His neighbor also went on a tear about the water source from the local lake going "sour" after a particularly rainy season. My pal, originally from Chicago, took his side and carped about Mayor Judy, a woman and a Democrat, being incompetent and unable to clean up the water. When he got on Mayor Judy's case for not being an engineer, I once again had to explain, logically, that it was not her fault (a most capable woman, a teacher, and a good friend of mine):
I reminded him of how foul Lake Michigan was for so many years, with the disgusting common occurrence of dead alewives or McD's wrappers smacking swimmers in the face, and the stench on really hot days. As huge as that lake is, it took years to clean up.
Then I told him about the similar sized lake in Carbondale, and the torrential rains of 1993. The lake exceeded its normal banks, and millions of amoeba-sized critters not previously found in that lake had since become happy little residents thereof. We learned that with a small lake, it's pretty damned difficult to clean out new vermin without sinking millions into new purification systems. The only solution was simply to buy bottled water.
And that's really about all that can be done concerning the water coming out of his tap. Sometimes you just can't override the forces of nature, and you surely can't blame city hall for amoebic critters in a rain-swollen lake.
The biggest project of Mayor Judy's two-term administration, in order to revitalize a snoozing downtown that had become little more than bars, law offices, a handful of eateries, failing specialty shops, one refurbished movie palace, and more bars - not to mention a haven for the homeless - was the construction of an arena and parking garage.
First, this being a Republican community, getting her very idea across was like ascending the Eiger. But she persevered and secured the initial funding, despite all the crying and moaning that it was "gonna cost too much" and "we're gonna need new parking lots, too" and "where will it be built?"
My three particular favorite complaints were repeated ad nauseum:
1-"We used to have a skating rink here, and the kids stopped going." (Yeah, back in the '60s, and those kids are now parents of teenagers. Besides, this is not a "skating rink.")
2-"We've got the Illinois State University Arena." (Most entertainers won't perform there because of the draconian regulations, plus patrons can't even buy beer at events.)
3-"There's a civic center in Peoria, and they already have a professional hockey team and nationally-known entertainment." (Gosh, it's so much fun to drive nearly an hour each way to Peoria, and not one cent goes to local coffers or tax revenues.)
The preponderance of complaints came from outside the city, rural dwellers who neither pay taxes nor vote in city elections. Some of them live 50 miles or more away, with most residing in different counties. Still, they're gonna b*tch about another city's mayor and town, and tell those residents what to do with their tax dollars.
Now that the arena is built, and has a corporate sponsor, an Extreme Football League team, a pro hockey team, a number of upcoming scheduled events - including numerous bookings even the established Peoria Civic Center can't get, such as the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus plus several rock top drawer music acts - the out-of-towners continue to write letters denigrating the arena as well as Mayor Judy. And she retired a year ago!
Somebody actually wrote a letter to the editor calling Molly Ivins, Garrison Keillor, and Donald Kaul unworthy of newspaper space, that none of their opinions matter. He suggested a "Columnist-Off" (my name for it), in which the paper provides samplings of specific writers he named, then let the readers vote. That way we'll be guaranteed all-Conservative views, all the time. Apparently, this guy has absolutely no comprehension of contractual obligations. (To the man's credit, he did state that Ann Coulter and her vitriolic hatred have no place in a family newspaper.)
One of the more common subjects people around here complain about is Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley. It's 130 miles away, for crying out loud! They complain that Chicago has too much crime, yet this comes from people who never go there. They complain that the Chicago area has too much influence over the governor and state government; forget that as home to the majority of the state's population and industry the rest of Illinois would shrivel up without it providing the bulk of the brain trust and revenue.
Small towns, small thoughts, small visions"
A few months ago I wrote about several soccer moms from DuPage County who were pressing their state senator to enact a "truth in advertising" bill aimed specifically at movie theatres. Bottom line, they don't want to sit a theatre 15 minutes earlier than they have to watching commercials and previews, thus having to pay a sitter an extra buck or two (these are women whose family incomes are well into six figures).
Well, there's a new twist to this conundrum, sort of. Some theatres have been forced by customer complaints to delete the trailer of an upcoming motion picture, and not because it's filled with gore or nudity or offensive language. This is the theatrical movie about Flight 93, the airliner that was retaken by its passengers on 9/11 and crashed at Shanksville, Penn.
Some theatregoers have been upset by the mere idea of a movie about the incident, saying it's too soon. Thaty's their prerogative, but I fail to see that level of sensitivity. If anybody should be uptight about the film and its subject matter, the families of the passengers are the most likely candidates. Apparently, though, Universal Pictures has not only made the movie with the cooperation of the surviving family members, the final edit has met with their approval.
