Fresh Water-Healthy Lives

Mary McKinney Schmidt
Writer and Great Lakes Advocate
If you have suggestions and comments,  
contact mary@freshwaterhealthylives.org
Copyright 2008 Mary McKinney Schmidt
Heroes of the Great Lakes
When people chose to get informed and engaged, things happen!

    From the upcoming Book 2

    Just a Smile

    It was the last day of the week.  I was heading home.  Cold, tired and
    extremely hungry, Luddington was minutes away from the campground.  
    But as I began to break camp, I decided to wait and grab a bite to eat in
    Pentwater or Grand Haven. Both communities had welcomed me with
    open arms.  The town of Luddington had not.

    I don’t expect much.  I spend my days hiking alone, my nights reading and
    writing alone.  But when I bike into town for a hot meal, I want to be greeted
    with a warm smile, welcomed back into civilization with a cheerful hello.  

    That’s all. I’m just looking for a touch of kindness.  

    My physical exhaustion colored an already grey, overcast morning. I had
    not eaten a meal for almost 48 hours.  Yesterday, unbeknownst to me, my
    watch began losing time.  My five hour hike was really seven hours.  By the
    time I returned to camp, I was too tired to drive into town.  Dinner
    consisted of munching my remaining carrots, cheese, and low fat
    crackers.  

    The morning had been energy-draining as well. A light rain had visited the
    campground during the night. Before I could stuff the tent into its too-tiny
    bag, I had to hang a clothesline and attempt to dry both the tent and large
    plastic ground cloth I used to buffer the floor from the cold, damp ground.  
    The tent dried fairly quickly.   The ground cloth, heavy with wet sand, was
    another story.  After a couple of hours, I gave up. Closing my eyes to the
    spraying sand spewing on to my freshly bathed body, I folded the tarp and
    deposited the muddy mess in a trash bag.

    “I’ll dry it at home,” I told myself as I took one last look at the campground.  

    On my way through Luddington, I searched for a spot my cell phone
    functioned.  I longed to hear the loving, supporting voice of my husband.  I
    wanted to start this, my last day of an important week, with a smile.

    But the massive grey clouds overhead were running interference.  “No
    Service” blasted across the screen of my cell phone. It seemed an
    appropriate message for the lakeside community pretending to want
    tourists walking through its streets. I had been here a week and was still
    waiting for a smile.

    I saw the red, brightly lit coffee cup out of the corner of my eye.  

    “Even if I can’t get food, I’ll at least get a cup of coffee to go.” I thought as I
    circled back towards the little shop several blocks off main street.  

     “Is there any chance I can get something to eat here?” I asked as I walked
    through the doors of the Blu Moon Café.  My voice sounded more
    desperate than I intended, not nearly as desperate as I felt.  

     “Of course you can get something to eat,” a delightful voice greeted me.
    “Hi, my name is Marilyn,” she continued, extending her hand and
    welcoming me with a warm, inviting smile.  

    Marilyn, I learned as I savored a delicious frittata served with homemade
    biscuits and jam, was another corporate escapee, a fellow adventurer.  
    She, too, had turned her back on the perks of corporate life to pursue a
    dream.

    “I spent the last 25 years working for retail giants,” she explained standing
    by my table.  She managed to make me feel like I had her undivided
    attention.  But I knew she was not missing anything in her little café.  

    “I have a 26 year-old daughter and an 8 year-old daughter,” she continued.
    “I’ve spent my life on the road, moving every couple of years as I climbed
    the corporate ladder.  My husband is in construction.  We were able to
    make it work.  My eldest grew accustomed to starting over in new schools
    every couple of years.

    “But last year, I came home from a trip and my youngest called me
    “daddy,” Marilyn said.  I could almost see the hairs on her arms stand on
    end.  “It stopped me cold.  What am I doing with my life—with her life?”

    I smiled, thinking about my own decision to leave the corporate world.  The
    circumstances might have been different but the question was the same.

    “My husband and I had always talked about opening a café when we
    retired, she continued.  “We knew what we wanted it to look like, the type
    of food we wanted to serve. We even knew the name.  I asked him what he
    would  think about starting that café right now. And here we are.”

    I watched her walk over and greet a couple of people by name as they
    walked through the door.

    Her wide smile radiated throughout the café.  A young, friendly waitress
    was waiting on other booths.  Her husband came out to ask about a catsup
    bottle order.

     “How did you end up in Luddington?” I asked after she had checked on the
    activity humming through the café.   For mid-morning, the place was
    packed.

