This week host Phil Tower welcomes back guest Tom Sinas. Tom is a partner with Sinas Dramis Law, and Sinas Dramis is the presenting sponsor of the 8th Annual Grand Rapids Lids for Kids Event. This year’s event happens Saturday, June 3, 2023, from 10 am – 12 noon at Garfield Park in Grand Rapids. Lids for Kids began in 2003 as Heads Up For Safety in Lansing. The Grand Rapids event started in 2014 and the name was changed to Lids for Kids. Since 2003 Lids For Kids has given away more than 13,000 helmets at the events. The Brain Injury Association of Michigan is also a presenting partner of the event.
Online: Lids For Kids Bike Safety Event
In part two of this week's program, Phil welcomes Melissa F. Kaelin, a writer, painter, photographer, and author of the book, "Below the 45th Parallel: The Beginner's Guide to Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes Region." Melissa's book was published last December. Melissa is an avid adventurer, a nature enthusiast, a dog lover, and a chaser of the Northern Lights… also, known as Aurora Borealis.
Melissa is also the founder of the Grand River Writers Guild. The group shares writing advice, news, and events on a dedicated Facebook Page. In 2017, she became one of the founders of the Aurora Summit, an international conference celebrating the Aurora Borealis.
Online: the Aurora Summit
Online: Michigan Aurora Chasers Facebook group
Online: Melissa Kaelin’s Website
Have an idea for a guest for an upcoming program? You can always email us here
Online: Lids For Kids Bike Safety Event
In part two of this week's program, Phil welcomes Melissa F. Kaelin, a writer, painter, photographer, and author of the book, "Below the 45th Parallel: The Beginner's Guide to Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes Region." Melissa's book was published last December. Melissa is an avid adventurer, a nature enthusiast, a dog lover, and a chaser of the Northern Lights… also, known as Aurora Borealis.
Melissa is also the founder of the Grand River Writers Guild. The group shares writing advice, news, and events on a dedicated Facebook Page. In 2017, she became one of the founders of the Aurora Summit, an international conference celebrating the Aurora Borealis.
Online: the Aurora Summit
Online: Michigan Aurora Chasers Facebook group
Online: Melissa Kaelin’s Website
Have an idea for a guest for an upcoming program? You can always email us here
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and this is West Michigan Weekend from
iHeartRadio, and thank you again forlistening. This is your ost Phil Tower,
and I'm in studio with Tom Sinusof the SNUS Dramas Law Firm.
They are also the sponsors for agreat event, an impactful event now in
it's eighth year, the eighth annualGrand Rapids Lids for Kids event catchy name,
(00:27):
huh, Well, we'll be talkingabout that. And first of all,
Tom Sinus, it's good to seeyou back in person. Oh.
Phil, It's always great to seeyou, especially back in person. Thanks
for having me back on. We'vebeen doing this conversation for years. Tom
could tell you we could probably dothis without notes, but we have notes,
and that's because we are a professionaloperation here. I'm always excited to
(00:53):
talk about this. And I saidimpactful because it does make a difference.
We would never know how many kidswe're saved from a traumatic head injury or
brain injury. Would they not havereceived a free helmet at the annual Lids
for Kids event. It's Saturday,June third, ten to noon at Garfield
Park. And this is actually twentyyears of the event. It started in
(01:17):
Lancing Grand Rapids event started in twentyfourteen. We had a couple of lost
years because of COVID and this doesn'tget old for you. You get up
for this every year, right,that's right. I mean, we really
missed it those couple of years whenwe couldn't do it. It was such
a joy to come back last year. I think we gave away over six
(01:37):
hundred helmets in a couple of hours, which is similar to what we had
done in the years before. Soit's always kind of my favorite time of
year because it's such a fun day. And you're right, it does not
get old seen smiles on faces andhelmets on heads. Do you remember the
impetus for this event? It startedin twenty two thousand and three, so
(01:59):
it's twenty years old. It startedas heads up for safety and Lancing that
twenty years ago. You were amuch younger Tom Sinus. We were both
a much younger version of ourselves,thank goodness, and I just I don't
know if you were a part ofthe original conversation what motivated Sinus Dramus Law
to create this event get involved withthis event? Well, twenty years ago.
(02:22):
I wasn't even a lawyer at thetime, but the law firm that
I am a part of has obviouslybeen a part of my family and friends
for a long time. So Ido remember those days, and I remember
it was the same motivation then asit is now, just a simple recognition
that there was something that we coulddo to prevent brain injury in children.
(02:43):
At our law firm, we representpeople who have been seriously hurt or had
a family member killed, and Ithink you can say across the board there's
nothing more tragic than an injury toa child. We don't want those people
in our office. And so wethought, well, maybe we can buy
some helmets and give them away forfree and help people get them fitted and
encourage them to wear them and getcaught on in Lansing in early days and
(03:07):
then two fourteen, as you said, it was back when we started the
Grand Rapids Office and we started theevent here, we changed the name to
Lids for Kids because, as yousaid, somebody came up with a catchier
name, and it is a greatname. It's a good one. I
can't claim credit for it if somefriends of mine came up with it.
And so we changed the name,and we just kept going, and here
(03:28):
we are again this year, hopingto do the same thing that we've done
in years past. I think someonein my office told me that I think
we've given away over thirteen thousand helmetsover the last twenty years, and we're
hoping to do more and more againthis year in the years to come.
Thirteen thousand helmets, four kids forall kinds of residents, four bikes,
(03:49):
for skateboards, for scooters. Iknow you think, really, do I
need to have my kid wear ahelmet if they're just kind of tooling around
on a tricycle in my front yard. But I remember a conversation you and
I've had on previous segments of thisprogram, which we've done through the years,
and it's always really stuck with me, just the simple fact that a
(04:14):
head injury, a brain injury canoccur just from a fall, like even
from a couple of feet from thelevel of a tricycle for your three or
four year old on that tricycle downto the sidewalk, That can cause a
traumatic brain injury or serious head injury. It can, and you are right,
and this story hits close to homefor me. My daughter Norah,
(04:38):
who is now just about to turneleven. A number of years ago,
when she was around that age,was writing one of those little scooters and
she wasn't very far off the groundbecause she wasn't very tall, and we
were walking through the neighborhood and youknow, she got a few steps ahead
of us and she just hit alittle lip in the sidewalk, nothing dramatic.
