Traverse City

If you’re a people-watcher, you probably enjoy airports. Who are all these strangers and where are they going? And here’s the thing: the person who looks vaguely sinister or who has lots of children or an oversize back pack, that’s the one who ends up sitting next to you on the plane.

Munson Healthcare, Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority, and other partners will use $5 million in federal funds to develop the Grand Traverse Center for Mental Wellness.The Center for Wellness will bring existing mental health services under one roof. It's part of a three-phase project to expand mental health services.

If someone tells me he has a skunk under his porch, I am politely interested. But if that someone lives next door to me, I’m riveted.

Booth’s was mostly a place to buy milk and ice cream, but they also had a little lunch counter where you could order sandwiches. I ordered peanut butter and jelly and Grandpa ordered ham on rye.

Writer Joe Beyer shares what he's discovered an unusual underground community in Traverse City, which might actually be the pinball capital of the region.

When I was 15 years old, I went to visit my cousin who lived about 200 miles away. She was older than I and going steady with someone named Steve. I yearned to go steady but hadn’t found anyone to share my yearning.

Years ago, a friend asked me, “What did you wish you had for the journey that you didn’t have?” She meant the journey of life and it’s hard to know what you’ll need when you start out.

Many years ago, my first husband and I had just moved into a house in the woods. It was early May and we stood on the deck, admiring the tiny new leaves on all the trees—like a pale green cloud hanging in the branches.

“That sheet makes you feel safe, doesn’t it?” I said.“It protects me from dragons under the bed,” she said, laughing. We both laughed, remembering when we used to check for dragons every night.“Have you checked?” I asked. “Maybe they’re gone for good now.”

We look for a bunch of cars out front but discover that the regulars are parked in back. The bartender looks about fifteen but knows her way around the drinks and the drinkers.