• Newest spectator sport?: The Town of Normal these days has handy 5-by-8 hologram cards it’s passing out to show drivers how to maneuver its new Uptown Circle.
Still ahead: parallel-parking lessons, too?
In wake of the upgrade of North Street that got rid of angle parking and now is parallel-only, a high point these days for those dining next to the windows of Medici restaurant is reportedly looking out to watch motorists try to parallel park on the street, one of life’s most dreaded driving tasks.
“It’s become sort of a comedy to watch all the methods and attempts,” muses one waitress.
• Not ifs, ands or butts …: Sagging pants are, of course, a curious fashion statement among late-teened boys of the day.
And now, apparently, it’s just not among youth.
As evidenced by a rather unique use of pumpkins outside of a home just north of Heyworth (our thanks to Troy Semple for the picture), the saggy jeans epidemic is apparently contagious.
Trick? Or treat?
• Latest local accolades …: Next time you flip on “Nip/Tuck,” the popular fX drama about life inside a big-city plastic surgery clinic, be sure to check out the clinic’s desk receptionist. Slated for a regular role this season is 29-year-old actress Rebecca Stevens who 10 years ago, had the real-life role of being a senior at Bloomington … To be featured in the opening number of the “Lighting of the Magnificent Mile” parade next month in Chicago (slated also to be televised on WGN): dancers from the Dance Factory in Bloomington … And, as the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees duel in a coastal baseball turf war of the country’s two biggest metro areas, there’s also special interest here in the middle, too: Yankees manager is Joe Girardi of East Peoria and Angels manager is Mike Scioscia, whose brother and sister (Fred and Gail) live in Normal.
• Today’s deep thought
As mulled by Pat Scott, of El Paso: “Didn’t the St. Louis Cardinals, going down in three games to the Dodgers, deserve the Nobel Peace Prize more than Obama?”
• The grass is always greener … especially this year!: As the year slowly evolves into morning frost, the first scraped windshield and then, argh!, winter, this column nonetheless is trying to continue to put a positive spin on things:
Once the snow flies, at least you won’t have to mow anymore.
OK, maybe.
“I’m going to have my husband leave the mowing blades on the John Deere when he puts the snow blades on,” suggests Beth Adams, a Bloomington woman. “That way, I can plow the snow before I mow the grass underneath it. Have we ever had a year when it’s been such a race to try to get out and get the grass cut again?”
Says Rob Springs, a Twin City lawn-groomer: “I’ve been doing this (mowing) for 15 years and can’t remember a season like this. We began mowing in early April … and we’ve had no break, at all.”
Then of course are area farmers.
We won’t even mention that in many past years they have been OUT of their fields by now but this year have barely been able to get IN them because of all the rain.
We also won’t mention an Old Farmers Almanac forecast:
“Big winter snow forecast for Midwest in 2009-10!” it reads.
We’d better get out and quickly mow again.
Contact Bill Flick at flick@pantagraph.com.
As it relates to the new parallel parking uptown, I’m wondering if it means they don’t want my business. I’m trying to figure out how to get my 12 passenger van to fit into one of those tiny parking spots. I actually took my teenaged kids through the area last night and exhorted them to not try parking/shopping in the area due to the high potential of hitting something (and full sized vans don’t work in the parking decks very well either). It seems like a pretty poor design for anybody with something larger than a compact car.
The cental Illinois connection is also alive and well in the NL series. Jim Thome plays for the Dodgers (Bartonville Limestone grad). Jayson Werth from Chatham I believe and pitchers J.A Happ and Chad Durbin are from Spring Valley (near LaSalle). Central Illinois Baseball Rules!!
Last Friday Unit 5 officals escorted the Finace Officer out of the facilities. FIRED. Budget is off somewhere over 3 to 5 million. Any story on this coming from your paper. This will chill a lot of folks when it comes time to pay future taxes and have any support for this management team which would include the School Board.
My friend got a note from a friend in Washington, IL, where he had recently moved. He reported that early in October he noticed people on his street decorating for Christmas. Everyday there were a few more. Finally he saw a neighbor out decorating and asked, “Why is everyone decorating so early?”
The man answered, “Oh, you didn’t get the letter.”
A little boy on the street had been diagnosed with leukemia, and the docter predicted that he probably wouldn’t live until Christmas; so all the neighbors were decorating so he could have early Christmas. My friend just reported that CNN had the story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/18/decorate.dax/index.html