All depictions of the trailer agree that it's not sensationalistic, and edited in rather good taste. The reports I've read state nothing appears in the coming attraction that we all haven't seen repeatedly on television, respectful and somewhat sober.
I reminded him of how foul Lake Michigan was for so many years, with the disgusting common occurrence of dead alewives or McD's wrappers smacking swimmers in the face, and the stench on really hot days. As huge as that lake is, it took years to clean up.
Then I told him about the similar sized lake in Carbondale, and the torrential rains of 1993. The lake exceeded its normal banks, and millions of amoeba-sized critters not previously found in that lake had since become happy little residents thereof. We learned that with a small lake, it's pretty damned difficult to clean out new vermin without sinking millions into new purification systems. The only solution was simply to buy bottled water.
And that's really about all that can be done concerning the water coming out of his tap. Sometimes you just can't override the forces of nature, and you surely can't blame city hall for amoebic critters in a rain-swollen lake.
First, this being a Republican community, getting her very idea across was like ascending the Eiger. But she persevered and secured the initial funding, despite all the crying and moaning that it was "gonna cost too much" and "we're gonna need new parking lots, too" and "where will it be built?"
My three particular favorite complaints were repeated ad nauseum:
1-"We used to have a skating rink here, and the kids stopped going." (Yeah, back in the '60s, and those kids are now parents of teenagers. Besides, this is not a "skating rink.")
2-"We've got the Illinois State University Arena." (Most entertainers won't perform there because of the draconian regulations, plus patrons can't even buy beer at events.)
3-"There's a civic center in Peoria, and they already have a professional hockey team and nationally-known entertainment." (Gosh, it's so much fun to drive nearly an hour each way to Peoria, and not one cent goes to local coffers or tax revenues.)
The preponderance of complaints came from outside the city, rural dwellers who neither pay taxes nor vote in city elections. Some of them live 50 miles or more away, with most residing in different counties. Still, they're gonna b*tch about another city's mayor and town, and tell those residents what to do with their tax dollars.
Now that the arena is built, and has a corporate sponsor, an Extreme Football League team, a pro hockey team, a number of upcoming scheduled events - including numerous bookings even the established Peoria Civic Center can't get, such as the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus plus several rock top drawer music acts - the out-of-towners continue to write letters denigrating the arena as well as Mayor Judy. And she retired a year ago!
Somebody actually wrote a letter to the editor calling Molly Ivins, Garrison Keillor, and Donald Kaul unworthy of newspaper space, that none of their opinions matter. He suggested a "Columnist-Off" (my name for it), in which the paper provides samplings of specific writers he named, then let the readers vote. That way we'll be guaranteed all-Conservative views, all the time. Apparently, this guy has absolutely no comprehension of contractual obligations. (To the man's credit, he did state that Ann Coulter and her vitriolic hatred have no place in a family newspaper.)
One of the more common subjects people around here complain about is Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley. It's 130 miles away, for crying out loud! They complain that Chicago has too much crime, yet this comes from people who never go there. They complain that the Chicago area has too much influence over the governor and state government; forget that as home to the majority of the state's population and industry the rest of Illinois would shrivel up without it providing the bulk of the brain trust and revenue.
Small towns, small thoughts, small visions"
A few months ago I wrote about several soccer moms from DuPage County who were pressing their state senator to enact a "truth in advertising" bill aimed specifically at movie theatres. Bottom line, they don't want to sit a theatre 15 minutes earlier than they have to watching commercials and previews, thus having to pay a sitter an extra buck or two (these are women whose family incomes are well into six figures).
Well, there's a new twist to this conundrum, sort of. Some theatres have been forced by customer complaints to delete the trailer of an upcoming motion picture, and not because it's filled with gore or nudity or offensive language. This is the theatrical movie about Flight 93, the airliner that was retaken by its passengers on 9/11 and crashed at Shanksville, Penn.
Some theatregoers have been upset by the mere idea of a movie about the incident, saying it's too soon. Thaty's their prerogative, but I fail to see that level of sensitivity. If anybody should be uptight about the film and its subject matter, the families of the passengers are the most likely candidates. Apparently, though, Universal Pictures has not only made the movie with the cooperation of the surviving family members, the final edit has met with their approval.
All depictions of the trailer agree that it's not sensationalistic, and edited in rather good taste. The reports I've read state nothing appears in the coming attraction that we all haven't seen repeatedly on television, respectful and somewhat sober.
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