Hello Friend, It's Been Too Long

My time on the Island has come to a close. By Sunday, I'll be on the road back to Macomb for a few days before heading back up the MSU and moving into my own place. It's a little weird packing things up around here, because honestly, the time has just flown by. But at the same time, I'm more than ready to get off this Island and head back to civilization.

If you scroll down to the left of the screen, you'll see a list of goals I established for myself while here on the Island. The only one I really didn't accomplish was seeing a ghost. I checked out some "haunted" places up here but unfortunately didn't have any luck with seeing or capturing anything on tape.

This last week up here might have been my favorite. I had a lot of fun with Sarah and the Harbison family during their stop on Mackinac and I'm looking forward to having more fun this weekend when my mom and dad come up Saturday to help me move out. My parents, of course, will be driving up the precious cargo of Tony (he can't get enough of this place) and Sarah Harla (two visiting Sarah's in one week! Oh my!) It should be fun.

After that, I'm home free. I'll be back in Macomb Sunday. Hope to hear from all of you soon!

I don't mind if you don't mind

Nine days left on the Island. Five working days left. I've had a great experience this summer, but I'm ready for it all to be over with. I'm also very proud of what I've done here. Although there are certainly things I don't agree with about the paper (as there is anywhere, really), it's been a great learning experience. I'm proud of the fact that Monday through Friday I was never late past the 8 a.m. start time, whether I was hungover like a monkey at his bar mitzvah party, or sober as a fox. I've also done a lot of grunt work and have been in (for at least a little while) every Saturday of the summer. Sure, you're more judged on what you produce at a job, but it's also the little things like being on time and getting your hands dirty that really spell out character and dedication, and those things can go a long way anywhere. Granted, I still have five more working days to totally eat those words I just typed.

One of the things that has really surprised me about the Island is the politicking that goes on in certain circles. It seems that City Council and the Mayor dare not speak a bad word in the public about the place. It seems that a lot of people are afraid to speak down on the Island. Sure, the place has its issues and problems, but in the public eye, listening to a lot of people here, you would think the Island is perfect. The inner cliques remind a little bit of one of my favorite movies of last year, Hot Fuzz. For those of you haven't seen the British action-comedy, it's about a small-town London village with a cult group of superior citizens who kill anybody looking to bring bad publicity to the place, covering it up as an accident. Then comes hard-nosed cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) who proceeds to beat the crap out of the cult of killers. Hilarious movie and it reminds me somewhat of Mackinac, minus the killing and badass cop. Or was that carriage accident last week planned?? Dun, dun, dun...

Anyways, my remaining days here will be characterized by visitors and lots of partying. Below are a few video segments put together from last weekend when Brad and Tone visited:

An official investigation of the East Lansing Paranormal Society (ELPS):


Brad vs. Horse

The times they are a changin'

It's August 3rd. I have 16 days left working on the Island, and I'm offiicially ready for it to end. I'm not ready yet to leave the Island, but I'm ready to be done working on the Island. I hope that makes sense. I've literally had no down time this summer. As soon as finals week was over, I moved up here and started working. I'll be leaving the 19th back for home and will have to turn around 3 days later and head back up to MSU. Busy, busy, busy. That's kind of why I wish I could just stop right now and lay around and be lazy on the Island for the remainder of the time.

The next 16 days should fly by, however. They'll be characterized by a steady string of visitors, starting tomorrow with Brad and Tone. After the 19th, I look forward to a world where I can sample the Baconator at Wendy's, buy CDs again from a Best Buy, not pay over 3 bucks for milk, and relax and have a nice BBQ with my great friends to cap off another summer of our lives.

My time is limited here on Mackinac, and in a way I'm grateful for that. I'll soon begin my final semester of college. It's been an interesting and fun-filled journey this far, but in the words of Bob Dylan, "the times they are a changin'."

Hail to the king, baby

As many of you already know, I pretty much worship the ground that the notorious B-Screen actor Bruce Campbell walks on. Haven't heard of Bruce Campbell? Not a big surprise. The Birmingham, MI native is probably best known for appearing in the low-budget cult classic Evil Dead horror trilogy, which were directed by childhood buddy and Michigan State alumni Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, The Quick and the Dead). The first Evil Dead movie actually premiered in Wells Hall at MSU to see how appealing it would be to people. People ate it up. Stephen King even wound up endorsing it. A sequel, Evil Dead 2, was made although it was basically just a repeat of the first Evil Dead with a bigger budget and slightly different plot. Finally, Army of Darkness was made and the horror-comedy nature of the film is still legendary to this day. Hard to believe Bruce Campbell accomplished all of that with just a semesters worth of school at Western Michigan under his belt.

