Peoria Illinoisan

Coming off the high of the four games sweep of the Cardinals, and being in attendance of one of them, I was saddened to hear in tonight’s pregame that future hall of famer Greg Maddux has been traded away from the Cubs [again]- this time to the LA Dodgers.

I watched him as a Cub growing up.  I watched him dominate for years in Atlanta after the dumb*sses in upper management traded him.  I excitedly watched him come back to Chicago, hopefully to retire here as a hall of famer.  Now I watch him leave again…

This, sadly, is the game of professional baseball in the modern age.

 

 

After a lunchtime downpour that produced 3-4 inches of rain:

[Source]

I’m off to the Wrigley Bleachers on Friday to use up the 2nd set of tickets I unfortunately bought before the season started.  One game is probably enough.  It’s fun, to be sure, but it ain’t cheap!  This will be my first Cub/Card game, which I hear can get pretty roudy.  Yeah, those darn Cardinal fans…

I glanced at the headline in today’s PJStar and thought… ahh… another article about District 150, or maybe Bradley.

Nope, just a Terry Bibo article about some sneaky theives.

On a related note, is anyone surprised that Bradley had a record fundraising year?  Hence the urgency to buy up the rest of Maplewood.

A recent post on Scott O’Brien’s Briar Patch titled “I want to go way back when…” reminded me immediately of two Van Morrison songs from Hymns to the Silence.  As hard as it is to choose a favorite album from his extensive and always excellent catalog, this always ends up at the top for me.

You’ll either have to live with the 30sec clips from Amazon, ask me to illegally burn it for you, or buy the album.  If you do none of the above, and ignore this post, you’ll be missing out on genius.

Van Morrison from Hymns to the Silence:

Take me back, take me way, way, way back, On Hyndford Street
Where you could feel the silence at half past eleven, On long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg, the voices whispered across Beechie River
In the quietness as we sank into restful slumber in the silence, carried on dreaming, in God
And walks up Cherry Valley from North Road Bridge, railway line, On sunny summer afternoons
Picking apples from the side of the tracks
That spilled over from the gardens of the houses on Cyprus Avenue
Watching the moth catcher working the floodlights in the evenings
And meeting down by the pylons, Playing round Mrs. Kelly’s lamp
Going out to Holywood on the bus, And walking from the end of the lines to the seaside
Stopping at Fusco’s for ice cream, In the days before rock `n’ roll
Hyndford Street, Abetta Parade, Orangefield, St. Donards Church
Sunday six bells, and in between the silence there was, conversation
And laughter, and music and singing, and shivers up the back of, the neck
And tuning in to Luxembourg late at night, And jazz and blues records during the day
Also Debussy on the third programme, Early mornings when contemplation was best
Going up the Castlereagh hills, And the cregagh glens in summer and coming back
To Hyndford Street, feeling wondrous and lit up inside, With a sense of everlasting life
And reading Mr. Jelly Roll and Big Bill Broonzy, And “Really The Blues” by “Mezz” Mezzrow
And “Dharma Bums” by Jack Kerouac, Over and over again
And voices echoing late at night over Beechie River
And it’s always being now, and it’s always being now, It’s always now, Can you feel the silence?
On Hyndford Street where you could feel the silence
At half past eleven on long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg, the voices whispered across Beechie River
And in the quietness we sank into restful slumber in silence
And carried on dreaming in God.

Van Morrison, from the essential album Hymns to the Silence. 

I’ve been walking by the river
I’ve been walking down by the water
I’ve been walking down by the river

I’ve been feeling so sad and blue
I’ve been thinking, I’ve been thinking, I’ve been thinking,
I’ve been thinking, I’ve been thinking, I’ve been thinking,
Ah there’s so much suffering, and it’s
Too much confusion, too much, too much confusion in the world

