Eight Notes from Lake Superior

There is a beach hazard warning today, unnecessary in my book since it’s 58 degrees with 40 mph winds. That is enough to dissuade me from putting on my new flowered swimsuit to take a dip.

While I was prepping a pork roast for day long slow cooking, I notice the wrapper said it was a beef round roast. Befuddled I remembered the roast being amidst pork chops and loins at the store. It is these things that make us question ourselves.

We emptied out a box of old winter hats and gloves that had been fermenting in the old blue toy chest I painted and decorated with little decals fifty years ago.At some point in our lives, we wore heavy duty knit head covers with tiny slits for eyes, you know, ax murderer wear. Naturally, my husband had to save one, just in case.

I had a friend once who talked about one of the best times of her life being Saturday nights when her mom would buy a big box of potato chips and each of the kids would sit at the kitchen table and eat their own bowl. I understand. Potato chips should be eaten on their own to get their full deliciousness, something I know because I just did.

A friend of mine who is into adopting old dogs admitted to being ‘lookist’ in deciding which dog to take, in other words, having a certain standard for good looks. Whether this is failure to appreciate the whole dog or judging a book by its cover, I’m not sure, but I admit to being lookist when it comes to dogs. I appreciate people who love ugly dogs.

The terror experienced by the people of Maui is unfathomable. From idyllic to hell in just hours. We’re here on the shore of Lake Superior and it seems nothing catastrophic could ever happen.But it could, we just don’t know what it would be.

One of the places we go to a lot up here is the Uglyfish Baking Company in Deer Park, operated out of a tiny old travel trailer by a woman who used to run a diner in Grand Marais. She bakes lemon iced cookies and pecan pie bars and cinnamon rolls with containers of cream cheese glaze to pour on after you warm up the rolls in the oven tomorrow morning. Oh, and her novel, Tin Camp Road, was just selected to represent the State of Michigan in the Library of Congress’ National Center of the Book.

When you get older, as in seriously older, you really need to keep your wits about you. There will be folks who might see your age as an invitation to patronize, or to shorten the word – pat, as in pat on the head, to assume you are harmless but should be indulged, nicely, not with any substance. I’m here to tell you to keep your hat on and slap their hands away.