts & answer questions about life as a professional ballet dancer. Presented by The Ballet Academy. 231-882-5539.

--------------------

SILVER & GOLD SING-A-LONG: 7pm, Penin-

sula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. Enjoy an old fashioned sing-along, mulled cider & desserts. tadl.org/event/ silver-and-gold-sing-a-long

dec 29

friday

HORIZON BOOKS, TC EVENTS: 10-11am: Story Hour - “Snow.” 8:30-10:30pm: Live music with the Jim Crockett Trio. horizonbooks.com

-------------------RANGER-LED SNOWSHOE HIKE: Meet at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, Empire at 10am.

Snowshoes will be loaned at no charge to participants who do not have their own. Reservations required: 231-326-4700, ext. 5010. Free. nps.gov/slbe/index.htm

--------------------

“HARRY AND SNOWMAN”: Lyric Theatre, Harbor Springs. Karin Reid Offield of Brek-nRidge Farm teams up with Little Traverse Bay Humane Society & the Snowman Rescue Fund to premiere the screening of her award-winning documentary film. Two screenings: 11am & 5pm. A question & answer session about the making of the film will follow each screening. $20 adults; $10 12 & under. ltbhs.com

-------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Tues., Dec. 26)

-------------------“CRAFTERNOON”: 2-4pm, East Bay Branch Library, TC. With local artist Natalie Byrne.

Have fun with felt & make an ornament or necklace. 922-2085. tadl.org

-------------------BEACH BASH: 6-8pm, Charlevoix Area Community Pool. A pre-New Year’s celebration.

Register: 231-547-0982. $5/student or adult.

Children under 3 are free. charlevoixpool.org

--------------------

HARPIST MARTA POWER LUCE: 7-9pm, Music House Museum, Williamsburg. World reknowned TC natives harpist Marta Power Luce & violinist Ivan Suminski will perform. $20 adults, $5 students. musichouse.org

-------------------FRESHWATER CONCERT SERIES: 8pm, Freshwater Art Gallery & Concert Venue, Boyne City. Featuring Detroit’s Queen of the Blues Thornetta Davis. $30. freshwaterartgallery.com/concertCalendar.php

dec 30

saturday

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Tues., Dec. 26)

------------

RANGER-LED SNOWSHOE HIKE: (See Weds., Dec. 27)

------------

BREATHE OWL BREATHE & SETH BERNARD: 7pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Enjoy these local roots musicians. Breathe Owl Breathe brings their pop-addled melodies, along with contemporary folk, & Seth Bernard performs Americana. Tickets: $15; $8 students; $5 12 & under. redskystage.com

--------------------

EVE OF THE EVE IN TRAVERSE CITY: 8:30pm, Mammoth Distilling Cocktail Lounge, 221 Garland St., Suite D, TC. Can’t celebrate enough? Celebrate on the Eve of the Eve as well! Live music by The True Falsettos, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, welcome punch, & midnight toast with a French 75.

943-1073. $35. mynorthtickets.com/events/ eve-of-the-eve

dec 31

sunday

BRIDGE DROP: Noon, Charlevoix. Featuring a Snowman Making Contest, horse drawn carriage rides, arts & crafts at Charlevoix Circle of Arts, a free kids movie at

Charle bridge

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Runs through Dec. 24.

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Tues., Dec. 26)

SAFE HOME HARVEST FOOD & SUPPLY DRIVE: Help support survivors of domestic abuse & their children utilizing Safe Home services by bringing non-perishable foods, household supplies, paper products, personal care items & financial contributions to the Women’s Resource Center of Northern MI offices in Cheboygan, Gaylord & Mancelona. wrcnm.org

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NYE: CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN RESORT: 4pm, Crystal Mountain Resort, Thompsonville.

Luau Family Fun, 4-8pm: Crafts, games, prize drawings & dancing. $19 admission includes one parent for every child. Additional adults: $5 each. Includes child access to New Year’s Eve Bash, which begins with the Bash Buffet in the Crystal Center from 6-8pm. Cocktails & dancing: 9pm-1am. Torchlight Parade: 11:45pm. Fireworks Over the Mountain: Midnight. For more info & other events, visit: crystalmountain.com

-------------------11TH ANNUAL NYE AT CTAC, PETOSKEY: 5pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey.

An all ages, alcohol-free celebration featuring performances, workshops & “Midnight at 9” Times-Square style ball drop on East Mitchell St. There will also be a make-and-take craft room in the Carnegie Building, & activities at the Petoskey District Library. $10 adults, $5 students. crookedtree.org

-------------------A NIGHT OF SINATRA FEATURING JEFF GRAINGER & THE SAGINAW ELITE BIG BAND: 7pm, Emmet County Community Center, Petoskey. Please bring a canned good or a book bag to benefit the Manna Food Project, which feeds the hungry & provides children with book bags for school. $50/guest. mynorthtickets.com

--------------------

THE ROCK ‘TIL THE DROP MASQUERADE BALL: 7-11:30pm, Streeters, Ground Zero, TC. Featuring Live For Tomorrow, Death of The Party, Anchors for Reality, Make This Count, & Damned by Dawn. Live DJ in between bands. $15. groundzeroonline.com

-------------------NEW YEAR’S MAGIC WITH BEN WHITING: 7:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Enjoy magic, humor & mind reading from internationally known Ben Whiting. Recommended for ages 8 & up. Tickets start at $10 & all proceeds go to local charities. cityoperahouse.org/ben-whiting

--------------------

SIPS N’ GIGGLES COMEDY SHOW: 8pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Enjoy local wines & more paired with nationally touring stand-up comedians. Doors open at 6:30pm for cocktail hour. Show begins at 8pm. Headlining the show is comedian Steve Iott, who takes the audience along as he spins his tales of ridiculous life experiences. Steve has appeared on A&E, NBC, Comedy Central, Bob n’ Tom & more.

Opening the show are special guest comedians Ben Macks, Gary Langley & Charlie Settles. $20 advance; $25 door. mynorthtickets.com

--------------------

TC NEW YEAR’S EVE CHERRYT BALL DROP: 9pm, Downtown TC. A street party featuring a massive illuminated cherry that is lowered to signify the coming year. Live music & entertainment are all part of this winter party. cherrytballdrop.com

helping hands

HOLIDAY MITTEN TREE: Donate new mittens, scarves & hats to Interlochen Public Library through Dec. 30. tadl.org/venue/Interlochen/

-------------------NW MI MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS: Fox Motors, TC. Incredible Mo’s certificates will be given for toys that are brought into the dealership. For various drop off locations & info, visit toysfortots.org. Runs through Dec. 22.

-------------------SOCKS FOR TROOPS: Petoskey Shoe Sensation, 910 Spring St., Petoskey is collecting socks for active duty military or local veterans around the community. Customers receive a 20% off coupon to use on the socks donated.

