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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 of restaurants looking
for some sort of redemption from whoever stole his horseshoe recipe. Our historic town, it seems, has had quite a few
scary happenings. Remember the face in the tree — the boyish
“woody” visage that poked its head out only after sundown? This
hometown phenomenon actually drew thousands of visitors, some armed with
camcorders, ladders, and flashlights, hoping to gain some sort of
understanding into this odd apparition — only to have it chopped down
by an annoyed landlord. Let’s not forget the many haunted tales of the
old Lake Club, including that of a head named Rudy that appeared in midair,
mouthing off to an unsuspecting waitress about the imminent demise of one
of the club’s owners. Apparently bodiless Rudy didn’t stop
there; again he decided to tantalize another waitress by refilling a few
drinks with chocolate! Oh, that Rudy was quite a character, wasn’t
he? Springfield may not have won the Simpsons Movie premier, but guess what? We have our very own haunted
movie theater. Once again, rumor has it that the former Springfield Theatre
Centre is haunted by a sometimes wicked ghost named Joe who smells of
Noxzema. Some folks will do anything to break into pictures. Last but not least, one of our local high schools is
said to have been built on top of a cemetery — don’t worry,
they didn’t just remove the headstones — and it seems that
there is one student who absolutely refuses to graduate. She has been seen
robotically roaming the hallways, corridors, parking lots, and the
cafeteria of Springfield High School, but she has never been seen in the
classrooms. For some reason, she avoids the classrooms. Hum, this one rings
a bit of truth. Whether we are called Springpatch or live along the
Cabbage Patch, we are a town undivided when it comes to our spooky history.
E.A. Haley Springfield
THEY’RE JUST
FOLLOWING ORDERS I have to ask: When will people get it through their
thick heads? The armed forces are made up of some of the highest
skilled and most professional citizens that our nation has to offer. As
trained professionals, these soldiers go where they are ordered to go and
fight and kill whomever their orders cover. As for Gen. David Petraeus: A “poor” man?
A “liar” [see “Letters,” Oct. 11]? I say Petraeus,
like the rest of the military, is a victim of Washington politics. As a
professional soldier, the general takes his orders from the Pentagon and
carries out the whims of the White House. Sure, American generals can question orders. That is,
if they don’t mind being court-martialed, and losing their careers. I
just wonder how many of us civilians would challenge a boss for recklessly
endangering the lives of our co-workers — especially when such a
challenge would end with the worker being left unemployed. Simply put,
challenge your boss, lose your job, and your family goes hungry. How many
of us, safe, here at home, would risk this? Good orders or bad, our soldiers have proven their
dedication too many times to list here. Don’t blame these
professionals for the stupidity of politicians!
Norman Hinderliter
Springfield
LIFE IS FULL OF REGRETS I went shopping this week and noticed something odd.
I shopped for apple juice. I picked up the store brand. The label said that
it was made from concentrate. If you looked at the neck it said, in blue
ink, “Concentrate from China.” I know that this country has
more apples than we can eat. We have a lot of apples — why do we need
to import it from China? Isn’t our trade debt to China big enough? I
bought a more expensive juice from here. I also shopped for pineapple
chunks. There were three brands. Here is the info on each: Store brand was
$0.99 and came from Thailand, big brand (Libby, I think) $1.09 and from the
Philippines, and the Dole brand $1.19 and from Thailand. I could not get
Hawaiian pineapple at any price. Americans need jobs, American farmers need
sales, and state and the federal governments need tax money. We are told to
buy American but are not offered a decent shot at it. I did not mind
spending 20 cents more for U.S. goods. Wish I could have bought U.S.
pineapple. Patrick Johnopolos Springfield
WORLD WAR III FOR OIL? Pentagon officials are now saying that the war with
Iran is a near certainty, that Dick Cheney will get his war and that
Condoleezza Rice caved in to him (previously she had tried to put he brakes
on his plan for invasion) and will go along with the plan as long as he
builds a case for war over the next several months and consults
meaningfully with Congress. Nothing can prevent this train wreck now except
perhaps impeachment, which Congress seems disinclined to do. Gen. Peter Pace, the former head of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, was against the war with Iran and against the use of nuclear
weapons, so he was replaced by Adm. Michael Mullen, who seems willing to go
along with Cheney’s plans. Mullen is a Navy man, and it is the Navy
that will do the air strikes. The Bush administration has used the events of 9/11
to justify virtually everything they’ve done since then, including
attacking defenseless countries and gutting the U.S. Constitution. They
have said that 9/11 “proves” that diplomacy doesn’t work.
They say that military action is necessary in the case of Iran, because
diplomacy has not worked there either. Well, real diplomacy of the kind
used with Libya and North Korea has never even been tried. Furthermore,
having three carriers sitting in the Persian Gulf is not going to do much
for diplomacy. The Bush administration has never really been serious about
diplomacy with Iran. Back in May 2003, Iranian authorities presented a very
generous diplomatic initiative. But, flush with the success of
“Mission Accomplished,” the Bush administration rebuffed them. Iran is in a much better position than it was back in
May 2003. Under Ahmadinejad, the new hardliner who was elected in 2005,
they have restarted uranium enrichment, which they claim is to be used for
civilian purposes only and perfectly legal under the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, which they signed. Shia control the Baghdad
government in Iraq, and for those who believe that Arab Shia would never
hook up with Persian Shia, as the Bush administration has, they have been
proven wrong. Iran stands to gain, more than any other country in the area,
from our mistakes in Iraq. Real diplomacy (“carrot and stick”
diplomacy) is the only viable answer to the Iranian situation. A military
attack on Iran would be counterproductive both politically and
economically, not only for the Middle East and Central Asia but for the
entire world. An attack on Iran could lead us into a World War III
scenario. Cheney has stated that we cannot allow Tehran to
control a region that has the largest known reserves of oil in the world.
So the real reason we are invading yet another Middle East country is oil. Beni Kitching Springfield
FOR ALL FATHERLESS CHILDREN I don’t think Amanda Helm’s letter to the
editor regarding Amy Alkon ever said that she wanted her fired [see
“Letters,” Sept. 27 and Oct. 11]. Furthermore, I find it hard
to believe that 70 percent of fatherless children grow up to be sociopaths.
I know a girl who grew up without a father, and she
is well educated, has a great job, and is a great mother. What about kids
who grow up without a mother? What about kids who grow up with two moms or
two dads? What about kids who have a mother or father that is never around?
What about the kids who grow up with a mother or father who is always
drinking, partying, beating their kids, and getting high? Are they all
sociopaths, too? I am sure all the people who grew up without a father
and read [the letter] didn’t appreciate it.
Jessi Shoup
Springfield
_______________________________
CORRECTION
For information about Springfield Slow Food, call
Deanna Glosser at 217-629-8948 or e-mail dglosser@insightbb.com. Her phone
number was wrong in a recent story [“The pleasure principle,”
Oct. 18].
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2007.