She went over the front of thescooter and she hit her head on
(05:01):
the concrete and thank god, shehad a helmet on and it was actually
a Lids for Kids helmet, andthat helmet cracked on the side of the
helmet. I still keep it onthe office as a reminder. And she
was, you know, shaken upand cried a little bit, but thank
god, she's fine. And soI think about that every year because it's
not the kind of it wasn't thekind of event where you think, oh,
(05:25):
this child could have seriously hurt themselves, but it was a reminder that,
boy, it can happen really underany circumstance, and all you need
to do to try to try tomove the needle of prevention is to just
put a helmet on the head.Yeah, Tom Sinus is with us on
this segment of West Michigan Weekend fromMy Heart Radio as we talk about the
(05:45):
ant annual Lids for Kids event Saturday, June third, from ten am to
noon ten am to noon at GarfieldPark in Grand Rapids. This is twenty
years of the event it started inLancing into the three. This is give
or take a few years, thetenth year officially chronologically for Grand Rapids.
(06:06):
A few years were missed because ofCOVID, but the impact is certainly demonstrable.
Thirteen thousand plus helmets given away,six hundred and six helmets given away.
Boy, there were six lucky lastkids last year at the Lids for
Kids event and Grand Rapids in twentytwenty two. That's a lot of helmets.
(06:27):
And you can tell this event hasreally meantled out to a lot of
folks beyond science dramas. Law firmMary Freebet is now one of your major
partners along with Grand Rapids Public Schools, Fox seventeen, the Grand Rapids Fire
Department, the Garfield Park Neighborhood Association, Applied Innovation and Go Go Squeeze.
Those are the Little Squeeze Juice,Apple sauce, etc. Things that I
(06:51):
remember very well from when I hadlittle kids at home. Other notable things
you want to be aware of.The police department will be on hand,
the fire department and a real lifefire engine will be there. Volunteers and
the cosplay Crusaders will be there.That's a great group. They get dressed
(07:11):
up in costumes. And what aboutthe specific fitting, Tom, I know
we've talked about this because it's notjust grab a helmet leave. I mean
there's a process involved as well too, right, you're right, And because
of all of those organizations you mentioned, this event has really turned into a
community wide affair where a lot ofpeople give of their time and talent to
(07:33):
come make the event not only fun, but educational and particularly educational along the
lines of helmet fitting. So wewill have a wonderful group again of volunteers
who've given of their time that morningto make sure that the helmets that we're
giving away are fitted on the kid'sheads. Will have different sizes of helmets,
(07:53):
people trained on how to fit thehelmets because, as you point out,
it's important to have a helmet,yes, but it's important to make
sure that helmet fits, and wecan help people get fitted on that day,
and we can also teach them alittle bit about how to make sure
the helmet stays fitted or as whentheir kids grow up, make sure they're
adjusting the helmet so that it's fittingaround the chin and the forehead and the
(08:18):
side of the head. So wewant to make sure that we're not only
giving away helmets, but we're teachingpeople how they should be used, because
when they are used correctly is whenthey can be the most help in preventing
a brain injury. We're speaking withTom sins He is part of the Sinus
Dramas Law firm, partner with SinusDramas Law, and we're also, of
(08:39):
course they are also i should saysignificant sponsors, the partners for this great
event called Lids four Kids, andit's happening again in June third, Saturday,
June third, from ten and noonat Garfield Park here in Grand Rapids.
I think a lot of people mightbe confused, those of us,
(09:00):
those hearing us on the radio timeabout who qualifies to get a free helmet.
As I recall in the past,this is kind of a no questions
asked thing. You can show up, you don't need to demonstrate in need.
Obviously, it's on the honor system. So if if you all have
good helmets at home, there's noneed to come. But if you have
a genuine need or you know afamily that could certainly benefit from it,
(09:24):
this is a great event that theyshould at tender or maybe you realized you're
short of helmet and would like totake advantage of this event. It's on
Saturday, June third again at GarfieldPart. Can you talk about that a
little bit and just in terms ofhow this event works. They show up
at ten o'clock. There obviously isa processing liner. People wait in line
(09:45):
to get their helmets. What elsedo they need to know? Yeah,
the only limit is that you haveto be a child. Unfortunately, we
aren't in a situation where we cangive away by helmets to adults, but
we do have helmets of different sizesfor kids all the way down to the
little ones up to eight kids agesaround twelve. And you're right, you
don't need to come and explain theneed other than your desire to want to
(10:11):
have a helmet and your willingness tobe part of the fitting process. We
don't want to be in a situationwhere we're just passing out helmets. We
want to make sure that they're fitted. So as long as the child comes
and they don't have to necessarily comewith their parents, they could come with
a neighbor, they could come witha friend. You're right, they'll get
signed in and they'll give us alittle bit of information about them. If
(10:31):
for no other reason, then wewant to also enter them in the Raffle
drawings. We have some bikes togive away, some other prizes to give
away, and so when people fillout the name cards, we put them
in a box and throughout the morningwe will pull names out of the box
and some kids who are there willwin some free goodies during the day.
So we like to know people's names. It's nice to know what schools they
(10:54):
come from, so we can ifwe're giving away bikes, for example,
if we know the age of thechild, we can try to get him
assigned to the right bike if theywin the Raffle. It goes from as
you said, from ten to noon. Sometimes people will show up early and
the line will form before the eventstart. That's okay, it's nothing to
get stressed out about. We havea group of volunteers there that once we
(11:15):
get going, we'll get them fitted. Last year, our crew was incredibly
efficient. I think we fitted allof those six hundred and six kids and
they were all pretty much fitted bymaybe eleven thirty. So we've got a
good system. Even it is sufficient, even if it appears when you show
up that it's a zoo, We'vebeen doing it enough that I think fingers
(11:37):
Crossed will get everyone, will geteveryone processed, and we'll bring plenty of
helmets for the kids that show up. I want to real quickly encourage people
to learn more about this online.I know your law firm is Sinus Dramus
si n asdr amis dot com.Where should they go to specifically learn more
about lids for Kids. We dohave a website for the event. It's
(12:00):
for Kids m I Lids for Kidsmi dot org and there you'll find details
about this event, the event thatwe do in Lansing, and some other
information about you know, bike helmetsafety and the like. Once the helmets
are gone, they're gone, sobe mindful of that. There is a
limited supply, and you know there'sno kickbacks or bribes for the volunteers there.
