Tuesday, May 29, 2012
New McDonalds erected by Meijers has water fountain by drive through and a post modern ad agency interior. Norton Shores MI
So completes a five year evolution. Meijers replaced its seventies style building with a more efficient 21st Century building with what seems to be a smaller footprint. That move unlocked real estate for three new businesses, all of them hooked into car culture. There's a Meijer Gas Station, a Tim Horton's with a drive through and a MacDonald's with a double lane drive through. Only the gas station doesn't have a drive through. But it does have a service window for sales after midnight for so little good happens after midnight. You can ask Nancy Grace on this point she made last night.
All of the new stores have landscaping, and the Tim Horton's has an outdoor cafe maybe too close to Henry's clamorous traffic. Biggby Coffee has one. Handsome Henry's has an outdoor cafe it has shielded from road noise with a fence and shade with trees. The outdoor cafe at Hearthstone has beckoned more now that it has grown more mature, a nice piece of landscape architecture, even if Business US-31 runs on the west side of a chain link fence. Pints and Quarts has a nice outdoor cafe with a fireplace to extend the season. Not too far away stands Verdoni's, which has expanded its deck from the days of Tony Bistro. The Coffee House has a few nice tables too. Six outdoor cafes stand within ten minutes walk and yet the effect does not make one imagine Paris or even East Lansing. Even with Meijer's garden center stuffed full of blooming annuals, the asphalt influence kills of that certain something, an effect that only traffic calming, urban planning, landscape architecture and time will transform. I can feel May heat building in the newly laid tarmac. If the surface has porosity to let through rain water, I would be surprised. At least no one cut down the final Ginkgo between Horton's and the corner gas station.
Could someone do something with the defunct Butch's gas station? How is it possible that the Bettens refreshed their automotive plazas north of Sherman without making that section of boulevard seem upscale, fresh or even new? An automotive mall in North Chicago wouldn't be such a domination of car lot blah. The design vigilantes would have demanded input early and often.
Please don't get me going on the new silver chain link fence along Mona Lake Park and Hidden Cove Parks. It was wonderful being able to amble into those parks from the road during the early days of spring. Someone led me to believe that the master plan had intended a walk path along the parks, sheltered from the business route. It will take a revolution to tear that fence down. I can't look at it without thinking about bolt cutters. Don't worry. I slip into Hidden Cove where the fence must pause to let Black Creek through.
This all occurred after a design process. I am not going to search the 2007 to 2008 Muskegon Chronicle for evidence of a simple charrette. If one occurred, I would be amazed. The Harvey and Sternberg cooridor also bears the suggestion of sprawl and invites blight. The empty race track land, the defunct Hooters and a building that could house a jewelry store all give blight a place to stay overnight once invited.
I like the McDonald's lobby and I have just noticed the overhead music. I am thinking of giving the oatmeal with blueberries a try. I talked with a woman who was enjoying her salad with broiled chicken. I didn't say the cliche to her, rife on Facebook: "Going to McDonald's for a salad is like going to a uh-hum for a hug". That statement raps MacDonald's and has a slight war on women undertone. So the new McDonalds has established itself in record time upon this land where it could feasibly hold its ground for a century. I would have rather seen an Applebees take root here. At least we are generating a study culture of young folks using the wireless at Qdoba, Biggby Coffee and McDonald. Meijers must follow suit, especially since the Grand Haven store has it.
@RobertaFKing is a PRMAVEN. Her license plate on her cool Red Mini Cooper says so. Muskegon, MI. @RevelMarketing
Dear Roberta,
I was early for the 6:05 PM bus pickup at the corner of Sherman and McCracken and I just walked across the street to snap a picture of the Muskegon Lumberjack seat for those awaiting the bus. The bells of St. Frances de Salles have just tolled for 6 PM. I believe the cool concrete interior is a place where you have sought spirituality.
You looked sharp at the wheel of your @RedHeadWriting ish Mini Cooper. You looked a bit tuckered by the forty minute journey back from Grand Rapids. I thought of snapping a picture but why give a good neighbor a moment of raised eyebrows?
The bench has an ad upon it from @RevelMarketing, and I hope it is possible to move it to one of the south corners the buses actually visit. See, it's all connected. This is your community on social networking.
The bus had people in every seat. I am about to deboard to visit the new McDonald's. Yes, yes, yes, I am wearing the khakis. So practical.
All the best,
Your neighbor
Wilbo.
I am not sure how I feel about one more McDonald's in Muskegon MI.
I used to have lunch out at a wide variety of Muskegon lunch spots. I can easily count the number of ones that have closed since I arrived in town: El Camino, Bonfire Pub and Grill, CJ's on the Beach, Good Grains, Some Place Else, some small joint at Hackley near the Catholic School and the list goes on and on. I am glad we have stalwarts such as the Station or Pints and Quarts or the Hearthstone. I understand a Popeye's Chicken is going to open across the street from the new McDonald's near Meijers. I love the Tim Hortons but tomatoes and onions seem to be the only vegetables. At the corner of Apple and US-31, Ponderosa and the Oriental smorgasboard served fresh fruits and vegetables, both closed. Now, Pizza Hut offers a salad bar on that corner, and I am loathe to call it a food desert. At least the Plumb's keeps its doors open.
