Personal analogy…

Talk about an impressionable little boy. The most vivid memories I have of my early childhood involve the Kennedys. When JFK gave his inauguration speech the nation, or at least Beards Elementary School in Beardstown, Illinois, came to a standstill. The speech was played through the school’s intercom system and our teacher wouldn’t tolerate any reindeer games.

We were holding weekly nuclear bomb tests in school — the bell would ring and we would cover our eyes, bend down in our seats and put our head between legs and wait for the all clear signal. Back in those days parents participated in the education of their children. My dad always said that the reason we were taught to bend over and put our head between our legs was so we could kiss our asses goodbye. The teacher need not worry about me not paying attention. I was all ears. I listened to every word.

But the speech made me feel special like I was part of some big American Dream and that as citizens of this great nation we had an obligation to do good deeds and be the torch of liberty for all mankind.

Less than three short years later I was racing down the stairs at school to recess. It was my brother Mike’s birthday (he was later killed in Dallas). On either the second or third stair down from the platform between floor levels my friend, Alfred Hagerty, told me the President had been shot.

“Only in the arm,” I said (begged). “Only in the arm!” Read more →

Children gunned downed in school by a troubled youth armed with assault weapons acquired from his mother that he murdered. Firefighters ambushed answering a call to a house fire set by a sniper with black market weapons who was convicted and jailed for murdering his grandmother and suspected of murdering his sister before setting his trap.

These problems run much deeper than gun control and its stale arguments of partisan politics serve only to delay needed action. How do we prevent assault weapons from getting into the hands of those capable of committing such acts? How do we protect our children and ourselves from those people who undeniably exist at least until we get those weapons away from them? Weapons is a more inclusive word than guns.

Violent criminals and weapons should never co-exist so why do they? What if our cops and courts spent as much or more time and effort finding and penalizing illegal weapon buyers and sellers as they do bags of pot? A mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of a violent crime ever again found in possession of a deadly weapon might be more of a deterrent than current failed measures. A convicted illegal weapon dealer should be charged as an accessory to each and every Class X offense committed with every one of the illegal weapons sold.

Convicted felons can’t be able to hide behind the 2nd Amendment. This is 2013. Their right to bear arms is the lowest of low hanging forbidden fruit. Read more →

Wednesday November 24, 2010 – A weather advisory has been issued for DeKalb County. Chance of light freezing rain and light sleet late in the morning and in the afternoon. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the late morning and afternoon. Chance of precipitation 80 percent. Rain and a chance of thunderstorms in the evening…then patchy light freezing drizzle after midnight. Areas of fog after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s.

Defensive driving prevents fender benders. Begin by slowing down to have complete control of your vehicle. Allow extra time to get where you are going. Anticipate other drivers not doing anything of the above.

Gracie and I took a short drive through the southern parts of DeKalb County. We were looking for fall colors. It was a bit early but the trip was enjoyable — especially with those apple cider cinnamon donuts. Read more →

It’s official. It’s autumn. My favorite season. The weather is comfortable. The colors are gorgeous.

Somonauk Road from Somonauk to Sycamore. Suydam and Chicago Roads. Route 72, Baseline, Scout Roads and the back roads to Cherry Valley. NIU campus, Ellwood House and the bike trails of DeKalb.

You don’t have to leave DeKalb County to see some fabulous fall colors.

Gracie and I toured the new Potawatomi Woods County Forest Preserve and State Wildlife Preservation Area near Kirkland last year. That’s where we took this photograph of the former headquarters of the Chicago Paint Ball War Games park. Nature appears to be taking it back.

Share your fall color photos with us. Post them on our fan page at Facebook or send us a link to your photos here.

Taking orders now: Be among the first to have one! I “love” DeKalb license plate holders – available for $15 through the Glidden Homestead & Historical Center. Order yours today by emailing the Glidden Homestead (gliddenhomestead@juno.com) – then send a check for the appropriate amount to the Glidden Homestead, 921 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL 60115. They make great gifts!

Gracie and I went for our evening walk through Downtown DeKalb. We walked up to O’Leary’s and had dinner. Walked over to the House and said hey to Clifton Roy who was performing later.

Then we walked over to Memorial Park. Music was playing down at the Skate Park. Our good friend, Brian Starr, was spinning dance music from his iPod and a dozen or so people were grooving on ice skates.

How would these wind powered vehicles look on the DeKalb County landscape? Pretty cool, we thinks.

My first attempt at a dooodl

I installed a new gadget widget on the site that ought to be fun. It’s called dooodl. You can make your own signs or your own button ads with it. And it automatically appears on this site with a link to where ever you want clickers to go (if you enter a URL in the proper field).

To start out I thought I’d create a Sign of the Times. Check it out in its full functionality. Feeling creative? Click here, draw your own doodle and add it to this sidebar!

I have a feeling that the spam bots will find this widget. So, I ain’t responsible for the content that might appear. If something offensive shows up please report it ASAP so we can remove it.

Have fun!

Evening walks are a big thing in my life right now. I walk around downtown DeKalb a lot. There was quite a sight the other evening as the Curran Construction crews were busy putting a new coat of blacktop on Lincoln Highway. Or were they? I filed this special Hidden Camera report…