It’s funny how sports can bring friends together, even if you are rooting for opposing teams.
One of my best buddies from high school, Pete, moved to Farmington Hills with his family years ago, while we stayed here. We see each other a couple of times per year, if we’re lucky. But Pete and I always trade jabs over the phone when Lake Orion and Farmington Hills Harrison face each other. His oldest son attends Harrison, so I really can’t blame him for his newfound allegiance.
This year was no exception ? Pete reminded me of the Hawks? top ranking. I reminded him that they were playing here this year. Unfortunately, Pete was busy and could not make it back home for the game.
After the Hawks? win, I humbly left him a message, although I told him it was not easy for them. He called me back a couple days later, gloated a little and told me we really needed to get together over the holidays.
A week later, friends of ours in Clarkston called to see if we were going to the big rivalry game. Of course we were. Scott and his four-year-old son wanted to join us. They even decided to sit with us on the visitors? side.
Young Jonathan was confused why everyone was rooting for the green-and-white team that week. By halftime, we had him rooting for the Dragons, too. (The candy I was feeding him surely helped.) When the Wolves pulled out the dramatic win, I ate some more humble pie. Scott graciously reminded me the two teams may meet in the playoffs. He also said we needed to go out soon.
We did go out that night after the game with our first neighbors, Mike and Jan. They were great neighbors, even if they are Cleveland Browns fans. They moved to Clarkston when we moved back to Lake Orion in the mid-1990s. We see them about once-a-year too, usually at soccer games. We caught up, drank a few beers like old times and traded stories about raising teenage girls. (I found out they act the same way in Clarkston.)
I also ate a piece of humble pie with Mike, noting the Wolves quarterback made some great plays down the stretch. He just said it was a great game. Believe it or not, he said how much he missed us as neighbors, even after 16 years. The feeling was mutual. We talked about getting together in December.
When the state playoff matchups were announced, it was a surprise to see the Dragons matched up against Walled Lake Central. (How did they end up in our district?) Very good friends of ours, Amy and Kevin, live out that way. We’ve watched each other’s children grow up since they were babies. Our families camp and ski together each year. Now some of the kids are in college.
Amy brought a whole gaggle of teenage girls to last Friday’s game. They parked at our house. My wife and Amy sat together at the game, while the kids went to the visitor’s side of the stadium. As I walked home, I wondered if the Vikings fans would be waiting for me after their last second, upset win?
They were. and, as expected, the girls were excited. Who could blame them? They also were very polite. I was stuffed with the humble pie but ate yet another piece, congratulating them and letting them know that Clarkston was beatable.
Before leaving for the drive home, Amy told us the Walled Lake Central starting quarterback is a neighbor of theirs. The oldest of five kids, he lost his father a few years ago. How sad I thought. Something like that puts a football game in perspective real quick.
I guess nothing in life should be taken for granted ? not one’s family or friends, or the memories they provide. Once football season ends for everyone this year, I hope we can indeed get together ? even if they were rooting against the Dragons.
They are, after all, friends.

Borders in Auburn Hills finally closed its doors last week.
I enjoy reading and it felt like I lost a good friend. Every time I thought the giant bookseller may turn the corner over the past couple of years, it faced another setback.
This summer the creditors came calling one last time and nobody thought it was worth the investment to save Borders from itself. It finally succumbed to online bookstores, bad real estate deals and its own inattentiveness to the market.
I guess even good friends come and go.
I remember visiting my first Borders some 20 years ago when I was caught in heavy, snow-induced traffic on Southfield Road in Beverly Hills. I was slowly heading home from work and needed to get off the road before having a stroke. The wonderland for book lovers was the perfect medicine.
I spent an hour perusing the magazine racks and shelves, moving from the sports to business to mystery sections (I was a big Tom Clancy fan then.) I ended up buying a book or two and walked out of there much more relaxed. I visited the store a couple of times a month from that point on.
I was thrilled when the Borders opened in Auburn Hills a while back. Not only was it right around the corner, but now I could easily share my love for reading with my kids. Borders gift cards were common in our house. I joined their Rewards program and received great coupons in the mail each week.
If I was looking for a book or magazine, Borders usually had it.
But when they did not have the title I was looking for or if it was out of stock, I turned to the internet and always found it. Better yet, I usually found the book at an unbeatable price. I guess a lot of other folks enjoyed the same online buying experience as me.
Not surprisingly, our local Borders was very crowded during its closeout sales. During the final weekend, some of the titles were 90 percent off the list price, although it was slim pickings. I did find a few titles to pick up at great prices, although I bet I could have found them online, too.
Alas, I guess I am just as guilty as anyone for bringing the king of bookstores to its knees. As consumers, we are all looking for the best deals today. If a business cannot provide them, we go to somebody else. It’s a lesson for all retailers and other businesses in the current market, each fighting for every consumer dollar with consumer demand slugglish at best. Adapt or die a slow death.
That’s capitalism. Good bye Borders. RIP.
(Maybe the independent bookstore will now make a comeback?)