--------------------

-------------------NMC FOOD PANTRY: Available to all active students. This operates out of the basement of the Osterlin Building, NMC, TC, but students don’t have to physically access the shelves.

Instead, they’ll fill out an online form stating their household size & needs. nmc.edu

INDOOR FARMERS MARKET, THE MERCATO, THE VILLAGE AT GT COMMONS, TC: Saturdays, 10am-2pm through April. 941-1961.

--------------------

art

“GIVE THE GIFT OF ART HOLIDAY EXHIBIT”: Higher Art Gallery, TC. Runs through Jan. 2. higherartgallery.com

-------------------“INSPIRED: ARTISTIC IMPRESSIONS OF THE GRAND TRAVERSE COMMONS”: The Village at GT Commons, Sanctuary, TC. Runs through Jan. 20. thevillagetc.com

-------------------“JUST GREAT ART”: City Opera House, TC. Eight artists from the Plein Air Painters of Northwest Michigan exhibit their oil, pastel, watercolor & acrylic paintings. Runs through Jan. 2. cityoperahouse.org

--------------------

ongoing

NMRRC FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: Carnegie Library (formerly Traverse Area Historic Society), TC. Presented by the Northern MI RailRoad Club & Great Lakes Children’s Museum. Runs through Dec. A Swap Meet will be held Dec. 16-17 from 10am-6pm; & visit with Santa on Dec. 16 & 23 from 2-6pm. Hours: Mon.-Sat.: 10am-6pm; Sun.: 12-4pm. Special Hours: Dec. 24 & 31: 10am-2pm. Closed Dec. 25. $5. nomirrc.wordpress.com/about/festival-of-trains

-------------------SPARKLE IN THE PARK: Over 50 site Christmas light display in downtown Bear Lake.

Drive or walk-thru. Open nightly, 5-10pm thru Dec. 31. No charge, but donations welcome.

KET: Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan.

Featuring paintings, collages, jewelry, scarves, baskets, cards & many Christmas decorations.

Runs every Tues. through Sun. from 1-4pm through Dec. 22. jordanriverarts.com

“THE LYRICS OF BOB DYLAN”: Three Pines Studio, Cross Village. Nobel Laureate 2016.

This all media exhibition runs through March. threepinesstudio.com 2017 WINTER MEMBER EXHIBITION: Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. Runs through Jan. 5. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

-------------------CIRCLE MARKET: Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix. Over 40 artists represented. Runs through Dec. 23. 231-547-3554.

-------------------HOLIDAY ART MARKET SHOW & SALE: Gaylord Area Council for the Arts, Gaylord.

Runs through Dec. 23. Hours: Tues.-Fri.: 11am-3pm; Sat.: 11am-1pm. gacaevents. weebly.com

--------------------

JORDAN RIVER ARTS COUNCIL GIFT MAR-

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: Mon. - Sat., 10am-5pm. Sun., 1-5pm.: - “LINES OF LIGHT: CRAIG TANDY - MONOFILAMENT SCULPTURE”: Runs through April 29 at Zimmerman Sculpture Court. Canadian artist Craig Tandy constructs complex sculptures with monofilament nylon that illustrate the properties of projected light, with an interest in creating a space through which the viewer can move.

- CORY TRÉPANIER’S “INTO THE ARCTIC”: The Canadian North on Canvas and Film.

Runs through Dec. - WILLIAM ADOLPHE BOUGEUREAU AND EDOUARD MANET: Visitors to the Sea Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Runs through Dec. - “MYTHS, LEGENDS AND STORIES: SCULPTURE BY ABRAHAM ANGHIK RUBEN”: Through Dec. dennosmuseum.org

--------------------

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - WINTER! EXHIBIT: Runs through Jan. 15 in Atrium Gallery. An exhibition of oil, watercolor & encaustic paintings celebrating the beauty of local landscapes. Artists include Janel Anderson, Kurt Anderson, Beth Billups, Lori Feldpausch, Margie Guyot, Susan Glass & Heidi Marshall. Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.: 9am-5pm; Weds.: 10am-5pm; Sat.: 10am4pm.

- 2017 JURIED FINE ARTS & FRESH AIR EXHIBITIONS: Runs through Jan. 6. crookedtree.org

--------------------

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS: The National Writers Series is inviting all area fourth & fifth graders to sign up for Battle of the Books, a free reading contest for kids living in the Grand Traverse County area. For more info & to sign up, visit: www.battleofthebooksgt.com

--------------------

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: OPEN SPEAKER MEETING: Saturdays, 8pm, Munson Medical Center (basement), TC. district11-aa.org

Happy Holidays!

-------------------ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: YOUNG PEOPLE’S MEETING: Fridays, 8pm, Grace Episcopal Church (basement), TC. district11aa.org

-------------------FREE COMMUNITY CLASS: Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Bikram Yoga, TC. Find on Facebook.

-------------------SANTA’S WORKSHOP: Saturdays, 122pm through Dec. 23. Stafford’s Perry Hotel, Petoskey. See Santa & enjoy hot chocolate & cookies. staffords.com

-------------------STORY TIME: Horizon Books, Cadillac. Held on Wednesdays from 4-5pm. Hear a story & participate in an activity. Find on Facebook.

-------------------COMPULSIVE EATERS ANONYMOUS: Thursdays, 5:30pm, Dec. 21 - Mar. 29. 5th & Oak St., TC. Compulsive Eaters AnonymousHOW is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength & hope are recovering from compulsive eating & food addiction. traversecityceahow.org

--------------------

BOYNE CITY INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 9am-noon through April. Main lobby area of the new City Facilities Building, Boyne City. boynecitymainstreet.com/farmers-marketwelcome

--------------------

CTAC ARTISANS & FARMERS MARKET, PETOSKEY: Fridays, 10am-1pm, upper level Carnegie, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey.

This market has moved back inside. When weather permits, vendors will sell their goods out on the Bidwell Plaza, too. crookedtree.org

--------------------

I am Grateful this Holiday Season!

I welcome future

NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN BESTSELLERS

opportunities to

For the week ending 12/10/17

HARDCOVER FICTION

Chickadees at Night by Bill O. Smith & illustrations by Glenn Wolff Sleepytime Press $18.95 Origin by Dan Brown Doubleday $29.95 Artemis by Andy Weir Crown $27.00

PAPERBACK FICTION

My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich Folger $14.00 American Chillers 1 Michigan Megamonsters

by Jonathan Rand Audiocraft Publishing $5.99 Windigo Moon by Robert Downes Blank Slate Press $17.95

assist you with

your Real Estate!

Wish You and Yours HARDCOVERINON-FICTION Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence Good Health and Flatiron Books $18.99 Odyssey of Echo Company by Doug Stanton Spirits in 2015.

2018.

Scribner $30.00 Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson Simon & Schuster $35.00

Thank You!