My first memories of Bruce Campbell came 14 years ago when The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. debuted on the Fox network. It starred Bruce as the lead character, a Harvard-educated lawyer turned bounty hunter after the death of his father. It was set in the 1890s and was too soon for its time. It starred a decent cast, had some good guest stars (Terry Bradshaw, Debra Jo Rupp) and was ridiculously funny. It only would up lasting 2 seasons. I'm convinced if it debuted today, instead of in 1993, people would just eat it up.

Bruce Campbell has also played small cameo roles in each Spider-Man movie. He was the wrestling ring announcer in the first, the obnoxious usher in the second, and a goofy French waiter in what was one of the few good parts of Spidey 3. He's made his living off B-Screen Movies and sharp cameos and is the author of 3 books, one fittingly titled "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Screen Actor." Today, he lives on in the USA action-comedy Burn Notice and has several projects in the works.

Now my friends, with the help of Youtube.com, let's take a look into Bruce Campbell's greatest hits....

The famous Boomstick scene from Army of Darkness:




The classic ending of sweetness from Army of Darkness:



Another classic kickass scene from Army of Darkness:




The best scene from Evil Dead 2:



A classic Western Showdown from Brisco County Jr.:



Here's Bruce joking around on the set of Spider-Man:



Finally, here's Bruce on Craig Ferguson, talking about Bubba Ho-Tep, where he plays a 68-year old version of Elvis:

One of my favorite television shows is the hit Sci-Fi program Ghost Hunters. Unfortunately, here on Mackinac, the (likely illegal) cable that's in the apartment doesn't have the Sci-Fi channel so I couldn't watch any of the new season 4 that debuted in June. Luckily my parents brought my up the Season 2 DVDs last when they came to visit on July 13. That should quench my Ghost Hunters craving for a while. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, cameras follow The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) to investigations and document some of the real life hauntings in this world. TAPS was founded by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. They work as Roto Rooters plumbers during the day and investigate hauntings at no charge after having respective paranormal experiences that prompted them to start the organization. They still do it at no charge, but I'm sure they're helped out quite a bit with checks from the Sci-Fi channel. The thing that's best about the show is they go into place trying to disprove and debunk hauntings. They're very levelheaded and never assume a place is haunted. They set up video equipment and audio recording devices in hopes of catching indisputable evidence of a haunting. Only then will they say a place is haunted. Often times they don't catch anything. But when they do, it's absolutely amazing. The best piece of evidence I've seen them catch was a shadowy ghost that manifested out of nowhere and walked down a corridor at the Eastern State Penitentiary. It's also very cool to hear the EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) that they sometimes catch on audio. I'd recommend the show for anyone interested in the unexplained.

I've also been fortunate lately to view some of the classic crime movies that have paved the way for the stuff in the movies today. I'm talking about the "Dirty Harry" series of flicks that star a much younger Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty Harry Callahan," a hard-nosed cop who doesn't take crap from anyone. They're great movies that I'd recommend to everyone.

The movies have led way to some of the best one-line catch phrases that my generation still says today:

I thought for this post I would take a break from the petty talk about Mackinac Island and enlighten you on one of my other hobbies - music. I'm a big music fan, spanning from all different genres of art. Below I've listed some of my favorite albums of all time.

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Many Beatles fans cite 1, The White Album, or Magical Mystery Tour as their favorite disc by the foursome, but for me, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band takes the cake. Not only does it have catchy pop tracks like "With a Little Help from my Friends" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," but it shows the goofy side of the band with tracks like "When I'm 64."

Reel Big Fish: Turn the Radio Off!
The first and best major RBF disc. Turn the Radio Off! is a perfect debut for the ska-rockers, combining humour, with telling off girls, they're shyness from popularity, and their oft-favorite sung about hobby - drinking. No other RBF album has been able to touch the excellence of Turn the Radio Off!

Green Day: American Idiot
Most Green Day fans will stand by Dookie as their favorite record by the California trio, but I see otherwise. While Dookie was a very good listen about coming clean off drugs and growing up, American Idiot introduces fans to a whole new musical topic - politics. Green Day nails politically-charged songs with poppy guitar riffs and catchy vocals to bash the American government en route to an Oscar win for the trio. The highlight of the album is the seven-minute plus "Jesus of Suburbia."