Take me back, take me back, take me back
Take me way back, take me way back, take me way back
Take me way back, take me way back, take me way back
Take me way back, take me way back, ah!
Take me way, way, way, way, way, way, way back, huh!
Help me un…..help me understand
Take me, do you remember the time darlin’
When everything made more sense in the world (yeah)
Oh I remember, I remember
When life made more sense
Ah, ah, take me back, take me back, take me back, take me back
Take me back, take me back, take me back, take me back
Take me back (woah) to when the world made more sense
Well there’s too much suffering and confusion
And I’m walking down by the river
Oh, let me understand religion

Way, way back, way back
When you walked, in a green field, in a green meadow
Down an avenue of trees
On a, on a golden summer
And the sky was blue
And you didn’t have no worries, you didn’t have no care
You were walking in a green field
In a meadow, through the buttercups, in the summertime
And you looked way out over, way out
Way out over the city and the water
And it feels so good, and it feels so good
And you keep on walking

And the music on the radio, and the music on the radio
Has so much soul, has so much soul
And you listen, in the nightime
While we’re still and quiet

And you look out on the water
And the big ships, and the big boats
Came on sailing by, by, by, by
And you felt so good, and I felt so good
I felt I wanna blow my harmonica

Take me back, there, take me way back there
Take me back, take me back, take me back
Take me way, way, way back, way back
To when, when I understood
When I understood the light, when I understood the light
In the golden afternoon, in the golden afternoon
In the golden afternoon, in the golden afternoon
In the golden afternoon when we sat and listened to Sonny Boy blow

In the golden afternoon when
We sat and let Sonny Boy, blow, blow his harp

Take me back, take me back, take me back
Take me way, way, way, way, way, way, way
Back when I, when I understood, when I understood, yeah
Oh, ah, take me way back, when, when, when, when, when, when
When, when, when, when, when, when, when
I was walking down the
Walking down the street and
It didn’t matter
`Cause everything felt, everything felt, everything felt
Everything felt, everything felt, everything felt, everything felt

Everything felt, everything felt, everything felt so right, ha
And so good
Everything felt, so right, and so good
Everything felt, so right, and so good
Everything felt, so right, and so good, ah
Everything felt, so right, and so good
Everything felt, so right, and so good, so good
In the eternal now, in the eternal moment
In the eternal now, in the eternal moment
In the eternal now
Everything felt so good, so good, so good, so good, so good
And so right, so right, so right, just
So good, so right, so right, in the eternal
In the eternal moment, in the eternal moment
In the eternal moment, in the eternal moment
When you lived, when you lived
When you lived, in the light
When you lived in the grace
In the grace, in grace
When you lived in the light
In the light, in the grace
And the blessing.

* Watching my kids fly off (and return safely) in a Helicopter ride. It was a little strange- no legal paperwork to sign, no pilot biography to read, nothing. The only thing I had to prove that they were even on it was my credit card receipt. A few flights before theirs was a pilot change. The new pilot got in and listened while the old pilot seemed to be saying “yea, this is similar to the one you know how to fly” and spent some time going over the knobs and buttons. Didn’t make me feel too comfortable.

* The B2 Bomber- that was an awesome sight.

* The MC, over the loudspeakers, asks the crowd to flag down security if they see a “very inebriated person messing with the planes”. 5 minutes later- “I think we found our drunk! Hey! Get off the runway! You can’t do that! Security! Security!” I didn’t have a view of the runway, but the play by play continued, and it sounded like he was putting on a pretty good show running around out there.

UPDATE: Crap- I think I’ve been duped.  I was told they did the same thing on Sunday… all part of the act… 

* A mother saying “This is scary” as a reaction to her two 6ish year old kids getting Peoria Playhouse temporary tattoes. It wasn’t the tattoe itself that bothered her, but rather where they wanted to put it. The boy wanted it on the back of his upper leg, just above the bottom of his shorts. The girl wanted it on her lower back, even though she was wearing a shirt. The Junior League lady put the boy’s on the side of his lower leg, and the girl’s on the top of her foot. Most kids wore them for fun on their arm, their hand or their cheek. These two kids seemed to be wanting to give Mom a preview of their future body-art.

A good time was had by all. After buying the largest corn-dog I’d ever seen for one of my girls, we left around noonish on Sunday, all AirShowed-Out and a little lighter in the wallet. I didn’t do a whole lot of volunteer work, but my wife and kids made up for slacker me. I tried, but everytime I heard a plane overhead, I’d quit and watch.

