Missouri can be a weird place. When I lived there, I attended, more than once, the annual International He-Man Conclave in Butts, a tiny burg 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. It was great fun and, as the name implies, the event was limited to men who brought beer, whiskey, chili, porno mags, four-wheelers and […]
Upon Further Review
Posted inOpinion
Boozing and teetotaling
The Last Chance Saloon in Salisbury, like the unincorporated village surrounding it, is a small place, lacking both paved parking and pretension. On a recent Monday, there is lament at the lack of Budweiser Select – just one bottle is left. The walls are mostly bare. Fireball, served in shot glasses, appears to be the […]
Posted inOpinion
Done deal?
Last week’s “town hall” meeting on a proposed 11th Street homeless shelter reeked of check-a-box. No one disagrees: There are too many homeless folks in Springfield and too little is being done to prevent them from splattering streets with vomit or peeing in public or going off meds. A shelter where they can get services […]
Posted inOpinion
Goodbye, green card
For the first time in nearly two hours, I heard a voice, over a loudspeaker, speak English.“Would Mr. Rushton please report to security?” There was no Spanish accent. I did not respond. Minutes earlier, I’d put my dad on a plane headed to the United States after a week together in Zihuatanejo. He’d insisted, before […]
Posted inOpinion
Hard times at Goodwill
Life’s too short to look like a homeless person. That’s why I shop at Goodwill. Norwegian split-toe bluchers by Alden. Shell cordovan. Ben Silver button-downs, Brioni trousers and oxford cloth from Brooks Brothers. Spend enough time shopping at Goodwill and you can look better than the president, which these days isn’t saying much. I didn’t […]
Posted inOpinion
Hard times at Goodwill
UPDATE: After the below story was posted online, Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries reversed itself and has announced that Nicholas Braun and other former employees who lost their jobs this month will be rehired.In a written statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Sharon Durbin, the agency’s president and chief executive officer apologized for firing Braun and about […]
Posted inOpinion
Flags and railroads
“Their actions following their victory were not what…fans have come to expect from their champions,” the head of the sport’s sanctioning body said afterward, calling the celebratory behavior “regrettable.” This, of course, was the U.S. men’s relay team that shocked the planet in 2000, not by winning gold at the Sydney Olympics – that was […]
Posted inOpinion
King George and public records
It being Independence Day, let’s celebrate government that’s supposed to be of the people and by the people, even in Illinois. When founding fathers created America nearly 250 years ago, the deed was done in secrecy. Under a 1775 agreement signed by every member of Congress, anyone who blabbed about what Congress did or contemplated, […]
Posted inOpinion
Iron-mess
I am as much a fan of triathlon as I am of watching paint dry. As colored latex crusts, you say, “Looky there,” then cook up another toasted-cheese-and-bacon sandwich, which I’m told is to paint-drying as strawberries-and-cream are to Wimbledon, pimento cheese sandwiches to The Masters and mint juleps to the Kentucky Derby. Triathlon fans, […]
Posted inOpinion
Tweet this
Two decades after Al Gore may or may not have claimed credit for inventing the internet, I wonder whether Benjamin Franklin, who invented a lot of things, would have wanted the honor. I say this after a recent Twitter spat that, apparently, happens a fair amount these days, the sort that seems inconsequential yet says […]
Posted inOpinion
Tweet this
Two decades after Al Gore may or may not have claimed credit for inventing the internet, I wonder whether Benjamin Franklin, who invented a lot of things, would have wanted the honor. I say this after a recent Twitter spat that, apparently, happens a fair amount these days, the sort that seems inconsequential yet says […]
Posted inOpinion
We are stardust, we are golden
We are arriving, this year, at some important anniversaries. Already, we have observed one. The big day having passed, D-Day, 75th Anniversary: A Millennials Guide, is on steep discount at Amazon. “D-Day is one of the most recognizable terms in World War II lore and the invasion of Europe that it signifies is being commemorated […]
