Northern Express - January 25, 2021

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The Plight of Promoting Pure Michigan NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • january 25 - january 31, 2021 • Vol. 31 No. 04 Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 1

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2 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

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letters Gillman’s Big Adventure Few things pain me more than reading Jason Gillman’s quotes. His excited report in a recent Record-Eagle issue, describing his adventure in Washington, D.C., during the trashing of Congress read like an eager boy’s first visit to Cedar Point. As you read his timeline, the only reason he didn’t get to rush in with his fellow patriots was that the line was too long.

This is the same “patriot” who drummed former Gov. Milliken out of the Grand Traverse Republican’s group, apparently viewing his lifetime of intelligent, compassionate service to Michiganders as insufficiently partisan, or just not crazy enough for the now norm of being a Republican. I look forward to the day when Jason’s biggest decisions are which pair of socks will look the most patriotic, and he no longer has any input on the region I live in and love.

Tom Pixley, Traverse City Pump Up the Volume Free speech is under assault as never before in our country’s history. When tech giants can ban the president of the United States; de-platform Parler, with millions of subscribers; and remove thousands of conservative commentators in one week, we are living in an Orwellian state. Where is the outrage from major media who claim to champion free speech? Apparently, ideas that do not comport with their agenda have no right to be heard!

It is very telling where the sympathies of the tech giants appear to lie when you consider who has not been banned: the Ayatollah, Communist China, Putin, Nicolas Maduro, along with a multitude of those who advocate the destruction of our form of government.

Has Michael Beller, [contracts lawyer] for PBS, been banned after being fired for inciting violence and advocating Communist tactics? He pontificated: “Even if Biden wins, we will go for all Republican voters, and Homeland Security will take their children away, and we will put them in re-education camps ... Americans are so f**king dumb.

You know, most people are dumb. It’s good to live in a place [Washington, D.C.] where people are educated and know stuff. Could you imagine living in one of those other towns or states where everybody is just stupid?” His repugnant views, I believe, truly encapsulate the mindset of the elitists who have seized control of our nation.

Fortunately, not all “progressives” have locked arms with these technofascists.

Norway’s left-wing Labor Party leader, Jonas Gahr Støre, said that big tech censorship threatens political freedom around the world.

Chancellor Angela Merkel called Twitter’s ban “problematic.” Clement Beaune, minister for European Union affairs, expressed shock.

Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party, called for big tech firms to be regulated. Surprisingly, even the ACLU has spoken out against this shameful villainy.

Herb Friske, Petoskey PBS fired Chief Counsel Michael Beller after his comments were captured on hidden video by Project Veritas. — Ed. Good for the Goose, Not Gander?

Congressman Bergman’s support for subverting the election is made worse by his hypocrisy. In his Jan. 6, 2021, newsletter, he defended his decision to object to the award of Michigan’s electoral votes to the BidenHarris ticket: “In times of tension and turmoil, leaders stand up and do what is right. I made it very clear this week that I intended to stand for my belief that irregularities, discrepancies, and

usurpation of state election laws demanded an investigation into the 2020 election.”

Bergman failed to mention, however, that just three days earlier, when Rep. Chip Roy (R– Texas) challenged the seating of representatives (including Bergman) from so-called contested states, Bergman voted along with 370 other representatives to declare that the election results in Michigan and the other contested states were proper and legal.

As Rep. Roy observed, “It would confound reason if the presidential results of these states were to face objection while the congressional results of the same process escaped public scrutiny.”

What could have happened between Jan. 3 when Bergman approved of his own election and Jan. 5 when he objected to that of Biden/Harris? Perhaps the “leader,” who wants to “stand up and do what is right” could enlighten us.

Phillip Mikesell, Traverse City Disgrace to the State On Jan. 6, 2021, the Capitol of the United States of America was attacked by President Trump’s loyalists, incited and urged by then-President Trump and several GOP congressional members, in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and overthrow the U.S. government. Four terrorists were killed and one Capitol police officer, Brian D. Sicknick, was murdered protecting [people like] Rep. Jack Bergman.

Bergman was called upon to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” in voting to impeach the president for his role in inciting the deadly attack on the Capital. Bergman did not.

Instead, Bergman ignored the facts of the attack, ignored the murder of a police officer who was trying to protect him, ignored the facts the whole world saw, and protected Trump. What more proof did he need? Was the murder of police officer Brian D. Sicknick not enough proof?

Jack Bergman is a coward, just like the rest of the GOP, who were huddled in fear during the attack. For four years, the GOP cowered to Trump, sucked up to him, protected him, lied for him, and, like Bergman, continue to lie for him to this day. Jack Bergman is a disgrace to Michigan, and to the country he once served.

Jack Bergman must be expelled from Congress.

Tom LaMont, Kaleva Beyond these Crises It is not over yet. What are we doing here and now to ensure a peaceful transition with both well-funded positive programs and accountability for those bent on destroying our democracy?

Effectively stopping COVID-19 and constructively addressing the climate and economic crises involve specific programs that would also end poverty, racism, and militarism.

Here in northern Michigan, many people and groups like Groundwork, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, FLOW, Bring it Cheboygan, and Center for Change must work with schools and councils to step up together now with their decent programs and demand accountability.

On both the national and state levels, we have voted in many real public servants. But here’s the rub, a dangerous example of where we find ourselves: Rep. Bergman has said that those who participated in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 “should receive maximum punishment.” But both Bergman and Trump incited and enabled the “storming of the Capitol” by words and action.

Together we can and must tell Rep. Bergman he must immediately resign. “Rep.

Bergman: 1. You have not denounced or identified those who attacked the Michigan Capitol in May and are ready to do so again this week.

2. You invalidated your own election by joining the Texas attorney general’s absurd and baseless request to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the popular vote here in Michigan.

3. You violated your oath of office by voting against certification of the election because you knew there was no evidence that any state unlawfully certified its election.

4. You take money from Enbridge, which makes your claim to protect the Great Lakes a lie.

Anabel Dwyer, Mackinaw City Taxes Are Not Obscene In his Jan. 11 column, “Baby Steps,” Steven Tuttle is correct in his assessment that Joe Biden has no intention of satisfying the progressive community when it comes to universal healthcare. However, his assessment regarding its efficacy falls flat by repeating the tired old myth that the “monstrous tax burden” would be just too much.

Leaving aside for the moment the millions of Americans that will never be able to afford healthcare now or in some “baby-stepped” program Biden might tweak, Americans that can afford it pay on average $10,000 per year for coverage. That’s the highest in the developing world, yet we rank around 11th in quality and outcomes and 49th in life expectancy.

Assuming taxes would be weighted toward the higher income earners, most models show a net increase in family income for lower and middle-class families.

Among the many other benefits include reductions in bankruptcies, 50 percent of which are caused by unpaid medical, and 75 percent of those from people with health insurance. Most every developed country that offers universal healthcare beats us on quality of life and health indicators. And let’s not leave out that passing the burden of healthcare to individuals and employers hamstrings entrepreneurial risk-taking, business startups, and our competitiveness in the global market.

Yes, universal healthcare will be expensive.

However, we’ll never solve this if we can’t have an honest conversation about the pros and cons and stop treating taxes if they are somehow more obscene than the fact we tolerate 30 million fellow citizens going without it.

Timothy Young, Honor Politics Fleeting, Friends Forever Dear fellow progressives, as a result of some of the Trump folks rejecting the outcome of the election, many of you have decided to de-friend lifelong friends on Facebook and even refuse to get together with family members for family events. This is a bad strategy in many ways.

The shifting winds of politics come and go, but true friends and family should be able to ride it out. We all agree, both conservative and progressive, that things need to change but deciding not to talk with those that disagree with us is not a good start.

I am a progressive Democrat to my core, but I understand that most of my Trump friends are not racist or fascist, are compassionate to others, and have been generous to those needing help in many ways.

They do not support a violent reaction to the election. Fellow progressives, if you choose to consider all Trump voters to be in a “basket of deplorables,” you write off 74 million of your fellow Americans, many of whom could be of Letters continues on page 6

CONTENTS features Thunder Bay..................................................9 Come Up North...............................................10 The Doherty Hotel......................................12 Petoskey’s Perry Hotel & Park Place Hotel....13 Cadillac’s Parkview Lanes.........................14

columns & stuff

Top Ten.......................................................5 Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...............................6 Opinion..........................................................7 Guest Opinion................................................8 Weird............................................................8 Dates........................................................15 Crossword.................................................17 Advice.....................................................17 Astrology.....................................................18 Classifieds...............................................18

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase PO Box 4020 Traverse City, Michigan 49685 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, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris, Jill Hayes For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Dave Anderson, Dave Courtad Kimberly Sills, Randy Sills, Roger Racine Matt Ritter, Gary Twardowski Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny Ross Boissoneau, Jennifer Hodges, Michael Phillips, Steve Tuttle, Meg Weichman, Eric Cox, Tom Carr Copyright 2020, 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.

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Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 3

this week’s

top ten Manistee Catholic Grad Picked for FEMA A northern Michigan native has been tapped to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Deanne Criswell grew up in Mason County’s Free Soil Township and attended Manistee Catholic Central, where she graduated in 1984, according to the school’s Facebook page.

Criswell worked at FEMA under the Obama Administration from 2011 until 2017 and then worked for the New York City Emergency Management Department, leading the city’s response to COVID-19.

Criswell holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a Master of Science in homeland security from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security. She’s also served for 21 years as a firefighter and deputy fire chief in the Colorado National Guard.

Screen a Film, Chat with the Filmmaker Local cinephiles, behold: Leelanau County Libraries are offering a super two-fer. First, this week, you’re invited to a free home screening of the film Neither Wolf Nor Dog, adapted from Kent Nerburn’s acclaimed novel about a white author drawn into the heart of contemporary Native American life by a Lakota elder. Next week, you get to join the film’s director, Steven Lewis Simpson, for a chat about his movie at 1:30pm Feb. 4. The home viewing is available until Jan. 30 — but only to the first 100 folks who contact their local Leelanau County library for the link to the film.

4

Hey, watch it!

Mr. Mayor

There’s hope for the network sitcom, and it comes from NBC’s latest attempt at reigniting some of that must-see TV magic — Mr. Mayor.

Stacked with some serious comedy heavyweights, the brilliant minds of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock bring us the fish-out-of-water story of a retired billionaire businessman who suddenly becomes the mayor of Los Angeles. And while this could perhaps be considered as simply 30 Rock lite, even a lesser facsimile of that iconic show is still a welcome joy. Then take into account a phenomenal cast including Ted Danson as the mayor and Holly Hunter as his more experienced deputy mayor foil, plus SNL favorites like Bobby Moynihan and Rachel Dratch, and you have a non-stop laugh riot as the quips and pop culture references furiously fly.

5

2

tastemaker 7 Monks’ Sprouts

You know what goes unbelievably well with beer? Brussels sprouts. Specifically, the Sprouts starter available for carryout from 7 Monks Tavern in Traverse City. Hear us out.

In the vein of glazed or saucy chicken wings, salty fries dipped in vinegar or ketchup, or even the almighty burger (7 Monks’, Bacon Jam Burger, incidentally, is one of our all-time faves), the mega-tapped tap room’s Brussels sprouts ($9) — fried to perfection, drizzled with rich, syrupy balsamic, and sprinkled generously with parm and sliced almonds is, at once, all things our beer-rinsed tastebuds crave: salt, sweet, an ever-so-slight but stimulating acidic sour, and an utterly earthy contrast. It’s also a happily married texture of thin, toasty exterior crunchiness with a soft but never spongy interior. And best of all, we think, is that unlike any wings, fries, or burger, a starter plate of these particular Sprouts sate your urge to snack without ever overwhelming your capacity for beer — or greasing up your paws. Remarkably versatile, they also pair as well with creamy chocolate beers (hint: those with just a bit of bitterness highlight the earthy veg flavor) as they do with crisp pilsners and Belgian wits, all of which happen to be available for carryout at 7monkstaproom.square.site. (231) 421-8410.

4 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

Flavor 203 S. Cedar - Kalkaska

6

Steakhouse Q Conspiracy?

Like your steak with a side of coded right-wing conspiracy theories? Vernales of Harbor Springs might be the restaurant for you.

Some passersby reacted with alarm recently when the message “WWG1WGA” appeared on the eatery’s electronic sign just above “CHOP HOUSE – WINE CELLAR & SPORTS BAR.” The message stands for “Where we go one, we go all,” and is considered a dog whistle for followers of QAnon, a group of right-wing conspiracy theorists.

On its Facebook account, restaurant management backtracked from the message, calling it “an error in judgment” and insists the obscure reference was to JFK and expressed a desire to unite the country.

“We would also like to apologize for any negative connotation that our sign may have caused,” the post began. “… We felt many people were at odds and coming together was important. [In] no way are we a part of a negative movement, we are just those who love our community and everyone in it. We are sorry if this caused an alarm.”

Co-owner Joe Guthrie told Northern Express that he is devastated by the fallout from the message.

Stuff we love People who put their money where hungry mouths are.

