Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

Being associated with Lions Clubs International for almost eighteen years, I’ve been to my share of conferences and conventions. I look at these events as opportunities to get together with fellow Lion friends and get caught up with everyone’s life experiences. I’m not a major fan of crowds; as a matter of fact, I really didn’t want to attend the …

Last August, my brother and I attended the “Thunder Over Michigan” air show at Willow Run Airport near Detroit. The air show was more than worth the price of the ticket. The main reason for going to the event was to take a ride in a B-17 aircraft. I mentioned this experience in a column about a month later, so …

Where are all the volunteers? Most fun events are made possible by using volunteers. The same can be said for assistance in a disaster. Without volunteers, a lot of things would never get done. A perfect example would be the recent Three Rivers Water Festival. Without the many volunteers, Water Festival would never have happened. Without volunteers, the local food …

Water Festival 2017 is now in the history books. My participation in this event was limited, so I have no idea how successful the vendors in Scidmore Park were, or how many attended the classic car show on Main Street, Saturday morning. I do know that the parade was as entertaining as ever and that the Three Rivers Lions Club …

I could never be a teacher. Besides the fact that one needs more than a Bachelor’s Degree, a teacher must also have the patience of a saint. Teachers are among those professionals who should be addressed as Mister, Mrs., or Miss, and this would be difficult for me. Whenever someone refers to me as Mr. Stutesman, I start looking around …

I’ve never been much of a boss. While working for a freight forwarder near O’Hare Airport in Chicago, I vied for a position as warehouse foreman. I was told that I didn’t get the position because I wasn’t a hard-nose slave driver. They used another term, but I’ll refrain from using that name here. I’ve overseen individuals working toward a …

Everyone has their share of problems. Sometimes the problems are small and easily solved. Other times they are beyond imagination. We’ve all had problems so difficult that we’d wish we would wake up and discover that it was all just a bad dream. I remember listening to a speaker whose topic centered on problems that people encounter and have to …

I admit that I do my share of procrastinating, especially when it comes to having to tackle a task I don’t want to do. It’s so easy to say, “I’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Tomorrow is one of my favorite days. People usually procrastinate the most when it comes to that “Honey-Do” list. This is that list that never …

If you are a Snowbird and have just migrated back to Pure Michigan from the balmy south, may I say, “Welcome Home”. You missed a pretty nice winter, and according to some, you might have been better off to stay here, rather than risk the flooding and storms of some of the southern states. I received several phone calls from …

I admit that my church attendance has been less than satisfactory, according to my mother’s standards. Growing up, I attended Sunday school and church every Sunday, as did my entire family, but for quite some time, I have not made an honest attempt to be a regular church goer. This has bothered me enough that I decided to seek out …