Category > From the Flyover Zone
Last winter, looking for a rest stop off the interstate south of Pueblo, Colorado, my family came across a small picnic park with a monument to the victims of the "Ludlow Massacre," a bloody 1914 incident that occurred during a standoff between striking miners and the National Guard. In the end, 20 people died, including many women and children who suffocated in underground bunkers when the army set fire to the strikers' tent city. You can actually walk down into …
Chicago is packed full of adventures beyond the Shedd Aquarium, Water Tower Place and Wendella boat tours. But sadly, for many of us, that is about all we seem to manage on our summer day trips up to the windy city. With or without kids, we spend hundreds of dollars on tickets, parking and food, and yes, we come away with pleasant memories, but somehow I think we often miss a very real and vibrant side of Chicago that sometimes …
It's been over ten years, but I finally made it back to Wrigley Field last year to watch a game with my youngest son. Walking from the Red Line "L" stop, I prepared myself for the worst: hoards of frat-boys guzzling beer, businessmen with their Blackberries in hand and tourists from the far far west suburbs. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by how genuine the place still seemed, with its emphasis on the actual game of baseball and the nitty-gritty …
Every spring break for the past eight years our family has camped on a rugged state park beach in an area of northern Florida relatively untouched by the real estate development so ubiquitous in other parts of the state. The key word here is “relatively,” because in the course of these past years, even in one of the sparsest populated counties of the sunshine state, we’ve witnessed large tracts of shore-front land turn from long leaf pine and palmetto forest …
Last night I received emails from friends interested in my opinion regarding the seven candidates for school board. Champaign voters will have the opportunity tomorrow to pick three of these candidates, and many voters, my friends included, have no clue who these people are. And although I try to follow educational issues in the area, I too am scratching my head a bit on this one, and may have to take my ouji board to the polls. That's not to …
Every March, I get road trip fever. The promise of warmer weather, the arrival of summer camp brochures in the mail, the melting rivulets of road ice that suggest, for those like me with desperate imaginations, kayak runs or water-park slides, all get me in the mood to research trip itineraries, dust off the kayaks and picnic basket, and make camping and cabin reservations. In fact, most of my outdoor family trip brainstorming for the rest of the year gets …
Political scientist Hannah Arendt was right about the banality of evil. Certainly, if ever an educational evil was perpetuated on children, the current standardized testing system is one of them, and yet here in Illinois we are strangely silent. Just like the famous studies that show how quickly people fall into complicit behavior patterns characterized by concern with details, bureaucracy, and following orders, Illinoisans mutter under breath about all the ill-effects of testing, but don't do anything about it. In …
Way out on the southwest outskirts of town, in the middle of farm fields ripe for upscale development, an immense structure has arisen that has attracted the attention of quite a few folks around here, most notably those folks with young children. Why? Because within it's cavernous walls lies a veritable "neverland"-esque indoor play-space that is free, open to the public, and conveniently located just off the new Windsor Road highway exit. When parents enter this space for the first …
In the weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration, it has been easy to get sucked into the hype and hero worship, considering the historical significance of the event, Obama's promises of change and our deep emotional need for someone and something to believe in. Because of this, it is increasingly difficult to separate our cherished image of Obama as liberator-in-chief from his actual politics. Yet there are those who have been able to look beyond the media images and rhetorical …
“So little of what could happen does happen.” –Salvador Dali In the next room, my kids are listening to a book on CD about the “dead days of winter” – those days between Christmas and New Year’s – and I’m lying on the couch reading an Andrew Porter short story about a kid who disappears into a backyard hole. Christmas is only ten days away, it’s cold and dark outside, and really I just want to hunker down inside my …
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hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
And that, my friend, is love. Bob, I think I still owe you for my wedding cake, served in 1998. But nevermind.
I believe the kiss between Rob and I was documented on low-quality videotape in the mid-ninties porn classic, Dirty Harry…and Sticky.
“Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered ‘in.’” You’re in!
Got damn, Coulter. You are the greatest.
I have no specific memory of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d kissed Mike, too—once we’d both drunk ourselves gay. And earlier this week I gave Clarence Shelley a back rub. Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered “in.”
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As a liberal conservative, and a person who favors taxes & services ... and also a sense of proportion; I savor the comic potential that still exists in this comments section. I’m pretty sure we can goad more anti-government rhetoric from confirmed progressives and government employees. If…
Did the Crave Truck get a permit to park in city metered spots and city right of way? Or did they just get a permit? The city clerk’s office seems to be a suspect here, but it’s not clear they did anything wrong. Did the Crave Truck…
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
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I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.