I recently hung out with my oldest and best friend, Bruce, whom I grew up with on Chicago’s South Side. To our astonishment, our adolescent quirks and mannerisms have survived for six decades, while we’ve noticeably grayed and slowed down, even more carefully stating our positions on the day’s issues....
Bureau Gravity will be host to free admission “What Matters” a Photo and Video Contest & Gallery Show Thursday, Sept. 29 at its downtown Aurora production studio to showcase and empower the next generation of young creatives. Bureau Gravity is proud to support local creators as a media incubator that...
Succinctly, important dates in history are more than flags and celebratory food and music. In spite of our emphasis as a Nation on the Fourth of July Independence Day the first such major independent declaration in the world, the approval of the U.S. Constitution, September 17, 1787 is more meaningful...
One of the more interesting features of The Voice (in addition to the pearls of wisdom penned by Yours Truly) is the person-on-the-street interviews. Week after week, ye olde reporter asks a select group to express opinions on a given topic. Lately, however, thanks to the pandemic, original material has...
In our world of events and commemorations, we would do well to enjoy a greater regard for the U.S. Constitution Day, which is celebrated each September 17. It often is overlooked and in the shadow of important Independence Day, started July 4, 1776. The latter has a nice ring to...
Last of three parts The second part is at thevoice.us/hospitals-at-home-save-lives-save-money-efficient Hospitals in the United States consider a concept known as “hospital at home.” Writer Nate Berg had a piece published in FastCompany, a magazine and on online journal. “But the hospital-at-home model still has one main hurdle: Reimbursement from Medicare...
“In the hidden reaches where memory probes, lie sorrows too deep to fathom.” —Consuelo Vanderbilt Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt had course manners, and he chewed tobacco. He could barely read. He was proud of his lack of refinement. He was a rascal, combative, and cunning. He was a builder, shrewd and...
There seems to be a lot happening recently. Very little of it in my head, unfortunately, but out in the real world, the one that a sizable portion of we human-types inhabit. I was sorry to hear of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, although I did witness her passing...
Fairness, community, complete. Those are parts of the process for most of us in the journalism business, except for the minority who wield a disjointed, extreme, political view, and shed the idea of balance and propriety. Mainstream journalistic endeavors seek to provide the full scope of activities, in print and...
Second of three parts The first part is available at thevoice.us/medically-home-shifts-health-care-to-hospitals-at-home Hospitals in the United States are considering a concept known as “hospital at home.” It is according to an article by Nate Berg, published in FastCompany, magazine and online journal. “Dr. Margaret Paulson is physician lead for the Mayo...
In October 2015, I revived the “Now and Then” feature which originally had appeared in TONIT (that other newspaper in town, Aurora) many years ago. My introductory essay was a profile of Middle Avenue and, in particular, its role in tying up traffic in downtown Aurora whenever a freight train...
By Al Benson Batavia Public Library’s popular monthly noontime book-review program, Books Between Bites, announces its 34th season. It will begin Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Library, 10 S. Batavia Avenue in Batavia, from noon to 1 p.m. The public is invited. Admission and parking are free. Programs are presented...
Death and taxes are inevitable. Birth and joy are essential components in life. In this space the objective is to diminish personal positions and offer clarity to bigger elements, bigger than self. Recent family focus prevailed through the death of an older sister, the second of two older sisters to...
First of three parts The following article by Nate Berg was published in FastCompany, magazine and online journal. “Doctor Bruce Leff is a hospital skeptic. A practicing geriatrician who’s been on the faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for 25 years, Leff argues that hospitals don’t have...
Whether Mayor Richard Irvin’s run for the statehouse put Aurora on the map, a question asked by some, seems irrelevant on the heels of his third-place finish in the Illinois GOP primary. Admittedly, it was a tough loss for Irvin, the city’s first African American mayor. And it’s fair to...
Politics is a term and function that started many centuries ago, a Greek term and influence at the start of our Western Culture. Politics persists today. A quality assessment depends upon interests. Politics will be with us as long as governments exist with potential changes and predominant factions. Problems develop...
Last of two parts First part is available at thevoice.us/mail-in-voting-not-a-new-method-of-casting-ballots. Mail-in voting has become a popular topic for the upcoming election. Taryn Simons who wrote, “Laments from Quarantine” and “The Streets of New Orleans Under Quarantine:” “A deluge of absentee-ballot requests may, paradoxically, put pressure on traditional polling places. In...
Musings: • Have you ever had the experience of talking to, or trying to talk to, a salesperson on the telephone, dear reader? Sure, you have. We all have at one time or another and, more likely, more than once. Too many of these persons do not speak the Queen’s...
We live in vital times in many ways and they are not to be underestimated. Learning to get along with others in difficult settings and find commonality is society’s goal. We can prevail in that quest, even when there are significant sidetracks, determined detours, and organized obstacles. It is true,...
Heavyweight hall of fame boxer, Fres Oquendo and international award-winning author, Dr. Robert Renteria of North Aurora, revealed a plan to launch a new youth development center in Chicago, their publicist announced recently. Dr. Renteria, spokesman for From the Barrio Foundation, and Fres Oquendo, founder of Fres Oquendo Boxing Academy...
