Being that the western part of the county is still largely rural, it’s not surprising that there are a couple corn mazes in the area.

Hubby and I have been going to the Grand River Corn Maze for several years now. Each year they have a different pattern. And for the last couple years, the Grand River Corn Maze has also included the Slaughterhouse Haunted Corn Maze. There was a haunted house, but it was shut down this year (amongst rumors of tension between the powers that be and the family that built it.)

Last year’s theme was the Olympics. There are signs in the maze– I’m not sure, but I think that if you’re still finding signs than it’s a clue that you’re on the right path. The maze is always quite tall, and there are two patches of trees. (We used to think there was only one patch of trees… that was a problem.)

We usually make pretty good time in the maze. My family happens to be born with a pretty good sense of direction. Combine that with good observational skills, and we’re usually out of the maze in a half-hour. Hubby has no sense of direction… I worry sometimes that he won’t be able to find his way home. He’s one of those folks who couldn’t find his way out of a paperbag with a map, a flashlight, AND a pair of scissors. But he has other redeeming qualities that some day I’m sure I’ll find. 😉

Hubby and I go to the corn maze during the day time. Preferably during the day on a Saturday when there’s less people. I don’t do the whole ‘wandering around in the dark’ thing. Flash light or no. I still sleep with a nightlight because of my overactive imagination. (Good for writing, not good for trying to fall asleep when it looks like the shadows are moving…)

Needless to say, we do NOT go to the haunted corn maze. Nope. Not happening.

Once, when I was young, foolish, and brand-newly wed, Hubby and I went to a haunted house. I’d never been in one, having been to few carnivals in my younger days. So, we spotted one on Tourist Trap Clifton Hill at Niagara Falls on our honeymoon. Hubby suggested we go in and I (foolishly) agree. Then, Hubby, being the sweetheart that he is insists that I go first since my eyesight is better.

Overactive imagination. Tension from the knowledge that something is going to jump out of me. I should have left Hubby in the haunted house. No one would notice one more “dead body.” I still don’t let Hubby forget that one. No haunted places. No things jumping out at me. At least when it’s one of my brother’s I can punch them for scaring me.

But the corn maze is fun. In the daytime.

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In Livingston County, there’s usually more than one good route to get from one town to the next. Some rural areas have only a few routes between areas, but much of Livingston County is connected by paved (more or less) two- lane (ish) roads.

The older and more curmudgeonly I get, the less I like the main roads of Livingston County. I don’t like driving on Grand River for long stretches between Brighton and Howell. Too many idiots in their fancy cars with their fancy phones distracting them from the overspending they’ve just done at one of the too many retail centers in the area. I’ve checked my car and it doesn’t appear invisible to my eyes…

So, I’m learning more of the “Back roads.” Growing up, I knew there were at least three ways to get into Brighton from points south–Brighton Rd, Brighton Lake Rd, and Rickett Road. Rickett’s the most fun since it’s completely straight. It’s also a deer magnet. And the site of the my impact with said quadraped.

<-Rickett Road On the back roads, I can relax. I don't have to worry as much about being run over by someone who fails to notice the little car in front of them. I can listen to my music, talk to myself out dialogue for the next story, and just enjoy the drive. There’s no rush. I can look at old architecture on the houses and take in the scenery.

And yet, given the opportunity (and excluding peak traffic times) I’d just as soon get on the expressway than wind through most the major roads of the county. I also don’t care for dirt roads– too much sliding of the car.

I don’t like spending too much time in the car. But if I’m going to be there, I may as well enjoy the drive, one way or another. Preferrably with some good tunes playing and no other drivers trying to play Monster Truck Rally with me.

How do you like to get about your town?

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This post is a little ranty…

Now, economically, things have been rough in Michigan for quite some time. We lead the way into recession years ago.

One of the casualties of the failing economy in Livingston County is the schools. The number of students has been dropping in all the local schools. This compounds another problem, which is that the Livingston County schools get the bare minimum of state funding, in spite of increases in student body and tax-base. It’s a political thing… and it’s hard on the local schools. We’re suburban these days, but the we don’t get funded like a suburban school. We get funded like small-town two-cow rural schools. We’re totally four-cow towns, at least.

So, the school districts look for places to cut. One of the places was a little elementary school in Hamburg. Hamburg is a tiny town anyway, and the elementary school had about 300 students. That’s it. It was the smallest school in the Pinckney school district, but it was also the most cherished. Logically, it made the most sense to close this one elementary and shuffle the students into the other area schools. It’s regrettable, because, honestly, this is how an elementary (hell, any school!) should be. The staff knew all the students, there’s was an incredible sense of community, and it was an integral part of the community around it.

Now, forgive a little more political ranting, but if Pinckney was a smarter school district, instead of boarding up Hambrug Elementary, they’d have that building making them money. How? Well, they’d open up their own alternative/ adult education program. Pinckney schools hemmorages high school students, most of them heading to another alternative ed program in the county. These students are non-traditional and most of them hate the way that Pinckney High School is run. (I should know… I was one of the students that couldn’t fucking leave Pinckney fast enough. I made it 2.5 years of high school.) In other districts, a well run alternative high school program is AT LEAST self- supporting. At best, it can actually make the district money, as, allegedly, the program in Brighton does.

The size of Hamburg Elementary is about perfect for a small alternative school– or even half the building would suffice. It would put the building to use instead of leaving it boarded up. So far, there’s no vandalism, but it’s really only a matter of time. Someone will have “fun” trashing the place and then it’ll end up like the closed schools in Detroit– too much money to repair.

Now I’ll admit my biases. I think Pinckney schools has a dreadfully mismanaged high school, still. (I think it’s an identity thing– they still act like a small cow-town rural school when they are not. They are a suburban school.) I also work for an alternative high school that is run well and is financially solvent. I also hate to see this wasted opportunity. There are far too many places boarded up in Livingston County, too many casualties of money and poor planning.

I love my county. Really. But it’s hard these days. Maybe my students who think that the Great Depression has to do with needing Prozac aren’t so far off the mark…

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