With a shared sigh, the two of us silently reach out to hold hands across the dinner table. We sit like this for a long moment, eyes closed with our hands clasped over the salad bowl and bread board, lost in the gentle impact of such a heartfelt expression. Conversations with Juliet Seignious often invoke that exalted experience that I can only describe as a soul connection.
Posts filed under Around town
Leaps of Faith :Tales of Local Businesses--Carosello Pasta
This column is a look at two brave souls who took a leap of faith to open their own business. What follows is a personal profile of Chelsea and Mike Carosello who are following their dreams and thriving despite the odds—and Covid.
Out of My Comfort Zone: Discomfort Zone
This assignment stumped me at first. To begin with, dear Crazy Wisdom, which self are you hoping to hear from? Me as singer, music facilitator, filmmaker, spiritual practitioner, business owner, or merely human being?
Feeding the American Dream
Almost everyone has eaten in an American style diner where burgers, fries, and homemade pies are the best sellers. A place where everyone knows one another, coffee breakfasts for groups of friends start many people’s mornings, and dinner take-outs end the workday. In Ann Arbor there is a diner that mixes classic diner fare with a bit of Korean flair. Around 1990 Bell’s Diner started serving Korean food as an addition to the already traditional all-American favorites.
Great Tastes in Local Food: Winter 2023
Downtown Ann Arbor is home to a diverse landscape of breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurants. Stray Hen Cafe, located at the corner of Washington and Division, has been a wonderful addition. The prices are moderate, and the portions are large!
Brush Monkeys and TreeTown Murals--Beautifying Ann Arbor & Beyond
Ann Arbor has long had a tradition of downtown businesses featuring window paintings on their store fronts during the holiday season. When in 2006 local artist, John Copley noticed a break in that tradition, “I mentioned to Jim Hart of Seyfried Jewelers, that I had enjoyed the holiday window painting that someone had been doing downtown for a while. That year it was not happening. I asked him why and he said, ‘Well, he died. You want to do it?’ And that is where it all began.”
A Walk Within and Beyond: Labyrinths Lead the Way
The bright service-blue sign simply stating “labyrinth” caught my attention as I was driving by St. Barnabus in Chelsea, MI. It was on my literal path, thus destined to be part of my journey that day. Suffice it to say at the start of our walk together in this article, when I stood at the entrance of this 11 circuit, 40 foot labyrinth, I felt a mystical buzz. I was about to embark on a new spiritual entry point.
How York Helped Forge a New Way of Dining Out
When the pandemic started in March 2020, restaurants had to close their doors for a bit of time to re-group. Most were able to provide delivery, no contact pickups, and take-out options. During this time, mobile food folks had an edge. It was truly amazing how food businesses, from farms to restaurants, figured out new ways of operating in a short period of time. York Food and Drink (and many other alternative eateries) made the change successfully and super-fast.
Kindred Conversations: with Hilary Nichols
Where does music begin? When you’re a musician, the search is inward. David Magumba realized that, “Beyond inspiration, you do the work. You make it happen. As a songwriter, that is the effort I am making right now.”
Crazy Wisdom Kids in the Community--Country Fall Festivals
I’m excited to explore kids’ events with you that are waiting just outside of Ann Arbor. Perfect for this new phase of expansion of the Journal are the fall festivals around Washtenaw County. You can get outside with your kids, eat a caramel apple, and relax in nature for a day of family fun.
Great Tastes in Local Food--Fall 2022
A takeout counter in the back of a party store is not where I expected to find amazing vegan food. But there I was, standing in Lakeside Party Shoppe, located a stone’s throw from the shores of glistening Whitmore Lake, waiting to pick up my order from Eli’s Blazin Wings + Pizza.
Our Neighbors to the East--Exploring the Diagon Alley(TM) of Ypsilanti
Did you know that downtown Ypsilanti is turning into a vibrant hub of the metaphysical community? It’s true! Within just a few short blocks, you will find candles and herbs for magical use, crystals and other stones, incense, tarot and oracle cards, deity statues, and so much more. Allow me to take you on a brief tour.