Amid this winter’s Northwest Food Coalition’s Food Security Summit — a six-part virtual series about food insecurity and hunger in the greater Grand Traverse region — some welcome news has been revealed: Local philanthropist Leslie Lee, by way of her family’s Herrington-Fitch Foundation, donated $100,000 to the coalition’s Farm to Neighbor program, which purchases locally grown foods and distributes them to more that 40 pantries and 14 meal sites in six counties in the northwest Lower Michigan region. Want to be like Lee? Start by getting involved and attending the next Food Security Summit session, “How Do We Make Decisions to Address Community and Individual Needs” at 10am Jan. 26, or any of the three sessions remaining in February and March. Check them out and register at northwestmifoodcoalition.org/food-security-summit/.

Tater Time Trek In what is a strange but brilliant idea for a family fun day, Gaylord’s Treetops Resort is hosting several Spud-tacular Snowshoe Lunches. The theme? Potatoes. Hosted along the historic Potato Railroad — so named because it was, in fact, the railroad grade upon which potatoes were hauled to neighboring counties — the guided snowshoe hike will feature multiple food stations featuring dishes sure to satisfy your picky eaters’ personal food pyramid: potato chips and grilled cheese (on potato bread, natch); gnocchi and cheese, with a four-cheese blend; a ham and leek potato soup, plus hot cocoa and water at every stop. Each guest will leave with a bundle of information on the history of the railroad and local potato industry, a full belly, and — get this — a vintage Mr. Potato Head. All ages welcome. $25 for kids 4–12, $30 for adults, free for kids under age three. Snowshoes available but not required for an additional $5 per. Get tickets for Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 20, or March 6 at treetops.com/ shop/spud-tacular-snowshoe-lunch

8

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bottoms up Forty Acres’ Spa Day Martini Myriad methods of cocktail creation are on display at bars around the world. There are flaming drinks, compotes laden with almost absurd amounts of fruits and vegetables, and sometimes even aerosolized booze infused with weird stuff. At Boyne Mountain’s slopeside Forty Acres Tavern, the Spa Day Martini ($11) also relies on a bit of a gimmick — but a mighty tasty one — to carry it forward. Vigorously shaken to meld premium ingredients, this delicious martini has a sturdy foundation of ultra-clean Bilberry Black Hearts Gin from Journeyman Distillery of Three Oaks, Michigan. Bols Ginger Liqueur — its complex notes embracing a hot and tangy sweetness — mingle with tart lemon juice. But the real triumph is in the aforementioned gimmick: a spring of fresh rosemary is lit and placed on top of the glass, the shaken mixture is poured over it, and the burning ashes ushered into the hazy-clear drink by the beverage itself. The ashes therein, admittedly, look weird. But don’t be dissuaded.

They’re harmless and actually do add hints of charred rosemary, culminating in a cocktail that’s slightly sweet, a bit tangy, potent, and refreshing — and one that would certainly hit any spots missed at the spa. Find Forty Acres Tavern slope-side at Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls. (231) 549-7270, www.boynemountain.com

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 5

letters

VERY BUSY, VERY FAST

benefit to us and the country in accomplishing common goals to provide a good life for all of us.

If we recognize the humanity of all and offer respect, a dialog can commence that will not have us all agree on everything but can bring us closer to the goal of liberty and justice for all.

scientific methods, and most importantly, truth-telling are all needed as we grapple with the pandemics, the climate crisis, and racial and social justice.

Only when the government is “of the people” will all the people trust again and collaborate for solutions to the many serious problems ahead.

John Snow, Traverse City

Ann Rogers, Traverse City

Biased Opinions I noticed in your recent edition that out of 11 published opinion letters, only two were not specifically anti-Trump. And the news bias knows no end. So my question is: Why all the focus to prevent Donald Trump from running again? I thought a democracy was to let the people decide. What — are people so afraid he might win again? Is that the reason there is such a huge effort underway to destroy him?

The hatred of Trump is so intense that anyone who considered themselves a conservative is now also a target. So much for “unity.”

Worth a Read Stephen Tuttle’s Jan. 18 column, “Dear Trump Supporters,” was a well-reasoned appeal to Trump followers that clearly refuted many of the fallacies they have been led to believe. The root of our political and social problems is that far too many people believe things that are not true. I have doubts that Mr. Tuttle’s words will be taken to heart and serve to change minds, even if some of those who would benefit most even read those words. Nonetheless, the column thoroughly summarized a host of the lies told by selfserving individuals that have clouded people’s minds and brought our nation to the state of conflict we experience today.

Continued from page 3

Linda McDonald, Central Lake Affordable Healthcare No amount of misinformation can blur the basic fact about our healthcare system: We pay more and have poorer outcomes. Many will say we cannot afford change, despite the fact that our system is not cost-effective. We pay more for healthcare than do people in comparable countries, and we get far less. A failure in public health, the novel coronavirus epidemic, cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and crushed the entire economy. Allowing people to fall ill is profitable for certain sectors — the ones who will defend the present system — but it makes the country poorer and the economy smaller.

Healthcare that is too expensive is healthcare that does not work. Many Americans avoid medical treatment because they cannot pay for it. Millions of Americans remain uninsured, and millions more have insurance that is inadequate.

Even worse, during the pandemic, millions of Americans lost their insurance because they lost their job. We all then suffered because the unemployed were left behind. Since they were undiagnosed, they unknowingly spread the disease, and since they were untreated, many suffered and died.

Even Fredrick Hayek, an advocate of liberty, took for granted that in a civilized country everyone would have access to care.

Hayek, who is the most influential market economist, believed we must make the markets work for everyone. We can simply do this by making Medicare a public option in which anyone can enroll.

The goal for public option healthcare is to create a more affordable health insurance option for individuals who cannot afford to purchase private insurance. It would also offer coverage to people who do not usually qualify for private plans, such as individuals with preexisting health conditions.

Ronald Marshall, Petoskey Where is the Trust?

Long ago I was taught in civics class that governments were supposed to be “of, by, and for the people.” It seems today that they are operating as if they are independent of us pesky citizens.

Where is the transparency? Where is the accountability? We who are isolating during the pandemic in order to protect others, can only call or write in. But then we are (figuratively) patted on the head and ignored.

These are times of great change but also great opportunity. Making the changes needed will take all of us. Long-term vision, creativity,

Bill Ward, Honor Wait for Non-responders What looked to be an enticing article due to its headline, “Are Co-op Customers Subsidizing Dirty Energy?” instead turned out to be a recital of an opinion piece by a partner in a competitive business. Next time, please eliminate stakeholder quotes of “this is my opinion ... “ and “I think they can get out of it ... “ and wait for publication until all sides have provided facts.

Otherwise, I love your paper and appreciate the reporting.

Jane Ellen Bush, Lake Ann Eating In for the Duration I can’t say I am enthusiastic about the return of indoor dining on Feb. 1. Here in Antrim County, we went for most of the summer with only 12 COVID-19 cases and no deaths. Then the bars and restaurants re-opened. When I went into one to pick up takeout food, people were crowded together, singing. We now have had 807 COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths.

Bruce Laidlaw, Eastport Pistol Polishing, AR Brandishing At the Jan. 20 Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioner’s Meeting, Commissioner Ron Clous — while on the county’s taxpayer funded payroll and in response to a constituent’s concerns about the board’s tacit approval of the Proud Boys — proceeded to fetch and display an AR-style assault rifle. Needless to say, that caught my attention. Here’s the thing though: Technically, Ron didn’t bring that weapon into a real meeting. He brought it into a “virtual” meeting. So, maybe we should give the guy a break.

Sure, a few notorious school shooters were known to display pictures of themselves brandishing their guns on the internet. And, yes, research shows that the guns of many mass shooters come from their homes. But Mr. Clous didn’t shoot up a school. And I don’t think he will. Having said all this, however, I am reminded of the story about New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin, who, back in October, was caught on camera in a Zoom meeting, exposing himself.

Guy caught polishing his pistol during Zoom meeting. Or guy deliberately displaying his firearm. You chose which is more offensive.

6 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

Bill Brown, Traverse City

spectator

by Stephen Tuttle This isn’t going to be easy. President Joe Biden and his thin congressional majority are walking into troubled times both domestically and internationally.

control of the House in Barack Obama’s first term in 2010, and the Democrats returned the favor in Trump’s first term, regaining control in 2018.

The divisions we now see and must somehow confront, ably abetted by silent or overtly enabling politicians, have spilled into a contentious Congress. Biden’s agenda will not even partially succeed unless he can somehow bridge that gap. And that agenda is plenty long.

But Democrats lost House seats in the 2020 presidential race, and their margin is now paper-thin. They’ve regained control of the Senate (technically, there are 48 Democrats and two Independents, but the Independents caucus with the Democrats, effectively giving them 50 seats) but with no margin at all; with a 50-50 split, Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the tie-breaking vote.

He has proposed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that includes another $1,400 bucks for most of us, help for small businesses, money for states and cities, and well, pretty much something for everybody. Plus 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days.

He would also like to get his cabinet nominees

All House seats, as ever, are up for grabs in 2022, and Republicans can regain control by flipping just five seats, well below the historical average for the party in the minority in the first midterm election.

The real downside is that Biden and his Democratic majority will have about six months to do something about all of it. Beyond that, the 2022 mid-term election circus will begin in earnest. confirmed, expand the Affordable Care Act, raise corporate taxes, reverse most of former President Trump’s environmental regulation rollbacks, reform our immigration system, rescue Social Security, re-establish some treaties and trade agreements, and assuage cries for social justice.

Circumstances outside the U.S. aren’t appreciably better. Biden will face an evermore adventuresome Russian adversary that has made inroads in Eastern Europe and Africa while we fiddled. The Middle East, as it has been for a very long time, continues to be a smoldering cauldron. China keeps right on piling up huge export surpluses with us, is still profiting from purloined intellectual property, and has been little impacted by our tariffs, for which American importers pay. North Korea is building more missiles, and the Iranians, free from the restraints of a previous agreement with the U.S., are increasing their production of enriched uranium beyond what could be considered benign domestic use.

In the middle of this, the Senate and some Democratic House members, at least for a while, will be consumed by another impeachment trial.

The real downside is that Biden and his Democratic majority will have about six months to do something about all of it.

Beyond that, the 2022 mid-term election circus will begin in earnest.

The Senate is even dicier for Democrats.

There will be 34 Senate seats up for grabs in 2022 — 20 now held by Republicans and 14 held by Democrats.

Currently held Republican seats are being vacated through retirement in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and there is an at-risk incumbent in Wisconsin and potential GOP trouble in both Iowa and Florida. But Democrats are vulnerable in New Hampshire, Nevada, and, especially, Georgia and Arizona. Both of the latter two states surprisingly voted for Biden, elected Democratic senate candidates, and will have newly elected senators forced to run again in ’22.

In Georgia, Raphael Warnock beat Kelly Loeffler, who had been appointed to replace a retired Johnny Isakson. Warnock will have to run again in 2022 for a full term in a state that had been reliably red until two months ago.

Arizona’s newly elected senator, Democrat Mark Kelly, must also run again in ’22. He’s now finishing the term of the late Senator John McCain, who was replaced by retired senator Jon Kyl (appointed in 2018), who was replaced by former U.S. Representative Martha McSally (appointed in 2019), who was then defeated in the November special election by Kelly.

Republicans are already salivating at the prospect of taking back both the House and Senate in ‘22, so they aren’t likely to be all that cooperative legislatively. Democrats will be scrambling to save what they already have.

But neither Arizona nor Georgia is used to having two Democratic senators at the same time; it has been 68 years since that last happened in Arizona. It is not at all clear Democrats can repeat their massive turnout in either state absent Donald Trump to vote against. And Republicans need flip but a single seat to regain Senate control.

The first midterm election for a newly elected president has not been historically kind to the party of that new president. The so-called red tide swept away Democratic

Biden and his Democratic allies have a very long to-do list and may have a very short time to get it done. They need to get very busy very fast.

BULLIES WITH BADGES

MAKING

opinion

ORTHODONTICS

By Amy Kerr Hardin There is a cancer of white supremacy infecting our nation’s law enforcement. Nationalist groups have an agenda of the radicalization of individuals in a position of trust.

chief acknowledged First Amendment rights, but explained: “engaging in activity that crosses the line into criminal conduct will not be tolerated.”

The Center for Strategic and International Affairs finds that right-wing violence is steeply on the rise in the United States. It’s no surprise that some cops got swept up in the movement, and now they have found a leader, albeit outgoing, that has preyed upon their racism to dangerous effect.

Nevertheless, the damage is done for the rest of us. Faith and trust in law enforcement is flagging. Radical-right cops are putting their brethren in danger. Good officers are potentially unsafe in the commission of their sworn duties.

A heavily redacted 2006 FBI document was finally released in its entirety last September. The unredacted report finds that white supremacist groups have been actively recruiting police officers with disturbing success.

The Brennan Center for Justice reported in August that efforts to identify and rootout white nationalists from law enforcement aretepid at best. That will change after the recent coup attempt.