Saamm

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

Gradual Clearing by Karen Anderson Arbutus Press $16.95 Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton Scribner $18.00 Waterfalls of Michigan Collection by Phil Stagg MI Falls Publishing $29.95

SAM ABOOD

231-218-5130

Compiled by Horizon Books: Traverse City & Cadillac

www.samabood.com sam@samabood.com

402 E. Front Street Traverse City, MI 49686

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 37

FOURSCORE by kristi kates

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon? – Caroline International

While Gallagher is revered for his ability to craft a Beatles-esque sound without merely copying, he steps out with some impressive efforts to sharpen his craft even further by experimenting with scrapbook edits and some expansive instrumentals.

But of course, we’re all here for those optimistic Brit-pop songs, and Gallagher delivers, from the crashing “Black and White Sunshine” to the pretty acoustic closer, “Dead in the Water,” which is just Gallagher and one guitar.

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Singer Tom Chaplin has been through quite a journey that’s likely spawned many tales of its own, from touring the world as frontman of Brit-rock sensation Keane, to succeeding in his battle against substance abuse. He channels much of those highs and lows of emotion into this beautifully delivered Christmas album, which ranges from a cover of The Pretenders’ somber “2000 Miles” to his own towering “Midnight Mass” and the hopeful “London Lights.”

Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes

Yorke (the genius frontman of Radiohead) is perhaps best known for his most popular solo album, Eraser, but this eight-song collection is sure to run right up to Eraser’s audio heels. Even more experimental than his prior effort and a bit darker, Yorke has a knack for making the unusual and abstract still catchy, with the hooks for tracks like “A Brain in a Bottle” and the broken-piano riffs of “Guess Again!” left ringing melodically in your ears for days afterward, in spite of a first impression of inaccessibility.

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38 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

’80s outfit Squeeze just keeps cranking out the records at a remarkable rate, as its dual frontmen, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, just won’t quit (thankfully). Each album includes the same components for which fans have grown to love the band — most notably Difford/Tilbrook’s vocal harmonies and sly, wordy turns of phrase. Highlights this time include the pop nostalgia of “Albatross” and the bubbly refrain of “Two Forks.”

EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS FOR SIA Sia’s new seasonal album, Everyday is Christmas, is in outlets now, a collection of 10 original festival tunes that the singer-songwriter penned alongside producer Greg Kurstin, who happens to be Jewish and who mentioned in a recent interview that he’s “pretty new at this Christmas thing.” (Kurstin also worked on Kelly Clarkson’s 2013 Christmas album, Wrapped in Red.) New or not, Kurstin helps deliver a refreshingly new batch of holiday songs. This mix of ballads and up-tempo pop tracks is comprised entirely of songs you’ve never heard before, from “Candy Cane Lane” and “Snowman” to the set’s first joyous, peppy single, “Santa’s Coming for Us”…

Kendrick Lamar is prepping the European leg of his upcoming tour, which will kick off in February with stops in the U.K. that include Birmingham, Manchester, and London (where he’ll bring along James Blake as opening act). Lamar hasn’t toured in that part of the world since 2013, so ticket sales are sure to go fast. In March, he’ll expand the tour across the English Channel to Paris, Oslo, and Berlin. No word yet on more stateside dates, but they’re likely to be added as Lamar’s Damn tour continues …

Heading west for New Year’s Eve? Then you might want to point yourself to San Diego for the big night, when OMFG NYE 2018 plays

MODERN

ROCK

BY KRISTI KATES

San Diego’s Valley View Casino Center, complete with live performances from Dillon Francis, Kayzo, NGHMRE, Zedd, Tiesto, Illenium, and more — but you’re not limited to New Year’s Eve alone. OMFG 2018 will actually start ramping up the tunes the night before, on Dec. 30, for two full days of EDM bliss …

London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has added instrumentation to 14 recordings made by Motown original Aretha Franklin, giving some essential Detroit classics an entirely new ambiance and drama. Called A Brand New Me, the album takes tracks like “Respect” and “Think” into completely different audio territory, with the orchestral approach having been devised by British producers Don Reedman and Nick Patrick.

You can snag Franklin’s A Brand New Me in outlets now via Rhino Records …

LINK OF THE WEEK Sia is celebrating her Christmas album with a strange little music-video family made up of actors including Kristen Bell, Henry Winkler, Susan Lucci, and J.B. Smoove. All appear in the vid for her new festive tune “Santa’s Coming for Us.” Check out the holiday mayhem at https:// tinyurl.com/yc7q6btc …

THE BUZZ The Shelter in St. Andrew’s Hall in downtown Detroit is all set to welcome Eden

for a special show at 7pm on March 26 …

Kalamazoo’s Yolanda Lavender has released her third album, Back 4 the 1st Time, a mix of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and poetry …

Grand Rapids outfit Bigfoot Buffalo has a new album out, The Sun is the Moon, complete with singles “Boots in Molasses” and “Mr. Noodle”…

Demi Lovato will make several stops in the Midwest as part of her 2018 North American tour, including shows in Minneapolis,

Minnesota (March 10); Detroit (March 13); Columbus, Ohio (March 14); and Toronto, Canada (March 19) …

Pop Evil will rock Detroit’s Fillmore on April 6… … and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.

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Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 39

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Director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) combines his penchant for dark horror with sentimental romance in this fantastical and strange retro fable. It’s a fairy tale about a “princess without a voice,” aka mute custodian Elisa (Sally Hawkins) who falls for an amphibious man (think Creature from the Black Lagoon) being held captive at the secret government facility where she works in 1960’s Baltimore.

Erotic and even a little kinky, this may not be the film for you if you are at all creeped out by the thought of humancreature love. ’Cause as much as I wanted to be taken away by the film’s grand romance and heartrending longing, try as I might, something just didn’t click.

Perhaps the film was just too gruesome, perhaps it was that as splendid as Hawkins’ performance was (you completely forget she isn’t communicating with words), it also was a little too simplistic and had just a little too much quirky pluck. Or that despite its heavy political and social overtones, the story is pretty thin, and the water the film treads in is never as deep as it might think. I mean the most heartbreaking scene has nothing to do with our central pairing, but rather Elisa’s closeted best friend/neighbor (Richard Jenkins) just looking to connect.

The composition, though, is completely exquisite. From the near exclusively blue and green color palette and kitschy stylization to the surreal moments and impeccable period details, the craftsmanship on display is lush and overwhelming. Yet, when all is said and done, it just kind of blends together and doesn’t have the enduring striking effect it should.

Not only does del Toro bring his impressive technical and visual prowess, his cinephilia is comes along for the ride too. This is an oldfashioned love letter to Hollywood — Elisa lives next to a classic movie house, and her fantasies play out like a beautiful black and white Astaire-Rogers musical. Yet it fails to deliver the transportive movie magic it so openly seeks to imitate and inspire. No, rather than being a ravishing, wondrous romance, it ends up feeling more like kissing a cold fish.

