Rambling through central Illinois, wishing I had been alive for The Summer of Love, not born during it.
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During a recent visit to the semi-large city of Buffalo, N.Y., I struck up a conversation with a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Yooper lamented how hard it was learning to lock doors after moving to the city.
I laughed and told him how hard it was learning to leave doors unlocked after moving to the Midwest.
Sadly, it appears my learning experience may be a thing of the past.
In case you missed it, there has been a rash of car burglaries lately. Hanna City and Farmington have been hit and other small communities may soon be targets. Overall, Peoria County had the highest per-capita rate of auto-related crimes in Illinois in 2022 according to State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos.
This is not an attempt to frighten, but it is a plea to lock your cars – or at least to take keys and key fobs inside after you park. Let’s make it harder for vermin to steal from us.
While our communities are generally safe, you can’t say your town doesn’t have crime. Even Mayberry had crime, and folks, we are a long way from the days of Mayberry.
Drugs are increasingly taking hold in all communities, rural or urban. A lack of resources to treat mental health problems plagues some who might otherwise be able to find help. Changing laws to give criminals additional rights – coupled with oft-spineless state’s attorneys – makes the job even tougher for officers.
It all adds up to a simple message, one that was delivered to the Princeville Village Board the other day and one that you too should heed: Lock your car doors, and maybe even the doors to your house. The alternative is to run the risk of being robbed.
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WE WILL NOT PRINT A PAPER NEXT WEEK! You have been warned, but feel free to complain anyway. … Pavlov should have done an experiment to determine why free food tastes so good. Subway had a two-hour promotion this week for free 6-inch sandwiches and that freebie was the best-tasting Subway my mouth has tasted. … Maybe this never happens to you, but every now and then it seems I’ve become a real adult. Then a situation arises making it clear that hurdle still awaits. Somehow, my two pickup trucks now reside in Havana and Wyoming – the close Havana and the far-away Wyoming. And somehow, the car I got in the deal wound up in a body shop in Hanna City (where the D&N crew is no doubt doing a great job). Even so, for the past few days that has left the TWP delivery van as my lone mode of transportation. The van has a busted muffler, which I forgot about until – while attempting to accelerate – my ears popped worse than on Cedar Point’s Millennium Force roller coaster. Even the dog was dubious about riding in the van. Sigh. About all one can do is blast the radio and ponder why young men pay to have mufflers this loud. What, so they can roar down Main Street, then roar back, in case nobody heard them the first time? Yes, youth is wasted on the young. We’re headed your way soon muffler magi Paul Cokel, and you will definitely know when we arrive. … All this loud noise is having an impact. Somehow, in a haze, I almost fast-forwarded past “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” … And a thought occurred to me after looking through a series of laptop pictures: Hunter S. Thompson really had nothing on Hunter Biden as far as extracurriculars, though Thompson could write and worked for a living.
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AI must have taken over our spellchecker. While proofing this issue, spellchecker listed IDOT as a suspect word and suggested IDIOT as a replacement. … A free prairie tour is this Saturday at 9 a.m. through native plantings maintained by the Jubilee Prairie Dawgs north of Jubilee College State Park. Meet at the observatory at 14700 W. Brimfield-Jubilee Road. … Amidst real concerns over impacts of the June drought on row crops, there is this: What will it mean to our Big Tomato Contest? Fewer entries? Smaller entries? … It occurs to me I forgot to mention Scot Jehle of Elmwood had a hole-in-one at Maple Lane Country Club. Also, Scot, the advertising contract is coming up. Let’s talk! … Parting shot: Do they still write trippy lyrics like this? “One of 16 vestal virgins, who were leaving for the coast. And although my eyes were open, they might just as well’ve been closed.”
Contact Jeff Lampe at (309) 231-6040 or jeff@wklypost.com
