Review by Sharon Brunner
Nancy Besonen’s “Off the Hook Too!” book was thought-provoking, extremely humorous, and down to earth. She demonstrated the ability to connect so well with the Yooper culture. A true Yooper is someone who has lived all their lives in the scenic and rustic Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P.) of which I am a proud member. Different levels of Yooperism exist from a transplant to a part-time Yooper, one who visits the U.P. during the summer months. Besonen is a transplant Yooper or considered a full Yooper if she has lived in the U.P. for at least seven years according to some people. She moved from Chicago’s south side to L’Anse in the U.P. and landed a job as a columnist for the L’Anse Sentinel. Her collection of humor columns has brought smiles to many faces as it did when I had the good fortune of providing a review for her delightful book.
Themes represented in the book were many such as living off the land, nature’s bounties and the importance and nuances of family and pets. A couple of chapters were associated with berry and apple picking which consumed many days during harvest time with a prize of tasty berry and apple pies. Besonen and her family and friends attended a fish camp and went fishing throughout the year. She especially liked ice fishing. Besonen brought up special sayings her dad used to say such as “Ya’ talk like a crazy man.” Her dad departed for the rainbow bridge in the sky in 2000. His colorful life involved working in stockyards, fighting in WWII, marrying his childhood sweetheart and raising four kids. When their kids were sick, he came up with a variety of diagnoses such as the Skreebs, Groobers and Worshesnicks or Chinese Blue Jeans. It’s not a mystery where Besonen got her sense of humor or creativity. She ascribed several chapters to her pets and children. Her children ended up being quite helpful concerning her writing career. The pets took on a whole array of characteristics and kept her hopping. She labeled one cat, as he must be administration, because of his haughty behavior.
When I read the chapter called “Twas the Second Week At Deer Camp,” I was reminded of the 2001 movie “Escanaba in Da Moonlight” starring Jeff Daniels. Especially her rendition of big bucks danced through their sore heads while nestled all snug in their beds and the foul smell permeating the air. Her poem was to the tune of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” with definitely a different twist. Things were changed to “When what to my bleary eyes should appear, But a hay wagon pulled by eight whitetail deer.” Her tale was quite entertaining and definitely what I imagined a deer camp would entail. The book that came to mind when reading this book was Sharon M. Kennedy’s book “Life in a Tin Can” (recently re-released as The SideRoad Columnist: Observations from an Upper Michigan Author) She was a columnist for the Sault News in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for many years and the book was a collection of her columns. Kennedy often added humor to her columns.
I could relate to some of what she wrote about to my life. My attire mostly consists of t-shirts, hoodies, jeans and sweatpants. Besonen and I differ in my love of capris. I wear them throughout the summer. Been known to frequent second-hand shops and have my favorites such as the Challenge Mountain stores. They provide services for people with disabilities so I must visit those stores. It is not below me to wear slightly used clothing. I can dress up if need be but prefer to be casual. I am a Yooper. I am not as technologically inclined as I would like to be. Need to rely on services from a professional on occasion. I grow a vegetable garden and have picked blueberries and apples. Not known for my fishing skills but thoroughly enjoy camping. Insects can certainly be a nuisance. Black fly bites are especially itchy.
Besonen’s columns were humorous and extremely entertaining. I especially liked how she took U.S. news and turned it around to fit with the U.P. culture. For example, she discussed Barbies and how they set up girls to view their bodies as flawed. However, according to Besonen, Barbie is gaining weight. I learned that Barbie has incurred 180 careers from being an astronaut to an RN. Throughout the book, Besonen provided some interesting tidbits of information. She turned the idea of Wonder Woman into we are all wonder women and men. We wonder about things such as where are the fish? Mr. Rogers when he said it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood rocked Athleisure Wear with his cardigans. I learned about Glen Campbell’s struggle with Alzheimers, and the concert she went to in which his kids helped him through the concert. Very touching.
The “Revenge of the Refrigerator” was hilarious and how our refrigerators played us like a fiddle. I am also glad we don’t have to worry about dangerous snakes like they have to in Florida. I learned from Besonen about a leak with our data, not our credit card information but our addresses and phone numbers. Like Besonen, I am leery about anyone getting ahold of my personal data. It’s why I will never have an Alexa. She covered information about fear being our friend and gave candid examples. Earwigs were a bug that made me very nervous when I lived in St. Ignace, I now live in Sault Ste. Marie and they have not made their appearance. It’s nice to know that they don’t burrow into our ears. They like damp spots like under Besonen’s shampoo bottle.
I recommend Off The Hook Too! for its humorous anecdotes, thought-provoking content, informative commentary, and down-to-earth essence. For example, Besonen mentioned how Canada minted two-dollar coins with canoeists looking up at the northern lights called a “toonie.” I found it interesting to learn that it was the first glow-in-the-dark coin. The Canadian government has distributed approximately three million glowing toonies. The book was packed with interesting tidbits of data that I was happy to learn about. It’s hard to say what I liked best about Besonen’s book, I liked it all.
Off The Hook Too! Off-Beat Reporter’s Tales from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) by Nancy Besonen