Capturing less than a month in the life of Winston Churchill as he first takes office as prime minster of the United Kingdom and sets out to, you know, save the world from tyranny during some of the darkest days of WWII, Darkest Hour gives us a rousing and semi-revealing portrait of the British Bulldog. And as a historic drama featuring a transformative performance and middlebrow storytelling, this is pretty much your standard prestige picture, Oscar-bait stuff.

As alluded to, Gary Oldham is practically unrecognizable as Churchill, and while it is no doubt technically impressive, you might not care for his particular interpretation (and for Americans, you might not be able to understand everything he’s saying, which is unfortunate, considering the film is basically a testament to the inspirational power of the spoken word).

British director Joe Wright’s (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) frequently magnificent cinematic compositions feel a little muted here, and the production design not as polished, but he does have his moments. And Wright does do a solid job of maintaining suspense when history has already informed us of the outcome.

Yet the film’s heavy focus on “behindclosed-doors” political meetings and emphasis on rhetoric as his fellow party members seek to have Churchill consider peace talks over his “never, never, never give up” approach, plods along slowly. The film does, however, rally toward the end, igniting those stirring feelings of hope and pride, but this is accomplished using a cheap bit of cinematic liberty that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

In some ways, Darkest Hour serves as a nice companion piece to this summer’s Dunkirk, giving you a look at the events of Operation Dynamo on the home front and in HQ. But in the end, this comparison just made me want to watch the superior Dunkirk again.

That being said, right now definitely seems like a good time for just about any kind of movie about bringing down fascists. So by bringing to life such a towering figure of history and telling an important story, while it might not be a masterpiece, to paraphrase Churchill, the filmmakers definitely didn’t bugger it up.

Meg Weichman is a perma-intern at the Traverse City Film Festival and a trained film archivist.

40 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

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GOOD-NATURED FUN AHEAD. DOWNTOWN

TRAVERSE CITY

coco

M

uch maligned for its recent emphasis on subpar sequels (Finding Dory, Cars 3), Pixar proves exactly why it is still the gold standard of animation with its resplendent new film that marks a welcomed return to genuinely moving, outstandingly original art. So touching, so charming, so heartrending, there’s so much to love here: the vibrant culture, the dazzling animation, the splendorous music, the reverence for la familia. And the family at the film’s center is the Riveras of Santa Cecilia, Mexico, and we get to know them through the earnest, one-dimpled, chatterbox Miguel. See, Miguel is an aspiring musician in a family where music has been banned. And just when Miguel sets out to pursue his dreams despite his family’s objections, through some magical happenstance Miguel finds himself in the Land of the Dead and must find his estranged great grandfather in order to return home. And what happens from here is entirely unexpected, wonderful, and meaningful. Coco will overwhelm you with its beauty – the beautiful animation, the beautiful storytelling, the beautiful family, the beautiful traditions. Make no bones about it, this is one of the year’s best.

MONDAY 12:15 • 2:15 • 4:30 PM TUESDAY 3:45 • 8:30 PM WED 1:30 • 4 PM THU 4 PM

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Holiday Specials December 15-31

See full holiday schedule: stateandbijou.org DOWNTOWN

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lady bird

T

his is not, as I had originally thought, a biopic about former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. No, the Lady Bird in question here is a Sacramento high school senior (Saoirse Ronan) preparing to take the next steps in life and butting heads with her mother (Laurie Metcalf). Yet while this film might not carry the weight of history, in the hands of Ronan and first-time solo director Greta Gerwig, this story of an everyday girl feels nothing less than monumental. Radiantly resonant and achingly relatable, the pitch perfect world of Lady Bird, is not the cutesy indie you might expect from one of our leading hipster ingénues (Gerwig being the star and co-writer of Frances Ha). Certainly indie tiny in pedigree and budget, it manages to emulate big Hollywood entertainment with just the thrill of discovering who you are. Hitting all the familiar high school notes — first love, queen bees, tests, teachers, loss of virginity, drifting away from a best friend, parties, and, yes, even prom — there is nothing revelatory about the territory covered here, yet in no way does it feel like your standard angsty coming-of-age fare. Lady Bird is riding a wave of critical praise, breaking Rotten Tomatoes’ record as the website’s best-reviewed movie of all time. And this hype has its drawbacks. It might leave you going “Oh, huh, that’s it,” and you might not find it to be the masterpiece you’ve been promise. But if you temper your expectations and allow yourself a little distance to let its unassuming magic work on you, you’ll be able to savor its simple and rich rewards.

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JUSTICE LEAGUE

W

ith Justice League, it’s clear the DCEU is responding to the criticism it’s received that the films are too dour. They’re trying hard to steal some of that Marvel magic with a newfound influx of levity and even brought in Joss Whedon of The Avengers to screen write. But then Zack Snyder (director of perhaps the dourest film in the DCEU, Batman v Superman) had to step away from directing duties for personal reasons, and Whedon came in to finish the job.

The resulting film not only proves the genuinely powerful Wonder Woman was an anomaly but also becomes a wholly disjointed effort that is neither Whedon nor Snyder. It’s passable entertainment but just kind of blah, lacking either of their distinct flavors. This film with no real point of view follows Batman (Ben Affleck) as he puts together a super team to fight oncoming evil in the wake of Superman’s death.

He’s joined by the epitome of grace and strength, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot); comedic relief The Flash (Ezra Miller); the robotic-in-more-ways-than-one Cyborg (Ray Fisher)’ and the excruciatingly bro-y bore Aquaman (Jason Momoa). They have no real personalities and no compelling story to tell; they offer only painful dialogue, weak humor, and a forgettable villain to take down. Even the big battle is a complete snooze.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 41

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--by wearing something warm. by Matt Jones

ACROSS

1 White of “Wheel” fame 6 Knock lightly 9 Prickly plants 14 Orchestra reeds 15 What tree rings indicate 16 Kind of committee 17 Headwear seen at a rodeo 19 Western capital that’s its state’s largest city 20 DuVernay who directed “Selma” 21 About 30.48 centimeters 22 Tenth grader, for short 23 Half of the Brady kids 25 “Home Again” star Witherspoon 27 Margarine containers 30 Laptop connection option 32 “Monsters, ___” (Pixar film) 34 Former UB40 lead singer Campbell 35 1969 Roberta Flack song with the lyric “The President, he’s got his war / Folks don’t know just what it’s for” 40 Cancel out 41 Sparks of “Queer As Folk” 42 Art store purchase 43 Corporate getaway of sorts 46 Suffix for social or graph 47 “___ and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” 48 Solo on screen 49 Office fixture 51 2016 Key and Peele movie 54 Quick drive 58 Play it ___ 60 Rounded roof 62 Nest egg letters 63 Hang in folds 65 Political upheaval 67 Fashion magazine since 1892 68 Java vessel 69 Persona non ___ 70 Food regimens 71 Wanna-___ 72 Art store purchase

DOWN

1 Word knowledge, briefly 2 From the beginning, in Latin 3 “I don’t buy it” 4 Lincoln’s st.

5 Beginning from 6 Lake between two states 7 Quartz variety 8 Iguana, for some 9 ___ San Lucas 10 Take in or take on 11 Little barker 12 How-___ (instructional publications) 13 Swelling reducer 18 ___ Linda, Calif. (Nixon Library site) 22 E-mailed 24 Recap 26 Move like a crab 28 Fun time 29 “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the ___” 31 Egg-breaking sound 33 Mongoose’s foe 35 $100 bill, slangily 36 Sticking to the party line, like political speeches 37 Take the rap?

