Petoskey Life
First Month, Fresh Start
For many, the month of January signifies a clean slate, a fresh start, and new beginnings. Signing up for a gym membership, refining a diet after holiday feasting, or delving into a self-improvement book are several tried-and-true ways to jump-start …
Getting Cozy in November
When you hear the word “cozy,” what comes to mind? Perhaps you associate “cozy” with warmth, comfort, a crackling fire, heated beverages, and fluffy blankets like I do. Additional cozy elements may include a good book, a snuggly animal, or …
A November to Remember
As I look out over the bay, there are people sauntering on the breakwater; rusted maples and fire-red burning bushes stand defiant. The water? Nary a ripple. No coats, no boots, no ice, no snow, no anything but warmth and …
Ernest Hemingway: A new conversation
It has been a couple of years, but your man-on-the-street has returned from a long vacation and a COVID break. The temperature in Downtown Petoskey was close to sixty-degrees, and smell of spring in the air. I plopped my chair …
These are Extraordinary Times
I spent the last two weeks traveling through Maine and New England, exploring and enjoying the fall season. I was even able to fulfill a lifelong dream and kayak Walden Pond and walk in the steps of Henry David Thoreau. …
Some Things Never Change
I walked downtown this morning contemplating the past few months. For now, the streets are quiet and the coffee shops and restaurants only beginning to stir; the whir of people and the hum of autos, missing. Then I paused in …
And then the wind…
The July heat finally brought the storms, and the gentle rain began marauding into sideways sheets of water. An eerie quiet, then the alarms, and then it happened. Within minutes of the expired tornado warning, another storm ripped through Petoskey; …
The Peace of January
Happy New Year! But more importantly, peace. The Holidays have passed, the streets have quieted, and the credit cards are back in the wallet. There’s always a distinct end to the rampant energy that befalls the Holidays in Downtown Petoskey. …
Petoskey: A diamond in December
Whenever writer’s block materializes, I gather a small notebook from my writing studio and head outside onto the streets of Downtown Petoskey. It is here I find a jewel. With its many facets and sparkles, Downtown Petoskey has become a …
And the crowds keep coming…
October 30, 2019 Astonished and mesmerized, I’ve watched the streets of Downtown Petoskey fill with throngs of people on the most random of days. Sure, on weekends and in the height of summer, we expect visitors and tourists from all …
B.J. Shawn
September 18, 2019 As we conspire with the Universe conveying wants and needs, occasionally we pause to step back and take note of what we have and what we are experiencing at the moment, realizing the world is a …
Transition to Fall
August 7, 2019 As the air cools through the evening and into night and the fog covers warming Lake Michigan, we turn our attention to the slowdown and a transition to fall. Families are the first to travel south for …