Once upon a time, in Aurora, Ill., there were no shopping centers, strip malls, or whatever one wanted to call them. Aurorans shopped mostly downtown at local retail outlets. There were, of course, local branches of national business entities, such as, Woolworth, Kroger, and Rexall Drugs, to name a few
Another mass shooting. In a school. Oh, my. Thoughts and prayers. End of story. Until the next time. There will be a next time, dear reader, some where in these Disunited States of America. No community is immune any more. Even here in River City, we’ve had our own mass
By R. Mel DormerAurora, Ill. Charles Coddington’s recent article on Aurora old-timers memories (May 19: Aurora old-timers know special sites of past places) stirred a few memories for me of my near East Side Aurora neighborhood, the South Broadway/North Avenue area. • Our ever-present mail carrier, Benny, was met at
Musings: • Got baby formula, ladies? Sure, you do; it came with the baby, but you forgot you had it. It’s called “breast milk,” and you have a plentiful supply to fulfill the baby’s needs. Few women talk about it anymore, which is unfortunate, because the original product is more
You’re an old-timer in Aurora, dear reader, if you: Knew the sites of the original City Hall and the original Post Office. Rode the Aurora city buses. Bought a hamburger at Prince Castle (two locations). Patronized the Sylvandell bowling alley. Drank an ice-cold root beer (with a half inch head
One constant in warfare is the cranking up of the propaganda machine to maximum capacity. Each side of the conflict must get its citizenry firmly behind its government’s viewpoint and actions; must be inundated, via newsprint and airways, with lots and lots of patriotic, emotion-laden messages delineating why war is
Musings: 1 There’s an old saw about a glass being half-full or half-empty. Said glass is a metaphor for a positive or a negative outlook on Life. Would-be philosophers follow up with numerous examples of such outlooks. Sometimes, the examples are outright silly. Frankly, I’m not concerned about whether that
From the vault – 24 March 2012 (revised): Daylight “savings” time is upon us once again. The folly continues. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed what was laughingly entitled the “Sunshine Protection Act.” If passed by the House and signed by the president of the United States, it
In columnist John Whitehead’s op-ed of the February 24 issue of The Voice, he stated that “the Joe Biden administration has likened those who share ‘false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information’ to terrorists.” Furthermore, “if you dare to subscribe to any
War! For the second time since the close of World War II, war has broken out in Europe. The first time was a regional conflict in the 1990s when Serbia attempted to hold the Yugoslav Federation together, but failed, thanks to NATO’s intervention. This time around, the war is international
Joe Rogan of The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify has become the latest victim of censorship in the era of COVID-19. His sin? Why, he dared to interview those who are skeptics of the “official” story behind the origin of the coronavirus and the need for hastily-produced vaccines. The pro-vaxxers
Continuing the adventures of PFC Chas (and you thought you had seen the last of these thrilling adventures, dear reader – silly you!) The Third Armored Medical Company, a.k.a. the “Third Herd,” was well-equipped to administer first-aid in a combat zone. The Third Herd was not well-equipped, however, to administer
President Joe Biden, one year later, here is the scorecard: First of all, president Biden has had to spend time convincing United States residents and the rest of the world that he did not steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump. He won it fair and square by approximately seven
Musings: 1. The U.S. Congress recently passed a “defense” bill totaling $783 billion, including $25 billion the White House and the Pentagon didn’t ask for. It was the military’s Christmas present for FY 2022, and was passed almost unanimously by both chambers. The Congress could not, however, find $3.5 trillion
Today is 05 Marx 53 ASE. Many years ago, I created a new calendar to replace the grossly-erroneous Christian calendar of Pope Gregory XIII. The Gregorian calendar was based upon religious precepts rather than upon astronomical observations. Consequently, it did not serve a multi-ethnic population which existed on Planet Earth,
Question: Who’s afraid of Anthony Fauci? Answer: We all should be, because he’s not to be trusted, because he’s not a part of the solution to COVID-19, but a part of the problem. Apparently, president Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress are afraid of him. There have been calls
We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving Day (I’m writing this essay on that day). Well, not all of us are celebrating, because that day has been so ingrained into our collective psyche that we’ve forgotten what the true origin of it was. We have been taught that the first English-speaking people came
I came across a fascinating essay two weeks ago, and I’d like to share it with you, dear reader. Upon checking my E-mail, one of my monthly feeds – www.wama.com – caught my eye immediately. The headline of the essay shouted “Is Hemp Stronger Than Steel?” Ever the Curious George,
Abortion is back in the news again. It had been biding its time until the right moment. The right moment arrived with the appearance of two news items: • The first item is that the U.S. Supreme Court will be reviewing the State of Mississippi’s law banning abortion after 15
The Chas is not a Republican (nor a Democrat, for that matter). He is not a worshiper of Donald J. Trump. He is not a fan of Fox News or any right-wing radio talk show. He is not a reader of conservative blogs. He is not a member of the