In 2012, four East Haven, Connecticut, officers were charged with racial profiling by setting up checkpoints to harass people of color. For sport, they routinely plagued and assaulted business owners and their customers. Under an Obama administration consent decree, a legal tool used to force better behavior, the department made great progress in cleaning up their act. Unfortunately, Trump quashed federal programs policing the police. The Justice Department’s oversight will resume with vigor under the Biden administration.

Trump’s noxious twitter barrage of racist dogwhistles pressured law enforcement agencies to offer flaccid attempts at the investigation of hate crimes. In 2019, when a white supremacist gunned-down 23 people, mostly Hispanic, in an El Paso Walmart, the FBI agent assigned to the case described his efforts as “hamstrung” in service of placating Trump’s rabid base.

Discrimination is endemic among cop culture. The U.S. Capitol Police have been sued hundreds of times by black officers over racial discrimination. White officers who are friendly with black colleagues are hazed for their humanity. White Capitol police routinely plagued and pulled over their black co-workers. Ironically, the hero of the recent Trump insurrection is a black officer who saved the Senate through clever police work.

Social media posts and FBI hotlines are helping to identify and arrest a disturbing number of off-duty bad cops from departments across the nation who participated in the Capitol riot. They were so emboldened that they freely committed sedition in plain sight. They took selfies and bragged about their illegal exploits for all to see.

We saw.

Now many of these bad actors are losing their badges and facing charges that, depending on where they live, could possibly preclude them from owning firearms and voting or face prison. Doubtful it was worth it.

Found among the multiple off-duty seditious cops who ransacked our nation’s seat of democracy was one from the Houston Police, who has since lost his job. His police

In a pathetic attempt to defend the indefensible, the president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, John Catanzara, who represents 12,000 officers, initially defended the ransacking of the Capitol. He whined that these insurrectionists were merely venting their frustration over mostly peaceful BLM protests last summer.

Then, backpedaling like a Russian circus bear, the union leader recanted his position, saying he regrets the “negative attention” his statement has attracted. Sure.

President Biden was quick to condemn the double standard in the law enforcement response to white riots over black protests — the latter being mostly peaceful and based in reality. As Biden said, “No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protestors, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that’s true. And it is unacceptable. The American people saw it in plain view, and I hope it sensitizes them to what they have to do.”

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The U.S. Crisis Monitor studied data from over 13,000 recent protests to discover that police are three times more likely to employ force against left-wing demonstrations over white nationalist revolts, even when the actions were peaceful.

The New York Attorney General just filed a lawsuit against the NYPD over “a pattern of using excessive force and making false arrests against New Yorkers during Protests.” She was referring to BLM rallies.

There’s so much more we can do.

A good start in restoring trust in America’s law enforcement institutions would be for Congress to modify “qualified immunity.” That’s a legal concept that crooked cops and their departments hide behind when they exceed the boundaries of their jobs, i.e., commit crimes. If it wasn’t for videos and body cams, the public would never know of their misdeeds.

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hatewatch” column decried the excessive force used at BLM protests. Hatewatch reports “disturbingly aggressive arrests” and the use of munitions against primarily peaceful crowds.

They blame our nation’s “hyper-militarized culture” for equipping police departments, large and small, with used military equipment.

Give a cop battle gear and armored vehicles, and the temptation to use them is too great.

The old maxim holds true: When all you’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Amy Kerr Hardin is a retired banker, regionally known artist, and public-policy wonk. You can hear and learn more about the state of Michigan politics on her podcast, www.MichiganPolicast.com.

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 7

HE’S GONE, NOW WHAT?

opinion The Continuing Crisis Two Florida residents, Brian Montalvo Tolentino, 43, of Davenport and Juan Burgos-Lopez, 39, of Lake Wales, admitted to police they had removed four human skulls from tombs they had robbed in Mount Dora, WKMG-TV reported. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told local media on Jan. 8 that detectives serving a search warrant on Burgos-Lopez’s property found a shed containing a ritualistic shrine and seven skulls the men told authorities they used in the practice of the Palo Mayombe religion.

Three of the four graves robbed were of members of the armed forces because, Judd said, Lopez told authorities “the spirit is much stronger in a hero” and “it can protect you from evil.” Before vandalizing the graves, Judd added, the men drank rum and spit it on the ground, then smoked a cigar and exhaled the smoke “to protect them from the spirits.” DNA on the cigars led authorities to the suspects.

When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best Romney Christopher Ellis, 57, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison on Jan. 5 by a federal court in Tampa, Florida, after waging a four-year-long campaign to harass and threaten his ex-wife, including at one point sending a package with a dead rat and a black rose to her home, according to court records.

Ellis also threatened to decapitate her and set her on fire. Postal inspectors searched Ellis’ home in February, reported the Associate Press, uncovering evidence, and he pleaded guilty in April.

People and Their Pets The South Korean startup Petpuls Lab has announced it developed an AI dog collar that can help owners discern what emotions their pets are feeling based on how they bark. “This device gives a dog a voice so that humans can understand,” the company’s director of global marketing, Andrew Gil, told Reuters.

The collar detects five emotions, and owners can find out through a smartphone app if their pets are happy, relaxed, anxious, angry or sad. Seoul National University tested the device and declared it has a 90% average accuracy rate. The collar sells for $99.

A couple in Sherbrooke, Quebec, were each fined $1,500 on Jan. 9, when police spotted the pair walking outside about an hour after the city’s 8 p.m. curfew, with the husband wearing a leash, CTV News reported. The city’s curfew allows for dog-walking after 8 p.m., but police rejected the couple’s claim they were following the rules. It was the first weekend under new province-wide restrictions imposed by Premier Francois Legault, and officers throughout Quebec handed out more than 750 tickets.

Police Report Police in the Japanese community of Funabashi City have arrested Ryusei Takada, 26, for allegedly stealing more than a dozen toilets from houses under construction.

The Daily Mail reported the thefts began in October and continued, with local media dubbing the elusive thief the God of Toilets, until Takata flushed himself out by selling a brand-new fixture to a secondhand store in the city. Takada, a construction company office worker, admitted to the thefts and said he did it “to cover my living expenses.”

Inexplicable An armed man wearing camouflage tactical gear approached a 23-year-old worker as she was leaving the Cranbourne West Lost Dogs Home in Melbourne, Australia, about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 and demanded she turn over her cellphone, Detective Senior Sergeant Glen Cruse told the media. Victoria police said the man pointed his gun at the woman, then took her inside the shelter, tied her up and “asked where the cats were before he left the room and didn’t return,” the Daily Star reported.

The woman freed herself and called for help; police are still looking for the man, and a motive.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time Veronica Gutierrez, 36, was arrested in Palm Springs, California, on Jan. 5 after allegedly carjacking an SUV that afternoon in Rosemead, an incident that was complicated by the fact that the car owner’s 84-year-old mother was in the passenger seat at the time, according to authorities. Police Sgt. Richard Lewis said the owner had left the SUV’s motor running with the heater on for her mother when the suspect drove off, eventually letting the mother go in Desert Hot Springs, more than 100 miles away. The East Bay Times reported the mother was unharmed, and Gutierrez was being held on suspicion of kidnapping for carjacking.

New Food The European Food Safety Agency on Jan. 13 approved yellow grubs, aka mealworms, as its first insect “novel food,” to be used whole and dried in curries and as flour to make pastas and breads, Reuters reported.

Mealworms are rich in protein, fat and fiber, according to agency food scientist Ermolaos Ververis, and “there is great interest ... in the edible insect sector.” But sociologists point out that “the so-called ‘yuck factor’ (may) make the thought of eating insects repellent to many Europeans,” said consumer researcher Giovanni Sogari of the University of Parma in Italy. “With time and exposure, such attitudes can change,” he added.

News That Sounds Like a Joke An unidentified man, who authorities said appeared to be intoxicated, was taken into custody on Jan. 13 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after local U.S. Coast Guard crews found him onboard a stolen floating tiki hut near Hawk’s Channel in Key West, WTVJ-TV reported.

The man was charged with grand theft and resisting an officer without violence. The Coast Guard posted photos of the tiki hut and warned, “Don’t drink and boat!”

Least Competent Criminals Aasim J. Hilts, 26, of Albany, New York, and Shariff A. Frasier of Schenectady returned their rental car on Jan. 13, leaving behind an impressive amount of drugs and paraphernalia, The Daily Gazette reported.

Albany County Sheriff ’s deputies were called and arrived about the same time Hilts and Frasier returned to pick up their forgotten items, authorities said, which included heroin, oxycodone pills pressed with fentanyl, marijuana and almost $6,000 in cash. Both men were arrested and face drug charges.

8 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

By Grant Parsons Wounded and fearful, America watched the 45th President leave the nation’s capital. On a hastily arranged stage at an enclosed Air Force base, the disgraced president gave an off-the-cuff goodbye to a few hundred family and friends. He described his presidency as “miraculous” and promised to “return in some form.”

The question is, will it remain part of us?

If not, what can we do to change back?

Back to a core sense of belief in law and stability, back before our sacred Capitol was ransacked, back to a trust in science before quackery became official policy, back before the morally bankrupt notion of “me first” became a motto for half the nation.

As the nation grieves 400,000 dead from a pandemic that he first denied and then refused to control, the circus showman in showman’s makeup took a private bow for family and friends. The show was over without pomp, without circumstance, without a trace of the traditions that the nation has established over the past 250 years.

Our future seems uncertain because the recent four years destabilized us. Without a core of institutional stability, we are weakened measurably. Yet, if we understand that one man caused the instability, doesn’t that make stability seem eminently possible, imminently possible?

If the past four years taught us anything, it taught us this: Lazy citizenship is an invitation to destructive opportunists who fill every space not occupied by reasonable citizens.

He wouldn’t stand on the inauguration stage, wouldn’t say the name of the man who will succeed him, wouldn’t give America the gift of an honorable transition. He was true to his own vision of the presidency as a personal prize, a personal seat of power, a personal gift bag for his business cronies. Fittingly, he had a personal leave-taking where he recalled non-existent triumphs for some of the few who still willing to applaud him.

That man will be remembered not as a president but as a person. He never was a capital-P president, never even aspired to the American institution of The Presidency.

He was a vulgar urbanist in a nation known for rugged, inventive individualists. He had neither hat nor horse, and he exhibited no capacity to appreciate or emulate the romance of American democracy. He trusted Russia’s KGB instead of America’s CIA. The peaceful, cooperative transition of power is one of the most concrete examples of what America stands for, but he would have nothing to do with that. He left without grace — twice impeached, the epitome of disgrace — and so there was no closure.

Like the trash on the Capitol grounds the day after the Jan. 6 riot, he left an overriding sense of unfinished cleaning-up.

Then there is his last threat. Will he be back in “another form”? In the abstract, surely he will.

Wherever men and women gather in the street with guns, flags, and slurs, he will be there.

Wherever a wall stands in the desert of the Southwest or the streets of Washington, D.C., he will be there. Where headstones of pandemic victims rise, he will be there. Where politicians of any stripe spew invective, he will be there.

We have seen Trump, and Trump is part of us. He deconstructed a central part of American democracy and re-created that part in his image. His speaking style, his expression of base ideas, his way of staffing and tasking governmental institutions — all that is part of us now.

If one person did all that, one person can undo it. He was neither the best nor most able among us — not by a long shot — so surely the best and most able can repair what he did.

What will it take to make the repairs? That is what I was wondering as I watched him get on the jet. As it lifted off, I prayed nothing would happen to that man, because I want nothing to deflect an instant’s attention from the inauguration and the tasks ahead of us.

Still, I wondered, what will it take to repair what he left behind?

It will take belief and reason, supported with a mix of firmness and forgiveness, to stabilize America. First, we need to reestablish norms of behavior by imposing legal penalties on those who broke the law on Jan. 6, including Trump himself. What happened on Jan. 6 was not politics, and it was not speech. It must be deterred by imposing penalties, or it will be repeated.

Second, stable citizens must become involved and fill the public space locally and nationally.

Lazy citizenship is not citizenship at all; it is an invitation to destructive opportunists who will fill a vacuum, will fill every space not occupied by reasonable citizens. If the past four years taught us anything, it taught us this: Lazy citizenship is an invitation to destructive opportunists who fill every space not occupied by reasonable citizens.

Ironically, we have been reminded of our duty to America by those who ransacked it.

Involvement is our duty. Every reasonable Republican and every reasonable Democrat and every reasonable independent and every reasonable third-party supporter must become involved. People of reason must fill every vacuum, every space, or surely that man and his Jan. 6 rioters will fill it — will return in another form.

Grant Parsons is a Traverse City attorney.

THUNDER BAY INN

Former playground to Henry Ford and part of a famous film and novel based on a real-life murder in the town,courtroom trial — and a most unusual insanity defense

By Ross Boissoneau Mark Bevins had a dream. A 30-year employee at General Motors, he longed to fill the role of innkeeper. And not just any inn would do — he had his eye on the historic Thunder Bay Inn in Big Bay, 25 miles north of Marquette.

So 19 years ago, he put in an offer on the historic inn — and was outbid. Then when it was for sale seven years later, he bid again, with the same result. Finally, last year, he was finally able to purchase the 14-room inn, restaurant, and grounds.