Bruce Springsteen: Born in the U.S.A.
Many Springsteen fans seem to favor Born to Run as their favorite disc with The Boss and the E Street Band, but Born in the U.S.A. has a little of everything. Catchy bob-your-head-along songs like "No Surrender," and "I'm Going Down," are mixed with somber tracks like "Downbound Train," and the often misinterpreted "Born in the U.S.A." to make the disc a classic.

Weezer: Pinkerton
The best and most criticized album by the nerdy foursome takes the listener on a musical journey through the experience head singer Rivers Cuomo had with a Japanese Girl, highlighted beautifully by the song "Across the Sea." Pinkerton is full of passion, sympathy, and an overall understanding and morale of the story, which is lacked in the very good Blue Album, and far from anything that Weezer's released since.

Jimmy Eat World: Clarity
The often overlooked album from Jimmy Eat World that came years before their pop-rock mainstream Bleed American success. Clarity starts the listener out slow with "Table for Glasses," then tackles subjects from love to lust before rocking out with the tracks "Blister," and "Clarity." Songs are written and sung with a never before seen passion from lead singer Jimmy Atkins, making this disc a must have for any JEW fan.



Honorable mentions:
Midtown - Save the World, Lose the Girl: Other Midtown records can't even touch the punk-rock excellence of this disc.

Yellowcard - One for the Kids: Fantastic record introducing the violin as a main instrument combined with raw catchy lyrics. Sadly, the group has weeded out the violin more and more since they're mainstream release of Ocean Avenue.

Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends: Classic punk rock sound with dual vocalists that has again been transformed due to mainstream popularity.

Thursday - Full Collapse: Hard-rocking screamo music with a purpose behind each song.

There's been a lot going on here on Mackinac since I last updated. I'll spare you some of the details because I don't really feel like talking about most of them, but I did spend the last weekend with my family (minus Cody) who trekked up to the Straits for a visit. I enjoyed free meals all weekend, ran up some nice bar tabs with the parents, and overall enjoyed a relaxing weekend. They were also able to bring me up tons of the movies they burned for me since I've been up here and I've been trying to catch up a little on some of them.

They were also telling me how much they enjoyed Fish vs. Wild, which makes that just about everyone I've talked to. For another project, I've been pondering some other ideas. As some of you know, I purchased a $94 Batman suit a few years ago, which I wear on Halloween and around randomly. I think it would be hilarious to do a Batman spoof on the Island. It would just be funny seeing the looks on people's faces as I rode down Main Street on my bike. The possibilities are just endless. I would love to do a scripted scene with the Island police chief or one of the officers. It could be just like in Batman Begins. The possible conversation:

Batman: Chief.
Chief: We still haven't rounded up half of the underage drinkers. And that palate of golden fudge is still missing.
Batman: We'll get it done.
Chief: And we have a new criminal in town. He got busted for sneaking into the Grand Hotel pool after hours and stealing brochures from the Tourism Bureau.
Batman: I'll look into it. (Turns away and heads for his bike)
Chief: I never said thank you.
Batman: (Slowly turns back around to face Chief) And you'll never have to. (Mounts bike and rides away)

This past weekend was certainly a memorable one. Friday night consisted of a visit to the cottage of Angela Bianchi in Kinross (Did you know that Kinross was mentioned in an episode of Home Improvement?) Anyways, it was a great getaway from the horse crap, fudge, and bicycles on Mackinac and a good return to home-cooking and good hospitality courtesy of the Bianchis. We went kayaking, made smores, and even went on a late night expedition looking for bears in the woods. Either bears or bigfoot. We didn't have any luck.

Saturday, upon returning back to Mackinac, I proceeded to enjoy my Saturday ritual of hitting up the bar scene and meeting people. It was an enjoyable night of live music, good people, and of course drunken phone calls, the most entertaining of them coming from Miss Sarah Harbison, who isn't just a good kid, but without a doubt my favorite person to talk to while inebriated.

OTHER COOL STUFF:
I think one of my new favorite shows would have to be USA's action-comedy Burn Notice. Admittedly, the only reason why I gave it a chance is because it co-stars Bruce Campbell and he's my favorite actor of all time. But it's actually a pretty cool show. Speaking of Bruce Campbell, I think it's time for a look back at one of my favorite television shows of all time, The Adventures of Brisco Couty Jr.