I thought I captured a UFO on film…

Turns out, it was the incredible B2 Stealth Bomber

In response to an off-handed quip that you made on Friday afternoon that sounded like you’d been wanting to say for a long time-

I don’t live in the attic bedroom of my parents house.

I don’t sit on my ass and eat Doritos.

I am not a science fiction movie fan.

…but I am a blogger.

There’s not much I can say about this story.  It sounds like a bunch of kids were scared to let their parents know they were drinking beer, or doing whatever and scattered when the Police arrived.  For those who may not know, Spring Valley is a small river town, just west of Lasalle-Peru.

SPRING VALLEY - A 16-year-old DePue boy died Wednesday in Spring Valley after fleeing from police who were investigating why a group of teens was at a vacant residence.

Tyler J. Harrison apparently fell down a steep incline while running through a yard away from police, according to a Spring Valley police report.

The police report said officers were not pursuing the boy.

Police went to the 100 block of West Devlin Street in Spring Valley after receiving a report at about 11:50 a.m. of suspicious activity at a house that was vacant and for sale

Police talked to a boy who was at the front of the house.

Police said a group of teens, including Harrison, ran after hearing the officers had arrived. Police do not believe Harrison was familiar with the area where he was running.

One officer found a girl crying in an alley behind the home. She led officers to Harrison, who was lying in the 100 block of West Minnesota Street, one block south of Devlin Street.

He had no pulse and had lost a lot of blood from a severe cut, police said. He was later pronounced dead at Saint Margaret’s Hospital.

Source:PjStar 

 

Have kids? Grandkids? Going to the AirShow?

Stop by the Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum booth, let the kids play and pick up a passport. This is your ticket to FREE fun. Emphasis on FREE. There’s alot of see at the Airshow, but believe me, there’s also alot to see that costs $$.

The ‘passport’ is a simple concept. While walking around the airport grounds, stop at the various marked booths and get your passport stamped. Get all the stamps, come back to the Playhouse booth and get a little prize. Simple enough, but you’d be shocked at how much the kids get into it. I was. They take it as a mini treasure hunt. You’ll be walking the grounds anyway and this helps keep the little ones occupied and they’ll be smiling with their little goodie bag they get to take home. (No, as much as you wish they were, they’re not quite as fascinated by the C-130 as you are, nor do they understand why you want to torture their little legs by walking alllll the way down there to see a biplane.)

While the kids are messing around with the fun stuff at the Playhouse tent, pick up a brochure and learn a little more about the Children’s Museum. Maybe you’ll see me. Apparently I’ve been officially volunteered to work- thanks JC! Oh, I’d be there anyway- but now it’s official. Does that make me the token Junior League man!? I’m not sure what to make of that.

Here’s the best part- some of the profits from the Airshow will be donated back to the Children’s Museum, so just by showing up, you’re helping.

Shameless Plug: I would be remiss if I didn’t encourage everyone to take some of the cash you saved by doing the free stuff and donate to the Playhouse via the Eyebrows McGee Challenge.

After pulling out of a neighborhood street near Lake and University, it took a left onto War Memorial.

Defending Champion Tiger Woods: 

2005 Open Championship - Win

2005 PGA Championship - T4

2006 Masters - T3

2006 US Open - T82 - Missed Cut (hey, give ‘em a break his dad just died)

2006 Open Championship - T2 through the first round

The radar was looking pretty ominious and I was quite looking forward to a good show, but DAMN that was one hell of a freaky storm. I’m glad I was inside a nice sturdy building and not stuck in a car taking shelter under an interstate bridge.

I can only imagine what it was like for someone who didn’t know it was coming and got caught. Can you imagine being on the outer fringes of a golf course? Yikes. I’m sure there were more than a few out there.

Update: Took my usual route home, south down University.  Past Forrest Hill looks like a friggin war zone!  I was hoping my Cubs flag that I used to proudly fly would be ripped to shreds, but unfortunately, no such luck.