http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/Unique opinions and observations from columnist Brad Flory of the Jackson Citizen Patriot.enMovable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/noUnique opinions and observations from columnist Brad Flory of the Jackson Citizen Patriot.bradospherehttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/w4rdbN8qq80/brad_flory_column_how_to_smash.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netSat, 26 May 2012 11:29:43 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8400483 ]]>The world has evolved to deny ordinary people the power to fix things. Automotive engineers, for one example, eliminated most car parts I know how to fix -- ignition points, carburetors, distributer caps --; and moved the rest to places impossible to reach with mere human arms. http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_how_to_smash.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/QXp6QE93XOA/brad_flory_column_twelve_jacks.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netFri, 25 May 2012 11:37:01 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8392506 ]]>"From school I went to work, and from work I went to work," said James Garner, Jackson High School graduate. "I got home about 8 or 9, did homework, went to bed, then got up the next day and did it again." http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_twelve_jacks.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/WKkw7kHVtvY/brad_flory_column_lives_and_de.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netWed, 23 May 2012 21:32:40 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8376167 ]]>Could the Thomas Chaffin killed in Vietnam be related to the Chaffin brothers who died in World War II a generation earlier? If so it would be a remarkable story of one family's sacrifice.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_lives_and_de.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/ibqrl2jm-Ag/brad_flory_column_is_it_gullib.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netMon, 21 May 2012 12:12:48 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8363813 ]]>Praising Consumers Energy is a poor way to win universal acclaim. When I did it last week, several readers decided I must be gullible or stupid. http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_is_it_gullib.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/sZepR5WHh5k/brad_flory_column_who_says_its.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netFri, 18 May 2012 12:43:18 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8335514 ]]>Last year, 1,953 parking tickets were written in Jackson, said Bob Dietz, parking manager. Try telling those drivers it is nearly impossible to get a ticket.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_who_says_its.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/f6rixD2ESUE/brad_flory_column_facing_life.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netWed, 16 May 2012 09:22:01 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8329033 ]]>Grown men should be humiliated to wear bras in public. But that didn't bother me nearly as much as the instructions for modeling. "When you get out there," the lady said, "work it." http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_facing_life.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/IYS2IRDu_OA/brad_flory_column_consumers_en_1.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netMon, 14 May 2012 12:42:24 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8312477 ]]>Perhaps I am wrong, but I see zero reason to think computer guys in India would pick Jackson as their spot to do business "somewhere in Michigan" if not for the influence of Consumers. http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_consumers_en_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/VzKEritBIwc/brad_flory_column_facing_semi-.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netSun, 13 May 2012 16:45:59 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8295811 ]]>After 27 years I am no longer an employee of the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Time flies when you have daily deadlines. http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/05/brad_flory_column_facing_semi-.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/gpWR72evuYQ/brad_flory_column_secrets_reve.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netThu, 26 Apr 2012 05:22:55 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8159809 ]]>Morel-hunting, for most of us, is the process of walking through a woods in a crouch, with eyes glued to the ground. Wrong, wrong, wrong.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_secrets_reve.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/Cpiyjw_h_kM/four_meats_in_one_sandwich_sho.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netTue, 24 Apr 2012 12:24:08 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8161704 ]]>A sandwich called Mambo Italiano has salami, pastrami, ham and mortadella. I was skeptical of mortadella until Shorty explained it's a little like bologna. Okie-dokie, then.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/four_meats_in_one_sandwich_sho.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/X4TROz6vyU4/brad_flory_column_the_jackson_1.htmlColumnsMLive.com - Auto RacingSports - JacksonBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netMon, 23 Apr 2012 12:23:07 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8154254 ]]>Broken bones healed and Ralph Donaldson went on to win 144 feature races at tracks around the country. His 56 feature wins at Jackson Motor Speedway, which closed in 1973, were most for any driver.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_the_jackson_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/MIdOU5RKWUo/brad_flory_column_sprung_from.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netFri, 20 Apr 2012 12:31:46 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8135550 ]]>Chet was in a shelter nearly two months. Perhaps no one adopted him because of his age, about 10. Or maybe it was his looks. The nickname for his breed is "Ugly Dog."http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_sprung_from.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/IcVBXKa25bA/brad_flory_column_sound_advice.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netWed, 18 Apr 2012 14:51:22 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8124063 ]]>"It's your job to make sure you really owe the taxes you pay," said Roger Roty. "That's how the system works."http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_sound_advice.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/6h2EfPPAxHY/definition_of_comfort_food_mea.html1106687Brad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netTue, 17 Apr 2012 13:51:26 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8123280 ]]>Allow me to stay a step ahead of the wise guys: Yes, I imagine you can think of many ways to ridicule the appearance of the dish as captured in my photo. Presentation is not what any diner seeks in a hot meatloaf sandwich.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/definition_of_comfort_food_mea.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/J19I1goYQM0/brad_flory_column_tramps_like.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netMon, 16 Apr 2012 13:04:55 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8114711 ]]>Rock concerts were invented for and by young people. Old-timers used to stay home and suspect, often for good reason, that such events were excuses for mass rowdiness and law-breaking.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_tramps_like.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/FHrQLZAjDpg/brad_flory_column_hey_kids_be.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netFri, 13 Apr 2012 12:37:34 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8096473 ]]>In his expert opinion, communication between high school students on Twitter is "unfiltered chaos."http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_hey_kids_be.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/ewGX9RoFVWc/brad_flory_column_new_jackson.html1106687Brad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netWed, 11 Apr 2012 12:09:15 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8088966 ]]>The new venture is called The Golumbki Gal, and it is headed by Denise and John Brzozowski, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs who know their way around cabbage leaves.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_new_jackson.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/O3OzuVXMATc/savoring_what_may_be_jacksons.html1106687Brad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netTue, 10 Apr 2012 10:47:27 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8081337 ]]>Virginia Coney Island, like its chief rival down the street, Jackson Coney Island, is steeped in old-school coney culture. It is Jackson's oldest coney joint in continuous operation in the same building.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/savoring_what_may_be_jacksons.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/dQ64qnqLepI/a_view_of_jackson_from_83-year.htmlBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netTue, 10 Apr 2012 11:59:43 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8082963 ]]>Albert Kahn Associates was nice enough to scan the sketch and send it along as an item of interest (well, at least I am interested) from the planning stages of what was called Jackson's most metropolitan structure.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/a_view_of_jackson_from_83-year.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bradosphere/~3/N50qrEUviiU/brad_flory_column_update_on_th.htmlColumnsBrad Flory | bflory@broadstripe.netMon, 09 Apr 2012 14:52:36 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2012:/bradosphere//1583.8078347 ]]>A crude sketch survives that notes the location of the faces "but we don't have any further information about their significance," said Melissa McCown, manager of public relations for Albert Kahn Associates.http://blog.mlive.com/bradosphere/2012/04/brad_flory_column_update_on_th.htmlnonadult