(12:22):
You get in line and mind exactlymind the gap as they say,
and it all goes well, andmost importantly, it is just a wonderful
thing to make sure that six hundredplus youngsters are going to leave Lids for
Kids on Saturday, June third witha brand new helmet. If you are
one of the skeptics who're saying,ah, you don't need a helmet,
(12:43):
show up at lids for Kids,you're going to get an education because there
are a lot of people who havesurvived bicycle crashes who are living testimonials of
how important a helmet is and alwayswill be. I have adult friends who
are still with us and still completelyas good as normal thanks to a very
(13:07):
strong and protective helmet. Some friendswho've had broken bone serious injuries on bicycles
but avoided a head injury and anymajor head trauma thanks to a helmet.
Yeah, I mean they work.It's obviously the single best thing you can
do when you're on a bike.And I remember, I mean you and
I are old enough to remember backwhen few people wore bike helmets, And
(13:30):
I remember my parents making me weara bike helmet as a kid and hating
having to do it because no onedid it. And thank goodness, we've
come a long way where we all, I think, understand how important bike
helmets are. They're not unusual tosee, and we have learned through this
event that there is a genuine needto have access to bike helmets, because
otherwise we wouldn't have had the opportunityto give away as many as we did.
(13:54):
So it's great to see that peopleunderstand the importance of a bike helmet,
how preventative it really is for seriousinjuries involving bikes, and to have
them interested in the event and wantingto come and get a helmet. I
should say that come regardless whether it'srain or shine. We've given away hundreds
of helmets in the beautiful sunshine.We've given them away in the pouring rain,
(14:16):
We've given them away in the wind. I think all of that really
speaks to what you're getting at PHIL, which is an appreciation for how important
they are and a recognition of theneed. So we keep going no matter
what the weather is. All right. Again, thanks to Sunas Rama's Law
firm for putting this on the annualLids for Kids Saturday, June third.
(14:37):
You can learn more at Lids forKids m I dot org. We also
want to shout out Alicia Spencer,who makes sure you and I are in
the same place at the right time, and she is also one of your
team members who make sure that thisevent goes out goes off without a hitch.
So thank you again for joining us. Really appreciate the opportunity to get
(14:58):
the word out here Heart Radio andmost importantly check out Lids for Kids Ami
dot Org. Tom Sinus is withthe Senus Dramas law firm and they are
the sponsors of Lids for Kids herein Grand Rapids on June third, he's
been our guest in this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend from My Heart Radio.
We have more coming up in justa moment. When you're high, you
(15:20):
feel different, pretty obvious, right, You think different, doc different.
But if you feel different, youdrive different. So if you're high,
just don't drive. Brought to youby Nitza and the ad Council. Welcome
back to West Michigan Weekend from IhartRadio. It's great to have you along
with us, and I must confessI'm a little bit excited in this segment
(15:41):
to welcome guest Melissa Kalen. Sheis a lot of things and well,
let me just read what I havewritten a lot of this from her website,
which will tell you about Melissa Kalenis a writer, a painter,
of photographer, and she's author ofa relatively new book called Below the forty
fifth Parallel, Theginner's Guide to Chasingthe Aurora in the Great Lakes Region.
(16:03):
It's just out on paperback last December. We'll be talking about that. And
she is a follower of the NorthernLights, also known as Aurora borealis.
Melissa Klein, Welcome to the program. It's great to talk with you.
Thank you so much. That's whenthe honor to be here. So I
gotta ask. You're a writer.You are a a MAC grad like I
(16:25):
am. I'm a CMU grad.You went to a great school Miami of
Ohio, thank you, in Oxford, Ohio, and you're trained as a
journalist and a writer. Right whendid the Northern Lights thing happen? Where
you became infatuated with that and kindof dedicated a good portion your life to
this. Absolutely, you know,I grew up in Ohio, but as
(16:47):
soon as I graduated college, Imoved all the way up to Minnesota and
I was there for eleven years andit was when I was living in Minnesota
that those long winters really made meappreciate some of those rare natural phenomena,
whether it's poor frost or light pillarsthat you see in the cold, or
the aurora borealist. And I wokeup one morning and I saw photos of
(17:08):
the corona, which is an aurorathat appears directly overhead. It takes on
many shapes and formations. Some peopledetect an eagle or a phoenix, or
an angel or a bear in thesky. I had seen these photos of
the news and thought what And thenI, you know, I looked at
the cash and I said, wherewere these taken? When did this happen?
(17:30):
Turns out it was nearly in mybackyard that night before, while I
was sleeping, that this happened rightoutside. And then I said, okay,
I've got to do everything I canto see this for myself, to
learn how to catch it. Youknow, I'm gonna do everything it takes
to see money first aurora. Andthat's that's really got what got me hooked.
Wow, right in your own backyard. Well, listen, I'm going
(17:52):
to start with the obvious. Ithink a lot of people we see photos,
especially on social media, and Ithink all staring in awe and you
just mentioned it. This is somethingthat takes a little bit of effort,
but I am getting a censor.Are more settings than ever in Michigan.
You're in the southeast part of thestate. We're hearing Grand rapids. A
(18:12):
lot of our listeners are really allover the state, all over the country.
But in terms of where to start, and obviously your book is a
great resource below the forty fifth ParallelA Beginner's Guide to Chasing the Aurora in
the Great Lakes region. So we'regoing to start with the obvious. I
think a lot of people listening,including myself, my wife and I were
(18:33):
like, Okay, we have togo up to like you know, the
Key one Off Peninsula. We haveto go way far north and you know,
sleep in our car and set analarm, get up at two in
the morning and start looking at thesky. And we would be severely bummed
if we didn't get to see thenorthern lights. So how do you start
for the newbiest for the beginners.A lot of people listening to us going
(18:57):
tell me, m Lissa, whatdo I need to right right? Well,
that's a common misconception. You know, a lot of people think that
you have to drive as far northas you can to see the aurora.
That's not the case. In fact, if you learn how to chase the
northern lights with some regularity, thereare a lot of tricks and tips that
you can use to stop them prettyclose to your own backyard. So the
(19:18):
first thing that people need to knowis that you need to find a dark
sky. You can look up darksky maps or light pollution maps, you
know, just give it a quickInternet search, and all of a sudden
you're seeing sort of the concentrations oflights in our cities and on our streets
around you in your own neighborhood.You can use that to find a dark
sky near you where you can reallykind of get away from those light bulbs
(19:41):
an artificial light, and start tosee nature's light coming through. Another thing
people don't realize is that you reallyhave to light your eyes adjust to the
dark in order to see the aurora. Borealist, you know, we're as
humans, we're not designed to seewell in the dark. We're not nocturnal
creatures. So you have to giveit at least five minutes of really staring
(20:02):
into the darkness to try to pickup movement or changes in the sky.
