Another Father’s Day is in the books and I hope it was a good one for all you fathers out there. It made me wonder how Donald Trump’s offspring recognized the day. One of the latest fiascoes of the self-proclaimed stable genius currently in the White House that’s costing us
By Meredith VanKampen Krantz There is a house on Downer Place that has been standing longer than anyone alive can remember. It was built in 1894, the same decade Ellis Island opened its arms, a country still becoming. A judge built it, a native son of Aurora named Russell B.
By Dr. Glenn Mollette Summer arrives slowly and disappears quickly. This all depends on where you live of course. If you are in southern Florida, Texas, Arizona, or California, then warm and very hot days are almost always a part of life. For those of us a little further north,
Musings: •The Sins of Donald J. Trump (chapter 20).” He has: Signed an executive order declaring the production of glyphosate to be critical to national security and should be increased; Posted on his Truth Social website an image of himself as Jesus Christ; Planned to fire 9,400 TSA agents as
It’s the end, kind of. I like to think of it as a beginning for something else, but it will be the end of Alley Art Festival as an afternoon of local art along Water Street Mall and Downer Place on the last Saturday of August. This is the first
I thought I’d begin with a quote from a classic Tennessee Ernie Ford song, Sixteen Tons: “Another day older and deeper in debt,” which is applicable to just about all of us here in the good ol’ U.S. of A.. Me especially, since I’m tapping this blurb out on my
By Dr. Glenn Mollette May is a busy month with Mother’s day, graduations, and Memorial day weekend activities. Hopefully these occasions have presented or are presenting you with opportunities to connect with friends and family. Too often, as we get older, our connection time with people is at the funeral
My mother is 83 years old, has had three hip replacement surgeries, suffers from arthritis in her knee, and uses a walker to get around. She often declines going places with me because it’s too hard on her body or too much work. This is an unfortunate reality for so
By Dr. Glenn Mollette We are bombarded daily with news, advertisements, telemarketers, text advertisements, and annoying phone calls. All of this is physically and emotionally draining. For the last 20 years I have listened to, watched and read the news. Sadly, most of the news is bad, negative and depressing.
By Glenn Mollette We should never put off till tomorrow what we can do today. The biggest problem with this is that we can’t do everything today. Life has to be spaced out and we have to hope and pray that we will have the opportunity to do some or
I admit I’m a fan of older cars. You readers probably think that it’s because I’m old and decrepit, and you’d be right. But not so fast. That’s just part of it. All the doodads added to the interiors and dashboards of new cars to make cruising along at three
I’m excited to get a headstart on summer this year. For me, that means squeezing in lots of local events as the weather warms up. I am partial to art and music events, but I also make room for plant sales, markets, and supporting small businesses. I’m already having to
Bosses. You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t shoot ‘em. Well, you could shoot them, but you’d end up in the personnel manager’s office with a black mark on your employment record. Any of us who’ve ever had a job or jobs working for any number of companies or individuals
By Kiri Palm, Aurora Public Library, West Branch manager There were a lot of important questions I was asked while interviewing for my position as the West Branch Manager, but one really stood out: How do you feel about a branch renovation? It was an exciting prospect and an undertaking
If you have followed the recent Winter Olympic Games, dear reader, you will have noted that Murphy’s Law had been highly at play, if anything can go wrong, it will. There were several accidents, both indoors and outdoors, equipment malfunctions, and unwarranted costumes and/or decorations. Some of the medals awarded
This time it hits close to home. Someone I love is struggling with high blood pressure and White Coat Syndrome. White Coat Syndrome is a term that describes someone who has an intense reaction or emotional response when visiting the doctor’s office, with blood pressure spiking up remarkably. Fear of
By Dr. Glenn Mollette Life can have some scary moments. We have all been there or may be there at any given time. Sickness scares us. Dealing with a debilitating illness is scary. Cancer is scary. Heart disease is scary. Dying is scary. We fear having enough food, money, housing
Cathy Hayen is retiring from the City of Aurora government at the end of February. You might not know her by name, but you know her by the gardens, baskets, and planters of vibrant colors that have transformed downtown Aurora over the years into a seasonal paradise. In 2014, Hayen
From the vault, October 16, 2014: A great essay is worth repeating. This piece was originally titled “How I Learned to Stop Chewing Tobacco and Take Up Smoking” and appeared in the 1969 edition of the Wings of the Dawn, Aurora College’s (now Aurora University) annual student-writing competition. It garnered
By Russ George The Diabetes Club of Fox Valley will hold its February “Meet and Greet”, organized by media chairperson, Ann McBride, to expose our Club and our mission, Saturday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Panera Bread, 1330 N. Orchard Road, in Aurora. Plan on stopping by