38 Corn unit 39 Some birdhouse dwellers 40 Electroplating stuff 44 Apparel giant with a World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. 45 Kick drum sound 50 Demolished 52 Love so much 53 Grammatical things 55 Pockets in the bread aisle 56 Steamed 57 Birth-related 59 Bill listings 61 Just beat out 63 Streaming video predecessor 64 King, in Cannes 65 Little leopard 66 Time period split into periods

nitelife

DEC 16-DEc 31

edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska ACOUSTIC TAPROOM, TC 12/18 -- Poets Meet Musicians, 7 FANTASY'S, TC Mon. - Sat. -- Adult entertainment w/ DJ, 7-close FIREFLY, TC 12/23 -- Afterglow Featuring 2 Bays DJs, 10 12/30 -- G Snacks Acoustic, 9 HAYLOFT INN, TC Thu -- Open mic night by Roundup Radio Show, 8 HORIZON BOOKS, TC 12/29 -- Jim Crockett Trio, 8:3010:30 HOTEL INDIGO BAY BAR, TC 12/16 -- Chris Michael's Band, 7-10 12/22 -- Chris Sterr, 7-10 12/22 -- Chris Sterr , 7-10 12/23 -- Clint Weaner, 7-10 12/23 -- Clint Weaner , 7-10 12/29 -- Blake Elliott, 7-10 12/30 -- TC Knuckleheads Orchestra, 7

PARK PLACE HOTEL, BEACON LOUNGE, TC Thurs,Fri,Sat — Tom Kaufmann, 8:30 ROVE ESTATE VINEYARD & WINERY, TC 12/22 – Jameson Brothers, 5-8 SAIL INN BAR & GRILL, TC Thurs. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs & Karaoke, 9 STREETERS, GROUND ZERO, TC 12/21 -- Rave By The Bay, 7-11 12/31 -- The Rock 'Til The Drop Masquerade Ball w/ Live For Tomorrow, Death of The Party, Anchors for Reality, Make This Count, & Damned by Dawn, 7-11:30 STREETERS, LOUIE LOUIE, TC 12/31 -- NYE Party 2018 w/ Dueling Pianos, DJs, & Live Bands, 8-11:30 STUDIO ANATOMY, TC 12/16 -- The Good Die Young, Parsec, The Wolf Within, & Petty Crime, 8

KILKENNY'S, TC 12/15-16 -- Lucas Paul, 9:30 12/22-23 -- Honesty & the Liars, 9:30 12/29-30 -- Reverend Right Time & the First Cuzins of Funk, 9:30 12/31 -- One Hot Robot, 9:30 Tue -- Levi Britton, 8 Wed -- The Pocket, 8 Thu -- 2 Bays DJs, 9:30 Sun -- Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7-9

TAPROOT CIDER HOUSE, TC 12/16 -- Arianna Wasserman, 7-9 12/18 -- May Erlewine, 6-8 12/20 -- Open Mic Night w/ Rob Coonrod, 7-10 12/21 -- Winter Solstice Party w/ G Snacks Acoustic, 7-9 12/22 -- Rob Coonrod, 7-9 12/23 -- Ron Getz, 7-9 12/28 – G-Snacks Acoustic, 7-9 12/30 -- Live Music, 7-9

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC 12/18 – Open Mic Night w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 12/22 – Mike Moran, 6-8 12/25 – Open Mic Night w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 12/29 – i.am.james, 6-8

THE DISH CAFE, TC 12/18 -- Open Mic w/ Chris Michels, 6 12/20 -- Mitch McKolay, 6-8 12/22 -- Kaydee Swanson, 6-8 Thurs – Nick Foresman, 6-8 Sat -- Matt Smith, 5-7

LITTLE BOHEMIA, TC Tue -- TC Celtic, 7-9 Thu -- Robert Abate, 6:30-9

THE FILLING STATION MICROBREWERY, TC 12/16 – The Merry Moxie Show, 9-11:30

12/22 – Jon Timm & Dylan Lancaster, 9-11:30 THE LITTLE FLEET, TC 12/29 – Breathe Owl Breathe, 6-8 THE PARLOR, TC 12/22 – Dave Crater, 8 12/23 – Miriam Pico, 8 12/29 – Levi Britton, 8 THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 12/16 -- Seth Bernard & Scott Pellegrom, 8 12/22 -- The Broom Closet Boys, 8 12/23 -- Turbo Pup, 8 12/29 -- 2017 Sendoff w/ Jack Pine, 8-11 12/30 -- Wire in the Wood, 8 Wed -- The Workshop Live Jazz Jam, 6-10 UNION STREET STATION, TC 12/16 -- Soul Patch, 10 12/17 -- Karaoke, 10 12/18 -- Jukebox, 10 12/19,12/26 -- Open Mic w/ Host Chris Sterr, 10 12/20 -- DJ Fasel, 10 12/21,12/27 -- DJ DomiNate, 10 12/22 -- Happy Hour w/ Joe Wilson Trio, then Freekbass, 5 12/23 -- Freekbass, 10 12/28 -- DJ Prim, 10 12/29 -- Happy Hour w/ Chris Sterr, then Mainstays, 5 12/30 -- Mainstays, 10 12/31 -- Head for the Hills Live Show, then G-Snacks & 2 Bays DJs, 5 WEST BAY BEACH HOLIDAY INN RESORT, TC 12/21 -- TC Central High Jazz Big Band w/ The Jeff Haas Trio & Laurie Sears, 7-9:30 12/22,12/29 -- Sweet Water Blues Band, 7-9:30; DJ Shawny D, 10-2 12/16,12/23,12/30 -- DJ Motaz, 9 12/28 -- Jazz Night w/ The Jeff Haas Trio, 7-9:30 12/31 -- NYE Party w/ Funkamatics & DJ Motaz, 9