So that was that, and now I sit here at work back to the grind. I think I'm gonna update the hockey blog now...

Why I love Drew Miller

Former Spartan and current Anaheim Duck Drew Miller brought the Stanley Cup back to his hometown of East Lansing Thursday for a special public viewing. I was really bummed that I couldn't go. But in light of the occasion, I wanted to tell you all the reason why I like Drew so much. I honestly don't think I've ever told anyone this story...

It was the fall of 2004, prior to my State News days, and I was a fresh-faced sophomore living in Wilson Hall. Like many young journalism majors, I was enrolled in JRN 200, and completely intimidated by it. Our first assigned story we had to write was a trend. I chose to do mine on the then-current NHL strike and how college hockey might attract more interest because of it. I called Rick Comley in his office and he was kind enough to talk to me. But I also needed to interview a player or two. I had been to a party at the hockey house my freshman year, but didn't really know any of the guys other than what I saw on TV and at the rink, and read in the papers. I sent out an e-mail to Drew Miller , seeing as how he was an assistant captain that year, unsure of whether or not he would respond. (This was before I knew the magic of Sports Information Directors.) About two hours later, I got a response from Drew answering every question in very thorough detail. It was the nicest thing anyone had done for me in awhile at the present time.

About 2 months later, I was employed by The State News and assigned to the hockey beat. I remember going to practice with Matt Bishop to meet the captains and get comfortable with the beat. When I formally met Drew, he did kind of a double-take, like he recognized me from somewhere. The first thing I did was thank him for helping me out with the JRN 200 story. He smiled and brushed it off like it was no big deal. Classic Drew. Since then, I've covered Spartan hockey for three years and have become a die-hard fan and loyal supporter in addition. I've always had a great relationship with Drew, too. He's a total class-act, having started numerous charities in the Lansing area, and having been an influential part of the community with his service and good-will. I met Drew's older brother, and current Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan, about a year ago and he was the same way. Ryan didn't know who in the hell I was, but gave me and the friends I was with the time of day. We must have talked to him for a half hour. Hockey players may not get the press that some other sports get, but there's no better athletes in the world as far as good nature and genuine kindness. Drew is no exception. So congratulations to Drew Miller on his Stanley Cup Championship he helped earn!


Now the moment you've all be waiting for.....



The World Premiere of FISH vs. WILD. For some reason, Veoh decides its cool to cut off some of the screen when linked to the blog, so feel free to see the entire thing at http://www.veoh.com/videos/v739108Zp7ZbGPr


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Normally I declare Saturday nights here my party nights. They’ll normally consist of me having a few drinks at the house in the Village, then I’ll start bar-hopping at The Gatehouse for $1 Molsons after 9 p.m. and I’ll wander over to The Pink Pony for more drinks and see to my favorite Island musician Myk Rise. It’s fun. I meet a ton of people, and I enjoy some great music. I’d love to go out every night but that wouldn’t be a wise financial decision. Last Saturday I got a little sloppy, wound up drunk-dialing half a dozen of my friends (who said they thought it was hilarious, thank God), and stumbled around into the wee hours of the night. It was still a blast and unfortunately for me, there is video evidence of my belligerence. It was so funny to watch it because I honestly didn’t remember a whole lot from the night.

Anyways last weekend, I kept up with my Saturday routine. Sunday, I spent four hours on a yacht courtesy of skipper Dave Rowe of the Mackinac Island Yacht Club. That was a blast. I got a crash course in sailing, had a few beers, and enjoyed some quality time with Mr. Rowe, who is probably the nicest guy in the universe.

Tuesday morning, I went parasailing. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here. I was supposed to go last Saturday, but unfortunately the winds were too strong for it. Instead I went Tuesday, and that was amazing. It was a whole new way to see the Island and enjoy some of the adventure that my internship location has allowed me to experience. From 600 feet in the air, you can see a lot.

Anyways, the world premiere of Fish vs. Wild was supposed to be Monday, but we just got internet back at work, so that will have to be delayed. It is finished and will be worth the wait.

Appareantly, some of the videos that I posted were unavailable for viewing because of settings I have on Youtube. But they should be all fixed now, so view away by scrolling down!

I'm happy to report that the Fish vs. Wild episode is edited and ready for viewing. I'm going to hold the World Premiere date for next Monday, July 2.

