On the big picture, Halloween tricks and TLA

I took a quickie vacation this past week. Not the 'leaf tour' up north that had been hoped for - that annual event with Mom and Dad is probably not going to happen anymore at this point in a rather subdued color season.

A walk down the lane had to serve as a substitute - not exactly Charlevoix, but sometimes you just have to make do with what is available. That little vacation hike took less than an hour - probably more like 30 minutes, in fact - but the result was quite amazing.

A patch of bright blue sky framed a small grove of brightly colored maple trees, standing like red and gold sentries on duty at the edge of the field near the end of the lane. Gathering an assortment of the fallen leaves from the ground underneath the trees proved to be just what the doctor ordered - a time to let all thoughts and cares escape, even if only for a short time.

Walking back up the lane - with the sun edging slowly toward the western horizon and the white farmhouse that is home serving as a sturdy landmark - a comment that a friend had recently made crossed my mind.

"You've got to remember to look at the whole picture, not just one corner," a fellow who is well-known for his White Clover honey had said during that conversation. The comment was made in reference to how the "Golden Years" of senior citizenhood aren't always what they're cracked up to be - there are more than a few aches and pains to go around.

I never knew Bernard was an art critic, but his use of artwork as an analogy for life is right on target (like the Bee-guy usually is). You don't look at only one little corner of a Picasso or Gauguin to determine its worth - the value is based on the entire painting.

A person's life is a lot like that. Some corners may be a bit hazy, even ugly, but when the parts are viewed as the sum of a whole it becomes beautiful - a work of art.

Memories of times long past are certainly part of the 'Golden Years' - recollections of fun and sad events. My Dad had a 'golden moment' a few nights ago in remembering Halloween escapades from a few years back - which he, of course, had no part in.

He recalled arriving in the village of Fowler on the morning after Halloween when he was a young boy and seeing the main street littered with farm implements of all kinds. Topping the scene - quite literally - was a horse buggy perched on the roof of the old Goerge Funeral Home.

The horse had not made the trip, thank goodness - at least it wasn't there in the morning.

You never know - it could have been claimed by an Eagle.

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Finally, once in a while - but not too often - I take advantage of the opportunity provided in this space to plug a program or event that's particularly noteworthy. The Tomorrow's Leaders Academy and Tomorrow's Leaders '03 deserve some ink this week.

I had the good fortune to help develop Tomorrow's Leaders when CAPIT, MSU Extension Service, St. Johns Schools and the St. Johns Chamber of Commerce began the adult leadership initiative back in 1999. Working with the 20 participants in that debut class - and with an equally fine group that formed the Class of '01 - proved to be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

We're currently accepting adult applications for the Class of '03 and are looking forward to our third session of the biannual program beginning this coming January. We're even more enthused about the youth program which we're about to offer for the first time - the Tomorrow's Leaders Academy.

The first class of 20 students has been selected for the TLA pilot program which involves junior class members at St. Johns High School. We're optimistic that the program will be available county-wide next year with the help of Clinton County RESA.

Readers can expect to see lots of pictures and stories about both programs in the coming months. Or, if you can’t wait, check out a preview of both TLA and Tomorrow's Leaders at the CAPIT web site, www.capit.info