Friends, as if this last fortnight couldn’t get any worse, apparently we’ve lost another member of the commenting community. Connie Ozinga, whose contributions here were always sane, intelligent and high-quality, died Sunday at her home.
Here’s the obituary, if you’d like to know more about her.
She was a library director, mostly in Michigan and Indiana, with one stop-off in Rochester, Minn. Her preferred memorial is to any Friends of the Library of your choice.
Given that libraries are currently under assault by some truly hideous individuals currently enjoying a moment, I can’t think of a better cause.
I’m very sorry to hear this.
Scout said on July 15, 2024 at 7:02 pm
I’m so sorry to hear this. RIP, Connie.
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Deborah said on July 15, 2024 at 7:07 pm
Sorry to hear that, I remember reading and enjoying her comments. Darn.
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brian stouder said on July 15, 2024 at 7:58 pm
Back in the day, my mom would exclaim ‘Ohhh!’ when Walter Cronkite would report that this or that individual had passed away – and that was precisely my reaction just now.
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Sherri said on July 15, 2024 at 8:39 pm
Such sad news. Way too young!
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Deborah said on July 15, 2024 at 8:57 pm
I had the same thought Sherri, as a 73 year old, 68 seems way too young. What a lovely photo too.
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Dave said on July 15, 2024 at 9:06 pm
Didn’t she lost part of a leg to amputation and her very last post said she was in the hospital after brain surgery. I always found her posts entertaining and insightful and sometimes the discussions of the conservative religion that must dominate the region of Michigan she came from always surprised me, I had no idea. Only 68, too, Deborah, you thought what I thought, I’m just a bit older than you.
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Sherri said on July 15, 2024 at 9:12 pm
Someone shoots at Donald Trump.
Dems: we should tone down the rhetoric!
GOP: Here’s our speaker tonight at the convention, the GOP candidate for governor who recently said “some folks need killing”.
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alex said on July 15, 2024 at 9:37 pm
I just passed by Swartz Creek, Michigan, today on the way to the Canadian bridge at Port Huron. Wish we hadn’t gone that way — half the bridge is closed and outbound U.S. traffic was down to one lane.
I’m so sorry to hear about Connie. I got to meet her once. She was in Fort Wayne for a library conference (she lived in Elkhart at the time) and we met for lunch at the Dash. We found out that we had some friends in common (two librarian friends of mine who also happen to be avid quilters, which was a hobby she shared with them) and that we’ve both summered in Empire, Michigan in the past.
Tonight I’m writing from London, Ontario. We’re en route to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we’ll be spending the rest of the week. I don’t know whether to be more freaked out about American political news or the severe storms that are supposed to sweep through northern Indiana tonight with 70 MPH winds. Not that I could do anything about it if trees fell on my house if I were there, but it seems like it would be a whole lot worse having to come home to it. And the way things have been going, it seems like news can only get worse.
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Julie Robinson said on July 15, 2024 at 9:50 pm
68, oh man, that’ll be me in a few months. I’m so sorry for Connie’s family and friends. I didn’t remember her post about brain surgery, only that she had to have a foot amputated a few years back. Crud.
I can’t even bring myself to think about the news of the day. We’ve had more bad plumbing news, and now it looks like we’ll have to repipe the entire house, including the addition. We are still gathering details and waiting for an estimate, and in the meantime, my bathroom was torn apart in anticipation. Double crud.
But in the midst of crud and double crud, some joyful moments, as a three-month old kitten joined our household yesterday. Mom needed another cat in the worst way, and there are plenty out there. Orlando has two cat cafes, where you can get coffee and play with the cats, all of who are from rescues and waiting to be adopted.
The new little guy is a light yellow-orange sweetheart and his name is John. Or Jean in the French way, according to our daughter, who adopted her cat after a trip to Assisi and named her Francesca. Or Jean Valjean, according to D. So truly, life goes on.
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Dexter Friend said on July 16, 2024 at 12:55 am
So sorry Connie has left her family, so young.
Alex, I just wrote my old friend Tom at seeing a shiny new Range Rover passing through Bryan with Ontario plates. That is common here, but I have never seen a vehicle here with London stickers on the back. Back when Canada was under the War Measures act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis
Tom and I drove to London to just goof around. We found things to do and ended the afternoon in a giant workingman’s beer hall where the men slammed down their pitchers and yelled MORE BEER! at the waitresses. Quite a site. Of course, being adventuress , we had a baggie and papers.
We had no idea the country was under war powers, so of course, we got stopped by 3 cop cars who rushed my Ford demanding paperwork and a look in the trunk “for bombs and explosives.” They did not ransack the car or who knows what we would have been in for.
I produced my stack of orders for Viet Nam after I was asked questions and told the honcho I was a soldier, “what country?”. USA, I said…then they told us to get in the car, get on 401, and do not stop until we cross into Detroit. That was an order, not a suggestion. We got kicked out of Canada, a nice footnote on anyone’s resume.
Enjoy London and give us a full report.
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ROGirl said on July 16, 2024 at 7:19 am
My condolences. Libraries have always been special places for me.
The turn of events yesterday ratcheted up my anxiety even more, but I overheard a woman at work telling someone that with the dismissal of the charges their side won. Not that I’m surprised, I’m probably the only non maga person in the front office.
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Dorothy said on July 16, 2024 at 8:14 am
I saw this on Facebook last night and was in the process of coming here to tell you when we lost internet and then power due to a storm. Power came back at 8:30 but our internet is still out. I’m not at home right now.
I’m very sorry to learn about Connie. She had an important voice here. Loved seeing her posts on instagram that included pics of her beautiful dog.
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Dorothy said on July 16, 2024 at 8:53 am
I’m confusing Connie with another Instagram friend. I have not seen dog pictures from Connie!
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Jeff Borden said on July 16, 2024 at 8:57 am
Our public library was an oasis for my sister and I. Getting permission to take home multiple books felt like a real accomplishment. Librarians are critical to our democracy. R.I.P.
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LAMary said on July 16, 2024 at 10:14 am
I assumed Connie’s health had declined in the last year or so. She wasn’t posting much. We used to discuss our shared weird Frisian surnames and stories of Dutchistanian (or in my case, northern NJ) Dutch Reformed behavior. I miss her comments, always good.
I’m sure you made it to heaven, Connie.
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Jeff Gill said on July 16, 2024 at 10:29 am
Connie was always alerting me to good posts about lake freighters and such; I’ll certainly add to that memorial. Blessings on her memory.
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del said on July 16, 2024 at 3:18 pm
Goodbye dear Connie.
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Alan Stamm said on July 16, 2024 at 4:03 pm
Thanks for linking to Connie’s comments, which show a precise, graceful writer with an eye for details. This part of a predawn reply to Holly about Glen Lake summers on June 8, 2010 is lovely:
“My oldest memories are pre-National Park, when the scenic drive was a privately owned business, and the dune climb and campground were part of a state park. I remember the old red dune buggies with the big tires, and my grandmother tying her hair up just right in a scarf before we rode them. The Dairy Bar had a gas pump, and the same teenagers that scooped the ice cream pumped the gas.
“As to the Totem Pole, everyone’s kid needs a rubber spear. My husband bought our kid so many inappropriate things there in years past. My least favorite was the bell for the three year old, and there is actually a whip down the basement too. In recent years my thing about the Totem is that they sell Seafoam, my favorite hard to find candy.”
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