In other Windows Movie Maker related talk, I've concluded a project I've been working on for a few weeks about MSU hockey's 2007 National Championship run that I'd like to invite you to watch. I'm happy with how it turned out, despite the fact that most of the video clips I used are a little grainy. Anyways, I think you'll enjoy viewing it. It features some nice music and has a balance of still photographs and video footage that I think really captures the spirit of the win.

Just a little follow up on the filming of the sequel to Batman Begins: Apparently, Bryan was correct. The crew was in Chicago from last Friday to Sunday filming scenes for The Dark Knight. To the right is a picture of the crew's Bat signal. Imagine looking up into the sky and seeing that. Talk about amazing. Anyways, Batman Begins was my favorite movie of maybe the last 5 years. Needless to say that I cannot wait until next summer's sequel.


I'm also pleased to say that the shooting for my mini-spoof of The Discovery Channel's hit show Man vs. Wild is complete and I'm now in the editing process. I was filmed trying to survive in the harsh wilderness of Mackinac Island and I'm quite pleased with how the shooting went. It will probably be a few days before the world premiere of Fish vs. Wild, but here is a teaser preview.

Celebrity Speaking

In my amateur journalism career that dates back to high school, I've had the special opportunity to interview and write stories on celebrities, some of them being my personal heroes. In high school, I had the chance to sit down for 30 minutes with the band Hoobastank for a special feature. For The State News and through internships I've had, I've talked to and done stories on some of my personal favorite athletes like Igor Larionov, John-Michael Liles, Chris Chelios, Justin Verlander, and Kirk Maltby. I've ran into Ryan Miller (right) at bars and have covered future professional athletes like Tim Kennedy, Justin Abdelkader, and Tim Crowder.

It's nice to be able to have that trend continue here on Mackinac. Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe filmed a future episode of the show on the Island in May, and Bob Seger and Kid Rock are often seen on the Island as well. On Friday, I had the special opportunity to follow around CBS Early Show Weatherman Dave Price for a few hours while he filmed footage for the nationally televised show here on the Island. I admittedly have never seen the show or have even heard of Dave Price until three days ago, but lots of people I've talked to since have told me how popular it is and how much they enjoy it. Anyways, Dave Price was a really good guy and will be back on the Island August 23, when all the footage will air. Below is a little clip I took of him about to fire a cannon at Fort Mackinac.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

On a random but awesome note, my friend Bryan Schulmeister is interning in Chicago this summer. Apparently they're filming scenes of the sequel to Batman Begins there now and shone the Bat signal over the sky at 2:30 a.m. late night Thursday. That rocks. Unfortunately I couldn't find anymore information on it, but that gets me amped for the sequel.

Locals describe Mackinac Island as "taking a step back in time."

They're right. Although I've loved my 6+ weeks here so far, this place isn't exactly East Lansing or metro-Detroit. There's nowhere to go to on Tuesdays to pick up the latest CD or DVD, the nearest movie theater is in Mackinaw City (in the Lower Peninsula), there is no hockey rink for me to skate at, and of course there's the obvious absence of automobiles. I couldn't stand living here year-round, but living here for the summer has been a nice change of pace. Gone is the hectic grind of homework, class, and work and welcome to Island Time - where everything starts late, and a general aura of relaxation exists. In my free time up here, I've ridden horses, biked and explored around the Island, bar-hopped, done some reading, and I've been toying with the Windows Movie Player. I also plan to do some ghost hunting before I'm done here.

One of the things I like the most about interning here is the lack of supervision from superior authority. Here in the newsroom on the Island, we have three staff writers in the newsroom. No editor, no supervisor, nobody looking over our shoulders all day and telling us what to do. I love that. The editor and owner of the paper spends all his time at the other paper he owns (the Town Crier's sister paper) across the pond in St. Ignace. Now you might be asking yourself "Well then how in the heck are you learning anything without an editor there?" Well, I've learned more just going out and doing things and reading other people's work than I have from a person. If that still doesn't satisfy your question, then rest assured we do have weekly meetings with him where we go over everything. You can't beat that.

Tomorrow will mark 6 full weeks since I've been up here on the Island. As I've said before, I'm really enjoying it. The nightlife isn't anything compared to what it is at MSU, but it has its perks. For starters, there's always live music in the bars which I love. Secondly, these musicians don't bore you with songs they've written and instead play covers, which I really love. My favorite so far is a gentleman by the name of Myk Rise. He's an older fellow, likely in his late 30s or early 40s and doesn't have the look of a rockstar, but he'll play you anything you want. He does a great version of David Bowie's "Ground Control to Major Tom."