A lot of people have seen theaurora and they don't even know it because
what they were looking at when theytook one peek up from their cell phone
was just a little mist or awhite kind of coloration in the sky,
maybe a silver veil over the start. Now, if they had taken a
(20:23):
few moments to really concentrate on thatand focus on that and let that light
and color fill their vision, theymight have noticed the northern lights, and
the northern lights don't always have acolor, unfortunately at our latitude. You
know, we know the aurora tohave these really fantastic colors, greens and
(20:45):
purples and pinks and even orange andyellow, and these colors do happen,
and you know, you see thema lot in the most polar regions of
the world, and you can evensee them in Michigan. But a lot
of people don't realize those colors reallycome through during the very strong geomagnetic storms.
Aurora is really geomagnetic activity that isfiltering into Earth's atmosphere from outer space.
(21:08):
Is that a Latin It's obviously aLatin term. What does that mean?
Aurora Borealis. Aurora borealis is reallyreferring to the northern lights. You
know, we're talking about you know, borealis, which means norris, and
then Aurora is talking about the dawn. You know, there's a legend that
(21:30):
goes way back in time from Greekand Roman mythology where the Aurora was the
goddess of the dawn. And sopeople believe that Aurora would escort the sun
god Apollo into the sky, sortof pulling his chariot into the sky in
the early morning hours, and sothe Aurora would come right before sunrise in
the dawn. And actually, whenI first started chasing, I noticed a
(21:52):
lot of those really powerful displays andreally brilliant lights happened about at about three
o'clock in the morning. So theremight be something to that. Okay,
does temperature enhance or eliminate the possibilityof seeing the Northern lights? What role
does it play, Melissa, Youknow, that's a really good question.
(22:14):
A lot of people believe it hasto be cold to see the Northern lights.
There, it has to be winter, it has to happen during the
winter months. If that's also anothermisconception, the Northern lights can occure all
year long, and temperature is notreally a factor. Sometimes on those cold
winter nights, we do get thecrisp air and we also get a lot
of darkness, We get more hoursof dark in which we can actually see
(22:36):
the Northern lights. But the aurorahappen all year long. They can happen
in any temperature. Now, whenyou're chasing in the summer months, you're
going to run into some obstacles.Right now, we're seeing wildfire smokes moving
in from the wildfires in Canada andactually drifting all the way to Michigan,
and so that wildfire smoke is enoughto kind of obscure your view of the
(22:56):
Northern lights. Now, the samewould be true if you had a lot
of air and you were really gettingwater to evaporate some fog and mists that
can also block your views. Sopeople do like to go out into the
cold with more promise of seeing theNorthern lights. But it really depends on
what activity is happening on the surfaceof our sun. In firing solar activity
(23:18):
our way, it's called the solarwind, and then that solar wind filters
into their Earth's atmosphere through a processthat creates the northern lights, so if
our sun is exited, we mightsee something here on Earth. Very cool.
By the way, we're speaking withMelissa Kalin. She's authored the latest
book out in December below, theforty fifth Parallel, The Beginner's Guide to
Chasing the Aurora in the Great LakesRegion, out in paperbet back and available
(23:42):
wherever books are sold. And there'salso a Facebook group you can learn more
about Michigan Aurora Chasers updates. Thereare a lot of places to get connected.
And I think my most obvious questionlearning so much from you is you're
talking about the magnetic activity that Iguess they're disturbances in the sun which set
(24:06):
out these geomagnetic magnetic magnetic storms whichcan really negatively impact satellites communications, but
they can be great for enhancing thechances of seeing the northern lights, right
right. Yeah. A lot ofpeople don't realize that what we're watching when
we see the aurora in the skyactually has implacentations for our infrastructure as well.
(24:27):
Whatever our leading national agency is ispredicting this weather that's actually called space
weather. It's not Earth weather,but it's space weather, and they're not
providing those forecasts to tell Aurora chase, there's when to go outside. They're
issuing those forecasts so that people whowork on the power grid, or people
who work with satellites or even astronautsand outer space can know when to prepare
(24:52):
for a possible impact from the solarwind, which is what then goes through
a process to great Northern lights.Very int You will also put together a
conference for followers of Aurora borealis inthe Northern Lights. Can you tell us
a little bit about that. Yeah, So in twenty seventeen I had the
good fortune to co found the AurorasSummit, which is an international conference is
(25:18):
open to anyone, so don't letthat word conference scare you. We celebrate
the art, culture, science andphotography of the Northern Lights, and so
we bring in Aurora chasers from allover the country and Canada to you,
and we're expanding all the time totell you what it takes to chase the
Northern lights, and then what you'regoing to need to know about astro photography
in your camera in order to reallycapture the Northern lights and camera and get
(25:42):
some of those beautiful photographs. Wealso talk about some of the history and
the culture some of those Native Americanmyths that go back centuries and centuries,
as well as you know, othertypes of art forms. We were very
privileged last year to have a painterwith us who is painting the Aurora live
on site in Redcliffe, Wisconsin.So that happens every year in the fall
(26:04):
and it's really a blast. Sothis year's Aurora Summit for our listeners happens
November third. And where does theconference happen. Yeah, it'll be November
third through fifth and Redcliff, Wisconsin, which is not too far from Washburn
and Bayfield. It's really got thosebeautiful dark skies. We're going to bring
all these experts together, feature keynotespeaker Alan Dyer from Amazing Sky, and
(26:30):
then on Saturday night we all goout to see the Aurora as a group.
Let's hope for clear skies an advanceof the northern lights. Yeah,
this is a it's a great website, the Aurora Summit dot com. You
can learn more about it, howto attend the conference in Redcliff, Wisconsin.
You you mentioned something which we onlyhave a couple of minutes left,
so I'll be real quick about this. You mentioned photography and photographing the northern
(26:55):
lights. You can't just point yourphone up at the sky and get a
good picture. Maybe yes, ifyou're lucky. But do you need special
photography? If you need special settings, we just got a couple of minutes
left. What do you recommend toour listeners. Yeah, that's a good
question. You know, any cameraon the right setting should be able to
capture the aurora. What you reallyneed is a tripod, lots of time,
and a little bit of learning beforeyou go out at start. You
(27:18):
can actually capture the aurora with amodern cell phone too, especially some of
the newer iPhones and androids that arecoming out now. Set up a tripod,
get that thirty second insposure and makesure you focus on a star and
your aurora photography will come through.Listen before we run out of time.
