I woke my wife up last night as I was writhing around in pain. After I settled down she asked what the heck was going on with me. “I was dreaming that I was walking alongside Richard Pryor acting all cool and saying Yea, We Bad… then my leg cramped up!”
Go back to bed.
Ok.
Just because…
The Peoria Pundit, always looking beyond the headlines for the real story dug out an embarrassing revelation from Journal Star columnist Pam Adams. She invoked the name of Otis Redding in reference to the 60’s civil rights anthem “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Sam Cooke wrote and recorded it in 1965, and it is his recording that is generally cited when referring to this song. Otis Redding, who covered several of Sam’s songs, released his own version of it on the classic 1966 album Otis Blue. Ok, it’s really not that big of a deal, but considering race relations is about all Pam Adams ever writes about, you think she’d know this.
…which begs the musical question, whose version is better?
Sam Cooke wrote a great song and sings it in his trademark velvety smooth voice with some nice orchestration behind him, but Otis Redding pours his heart and soul into the song, as he always does, with the Stax recording company house band accompanying him- Booker T & the MG’s along with the horns of the Bar-Kays. They’re certainly both great performances, but I’d rather listen to Otis Redding sing it anyday.
But wait, you say, how can I favor Otis Redding’s version when he didn’t even write it? Well, Elvis and Sinatra didn’t write their own songs either…
Surely by now everyone has seen the video of the clueless and tongue tied Miss Teen contestant from South Carolina, Caitlin Upton. I’ve restrained myself from posting about it, but I just can’t take it anymore.
I ran across this video that is seriously funny!
If you’ve been living in a cave for the past few days and want to watch the the real thing, click [here]
Bacon. Bacon. Where’s the bacon? I smell bacon.
Bacon. Bacon. It’s gotta be bacon.
Only one thing smells like bacon and that’s bacon.
Bacon bacon bacon bacon- there! In that bag! What’s it say?
I CAN’T REEEAAADDD!!
Please Please gimme what’s in the bag.
Chewy Yummy Smokey BACON!
[here you go]
ohboyohboyohboyohboy numnumnumnumnumnum
IT’S BACON!
(thanks to Ms.PH for reminding me of one of my all time favorite commercials.)
I admit it- I’m a big fan of the Peoria.com message boards. The posts aren’t usually groundbreaking or especially controversial- mostly just a bunch of gabbing about Peoria, local events, and general nothingness. No, you won’t mistake it for the Peoria Chronicle, but considering most people know how to spell and understand basic grammar, you won’t feel like you’re reading the PjStar comments section either.
Recently two posts popped up that I felt were worthy of some exposure outside of our usual clique.
Local historian and author Norm Kelly joined the fray with a post titled “History of Peoria: Murder and Mayhem?” So far he’s been very patient entertaining questions from the peanut gallery (mostly me). Hopefully he sticks around.
There is also a nightmare of a story from Diane Vespa about an adventuresome bus trip that her young son took: “District 150 lost my child on the first day of school.”
There were no emergency procedures in place and the staff had absolutely no plans to locate a missing child. This will change… mark my words!
What’s in my wallet?
Keepers:
Trash:
Receipts (also trash):
For reasons unbeknownst to me, my daughter absolutely loves the Dollar Tree. After my wife agreed to take her there yesterday, I snidely remarked that they should have a large stock of Easter themed coloring books to choose from 
They came home with the Amusing! Funny! Novel! Growing Pet Chicken Egg! (do not swallow)
Instructions:
My daughter read the instructions out loud on the way home and my wife commented to me that she was concerned about our daughter’s reading level possibly declining over the summer months… that is, until we read the instructions ourselves.
So I was in line at the Circle K gas station at the corner of University and Pioneer Parkway when a soft spoken older gentleman who said he was from out of town asked me for directions to Green Chevrolet.
I thought about it for a second, motioned towards University and said “take a right out here on University. It’ll take you about 5 minutes or so, but you can’t miss it.”
He was very appreciative for my help.
As I was walking back to my truck (a Chevrolet, no less) it struck me that Green Chevrolet was the dealer at Knoxville and Pioneer Parkway… a 2 minute drive, if that, but I had given him directions to Jim McComb Chevrolet at the corner of University and War Memorial. I felt real bad and walked around the parking lot hoping he was pumping gas and hadn’t left yet, but I couldn’t find him.
I let out a chuckle as I passed Jim McComb Chevrolet on my way home, imagining the nice old man asking a salesman how to find the other Chevy dealer.
…which is this coming Saturday. How do I know that?
Did I read it in the Bradley Scout? No.
Did I notice an increase in traffic? No. (not yet)
Was I awakened in the middle of the night by an off-campus party? No. (not yet)
Did I see a display of Keystone Light 30 packs approximately 10 cases long, 5 wide and 5 high at CampusTown Liquors?
YES!
I didn’t actually stand there and count it, so it may be 8×7x4 or 9×6x5 or multiple other combinations… the bottom line is that there was ALOT of cheap beer stacked up in an otherwise usually empty space.
When I asked the owner if this large display of beer was a sign that Bradley’s move in day was coming up this weekend, he grinned and said “Ahh, you noticed. Well, that’s what they like to drink!”
Update:
It’s 8 cases wide, 7 cases long and 5 cases high for a grand total of 8,400 beers (8×7x5×30)
It seems someone’s got it in for West Main at the top of the hill- two restaurants, Mr. G’s Chicago Style and the Peking Chinese Restaurant were both hit by thieves three times in the past three months. I only mention this similarity because they are practically across the street from each other.
The latest incident at Mr. G’s resulted in the loss of $50 cash and a broken window. Peking had $1,000 damage to their door (quite an expensive door, wouldn’t you say?) The burglars failed to get in this time but a combined $1,300 had been stolen in the previous two robberies. I can’t find the details of the previous Mr. G’s burglaries.
