The gasoline guessing game
Untitled Document Traffic spilled onto Sangamon Avenue and Peoria Road last week as two dozen noontime commuters crammed onto the lot of the Thornton’s Oil store, hurrying to fill up their tanks for $2.58 per gallon. Most gas stations in Springfield had already jacked up their prices by more than a quarter per gallon earlier…
Love connection
Untitled Document These days, it seems, there’s a dramatic actor hiding inside every major comic. Sometimes the result is inspired (The Truman Show), sometimes it’s not (The Number 23). Although Dan in Real Life isn’t an outright drama, it sure packs in plenty of life-affirming moments. Writer/director Peter Hedges gets credit for being able to…
Blown away
Untitled Document On the morning of Jan. 26, 2006, a co-worker showed up at Dan Mills’ front door and said the boss wanted to see him. Mills thought that this request was a bit odd, because he had the day off — the entire week, actually — and was planning to drive down south and…
Crunch bunch
Untitled Document Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like apples? They’re hard to come by, these genetic anomalies. When I found out that my boss was one of those people, I was rattled. How could he turn his nose up at one of nature’s simplest treats? Seriously, what else is a combination portable snack,…
Crunch bunch
Untitled Document Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like apples? They’re hard to come by, these genetic anomalies. When I found out that my boss was one of those people, I was rattled. How could he turn his nose up at one of nature’s simplest treats? Seriously, what else is a combination portable snack,…
Less than perfect
Untitled Document It’s not the perfect answer, says Ward 6 Ald. Mark Mahoney, but the new trash ordinance passed by the City Council on Tuesday is good first step. The new ordinance, effective April 1, 2008, continues the current system of free yard-waste pickup in April and November, with $1.50 stickers mandatory for…
When adults are away…
Untitled Document My older son is legendary among local figure-skating fans. Not for his double-loop jump or his flying camel or his back sit spin, because, in truth, those skills have gone the way of his adorably squeaky voice, his addiction to cinnamon toast, and his cheerful willingness to wear multicolored socks: into the fond-memory…
Hello, neighbor!
Untitled Document Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson, director of the University of Illinois-Springfield theater department’s fall production, Picnic, held rehearsals five nights a week for more than a month before opening the William Inge romantic drama this Friday. She’s ready for a little shut-eye. “I think I’m putting a bed in my office,” Thibodeaux-Thompson says. “The last couple…
Shaking things up
Untitled Document As the city prepares for its annual budgeting process, the City Council’s new aldermen are already promising to shake things up. At a recent budget workshop with representatives of the Department of Public Works, Ward 7 Ald. Debbie Cimarossa questioned director Mike Norris about temporary workers’ salaries. According to the current…
Enjoy fall’s colors — and do some yard work
Untitled Document As I drove to work this morning, I had trouble keeping my eyes from wandering to the bright-yellow ash leaves and brilliant-red sugar maple leaves, and, as temperatures cool, leaf-color changes will become even more dramatic. This weekend, get out and enjoy the beauty of fall — but, before setting out on your…
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. UNITED IN OUR SPOOKINESS Rumor has it that Abraham Lincoln roams around downtown at midnight, ducking, I imagine, in and out…
A fable
Untitled Document Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes is not generally known for his sense of humor. Privately, in one-on-one situations, Hynes can be engaging, even funny. Put him in front of a microphone, however, and he’s usually stiff as a board. So it was a great surprise last week when Hynes regaled a Springfield audience with…
Fostering hope
Untitled Document The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has until the end of November to answer questions about changes the agency wants to make to its scholarship program for children and young adults who have been under the guardianship of the state. Under the proposal now being reviewed by the Joint…
Polish pleasures
Untitled Document I’ve been in Chicago so often lately that I’ve left my travel satchel on our dining table. Reasons for the trips varied: music, theater, work, and even a day trip to O’Hare to collect my daughter’s cat, which had been flown in from New Zealand. In between there’ve been meals at wonderful restaurants…
Combining alternative fuels
Untitled Document Wouldn’t having hybrid cars run on E85 or biodiesel solve many problems? Environmental advocates would love to see carmakers mass-produce a biofuel-electric hybrid. From a technology standpoint, it’s a no-brainer: Major automakers already turn out vehicles that can run on E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol, derived from corn and other…
Next stop: Iran
Untitled Document Heads up, folks! The neo-conservatives are in heat again. The right-wing ideologues who got President George W. Bush to launch his disastrous Iraq attack are now beating the war drums in an effort to engineer an even more disastrous attack — this time on Iran. How insane are these foaming-at-the-mouth warmongers? Check out…
Assorted Halloween treats
Untitled Document Who doesn’t love Halloween? Other than those really scary folks who take life too seriously, I think most people get a kick out of dressing up and becoming someone or something else, at least for one day. That transformation must be good for the soul. Halloween is the one holiday in which Americans…
People’s poetry
Untitled Document deathwatchpoem #4 I don’t worry much aboutmy own death hope it’s fairlyswift a few moments to saygoodbye and thanks for the fishor as lady montagu said it has allbeen very interesting I don’t wanttoo much trouble for my kids butfind myself thinking this bleak colddawn it’s their deaths may they havegood deaths nothing…
On reading well
Untitled Document I resisted opening this book, even though it was an autographed gift from the author’s sister-in-law, a longtime Springfieldian. I thought that it was another book hammering me with all the books I ought to read when I already felt guilty enough about all the books I hadn’t yet read, and never would,…