As you're staring at the sky inthe night at three in the morning,
(27:40):
perfect conditions for the northern lights.How does it develop real quickly, explain
to our listeners. Yeah, youknow, it can happen instantly and it
can change so fast, but itcan also take a half hour or an
hour or more. I would devoteat least three hours to watching the night
sky. If you really want tocatch it and don't get ace and go
home and be handed and something elseis fighting on the trip. So that
(28:02):
you know you're going to have agood time no matter what, because this
is really unpredictable stuff. Great wisdomand by the way, you can learn
more on Melissa's website kalin art dotcom. That's k E k Ae l
i n art dot com. Youcan also find her book below, the
forty fifth Parallel, The Beginner's Guideto Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes
(28:23):
Region, on Amazon wherever books aresold. Melissa, I told you this
is going to go fast. I'vegot to wrap things up. Thank you
so very much for joining us andcome back soon. Okay, thank you
so much, and good luck onthe Aurora chasing trail. Absolutely she's been
our guest in this segment of WestMichigan Weekend from My Heart Radio. I'm
Phil Tower, thanks for listening.iHeartMedia. West Michigan Weekend, a public affairs program
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and this is West Michigan Weekend from
iHeartRadio, and thank you again forlistening. This is your ost Phil Tower,
and I'm in studio with Tom Sinusof the SNUS Dramas Law Firm.
They are also the sponsors for agreat event, an impactful event now in
it's eighth year, the eighth annualGrand Rapids Lids for Kids event catchy name,
(00:27):
huh, Well, we'll be talkingabout that. And first of all,
Tom Sinus, it's good to seeyou back in person. Oh.
Phil, It's always great to seeyou, especially back in person. Thanks
for having me back on. We'vebeen doing this conversation for years. Tom
could tell you we could probably dothis without notes, but we have notes,
and that's because we are a professionaloperation here. I'm always excited to
(00:53):
talk about this. And I saidimpactful because it does make a difference.
We would never know how many kidswe're saved from a traumatic head injury or
brain injury. Would they not havereceived a free helmet at the annual Lids
for Kids event. It's Saturday,June third, ten to noon at Garfield
Park. And this is actually twentyyears of the event. It started in
(01:17):
Lancing Grand Rapids event started in twentyfourteen. We had a couple of lost
years because of COVID and this doesn'tget old for you. You get up
for this every year, right,that's right. I mean, we really
missed it those couple of years whenwe couldn't do it. It was such
a joy to come back last year. I think we gave away over six
(01:37):
hundred helmets in a couple of hours, which is similar to what we had
done in the years before. Soit's always kind of my favorite time of
year because it's such a fun day. And you're right, it does not
get old seen smiles on faces andhelmets on heads. Do you remember the
impetus for this event? It startedin twenty two thousand and three, so
(01:59):
it's twenty years old. It startedas heads up for safety and Lancing that
twenty years ago. You were amuch younger Tom Sinus. We were both
a much younger version of ourselves,thank goodness, and I just I don't
know if you were a part ofthe original conversation what motivated Sinus Dramus Law
to create this event get involved withthis event? Well, twenty years ago.
(02:22):
I wasn't even a lawyer at thetime, but the law firm that
I am a part of has obviouslybeen a part of my family and friends
for a long time. So Ido remember those days, and I remember
it was the same motivation then asit is now, just a simple recognition
that there was something that we coulddo to prevent brain injury in children.
(02:43):
At our law firm, we representpeople who have been seriously hurt or had
a family member killed, and Ithink you can say across the board there's
nothing more tragic than an injury toa child. We don't want those people
in our office. And so wethought, well, maybe we can buy
some helmets and give them away forfree and help people get them fitted and
encourage them to wear them and getcaught on in Lansing in early days and
(03:07):
then two fourteen, as you said, it was back when we started the
Grand Rapids Office and we started theevent here, we changed the name to
Lids for Kids because, as yousaid, somebody came up with a catchier
name, and it is a greatname. It's a good one. I
can't claim credit for it if somefriends of mine came up with it.
And so we changed the name,and we just kept going, and here
(03:28):
we are again this year, hopingto do the same thing that we've done
in years past. I think someonein my office told me that I think
we've given away over thirteen thousand helmetsover the last twenty years, and we're
hoping to do more and more againthis year in the years to come.
Thirteen thousand helmets, four kids forall kinds of residents, four bikes,
(03:49):
for skateboards, for scooters. Iknow you think, really, do I
need to have my kid wear ahelmet if they're just kind of tooling around
on a tricycle in my front yard. But I remember a conversation you and
I've had on previous segments of thisprogram, which we've done through the years,
and it's always really stuck with me, just the simple fact that a
(04:14):
head injury, a brain injury canoccur just from a fall, like even
from a couple of feet from thelevel of a tricycle for your three or
four year old on that tricycle downto the sidewalk, That can cause a
traumatic brain injury or serious head injury. It can, and you are right,
and this story hits close to homefor me. My daughter Norah,
(04:38):
who is now just about to turneleven. A number of years ago,
when she was around that age,was writing one of those little scooters and
she wasn't very far off the groundbecause she wasn't very tall, and we
were walking through the neighborhood and youknow, she got a few steps ahead
of us and she just hit alittle lip in the sidewalk, nothing dramatic.
She went over the front of thescooter and she hit her head on
(05:01):
the concrete and thank god, shehad a helmet on and it was actually
a Lids for Kids helmet, andthat helmet cracked on the side of the
helmet. I still keep it onthe office as a reminder. And she
was, you know, shaken upand cried a little bit, but thank
god, she's fine. And soI think about that every year because it's
not the kind of it wasn't thekind of event where you think, oh,
(05:25):
this child could have seriously hurt themselves, but it was a reminder that,
boy, it can happen really underany circumstance, and all you need
to do to try to try tomove the needle of prevention is to just
put a helmet on the head.Yeah, Tom Sinus is with us on
this segment of West Michigan Weekend fromMy Heart Radio as we talk about the
(05:45):
ant annual Lids for Kids event Saturday, June third, from ten am to
noon ten am to noon at GarfieldPark in Grand Rapids. This is twenty
years of the event it started inLancing into the three. This is give
or take a few years, thetenth year officially chronologically for Grand Rapids.
(06:06):
A few years were missed because ofCOVID, but the impact is certainly demonstrable.
Thirteen thousand plus helmets given away,six hundred and six helmets given away.
Boy, there were six lucky lastkids last year at the Lids for
Kids event and Grand Rapids in twentytwenty two. That's a lot of helmets.
