March 17. 2025 Post # 104

 Quote for the Day: "On the first day, according to a northern Michigan nightclub entertainer, the Lord created fudge. On the second day, He created northern Michigan so people could get to the fudge." Kay Severinsen. Michigan Living. August 1979.

Reviews

Bear County, Michigan: Stories by John Counts

Fictional Bear County, Michigan lies in the northern Lower Peninsula. In years past the young either grew up and moved away or found work in the area's only factory, where they made a living wage, and suffered a slow death working in a plant awash in toxins. When the plant closed it left a poisoned land, hard times, and little hope for a better life. This collection of stories dips into the lives of some of Bear County's extraordinary citizens, their desperate efforts to deal with the present or future, and their strange, surprising and often confounding results. 

In the "Bonecutters" Todd came from a family of Bonecutter troublemakers and losers that go back further than just his parents who got drunk in their ice shanty and drowned when it fell through the ice.  At the age of 19 he decides to follow his dreams and do something nice all of which in a convoluted way leads to a box of Kleenex. In "The Nudists" a daughter running for election visits her mother in a nudist camp hoping to convince her to leave before it sinks her campaign with totally unexpected results. Other stories involve a brotherhood of women, an oxy addict who goes to unusual extremes for a new prescription, and a group of young Native Americans who want their tribal land returned.

All of the short stories in this collection are striking unique and travel a narrative path that leaves the reader thinking it could only happen in Bear County. The stories are laced with absurdities, dark comedy, and a host of memorable characters.

Bear County, Michigan: Stories by John Counts. TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press, 2025, 220P., $24.00.

Five Seasons on Steel Decks (My Time Sailing on the Great Lakes Ore Freighters) by Andre Pichett

In 1989 the author, a native of Menominee, quit his low paying job with no future and with some luck and a lot of determination landed a job as a deckhand on a Great Lakes freighter. He sailed the Great Lakes for five years and rose from deckhand to watchman and ultimately wheelman. The author kept a diary filled with detailed notes on each of the three boats on which he sailed and recorded both the unusual and daily experiences of a working sailor. Inspired by the classic "Two Years Before the Mast" and urged by an author he dug out all his diary, notes, and photographs to write this detailed and informative account the life of a Great Lakes sailor.

The workday for a deckhand is supposedly from 8 am to 4:30 pm. The author quickly learned a deckhand's work hours was really dictated by their boat reaching or departed a port and the time spent loading and unloading cargo. He was told by an experienced crewman to "sleep fast." In his diary the author jotted down the date of departure and arrival at every port of call on every freighter he served. There was seldom more than a day or two between leaving one port with a load of stone, coal, sand, or ore pellets, delivering the cargo and departing that port with a new cargo. This meant there was seldom any regular working hours. Additionally, deckhands were responsible for regular maintenance duties including washing decks, repainting, and cleaning cargo holds. The author explains the job of the deckhand, watchman, and wheelman. He also describes the differing crew accommodations and food on the three boats he sailed. The first boat was steam driven and the second was diesel-powered by two 20-cylinder locomotive engines each boasting 36,000 hp. He sailed on one freighter so late in the season the crew had to chip ice off the boat because the ice bound boat drew too much water to pass through the Soo Locks. The book is also filled with Great Lake Sea stories he heard or experienced. But warns the reader "the difference between a 'Fairy Tale' and a 'Sea Story" is the former "begins with 'Once Upon a time and a Sea Story begins with 'Honest this is no s....."

The book is filled with photographs the author took during his five years of sailing and even more impressive are the links to a multitude of videos he took on board boats he crewed. After five years he quit sailing because it took him away much too long from family, friends, and any lasting relationship with a woman. This is a fine addition to the few books by Great Lakes sailors who shared their experiences working on the lakes. Looking back on his sailing career he writes, "I'm glad I did it and I'm glad I don't do it anymore."

Five Seasons on Steek Decks (My Time on the Great Lakes Ore Freighters) by Andre Pichette. Independently Published, 2024, 415p., $24.83.