Three smoking barrels
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn wants to make Illinois the rain barrel capital of the
world (although he’d likely have to go 12 rounds with Gov. Rod Blagojevich over funding
for a Water Receptacle Museum and Visitors Center and other barrel-related
tourism budget items). To get the ball rolling, Quinn launched a contest to
give away three of the barrels, each hand painted by a central Illinois
artist: “Starry Night” by Erinn
Dady of Champaign, “Native Illinois
Plants” by Ellie Apland, of Champaign, and “Textile Designs of India”
by Sharon Jackson
of Urbana (not pictured). Barrel broker and Champaign resident Austin Grammer donated
the 55-gallon food-grade drums for Quinn’s giveaway. Grammer says one
inch of rain equals 625 gallons of water that can be reused in gardens and
flower beds, conserving water and saving homeowners money. Installing the
apparatus takes about 20 minutes. To enter the drawing, visit
www.standingupforillinois.org/cleanwater. The deadline is Sept. 12.
The things we do for love
Sure, Barack Obama, with his charm and good looks, has been known to make a
few ladies, and maybe even a few fellas, faint. But, that’s probably
not what he had in mind during his last trip to Springfield.
On Saturday Obama made an appearance at the Old State
Capitol to announce and introduce his presumptive vice-presidential
nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. Not only was it warmer than his frigid, 4 degrees
fahrenheit February 2007 stop in the capital city, but it was the polar
opposite — hot, with some of that famous Midwest humidity.
Supporters who stood in the sun for hours had their
water bottles taken by security (no projectiles allowed). Once they made it
through the metal detectors, excited spectators streaked past the $2 cups
of water being sold by Downtown Springfield, Inc. to stake out vantage
posts in the plaza.
When sun-poisoned Obama fans started dropping like
flies — some before the senator even made it to the stage —
frantic volunteers began filling cups and handing them out through the
audience.
We’re thinking better weather, or at least a
free water distribution system, is in order for Obama’s next visit.
Same name, different game
We weren’t fooled for a second when we got a
press release announcing that Diane Hughes was hosting a celebratory stop for disciples making a
pilgrimage to their sacred homeland. It was the fact that it was
Harley-Davidson riders, on their way to the 105th anniversary
confab in Milwaukee that could have thrown us for a loop.
Not to be confused with Diane
Lopez Hughes — the peacenik who
protests war, global warming, the ban on travel to Cuba and has been
arrested three times for civil disobedience — this Diane Hughes lives
and breathes Harley at the local dealership, Hall’s, which her
parents opened 46 years ago, about a month before her birth. She wears
jeans and a Harley shirt at least six days a week, and rides a Softail
Deluxe.
When we tracked down Diane Lopez Hughes, we found her
in Redwing, Minn., participating with her son Brendan in a Witness Against
War walk en route to the Republican National Convention, natch. Via phone,
she described her current attire as a Gandhi tee that says
“peace” in 40 different languages, shorts purchased from the
Sojourn thrift store, and a pair of re-soled Birkenstocks. She says she
rode a motorbike once, three decades ago, and has never wanted to repeat
the experience.
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t like
Harley people,” she says. “A lot of people on Harleys, when
they pass our vigil, they give us thumbs up or the peace sign.”
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2008.