(06:27):
And you can tell this event hasreally meantled out to a lot of
folks beyond science dramas. Law firmMary Freebet is now one of your major
partners along with Grand Rapids Public Schools, Fox seventeen, the Grand Rapids Fire
Department, the Garfield Park Neighborhood Association, Applied Innovation and Go Go Squeeze.
Those are the Little Squeeze Juice,Apple sauce, etc. Things that I
(06:51):
remember very well from when I hadlittle kids at home. Other notable things
you want to be aware of.The police department will be on hand,
the fire department and a real lifefire engine will be there. Volunteers and
the cosplay Crusaders will be there.That's a great group. They get dressed
(07:11):
up in costumes. And what aboutthe specific fitting, Tom, I know
we've talked about this because it's notjust grab a helmet leave. I mean
there's a process involved as well too, right, you're right, And because
of all of those organizations you mentioned, this event has really turned into a
community wide affair where a lot ofpeople give of their time and talent to
(07:33):
come make the event not only fun, but educational and particularly educational along the
lines of helmet fitting. So wewill have a wonderful group again of volunteers
who've given of their time that morningto make sure that the helmets that we're
giving away are fitted on the kid'sheads. Will have different sizes of helmets,
(07:53):
people trained on how to fit thehelmets because, as you point out,
it's important to have a helmet,yes, but it's important to make
sure that helmet fits, and wecan help people get fitted on that day,
and we can also teach them alittle bit about how to make sure
the helmet stays fitted or as whentheir kids grow up, make sure they're
adjusting the helmet so that it's fittingaround the chin and the forehead and the
(08:18):
side of the head. So wewant to make sure that we're not only
giving away helmets, but we're teachingpeople how they should be used, because
when they are used correctly is whenthey can be the most help in preventing
a brain injury. We're speaking withTom sins He is part of the Sinus
Dramas Law firm, partner with SinusDramas Law, and we're also, of
(08:39):
course they are also i should saysignificant sponsors, the partners for this great
event called Lids four Kids, andit's happening again in June third, Saturday,
June third, from ten and noonat Garfield Park here in Grand Rapids.
I think a lot of people mightbe confused, those of us,
(09:00):
those hearing us on the radio timeabout who qualifies to get a free helmet.
As I recall in the past,this is kind of a no questions
asked thing. You can show up, you don't need to demonstrate in need.
Obviously, it's on the honor system. So if if you all have
good helmets at home, there's noneed to come. But if you have
a genuine need or you know afamily that could certainly benefit from it,
(09:24):
this is a great event that theyshould at tender or maybe you realized you're
short of helmet and would like totake advantage of this event. It's on
Saturday, June third again at GarfieldPart. Can you talk about that a
little bit and just in terms ofhow this event works. They show up
at ten o'clock. There obviously isa processing liner. People wait in line
(09:45):
to get their helmets. What elsedo they need to know? Yeah,
the only limit is that you haveto be a child. Unfortunately, we
aren't in a situation where we cangive away by helmets to adults, but
we do have helmets of different sizesfor kids all the way down to the
little ones up to eight kids agesaround twelve. And you're right, you
don't need to come and explain theneed other than your desire to want to
(10:11):
have a helmet and your willingness tobe part of the fitting process. We
don't want to be in a situationwhere we're just passing out helmets. We
want to make sure that they're fitted. So as long as the child comes
and they don't have to necessarily comewith their parents, they could come with
a neighbor, they could come witha friend. You're right, they'll get
signed in and they'll give us alittle bit of information about them. If
(10:31):
for no other reason, then wewant to also enter them in the Raffle
drawings. We have some bikes togive away, some other prizes to give
away, and so when people fillout the name cards, we put them
in a box and throughout the morningwe will pull names out of the box
and some kids who are there willwin some free goodies during the day.
So we like to know people's names. It's nice to know what schools they
(10:54):
come from, so we can ifwe're giving away bikes, for example,
if we know the age of thechild, we can try to get him
assigned to the right bike if theywin the Raffle. It goes from as
you said, from ten to noon. Sometimes people will show up early and
the line will form before the eventstart. That's okay, it's nothing to
get stressed out about. We havea group of volunteers there that once we
(11:15):
get going, we'll get them fitted. Last year, our crew was incredibly
efficient. I think we fitted allof those six hundred and six kids and
they were all pretty much fitted bymaybe eleven thirty. So we've got a
good system. Even it is sufficient, even if it appears when you show
up that it's a zoo, We'vebeen doing it enough that I think fingers
(11:37):
Crossed will get everyone, will geteveryone processed, and we'll bring plenty of
helmets for the kids that show up. I want to real quickly encourage people
to learn more about this online.I know your law firm is Sinus Dramus
si n asdr amis dot com.Where should they go to specifically learn more
about lids for Kids. We dohave a website for the event. It's
(12:00):
for Kids m I Lids for Kidsmi dot org and there you'll find details
about this event, the event thatwe do in Lansing, and some other
information about you know, bike helmetsafety and the like. Once the helmets
are gone, they're gone, sobe mindful of that. There is a
limited supply, and you know there'sno kickbacks or bribes for the volunteers there.
(12:22):
You get in line and mind exactlymind the gap as they say,
and it all goes well, andmost importantly, it is just a wonderful
thing to make sure that six hundredplus youngsters are going to leave Lids for
Kids on Saturday, June third witha brand new helmet. If you are
one of the skeptics who're saying,ah, you don't need a helmet,
(12:43):
show up at lids for Kids,you're going to get an education because there
are a lot of people who havesurvived bicycle crashes who are living testimonials of
how important a helmet is and alwayswill be. I have adult friends who
are still with us and still completelyas good as normal thanks to a very
(13:07):
strong and protective helmet. Some friendswho've had broken bone serious injuries on bicycles
but avoided a head injury and anymajor head trauma thanks to a helmet.
Yeah, I mean they work.It's obviously the single best thing you can
do when you're on a bike.And I remember, I mean you and
I are old enough to remember backwhen few people wore bike helmets, And
(13:30):
I remember my parents making me weara bike helmet as a kid and hating
having to do it because no onedid it. And thank goodness, we've
come a long way where we all, I think, understand how important bike
helmets are. They're not unusual tosee, and we have learned through this
event that there is a genuine needto have access to bike helmets, because
otherwise we wouldn't have had the opportunityto give away as many as we did.
