A Long Back Cast

 President Jeff Docking I was bracing an 18-foot step ladder while son Scott swung his 30-pound hedge saw, cedar clippings cascading down on me.  For the last 10 years I've been Scott's clean up guy at the bottom of that ladder helping him out on friends and family hedge jobs. He stopped the machine in mid-swing to tell me that he received an email from Jeff Docking, the president of his alma mater, informing Scott that he was stepping down from Adrian College in December, after 21 years steady at the helm.  A tough balancing act to follow Adrian College is a small liberal arts college in southern Michigan where Scott obtained his business degree and played NCAA hockey for four years. During the summers he cut hedges for Trillium Trees to augment the international student aid package he received from the college. That  assistance made it affordable for Scott to pursue his education in the United States. At the time the Canadian dollar was almost on par with the U.S. ...

 At 21 square km, Lake Bernard is a geological oddity. It's the largest lake in the world without an island in it. Matt marries Vanessa, the love of his life, at a civil ceremony held at the Northridge Inn and Resort on Lake Bernard,  Sept. 3  Under steely-grey skies Matt Shackell, the last member of my brother's family to get married, tied the knot with Vanessa Jalbert Cuputo on Labour Day weekend while exchanging vows under a rose-draped arbour overlooking Lake Bernard. The rain held off and a gentle late summer breeze kept the wedding party and guests comfortable as the ceremony unfolded lakeside.   The Northridge Inn and Resort provided just the right backdrop for the gathered family members to witness the marriage.  Following the nuptials, the couple and guests walked off the promontory to a lavish reception held on the resort's front lawn.  In the lingering evening light we mixed and mingled over drinks with family members and friends b...