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
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
You’re an old-timer in Aurora if you: Were a member of the Tom-a-Hawk Club. Ate a meal at Barefoot Charlie’s (the best steaks in town!). Drag-raced on North Lake Street. Know that there was a West Aurora North High School. Drank a soda at Shaffer’s Pharmacy. Shot a few billiards
The U.S. Congress finally passed a bipartisan gun-control bill and president Joe Biden signed it after a hiatus of 30 years and hundreds of mass shootings. The provisions of the new law, however, are soft; that is to say, they tinker around the fringes of the issue and do not
Musings: • Roe v. Wade is dead. It was shot, stabbed, strangled, and burned to death, and its ashes were scattered to the four winds, thanks to the three U.S. Supreme Court justices nominated by the former, unlamented King of the United States, T. Rump. According to some legal scholars,
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,