June 6 - Mr. G’s - unknown amount stolen.
June 23 - Peking Restaurant - $1,000 stolen.
June 28 - Mr. G’s - unknown amount stolen.
July 7 - Peking Restaurant - $300 stolen.
August 13 - Peking Restaurant - $1,000 damage to door, no entry.
August 21 - Mr. G’s - $100 damage to window, $50 stolen.
Looks to me like the Peking Restaurant is next…
Only a few weeks have passed since the well known sometimes loved, sometimes hated local golfer Earl Martin blew his top after only 5 holes during a the qualifying round at this year’s Peoria Men’s City golf tournament.
In today’s Journal Star is a story about another local golfer who needs anger management counseling. The tournament is the rain shortened 36 hole stroke play championship held over the weekend at Newman G.C.
Tom Nibbelin, criticized the tournament committee for cancelling Saturday’s round, then demanded a refund of half his $10 entry fee. Nibbelin also wrote “W.D.” behind his name on the official tournament scoreboard. Behind a threat of calling the Peoria Park District police, tournament director John Gostele asked Nibbelin to leave the Newman clubhouse and then said he would not allow him to enter any future PPD tournaments.
I’ve got several problems with this guy- First, he’s quibbling about $5- not because he needs the five bucks, but because it is obvious that he just wants to argue.
Second, writing W.D. (withdrew) on the official scoreboard is a no-no. Writing anything on the scoreboard is a no-no.
Third, tournament director John Gostele is about the nicest man you could ever meet. For him to threaten to call the Police and ban this man from all future PPD tournaments tells me that Mr. Nebbelin really pushed his buttons and has major issues that go well beyond an official making a judgement call about the weather.
This guy reminds me of a kid throwing a fit at Walmart; I can just see him lying on the floor kicking and screaming- arms and legs flailing. It is unfortunate that we have to deal with these types of personalities, but I guess some people just can’t cope with things that are out of their control. I still hold out faith that Golf is the “Gentleman’s Game” and my experience confirms that fact. I’ve run into a few nutjobs over the years, but I have never met more kind and friendly people than I have on a golf course.
As reminded by CJ Summers, the Peoria Park Board will be holding a special public hearing to discuss which structures with the the park’s jurisdiction should be considered worthy of historic preservation. My only beef with how this whole thing shook down was the sole focus on Glen Oak Park. It is my understanding that this is now a park-wide effort, as it should be.
If you’ll recall, in March of this year, The Historic Preservation Commission, nominated these 9 structures in Glen Oak Park as historic landmarks [pdf]:
Suspension Bridge
Old Settler’s Monument
Glen Oak Pavilion
The Monkey House
Pavilion (shelter) on Prospect
Pergola near lower entrance from Perry
Stone Pier & Cannon on the lagoon
Ingersoll Statue (lower entrance)
Triebel Lions (at the entrance to the zoo)
These are all worthy candidates, some more than others, in my opinion, but I’m especially curious as to what structures outside of Glen Oak Park people think should be preserved as landmarks for future generations.
Here’s a few that I think are obvious candidates:
Japanese Bridge in lower Bradley Park
Bandstand (or what’s left of it) in Bradley Park
Christopher Columbus Statue in Upper Bradley Park
Trewyn Park Pavilion
What do you think should be on the list?
Thanks to a reader who wishes to remain anonymous, I now have some additional photos of the interior and exterior of the Proctor Recreation Center, a gift to Peoria from John C Proctor upon his death. It is owned and operated by the Peoria Park District and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The physical address is 309 S Dusable St. [Here’s a map] If you’re not familiar with the area, the easiest way to get there is to go South down the Western Ave hill and hang a left just past Aldi’s. I suggest you all go check it out.
View from the front:
View from the rear:
Arch details:
Main lobby and registration desk:
Interior of the two gymnasiums:
.
Originally featured as Peoria Landmark #115 where you will find additional history and links.
The Cardinals visit Wrigley Field for a pivotal 4 game extended weekend series starting with a 1:20 Friday game. Since I don’t want to sound like an overzealous Cub fan, I predict that they will only take 3 out of 4 from the third place Redbirds.
I am certain that my attendance at Friday’s game will be a contributing factor to the Cubs taking over first place by the end of this home stand.
Updates:
1. Question: What’s better than watching the Cubs beat the Cards 2-1 at Wrigley?
Answer: Watching the Cubs beat the Cards 2-1 at Wrigley while being continually buzzed by the USAF Thunderbirds who were in town for the Chicago Air & Water Show.
2. Travel time from Peoria to Wrigley: 1/2 half hour spend driving to East Peoria and back when the question “did you remember the tickets was raised”. An additional 3 hours to get just past Joliet and another 1+ hour mostly wasted in traffic on Lake Shore Drive. Add 15 minutes or so on the L from our super secret free parking spot.
Left at 8:15 and arrived at the field around 1:00. Total travel time 4:45. (subtract the “forgot the tickets” u-turn and travel time is 4:15)
Travel time from Wrigley to Peoria: Not wanting to head back to Lake Shore Drive and deal with the Air Show traffic, not to mention the normal Friday afternoon rush-hour, we chose a different route back- Montrose west to I-90W to I-190W to I-294W to I-88W to I-355S to I-55S to I-74W.
Left at 4:45 and arrived in Peoria at 9:00. Total travel time including the short trip on the L, 4:15.
3. If you have bleacher tickets, don’t be late because you forgot your tickets and didn’t realize that the Air & Water Show was messing up traffic. If you do, you’ll end up standing for the entire game; if you’re lucky you’ll at least get to lean up against a fence. Not that it happened to us!
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