Recent Columns

This past weekend in Minnesota, I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of my former college roommate and her fiance. Weddings have the typical feature of being meticulously planned, sometimes down to the very smallest details by some couples, but there are some things you just can’t always control or prevent from happening on that special day.

If I win the lottery, I would ...

The first, second and third points of this column are the warning that if you are driving on East Central Avenue during fall or spring tennis season and notice cars, motorcycles, pickup trucks, vans and buses parked 6 inches apart on both sides of the streets around the tennis courts and a couple of hundred people milling about along the entire block within 10 feet of the street ... turn ... turn and go anywhere else. Don’t just cruise into the middle of it. But, if you do have to drive through it, resist the urge to gawk at all of the activity and keep your eyes straight ahead, both hands on the wheel and your speed limit at a crawl.

The United Way Illinois Valley branch is teaming up with the National Football League to get football fans back into the spirit of the start of the professional football season.

Each year, the Great Lakes Shriner’s Association hosts a fishing tournament on Lake Michigan. Nearly 100 Shriners from seven states meet at Michigan City, Ind., to compete for the largest fish in three categories: lake trout, brown trout and Coho salmon. This was the 34th year the tournament has been contested. The Shriners fish for three days trying to catch the biggest fish, and when it is finished, the champion in each category is declared. All of the proceeds from the tournament go to the Shriners Hospital in Chicago.

Apples are really getting in season now, all different kinds. Nothing better than a warm apple pie with a slice of cheese and maybe a dip of ice cream to satisfy the hungry soul.

“This is stupid.”

The other day I turned off the highway that goes through my town on my way home from work. I drove north a block and turned left ... just another three blocks to go.

A well-written true tale can be more gripping than a novel. Two recent books for young adults offer riveting stories from American history with resonance in today’s world.

A lot happened this week. Well, maybe not too much compared to a city, but for Annawan, a few big stories appeared.