http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/Jo Mathis columns and opinion - Ann ArborenFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:56:14 -0500Movable Type Enterprise 1.52 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/noJo Mathis columns and opinion - Ann Arbor1632420http://www.feedburner.comhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/364032691/for_30_years_group_keeps_the_c.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:56:14 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1286438 ]]>Brian Reynolds, THE ANN ARBOR NEWSSara Peth and her husband Greg Jones at their dining room table with the blueberry tart they prepared for Saturday evening's meal with friends in Ann Arbor. Sara and Greg are part of a group...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/08/for_30_years_group_keeps_the_c.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/356632707/declare_an_end_to_the_war_on_d.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsWed, 06 Aug 2008 08:26:50 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1256677 ]]>The case of the California woman who was brought back to Michigan 32 years after she escaped from prison in Plymouth has provided much fodder for debate. To me, it gets down to this: A middle-aged woman who is no...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/08/declare_an_end_to_the_war_on_d.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/351545277/spirit_of_generosity_giving_co.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:56:45 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1237195 ]]>It's a mean, tough, nasty world out there, full of thieves and thugs and disease and car accidents and layoffs. Thank goodness the world is also filled with givers, those other-oriented people who so often offer salve for the sting....http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/07/spirit_of_generosity_giving_co.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/336242653/niceties_technicalities_trivia.htmlBlogJo Mathis|The Ann Arbor NewsTue, 15 Jul 2008 07:51:43 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1181106 ]]>  The Jesse Jackson comment that hit the fan courtesy of Bill O'Reilly is just another example of why I wish we could fast forward these next few months and just get to Election Night. Until then, the money spent...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/07/niceties_technicalities_trivia.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/330142457/thief_took_it_all_-_property_livelihood_sense_of_safety.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:57:13 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1158821 ]]>If you've ever been the victim of theft, you know how Ryan Recla felt when he drove to work one recent Monday morning thinking everything was normal only to realize everything he needed to run his own lawncare business -...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/07/thief_took_it_all_-_property_livelihood_sense_of_safety.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/323855031/cando_spirit_triumphs_at_unive.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsMon, 30 Jun 2008 23:46:26 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1123330 ]]>We parents are forever encouraged to boost our children's self-esteem. "You're special!" we're encouraged to say. "You can do anything!" "You rock!" Kids need to know they're loved, of course. But there is no comparison between the feeling a child...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/07/cando_spirit_triumphs_at_unive.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/315739287/a_few_of_my_favorite_things_an.htmlJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:57:42 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1099232 ]]>It's time again to prove that we may not be Oprah, who regularly lists her Favorite Things and in December actually hands them out to her how-did-they-get-so-lucky audience....http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/06/a_few_of_my_favorite_things_an.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/309033287/keeping_it_real_few_things_are.htmlJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:57:54 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1067526 ]]>Two months ago, Donna Friedman of Ann Arbor did something very daring in an attempt to save others. She allowed me to interview her about her longtime ongoing struggle with anorexia to publicize an upcoming lecture on the subject she...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/06/keeping_it_real_few_things_are.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/303804817/heres_to_summer_and_savoring_t.htmlColumnJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:58:07 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1042150 ]]>Last fall, at the first real hint of the cold long Michigan winter that was sneaking up fast and dirty, I wrote a rah-rah column about how I was going to make this the best winter ever. The heck with...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/06/heres_to_summer_and_savoring_t.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/299429151/with_pet_chickens_pittsfield_w.htmlJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:58:21 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1020558 ]]>If she lived in a place where backyard chickens are allowed - Los Angeles, St. Louis or Denver, for instance - Olga Makarova would not be lying awake nights wondering how to stop officials from taking away her pets. "I...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/05/with_pet_chickens_pittsfield_w.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/295336069/misgivings_over_war_dont_dimin.htmlJo Mathis | The Ann Arbor NewsFri, 15 Aug 2008 18:58:37 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.1003543 ]]>Most of us celebrate Memorial Day as the official kickoff to summer, the close of a three-day weekend, a day to hope for sunshine and haul out the grill. A few of us will visit a cemetery or attend a...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/05/misgivings_over_war_dont_dimin.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/289602883/personal_experience_with_loss.htmlJo Mathis|The Ann Arbor NewsTue, 13 May 2008 08:52:08 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.974878 ]]> NFL quarterback Brian Griese is best known in these parts for leading the University of Michigan Wolverines to the national championship in 1997 - and defeating Ohio State all three years he quarterbacked....http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/05/personal_experience_with_loss.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/284766861/response_to_lemonade_lunacy_a.htmlJo Mathis|The Ann Arbor NewsTue, 06 May 2008 10:29:22 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.952897 ]]>The bureaucratic nightmare that placed a 7-year-old Ann Arbor boy in foster care after his father mistakenly bought him lemonade with alcohol at a Tigers game still angers and amazes me....http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/05/response_to_lemonade_lunacy_a.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/280310476/_seventeen_months_ago_as.htmljo Mathis|The Ann Arbor NewsTue, 29 Apr 2008 12:54:23 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.932390 ]]>Seventeen months ago, as she lay in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, it was hard to imagine Corrie Feldkamp walking, talking and enjoying life again, much less graduating from the University of Michigan. With her class. Right on...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/04/_seventeen_months_ago_as.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jo_mathis/~3/276608547/on_earth_day_let_the_grass_gro.htmlJo Mathis|The Ann Arbor NewsWed, 23 Apr 2008 09:31:49 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/jo_mathis//2760.911664 ]]>The Humane Society of the United States wants today's Earth Day 2008 to kick off a season of backyard wildlife awareness. To that end, the organization sent out a list of 10 easy things we can all do in our...http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2008/04/on_earth_day_let_the_grass_gro.htmlnonadult