Antrim & Charlevoix CELLAR 152, ELK RAPIDS 12/16 -- Elizabeth Sexton Rivers & Al Jankowski, 7:30-9:30 ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS 12/16 -- Levi Britton, 8 12/22 -- Ugly Sweater Party , 8-11 12/23 -- Chamomile & Honey, 8-11 12/30 -- Mark Lavengood, 8-11 12/31 -- Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, 10 RED MESA GRILL, BOYNE CITY 12/19 -- Urban Sturgeons, 6-9 12/26 -- Kellerville, 6-9

SHORT'S BREWING CO., BELLAIRE 12/16 -- Steve Leaf & The Ex Pats, 9-11:30 12/22 – 3 Hearted, 9-11:30 12/23 – Annual Ugly Sweater Party w/ Reggie Smith & The After Party, 9 12/26 – Luke Winslow-King & Seth Bernard, 8:30-11 12/27 – The Ol’ Microtones, 8:3011 12/28 – The Mainstays, 8:30-11 12/29 – The Crane Wives, 8:30-11 12/30 – Luke Winslow-King, 8:3011 12/31 – Benjaman James, 9-11:30

TAPAWINGO, ELLSWORTH 12/28 -- Miriam Pico, 6:30 12/30 -- Benjaman James Band, 6:30-10:30 TORCH LAKE CAFE, EASTPORT Mon — Bob Webb, 6-9 Tues — Kenny Thompson, 7:30 Wed -- Lee Malone, 8 Thu -- Open Mic w/ Leanna Collins, 8 Fri,Sat -- Torch Lake Rock & Soul feat. Leanna Collins, 8:30

Leelanau & Benzie DICK’S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU Sat. — Karaoke, 10-2 LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 12/19 -- A Pat Niemisto Christmas, 6:30-9:30 12/26 -- John Kumjian, 6:30-9:30 LUMBERJACK'S BAR & GRILL, HONOR Fri & Sat -- Phattrax DJs & Karaoke, 9 PLATTE RIVER INN, HONOR Tue -- Open Mic Night, 7:30 ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 12/16 -- Barefoot, 6-9 12/21,12/28 -- Open Mic, 6

12/22 -- Dede Alder, 6-9 12/23 -- Flipside, 6-9 12/29 -- Chris Winkelmann, 6-9 12/30 -- Lena Maude Wilson, 6-9 SPICE WORLD CAFÉ, NORTHPORT Sat -- The Jeff Haas Trio plus Laurie Sears & Anthony Stanco, 7-10 STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT 12/16 -- Ben Pervier, 8-10 12/17 -- Barrels & Carols Holiday Sing-Along, 7-9 12/21 -- Holiday Party & Ugly Sweater Contest w/ Evan Burgess, 7:30-10:30 12/22 -- Melissa Lee, 8-10 12/23 -- Blake Elliott & The Robinson Affair, 8-10

12/28 -- Chloe & Olivia Kimes, 8-10 12/29 -- Kyle White, 8-10 12/30 -- Abigail Stauffer, 8-10 THE CABBAGE SHED, ELBERTA 12/31 -- Back to the 80's New Year’s Party w/ The Standing Hamptons, 9 Thurs. – Open Mic Night: 8-9: All ages; 9-12: 21 & up TUCKER'S OF NORTHPORT 12/31 -- The Broom Closet Boys, 6 VILLA MARINE BAR, FRANKFORT Fri,Sat -- DJ & Dance Party, 9

Emmet & Cheboygan CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY 12/16 -- The Sleeping Gypsies, 10 12/23 -- Oonst Before Christmas Oberon Party w/ DJ Franck & DJ Jofus, DJ Dayv, 10 12/26 -- Jakey Thomas, 9 12/28 -- The Crane Wives, 10 12/29 -- The Charlie Millard Band, 10 12/30 -- Soul Patch, 10 12/31 -- Under the Seas NYE Party w/ Jakey Thomas & The Distant Stars, 10 JAMES PLACE WALLOON LAKE, PETOSKEY 12/18 – Randy Reszka KNOT JUST A BAR, BAY HARBOR Mon,Tues,Thurs — Live music

LEO’S NEIGHBORHOOD TAVERN, PETOSKEY Thurs — Karaoke w/ DJ Micheal Williford, 10 Fri – TRANSMIT, Techno-Funk-Electro DJs, 10 Sun — DJ Johnnie Walker, 9 NORTHERN LIGHTS RECREATION, THE SASSY LOON, HARBOR SPRINGS 12/16 -- 3-Hearted, 9:30 12/22 -- Peril, 9:30 12/29 -- The Drift, 9:30 12/30 -- Fitch, 9:30 12/31 -- NYE Party w/ Scarkazm, 9:30

STAFFORD'S PERRY HOTEL, NOGGIN ROOM, PETOSKEY 12/16 -- Sweet Tooth, 8-11 12/22 – The Pistil Whips, 8-11 12/23 – Pete Kehoe, 8-11 12/26-27 – Tyler Parkin, 8-11 12/28 – Sweet Tooth, 8-11 12/29 – Mike Ridley, 8-11 12/30 – Ben Overbeek, 8-11 12/31 – A Brighter Bloom, 8-11 THE GRILLE, BAY HARBOR Wed -- Chris Calleja, 6-9 Sun -- Plumville Project, 6-9 UPSTAIRS LOUNGE, PETOSKEY 12/16 – Biomassive 12/23 – Tell Yo Mama

Otsego, Crawford & Central BENNETHUM’S, GAYLORD 12/19 – Randy Reszka IRON PIG, GAYLORD 12/21 – Randy Reszka

SNOWBELT BREWING CO., GAYLORD 12/22 – Distant Stars 12/29 – Dede Alder Tue -- Open Jam Night, 6-9

TREETOPS RESORT, GAYLORD Hunter's Grille: Thurs. - Sat. -- Live music, 9

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Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 43

the ADViCE GOddESS You Flooze, You Lose

Q

: I’m a married lesbian in my 50s. I blew up my happy marriage by having an affair with somebody I didn’t love and wasn’t even that attracted to. Now my wife, whom I love very much, is divorcing me. Why did I cheat on her? I don’t understand my own behavior.

— Lost

A

: There are those special people you meet who end up changing your life -- though ideally not from happily married person to lonely middle-aged divorcee living in a mildewy studio.

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Too many features to list with this 4 BR / 5 BA, 3,354 sq/ft home on 101’ feet of Private frontage on Big Glen Lake. Tucked into the tip of Aliigator Hill, this home is backed by National Park, and within walking distance to trails, and just a short bike ride to downtown Glen Arbor. Rental potential and ample room for a large family or multiple families! A must see! $885,000 MLS 1834277 CAPE COD ON 10 ACRES Come see this 4 BR / 4BA home on 10 Acres, just outside of Village of Empire, and just a short distance to the beach. Pristine sunset views over Lake Michigan make this private setting a nature lovers paradise. 3,676 square feet of living space make for ample room to spread out and enjoy. $579,000 MLS 1839215

LARGE FAMILY HOME - OLD BARN RD Well maintained large family home, 4 BR / 3 BA, 3052 sq/ft of finished living space that sits on an acre lot in the highly desired neighborhood off Old Barn Rd. Large rooms, main floor master suite, finished walk-out lower level, mature hardwoods, island kitchen and more! Just minutes to Long Lake public access. $329,000 MLS 1839533 COMPLETE REMODEL IN TOWN Located in the heart of Traverse City, this beautifully renovated bungalow screams exceptional. The quality of the finishes, materials, and detailing in this house are one of a kind.

