We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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I know that many of you might find this hard to believe, but food has always been important to me. When most babies growing up uttered the first word of “ma ma” or “da da”, my first word in life was “gookie”. So, with a priority being placed upon edible delicacies like Peanut Butter Cups and Hot Wings, it often amazes me to realize that I really don’t know my way around a kitchen. Last week, my wife had pulled out a container of taco meat, and placed it in a pot on the stove to heat up for d...
Last January, Illinois Democrats passed the Safe-T Act during the final hours of the lame-duck session of the last General Assembly, in one of the final acts of Speaker Michael Madigan. Since that time, a crime wave was set in motion throughout Illinois which threatens public safety as well as led the countless retirements of more experienced law enforcement officers and exodus from Illinois of many officers toward the beginning of their career. Over 40 of the 102 Illinois County Sheriffs have...
Recently, while on vacation in Florida, I went with a friend to an auto mechanic shop where he was getting his car repaired. The owner was an amiable guy and quite chatty. As he worked, he told his life story - which I found quite fascinating. He immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1967 when he was ten years old. He said his family’s name was entered into some kind of lottery and they came up winners. They were flown to Miami first, and from there they went to Brooklyn, New York w...
One of my favorite movies all time was ‘Hoosiers’ with Gene Hackman. Now, I thought most people knew this, but apparently not … it’s a favorite of mine, because I was in it. You see, after I graduated from college, I went out to New York City to try and see if I could perform professionally. And while I did get on Broadway for a show that ran exactly three weeks, and did a stand up comedy routine where I was the opening act for a lady who got famous later – Whoopi Goldberg – the only movie...
Dan, I am not going to write about politics because people are not going to change their mind on their beliefs no matter what anybody says. I am not going to write about mask mandates and vaccines (although this has become political also) because doctors I guess do not know what they are talking about and to hell with the overworked health care workers struggling to keep up with demand. (Good luck in getting into the emergency room.) I am not going to write about fake news, and I guess this fake news includes you and your publication so I will...
Last week my fun was getting stuck in the snow. Two weeks ago it was thawing frozen water pipes. This week, my fun was in the sky. My wife and I took a little holiday and went to Florida to celebrate our wedding anniversary and enjoy warm weather and sunshine. The way it worked out, we chose a night flight that was due to arrive in Florida at 11:00 p.m. Since we know people in Florida we arranged for a ride to meet us at the airport rather than take a Uber. Then the fun started. We were seated...
I broke one of my oldest rules last week. You see, years ago, when my daughter Caitlin was playing basketball for Lena-Winslow, I was in Pearl City to cover the Panthers playing the Wolves when she suddenly ran up to me during the pre-game warm up. “How can you wear that shirt?!” she declared. “What? What’s wrong with my shirt?” “It’s red! Those are Pearl City colors. Are you rooting against me?” “Oh my God, it’s just a shirt.” “But it’s red!” “It’s also clean, which is more than I can say fo...
As the science shifts on masking and mask mandates, Governor JB Pritzker is stubbornly and sadly sticking to his voracious appetite for unchecked power at all costs. Late last week, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow placed a temporary hold on the Governor’s mask, vaccine, testing, and quarantine mandates at 170 Illinois schools involved in a lawsuit against the mandates. The judge’s decision prevents schools involved in the lawsuit from implementing those kinds of mitigations. The jud...
State Sen. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport) released the following statement after Gov. J. B. Pritzker delivered his Budget Address to a joint session of legislators Feb. 2 via a virtual broadcast from the Old State Capitol. “How appropriate that this Governor presented his assessment of Illinois and his plan for the upcoming budget on Ground Hog Day. His speech was full of hope for sunshine but did not acknowledge the shadows of more fiscal winter looming. He is proposing to give Illinois families sh...
This time of year is always significant to my wife, Cindy and I. We celebrate our wedding anniversary on February 14th. This year has special significance because we are celebrating 40 years of marriage! It all began in the spring of my 19th year when this beautiful girl caught my attention. Not only did she have unsurpassed beauty, but I soon discovered she had inner beauty clear to the depths of her soul. She was, and still is, a gem. We dated for a few years and tied the knot in an enchanting...
Editor’s Note: Dan is scrambling to put together several Regional basketball programs, while also getting his speech team ready for their own Regional, so we’re giving him a break and re-running one of our favorite columns - enjoy! I think just about everyone who has ever made the trip would agree with me – the most boring stretch of road has got to be highway 39 between Rockford and Bloomington. Yes, there is a nice view when crossing over the Abraham Lincoln bridge in LaSalle Peru, but aside...
It’s been an ugly 2022 already. Mask mandates that are inconsistent at best, and the whole Covid pandemic has everyone frustrated; area teams are lucky if they can actually play most of their games when they were scheduled; the cold weather isn’t helping matters any; and then our pocket books get hit by the inflation everyone is talking about on television but nobody seems to be doing anything to change it. Yes, there are plenty of reasons why 2022 will not be fondly remembered, but what too...
