A one-degree morning, a neighbor with a snowblower, and the quiet satisfaction of shoveling anyway set the stage for a meditation on effort, discomfort, and why doing things the hard way sometimes matters. What begins as a reflection on snow shoveling turns into something larger: a portrait of Michigan as a place defined by extremes. The same dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes become blazing sand in August and a frozen climb in January, a perfect symbol of a life lived in seasonal contrast. The highs and lows of the landscape, he argues, mirror the highs and lows that make a life, and a story, worth paying attention to.

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