This week’s decision by the Lake Orion Village Council to not allow the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and merchants to celebrate the completion of the Streetscape project by closing a few streets to host a brief ribbon-cutting event confirmed my worst fears.
The council’s collective decision-making ability is suspect
Furthermore, I cannot understand how they could make such a decision on the eve of the village election. If it was up to most folks, I would bet all of the council members would get broomed, with the exception of Mike Toth and Larry Stumkat, who voted yes to the DDA request.
The word is the DDA did not submit its application to temporarily close the streets the required three weeks in advance. It was actually turned in about 10 days ago. Given the fact the completion date of the construction project has kept everyone guessing for so long, how can you blame the DDA for not getting the paperwork in on time? The DDA got the businesses and Lake Orion Police Department on board in short order ? what’s the problem with the village council? In this case, it seems to make common sense to bend the rules a little for the good of the community.
Somebody said an official public hearing needs to be held in advance of the council approving such street closures. Give me a break. We are not expanding a landfill here. I am sure the public is just as happy to have Streetscape finished and would not mind the ceremony.
I am afraid there may be a more sinI wonder if there is a sinister motive here for the village council’s decision. Is this its way of getting back at the DDA for the drawn-out construction that frustrated so many people? If so, it is time to move on. The work is done and the downtown area looks great. This project was way overdue. If it was not for the DDA, this project would have never gotten off the drawing board and we would still be stuck with a downtown in embarrassing need of a facelift.
If you want to further investigate the costs, go for it. But, do not take out your anger on the folks that are trying to promote our businesses today.
The fact is the local business owners have struggled mightily over the past several months. The DDA director and her staff have endured a ton of grief. They should be allowed to celebrate.

I worked on Labor Day, but I did not really mind. Writing is not work for me. Besides, I am thankful for having a full-time job.
There are far too many people here and elsewhere who are struggling to find work these days. Their prospects are not the greatest either, considering last week’s dismal employment report from the U.S. government said job growth was flat in July, which is scary.
That means as many people lost their positions as those that landed new jobs. This is the first time in nearly a year that such a situation existed. Employment levels are at their lowest since the 1940s.
This news should be a severe wake-up call for the so-called experts in this country who think the recession ended in 2009.
With national unemployment hovering just above nine percent and our state’s figure significant higher, one has to wonder what it will really take to jumpstart hiring again. (In Michigan, some 235,000 people have been unemployed for six months or longer.) Right now, nobody is confident that the folks in Washington have any idea what to do.
But that is not what concerns me the most. Last month, the twenty-second annual Kids Count Data Book was published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It reported in 2009 an incredible 36 percent of Michigan’s children are living in families in which neither parent has a full-time, year-round job.
We have more kids without working parents than 46 other states. We did not rank a whole lot better the year before, coming in forty-fourth place.
What’s even more alarming is the study’s finding that the number of children living in poverty in Michigan grew by 64 percent over the past decade ? that equates to about 75,000 kids.
No child here, or anywhere, should have to worry about food, shelter or clothes. How can we expect them to focus on learning and preparing for the future when their families are struggling to make ends meet?
Adults who think their kids are unaware of the tension that unemployment brings to a household are clueless. Children today are much more aware and inquisitive of what is going on around them than when I was younger. They may not say much, but they know.
I am not a psychologist, but I am a parent and I know worrying about mom and dad can be distracting, if not unhealthy, for kids over the long-term.
I wonder how many children in our own school district live in families where their parents may be unemployed or, at the very least, underemployed? (I bet a lot.) How do we help these children stay focused, confident and on track to becoming responsible adults?
As parents, it is our duty to figure this out. We surely cannot count on our state or federal leaders to get it done. Fortunately, the people of this great community have always been very generous with their time and money to help family, friends and others facing tough times.
But the buck truly stops with us ? these are our kids, after all.
This may mean returning to school ourselves to learn new skills. Or taking our acquired skills in a new direction where there are jobs. Maybe even snagging a part-time position to help pay the bills. I did a while back.
America is struggling this Labor Day. But, our ability to bounce back stronger than ever is something the rest of the world envies. Let’s show our kids how resilient we really are ? they deserve it.
That’s just my opinion. What’s yours?

