Peoria Illinoisan

You all behave yourselves while I’m gone, I don’t want to come back and find one of you were #13 or 14.

Eric Clapton - Me and the Devil:

Cream - Crossroads:

Rory Gallagher - Walkin’ Blues:

Buddy Guy - Sweet Home Chicago:

Led Zeppelin - Traveling Riverside Blues:

The Rolling Stones - Love In Vain:

The White Stripes - Stop Breakin Down

Yep, we’re finally taking a trip, just the wife and I, to Washington DC. Now I know that’s not everyone’s idea of a romantic getaway, but… well…

Any experienced DC travelers out there want to give a first time visitor some tips?

For reference sake, we’re staying in the north end of the Foggy Bottoms neighborhood just a block away from a MetroRail station and we’ll have 4 1/2 days to blow.

I was goofing around on the internet today and ran across the American Film Institute’s recently released top 100 movies list:

#1: Citizen Kane

#2: The Godfather

#3: Casablanca

#4: Raging Bull

#5: Singin’ In The Rain

#6: Gone With The Wind
#7: Lawrence of Arabia
#8: Schindler’s List
#9: Vertigo
#10: The Wizard of Oz

Choosing only from the list of 100, here are my personal top 10 with their original ranking in parenthesis. This is not to say that The Godfather or Citizen Kane aren’t better or more influential than my choices, but I’m not a professional movie critic. These are the movies that I have found myself regularly going back to over the years:

#1: Rear Window (48)
#2: The Graduate (17)
#3: Twelve Angry Men (87)
#4: Vertigo (9)
#5: It’s A Wonderful Life (20)
#6: Casablanca (3)
#7: Annie Hall (35)
#8: North by Northwest (55)
#9: Taxi Driver (52)
#10: Swing Time (90)

Movies which are not in the top 100 but should be: The Spirit of St. Louis, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Fargo, Hannah and Her Sisters.

Movies which are not in the top 100 and shouldn’t be, but I love them anyway: Plains, Trains and Automobiles, The Jerk, The Blues Brothers, CaddyShack.

This burglary was either an inside job or the thief was from out of town, because everyone knows this is where the cops like to hang. Either way, you gotta chuckle at a guy who has the cajones to walk out of a gas station carrying a cash register.

PjStar:

Police continue to look for a man who stole the cash register from a West Bluff gas station Saturday night.

Police were called to a BP gas station, 211 N. Western Ave., about 10:35 p.m. where the robber entered, walked behind the counter and demanded the clerk open the register, police reports said.

The cashier, a 50-year-old man, told the robber he couldn’t open the register until a sales transaction was completed, reports said. The robber then lifted the register off the counter and ran out of the store, taking with him an undisclosed amount of money.

During the robbery, the intruder also allegedly scratched the clerk on the wrist and cut him on the rib cage with an object police suspect was a stick.

The clerk suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment.

Incidentally, I’ve been told the reason the cops hang out here is because not only is it a police friendly place, but it is also centrally located between patrol districts.

A female friend of mine who recently picked up the game of golf made this observation, and knowing how cluttered my wife’s purse can get, I thought I’d see if this is true. Do I have a man purse? Here is what is currently in my golf bag:

42 tees of various colors.

14 clubs: irons 3-9, three wedges, three woods and a putter.

13 assorted golf balls.

12 “funny ball markers: great gags for the green,” un-opened and shrink-wrapped.

5 Divot fixers.

5 golf pencils, two with erasers.

2 Ball Markers from Country Companies.

2 quarters.

1 blue “Cubs” golf towel.

1 Energizer Battery.

1 golf glove.

1 lighter.

1 pack of smokes with 14 forgotten cigarettes.

1 piece of paper: “2006 Peoria Men’s City Championship Qualifying Rules.”

Dramatic video footage of the Sigma Chi house being torn:

Other photos and stories related to the Sigma Chi house from local websites:

Kirk Wessler: Sigma Chi Falls
Peoria Magazines.com: Bradley Demolition
Lydia’s Blog: 97-year-old landmark falls

For the record, I wasn’t searching for the video, but I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across it.

I’ve record and uploaded some videos to YouTube over time, of which I’ve published a few on my blog. I had a good chuckle when I read a recent comment to this video of me driving down Main Street:

What a dump…..I have spent more time there in the last year with work than I had ever imagined and I gotta tell ya…..I hate that town.Why would you post this? This just brings back memories that I am trying to? forget. And why did you let the PT Cruiser pass you on the right like that?Was he wanting to fight or was he trying to get on camera? Why the Supertramp? That guy in the Alero drives like an ass to.

On the flip side, I’ve had a couple of positive comments too…

I left Peoria in 1982. There have been a lot of changes. I used to drive my 69 Chevelle up and down Main street every Friday night from the Stake and Shake to the the IGA.

My family and I are from the Peoria area. I am on active duty in the U. S. Marine Corps. We have been gone off and on for the past 19+ years. I remember “cruisin Main” in high school. We love Peoria, and you have brought back some great memories! Semper Fi!

This video brought back memories. More please.