(13:54):
So it's great to see that peopleunderstand the importance of a bike helmet,
how preventative it really is for seriousinjuries involving bikes, and to have
them interested in the event and wantingto come and get a helmet. I
should say that come regardless whether it'srain or shine. We've given away hundreds
of helmets in the beautiful sunshine.We've given them away in the pouring rain,
(14:16):
We've given them away in the wind. I think all of that really
speaks to what you're getting at PHIL, which is an appreciation for how important
they are and a recognition of theneed. So we keep going no matter
what the weather is. All right. Again, thanks to Sunas Rama's Law
firm for putting this on the annualLids for Kids Saturday, June third.
(14:37):
You can learn more at Lids forKids m I dot org. We also
want to shout out Alicia Spencer,who makes sure you and I are in
the same place at the right time, and she is also one of your
team members who make sure that thisevent goes out goes off without a hitch.
So thank you again for joining us. Really appreciate the opportunity to get
(14:58):
the word out here Heart Radio andmost importantly check out Lids for Kids Ami
dot Org. Tom Sinus is withthe Senus Dramas law firm and they are
the sponsors of Lids for Kids herein Grand Rapids on June third, he's
been our guest in this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend from My Heart Radio.
We have more coming up in justa moment. When you're high, you
(15:20):
feel different, pretty obvious, right, You think different, doc different.
But if you feel different, youdrive different. So if you're high,
just don't drive. Brought to youby Nitza and the ad Council. Welcome
back to West Michigan Weekend from IhartRadio. It's great to have you along
with us, and I must confessI'm a little bit excited in this segment
(15:41):
to welcome guest Melissa Kalen. Sheis a lot of things and well,
let me just read what I havewritten a lot of this from her website,
which will tell you about Melissa Kalenis a writer, a painter,
of photographer, and she's author ofa relatively new book called Below the forty
fifth Parallel, Theginner's Guide to Chasingthe Aurora in the Great Lakes Region.
(16:03):
It's just out on paperback last December. We'll be talking about that. And
she is a follower of the NorthernLights, also known as Aurora borealis.
Melissa Klein, Welcome to the program. It's great to talk with you.
Thank you so much. That's whenthe honor to be here. So I
gotta ask. You're a writer.You are a a MAC grad like I
(16:25):
am. I'm a CMU grad.You went to a great school Miami of
Ohio, thank you, in Oxford, Ohio, and you're trained as a
journalist and a writer. Right whendid the Northern Lights thing happen? Where
you became infatuated with that and kindof dedicated a good portion your life to
this. Absolutely, you know,I grew up in Ohio, but as
(16:47):
soon as I graduated college, Imoved all the way up to Minnesota and
I was there for eleven years andit was when I was living in Minnesota
that those long winters really made meappreciate some of those rare natural phenomena,
whether it's poor frost or light pillarsthat you see in the cold, or
the aurora borealist. And I wokeup one morning and I saw photos of
(17:08):
the corona, which is an aurorathat appears directly overhead. It takes on
many shapes and formations. Some peopledetect an eagle or a phoenix, or
an angel or a bear in thesky. I had seen these photos of
the news and thought what And thenI, you know, I looked at
the cash and I said, wherewere these taken? When did this happen?
(17:30):
Turns out it was nearly in mybackyard that night before, while I
was sleeping, that this happened rightoutside. And then I said, okay,
I've got to do everything I canto see this for myself, to
learn how to catch it. Youknow, I'm gonna do everything it takes
to see money first aurora. Andthat's that's really got what got me hooked.
Wow, right in your own backyard. Well, listen, I'm going
(17:52):
to start with the obvious. Ithink a lot of people we see photos,
especially on social media, and Ithink all staring in awe and you
just mentioned it. This is somethingthat takes a little bit of effort,
but I am getting a censor.Are more settings than ever in Michigan.
You're in the southeast part of thestate. We're hearing Grand rapids. A
(18:12):
lot of our listeners are really allover the state, all over the country.
But in terms of where to start, and obviously your book is a
great resource below the forty fifth ParallelA Beginner's Guide to Chasing the Aurora in
the Great Lakes region. So we'regoing to start with the obvious. I
think a lot of people listening,including myself, my wife and I were
(18:33):
like, Okay, we have togo up to like you know, the
Key one Off Peninsula. We haveto go way far north and you know,
sleep in our car and set analarm, get up at two in
the morning and start looking at thesky. And we would be severely bummed
if we didn't get to see thenorthern lights. So how do you start
for the newbiest for the beginners.A lot of people listening to us going
(18:57):
tell me, m Lissa, whatdo I need to right right? Well,
that's a common misconception. You know, a lot of people think that
you have to drive as far northas you can to see the aurora.
That's not the case. In fact, if you learn how to chase the
northern lights with some regularity, thereare a lot of tricks and tips that
you can use to stop them prettyclose to your own backyard. So the
(19:18):
first thing that people need to knowis that you need to find a dark
sky. You can look up darksky maps or light pollution maps, you
know, just give it a quickInternet search, and all of a sudden
you're seeing sort of the concentrations oflights in our cities and on our streets
around you in your own neighborhood.You can use that to find a dark
sky near you where you can reallykind of get away from those light bulbs
(19:41):
an artificial light, and start tosee nature's light coming through. Another thing
people don't realize is that you reallyhave to light your eyes adjust to the
dark in order to see the aurora. Borealist, you know, we're as
humans, we're not designed to seewell in the dark. We're not nocturnal
creatures. So you have to giveit at least five minutes of really staring
(20:02):
into the darkness to try to pickup movement or changes in the sky.
A lot of people have seen theaurora and they don't even know it because
what they were looking at when theytook one peek up from their cell phone
was just a little mist or awhite kind of coloration in the sky,
maybe a silver veil over the start. Now, if they had taken a
(20:23):
few moments to really concentrate on thatand focus on that and let that light
and color fill their vision, theymight have noticed the northern lights, and
the northern lights don't always have acolor, unfortunately at our latitude. You
know, we know the aurora tohave these really fantastic colors, greens and
(20:45):
purples and pinks and even orange andyellow, and these colors do happen,
and you know, you see thema lot in the most polar regions of
the world, and you can evensee them in Michigan. But a lot
of people don't realize those colors reallycome through during the very strong geomagnetic storms.
Aurora is really geomagnetic activity that isfiltering into Earth's atmosphere from outer space.
(21:08):
Is that a Latin It's obviously aLatin term. What does that mean?
