GaryBrower's blog

It was a slap-your-head moment so monumentally stupid I could not believe it.
One second my friend Steve and I were cruising through the dark and rain on U.S. 31 just north of Niles, engaged in a deep, world-changing conversation while eyeing the gas gauge and hoping like heck for an exit.
The next thing I knew the van had quit running, the steering locked up and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.
Out of gas. Stranded along the highway. In the rain. At night.

I remember one time while house shopping with my sister and her family, we toured a beautiful new home in an upscale subdivision.
It was a spec home being sold by the builder himself.
The home was in a neighborhood they liked and the price was right. The tour was going fine until we reached the main floor bathroom.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourh of July with much celebrating with family and friends. And I hope you took a lot of pictures, because myZeeland.com is hosting a photo contest honoring the most patriotic photo submitted by one or our readers.

The winner, as chosen by the myZeeland staff, will win a $25 gas card.

To submit your photos just go to the "Spotted" section of our site, register and show us your pics. So far, we have just a handful of entrants (thanks to you guys for participating), but we would like to see many more.

As I left for church Sunday morning I thought I'd better take the long way around because, after Saturday night's storm, I thought there might be a little water over 104th Avenue, just south of 16th Street, which is my normal route into Zeeland.

Boy, was I wrong.

There was more than just a little water. There was a brand new lake where the road used to be, stretching for several acres to the south and east toward Ridge Point church. I'd seen water over that stretch of road before, but nothing like this. It was really something.

They say June is the month for weddings, but there are probably as many, if not more, open houses and graduation parties in June than weddings.

In fact, I'm going to one tonight.

Graduation parties are a wonderful time for friends and family to express their congratulations to the graduates and to wish them well in the future. High school graduation, unlike marriage unfortunately, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event and most often it is preserved in pictures.

Mother Nature seems to be cooperating just in time for Monday's Memorial Day festivities and it should be a great day for parades, family get-togethers and other holiday activities, including paying tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives in service of country.
I know I will be at the parade in Zeeland Monday morning. It is truly a wonderful event, enjoyed by spectators of all ages.
The ceremony at the cemetery is always memorable and moving.

I went to Dandelion Festival in Borculo for the first time ever Saturday and I was surprised by the size and popularity of the event.
The parking lot and front yard at Borculo Christian Reformed Church were full of inflatable games and attractions. There were food booths scattered about, the fire departments were there with their trucks and, of course, the ponies made their familiar circle in the grass.
It’s brown now, but soon it will be the greenest patch in the yard, if you catch my drift.

After several years of trying to get fit on my own, and failing miserably, I finally bit the bullet and bought a membership to a local health club.
The club is very kid-friendly, which was important to us seeing that we have four of them.
So Saturday night we met some friends at the club for an evening of activity and exercise. Little did I know my hardest workout would come in the lockerroom.

I made my movie acting debut over the weekend when Jason Slingerland, the director and producer of “Coffee Shop Kings” offered me a bit role in the film being shot in Zeeland.
What Jason didn’t tell me when he offered me the role was that I would be playing the part of “Little Man.” Talk about type casting.
Anyway, I gave a performance of an Academy Award. If they had one for bit parts played to the hilt, I would be a shoe-in.

Hi again,

If you are reading this, you realize by now that myZeeland.com is live on the Web. We are extremely excited about that.
Also, you need to know that at this point we are only beginning to create and gather content for the site, so please realize that this is far from the finished product. When myZeeland.com is up and running at full speed — and it some time for the community to find us — we hope it will be a cyber gathering space for the people of Zeeland.