3 BR / 2.5 BA, 1,727 square feet, large bedrooms, open concept kitchen and completely redone inside and out and move-in ready! Walk to F&M Park and downtown TC! $525,000 MLS 1839623

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44 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

There’s a widespread assumption that “a happy marriage is insurance against infidelity,” explained the late infidelity researcher Shirley Glass. Even she used to assume that. But, her research (and that of subsequent researchers) finds that even happily married people end up cheating — for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes they want better sex or even just different sex. Sometimes they want an ego shine. And sometimes they feel something’s missing within them. But soul-searching is emotionally grubby, tedious work, so they first look for that missing something in the nearest hot person’s underpants.

It seems inexplicable (and borderline crazy) that you risked everything you care about for somebody you find kind of meh — until you look at this through the lens of “bounded rationality.” And before anybody takes a lighter to hay on a pitchfork they plan to chase me with, I’m simply offering a possible explanation for such baffling behavior; I’m not excusing cheating.

“Bounded rationality” is the late Nobel Prizewinning cognitive scientist Herbert Simon’s term for the constraints on our ability to make truly reasoned, rational decisions. These decisionmaking constraints include having a limited time to make a choice and limited cognitive ability, which keeps us from seeing the whole picture, with its rainbow of repercussions.

We can end up engaging in what psychologists call “framing,” a sort of selecta-vision in which we make decisions based on whichever part of the picture happens to be in mental focus at the time.

(Of course, we’re more likely to focus on how fun it would be to have a little strange than how strange it would be to end up exiled to a motel when the wife finds out.)

For some people, behavior from their spouse that suggests “Ha-ha…crossed my fingers during that vows thing!” is simply a deal breaker. But say your wife still loves you and is mainly leaving because she feels she can’t trust you. (A partner

adviceamy@aol.com advicegoddess.com

who inexplicably cheats is a partner there’s no stopping from inexplicably cheating again.)

If you can explain — though not excuse! -your thinking (or nonthink) at the time, maybe your wife will agree to try couples therapy, at least for a few months. Bounded rationality aside, I suspect you’re unlikely to cheat again, and especially not on what I call “The ER Model” for bad decisions: patients muttering, “This isn’t how I thought the night would end” — just before the doctor extracts the light saber-toting action figure from a place where, no, the sun does not shine but supplemental illumination is generally unnecessary.

Good Mourning!

Q

: How long does it take to get over someone?

One friend said it takes half as long as you were together, and another said it takes twice that time.

— Recently Dumped

A

: Sometimes it takes a while to let go, but sometimes you’re so ready that you’d chase the person off your porch with a shotgun (if you had a porch or a shotgun and weren’t afraid of doing time on a weapons charge).

Your friends, with their precise breakup timetables, are confusing emotional recovery with mass transit. The reality is, people vary — like in how naturally resilient they are — and so do relationships. (Some are long over before they’re formally retired.)

Sadness after a breakup can feel like the pointless adult version of getting grounded indefinitely.

However, as I’ve written in previous columns, psychiatrist and evolutionary psychologist Randolph Nesse explains that sadness appears to be “adaptive” — meaning that it has useful functions. For example, the “disengagement” from motivation that accompanies sadness gives us time to process what happened, possibly helping us learn from our mistakes instead of inviting them back in for an eggnog.

Accordingly, a way to heal emotionally is to find meaning within your mistakes — figuring out what you might have seen or done differently, which tells you what you should probably do differently in the future. In other words, think of the sadness holding you down not as your hostage-taker but as your helper. Deliberately using it that way might even help you curb the impatience that leads some to start dating before they’re actually ready. Sure, on a first date, it’s good to give a guy the sense that you’re passionate and emotionally present, but probably not by sobbing uncontrollably when he asks whether you want a latte.

aSTRO

lOGY

DEC 18- DEC 25

BY ROB BREZSNY

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The blunt fact is that

you can’t be delivered from the old demoralizing pattern that has repeated and repeated itself -- until you forgive yourself completely. For that matter, you probably can’t move on to the next chapter of your life story until you compensate yourself for at least some of the unnecessary torment you’ve inflicted on yourself. Now here’s the good news: 2018 will be an excellent time to accomplish these healings.

PIScES (Feb. 19-March 20): What binds you?

What keeps you closed down and locked up?

I urge you to ponder those questions, Pisces.

Once you get useful answers, the next step will be to meditate on how you can undo the binds. Fantasize and brainstorm about the specific actions you can take to unlock and unclose yourself. This project will be excellent preparation for the opportunities that the coming months will make available to you. I’m happy to announce that 2018 will be your personal Year of Liberation.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your life in the first

half of 2018 will be like a psychological boot camp that’s designed to beef up your emotional intelligence. Here’s another way to visualize your oncoming adventures: They will constitute a friendly nudge from the cosmos, pushing you to be energetic and ingenious in creating the kind of partnerships you want for the rest of your long life. As you go through your interesting tests and riddles, be on the lookout for glimpses of what your daily experience could be like in five years if you begin now to deepen your commitment to love and collaboration.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): ): You’ll soon

have a chance to glide out into the frontier. I suggest you pack your bag of tricks. Bring gifts with you, too, just in case you must curry favor in the frontiers where the rules are a bit loose. How are your improvisational instincts? Be sure they’re in top shape. How willing are you to summon spontaneity and deal with unpredictability and try impromptu experiments? I hope you’re very willing. This may sound like a lot of work, but I swear it’ll be in a good cause.

