I’ve had some down time away from the blog to do that family vacation thing back in the Midwest where I found the economy, especially in Michigan, to be frightening. The small towns of Cassopolis and Constantine, wow, folks really need help there. The faltering of the auto industry among other things has really hurt that state.

But on the other hand, driving along the rural roadways thru Michigan and Indiana the corn looks pretty darn healthy, harvest time is coming and that’s a good thing.

I know all about such agricultural things because my late maternal Grandfather, Chester Waggoner owned a dairy farm where I spent some time over the year mucking the stalls, if you know what I mean.

My point to all of this is that the simpler things in life are what matter most. The worse things get economically the more people are hunkering down. There is louder talk of a double-dip recession, perhaps a depression. An economist pointed out to me today that even during the depression there were some good things happening, so one does wonder whether we’re headed for a repeat.

So many need help. So how do we we help each other? Well we start working together at the grassroots level that’s what we do, one car wash and bake sale at a time.
Back in the day, my school had cake walks and Saturday fairs where money was made for the schools and spaghetti dinners too. All of that has been ongoing thru the years, but most of the time it’s just a handful of people who get involved, more of us need to roll up our shirt sleeves these days.

So here’s to flowers in the garden that you grow yourself and to tiny cottages where extended members of families come en masse and have fun on the weekends. To dogs who go for rides on boats and swim with a life jacket on. To stoves that still work from the 1940′s, yes we’re still firing up this rockin vintage gem at the cottage. This last trip it baked beans, boiled corn, baked a cake, and provided the heat for a double recipe of Rice Krispie squares, you get the drift.

And to my maternal Grandparents, Chet and Ann Waggoner who provided the two-bedroom cottage on the lake in Michigan named “Chaos” where so many have gathered since 1964.

P.S. The simpler life including driving 800 miles in one day both ways from Connecticut to Michigan with six adults in the car and our dog, Savannah Jane.

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