We’re going to pretend that I just invented a Livingston County Time Machine, and here’s what it does:
It can take you back in time, but it only works in Livingston County.
You’ll receive three one-hour tickets, and you have to use them like this: You get to go back in time for one hour at your favorite restaurant; you get to go back for one hour at your favorite store; and you get to back for one hour at your favorite event.
Got it? You get to go back in time in Livingston County to your favorite restaurant, your favorite store and your favorite event. And you only have one hour to spend at each of these.
Here’s where I’m going:
One hour at my favorite restaurant: Annie’s Pot in Howell
I thought long and hard about this one. I thought about going back to the Honeydew Cafe in Howell to enjoy my all-time favorite Livingston County dish: Ala Mala Ooe. I thought about going back to the Pinckney Inn for some pecan chicken. I thought about going back to the all-you-can-eat bar at the Ponderosa in Brighton. I thought about getting a burger at the Midget.
But I settled on going back to Annie’s Pot in Howell.
Located on Grand River Avenue just east of downtown, Annie’s Pot was heaven on earth. When I go back in time for my hour there, I’m going to order a ham pizza and some Depression-era bean soup.
And then when I’m done with those, I’m going to spend the last 45 minutes or so just eating breadsticks. The best breadsticks that God ever imagined. Dripping in butter and oozing with flavor in every bite. I can taste them now.
One hour at my favorite store: The Little Professor Book Center in Brighton
Again, such a hard decision. Do I go back to Uber’s Drugs and get a $2 bill in change? Do I browse the aisles at the D&C Store in Howell? Do I shop for a new pair of slacks at Utter’s Men’s Wear in Fowlerville?
No. I’m going to spend my hour at the Little Professor. Livingston County has been home to some phenomenal bookstores (including Aria Booksellers in Howell), and the Little Professor is right at the top.
I’m going to spend the hour looking at magazines, browsing the sports books, and mostly, making small talk with Todd and Jane, the owners.
I can’t wait.
One hour at my favorite event: Fourth quarter of the Howell-South Lyon football game at Page Field, Oct. 11, 1985
What to do, what to do …
I thought about spending an hour watching a play at the Mill Pond Theater in Brighton. Or maybe an hour at a Melon Festival parade in the 1980s, back when they had the contraption race entries. I even thought about spending an hour at the greatest concert I’ve ever seen in Livingston County – Jan and Dean at the Fowlerville Fair in 1999.
But I settled on a sporting event. I knew I wanted it to be a football game at Page Field in Howell – because nothing in Livingston County sports history was ever better than a football game at Page Field.
And the one I settled on was the 1985 Howell-South Lyon game. I only have one hour, which means I can’t watch the whole game, so I’m picking the fourth quarter.
Howell came into the game 4-1 and South Lyon was 5-0. The stands at Page Field were tiny and only held a couple hundred fans, but there were probably 5,000 people there. They lined the field, all the way around, maybe six or seven deep. And they screamed and hollered from start to finish.
South Lyon had taken a 7-0 lead early in the game, and Howell answered with a long touchdown drive late in the second quarter. The touchdown came on a short run by the legendary Rusty Frever.
Howell Coach John Dukes then decided to go for two, and it worked. Quarterback Stacey Katlin faked a handoff to running back Tom Clements, and the entire South Lyon team bought it. As they tried to tackle Clements, Katlin rolled right and found tight end Joe Moorman all alone in the end zone for the conversion.
Howell 8, South Lyon 7.
And that’s where it stayed. In the fourth quarter – the part of the game I’m going back in time to see – the two teams traded punches, but nobody could find the end zone. It was tense and heart-pounding and glorious. The game ended 8-7, and the Howell fans stormed the field when the final buzzer sounded.
I can’t wait to see it all again.
So, that’s what I’m doing with MY three Livingston County Time Machine passes. What are you doing with YOURS?