Aurora Borealis. Aurora borealis is reallyreferring to the northern lights. You
know, we're talking about you know, borealis, which means norris, and
then Aurora is talking about the dawn. You know, there's a legend that
(21:30):
goes way back in time from Greekand Roman mythology where the Aurora was the
goddess of the dawn. And sopeople believe that Aurora would escort the sun
god Apollo into the sky, sortof pulling his chariot into the sky in
the early morning hours, and sothe Aurora would come right before sunrise in
the dawn. And actually, whenI first started chasing, I noticed a
(21:52):
lot of those really powerful displays andreally brilliant lights happened about at about three
o'clock in the morning. So theremight be something to that. Okay,
does temperature enhance or eliminate the possibilityof seeing the Northern lights? What role
does it play, Melissa, Youknow, that's a really good question.
(22:14):
A lot of people believe it hasto be cold to see the Northern lights.
There, it has to be winter, it has to happen during the
winter months. If that's also anothermisconception, the Northern lights can occure all
year long, and temperature is notreally a factor. Sometimes on those cold
winter nights, we do get thecrisp air and we also get a lot
of darkness, We get more hoursof dark in which we can actually see
(22:36):
the Northern lights. But the aurorahappen all year long. They can happen
in any temperature. Now, whenyou're chasing in the summer months, you're
going to run into some obstacles.Right now, we're seeing wildfire smokes moving
in from the wildfires in Canada andactually drifting all the way to Michigan,
and so that wildfire smoke is enoughto kind of obscure your view of the
(22:56):
Northern lights. Now, the samewould be true if you had a lot
of air and you were really gettingwater to evaporate some fog and mists that
can also block your views. Sopeople do like to go out into the
cold with more promise of seeing theNorthern lights. But it really depends on
what activity is happening on the surfaceof our sun. In firing solar activity
(23:18):
our way, it's called the solarwind, and then that solar wind filters
into their Earth's atmosphere through a processthat creates the northern lights, so if
our sun is exited, we mightsee something here on Earth. Very cool.
By the way, we're speaking withMelissa Kalin. She's authored the latest
book out in December below, theforty fifth Parallel, The Beginner's Guide to
Chasing the Aurora in the Great LakesRegion, out in paperbet back and available
(23:42):
wherever books are sold. And there'salso a Facebook group you can learn more
about Michigan Aurora Chasers updates. Thereare a lot of places to get connected.
And I think my most obvious questionlearning so much from you is you're
talking about the magnetic activity that Iguess they're disturbances in the sun which set
(24:06):
out these geomagnetic magnetic magnetic storms whichcan really negatively impact satellites communications, but
they can be great for enhancing thechances of seeing the northern lights, right
right. Yeah. A lot ofpeople don't realize that what we're watching when
we see the aurora in the skyactually has implacentations for our infrastructure as well.
(24:27):
Whatever our leading national agency is ispredicting this weather that's actually called space
weather. It's not Earth weather,but it's space weather, and they're not
providing those forecasts to tell Aurora chase, there's when to go outside. They're
issuing those forecasts so that people whowork on the power grid, or people
who work with satellites or even astronautsand outer space can know when to prepare
(24:52):
for a possible impact from the solarwind, which is what then goes through
a process to great Northern lights.Very int You will also put together a
conference for followers of Aurora borealis inthe Northern Lights. Can you tell us
a little bit about that. Yeah, So in twenty seventeen I had the
good fortune to co found the AurorasSummit, which is an international conference is
(25:18):
open to anyone, so don't letthat word conference scare you. We celebrate
the art, culture, science andphotography of the Northern Lights, and so
we bring in Aurora chasers from allover the country and Canada to you,
and we're expanding all the time totell you what it takes to chase the
Northern lights, and then what you'regoing to need to know about astro photography
in your camera in order to reallycapture the Northern lights and camera and get
(25:42):
some of those beautiful photographs. Wealso talk about some of the history and
the culture some of those Native Americanmyths that go back centuries and centuries,
as well as you know, othertypes of art forms. We were very
privileged last year to have a painterwith us who is painting the Aurora live
on site in Redcliffe, Wisconsin.So that happens every year in the fall
(26:04):
and it's really a blast. Sothis year's Aurora Summit for our listeners happens
November third. And where does theconference happen. Yeah, it'll be November
third through fifth and Redcliff, Wisconsin, which is not too far from Washburn
and Bayfield. It's really got thosebeautiful dark skies. We're going to bring
all these experts together, feature keynotespeaker Alan Dyer from Amazing Sky, and
(26:30):
then on Saturday night we all goout to see the Aurora as a group.
Let's hope for clear skies an advanceof the northern lights. Yeah,
this is a it's a great website, the Aurora Summit dot com. You
can learn more about it, howto attend the conference in Redcliff, Wisconsin.
You you mentioned something which we onlyhave a couple of minutes left,
so I'll be real quick about this. You mentioned photography and photographing the northern
(26:55):
lights. You can't just point yourphone up at the sky and get a
good picture. Maybe yes, ifyou're lucky. But do you need special
photography? If you need special settings, we just got a couple of minutes
left. What do you recommend toour listeners. Yeah, that's a good
question. You know, any cameraon the right setting should be able to
capture the aurora. What you reallyneed is a tripod, lots of time,
and a little bit of learning beforeyou go out at start. You
(27:18):
can actually capture the aurora with amodern cell phone too, especially some of
the newer iPhones and androids that arecoming out now. Set up a tripod,
get that thirty second insposure and makesure you focus on a star and
your aurora photography will come through.Listen before we run out of time.
As you're staring at the sky inthe night at three in the morning,
(27:40):
perfect conditions for the northern lights.How does it develop real quickly, explain
to our listeners. Yeah, youknow, it can happen instantly and it
can change so fast, but itcan also take a half hour or an
hour or more. I would devoteat least three hours to watching the night
sky. If you really want tocatch it and don't get ace and go
home and be handed and something elseis fighting on the trip. So that
(28:02):
you know you're going to have agood time no matter what, because this
is really unpredictable stuff. Great wisdomand by the way, you can learn
more on Melissa's website kalin art dotcom. That's k E k Ae l
i n art dot com. Youcan also find her book below, the
forty fifth Parallel, The Beginner's Guideto Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes
(28:23):
Region, on Amazon wherever books aresold. Melissa, I told you this
is going to go fast. I'vegot to wrap things up. Thank you
so very much for joining us andcome back soon. Okay, thank you
so much, and good luck onthe Aurora chasing trail. Absolutely she's been
our guest in this segment of WestMichigan Weekend from My Heart Radio. I'm
Phil Tower, thanks for listening.iHeartMedia. West Michigan Weekend, a public affairs program
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!