I also had this one:

im from peoria and i dont really like it that much and this is really making me hate it more

Notice how the two people that don’t like Peoria can’t spell and have horrible grammar? I don’t know what that means, exactly… just an observation.

On a related note, check out Jonathan Ahl’s post about how Springfield is jealous of Peoria. As CJ Summers noted “The grass is always greener on the other side”

Thumbnails. Click to enlarge:
.....

I was driving to work this morning thinking about the mini heat wave we’re in and it occurred to me that we haven’t had a murder in quite some time. Not that I want more murders, but my brain couldn’t reconcile this anomaly of so many murders during the earlier, colder months of the year and the lack thereof during the summer heat.

Low and behold, a mere 15 minutes later I hear this report on 1470 WMBD:

Peoria Police report the city’s 10th homicide of the year. Police report at approximately 1245 this morning officers responded to numerous calls of shots fired at Taft Homes. Police found a 17 year old male lying in the 200 block of Green Street, suffering from at least one gunshot wound. According to police reports, the victim was unconscious and unresponsive. Police say the victim was immediately transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Peoria police detectives are investigating the incident, but officers report no arrests and no suspects at this time. Anyone having information on this homicide are urged to call Peoria Police Department or Crimestoppers at 673-9000.

Somewhere in Pekin, two people by the names of Linda and Richard who have been putting up quite a fight on Knight In Dragonland’s blog are saying “see, I told you so.”

If you haven’t heard the big blogospherenews yet, Lollygaggin’ Pammy is finally making it official. Staying true to form, who do you think is officiating the marriage? None other than Captain Harold of the Spirit of Peoria.

Pammy, I think I speak for everyone when I say congratulations to you and Ziggy.

PS- when you said “Don’t get any ideas….I’m just askin. I know a couple that might wanna get married” on Peoria.com, we all knew it was you! Too defensive.

Me: I’ve had a long hard day and I’m really beat.

Wife: Didn’t you take the day off to play golf?

This comment from a few days ago on my post about my experience at the River Station probably went un-noticed by most, but I thought it was interesting enough to reprint.

Tracy Nichols: I appreciate all the comments about the restaurant. The Kansas city strip will be removed with the next menu print. The chunks in the Bisque are for garnish and they are shrimp and scallops since it is seafood bisque. We will be offering a early dining experience from 4 to 6, monday thru saturday, that will offer smaller portions and lesser prices. Please keep giving feedback since it helps us understand and meet our guest needs. Chef Kevin- thanks for the tech input as well.

Chef Kevin also recently visited for lunch and posted this review.

Personally, I think they should get rid of the NY Strip and keep the KC Strip, but I could be biased. Though I love New York, I’m a homegrown midwestern guy and I’m also a Chiefs fan.

Update:

The Journal Star ran a glowing review with 4 stars across the board. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.

PJStar:

A Peoria man was stabbed about 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Eaton Street. Ricky L. Ross […] was taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center after he was stabbed in the left shoulder.

Officers spoke with Rickey N. Williams […] who allegedly said he stabbed Ross with a knife after an altercation. Williams told police Ross asked him to buy beer for him, and when Williams returned with the wrong kind, Ross threw a bottle at him.

The two began to fight and Williams allegedly stabbed Ross.

Video footage from the liquor store courtesy of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing.

Update:

According to Phil Luciano’s follow-up article, Ricky Ross requested a King Cobra Malt Liquor 40 but was given a 24oz bottle of Miller High Life instead.

Ross threw the bottle of Miller High Life at Williams, who retaliated by stabbing the ungrateful Ross with a steak knife.

In a possible subconscious effort to make up for being Mr. Harpie a few nights ago, I thought it would be fun to eat lunch with my girls at Lou’s Drive-In.

They’ve never been to Lou’s, and I must admit, it has been way too long since I had visited myself. We parked and ordered at the counter before sitting down at one of the round cement tables. Entertainment abounds here, mainly in the form of people watching.

The clientele is very diverse and today included several families, a few motorcycles, some old guys sitting at the counter drinking rootbeer and reminiscing about days gone by, and pair of teenage boys checking out the waitstaff.

The food is what you would expect. Between the three of us we had a hot-dog, a cheeseburger, a chicken sandwich, and two orders of cheese fries. The hot-dog and cheeseburger got rave reviews and my chicken sandwich, with enough toppings and condiments, was passable. The fries were actually quite good, though I could’ve done without the cheese whiz in the plastic container.

As far as the service is concerned, there really wasn’t much. I was told by the lady behind the counter to just ask any of the girls if I needed anything. Trouble was, they were so busy gossiping, I couldn’t get their attention when I actually did need something, even though I was only five feet away.

No desert ever passes my girls by, so when it was time, we ordered a chocolate shake and a soft serve vanilla cone so tall that my daughters’ eyes just about popped out of her sockets in excitement. I’m not a desert kind of guy, but I could tell that the sweet treats were a big hit.

Even though the service was nearly non-existent and the food was only so-so, I’m sure to be back over the coming summer months if only for the old fashioned atmosphere and the big ice cream cones.

(Photo courtesy of PeoriaRestaurants.com)