Cap City
Untitled Document Checked The stench of sweat and dingy tube socks always permeates the air at the Nelson Center, but on Saturday a new scent could waft into the arena — the sour smell of defeat. In the second round of the North American Hockey League playoffs, the Springfield Jr. Blues are tied 1-1 in…
Reading and writing recipes
Untitled Document When my husband, Peter, was a college freshman, he and a friend developed a shared longing for liver and onions. The friend had an apartment, so they decided to make themselves a liver-and-onion feast. “It says here to dredge the liver in flour,” said Peter’s friend, reading the recipe. “What the *@#$ does…
An expected delivery
Untitled Document It’s probably too early to dub Tina Fey and Amy Poehler the Martin and Lewis of the 21st century — but comparisons to that duo and other classic comedy teams are likely to follow if the two women continue to make feature films together. With any luck, future collaborations will be better than…
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document insectpoem #3it’s come and gone national punc tuation day at the start of this ass ignment I decided to dispense with all that bother also to avoid caps except for I nobody wants to read small i insect appreciation day has gone by too that’s ok I’ve always app reciated insects except when…
Soft shoes
Untitled Document Where does one find environmentally friendly shoes for children? Children’s shoes are a quickly expanding market, and companies with a green perspective are now jumping into the race with mini-versions of everything from flip-flops to slippers to heeled dress shoes. Although green kids’ shoes from makers such as Simple, which offers organic-cotton EcoSneaks…
Make like a tree
Untitled Document Residents of the Pillsbury Mill neighborhood had high hopes for the site of the abandoned flour mill on the city’s northeast side. During a fall 2005 planning meeting, community members suggested a mix of environmentally friendly housing, retail shops, and other businesses. Several participants stressed that future developments should make use of green…
The death of Superman
Untitled Document Letitia Dewith-Anderson once scared me silly. She rang my phone, which she didn’t do very often, and when I answered I could tell that this call was of some gravity. “I’ve got bad news,” she said solemnly. My heart dropped. A few years earlier, her husband, Bill Anderson, had learned that he had…
A matter of equity
Untitled Document As soon as this October, Arizona may become the 15th state to provide domestic-partner benefits to state employees. Such benefits have become the logical extension of many employers’ anti-discrimination policies. “Domestic partnership” is a term used in local government, by employers, and by the insurance industry to denote two people whose lives are…
The revolution will be internalized
Untitled Document What could have possibly changed the man’s life and made it better? Was it a hug? Was it playing catch? Was it picking up a guitar or picking up a paintbrush? These are not the questions most people would ask about someone who’d shot them in the chest. Joshua Foster isn’t most people,…
Big-spending George
Untitled Document George W. Bush likes to pose as the Texas president — in the rough-hewn, rancher model of Lyndon Baines Johnson. However, Bush isn’t actually a Texan — he was born in Connecticut, went to an East Coast prep school, attended Yale, and summered in Kennebunkport at his family’s oceanfront estate. Nor is he…
The duelist
Untitled Document To duel or not to duel — that was the question Illinois congressman and Mexican War veteran William H. Bissell faced in 1850. He was challenged by Jefferson Davis, the future president of the Confederate States of America. Bissell’s reply made him a legend in the state and helped propel him to the…
A drop in the bucket
Untitled Document City Water, Light & Power finance director Craig Burns has turned educating people about water into his own personal mission. Residents lose sight of how cheap water actually is, Burns says, especially when they’re faced with a seemingly gargantuan rate increase like the 80.2 percent overall hike approved by the Springfield City Council…
Dandy dandelions
Untitled Document One of the first plants a child learns to recognize is the dandelion. Its bright-yellow flowers make it easy to spot — and what fun it is to pick a “puffball” (the dandelion seed head, blow on it, and see how far the seeds will fly. The dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a deep-rooted cool-season…
Bitter? You should be!
Untitled Document U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, destiny’s tot, recently suggested that blue-collar Americans are feeling bitter about their financial condition, and critics have been whaling on him ever since. How dare Obama suggest that people are bitter? Americans are not bitter! Americans are happy, proud, peppy, content, and optimistic! Maybe. But if millions of them…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. DELIVERING A DOUBLE OUCH Illinois Times has made a concerted effort to sadden me over the past few weeks. First, in…
Flash flood of live shows
Untitled Document They say that when it rains it pours — or perhaps it’s an April-shower thing. Whatever the saying, there is a regular deluge of live music in Springfield this weekend, so get on your boots or pull on your highwaters and wade in deep. Let’s begin our cruise at the best place to…
Seventh heaven
Untitled Document The first thing you see when you enter Patty Redpath’s house is two laundry baskets brimming with shoes — big shoes, little shoes, sneakers, boots, sandals. Aside from Patty, everybody removes his or her footwear at the door to minimize the amount of dirt in the house. The next thing you notice is…
