Friday, October 13, 2017

FLOTUS Friday: Special Anniversary Edition

I know many of you hated this look:

Melania-Trump-with-Justin-Trudeau-

You thought the slacks needed hemming, and wished Melania would wear dresses for these head of state events. I agree with the slacks needing hemming but given the head of state was Justin Trudeau I rather like the subliminal message: In America, even the First Lady wears pants.

And speaking of first ladies, did you see the firestorm Ivana started with her book-promotion comment about being first lady?

Ivana Trump boasted to ABC’s “Good Morning America" on Monday that she has a “direct number” to the White House, and talks to her ex-husband about once every two weeks.

“I don’t really want to call him there, because Melania is there,” she said. “I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that, because I'm basically first Trump wife. OK? I'm first lady. - NY Daily News

I actually thought it was a rather funny remark, demonstrating what Ivana and Donald had in common other than their 3 children. Unfortunately there seems to be a bit of tension between the President’s “first woman” and his #3 woman, as Melania’s spokesman issued this rather terse response:

“Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the President. She loves living in Washington, DC, and is honored by her role as first lady of the United States,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, said in a statement.

“She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books.”

Goodness, it was just a little joke - the least you could allow a wise woman who was replaced by a younger model, literally. I’m afraid I’ve got to come down on Ivana’s side on this one. Maybe it’s because today is our anniversary and I very much doubt I would have been the least bit gracious had a younger model replaced me somewhere along the way.

Anyway, we’re in Traverse City Michigan these weekend, where we honeymooned 45 years ago. Looks like it’s going to rain every day. Just like it did the year we were married. Aside from that nearly everything else about this spot has changed dramatically in the intervening years. Growth in this formerly sleepy little town whose motto used to be “a cut in pay for a view of the bay” has been explosive. Traffic has grown congested and condos have popped up in areas that once housed warehouses and modest homes. This now thriving wine region had no operating wineries in 1972, and only one (Boskydel) had even been planted.

We first visited Boskydel in the mid-seventies when the owner, with several young boys running about, sold his wine out of his garage. It wasn’t great but it was cheap, and the idea that wine could be grown in Michigan was an exotic concept.

The winery is closing this year. Some of those little boys have grandchildren now and wish to move on, as happens. But the region owes much to Boskydel founder Bernie Rink, a librarian at Northwestern Michigan College. He had read a book about growing grapes and determined that the Leelanau peninsula, resting along the 24th parallel and protected by air tempered by Lake Michigan, would be a perfect environment. Today the entire Grand Traverse area has thousands of acres dedicated to wine grapes and dozens of commercial wineries.

iStock_000008000025MediumFall vineyards on the Leelanau

So we’ll enjoy our soggy weekend. It’s still warm for this time of year so we’ll wonder the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore,

silver lake dunes at lake michigan lunch on perch in Fishtown, enjoy the fall colors

benches in autumn

and toast our long and wonderful life together. And wonder how the last 45 years went by so quickly.

milky way over night lake

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