If you’re well-prepared as you wander in the borderlands, you’ll score sweet secrets and magic cookies. Here’s more good news: Your explorations will position you well to take advantage of the opportunities that’ll become available throughout 2018.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): These days it’s not

unusual to see male celebrities who shave their heads. Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Seal, Tyrese Gibson, and Vin Diesel are among them. But in the 20th century, the bare-headed style was rare. One famous case was actor Yul Brynner. By age 30, he’d begun to go bald. In 1951, for his role as the King of Siam in the Broadway play The King and I, he decided to shave off all his hair. From then on, the naked-headed look became his trademark as he plied a successful acting career. So he capitalized on what many in his profession considered a liability. He built his power and success by embracing an apparent disadvantage. I recommend you practice your own version of this strategy in 2018. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to begin.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the Northern

Hemisphere, where 88 percent of the world’s population resides, this is a quiescent time for the natural world. Less sunlight is available, and plants’ metabolisms slow down as photosynthesis diminishes. Deciduous trees lose their leaves, and even many evergreens approach dormancy. And yet in the midst of this stasis, Cancerian, you are beginning to flourish. Gradually at first, but with increasing urgency, you’re embarking on an unprecedented phase of growth. I foresee that 2018 will be your Year of Blossoming.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you’ve had an unfulfilled

curiosity about genealogy or your ancestors or the riddles of your past, 2018 will be a favorable time to investigate. Out-of-touch relatives will be easier to locate than usual. Lost heirlooms, too. You may be able to track down and make use of a neglected legacy. Even family secrets could leak into view -- both the awkward and the charming

kinds. If you think you have everything figured out about the people you grew up with and the history of where you came from, you’re in for surprises.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Most of us

regard our ring fingers as the least important of our digits. What are they good for? Is there any activity for which they’re useful? But our ancestors had a stronger relationship with their fourth fingers. There was a folk belief that a special vein connected the fourth finger on the left hand directly to the heart. That’s why a tradition arose around the wedding ring being worn there. It may have also been a reason why pharmacists regarded their fourth fingers as having an aptitude for discerning useful blends of herbs. I bring this up, Virgo, because I think it’s an apt metaphor for one of 2018’s important themes: A resource you have underestimated or neglected will be especially valuable -- and may even redefine your understanding of what’s truly valuable.

Old Fashion Service With Today’s Technology!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In fairy tales,

characters are often rewarded for their acts of kindness. They may be given magical objects that serve as protection, like cloaks of invisibility or shoes that enable them to flee trouble. Or the blessings they receive may be life-enhancing, like enchanted cauldrons that provide a never-ending supply of delicious food or musical instruments that have the power to summon delightful playmates. I bring this up, Libra, because I suspect that a similar principle will be very active in your life during 2018. You’ll find it easier and more natural than usual to express kindness, empathy, and compassion. If you consistently capitalize on this predilection, life will readily provide you with the resources you need.

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Like all of us,

you go through mediocre phases when you’re not functioning at peak efficiency. But I suspect that in 2018 you will experience fewer of these blah times. We will see a lot of you at your best. Even more than usual, you’ll be an interesting catalyst who energizes and ripens collaborative projects. You’ll demonstrate why the sweet bracing brightness needs the deep dark depths, and vice versa. You’ll help allies open doors that they can’t open by themselves. The rest of us thank you in advance!

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 2018, one

of your primary missions will be to practice what you preach; to walk your talk; to be ambitious and masterful in all the ways a soulful human can and should be ambitious and masterful. Live up to your hype in the coming months, Capricorn! Do what you have promised! Stop postponing your dreams! Fulfill the noble expectations you have for yourself! Don’t be shy about using exclamation points to express your visions of what’s right and good and just!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Years ago,

when I started my career as a horoscope writer, my editor counseled me, “Always give priority to the Big Three. Romance, money, and power are what people care about most.” After a few months, he was disgruntled to realize that I wrote about how to cultivate psychological health and nourish spiritual aspirations as much as his Big Three. He would have replaced me if he could have found another astrology writer whose spelling and grammar were as good as mine. But his edict traumatized me a bit. Even today, I worry that I don’t provide you with enough help concerning the Big Three. Fortunately, that’s not relevant now, since I can sincerely declare that 2018 will bring you chances to become more powerful by working hard on your psychological health . . . and to grow wealthier by cultivating your spiritual aspirations . . . and to generate more love by being wise and ethical in your quest for money and power.

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 45

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT

OTHER

GEOGRAPHY ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR NMC is seeking a candidate with a Master’s Degree or 18 graduate credits in Geography to teach.

Apply at http://www.nmc.edu/jobs. NonDiscrimination Policy Notice Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons & does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs & activities & admissions. nmc.edu/nondiscrimination

DAN’S AFFORDABLE HAULING Best rates in town! Hauling junk, debris, yard, misc. Anything goes! For a free estimate, call (231)620-1370

NOW HIRING SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS & Attendants Immediate openings. Drivers start at $17 per hour. Attendants start at $14 per hour. Competitive benefits package provided including health insurance, 401K & paid time off. No prior professional driving experience required for drivers - PAID TRAINING to achieve a Commercial Driver’s License is provided.

Excellent driving history is required for drivers.

All candidates must pass background check, physical exam & drug screening. Apply online or in person Mon-Fri at Dean Transportation, 880 Parsons Rd. Bldg. #896, Traverse City. http://www.deantransportation.com/jobs

REAL ESTATE OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT 435 sq. ft. of space- two offices with cathedral ceilings and stained glass windows, private bathroom with shower, shared waiting room, conference room, and parking. Furnished optional. Includes snow removal and lawn care.

328 Munson Avenue, TC, 231-946-8460.

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MEETING / EVENT SPACE AVAILABLE MINIMAL COST - FLEXIBLE HOURS - NEAR DOWNTOWN TRAVERSE CITY 2-20 people.

Great for women’s groups. Kitchen/tables/ chairs avail. 231-620-9484 BREW KOMBUCHA AT HOME! Learn to brew Kombucha Tea at home with Cultured Ferments Co! January 18 from 6-7:30pm at our brewery at 1610 Barlow St. Free class - supplies available for sale after the class!

GEOGRAPHY ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR NMC is seeking a candidate with a Master’s Degree or 18 graduate credits in Geography to teach.

Apply at http://www.nmc.edu/jobs. NonDiscrimination Policy Notice Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons & does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs & activities & admissions. nmc.edu/nondiscrimination

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46 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

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BUYING OLD WOODEN DUCK DECOYS BUYING old wooden Duck Decoys and Fish Spearing Decoys. Call,text, 248 877-0210 AGRACULTURAL LOT Wanted 5 - 10 acre lot in Acme Township zoned agracultural.Lets Talk 2313137020

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Cadillac 121 N Mitchell St Suite 1 231-225-0376

Gaylord 1349 S. Otsego Ave. Unit 6 989-607-4576

Offer expires 1-5-18.

Grayling 234 Michigan Ave. 989-607-4576

Cheboygan 802 S. Main St. Suite 2 231-225-0376

Mt Pleasant 405 S. Mission St 989-607-4576

Northern Express Weekly • december 18/25, 2017 • 47

VEA T GI A E S HOT

WAY

INGS S W A DR INUTE H S A C 5M 0 1 Y R 50 EVE 0 TO $ $5

$17,000 CASH COU NTDOWN HOU RLY HOT DRAWIN SEAT GS

$200 TO $ 2,018

t r a t S g n A Winni

AME KIOSK G FREE PLAY

O $1,000 T P U N I W

48 • december 18/25, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Free New Year’s Eve party featuring The Rhythm Kings in Ovation Hall at 10:30PM.