AUGUST 2005

from the EDITOR
Taking a Break
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Iam a firm believer that
everyone needs to get away
every once in a while. I
know it’s not always convenient
with full-time jobs, children
and other responsibilities.
But a long weekend Up
North can rejuvenate the body
and clear the mind. That is
exactly what it did for me
when my family and I went to
Harbor Springs for the July 4
weekend — a four-hour drive
north of Detroit. No cell
phones, no e-mail and no voicemail
messages to attend to. It was pure
bliss.
It’s really no secret that Up North
Michigan is truly breathtaking and one
of the country’s greatest jewels.
Unfortunately, I don’t think many people
I know experience the countryside
and scenic drive to places like
Petosky, Traverse City and Bay
Harbor.
This month we focus on Northern
Michigan in our cover story. Joyce
Wiswell takes us on a virtual tour of
paradise in Michigan and talks with
Chaldeans who head onto I-75 for a
weekend or two during the year.
Tucked away in a popular vacation
spot is a Chaldean-owned clothing
store that attracts clients from all over
the world. In our Economics and
Enterprise story this month, you can
read about Mark and Kristen Dickow,
who have created a quaint shop for
the avid shopper who spends time in
Harbor Springs.
If you’re not able to take a long
weekend, at least spend a hot summer
day splashing it up at one of our
local water parks. The Chaldean
News headed to Red Oaks Water
Park in Madison Heights and caught
up with teenagers cooling down in the
lazy river and wave pool on a Saturday
in July. On a day when the temperature
climbs into the 90s and the
humidity makes it feel about 10
degrees hotter, taking a dip is the perfect
break from the heat!
Taking time off from your daily routine,
whether it be a week or a day,
can do wonders for the mind and spirit.
Everyone needs to take a break
from everyday life and sometimes notso-everyday
situations. Getting away
from it all may be exactly what people
need when they are grieving the loss
of a loved one.
In this issue, Jovan Kassab talks to
widows about what life is like after
their spouse has died. In her story,
The Forgotten Women, she focuses
VANESSA
DENHA-
GARMO
EDITOR
on how some widows cope
with their grief.
I know from watching my
mother the past three and a
half years (and living with her
up until I married less than a
year ago) how traumatic it is
to lose a husband. Now that I
am married, I can’t image it.
Some widows, like my mother,
have spent decades with their
husbands. In the story,
Kassab gives readers some
useful advice on how to travel
through the grieving process.
Sometimes life just offers glitches
and bumps in the road. In writer Ken
Marten’s story, Cashing Out, we discover
that banks are dropping convenience
store clients that cash
checks and issue money orders — a
Taking time off
from your daily
routine, whether it
be a week or a day,
can do wonders for
the mind and spirit.
significant money-making business for
many Chaldeans. Luckily, there is an
alternative: the Chaldean-owned Bank
of Michigan.
With the twists, turns and sometimes
trauma that life brings, we all
need a detour from the daily road we
tread. So, turn off the cell phone,
unplug the computer and hop in the
car for relaxation at one of the many
vacation destinations in Michigan. Just
do it — take a break!
Alaha Imid Koullen
(God Be With Us All)
Vanessa Denha-Garmo
vdenha@chaldeannews.com
Letters to the editor can be sent via
email to info@chaldeannews.com or
to: The Chaldean News, Letters to
the Editor, 30095 Northwestern Hwy.,
Ste 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
10 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2005