Language is a tricky thing. That’s one of the things I like about it. Also one of the things about it that I distrust. Consider the ambiguous note on report cards and in personnel files–Exceeds expectations. On its face, that must be good, probably better than Fails to meet expectations. But whose expectations? And what were they? Take last week.
Chapter I.
The Weatherman and his beloved were At Home in Ann Arbor finishing up their tax returns when winter exceeded their expectations.
Chapter II.
The kerfuffle over what to do about EMS ambulance service Around Here, and how to pay for it, has exceeded the expectations—and possibly the patience—of the taxpayers of three neighboring townships (Torch Lake, Milton and Elk Rapids). Naturally there will be a meeting where We The People will have an opportunity to make clear what our expectations are.
Wednesday April 23, 2014 6:00 PM Milton Township Hall, 7023 Cherry Avenue, Kewadin (corner of Cherry Avenue and Cairn Highway).Here is a draft agenda prepared by Alan Martel, Supervisor of Torch Lake Township, and subject to update: Joint Meeting with Township Boards4-23-14
Chapter III.
I stopped by Pine Hill Nursery on my way home from Elk Rapids on Friday to see what was new. An explosion of color exceeded my expectations. I think I might be able to keep coleus and streptocarpella alive in my shady precincts. The handy dandy rainbow handled tools are pretty, but what I really need is that Knee Armor. YakTrax for my knees!
Chapter IV.
Miss Sadie, the Cowboy and I headed down to the beach before supper with no particular expectations. We liked what we found, so we stayed down there quite awhile. (We had fairly low expectations for the weekend and wished to take advantage of a golden hour while it lasted.)
May the coming week exceed all your expectations . . . in a good way. (We are resolved to be careful what we wish for Around Here.)
Torch Lake Views 
uphilldowndale
April 20, 2014
Well good luck with your meeting, the one around here on the topic of emergency ambulances, was most unpleasant, the wish was to introduce a ‘hub and spoke’ model, but frankly the wheels had fallen off that idea, before the ink was dry! I can feel my blood pressure creeping up at the memory of the whole fiasco… http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/sites/default/files/meetings/papers/108_66.pdf
I love the jolly gardening tools, I’ve a mind to buy a pink wheelbarrow.
The cowboy looks so content. Excellent
Gerry
April 20, 2014
The Cowboy was deeply content. It was pleasantly warm on the beach, he had found something rank to roll around in, and he knew we would have supper as soon as we got back home. He does not trouble himself with thoughts much beyond supper.
I downloaded the High Peak paper and will read it with interest.
uphilldowndale
April 20, 2014
Wise dog. the press coverage is probably more entertaining than the council papers…
Martha
April 20, 2014
I suppose we could just say “I was clueless” and take shelter in that. Or “I’ll be damned”.
Love that photo above Cowboy (got that right, didn’t I?). It looks like you can see under the ice/water, too.
Gerry
April 20, 2014
That is, indeed, the Cowboy. He felt that as Miss Sadie was featured a few days ago, it was his turn. (He doesn’t worry about the future but he can hold a grudge over past wrongs.)
tootlepedal
April 20, 2014
Yaktrax for the knees sounds like a good idea.
I wasn’t able to exceed anyone’s expectations as a boy because no one had any significant expectations of me. Since then I have exceeded my own expectations by finding that I can actually do things in spite of what my teachers said and sometimes but not often, quite well.
We’ve still got an ambulance and fire service in the town but we keep a sharp eye out to make sure that no one proposes taking them away.
Gerry
April 20, 2014
Sadly children often live down to low expectations. Of course they can flounder in a sea of demands, too. Being a parent – or a teacher – is hard work.
We have an ambulance service and a fire department. The issue is whether and/or how to elevate the level of service, and what it will cost, and how much taxes would increase, and whether we could maintain local control . . . . All of it is difficult for a very small township to tackle on its own, even a township with a relatively high tax base. Thus the exploration of a collaborative effort. (Mind you, it took us several years to work out the arrangements to pave a road that is shared by two townships.)
Gerry
April 20, 2014
P.S. As you demonstrate on a regular basis, the most important expectations are the ones we have of ourselves. I wish I were better at thinking that through.
Dawn
April 20, 2014
Expectations. We do live up or down to them don’t we. I find it hard to separate my own expectations of myself from those coming from others. Love the Cowboy! And I hope your meeting works out well…though I have few expectations that it will. We have such things around here too.
Gerry
April 20, 2014
And so it goes, around the wide world.
shoreacres
April 20, 2014
One thing I’ve learned in this cyberworld is that when I think, “You know, I expect I could make use of that one day…” I’d better bookmark it and remember at least vaguely where I put it.
I’m sure no one expected the Greenwood, Mississippi City Council meeting to devolve into this. Even once you’re past the mayor being called “anti-christ, Beelzebub, deceiver, destroyer, liar, seven heads and ten horns on Satan, the Devil himself”, there’s a good bit of interesting reading to be had.
Enjoy. I don’t really expect your meeting to be better than Greenwood’s, but if it is, we want to know about it.
Gerry
April 20, 2014
Broadband challenged, I did not view the council meeting video yet, but I did read the excerpted transcriptions. We can always count on Mississippi to provide a very different perspective on almost anything. I promise you we can count on equally creative chaos Around Here. The same but different, of course. Stay tuned.
I was favorably impressed by the posting of all of the meetings of the Greenwood Council and the Leflore County Supervisors. We have been treated to the spectacle of the Board of Northwestern Michigan College conducting secret deliberations over whether to record its meetings. This is the same Board that proposed a “free speech policy,” the substance of which was to designate a place on campus where students and visitors would be able to speak freely. This as opposed to the rest of the campus where they . . . would not.
shoreacres
April 21, 2014
Ah, yes. That “free speech zone” provided by the government out on the good Mr. Bundy’s ranch is the one point of absolute clarity for me in that whole mess. It’s wrong. The best response I saw was a photo of the Nevada “free speech zone” next to a graphic of the entire US (including Hawaii and Alaska, thank goodness) with a fence around it and the words “free speech zone” superimposed.
Gerry
April 21, 2014
Ah well. Proof once more that people who have very different political perspectives can find areas of agreement and common interest. I stand firm on the side of the First Amendment.
As always, irony abounds. I understand that Mr. Bundy, oblivious to history, law, and common sense, does not consider himself a citizen of the United States, but of the State of Nevada. I’m mildly curious as to whether he thinks free speech is a right in the State of Nevada.
I would add that people who bring guns to a debate are not interested in free speech. It is an open question as to what they might be interested in. We are headed into Interesting Times all over the world.
P.j. grath
April 21, 2014
Chapter IV, photo #1 – Not to denigrate the Cowboy’s photogenic qualities, but I find that shot of the bay enchanting, with the clouds reflected in the OPEN WATER (!!!) near shore. That band of the composition, the open water, almost looks like it’s UNDER water. Or maybe I’ve been watching too much National Geographic lately.
Gerry
April 21, 2014
Thank you PJ. Clouds reflected in quiet water always make my mind tumble. In a good way of course.
Belinda
April 21, 2014
OMG! You can see land again. My father in Cheboygan said the lakes were starting to thaw and it was the worst winter anyone could remember. I’ve loved seeing the pictures you have posted. B
Gerry
April 21, 2014
This has not been my favorite winter. It’s good to see land again. Today I ventured outside in my light jacket instead of my down coat. It was a lovely feeling.