Hear better here
Soon, millions of Americans will hear better, for less money and at greater convenience. Beginning in October, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids were sold at local stores and online for the first time, making it possible for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss to buy the devices without a prescription. Major retailers, including Best Buy,…
Happily ever after
Dreams do come true, eventually. For Brenden Gardens residents Patsy Stivers Ciaccio and Nick Ciaccio it took 40 years. The two met in Springfield in the late 1970s when Patsy was working at Orange Julius in White Oaks Mall. “I would go in and flirt with her,” Nick says, reminiscing about their early days. “I…
Explore Your Community
As events may be canceled or rescheduled at the last moment, please first check with the host or venue when making plans to attend an event. Ongoing Winter Holiday Floral Show Mon.-Fri. 12-4pm. Sat.-Sun. 12-5pm. Through Dec. 21. Enjoy over 500 poinsettias nestled among the decorated fresh evergreens and lush tropical foliage. Free. Washington Park Botanical…
Start something new
Entrepreneurs with life experience grow their own businesses Rich and Sarah Van Dorn have had a busy year. In March, the couple relocated from Florida to Springfield, and on Oct. 8 they opened their new business, Stella Coffee & Tea, at 1135 W. Governor St. “Our daughter lives here, and during the pandemic we would…
A steady diet of encouragement
A little less food, a little more exercise, pounds come off. Right? It’s science. But even for people who commit to that simple formula, sometimes it just doesn’t work. Or doesn’t last. For many, the missing ingredient is encouragement. That’s the TOPS recipe for success. TOPS – Take Off Pounds Sensibly, not-for-profit support group –…
The famous old bakeries of Illinois
When my family lived on South Lincoln Street in Springfield, we could turn the corner onto Governor and satisfy our sweet teeth with gooey butter cake from the Community Bakery. Once it closed, we followed the crowds to B & Z Bakery, a downtown institution for many years. While those and other old-style bakeries are…
Healing art
I didn’t get my first tattoo until my 50th birthday. In my younger years the perception was that a tattoo was a sign of rebellion or roughness. And of course, as my mom would say, “How are you going to get a job with that?” But then I met Jason Lee. His statuesque 6-foot-4-inch frame…
Ageism is not OK
This Chair Rocks – A Manifesto Against Ageism by Ashton Applewhite. $17.99, Celadon Books The recent headline, “Age Issue Dogs Biden as He Turns 80,” may be one the author of This Chair Rocks – A Manifesto Against Ageism would probably call out as unfair. “Chronological age is an increasingly unreliable benchmark of pretty much…
Little deaths
Life is in a constant cycle of regeneration, with both a flowing of abundance and a vast emptiness. It is an ongoing dance of creation where the fullness secretly contains the emptiness, and the void of emptiness contains the elements of abundance. Older ways of seeing considered all aspects of creation to have purpose and…