Good thing he’s persistent. “I’d been working on the purchase for two years.

When COVID hit, I called and said ‘Get it done.’ I was approved, but the bank was closed. It was a creative contract … to help them move on and help me,” Bevins said.

Then all he had left to do was persuade his wife, Sue, that they should move seven hours north, away from their longtime home to a tiny hamlet a mile from Lake Superior. It wasn’t easy. “It took a long time to convince my wife. She worked full-time till the end of the year. I said, ‘C’mon dear.’”

His fascination with the hotel dates back decades. He was a summer visitor for many years, and his family long before that. “My father had been coming to Big Bay since 1945,” he said. By the time Bevins was 15, he was so enthusiastic about the place he was going to deer camp and even hitchhiking by himself to go camping nearby in the winter.

The inn has a storied history. It originally was built as a general store and lumber warehouse back in 1911, when the area was

a hub for the lumber industry. At the time, the Brunswick Corporation, famed for making billiards tables and wooden lanes, pins and bowling balls, was purchasing and harvesting thousands of acres of timber in the Lake Superior region. Company-owned steamboats would haul the maple wood to Big Bay for cutting before shipping it south to Muskegon to be dried.

In 1943, the site caught Henry Ford’s eye.

He purchased the building, converting it to an inn for himself and his friends and family.

Big Bay quickly became a company town: He also purchased the sawmill, the power plant, and nearly every other building in town, and set up an auto plant.

The Ford Inn became a popular destination for visiting executives from the company, but by 1951, the Ford Motor Company eventually abandoned the venture and sold off all the properties, including the inn, which then became the Thunder Bay Inn. It’s had a succession of owners since, culminating in the purchase by Mark and Sue Bevins last year.

The Ford connection isn’t the inn’s only claim to fame. Like the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the Thunder Bay Inn has a cinematic claim to fame. Decades before Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve starred in Somewhere in Time, set and filmed at the Grand Hotel, the Jimmy Stewart film Anatomy of a Murder was filmed at various locales in Big Bay, including the Thunder Bay Inn in 1959.

The film was actually based on a reallife homicide that occurred in 1952 at the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay. The murder

and subsequent trial was made famous first, however, by the “Anatomy of a Murder” novel, written by Michigan Supreme Justice John D. Voelker, under the pen name Robert Traver. Voelker had intimate knowledge of the case; he had served as the accused murderer’s defense attorney at the time.

For the movie, the shell of a tavern was added to the inn. After filming, it was eventually finished and incorporated into the inn itself.

These days, Bevins and his wife are restoring the old executive dining room and original kitchen and adding period furnishings as much as possible. “We want to connect back to the store days as much as we can. The ambience is like being at your great-grandfather’s,” said Bevins.

“The goal is to feel like at the Grand Hotel. I have a 40-foot sailboat, and we’ll have charters and add other experiences — kayaks, cribbage, horseshoes, winter camping, waterfall trips.” The inn is within walking distance of Lake Independence, and Lake Superior is only a mile away, where there is a 150-foot sandstone cliff Bevins calls the mini-Pictured Rocks. “The whole point is to use the inn as a place to stage and do adventures,” he said.

There’s no doubt he’s excited at all the prospects he imagines. “I could have stayed downstate and golfed with my retired buddies. This drew me here. I feel like a kid in a candy store,” said Bevins. “It’s my fourth-quarter adventure.”

Most are $85 per night, with the larger suites starting at $115. The large dining room is open while they work on the original executive dining room and kitchen. The inn boasts Wi-Fi throughout.

Nearby amenities include several hiking, biking, ski and snowmobile trails, ice fishing at Lake Independence (boating and swimming in the summer) and the greatest of the great lakes just a mile away. There are also several waterfalls, within minutes, many even more breathtaking as they become frozen masterpieces as winter temps drop even lower. Downtown Marquette is about 27 miles away.

If You Go The Thunder Bay Inn has 14 rooms.

To learn more or book, visit www. thunderbayinn.net or call (906) 345-9220.

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 9

COME(With UP NORTH …

Your COVID)?

The fine line between saving a tourism-based economy and saving lives

By Patrick Sullivan After a year-long hiatus, the state’s Pure Michigan campaign re-launched late last month with a $1.2 million effort showcasing Michigan’s winter playgrounds. Its intent: to reinvigorate the state’s moribund tourism economy by luring visitors in and outside the state to visit places like northern Michigan this season.

While the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services hasn’t issued interstate travel restrictions or quarantine recommendations this winter, it has not only been urging people to strictly limit gatherings and interactions to those within their own household but also — since Nov. 18, 2020 — maintained the closure of indoor dining at all restaurants and bars, alongside mask requirements and capacity restrictions on many of the state’s tourism-related entertainment venues, like casinos, movie and live theaters, concert halls, sporting events and arenas, indoor pools, and more.

David Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan, defends the decision to launch the winter campaign, one he said was carefully crafted to get Michigan residents and those who live near Michigan to plan short trips even while they adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines.

“I’m really pleased so far that it seems to be having a positive impact on encouraging people to safely travel, because that’s part of it,” Lorenz said. “We’re not just saying, ‘Go out there.’ We’re saying, ‘Listen, when you are ready to travel, make sure you’re doing it safely by taking what we call the Pure Michigan pledge — that’s literally pledging that you’re gonna keep other people safe by doing all the precautions.’”

For Northerners, people whose lives and livelihood are deeply entwined in a region

chock full of destinations Pure Michigan promotes, it’s difficult to know whether to embrace or shudder at this latest campaign, which is showing up on social media, print publications, billboards, and TV spots and targeting markets like Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint, as well as Fort Wayne, Indiana; Toledo, Ohio; Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For the region’s tourism-driven businesses, the response to the $1.2 million effort likely depends on whether they stand to benefit from the campaign. Nevertheless, it begs a bigger question of us all: Are the

Time Pub (the latter three are temporarily closed due). He said he appreciates the Pure Michigan campaign and what it does to stimulate the state’s economy, but that amid the pandemic, the state’s been too hard on the hospitality industry, especially restaurants.

“Michigan is one of our nation’s best travel and tourism states, and the Pure Michigan campaign, which from its inception was brilliant, really helped inject lifeblood to take us to another level,” Lobdell said. “But I think the current leadership of our state doesn’t prioritize the hospitality industry. … Restaurants have received the brunt of

“I think it’s ridiculous. Where do they go? I realize the hotels are open. I guess the casinos are open,” she said. “To me, if you’re asking people to travel, what will they do when they travel? people who are willing to travel for pleasure during a pandemic the same folks who are willing to do as the Pure Michigan pledge and MDHHS suggest — wear a face mask in public, frequently wash their hands, and limit interactions with people outside the residents in their household? And even if they are, should the state encourage them to travel at the same time it’s limiting what many tourism-dependent businesses can do?

UNSUSTAINABLE Jeff Lobdell is president of Restaurant Partners Management LLC, owners of 17 properties, including Traverse City’s Apache Trout Grill, Omelette Shoppe on Front Street (both currently open for carryout only), plus the Omelette Shoppe on Cass Street, Flap Jack Shack, and, in Suttons Bay, Boone’s Prime

10 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

the closures as though our restaurants our hotels, our community gathering places are less essential than other businesses. It’s frustrating as a restauranteur.”

Lobdell’s frustration is common throughout the restaurant industry in the state, even as the last days of January tick away and restaurants and bars are slated to open again beginning Feb. 1.

Lobdell said his company has done what it can to make sure its employees survive during the closures, which he calculates have taken up over 45 percent of days since they began last March.

Lobdell said he was upset by the mixed signals sent by Gov. Whitmer and the state health department, which sometimes seemed to offer hope that restaurants could re-open only to reverse course.

“The frustration is getting to desperation for the industry workers when they’re getting toyed with like this,” Lobdell said. “That’s a lot of days that the dining rooms have been closed and I feel for all the restaurants that have now closed and will never reopen.”

Once a week, Lobdell said, his company hands out food and aid to its employees in Grand Rapids and Traverse City to make sure they have enough to eat. Some of the restaurants have stayed open to offer carryout, but Lobdell said they don’t do that because it makes sense as a business decision, but rather they do it in order to keep some staff employed.

“Most restaurants do takeout as a courtesy.

It’s not a business-sustaining model,” Lobdell said. “You’re operating at a greater loss than just shutting your doors, turning down your utilities, and just paying your rent.”

Toni Bohnett, owner and manager of Yankee Boy restaurant in South Boardman, north of Kingsley, said she for one, doesn’t understand the Pure Michigan campaign launching to bring in tourists while the restaurants are closed.

“I think it’s ridiculous. Where do they go? I realize the hotels are open. I guess the casinos are open,” she said. “To me, if you’re asking people to travel, what will they do when they travel?

She said that in addition to lost revenue during the closures, she’s lost $10,000 in perishable food because she’s had to close.

“It’s gone on long enough. I feel like the restaurant industry is being targeted because it can be, through the health department,” she said. “For a lot of places, it’s coming to a sink or swim.”

OPPORTUNITY AND OUTLETS Paul Beachnau, executive director of the Gaylord Area Tourism Bureau, likes the

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this year; a much greater portion will go, as it typically has, to the campaigns touting the state’s destinations and recreational opportunities in warmer weather. And even that $15 million is less than half of Pure Michigan’s last spend, for 2018-19, when it enjoyed a $36 million budget. (Gov. Gretchen Whitmer canceled the 2019-2020 advertising budget altogether in a line-item veto.)

Nevertheless, Lorenz said the smaller budget is appropriate given his office’s goals for the advertising.

He said recent surveys have shown that around 50 percent of people are comfortable traveling outside of their communities and that the winter campaign is aimed at getting those people out and spending money around Michigan.

“That’s why it’s important for us to spread the message that you can travel safely, you know, encourage them to take the Pure Michigan pledge, because that 50 percent is still a big number,” he said. “Just in Michigan alone, that would account for about 55 million people. So, you know, we need to encourage that: Stay in the area, support your local state, support your retailers and restaurants as much as you can.”

Michigan offers plenty of outdoor recreation choices in the winter, and the Pure Michigan advertising is focused on those activities — even if there’s been less-thanexpected amounts of snow so far this year and one of the state’s major draws, snowmobiling, isn’t happening in a lot of places.

But one month into the campaign, Lorenz said that Pure Michigan’s target audience is getting the message and following the rules.

“From my visits to Crystal Mountain and to Treetops Resort this last weekend, I could tell that people were appreciative, they were taking the safety protocol seriously, they just plain love being able to get out there, and, of course, they’re enjoying the snow,” Lorenz said. “And skiing is open for business. The outdoors, all outdoors, is always open, and you can do that all safely. And I think it also is a great indicator that people are just having this pent-up demand to get out to enjoy the things that people love to do.”

Lorenz said it was important to launch the Pure Michigan campaign even while parts of the state’s economy were shut down because it was important to get as much of the economy going as possible while staying safe.

“Businesses need customers in order to open, in order to employee people. We provide customers, whether it be in-state residents traveling or out-of-state residents coming in, by encouraging them to travel safely,” he said. “When people are employed, they can pay for their things that they need to pay for, and they can pay taxes. When those tax revenues come in, we can pay for roads and schools and police and all the things that we need to as a society. That’s how the economy rolls.”

NORTHE

message sent by this season’s Pure Michigan ads because it is in tune with how most Michigan residents feel right now. Most are reluctant to fly because of the pandemic, but they might be willing to drive a bit in order to get somewhere for a getaway.

“People want to travel, and people want to take part in outdoor activities. It appears numbers are going in the right direction,” Beachnau said. “People are willing to drive a little bit farther; not everyone’s comfortable getting into an airplane.”

While one Gaylord restaurant — the Iron Pig Smokehouse — has gained notoriety for defying the restaurant closure order and then held a largely mask-less cookout in protest of the state cracking down on its food and liquor licenses, most businesses around Gaylord are doing their best to play by the rules and to keep people safe, Beachnau said.

“That is the way it is for this individual business, but our restauranteurs in Gaylord for the most part, they’re trying to change the rules,” Beachnau said.

Across Gaylord, businesses are doing their best to be safe, he said.

“Our industry has done an excellent job of adhering to cleanliness and safety standards,” Beachnau said. “You can travel safely if you adhere to the rules. And jobs depend upon it, and here’s the other thing — if you’re uncomfortable traveling, then don’t travel.”

Chris Hale, vice president of sales and marketing at Schuss Mountain Shanty Creek Resort, said that like Pure Michigan, his resort’s current advertising slogan emphasizes the value of the outdoors.

“Our current marketing campaign — “Bellaire is Fresh Air” — recognizes this moment, and our guests have responded.

And isn’t that what we all need, a breath of fresh air?” Hale said.

Hale said he believes Pure Michigan has done a lot for the state and that while it is complicated to promote tourism amid a time of strict restrictions on businesses right now, people are making it work.

