Zinta Aistars's Blog, page 22
November 9, 2013
The Divine Daina
by Zinta Aistars
My sister Daina walking to Z Acres
She is, you know. Divine. Even though you could count on one hand the things we have in common, my sister has been shoulder against the wind from day one for me.
I may not have fully appreciated it growing up. With four years between us, in those early years that seemed to be a lot. Nor did our interests and dreams align.
Our grandmother holding me up to my big sisterShe was the girl in the family ... the one who liked feminine things, the ribbo...
My sister Daina walking to Z AcresShe is, you know. Divine. Even though you could count on one hand the things we have in common, my sister has been shoulder against the wind from day one for me.
I may not have fully appreciated it growing up. With four years between us, in those early years that seemed to be a lot. Nor did our interests and dreams align.
Our grandmother holding me up to my big sisterShe was the girl in the family ... the one who liked feminine things, the ribbo...
November 7, 2013
Horse Trainer With a Healing Touch
by Zinta Aistars
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave
November 7, 2013
Brembi with owner Erin
Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field Therapy sends a healing pulse through an area of the body experiencing pain. The results are something that keeps bringing people back to Erin McElmurry. Zinta Aistars has the story on the owner of Every Stride Dressage.
FrankieWhen 5-year-old Erin's parents saw a riding pony toy in a store, they knew to quickly pull their daughter away, distract her, and...
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave
November 7, 2013
Brembi with owner ErinPulsed Electro-Magnetic Field Therapy sends a healing pulse through an area of the body experiencing pain. The results are something that keeps bringing people back to Erin McElmurry. Zinta Aistars has the story on the owner of Every Stride Dressage.
FrankieWhen 5-year-old Erin's parents saw a riding pony toy in a store, they knew to quickly pull their daughter away, distract her, and...
November 2, 2013
Goodbye, City Life!
By Zinta AistarsPublished in Encore magazineNovember 2013 Issue"The Last Word," pages 45-46
My jaw dropped. My head fell back. My eyes went wide, wider. That sky!
Guinnez, my old chow pup, leaned against my legs, and his head seemed to tip up for a moment, too, but then his nose pointed in another direction, scenting the wild. There was a rustling out there in the woods, and it held his attention. It was our first night of living in the country, on the ten-acre plot I would come to call Z Acres...
My jaw dropped. My head fell back. My eyes went wide, wider. That sky!
Guinnez, my old chow pup, leaned against my legs, and his head seemed to tip up for a moment, too, but then his nose pointed in another direction, scenting the wild. There was a rustling out there in the woods, and it held his attention. It was our first night of living in the country, on the ten-acre plot I would come to call Z Acres...
November 1, 2013
Keystone Bank's CEO is good with numbers, even better with people
by Zinta Aistars
Published in ENCORE magazine
November 2013 Issue
One of the reasons Thomas Schlueter requires his employees at Keystone Community Bank to answer every phone call to the bank personally is because he remembers his mother’s calls to her bank.“The third of every month, my mother called her bank to verify that her Social Security check had arrived,” Schlueter says. “She had Parkinson’s so it wasn’t easy for her to make the call. I’m really proud that we
.answer our phones personally...
Published in ENCORE magazine
November 2013 Issue
One of the reasons Thomas Schlueter requires his employees at Keystone Community Bank to answer every phone call to the bank personally is because he remembers his mother’s calls to her bank.“The third of every month, my mother called her bank to verify that her Social Security check had arrived,” Schlueter says. “She had Parkinson’s so it wasn’t easy for her to make the call. I’m really proud that we
.answer our phones personally...
October 31, 2013
Playing in the dirt at preschool at the Kalamazoo Nature Center
by Zinta Aistars
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
October 31, 2013
Nature's Way Preschool (Photos by Zinta Aistars)
There is a preschool where children are encouraged to get down in the mud and dirty, jump into puddles, and splash around in the rain barrel that collects rain water from the school’s roof. Zinta Aistars has the story on Nature's Way Preschool.
The eyes of the little gray screech owl are as large as dinner plates. So are the eyes of the three- and four-year olds wh...
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
October 31, 2013
Nature's Way Preschool (Photos by Zinta Aistars)There is a preschool where children are encouraged to get down in the mud and dirty, jump into puddles, and splash around in the rain barrel that collects rain water from the school’s roof. Zinta Aistars has the story on Nature's Way Preschool.
