Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

Sure, I'd heard of the Netflix series "Queer Eye" (as it is now known) prior to this week and had a vague idea of the format of the show. This week we watched it. We didn't go back to the first season to start it, but we started with the first episode of the current season. Mind Blown.  Not only was my mind completely blown - the first show had me in tears at least three times. I was in no way prepared to watch Tom, a self-confessed redneck who has settled on the fact that he is ugly, hugging gay men and calling them "brother".  As someone who spent one hour a week for a couple years with a good shrink, I could tell right off that Tom has terrible self-esteem issues and is hiding behind his scraggly beard and "ugliness". The Fab Five zeroed in on the same targets. Between them, the five touch on pretty much every touch stone that needs to be overturned in Tom's life. The beauty and kick ass part of this episode for me, a QE rook...

Brothers n Sisters in Rhythm Music Dancing and Lowell Lovin'- The time has come for us to Dance in The Streets (DITS). Well, the time is actually July 14th, 2018. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR - DITS 2018 is NOT political in nature. This is NOT my effort to gain office - this is just my attempt to gin up some Bootie Shakin Foot Stompin Dancin' Phun. Kinna like this here: Will you join this man in a Bugaloo down Main Street in Lowell at High Noon 7.14.18? Once upon a time - the Riverwalk Parade 2016 I got the help of some friends and family and we rocked down Main Street. Yes we did.  TIME TO DO IT AGAIN - Riverwalk Parade July 14, 2018. No political agenda this time. The Vision: A trailer full of Pound, Pulsating, Percussive Butt-Shakin' Thumping Sound surrounded by dancers who will not ONLY dance the length of the parade route - but must be willing to solicit Audience Participation during The Top Secret Blast Off Culmination Of Dancing. (we cannot r...

Here are some facts about medical marijuana and marijuana in general when it comes to Michigan in general and Grand Rapids/Kent County specifically. FACT 1: In 2008 the VOTERS in Michigan voted in favor of allowing people to seek treatment for a variety of ills using medical marijuana. An interesting side not on this for me personally was that my father voted with the majority. My dad spent most of his life equating those who used pot as "hop heads" - what he called the heroin addicts he saw as a kid growing up around Detroit. His thoughts on pot changed when my step mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - which took her life. This was before such cancer was being treated with any success and they sought all manner of relief from the symptoms and pain - including getting some pot from a friend of a friend. Seeing the positive use of weed turned my dad around on the subject. In fact, when he was alive he was an advocate for legalizing it in the same manner as alcohol...

12/7/17 - UPDATE - There is a general consensus of customers, business owners, as well as the City Manager and Chief of Police that in addition to a cross walk with a light that requires vehicles to stop for pedestrians, we also need to bug MDOT to put in dedicated left turn signals at the light where M-21 intersects with Hudson Street. (You know, where the Shell station and the Historical Museum are.) FYI: City Manager Burns would like to see a HAWK system installed. They have them in Fenton, where he was Asst. City Manager. With the HAWK system, when a pedestrian presses a button, the red lights flash and traffic stops to let folks cross. Can you imagine how nice that would be in Lowell?? So, our MISSION people is to keep polite, but insistent, pressure on Jason Cole - he is the person from MDOT who is assigned to work with the City Of Lowell. He does return calls - Jason can be reached at 616-464-1781. Call him and ask that he do what ever he can to get us a ...

Many of you know that Julie and I sold our house and relocated to a place in Lowell about 4 blocks from the store. I could not be MORE pleased to be living in my favorite town in my favorite state. Here are some immediate happy thoughts: Walking to work more often than not.  Living one block from the Flat River - which relates to the above. Julie and I took advantage of the kayak launch with our new to us kayak. Okay - that ain't Julie - Grandson Hunter on I on the Flat River. How about this for a cool, small town Saturday night (last night): We walked about 5 blocks to one of the new restaurants in Lowell - the brewpub Big Boiler Brewery. They are about 2 blocks east of our store and have a really cool set up in part of a former furniture factory. (You can learn more about Big Boiler by clicking T HIS HERE LINK. ) I enjoyed a 10 ounce glass of their Hefeweizen (me n wheat beers are tight) and after my meal sipped a 5 oz sample of their Saison. Yum on both accoun...

Lexi Reedy -  the picture her mom wanted me to use. To hear Amy Reedy tell it, her daughter Lexi has been dancing to a slightly different drum beat than do her five older siblings. Part of her dance has involved picking up pencils and brushes to sketch and paint since she was a wee one -  not that Lexi is all that old - she is currently working her way through her 15th year on the planet. I had an opportunity to see some of Lexi's work a couple of weeks ago and they blew me away. The first one I saw was this guy: You how it is when something speaks to you? My wife picks out gemstones to set in the jewelry she makes when they talk to her. Lexi's work was hollering at me right off the bat. According to Lexi, she has been drawing things "as long as I can remember." She enjoys being able to think of something, visualize it and then see what she can create from that visualization. She went on to say, "Its also just really fun and helps when I...

Before I go any further, let me make a couple things very clear. This is a post about my experience with minor depression and the use of B vitamin supplements. I am merely sharing how in my particular case, I have found sublingual B12 to be a wonderful thing. I am not suggesting B vitamins are a cure all and that all forms of depression are related to B vitamin intake. Nor am I suggesting that therapy and other methods be forsaken in favor of taking B vitamins. Whew - lotta work covering one's ass, eh? Overheard at a recent meeting of the Sub Substance Group: Hi - my name is Cliff. Hi Cliff. I have been using sublingual B vitamins for about 20 years now. Welcome. I found sublingual B vitamins while channel surfing on a sleepless night a couple of decades ago. I am normally a pretty high energy kind of guy, but I had been feeling out of sorts. Not much enthusiasm for life or projects or or or. I kind of felt tired, but was not really tired. Anyhow, the guy on TV was talk...