“The [Pure Michigan] campaign has reversed negative stereotypes of Michigan, shown the tremendous beauty and recreational variety throughout the state, while generating tremendous regional and national awareness,” he said. “We don’t pretend to be more informed than the healthcare experts. The decisions of the health department and government officials cannot be easy. Our responsibilities are to manage our business the best we can, to take this opportunity to review what we can do that’s best for our staff and our guests, and to be there as an outlet for people to get away and to get outside and play.”

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Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 11

18 • Vo l.

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“A Gangland Murder at the Crossroads” The Doherty Hotel

By Tom Carr On a Saturday Night in May 1938, Isaiah Leebove strolled into the Hotel Doherty, the four-story brick building in the center of downtown Clare, [Michigan]. Leebove’s wife, Enid, had asked him to go to town and get her some ice cream. Little didLeebove know, a disgruntled former business partner was watching him and had murder on his mind.

That former partner was Jack Livingston, known as “Tex” by friends and associates because he grew up in Houston. He saw Leebove step into the door that led to the hotel restaurant, so he ran up to the room in the Doherty in which he’d been living. Livingston picked up the .38-caliber handgun he kept there, stuffed it in his clothing and went down to the restaurant.

Livingston found a booth near the table where Leebove had sat down to chat with a fellow lawyer, Byron Geller, and his wife Elizabeth.

Leebove and Geller had a friendly relationship as they were both attorneys, though they had different backgrounds.

Geller had been a newspaper reporter in Windsor, Ontario, then assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, and now had a private practice in Clare.

Leebove, on the other hand, had practiced law in New York City and had represented some heavy hitters in organized crime, including mobsters like Salvatore Spitale and Irving Bitz—go-betweens in the ransom negotiations for the Lindbergh baby. He also represented Arnold Rothstein, a gangster involved in gambling who is believed to have helped fix the 1919 World Series. His legal services extended to members of Detroit’s Purple Gang as well. Leebove claimed he had left his practice in New York and came

to Clare because he was tired of working for “scum.” Others have said he came because he felt the heat of the law breathing down his neck in the Big Apple.

As Livingston sat at the booth hearing Leebove talk and laugh with the Gellers, he felt the heavy gun at his side. He’d been considering what he’d wanted to do for some time now.

Livingston and Leebove’s association started a few years prior after oil was discovered in central Michigan and the two men started drilling and investing near Clare. They joined forces and their venture eventually became Mammoth Producing & Refining Co., which grew into the largest oil company east of the Mississippi.

But they often argued bitterly over how to run the company. Due to their volatile relationship, Livingston eventually left the company that had made both him and Leebove a lot of money. Leebove was still doing well, having built a luxurious log home on the Tobacco River that he called Tobacco Ranch. He and Enid, a former showgirl from Canada, entertained the wealthy and powerful at the ranch, including ex-Gov. William Comstock, whose campaign he helped bankroll.

Livingston, on the other hand, had squandered his earnings and was now hurting for cash. His hatred of Leebove ate at him, or as he said later, “He ruined my soul.”

He claimed his former partner had cheated him out of everything. And he had convinced himself that his former associate had used his friendship with Meyer Lansky—a wellknown New York crime figure—to order a hit on him.

Now, sitting in the restaurant a few feet from the object of his resentment, Livingston figured he had thought about it enough. He

12 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

stood up, walked over to Isaiah Leebove’s table, pointed the .38 at him and began firing.

The shots blew Leebove off his chair, as a stunned Geller stood up. Leebove writhed on the floor, gasping, “Jack, Jack, why?”

In the sudden melee, Geller noticed that he too had taken two bullets in his leg.

Jack “Tex” Livingston walked over to Harry Wehrly, the assistant manager of the hotel, handed him his gun and went upstairs to his rented room, accompanied by a bellhop, to quietly wait for the police.

A doctor heard of the shooting and ran to the hotel within minutes, only to declare Isaiah Leebove dead at the age of 42. The chaotic crowd was soon joined by Enid, who had heard that her husband was shot and sped downtown to the Doherty. She saw her lifeless husband and collapsed, sobbing.

Livingston sat in his room dictating to the bellhop a message for his father, expecting the police at any minute. He went with them peacefully as they led him to their car and to the county jail in Harrison.

Livingston stood trial for the murder.

There was no question and no argument that he had indeed shot a bullet through Leebove’s heart, in cold blood and in a restaurant in front of several witnesses. Yet his defense convinced the court that he had acted in a state of temporary insanity.

The jury acquitted Livingston, though he was committed for a short time to a northern Michigan mental institution. He died of a drug overdose ten years later in New Jersey.

The shooting remains a curiosity to this day, particularly to those visiting the Doherty Hotel. The mob ties are often part of the narrative, as they should be. Detroit and New York gangsters had dealings with Mammoth and other connections in the local oil industry. And Leebove’s ties with

Lansky certainly played into Livingston’s deadly paranoia.

But in the end, it appears to have been a crime committed out of very personal paranoia and animosity.

(Excerpted from “Dark Side of the Mitten: Crimes of Power & Powerful Criminals in Michigan’s Past & Present”) If You Go The Doherty Hotel, which sits at the intersection of three major roadways — US10, M-115, and US-127 — is often called the Crossroads because Clare sits halfway to everywhere in the Lower Peninsula.

The original hotel, founded by late Senator Alfred James Doherty in 1924, contained sixty rooms, each with hot and cold running water and only some with a tub or shower. In addition to the Clare Public Library, a coffee shop, soda fountain shop, barbershop, and other essentials like “a refrigerator room,” the ground floor also housed Senator Doherty’s office. In 1969, his grandson Alfred James Doherty III, took the helm and over the next several decades, substantially expanded the hotel with the help of his two sons, Dean and Jim, who have continued their family legacy.

In addition to several meeting rooms, 157 total guest rooms, an indoor pool, historic Leprechaun Lounge and dining room, plans are underway for a 10,000-square-foot conference center. Nearby amenities include several hiking, biking, and snowmobile trails, and access to more than a dozen golf courses. Room rates, which include free WiFi, start at $99. Rooms with king-size bed, fireplace, jacuzzi, and fridge start at $143.

To learn more or book, visit dohertyhotel.net or call (989) 386-3441.

“The Million Dollar Con Man Gets Desperate: Kidnapping to Keep a Promise” Petoskey’s Perry Hotel & Traverse City’s Park Place Hotel

Photo by Coreene Kreiser/Tavla Studio.

It was all smiles and handshakes when Arthur J. Curry stepped in to “save” landmark hotels in Petoskey and Traverse City. When money got tight for Curry, though, he turned to kidnapping and bank robbery. (The Times Herald, March 19, 1989)

By Tom Carr Arthur J. Curry came to Petoskey and Traverse City in the mid-1980s and saw promise in a landmark hotel in each city. Both needed sprucing up to bring them back to former glory. Curry was a big player in a Chicago stock brokerage firm, and local leaders saw huge possibilities when speaking with the man in a business suit, who sported a close-cropped beard and glasses.

He proceeded to win the confidence of some of Petoskey’s and Traverse City’s movers, shakers and deep pockets. They’d written him huge checks and agreed to partner with him in buying and breathing life back into those towns’ signature hotels, the Perry Hotel in Petoskey and TC’s Park Place.

But the plans had begun sputtering. Curry was broke, and the two high-profile projects he’d put together were bankrupt. Investors started to get antsy, and several probably choked on their coffee as they saw the news of how he planned to get back in the black.

Gayle T. Cook, executive of a medical device manufacturer, returned to her Bloomington, Indiana, home from grocery shopping on a Wednesday afternoon. She and her husband, William Cook, had started the company in their home in 1963, and 25 years later, had earned a spot on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

That’s why a desperate man stepped out of the shadows and pointed a gun at Gayle on that March afternoon in 1989.

The man, Arthur J. Curry, ordered her into a car that he had stolen at nearby Indiana University. He drove that car to a parking lot, pushed her inside of a van and gagged her, blindfolded her with duct tape, and taped her to a chair. For 36 hours, she experienced hell, breathing only through her nose while being driven around Bloomington.

He called William Cook to tell him that if he wanted his wife back, he needed to get the kidnapper $1.2 million in cash and a half mil in gold. The kidnapper sent him to a series of different phone booths with orders, finally asking him to leave the ransom cash and gold in a car parked at a Budget Rent-A-Car. FBI agents followed Cook around to the various pay phones and were able to trace one of the calls.

Then, agents traced a call to a pay phone close to where they were. When they reached the phone, they saw the apparent kidnapper just hanging up and getting into a van. When the van pulled away, they followed it. The van went into a Kmart parking lot and then proceeded behind the department store. Curry had seen the agents follow him, so he stopped the van and came out with his hands up.

When northern Michiganders heard of his arrest, they were stunned and a bit embarrassed to have been taken in by a crook who could be driven to such things. Was it the two bankruptcies?

He’d left both projects, so that probably wasn’t it.

But Curry didn’t stop there.

His northern Michigan contacts would learn more about their friend who had blown into town, promised big things, bankrupted their joint project, and then skipped town. And every time it would seem to be over, he was somewhere else, getting into more trouble.

A judge sentenced Curry to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping charge. He served 11 years of that, before he was paroled in 2001.

He stayed with a friend in Wabash, Indiana, and started wheeling and dealing again in no time. He rubbed elbows with that town’s influencers and bought some buildings and businesses.

Apparently, the people of Wabash didn’t question his past, and Curry started a construction firm with his brother Daniel Curry.

One night in a bar in a nearby town, he and brother Dan drank and argued. It heated up, and Arthur stormed out and stole a car.

When police caught up with him and pulled him over, he jumped out of the car and begged police to shoot him. After he made bail, he skipped town.

The next time he surfaced was in 2006, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he’d been living in a boarding house. He told other residents he was a millionaire with an Ivy League pedigree.

He spoke of big business plans, and once again, talked people into investing in his projects.

He promised one of the residents he could help him receive government disability benefits, but instead of helping the man, he helped himself to his Social Security number and his identity.

Another town became stunned when U.S. attorneys caught up with him in North Carolina with indictments for him and his brother. They were wanted for robbing four banks in Indiana of more than $1 million over the previous three years. The Feds suspected them of another three bank jobs in Indiana and Kentucky, in which the methods and the witness descriptions matched the other heists: Men wearing hoodies and disguised with fake beards and moustaches. That would put the total take at about $2 million.

The robbers had been unusually successful and had been able to speed away with such large sums of cash because they’d apparently had steely enough nerves to wait the extra time it took for tellers to give them cash from the vault, rather than running off after receiving the money from their teller-window drawers.

And yet, the mistake that brought police to their doorsteps was when Daniel spent some of the money at a casino. The bills aroused pit bosses’ suspicion because they were splattered with red stains. The stains were from dye that had exploded on the money from commonly used devices that tellers put into stolen money to render it unusable and help identify robbers.

If that’s not jaw-dropping enough, Daniel Curry also tried to deposit large amounts of cash, including a bunch of stained bills, into various banks in Indiana. Sometimes, he said he won the money in a poker game, and at other times, he said he washed it with red clothes—creating a new definition of money laundering.

Police searched Daniel’s home in Indiana and found more stained money, disguises, and other incriminating evidence.

Officers in North Carolina also raided Arthur’s residence and found red-dyed cash and other evidence.

Arthur pleaded guilty to the armed robberies and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Daniel decided to fight the charges and ended up in trial, a strategy that didn’t work to his advantage. He received a sentence of 89 years.

More, Please Want to read more tales about the dramatic exploits and escapes that have happened all around Michigan? Check out the book from which both “A Gangland Murder at the Crossroads” and “The Million Dollar Con Man Gets Desperate” are excerpted: “Dark Side of the Mitten: Crimes of Power & Powerful Criminals in Michigan’s Past & Present”

by Tom Carr. A northern Michigan-based author and journalist, Carr is also the author of the bestselling book “Blood on the Mitten: Infamous Michigan Murders 1700s–Present” and “MI BAD: Robbers, Cutthroats & Thieves in Michigan’s Past & Present,” each published by Mission Point Press. To purchase Carr’s books online or to find local bookstores that carry them, visit www.missionpointpress.com.

If You Go The Perry Now under the sound ownership of northern Michigan’s own Stafford’s Hospitality, which undertook extensive interior and exterior restoration projects to earn the hotel placement on both the State of Michigan and National Register of Historic Sites, Stafford’s Perry Hotel offers 79 elegant and wellappointed guest rooms, many with private balconies overlooking Little Traverse Bay. The classically styled but thoroughly updated hotel offers (state restrictions permitting) upscale dining, an in-house pub, and (in summer), dining on the outdoor veranda and rose garden. Situated in Petoskey’s downtown gaslight district, The Perry is walking distance from dozens of shops and galleries and the shore, and within minutes of several ski resorts — Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, and Nub’s Nob — and wineries, brewpubs, and cider houses. Rates in January start at $134.10 nightly.

To learn more or book, visit www.staffords.com, or call (800) 737-1899.

Park Place Hotel & Conference Center Now under the sound ownership of Regency Hotel Management, which handles 100 properties in 38 states, the Park Place Hotel remains a beacon of old-school opulence in the heart of downtown Traverse City. Guests can choose from 140 classically decorated rooms, each with its own stunning view of Traverse City, Boardman Lake, or Grand Traverse Bay, plus an indoor swimming pool and (state restrictions permitting) in-house dining and libations at the ground-floor Minerva’s restaurant or the Beacon Lounge, located on the hotel’s 10th floor.