The Creations and Howls of Darryl "Barking Dog" Brown
There is a frenetic energy. There is also a stillness. There is a shape propelling into infinity. There is a cluster of dots, bound so tightly together it makes a heart ache. Here, in this painting, the creative freedom of dreams is restricted only by canvas size. Darryl “Barking Dog” Brown paints to create works that “connect us to the spirit world, through which we may learn to live a more sustainable life on planet Earth.”
Zen and the Art of Community-Supported Agriculture
Celebrating, preserving, and sharing our areas rich Agro-Centric heritage is one of my favorite interests. A somewhat new land preservation project has gained my interest over the past year and is ongoing at the corner of Scio Church and Zeeb Road. Follow me on a journey of one family’s dream passed on. This is yet another food-farm venture of Tantre` Farm’s stewards, Richard Andres and Deb Lentz.
Kids in the Community: The Seelie Court of Ann Arbor’s Faery Artists and Events
What have our fairy friends and their artists been up to during the pandemic? To brighten everyone’s spirits, I wanted to track down some fairy fun this spring for the young ones. Might we see more fairy doors pop up around Ann Arbor? Maybe you’ve seen glimmers of whimsical fun around Ann Arbor in the chalk drawings of the ephemeral and adorable characters dreamed up by Ann Arbor’s David Zinn. It’s almost time for the return of Shakespeare in the Arb, and we’re celebrating with a production of the fairy-packed fun of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ann Arbor is one of the best places around to find events and artists who work on a fairy theme, but like the fae they can be hiding in plain sight. I went searching under every rock and leaf, even a few book jackets, to find you the best fairy-themed events, artists, and authors in Ann Arbor to find while we’re still in need of a little fun.
CW Kids in the Community: Winter 2022: Kids Volunteering Opportunities To Give Back To The Community
Kids are back to school, but the community is still struggling. Many activities are up in the air even now. One of the ways we can create meaning out of the suffering around us is to volunteer to help others. We all know people or know of people who still have jobs but struggle to afford enough food or utilities. The environment continues to need our help. There are many ways that volunteering can help us help others, which can also support our own mental or physical health.
Leaps of Faith: 2 Dandelions Bookshop
As I walked into 2 Dandelions Bookshop on Main Street in Brighton, I was greeted by two women with smiles as cheerful as the color sprinkled about the store. As I noticed their outfits, I couldn’t help but mention, “I love that you both wore yellow for the photos.” Jeanne Blazo and Jeri Kay Thomas looked at each other’s outfits and laughed while simultaneously explaining that it wasn’t on purpose. They “just wear it a lot.” I knew then that these long-time friends were in sync and that I would enjoy learning about them and what they created together.
Crysta goes Visiting: Winter 2022
In this column, Crysta Coburn writes about crazywisdom-esque people and happenings around Ann Arbor. Winter 2022 features local woodworker Chris Blackford, Ann Arbor Writer Shandra Trent, and Jerome Stuart Nichols with The Butters Hygenics.
Bringing Youthful New Leadership to Jewel Heart: The Crazy Wisdom Interview with Spiritual Director Demo Rinpoche
Rinpoche has an impressive resume of lifelong monastic and religious studies starting at age five, when he entered Drepung Loseling Monastery in Mundgod. He officially joined the monastery in 1987 where he spent nearly thirty years of uninterrupted education in meditation, debate, memorization, philosophy, and composition under the Dalai Lama’s direct supervision. After completing his studies at Drepung, Rinpoche received the highest monastic degree of Geshe Lharampa from Gelugpa University in India in 2011. He continued his studies at Gyume Tantric College and was a visiting scholar under the auspices of the Dalai Lama at Sarah College of Higher Tibetan Studies in Dharamsala. At the request of the late Gelek Rimpoche, Demo Rinpoche came to the United States, where he received his master’s degree in Inter-Religious Engagement from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 2018.
Jewish Family Services: Providing Services to Vulnerable Individuals and Families of All Faiths, Races, Ages, Incomes, and Abilities
“When the Covid shutdowns started and Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County was providing food for more people in the community [than before], JFS asked if we would make phone calls to clients and just kind of check in and see how they were, and did they need anything,” said Phyllis Herzig. (Herzig is a member of JFS’ Board and has had a close association with the non-profit social service agency since its founding in 1993.) “So, I made some calls, and I called this one woman, told her I was calling from JFS, and she started crying and went on to say how grateful she was…she was so lonely and JFS was showing that it cared.”