    “We were living in North Carolina but we’d lived in Suttons Bay and Grand
    Haven at other times in our lives,” she explained.  “We have family and
    friends there.  And we knew we wanted to live by the lake.  When we got a
    phone call about a little place in Luddington, we decided to check it out.”

    On January first, they moved to Michigan and began remodeling every
    square inch of the facility.  They did the work themselves.  The result was
    an eclectic, fascinating café that reflected the open candor of its owners.

    “I wish I’d discovered you earlier in the week,” I admitted as I was getting
    ready to leave.

    Before walking out the door I gave her a huge hug.  

    “Thank you,” I whispered, knowing I’d found a fellow companion.  .

    Basking in her farewell smile, I added Luddington to my list of favorite
    destinations.
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Interdunal Ponds, found wedged between
the foredunes and backdunes of a dune
structure, can be seen at the Ludding State
Park and are considered the "Luddington
Jewels."
Discovering Hidden Lake while hiking the
Island Trail at Luddington State Park.
Climbing to the top of the Big Sable
Lighthouse is just one of the benefits of
visiting Luddington State Park.
The Big Sable Light
An Interdunal Trough
peppered with jack pines

    From the upcoming Book 1

    BP Story a Wake-Up Call
    Thomas Jefferson once said “action will delineate and define you.”

    For those who live in the Great Lakes region, Jefferson would call this a
    defining summer.

    Over 65,000 people signed petitions protesting a decision by the Indiana
    Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to allow British
    Petroleum to increase its daily discharges of ammonia and suspended
    solids into Lake Michigan.  Over 10,000 people signed letters pledging to
    boycott BP gas stations.

    In an incredible display of outrage at the government’s decision to further
    pollute Lake Michigan, people chose to get involved.  

    Our elected officials should view it as a wake-up call.  Yes, the 2,000
    construction jobs and 80 permanent positions created by the expanded BP
    refinery in Whiting, Indiana are important to an economically depressed
    region. But we can no longer afford jobs at any cost.  We must pursue
    sustainable economic growth, growth that protects the fresh waters that
    differentiate our region from any other in the world.

    BP’s request to increase the discharge levels was not illegal.  It was
    criminal given the deteriorating state of the Great Lakes ecosystem and
    their corporate commitment to produce products and energy without
    damage to the environment.  But it was not illegal.  

    The giant oil company followed the permitting process and IDEM granted
    the request following the regulations outlined in the Clean Water Act of
    1972.  Critics charge IDEM based the permit on an “antidegradation”
    clause that allows increased pollution when no affordable pollution
    reduction technology is available.  Critics say IDEM granted the exception
    without proof BP had considered other options.  If true, IDEM erred and
    should be held accountable.  

    But it may also be time to scrutinize legislation that is over thirty years-old,
    ensuring it protects our dwindling supply of fresh water.

    To their credit, BP changed course and promised to expand its Indiana oil
    refinery without increasing discharge levels into Lake Michigan.  In what
    could become a catalyst for breakthrough innovation, BP also agreed to
    work with Purdue Calumet Water Institute and Argonne National
    Laboratory to identify new technologies to improve the wastewater
    treatment processes.  

    It is this type of innovation that promises to keep the United States a leader
    in an increasingly competitive market where fresh water is the world’s
    scarcest natural resource.

    I’d like to think the BP story becomes one we share with our
    grandchildren.  It is an example of democracy at work.  When we had the
    choice, we chose action rather than apathy to protect the Great Lakes
    waters that nourish our bodies and feed our souls.  

    But we must do more.   

    Pressure to find other sources of oil will continue as the volatility
    increases in the Middle East.  The decision to expand the Indiana refinery
    was BP’s response to processing a heavier crude oil from Canada.  
    Marathon Petroleum is planning a similar expansion for its refinery in
    Detroit

    If we are serious about protecting Great Lakes waters from oil refinery
    discharges or renewed pressures to drill below the waters of Lake
    Michigan, we must change our oil consumption levels.  

    I’d like our grandchildren to know we value their access to fresh water
    more than our need to continue consuming 25% of the world’s oil.  But it
    will be our actions that tell the story, not our words.
Linear dunes line the southern end of Lake
Michigan
A view of Gary, IN from the top of Mt. Tom at
the Indiana Dunes State Park.
Quincy Elementaryt School 4th graders
from Zeeland, Michigan launch a
multi-media campaign against balloon
ribbons littering our beaches.  
Demonstrating focus, creativity, passsion,
and results, they teach us what it means to
be heroes.  Story included in upcoming
Book 1.