I worked on Labor Day, but I did not really mind. Writing is not work for me. Besides, I am thankful for having a full-time job.
There are far too many people here and elsewhere who are struggling to find work these days. Their prospects are not the greatest either, considering last week’s dismal employment report from the U.S. government said job growth was flat in July, which is scary.
That means as many people lost their positions as those that landed new jobs. This is the first time in nearly a year that such a situation existed. Employment levels are at their lowest since the 1940s.
This news should be a severe wake-up call for the so-called experts in this country who think the recession ended in 2009.
With national unemployment hovering just above nine percent and our state’s figure significant higher, one has to wonder what it will really take to jumpstart hiring again. (In Michigan, some 235,000 people have been unemployed for six months or longer.) Right now, nobody is confident that the folks in Washington have any idea what to do.
But that is not what concerns me the most. Last month, the twenty-second annual Kids Count Data Book was published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It reported in 2009 an incredible 36 percent of Michigan’s children are living in families in which neither parent has a full-time, year-round job.
We have more kids without working parents than 46 other states. We did not rank a whole lot better the year before, coming in forty-fourth place.
What’s even more alarming is the study’s finding that the number of children living in poverty in Michigan grew by 64 percent over the past decade ? that equates to about 75,000 kids.
No child here, or anywhere, should have to worry about food, shelter or clothes. How can we expect them to focus on learning and preparing for the future when their families are struggling to make ends meet?
Adults who think their kids are unaware of the tension that unemployment brings to a household are clueless. Children today are much more aware and inquisitive of what is going on around them than when I was younger. They may not say much, but they know.
I am not a psychologist, but I am a parent and I know worrying about mom and dad can be distracting, if not unhealthy, for kids over the long-term.
I wonder how many children in our own school district live in families where their parents may be unemployed or, at the very least, underemployed? (I bet a lot.) How do we help these children stay focused, confident and on track to becoming responsible adults?
As parents, it is our duty to figure this out. We surely cannot count on our state or federal leaders to get it done. Fortunately, the people of this great community have always been very generous with their time and money to help family, friends and others facing tough times.
But the buck truly stops with us ? these are our kids, after all.
This may mean returning to school ourselves to learn new skills. Or taking our acquired skills in a new direction where there are jobs. Maybe even snagging a part-time position to help pay the bills. I did a while back.
America is struggling this Labor Day. But, our ability to bounce back stronger than ever is something the rest of the world envies. Let’s show our kids how resilient we really are ? they deserve it.
That’s just my opinion. What’s yours?

I spent many years in Detroit as a kid, living in Rosedale Park and attending Edison Elementary through the fourth grade.
The amenities at Edison were pedestrian compared to elementary schools today, but I still have plenty of fond memories. My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Bloomquist, will always be one of my favorites. The science fairs were always a big deal. The once-a-year hot dog lunches were a special event.
Today, driving down the Southfield Freeway, I occasionally spy a glimpse of the school and my old neighborhood. Whenever there is news that another set of Detroit schools will be closed, I always check to see if Edison is on the list. So far, so good.
I do wonder what the school looks like up close. Does the gym/lunch room smell the same? How about the art room and its bins of crayons on each table? Is the auditorium still as big as it seemed to me back then? Do they now serve hot food every day? Is it still safe to walk to school?
I hope the kids who go there today receive the same solid elementary education I received many years ago. I hope their experiences there are as good as mine were. Sadly, I am not sure if this is the case today in Detroit and other urban districts.
That is why I have paid close attention to the open-enrollment debate in Michigan this year, which appears to be coming to a head. There is a very real possibility that Lansing will mandate all districts, including ours, to open their doors to anybody. I doubt students from Detroit would come to Lake Orion, but there are a few nearby communities that may find this option appealing.
Now, I believe every child in America deserves a quality education. At the same time, however, I do not think letting students roam from their home districts ? wherever they live ? really provides a long-term solution to our failing schools in the state. It may work for current students but, if we are making so many sweeping changes to our schools this year, let’s make them to benefit our kids, their kids and beyond. Our governor needs to work with educators to make the tough decisions to make real changes to these struggling districts that truly benefit the families that live there.
This includes putting money where his mouth is by funding the changes. If this comes at the expense of other districts, within reason, so be it. The fact is a viable school system is critical to any community and Detroit and many of our other struggling cities are critical to the future of our state and its reputation. I will leave the specifics of what should be done to the lawmakers and educators, for now.
For that matter, I agree with many in Lake Orion that such open-enrollment decisions should be made exclusively at the local level. These administrators know what is going on in their schools and, more importantly, the general wishes of the citizens who live in their communities, including here.
Most of our schools are at capacity and district enrollment has held steady for several years now. Other districts may welcome the open-enrollment mandate to draw students and funding, but I do not think this is a smart way to increase revenues here. Let’s come up with other sources. Furthermore, according to Lake Orion Superintendent Marion Ginopolis, the state has not yet provided details on how it will calculate if a district or school has capacity for outside students. That is disconcerting.
A copy of this column is going to Lansing this week, so our lawmakers clearly understand my opinion. What’s yours?