Niles Independence Day 2025

I played with the settings on my camera. Not perfect but damn, these are the best fireworks photos I've ever taken.

Decay

 

This was the tractor that I crashed into a pole barn. I was never asked drive a tractor ever again. I had to thin out all the blackberry bushes, however, as punishment. If you know what blackberry bushes are like, then you know how much that would suck.

I went out to the family farm in Benton Harbor. It had been a few years since I've been out there. Sadly the decay has accelerated as Grandma and Uncle Kenny have gotten older. The two large weeping willows that flanked the farm house are long gone. The nearby plots are now littered with farm equipment and rubbish. The land sits mostly fallow.

Grandma's memory is failing. I've noticed it a couple years ago but every time I see her, it's just that more noticeable. It breaks my heart.

I think this is the last summer.

Holland -- Well, not *that* Holland

This year I finally made a trip up to Holland, Michigan to attend the Tulip Festival. It was a beautiful day. A lot of the flowers seemed passed their prime but they still made for a beautiful site. I went into this kind of blind and I didn't realize how spread out this was. It was a bit of a hike to get around!

My Roof Was Spared

A strong line of thunderstorms came through late this afternoon while I was at work. I knew that it was a bad storm as I approached Niles. I could see branches down at the sides of the road. The traffic lights at Fort and 11th were out. While I driving down my block, I saw a tree down on powerlines. They didn’t make it to the ground, and I was able to drive under it to get home. 

Considering the other reports of outages throughout the area, I thought it would be a while before my power was restored. I went out for some Chinese takeaway since my stove is electric and non-functional. While I was eating at home, I heard multiple utility trucks go down my road. They were able to restore power in 30 minutes. I was impressed. I’m sure it’s still going to be a long night for them, though.

Third Post Office 's the Charm!

The Betty White stamps went on sale today. The Niles post office still had theirs in a vault and was waiting on someone to release them. I was told to come back later in the day. I reasoned that Galien doesn’t get much business and tried that post office. The elderly lady in front of me there asked about the Betty White stamps and took the only two sheets they had. Missed it by a hair! I then went to the Buchanan post office. They, too, only received two sheets but no one had made an inquiry about them yet. So, I was able to get a sheet. 

Kris and I were sent to live with our paternal grandparent when I was in 4th grade. The Golden Girls was one of Grandma’s favorite television shows. It was, secretly, also one of mine. I was in awe of Dorothy’s wit. I also loved Rose who was played by Betty White. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stand someone as ditzy as Rose was in real life. But her heart—I would treasure a friend with that kind of heart. 

As the years went by, I saw Betty White in a more adult light and found her to be a devilish delight. The real Betty was not what I expected based on the character of Rose in The Golden Girls. I was genuinely saddened when I learned of her death, just shy of her 100th birthday. She, like Angela Lansberry, were like grandmothers that you grew up with and hoped would never leave.

No Wait at the SOS? Am I dreaming?

I had a delightful yet unexpected experience as my local Secretary of State office. I was going there intending to use the self-service kiosk to renew my car registration and tags. The SOS office has always been crowded with people and ever since COVID, we’ve had to set up appointments if you wanted in-person service. When I walked in I was about to start my transaction at the kiosk when I was called up to the counter. The lady that worked there took my renewal slip, asked me a few questions, took my payment, and sent me on my way. I even saved a few dollars because I didn’t have to pay the service fee that the kiosk slaps on. Seriously, I was caught off guard because I had never imagine service being like that.

Old Disney World - One Last Ride

This past fall I decided to take a small trip back to Disney World. There were reports that large portions of the parks were going to be torn down and redeveloped before I had planned to go back.

Rivers of America in the Magic Kingdom was going to be removed and and replaced with a Cars land. The Muppets area in Hollywood Studios was going to be turned into a Monsters theme land--I think. Dinoland in Animal Kingdom was going to become a Latin America themed land.

Muppet Vision 3D in Hollywood Studios has always been one of my favorite mid-day attraction. A low-wait, sit-down, air conditioned attraction! All around it are interesting tid-bits to see. Did anyone ever really check to see if there was a key under the mat? I did!

By happenstance, I was able to get the dead center of the theater. My last show. :(

The Muppets aren't totally going away. They are going to be going across the park to displace Aerosmith from Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

Over in the Magic Kingdom, I headed for Tom Sawyer's Island which is surrounded by the Rivers of America. I would skip this all the time because it sucked so much time out of the day. However, this was my final chance to take it in before it is gone forever.

And one last trip on the steamboat.

Looks like these Indians will be removed too.

It was a good time. It was also a solo trip. Let me tell you, I got shit done. I didn't have to buy lightning lanes and I was able to get on every ride I needed to with even some repeats.