Other random stuff:

- I was invited to smoke marijuana with a 50-something year old at the bar last weekend. I politely declined. Not my thing.

- The 10-day Lilac Festival concluded the other day. I was a little dissapointed. Everyone makes such a big deal about it around here and I really didn't think it was anything to write home about.

- Whenever I think of this place, the song "Small Town" by John "Cougar" Mellancamp always comes to mind.


I've spent much of my free time dabbling in the art of Windows Movie Maker. I made the one below last week but refrained to post it because it's a little sappy. But everyone seems to love it, so I'll throw it up here. In the words of Kristyn Olsezwski "OMG I love it!" Added Ashley Fowler "It made me cry!" It's kind of sappy but it's a tribute to best group of kids in the world.

My Breakroom

Island In and Outs

I write anywhere from 6-8 stories per week here at the Town Crier, but it's surprisingly not very busy. I normally have a few hours of down time each day, which allows me to blog and continue a four-year short story that was brainstormed by myself and two other friends, Anthony Accetta and Danielle Vandine (right). The story is a supernatural tale of demon fighting warriors that somehow we created out of the blue a long time ago. I've been trying to come up with a decent storyline for years now and have finally found one. Before you go judging, rest assured that I'm only doing this out of tribute to the story's creators and for my own personal enjoyment. To the right is a photo of the inspiration and creator's behind the story.




If you take a glance to the right of the page, you'll see some goals I have while on the Island. One of them is to see a ghost. Mackinac Island has a rich history. In readings and research I've done on the hauntings so far, I've found that the whole Island is littered with burial grounds from the War of 1812 and Native American settlements centuries ago. Fort Mackinac (left) is supposedly the most haunted place on the Island showcasing a variety of nighttime activity from lights flickering on and off in the buildings to presences in the old soldier's barracks.

To the left is a photo of the Grand Hotel. When building it in the late 1800s, it's said that human bones were uncovered. Supposedly a ghost of a little girl haunts the 4th floor of the hotel, bouncing balls, running, and giggling through the hallway. There are also eerie presences described throughout some of the lower levels.

In addition, there are also countless Bed & Breakfasts, Hotels, Landmarks, and even the Straits of Mackinac which are said to have ghostly activity. From my understanding, the spirits are generally friendly and mean no harm. It seems that the citizens embrace the spirits as a part of the Island's history as well, and tend not to fear them. I plan on exploring some of these places reporting hauntings equipped with video camera and open mind and will be posting accordingly on here. I'm also in the infancy of working on a large in-depth piece about the hauntings on the Island.

More to come soon.

Welcome

Greetings and welcome to my second blog. As I say in My Credo to the left, I was hesitant to start blogging about myself again because I don't particularly like to write about myself, but after inquiries from many friends, I decided to start up a new blog.

As you may know, I'm over four weeks into a summer internship at Mackinac Island's community paper The Town Crier.

I've enjoyed everything about the experience so far. The scenery is gorgeous, the people are incredibly charming, and the Island offers so much in terms of entertainment and writing.

Over the next few months I hope to take you inside some of my journeys here on the Island through videos that I'm trying to figure out how to use and hope to keep you updated on things so when we may not talk everyday, we can offer other ways to stay in touch. Before my return to civilization, I hope to see many of you up here.

A Quick Rundown So Far:

- So far I've covered everything from City Council meetings to school field trips at the Island's Waste Water Management Facility. I've enjoyed it all. I didn't really know how much I'd enjoy writing about non-sports things, but so far it's been a great learning experience and like I said, it's been really fun too.

- Every boy dreams about being a cowboy when they're little. I had the opportunity to go horseback riding for the first time in my life over Memorial Day weekend to quench some of those childhood fantasies. I called my horse Comet in honor of one of my favorite childhood shows, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr, even though his name was really Eagle.

- Mackinac Island is a place well known for many hauntings. More on that coming in the future as I intend on exploring some of these claims.

- For more on the Island lifestyle, please see http://seangary.blogspot.com/. Together we write about 3/4 of the weekly paper produced here on the Island. I also encourage you to check out my blog about my true passion - hockey - at http://fisheric.blogspot.com/. I've enjoyed reading many of your blogs in the meantime and would love to post the links on my sidebar. So help me out a little with that kids.