Even I go to McDonald's now. I had a large fry and a McDouble. I need no more protein, salt or starch today. At least Mangos fills its parking lot most night, serving fish and salads. Health Hutt has a good established base on Henry. I worry about my dietary health in Muskegon. Who will be the next good food business to succumb?
Monday, May 28, 2012
President Leo L. B. Smith of Chapter 31, Vietnam Veterans of America, I accepted your invitation to commemorate Memorial Day at the Final Approach monument.
Sir, I am pleased to learn that this Memorial Day marks your 30th Anniversary as a chapter, starting operations in 1982. As your ceremony is the closest observance of Memorial Day to my home, I felt it fitting to stand, not as a member of your honor guards, but as an American who never served in the uniform of my country. I am son of two military service members, one lost in the previous summer. I am uncle to a young man who served with distinction upon the sands of Iraq. However, despite being registered with selective service since 1981, the call to serve arrived only as a voluntary invitation. It was good that I was welcome to still stand bareheaded as seven men in crisp khakis fired three rounds each in a twenty-one gun salute. I did not raise my hand in salute when the bugler sounded taps, as I was not trained to salute correctly. Instead, I chose to listen closely, paying my only fitting tribute, that of understanding attention. Thank you, Mr. President. If I am again the neighbor of your monument, I shall return next year.
With gratitude,
WW
June 2, 2012, the Veterans of Foreign Wars have a rummage sale at their post, 5209 Grand Haven Road, Norton Shores, MI.
If Easter marks the high point of the Christian year, Memorial Day could be described as the highest day of the VFW calendar. After the three day weekend, it's up to post leadership to keep the lights on and the doors open. It's not an easy task. Membership fees are yearly and are generally low. The mortgage gets paid by drink tabs, again low, special dinner tickets, low in price, and facility rentals, modest. Not all of these lodges get an easy pass from year to year. One military lodge, if my Muskegon history serves me correctly, moved out of the building that's now Hagar's Hideaway and found a new home on Summit after a hiatus of all too many years. So I admire the efforts of the Norton Shore's VFW to return to business of staying established right away, holding this rummage sale right after Memorial Day weekend. These lodges have been left with a mission that no government agency funded. Keep these lodges open as bases for the eternal work of commemoration. It's been more than six decades since cessation of aggression in World War II. The Greatest Generation has kept the mission with great honor for more than sixty years. I'll have to drop by that rummage sale and pay my respects.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Why Art Walk and Art Talk all the time? Head to Art of the Table to taste Wine or taste Beer in Grand Rapids, @PureMichigan
This email bulletin crossed my email box, and it sounded so good, I
thought I would share it with my readers. That beer tasting sounds
mighty good.
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May 23, 2012 Checkered blankets, a delicious bottle of wine and colorful bags
packed with scrumptious goodies...picnic season has arrived! Whether
your plans this holiday weekend include the beach, the market, the
cottage, park or your own backyard, don't miss out on the best of
summer essentials!sun This combined edition gives you a little foray into beer
wine (there's even an in store tasting tonight!)
delicious foods
table accessories ...and something to carry them all in!
First...find your perfect picnic/wine/beer carrying bag and holders! Reisenthel Carry Bag
A favorite here since 2005, Reisenthel bags are perfect for any
occasion. A large, sturdy frame makes travel easy, and unique colorful
patterns make you the envy of the park, office & market, Reisenthel
bags are one of a kind. Ours are also $39 everyday, for that we are
happy. Gerti Bags
These 100% certified organic cotton canvas bags (made in the USA!) are
perfect for a picnic on the lawn or beach! Gerti bags are designed for
upright stability to keep all your groceries upright & picnic goodies
clean and off the ground. Beautiful water-based ink patterns make
these bags just as cute as they are practical. Bamboo Wine Table
Wine and picnics go together like peanut butter and jelly...it just
makes sense, right? Invest in our bamboo wine table and take away the
worry of spilling your favorite summer drink. Holding up to two wine
glasses with room for your other favorite snack, this eco-friendly
table folds up easily and is perfect for light travel! Steady Sticks Steady as you go! These brilliantly designed stakes hold your wine
bottle or wine glasses off the ground and away from dangerous spills.
Steady sticks come in two sizes,
one for your bottles and one for your glasses. Wine Glasses
Our polycarbonate glasses are worry free and unbreakable. They're
wonderfully designed to look and feel like your finest drinkware, yet
capable of being tossed into the picnic basket and taken to the beach. We also have a plethora of other picnic wares from baskets to
insulated bags & bamboo one time use plates & reusable ones too! To kick off the weekend right, we start tonight with wine tasting!
We've got a Spanish wine tasting
in the store FREE from 5-7pm We'll be tasting Deusa Nai Albarino, Las Valles Viura-Chardonnay & La
Vendemia, a Grenache/Tempranillo blend. We love them all equally for weekend sipping! Then there's tomorrow with a Stone Brewery beer tasting! in the store
FREE from 5-7pm Are you on our Beer Talk email list? if so, you'll be getting more
info tomorrow morning on Stone Brewery
and other new summer brews! If you're not on it, isn't it time?? Sign up on our website & at the
bottom under subscribe
check Beer Talk! Sublimely self-righteous. Thank you for shopping at
Art of the Table.
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