When Arlen Matson retired from teaching in 1993, he had three goals.
He wanted to remain physically active, mentally active and spiritually active.
He read about the North Country Trail in a camping magazine and he got involved. Big time.
Matson recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Country Trail Association. He has volunteered for 18 years and helped build more than 100 miles of trail. He founded the local chapter, the Grand Traverse Hiking Club, and kept up the administrative end of things.
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Jodee Taylor
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Jodee Taylor
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Matson
Jodee Taylor: Retiree finds wellness path
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Jodee Taylor: The stinkbug fight
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Jodee Taylor: Events, deadlines matter
The email rolled in on a Friday afternoon, just as I was getting ready to shut down my computer. "We're having a bake sale (art opening, fundraiser) Sunday! Please help us get the word out!" As much as I'd like to, I can't, because of deadlines.
Continued ... - Monday, August 22, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: First-World Problems?
An image made the rounds on the Internet a while back — First World Problems. It's also a Twitter hashtag, #firstworldwoes. It's funny in an I-don't-want-to-laugh-at-this way. "My hand is too fat to shove into the Pringles container so I have to tilt it." We've all thought along these lines. I know I have. At least I know to catch myself at it and metaphorically slap myself.
Continued ... - Monday, May 30, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: Ads tell me about pals
There's a series of ads running in the Record-Eagle about the people who work here. Finally, I'm learning about my co-workers. There are plenty of things I know about plenty of people, but these ads are introducing me to new aspects, like, um, last names. OK, it's not quite that bad, but it's amazing how little I know about the people I spend most of my waking hours with.
Continued ... - Monday, May 2, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: Chicken ratio was skewed
Ten years ago,we got two dozen chicks in the mail.
Continued ...
We now have seven grown-up birds and I'd be hard put to remember if the DNA of the original flock is present in any of them.
But last month I had to do something I never thought I'd do. I culled. - Monday, April 4, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: Mouse gets help from U.S.
My son came up with the perfect quote at the perfect time. I was so proud. Then I thought about the quote, which made me think about the United States' role in the world. Are we responsible for saving everyone? Or just a few?
Continued ... - Monday, March 7, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: Tweet a revolution
I thought following a revolution on Twitter would be like reading the Cliff Notes for "Pride and Prejudice." I was wrong. I get edge-of-my-seat excitement, unfiltered updates and a mad itch to be where the action is. How could I possibly understand what was going on in Tunisia (Egypt, Bahrain, Libya) in 140 characters? How could I get the depth, the context, the fire-in-the-belly feeling from these tiny messages on my computer screen? And yet I did. And I got hooked.
Continued ... - Monday, February 7, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: Not all have equal rights
It seemed like Martin Luther King Jr. Day meant more to me this year. Maybe it was because I fear we've dropped the ball.
Continued ... - Monday, January 10, 2011
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Jodee Taylor: U.N. statement a start
I scrolled through my Twitter feed and found a bland tweet from WikiLeaks: "U.N. statement on WikiLeaks," it said, with a link. Groan. I sighed, but clicked. "The right to access information held by public authorities is a fundamental human right ... ." Huh? Information is a human right?
Continued ... - Monday, December 13, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Plain words are best
This fall, the president signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Thank God. The act is mainly about banking language, but the Center for Plain Language is already entrenched in my heart.
Continued ... - Monday, November 1, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: The right to vote
Turning 18 can be pretty cool. You can go to the casino, of course, apparently a rite of passage for teenagers all over northern Michigan. Being 18 also means you're old enough to go to war — or vote against it.
Continued ... - Monday, October 11, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Sen. What's-their-name
I had a chance to hang out with some teenagers a few weeks ago. They were a thoughtful, well-spoken, ambitious group. Then I asked, "Who are your U.S. senators?"
Continued ... - Saturday, September 11, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Good apples improve whole bushel
I don't mind anyone building an Islamic community center in Manhattan. I don't mind that there will be a mosque within blocks of ground zero or anywhere else in the country, for that matter.
Continued ... - Monday, August 16, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Ellsberg right on justice
What's kept me thinking the most since the 2010 Traverse City Film Festival isn't a film at all. I was in the same room as Daniel Ellsberg.
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Well, I was in the room with Daniel Ellsberg's giant head. - Monday, July 19, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Relearning how to be a mother
My son, who has been gone for a year as a Rotary exchange student in Sweden, is due back this week. I’ve never seen him as a 17-year-old.
Continued ... - Monday, June 21, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Americans' geography
The tweet came across on a regular Monday afternoon: "On May 17, AP will restore country names in references to Bogota, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Kabul, Oslo."
Continued ... - Monday, April 26, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Two sides to every story
Here's a helpful — and reassuring — way to look at things for anyone who's been the subject of a news story.
Continued ... - Sunday, March 28, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: The rules of swearing
The vice president dropped the F-bomb. Big deal. Well, it was kind of a big deal, because his microphone was on and the place was packed and everyone heard it.
Continued ... - Monday, March 1, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Readers weigh in on sitter
My last column was about a pet-sitting experience gone awry. I heard from readers -- more than all my other columns put together, it seemed. And you know what? I think I may have gotten off easy.
Continued ... - Monday, February 1, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: Teen took more than our stuff
We hired a neighbor kid to take care of our animals while we were out of town over the holidays. We were robbed. We came home to find vomit on the walls, empty beer bottles, used condoms and missing things. An iPod. A hard drive. A phone. Gift certificates. Did I mention the kid we hired is all of 13 years old?
Continued ... - Monday, January 4, 2010
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Jodee Taylor: 'Twenty-ten.' Please?
I think everyone should call this year "twenty-ten." See how awkward that is? I have to spell it out. I can't just take to the airwaves and repeatedly say "2010, 2010, 2010" ("twenty-ten," "twenty-ten," "twenty-ten"). But doesn't it sound so much better? And doesn't it make so much more sense?
Continued ... - Sunday, December 6, 2009
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Jodee Taylor: Small-town claustrophobia fades
Growing up in Traverse City became very claustrophobic when I hit my teen years.
Continued ...
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Jodee Taylor: Donation counts double for cats
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