A few years ago we noticed that our church sign was getting kind of old and in need of some repairs. It had probably not been updated for about 20 years, other than to add names and change service times occasionally. Our church board thought we might want to put in a new digital sign instead of fixing up the old wood one. After checking with the county on setback requirements and getting a couple of prices, we decided not to do anything for now. Then came Covid and with Covid came parking lot...
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), a hate crime is a “crime motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Hate crimes have a broader effect than most other kinds of crime. Hate crime victims include not only the crime’s immediate target but also others like them. Hate crimes affect families, communities, and at times, the entire nation.” Hate crimes are heinous acts of crime committed with a bias...
Dan; I too loved that Indiana team, but it was Ricky Green on Michigan not AC Green....Come On Man. Bob VenHuizen Editor’s Note: You’re absolutely right – I must have had football on the brain. Dan, We always look forward to reading the Village Voices every week. It provides a pleasant break from the Journal Standard, better known here as the Daily Disappointment. Your coverage of high school sports is very comprehensive. Really must keep you on the go. Possibly you have a stringer or two that helps out. Back in the day, the Rockford Morni...
Somebody asked me one time if I ever run out of stories to tell? The answer is No. Never. Everything that happens in life is a story waiting to be retold - and it’s usually a lot funnier the second time around. A good friend gave me a coffee mug for Christmas that says: “Be careful - you might end up in a sermon illustration.” I walked into the Post Office last week all bundled up for the weather. I had on my insulated brown coveralls, Muck boots, two hooded sweatshirts, stocking cap, gloves, an...
My wife and I got a rude awakening the other night when I went to watch her shoot pool in her Thursday night Freeport pool league. Eric White, the owner of Benchwarmers, had apparently asked a good friend if it was true that Cathy and I were getting a divorce. “I heard it from several good sources,” he apparently said. When we heard about it, we thought the idea was ridiculous, and all laughed about it. But, later in the week, we both began to see why such a rumor might emerge. Now, I love my...
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board published an editorial about a month ago titled, “The Fleeing Young of Illinois”. It’s worth a read and a hard look in the mirror for all Illinoisans, but especially for our progressive democrat friends. The editorial discusses the reasons people, particularly young people, flee Illinois at such an incredible rate. Illinois is one of only three states, including West Virginia and Mississippi to have lost population since 2010. I do not think the edito...
We had a little incident last week in our neighborhood. The police dubbed it “The Barefoot Bandit.” The story goes that a guy was traveling down our road when he got stuck in a snow drift. He had become disoriented and had no idea where he was. Instead of calling for help on his cell phone from inside his car, he opted to get out and walk to the nearest house, which was just down the road from us. No one answered the door so he broke a window and went inside and called the police on him...
Growing up in Indiana, it was almost a requirement that you loved basketball. Now, I’ve never gotten into the pros. Our former artist Thomas is a huge Bulls fan and knows the NBA like I know the NFL, but that was never my cup of tea. For me, I always preferred the college hoops. You could play zone defense, the stall used to be a part of the game, and there was just a lot more strategy involved and players weren’t going through the motions for a paycheck. Anyway, back in 1976, when I was onl...
As we usher in 2022, many Illinoisans turn our thoughts to accomplishments and challenges of the past year and look forward to the hope delivered by a new year. Like many, the end of the year found me reflecting on the past year. Let’s hope 2022 is not reflective of 2021. Just under one year ago, the Illinois General Assembly entered what proved to be one of the most eventful lame-duck Sessions in decades. The Illinois House met for the Lame-Duck Session in the Bank of Springfield Center a...
Have you ever heard of blinker fluid? Over the holidays, we were hosting some friends, and everyone had agreed that it would be fun to bring a gift for a white elephant type of exchange. Well, my wife opens up the gift she chose, let’s out a laugh and says, “I’m keeping this!” Inside was a small plastic jug of “Blinker fluid”. As everyone began to laugh, I then brought the house down. “What the hell is that?” “Oh my God! Give me your man card right now!,” Barry Homan roared. As everyone let out...
A group from our church just returned home from a mission trip to Kentucky where we helped clean up after the tornadoes. Following are the daily blogs I sent home while we were gone. Day one: Hello Everybody. We left Martintown Community Church yesterday (January 2) at 2:03 p.m. and arrived in Paducah, Kentucky at 9:57 p.m. The trip was without incident. Our caravan consisted of 4 work trucks pulling trailers loaded with 2 track loaders, one Kubota tractor, an ATV, a minivan, a passenger van, a...
Who is considered the most important person in history? To answer that question, computer scientist Steven Skiena and Google engineer Charles Ward got together and developed a system that ranks historical figures in order of significance. Their research produced a book called Who’s Bigger? Where Historical Figures Really Rank. To establish their “significance” ranking, they assessed more than 800,000 names, calculated achievement and celebrity and gravitas, and then factored in how long, and h...
My first thought when I heard my wife scream upstairs was that the dog had torn up something that was precious in her eyes. But no sooner did I get up out of my chair in the basement than I realized … this was not a scream of anger. “I can’t believe it! Miracles Happen! Woot! Woot!” At this point, I figured she got some kind of notice in the mail that she had been waiting on forever, but no sooner did I return to my seat than I realized, her scream of joy came as she walked into the kitchen … th...
