Enjoy Family, Friends and "Pure Michigan!"




Op-Ed By Tom Watkins



Life in Michigan and America seems surreal of late. With gas absorbing more and more of an average person's income, jobs evaporating, the stock market diving, inflation emerging, home values plummeting and foreclosures increasing (if not affecting you directly, your neighbor's loss of their home impacts you indirectly) -- well, it can be overwhelming and depressing.

Live life as if you never will pass this way again. While there are many challenges, "as long as you have your health, family, friends and love you are a rich man" my grandma would remind me.

I have been searching for fun, inexpensive, close-to-home adventures to give me a lift. Here are some of my favorites and some suggestions:

* A weekend at the Detroit Institute of the Arts or the Detroit Film Theater

* A bike ride along Hines or Kensington Park, giving thanks that we are not in Iowa with the floods or California with the wild fires

* An escape to any one of the Metro Parks while absorbing the beauty of Michigan close to home

* The Jeff Daniels' inspired Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea

* Belle Isle, the jewel of the City of Detroit

* The Ark in Ann Arbor, offering some of the finest musical talent you will find anywhere

* A local Borders or Barnes and Noble with an iced coffee and the New York Times on a crisp Sunday morning

* Your local Library

* The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village

* Go international -- visit the Italian or Chinese restaurants in Windsor

* Kayak or canoe down the Huron River in Ann Arbor

* Find one of the countless public golf courses dotting Michigan and take your son, daughter, grandkids, husband or wife and don't keep score

* Watching "the best political team on TV -- on CNN"

* Take a walk as the sun sets while holding the hand of someone you love, even if it is only Fido

* Go ahead, it is okay if you go to the movies to see "Kung Fu Panda" or the "Hulk" -- relive those childhood days!

* Reinvest in our democracy by volunteering for a candidate of your liking in a local, state, county, congressional or presidential campaign

* Drive to Lansing, not with your pitchfork and tar and feathers, but to see our lawmakers in action and tour our beautifully restored State Capitol. Yeah, I know what they say about watching laws and sausage being made, but the State Capitol is truly beautiful and worth the drive.

* Take part in the numerous ethnic festivals and art fairs that dot our region and state all summer long

* Check out the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Battle Creek

* Go to Frankenmuth and see the largest Christmas decoration display in the world and enjoy the most mouthwatering chicken and good family cooking you can get this side of grandma's table

Go on, poke fun of my list, but while you are at it pause long enough to make your own. What can you do to soak up the glory of our state, help relive a childhood memory, bring you closer to the ones you love, or reconnect with yourself, your family and friends? Certainly the exotic vacations are nice but so is a weekend on Mackinac Island, Ludington or on the shore of Lake Superior. If you can afford to take out a second mortgage and pay for gas, by all means get to it. However, if the cash situation is a bit tight, rediscovering that "the simple pleasures are truly the best" and finding joy and wonder close to home is a wonderful alternative.

The point is you don't need lots of time, money, gas or imagination to truly enjoy all the joy "Pure Michigan" has to offer. Our state motto, "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you" could not be truer today than when it was adopted.

The economy is tight, gas prices are high and there is plenty for us all to worry about. However, if the sudden death of Tim Russert, the icon of NBC news, was not a reminder that life is short, I do not know what more of a wake-up call you might need.

Life is uncertain. Enjoy Michigan, family and friends while you can. You will discover the simple pleasures and our beautiful peninsula are joys to behold.

Go to www.michigan.gov and visit the award winning official Travel and Tourism Site for more of "Pure Michigan!"

Tom Watkins is a business and education consultant who does work in the US and Asia. He served as Michigan's State Superintendent of Schools 2001-2005 and Mental Health Director, 1986-1990. He can be reached at tdwatkins@aol.com.