Rates in January start at $109.95 nightly.

To learn more or book, visit www.park-place-hotel. com or call (231) 946-5000.

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 13

Cadillac’s Parkview Lanes A four-generation family classic still going strong

By Ross Boissoneau

What do you call a business that’s been handed down within a family for more than 75 years until it rests in the hands of the originators’ great-grandchildren — with the possibility of another generation on the way?

In Cadillac, you call it Parkview Lanes.

“I grew up in the business,” said Dan Williams. He’s the great-grandson of Norman W. and Jean Peterson, who purchased Parkview Lanes in 1945 from its founder.

John Lehman opened the bowling center at 126 W. Harris St. on Dec. 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. He sold it to the Petersons four years later, and it’s remained in their family ever since: first with son and daughter-in-law, Norman W. and Jean H. Petersen, then with their daughter Darlene and her husband, Daniel Williams.

Today, Darlene and Daniel’s son, Dan, and daughter-in-law Deb run the bowling center. As a youngster, Dan wasn’t enamored of the business — “When I was a kid it was not what I wanted to do” — but as he got older he realized how much he enjoyed running the classic entertainment center.

Deb didn’t grow up in the business the way her husband did, but her enthusiasm for the job is palpable. “I love it. I love the people. It’s a family atmosphere,” she said.

It’s also more than just a family business — it’s an inherited sport for many families who play there. Longtime bowler Melody Thomas and her husband, Chuck, bowl in several leagues, including a couples league.

“It gives us a night out. It’s like a date night. We get to congratulate each other on achievements,” she said.

It doesn’t end there. “We’ve taken our grandkids and great-grandkids. They love to go bowling.”

While the game itself has not changed appreciably in the decades the Peterson/ Williams line has owned Parkview Lanes, everything around it has. “When I was young, we had pin setters,” said Darlene — and not the automatic pin-setters people are familiar with today, but youngsters whose job it was to remove the pins that had been knocked down and reset them after the frame.

Under-lane ball returns have replaced above-ground returns. Bowlers no longer

have to keep score themselves; it’s automatic and displayed above the lanes for all to see. (Whether players appreciate that latter change likely depends on their score.)

Two of the biggest improvements in the place have come in the construction of the alleys themselves and the balls that roll down them. Originally made up of a hardwood, typically maple, the lanes today are constructed of a synthetic product. “First [after solid wood alleys] was a laminate glued on wood. That lasted 15 to 20 years,” said Dan. Those were replaced by synthetic lanes about 20 years ago, which Dan said better hold the oil — a critical element that was initially used to protect the surface of the lanes (without it, the drop of a thrown ball could scuff and sometimes even spark or leave a burn mark) and later to help a ball gather torque, enabling a player to “hook” his ball.

While lanes used to have to be handoiled and buffed, a process that could take three hours, now automatic oilers can strip and then lay the exact oil pattern for any condition in 15 minutes.

Likewise, the balls have seen dramatic changes. Hard rubber balls dominated the market until the 1970s, when polyester balls were developed. A decade later, urethane bowling balls were introduced. By 1990, a new reactive urethane coverstock was used in combination with innovative core designs.

Bowlers were able to throw a more pronounced hook, and scores began to skyrocket. During the first full winter season in which reactive balls were used, the number of perfect games increased by nearly 20 percent, according to the American Bowling Congress.

Parkview Lanes was right there, as the second northern city and the fourth in the state to have synthetic lanes, and the first to have automatic scoring. “We’ve always been pretty high-tech, at least for north of Grand Rapids,” said Dan. Innovations aside, bowling has always been a social sport. Thomas said gathering together for friendly competition was — and is — a great way to spend a couple hours.

Working there was even better. “It was crazy fun. I grew up knowing a lot of people,” said Darlene. “There were four girls in the

14 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

If You Go

Parkview Lanes got the green light to re-open Jan. 16; however, in line with state restrictions, masks are required, capacity is somewhat limited, and the alley cannot yet serve food and beverages — though there is talk of that resuming by early February, in line with restaurants re-opening. If you’re planning to bowl, call ahead to stay apprised of the latest in lane, food, and beverage availability, hours, and rules. (231) 775-5561 family. I was always the one most interested in it and closest to my dad. I enjoyed it.”

For Dan and Deb, going to the bowling center on a daily basis never gets old. “I love the people. It’s the same thing but different people,” Deb said.

Despite the innovations, the number of bowlers has declined over the years.

According to Bloomberg, in the late 1970s, more than 9 million Americans belonged to bowling leagues. As of 2018, that number was down to 1.34 million.

“We had 21 leagues a week in the late ’70s, early ’80s; we have 10 today,” said Dan. “Times have changed. Social media, video, and internet have killed a lot of entertainment. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

Another change has been the atmosphere of a bowling alley. What was once a way for blue-collar workers to blow off steam is now

more of a leisure activity for anyone. “In my grandpa’s time, it was more of a gentleman’s club, smoking, drinking, guys cursing.

Today it’s changed,” he said.

Indeed, today facilities such as Parkview Lanes are looking beyond the recurring income from leagues to offer more familyfriendly activities, whether that’s cosmic bowling, birthday parties, or simply opportunities for all ages and genders to socialize.

So will Parkview Lanes Bowling Center continue as a family tradition and business?

Perhaps. “We made our kids go get jobs elsewhere so they knew what it was like.

Neither one actually works here, but I think one will take over,” said Deb. “We hope there’s a fifth generation,” added Dan. “There’s some interest, but we’re not going to push it. If they don’t want to do it, that’s fine.”

jan 23

saturday

28TH ANNUAL WINTER FEST: Mackinaw City. Featuring Outhouse Races, kids’ sled races, a BIG Freeze obstacle course, & Ice Queen Elsa. There will also be a before, during & after party at Dixie Saloon. mackinawcity.com/events/28thannual-winter-fest

january

23-31

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: Shanty Creek Resort, Schuss Mountain, Nordic Center, Bellaire. Second Hand Mushers Rescue will give dog sled rides. They are offered every 30 minutes from 11am - 1:30pm. Face masks required. Reserve your spot: 866-695-5010. $65 per ride. secondchancemushersrescue.com/dog-sled-rides.html

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send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED UP NORTH: Purchase a virtual ticket on Anywhere Seat to stream directly to your home devices.

You can stream the performance for $25 for the whole family. crookedtreeartscenter.anywhereseat.com/channel.php

---------------------OTSEGO RESORT’S ANNUAL WINTER WINE WALK: Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Check in at noon outside the River Cabin. A winter walk on the snowshoe path from the River Cabin to the Beaver Dam where a bonfire awaits. Enjoy three wine tasting stations paired with light food fare. Walk or snowshoe. Rentals available, but must be reserved ahead of time: 989-732-5181. $35. otsegoclub.com

---------------------WOMEN’S MARCH TC 2021: Noon. Due to COVID-19 & public health concerns, this year’s Women’s March is cancelled. Instead, there will be a community food drive to benefit local food pantries & the Jubilee House, which shelters homeless neighbors. Asking for donations of food & warm clothing. Financial donations will also be accepted. Take to Grace Episcopal’s parking lot in back of church. Call Monica at 231325-6812 or see Facebook page for more info.

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SNO-GO HOT COCOA HUSTLE RELAY RACE: 3:30pm, Boyne Highlands Resort, Harbor Springs. Starting at the top of Upper Camelot, you will get a sprinting start to your skis. Once you’ve clipped it in, it’s time to gather your team’s relay baton so to speak - your tray of hot cocoa. This will be your ticket to the end of the finish line as you pass it from teammate to teammate. Your team will compete for prizes valued at $2k, including a brand new Sno-Go bike. $25. shop.boynehighlands.com/s/events/ racing-events/p/the-2021-hot-cocoa-hustle

jan 24

sunday

FAT CHANCE FAT TIRE BIKE PRE-RIDE: Meet at Iron Fish Distillery, Thompsonville at 10am & ride to Crystal Mountain to complete a few laps on the Fat Chance race course. After, ride back to Iron Fish Distillery for food & drink specials. A 2-hour Fat Tire bike rental is $25. crystalmountain.com/event/fat-chance-pre-ride

---------------------“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: 10am. Available for home viewing from Jan. 24-30. Adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Kent Nerburn, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” follows a white author who is drawn into the heart of contemporary Native American life in the sparse lands of the Dakotas by a 95 year old Lakota elder & his side-kick. Contact the Glen Lake Library for the streaming link. The number of viewers will be limited to 100. On Thurs., Feb. 4 at 1:30pm join the conversation with film director Steven Lewis Simpson via Zoom (meeting link to be posted). glenlakelibrary.net/events

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Jan. 23) ---------------------NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

UP

Iron Fish Distillery’s Fat Chance Fat Tire Bike Race is back this year with a new 90 Minute Category Trail Loop course that is two miles of high speed wide trail and a tight twisting single track section. The 45 Minute Category Trail Loop will be an all wide open beginner friendly trail. Choose your course, Sat., Jan. 30 beginning at 10am at Crystal Mountain on the Otter trail loop in Thompsonville. Helmets required. Races will be started in waves of 10 riders to reduce congestion at the start line. Masks required at start. Register. For info, visit: crystalmountain.com/event/fat-chance-fat-tire/.

jan 25

“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24)

monday

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FORUM: THE LIFESAVING ROLE OF THE US COAST GUARD, A TRIBUTE TO VICE ADMIRAL JOHN CURRIER: 5pm, IAF honors Vice Admiral John Currier (1951-2020) & his remarkable life of service. Event proceeds go the NMC Aviation Program scholarship in his name. Virtual event via Zoom with Q & A. Register at TCIAF.com $10 suggested donation; free to students & educators. tciaf.com

---------------------LIFELONG LEARNING HISTORY SERIES: 7pm. Petoskey Remembered: Online presentation by Chris Struble. Register. Free. ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-4116223

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RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER ANNUAL MEETING: 7pm. Held via Zoom. Following the Annual Meeting & Happy Hour, the group will watch the official trailer to the recent film “A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps” to celebrate the organization’s 60th anniversary. Email Kama Ross: kama.ross@yahoo.com to receive a link to the Zoom meeting.Free.

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NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24) NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

jan 26

UP

tuesday

VIRTUAL ISEA CAFE THE BIG FIVE DIVE FILM SCREENING & PANEL: 1pm.

“The Big Five Dive” follows a group of women as they attempt to dive one historic site in all five Great Lakes within the span of 24 hours. This event is presented by the filmmakers & divers featured in the film. A Zoom link to participate will be sent to you after registration.

Free. schoolship.org/news-events/isea-cafe

---------------------CONNECTING WOMEN IN BUSINESS: 11:30am-1pm. A Remo (virtual) meeting. Featuring networking & a panel discussion with three successful businesses who have used the Internet in unique ways to advance their businesses during the pandemic. They include Cindi Dalian - Know Way Out, Nikki Law - Polished on Main, & Sarah McDonnell - Parkside Deli / Chef Sarah. petoskeychamber.com

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jan 27

UP

wednesday

INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS SERIES: Noon. “Health Inequality in a Post-Pandemic World: The Real Grand Challenges.” Featuring Ted Schrecker, professor of Global Health Policy, Newcastle University (United Kingdom). Held via Zoom. Register. Free. ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-4097164

---------------------LET’S TALK ABOUT GREAT WRITING: THE NICKEL BOYS WITH COLSON WHITEHEAD: 2pm. Join retired teacher Norm Wheeler on Zoom for an informal discussion of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Nickel Boys.”

Hosted by Leland Township Library with support from the Mid-Michigan Library League & Leelanau Books. Call 231.256.9152 or email: programs@lelandtownshiplibrary.org to register & receive Zoom meeting details. Free.

---------------------“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24)

THE LAKESHORE READERS CLUB: 10:15am, Glen Lake Library, Empire. Featuring “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins.

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SEEKING THE LORD: THE SEARCH FOR THE JARVIS LORD SHIPWRECK: 6:30pm.

The final resting place of the ‘Jarvis Lord’ freighter had been a mystery for 135 years, until shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson found her in northern Lake Michigan. Explore the depths of Northern Lake Michigan looking for lost ships & missing aircraft. Free. tadl.org/event/ seeking-the-lord-the-search-for-the-jarvis-lordshipwreck-with-ross-richardson-via-zoom

---------------------NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

UP

---------------------MICAREERQUEST NORTHWEST KICK-OFF MEETING: 3-4:30pm. MiCareerQuest™ Northwest will be held online May 12, 2021. Learn about it today via Zoom. MiCareerQuest™ Northwest is a career & college readiness event for 9th & 10th-grade students. Local employers from agriculture, construction, healthcare, hospitality, IT, manufacturing & more will come together to create an interactive virtual career exploration experience. To RSVP & receive the Zoom link for the Jan. 27 meeting, email: networksnorthwest.org/news-events/ news/micareerquest-northwest-2021.html

jan 28

thursday

“PLAGUE PHASE”: 7pm.

