Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

  Cambridge dictionary defines the idiom “man of letters” as “someone who knows a lot about literature”. Not knowing the extent of his literature IQ, I am exercising some creative license by using this reference for Matt, who can be found most days at Hulst-Jepsen Physical Therapy in Lowell. Their website reads: “Matthew Schmitz, MSPT, OCS, CERT, MDT, CIDN”. Mr. Schmitz has a whole lot of letters after his name. What all that means is that once Matt graduated from GVSU in 1998 with a Master’s of Science Degree in Physical Therapy, he continued to expand his knowledge about the human body and learn new and different ways in which he can help people. He is certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy, and Integrative Dry Needling for pain management, and is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. All of this and more are a result of his self-directed continuing education. “I simply love learning,” Matt remarked. “Going a little deeper though, I derive great satisfaction from using wh...

  In case you haven’t heard, the City of Lowell received $282,267.20 from the State of Michigan for our portion of State collected excise tax from adult use marijuana sales. This represents about nine percent of our annual general fund budget and the unanticipated high dollar amount was rightly labeled “huge” by City Manager Mike Burns. The total amount received has gone into the local streets fund to help pay for much needed road improvements. Please read that last sentence enough times to commit it to memory. As promised by Burns and the City Council, marijuana revenues are being used for our streets. Please indulge me as we look at a bit of pot history in Lowell. In 2017, the Council considered the question of allowing a medical marijuana facility to open here. Since I had benefitted considerably from edible marijuana following my treatment for throat cancer, I addressed the council as an advocate. They denied the application, citing the upcoming vote on Proposition 18-1 which...

  Liam Lopez-Wagner – He Was Born For This   Class, our vocabulary word for today is “lepidopterist” – that is someone who studies butterflies and moths. To the best of my knowledge Liam Lopez-Wagner is the very first lepidopterist to cross my path. If the seven year old Liam has his way, we could be meeting many more in the future. The skeptical among you might be wondering, “How can a young man of seven earn the label ‘lepidopterist’?” Rightly so, that is a logical question. Will and Betsy, his parents, can testify that Liam took an active interest in these delicate winged creatures before he hit his second birthday. “It was at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, during a work related trip to Washington D.C. for World Ocean Day, that Liam attached the word ‘lepidopterist’ to himself after meeting one with his dad,” Betsy Lopez-Wagner recalled. “He became fascinated with the Madagascan moon moth in D.C. and loved the monarch’s colors and migration stories.” ...