Grace about town 3-18-04
I’m terrible at Trivial Pursuit — really, really awful. Sometimes I answer a literature or entertainment question correctly, but to me the game is a painful thing that’s easily avoided. When I was younger (and just as bad at the game as I am now), we played with Mom’s friend Margaret, who knows pretty much…
Peas’ time
As a child, you probably didn’t like eating your vegetables. Fortunately, my son will eat almost any vegetable (except beets, okra and Brussels sprouts). His love for fresh vegetables started with venturing out to his Grandma’s vegetable garden and picking and eating snap peas right off the vine. Peas are hardy, vigorous, and good for…
The contenders
From inside his West Washington Street polling place on Tuesday afternoon, Patrick “Tim” Timoney anticipated a long night ahead. Like the vast majority of party leaders across the state, Sangamon County’s Democratic Party chairman had endorsed Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes for the U.S. Senate. And, like most of the state’s political pundits, Timoney predicted Tuesday’s…
The Incident
Jane Ross Galliher doesn’t like using the R-word. She refers to what happened that night as “the incident.” She keeps the police reports and hospital records in a manila folder labeled “The File.” It comes in handy when she has to describe “the incident,” because she can just hand over documents from “The File” instead…
Mixed bag
To most voters, Tuesday’s primary election was a snooze. Even before the polls opened, John Kerry had overpowered all other Democratic presidential candidates, and Jack Ryan and Barack Obama, who led opinion polls in the U.S. Senate race, handily won. But for Democrats on Springfield’s East Side, election day was more suspenseful, as a younger…
Finding beauty in everyday things
Just a few years ago, when our kids were still quite little, our family was watching an old black-and-white television program when my daughter allowed that she wasn’t altogether enjoying the show. When we asked her why, she innocently asked whether the whole world was black and white “back then.” She was disturbed by the…
Warriors for peace
A year ago, as the nation prepared for the invasion of Iraq, support for the war and the ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein ran deep. Saddam’s history of brutal and criminal behavior was documented. His antipathy to the West — especially the U.S., which drove him from Kuwait in 1991 — was a matter of…
Movie Review
Take this movie. Away. Please. Having to sit through the new thriller Taking Lives made me want to take my own. A convoluted mish-mash, this latest entry in the overcrowded “serial killer on the loose” genre is crippled by countless clichés, a bevy of bad performances, and a script that relies on coincidence far too…
Riding a train to country-music fame
From seemingly out of nowhere, he comes. He lands on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and receives an encore for his first performance. A song is released to the nation’s country music radio stations and he finds himself on the charts sandwiched between heavyweights Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, and Alan Jackson. Now he…
Now Playing 3-18-04
Hey there, all you beer-swilling, shot-swigging, music-loving barflies. What’s going on this week? Yes, the rest of you are also welcome to come out and enjoy the tunes, too. We never mean to exclude responsible imbibers or teetotalers from our music club travels. It’s just more fun to talk about the guzzlers. First and foremost,…
TIF rift
When Alderman Frank Kunz first floated his idea to put an end to special incentives for downtown developers, he thought it would go over like a lead balloon. After all, the Central Area Tax Increment Financing program, better known as “the downtown TIF,” has been responsible for the extreme makeover that has revitalized the area…
Knoepfle 3-18-04
in sligo at the grave of yeats limestone slab here at the curbing on the edge of this english cemetery a place for you and wife george your words still sharp from the chisel you commanded would be done they sent the corvette macha and eleven days at sea bringing you home piped you ashore…
How sweet it is
Lonzerotti’s Italia Restaurant is best known for two signature items: salad dressing and breadsticks. OK, you may be asking, just how special can a simple salad and stick of bread be? Very special, if the two items in question are the sweet Italian dressing and lighter-than-air rolls served in this renovated circa-1910 train station near…
Letters 3-18-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com MAYOR DEWITH-ANDERSON? I applaud Illinois Times for its investigative articles on Joe…
Quick Takes 3-18-04
DOG BITES Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Andy McKenna stopped Sunday at Oak Ridge Cemetery to rub Abe’s nose for luck. It didn’t work — not for McKenna. But the campaign stop gave Springfield resident Liz Eilers a shot in the limelight. The Chicago Tribune needed a hook for its coverage of the waning days of…
