Dusty Rhodes: Fresh Ink

In 2002, this paper published a picture of Alva Busch using a blow dryer to remove decals from his work vehicle. At the time the snapshot was taken, in 2001, Busch was an Illinois State Police crime scene investigator working in the East St. Louis area. Why was he removing the emblems that identified his […]

Untitled Document The first summer that Mike Dial went to camp, he spent a lot of time sitting in the administrative office. Plagued by attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and, by his own admission, “a nasty temper,” Mike would become so enraged that staff members still recall the visible manifestations of his fury. “He would get so […]

Untitled Document At the beginning of class, Mary Ryan goes around the room and shakes hands with her students, calling each man by name, making eye contact, offering a smile: “Hello, Frank. How are you, Dave? What’s up, James?” It’s a casual ritual, but it’s her way of reminding the men in their prison uniforms […]

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 […]

Untitled Document I hardly slept a wink the night before I met my mother. I was in a motel, just off Interstate 35, on the outskirts of the city where she lived with her family. Our clandestine meeting required more scheming than an international narcotics deal, and I was so nervous that I tried on […]

Untitled Document Initial reports didn’t reveal the name of the mentally ill man killed by Springfield police last Saturday night at the Bel-Aire Motel — so when I heard the news I spent a few seconds pondering the possibility that the departed was the same guy who had, less than two weeks earlier, called to […]

Untitled Document The first thing Joshua Foster did after his encounter with an armed robber was to call his sons’ daycare provider. “I’m gonna be a little late picking up the kids today,” he told her. “I’m not sure exactly how late — maybe very late — but I know I’ll be at least a […]

Untitled Document I recently attended a celebration in honor of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It ended, as many such celebrations do, with the audience members linking arms and singing that hopeful anthem, “We Shall Overcome.” I’ve belted this tune a million times. But on this occasion, my mouth simply wouldn’t make the […]

Untitled Document This is the stupidest column I’ve ever written. I just wanted to tell you that up front. And yeah, I know, my last column was about my dog — pretty lame (my column, that is; not Buddy — he’s buoyant as ever). But this one is going to make that Buddy thing look […]

Untitled Document Like turkey and mistletoe and eggnog and fruitcake, there’s a tradition in the journalism business of wrapping up each year with a look back at the stories and events that made news. We get to reprint our favorite photos, revisit our favorite characters, and see how it all looks through 20/20 hindsight. I’ll […]

Untitled Document In his family, Keith Harris is known as the favorite uncle who will take a few of the nieces and nephews for the day, go to the nursing home and hang out with the aged aunties, even bring their favorite pets to visit. In his neighborhood, he’s known as the guy who will […]

Last Christmas, we had some relatives come visit. Stop the presses, right? It seemed pretty mundane to me, too, at the moment I so casually tossed out the invitation: “Hey, why don’t you and Derrion come to our house for the holidays?” It was only after I hung up the phone that the magnitude of […]