Voices in Response to Ecological Decline. Enjoy a screening of this 18-minute short film, followed by commentary & a panel discussion.

Featuring Anne-Marie Oomen, Stephanie Mills, Brad Kik, Jaimie Delp, Seth Bernard, Leslie Tye, & Holly Bird. oldtownplayhouse.com

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CHAMBER CHAT: 1pm. Held via Zoom. Spe-

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 15

cial guest presenter will be East Jordan Mayor Mark Penzien. 231-536-7351.

---------------------“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24)

---------------------NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

jan 29

UP

friday

VIRTUAL COFFEE @ TEN: 10am. “Preserving Creativity through Arts Advocacy.”

Guest presenters include Alison Watson, director at Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affair, and John Elwell, CTAC board member and Edward Jones financial advisor.

Held via Zoom. Free. crookedtree.org/event/ ctac-petoskey-ctac-traverse-city-ctac-online/ virtual-coffeeten-preserving-creativity-through

---------------------“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24)

---------------------FUNDRAISER FOR THE LAUNDRY PROJECT: Receive 20% off your shopping at The Front Porch, Suttons Bay, when you donate to the Laundry Project, Jan. 29-31. The Laundry Project hosts two free laundry events each month at the Suttons Bay Laundromat where low income families, seniors & individuals with disabilities can have their basic laundry needs met. Monetary donations are being accepted, along with laundry detergent & fabric softener.

---------------------NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

jan 30

UP

saturday

IRON FISH DISTILLERY FAT CHANCE FAT TIRE BIKE RACE: 10am, Crystal Mountain, Otter Trail loop, Thompsonville. The new 90 Minute Category Trail Loop course is 2 miles of high speed wide trail & a tight twisting single track section. The 45 Minute Category Trail Loop will be all wide open beginner friendly trail. Helmets required.

Races will be started in waves of 10 riders to reduce congestion at the start line. Masks required at start. Register. crystalmountain. com/event/fat-chance-fat-tire

---------------------“NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG”: (See Sun., Jan. 24)

---------------------VIRTUAL TORCHLIGHT SNOWSHOE EVENT: Presented by Camp Daggett & Bearcub Outfitters. Rent snowshoes for $5 at Bearcub Outfitters, Petoskey on Jan. 30-31 (rental fees go to Camp Daggett). Bearcub will be collecting donations for Camp Daggett in the store. While at the store, participants can purchase tickets for prizes. Participants can then take their own individual hike, & post photos online. Tag @bearcuboutfitters & @ campdaggett on Facebook or Instagram to be entered in a drawing for Bearcub Outfitters gift certificates. If not on social media, email pictures to: sales@bearcuboutfitters.com. campdaggett.org/bearcub-snowshoe-for-daggett

---------------------FUNDRAISER FOR THE LAUNDRY PROJECT: (See Fri., Jan. 29) DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

---------------------NUTCRACKER 2020: REIMAGINED NORTH: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

jan 31

sunday

UP

FUNDRAISER FOR THE LAUNDRY PROJECT: (See Fri., Jan. 29)

VIRTUAL TORCHLIGHT EVENT: (See Sat., Jan. 30)

SNOWSHOE

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Jan. 23)

ongoing

THE ENCHANTED TRAIL: Open on Saturdays, Sundays & holidays from 5:30-8:30pm through winter at Boyne Highlands Resort, Harbor Springs. The trail totals two miles roundtrip, & features the twinkling of hundreds of lights strewn throughout the path. Guests can walk or snowshoe the trail with snowshoes available for rent. Tickets are $15 per person. Hot chocolate & s’mores are included. A cash bar is available & beverage tickets can be purchased in advance.

Reserve your spot. boynehighlands.com

---------------------SENIOR CENTER NETWORK HELPS!: People in the 60-plus age group have become increasingly isolated during the COVID-19 “stay-athome” order & are challenged by an even greater reliance on technology. The Senior Center, TC offers puzzles, exercise equipment, & books available to be “checked out.” Call 922-4911 to make arrangements to pick up. The “Little Free Library” located outside the main entrance is open at all times. There are also “boredom buster” packets with puzzles, fun facts & jokes available. Make an appointment to pick up or have them mailed to you. Their Telephone Assurance Program provides staff & volunteers available to chat. grandtraverse.org/712/Senior-Centers

---------------------VIRTUAL 2021 BAYSHORE MARATHON REGISTRATION: Featuring a marathon, half marathon & 10K. Register. Event held on May 29. bayshoremarathon.org

---------------------OLD MISSION SNOWSHOE, WINE & BREW: Sundays, 10:50am-3pm through March 7. Grab your showshoes - or book online & rent a pair for the day (rentals sold out on Jan. 17 & 24) - & enjoy wine & beer from the Old Mission Peninsula. Park at Jolly Pumpkin, TC to board the TC Brew Bus & start your trek. The TC Brew Bus will transport you to Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery. From there, you will follow a flagged snowshoe trail across the Old Mission Peninsula to Bowers Harbor Vineyards, & then snowshoe back to where you parked at Jolly Pumpkin. Tickets, $28. tcbrewbus.com/events

---------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES!: 12-5pm, Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay. Explore easy to moderate trails, & then warm up with a glass of mulled wine on the Terrace Patio. The Hearth & Vine Café will also offer hot food.

Held on Saturdays through winter, plus Jan. 17 & Feb. 14. Snowshoes available to rent from 12-4pm; $20; must be returned by 5pm.

No reservations needed. blackstarfarms.com/ snowshoes-vines-wines

---------------------NATIONAL WRITERS SERIES SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION: Calling 11th & 12th graders! Submit your best writing through March 1 at the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation website. Four scholarships are awarded each year in fiction, nonfiction, poetry & journalism with $1,000 awarded for each category. Eligible writers must have a permanent address in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, or Leelanau counties & be an 11th or 12th grader during the 2020/21 school year. gtrcf.org/scholarships/national-writersseries-scholarship-application.html

---------------------SENIOR WOW (WITH OUT WALLS) TIME: Tuesdays, 9am through March 9. A virtual meeting that offers something for everyone - from museum tours to tips for smart money management, & much more. Register. 922-4911. grandtraverse.org/2276/Virtual-Programming

---------------------NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE 2020 VIRTUAL TOUR: Explore 8 of Up North’s most stunning residences from the comfort of your own home through virtual video documentaries

by Eagle Eye Video Production. This donationonly event benefits the Child and Family Ser-

16 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

vices of Northwest Michigan. Suggested donation is $15. Runs through Jan.

---------------------DISABILITY NETWORK MEN’S GROUP: ZOOM MEETINGS: Mondays, 10-11am through Jan. 25. A group for men in the community seeking support, an opportunity to learn new skills, & a chance to connect with other men with disabilities. Register. disabilitynetwork.org/events

---------------------DISABILITY NETWORK WOMEN’S GROUP, SHARING HERSTORY: ZOOM MEETINGS: Mondays, 11am-noon through Jan. 25. For women in the community with disabilities. Will address concerns with social distancing & sheltering in place. disabilitynetwork.org/events

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

DISABILITY NETWORK PEER ADVOCACY GROUP: ZOOM MEETINGS: Thursdays, 2-3pm through Jan. 28. Learn how to advocate for your needs & the needs of others. disabilitynetwork.org/events

---------------------NORTE’S RUN SABADOS: GT Civic Center, TC. A weekly walk or run held on Saturdays.

Meet outside the Wheelhouse at 10am, & then split up & hit the track.

---------------------WEEKLY ZOOM STORY HOUR: Wednesdays, 11am, with Miss Ann. Presented by Interlochen Public Library. Meeting ID 876 3279 3456. Pass Code 364283.

---------------------BELLAIRE WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Held on Fridays from 10am-2pm. Located at both Bee Well & Terrain in downtown Bellaire

---------------------BOYNE CITY INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 9am-noon through May 15. City Hall Lobby, Boyne City. petoskeyarea.com/eventdetail/boyne-city-indoor-farmers-market-1

---------------------INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: The Village at GT Commons, The Mercato, TC. Saturdays through April, 10am-2pm. thevillagetc.com/ indoor-farmers-market-7-2-2-2-2-2

art

CALL FOR ARTISTS: ‘LOVE IS’ FEBRUARY ONLINE EXHIBIT: Artists are invited to submit artwork of all media to be posted & for sale on the Northport Arts Association website through Feb. The theme is ‘Love Is.’ Love is your art & what your art means to you & others. Calling for artists through Jan. 24. northportartsassociation.org

---------------------“DON’T MISS THE BOAT”: Harbor Springs History Museum. Presented by the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society. This exhibit highlights the historic ferries of Little Traverse Bay & features original watercolors & giclees by local artist William Talmadge Hall. Runs through the summer of 2021. Hours: Tues.-Sat., 11am-3pm. harborspringshistory.org/history-museum-exhibits

---------------------“JUST GREAT ART”: Presented by Plein Air Painters of Northwest Michigan. An online exhibit & sale of over 50 works by regional artists.

20% of the proceeds benefit City Opera House.

Runs through Jan. crookedtree.smugmug.com/ Traverse-City/Exhibitions-TC/Just-Great-ART/ Just-Great-ART/i-fNDV67s

---------------------“KIDS ON COMMUNITY”: Youth artists were invited to submit artwork in response to the theme of “Community.” Fun, thoughtful & creative interpretations by Michigan youth (grades 3 - 12) are included in this online image gallery.

Runs through June 30, 2021. crookedtree.org/ event/ctac-petoskey-ctac-online/kids-community-online-exhibit

---------------------“PERSONAL MYTH, TALES AND ICONS”: Featuring the work of Ann Willey, TJ Schwartz & Mary Fortuna. Runs through Feb. 5 at Higher Art Gallery, TC. higherartgallery.com

---------------------CALL TO ARTISTS: JORDAN ART WALK: Submit a sculpture for placement in a new sculpture walk exhibit in East Jordan. The exhibit

theme is our relationship to our abundant natural resource of water. This may include but is not limited to water activities, cycles, quality, wildlife, cultural concepts. Submit up to 3 entries digitally

by March 31: info@ejchamber.org.

---------------------THE COVID 19 WREATH COLLECTION: Dec. 5 - Feb. 21. Presented by Art Rapids.

Bring an old or new wreath to the Walk of Art Park, Elk Rapids & attach it to the fence on S. Bayshore Dr. Give some festive bling to a “Pandemic” fence that goes on & on. Take a photo & tag on Instagram or Facebook: #artrapids.

---------------------TOYOTA DREAM CAR USA ART CONTEST: Runs through Jan. Presented by Great Lakes Children’s Museum, Ann Arbor Hands-On, CauseConnect, & Toyota USA. This contest is designed to inspire creativity in youth, ages 4-15, & help them imagine the future of mobility. A total of nine U.S. winners will be announced during March 2021. These winners will receive cash prizes, ready-to-frame digital scans of their drawings, & award certificates.

Also, their artwork will be submitted to Japan for consideration in the World Contest, along with the nine top entries from nearly 90 countries. For rules & details, visit www.greatlakeskids.org/toyotadreamcarusa or www.

ToyotaDreamCarUSA.com.

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

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: - MATHIAS J. ALTEN: AN AMERICAN ARTIST AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY: The German-born American Impressionist Mathias Joseph Alten, often referred to as the Dean of Michigan painters, is regarded as one of the most celebrated regionalist artists to have worked in the United States. Runs through Jan. 31. dennosmuseum.org/art/upcoming-exhibitions/index.html - MICHIGAN MODERN: AN ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY: This exhibit celebrates Michigan’s modern architectural design history from 19282012. It is comprised of over 50 photographs by James Haefner primarily for the State Historic Preservation Office as part of their Michigan Modern Project, & featured in the book by State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway, titled “Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy.” Runs through Jan. 31. dennosmuseum.org/ art/upcoming-exhibitions/index.html

---------------------GLEN ARBOR ARTS CENTER, GLEN ARBOR - EXHIBIT: JOAN RICHMOND | PAPER + SCISSORS + GLUE = NEW COLLAGES: Held in Lobby Gallery. An exhibition of 12 new works is on display, Jan. 15 – April 22. Richmond is more widely known for her distinctive, spare gouache paintings depicting land- & waterscapes. This exhibit includes more than 60 pieces she created during COVID-19 isolation.

The GAAC is open Mon. through Sat., 11am– 2pm. GlenArborArt.org - GAAC OUTDOOR GALLERY: CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Glen Arbor Arts Center is accepting submissions for its 2021 Outdoor Gallery. The exhibition space is the south & west exterior walls of the GAAC’s building at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. Original work by a single artist will be selected by a jury, & exhibited from May 2021 to April 2022. Deadline for submissions is February 25, 2021. Open to all media, the selected work will be eye-catching, compelling, colorful & communicate the spirit of the Glen Arbor Arts Center with fresh originality. The selected exhibitor’s original work will be enlarged & reproduced on five, separate, 5 foot x 5 foot square outdoor panels for one year. A $500 prize will be awarded to the selected artist. Submissions are online only. To apply visit GlenArborArt.org & click on ARTIST/Calls For Entry.