The eyes of the little gray screech owl are as large as dinner plates. So are the eyes of the three- and four-year olds wh...
October 29, 2013
Cancer awareness event set for November 2
by Zinta Aistars
Published in the Muskegon Tribune
October 29, 2013
Linda Aerts, Harbor Hospice
Occasionally, I write articles for the West Michigan newspaper, Muskegon Tribune, and this assignment was to promote the West Michigan Cancer Awareness Musical in Muskegon, sponsored by Harbor Hospice and a local church.
When a member of the Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Church was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, he wanted to leave a lasting legacy for his church and for his community.
“Ve...
Published in the Muskegon Tribune
October 29, 2013
Linda Aerts, Harbor HospiceOccasionally, I write articles for the West Michigan newspaper, Muskegon Tribune, and this assignment was to promote the West Michigan Cancer Awareness Musical in Muskegon, sponsored by Harbor Hospice and a local church.
When a member of the Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Church was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, he wanted to leave a lasting legacy for his church and for his community.
“Ve...
October 24, 2013
Historic barn enthusiasts preserve living agricultural heritage
by Zinta Aistars
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
October 24, 2013
SPRINGFIELD BARN AT TILLERS INTERNATIONAL - ERIK HOLLADAY
Nobody knows exactly how many really old barns there are in Michigan. But the Michigan Barn Preservation Network is interested in keeping them standing. Zinta Aistars has the story.
Steve Stier thoughtfully considered the reasons he, as president of Michigan Barn Preservation Network, and others like him, believe the barns of Michigan should...
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
October 24, 2013
SPRINGFIELD BARN AT TILLERS INTERNATIONAL - ERIK HOLLADAYNobody knows exactly how many really old barns there are in Michigan. But the Michigan Barn Preservation Network is interested in keeping them standing. Zinta Aistars has the story.
Steve Stier thoughtfully considered the reasons he, as president of Michigan Barn Preservation Network, and others like him, believe the barns of Michigan should...
October 23, 2013
Going to the Birds
by Zinta Aistars
With one of my six little girls
Going into my second year of living on this 10-acre farm called Z Acres in southwest Michigan, I find myself expanding, little by little, what I do here in terms of farming. Mostly, I seed and raise and sell words. I work from home, running my writing and editing services, Z Word, LLC. That's my focus. I do, however, care about the organic lifestyle; that's a big part of why I moved here from suburbia. I believe in the local food movement,...
With one of my six little girls Going into my second year of living on this 10-acre farm called Z Acres in southwest Michigan, I find myself expanding, little by little, what I do here in terms of farming. Mostly, I seed and raise and sell words. I work from home, running my writing and editing services, Z Word, LLC. That's my focus. I do, however, care about the organic lifestyle; that's a big part of why I moved here from suburbia. I believe in the local food movement,...
October 22, 2013
Announcing: The Smoking Poet Summer/Fall 2013 Issue
The Smoking Poet MascotSummer/Fall 2013 Issue #25
Paging through this issue of The Smoking Poet , I felt a simmering revolution in these words. The world is ripe for change, and each one of us is capable of sparking change, of taking the spark down the road to the next waiting light. What fires burn in you?
Our feature artist is W.D. Chandler Smith, whose photojournalism you will see on these pages. That’s his fire. During his recent Kalamazoo College study abroad experience, the...
October 21, 2013
Poet, former Chilean activist releases new book
From WMUK 102.1 FM, Kalamazoo, Michigan's NPR affiliate, Arts and More program:
Mariela Griffor
Poet Mariela Griffor grew up in Chile where she became a political activist against the military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s and 80s. Now Griffor lives with her family near Detroit where she serves as the Michigan Consul to Chile.WMUK’s Zinta Aistars spoke with her about her new book of poems called The Psychiatrist which comes out Wednesday. Griffor...
Mariela GrifforPoet Mariela Griffor grew up in Chile where she became a political activist against the military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s and 80s. Now Griffor lives with her family near Detroit where she serves as the Michigan Consul to Chile.WMUK’s Zinta Aistars spoke with her about her new book of poems called The Psychiatrist which comes out Wednesday. Griffor...