---------------------- YOU ARE T/HERE: An exhibition that asks exhibitors to visually explore & describe what their own, personal “here” or “there” looks like.

Runs Jan. 15 – March 25. In addition, an online version of the exhibition may be viewed at GlenArborArt.org.

the ADViCE GOddESS

BY Amy Alkon

Ancestry Dot Con

inclined (or a little less disinclined!) to fork over money and bedrooms.

Q

We likewise evolved to be on the lookout for scammers. In a harsh ancestral environment, getting conned out of our share of bison McNuggets might be a life-or-death issue.

Evolutionary psychologists Leda Cosmides and John Tooby find that the human mind has a specialized mechanism for detecting “cheaters,” meaning people who intentionally try to take a benefit they aren’t entitled to.

: I’m a single woman in my mid-30s with an older half brother I haven’t seen in 20 years.

He started calling me several years ago, and we speak sporadically (always instigated by him). He’s married and refers to me as the aunt to his four children (whom I’ve never met). Recently, he asked whether they could all stay with me for a while. On the next call, he asked to borrow money. I have yet to give him answers. I can’t help but suspect he just intended to use me all along. Is there a way to figure out whether that was the case? If so, I really don’t want anything to do with him.

— Wary

A

: If you have to give a 40-year-old kid a home in your basement, the kid should at least be yours.

Unfortunately, a lack of money is sometimes the root of newfound family. When your half brother first called, it probably seemed like a nice thing. But now that he’s hitting you up for money and housing, it’s natural you’re wondering whether he was just priming you for financial seduction.

There are two clashing evolutionary motives in play here: our motivation to sacrifice in order to help our relatives and our motivation to avoid being scammed.

It’s in our genetic self-interest to sock away our money and other resources for any children we might have, who’ll carry approximately 50% of our genes (plus 50% of their other parent’s). However, evolutionary psychology research consistently finds we’re prone to set aside our own interests when people in need are related to us, well beyond whatever generosity we’d show to friends or even needy strangers.

This makes genetic sense. Half siblings like you and your brother have about 25% of the same genes, on average. That’s not the 50% you’d share with a full sibling (on average), but it’s not nothing. Half bro’s children might share a smattering of your genes (maybe 12.5% or thereabouts). So, by helping half bro, you potentially help at least some of your genes show up in coming generations. That said, our level of relatedness factors into how willing we are to incur costs, though these calculations are done subconsciously. In other words, if this guy were your full brother, you might be more

An example of this would be someone scooping up the benefits of being family when his real motivation was just milking you. Granted, you and half bro are family; however, had he not asked for money along with a place to stay, you might not feel so set up. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely’s research finds that outside of business situations, the mere mention of moneysours relationships, “introducing market norms” into interactions with friends, family, nice neighbors, and romantic partners.

“Market norms” are “give to get” business norms. The supermarket gives us a loaf of bread, and we give them $3 to get out the door without getting arrested for shoplifting. “Social norms” are the love- and liking-driven standards that guide our giving to friends, family, neighbors, and romantic partners. We don’t expect instant payback (or, sometimes, any payback), and we don’t keep an accounting ledger: “I helped you move your couch. You need to come over and spend a half-hour mopping my floor.”

Elements of social norms do emerge in market situations (like if the butcher is fond of you), and when friends or romantic partners are “all take,” we eventually give them the boot.

However, muddying the two norms — like if a guy has sex with his girlfriend and leaves a wad of cash on the nightstand afterward — can be disastrous. As Ariely puts it, once market norms spill into social norm-driven situations, “recovering a social relationship is difficult.”

Because of the pandemic, many are struggling and suddenly desperate, so it’s possible your half brother’s intentions were warm and familial rather than cold and calculating. It’ll probably take time (with continuing contact) to suss out where he’s coming from. Saying no to him (at least initially) might also do the job — leading him to blow up and disappear if he’s just there to milk and bilk.

Of course, if he’s a scheming sociopath, he might take the long view, deciding Auntie ATM just needs more “grooming” before he can pull off the middle-class version of the vagrant who tells you you’re beautiful so he can ask you for a dollar.

“Jonesin” Crosswords "Cashing In" --a puzzle with some redeeming value. by Matt Jones

ACROSS 1 Palindromic title (even with the apostrophe) 5 Dutch-speaking Caribbean island 10 Gum blobs 14 Prefix that means “both” 15 Littlest bits 16 Chain with stacks and syrups 17 “How You Remind Me” rock band 19 Croft of the Tomb Raider games 20 Pointer by another name 21 Place to get drinks before you turn in, maybe 23 “Take This Job and Shove It” singer David Allan ___ 24 “QuÈ ___?” (“How’s it going?”)

27 Area near NYU 28 Dressed like a judge 30 Nocturnal newborn 34 Monopoly token until 2017 39 Language suffix 40 Equal share, often 41 Wall crawlers 42 Apothecary’s container 43 “The King and I” star Brynner 44 Get red in the face and shy away, maybe 46 First “Blue’s Clues” host 48 Willie Nelson’s son who leads the band Promise of the Real 49 An official language of Pakistan 52 Remained on the shelf 53 Drugstore with long receipts 56 Smoked Polish sausage 60 Most Nunavut inhabitants 62 Monty Python member Idle 63 Like bottles and cans, in some states (or what five long Across answers all literally contain) 66 Delany of “China Beach” 67 Hospital figure 68 Luxor river 69 Out in the open 70 Secretly watch 71 Sailed through

DOWN 1 ___ Panic (hair color brand that’s still around) 2 Protein-building acid 3 Start of a popular children’s song 4 (Soon-to-be) former VP name (depending on when this is published) 5 Have a cold, perhaps 6 Shoplift 7 Ogden’s locale 8 Maple go-with, in some recipes 9 Seek permission for 10 Ron Howard fantasy film of 1988 11 Moby-Dick captain 12 Bilingual TV explorer 13 Practice for a boxing match 18 Endorse enthusiastically 22 Website for DIYers with instructional steps 25 “Steal This Book” author Hoffman 26 Remain’s counterpart in Brexit 28 NFL official 29 It gets boring pretty quickly 31 1970s teen idol Garrett 32 Genesis brother 33 Poker player’s giveaway 34 Motivations 35 High, in Haiti 36 Dakota Fanning’s younger sister 37 “Classic Concentration” puzzle type 38 Tennis star Naomi 42 Initials that may be collecting dust in your TV room 44 “Phineas and ___” 45 Pillowcase material 47 Lt. Tuvok, for one 50 Does sock repair 51 Consume 53 Like 8, 27, and 64 54 Coupe de ___ (old Cadillac model) 55 Chariot horse 56 Canvas shoe brand 57 “Dies ___” (Latin hymn) 58 A, to Germans 59 “It’s worth ___!”

61 Grandma, informally 64 Show stager for GIs 65 Neurotic cartoon chihuahua

Northern Express Weekly • jan 25, 2021 • 17

lOGY

JAN 25 - JAN 31

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “My business is circumference,”

wrote poet Emily Dickinson in a letter to her mentor. What did she mean by that? “Circumference” was an important word for her. It appeared in 17 of her poems. Critic Rochelle Cecil writes that for Dickinson, circumference referred to a sense of boundlessness radiating out from a center—a place where “one feels completely free, where one can express anything and everything.” According to critic Donna M. Campbell, circumference was Dickinson’s metaphor for ecstasy. When she said, “My business is circumference,” she meant that her calling was to be eternally in quest of awe and sublimity. I propose that you make good use of Dickinson’s circumference in the coming weeks, Aquarius. It’s time to get your mind and heart and soul thoroughly expanded and elevated.

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Nature cannot

be ordered about, except by obeying her,” wrote philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626).

That paradoxical observation could prove to be highly useful for you in the coming weeks.

Here are some other variants on the theme: Surrendering will lead to power. Expressing vulnerability will generate strength.

A willingness to transform yourself will transform the world around you. The more you’re willing to acknowledge that you have a lot to learn, the smarter you’ll be.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) In his book The Lover’s Dictionary, David Levithan advises lovers and would-be lovers to tell each other their very best stories. “Not the day’s petty injustices,” he writes. “Not the glimmer of a seven-eighths-forgotten moment from your past. Not something that somebody said to somebody, who then told it to you.” No, to foster the vibrant health of a love relationship— or any close alliance for that matter—you should consistently exchange your deepest, richest tales. This is always true, of course, but it’s especially true for you right now.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): On October

18, 1867, the United States government completed its purchase of Alaska from Russia.

How much did this 586,000-acre kingdom cost? Two cents per acre, which in today’s money would be about 37 cents. It was a tremendous bargain! I propose that we regard this transaction as a metaphor for what’s possible for you in 2021: the addition of a valuable resource at a reasonable price. (PS: American public opinion about the Alaskan purchase was mostly favorable back then, but a few influential newspapers described it as foolish. Don’t let naysayers like them dissuade you from your smart action.)

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Should I quote

the wisdom of people who have engaged in behavior I consider unethical or immoral?

Should I draw inspiration from teachers who at some times in their lives treated others badly? For instance, Pisces-born Ted Geisel, better known as beloved author Dr. Seuss, cheated on his wife while she was sick, ultimately leading to her suicide. Should I therefore banish him from my memory and never mention the good he did in the world?

Or should I forgive him of his sins and continue to appreciate him?

I don’t have a fixed set of rules about how to decide questions like these. How about you? The coming weeks will be a good time to redefine your relationship with complicated people.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): On May 4, 2019, my

Aries friend Leah woke up in a state of amazement.

During the night, she felt she had miraculously become completely enlightened. Over the next 16 hours, she understood her life perfectly. Everything made sense to her. She was in love with every person and animal she knew. But by the next morning, the exalted serenity had faded, and she realized that her enlightenment had been temporary. She wasn’t mad or sad, however. The experience shook her up so delightfully that she vowed to forevermore seek to recreate the condition she had enjoyed. Recently she told me that on virtually every day since May 4, 2019, she has spent at least a few minutes, and sometimes much longer, exulting in the same ecstatic peace that visited her back then. That’s the Aries way: turning a surprise, spontaneous blessing into a permanent breakthrough. I trust you will do that soon.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): One morning, famous French army general Hubert Lyautey (1854–1934) instructed his gardener to spend the next day planting a row of saplings on his property. The gardener agreed, but advised

Lyautey that this particular species of tree required 100 years to fully mature. “In that case,” Lyautey said, “plant them now.”

I recommend that you, too, expedite your long-term plans, Taurus. Astrologically speaking, the time is ripe for you to take crisp action to fulfill your big dreams.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Someone asked

poet E. E. Cummings what home was for him. He responded poetically, talking about his lover. Home was “the stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting from your mouth, the roots entwined in the gaps between your fingers, the ocean echoing inside your ribcage.” What about you, Gemini? If you were asked to give a description of what makes you feel glad to be alive and helps give you the strength to be yourself, what would you say? Now would be a good time to identify and honor the influences that inspire you to create your inner sense of home.

NORTHERN EXPRESS

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Be sweet to

me, world,” pleads Cancerian poet Stephen Dunn in one of his poems. In the coming weeks, I invite you to address the world in a similar way. And since I expect the world will be unusually receptive and responsive to your requests, I’ll encourage you to add even more entreaties. For example, you could say, “Be revelatory and educational with me, world,” or “Help me deepen my sense that life is meaningful, world,” or “Feed my soul with experiences that will make me smarter and wilder and kinder, world.” Can you think of other appeals and supplications you’d like to express to the world?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Throughout his many

rough travels in the deserts of the Middle East, the Leo diplomat and army officer known as Lawrence of Arabia (1888–1935) didn’t give up his love of reading. While riding on the backs of camels, he managed to study numerous tomes, including the works of ancient Greek writers Aeschylus and Aristophanes. I’d love to see you perform comparable balancing acts in the coming weeks, Leo. The astrological omens suggest you’ll be skilled at coordinating seemingly uncoordinatable projects and tasks—and that you’ll thrive by doing so. (PS: Your efforts may be more metaphorical and less literal than Lawrence’s.)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Sculptor Stefan

Saal testifies that one of his central questions as a creator of art is to know when a piece is done. “When making a thing I need to decide when is it thoroughly made, when is it dare-wesay ‘perfected.’” He has tried to become a master of knowing where and when to stop. I recommend this practice to you in the next two weeks, Virgo. You’ve been doing good work, and will continue to do good work, but it’s crucial that you don’t get overly fussy and fastidious as you refine and perhaps even finish your project.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You’re entering the

potentially most playful and frisky and whimsical phase of your astrological cycle. To honor and encourage a full invocation of gleeful fun, I offer you the following thoughts from Tumblr blogger Sparkledog. “I am so tired of being told that I am too old for the things I like. No cartoons. No toys. No fantasy animals. No bright colors. Are adults supposed to live monotonous, bleak lives ? I can be an adult and still love childish things. I can be intelligent and educated and informed and I can love stuffed animals and unicorns. Please stop making me feel bad for loving the things that make me happy.”

18 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

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20 • jan 25, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly