On July 10, 2009 Governor Quinn signed a new law into effect called Senate Bill 1918 or "PIPP" where low income people will pay a percentage of their income for gas & electric. This will save lots of people lots of money (see http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/PressReleasesListShow.cfm?RecNum=7675 This program still has not been implemented. In fact no one knows if and when it will be. Yet it is law! I don't know ...
The day after Labor Day that’s when the school year began for us. There’s an age, I’m not sure exactly when, we hate school and then again there’s a time when we actually looked forward to going back to school with excitement. Maybe the “hate” was just fear in reality… a new teacher, new students, new expectations. While going to school the first day the boys would go past the girl’s door where the girls all would line ...
Back in the Day of Feather Tics, The Lone Ranger, Chores and “The Saturday Night Fights” I awoke with sleep in my eyes. The sun was coming through the skylight [1] which was covered with white snow. My brother, Daryl, was still asleep in our bed. It wasn’t ‘til next week that we would each have our own bed and room. I pushed away the warm pink feather tic and headed to the bathroom. I...
Back to School - Back in the Day September is coming so it’s “back to school time.” It’s time to go shopping to buy new clothes, new shoes and school supplies. As a growing young boy and with brothers; this was not a solo trip because we had to get measured from head to toe for clothes and shoes! A tradition, I suppose in many a family, however there were issues. ...
September is coming so it’s “back to school time.” It’s time to go shopping to buy new clothes, new shoes and school supplies. As a growing young boy and with brothers; this was not a solo trip because we had to get measured from head to toe for clothes and shoes! A tradition, I suppose in many a family, however there were issues. So be sure to put on clean underwear and socks and come with me. ...
You can live without it, but if you miss Summer Camp you've missed a lot. It started out in the Fall when it was announced that next year we'll be old enough and experienced enough to go to Camp for two weeks. The cost would be $80.00 all meals included. No this isn't this year 2005; it's 1963. In order to go we would all have to save money/earn money. One way was by selling raffle tickets for a Thanksgiving turkey. Ten cents a ticket, twelve on one page for $1.00. We got to keep hal...
Believe it or not there is a way to continue the operation of the CTA without any fare increase or service cuts. The solution has been there all the time and perhaps forgotten by the CTA and RTA. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the second largest public transportation system in the nation. It covers the city of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs and on an average weekday provides almost 1.5 million rides. Since it's beginning in 1947 when it governed itself to 1974 when the RTA...
Since 1970 we've been celebrating Earth Day. For those of you who may not know exactly what Earth Day is all about, in short, I offer it deals with environmental issues...all over this Big Blue Marble. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/F_Big_Blue_Marble_Storybook_Text.html One day seems hardly enough to deal with all of these problems and of course it's not a one-day happening. It's happening everyday in every country, county, city, town, neighborhood and street, aven...
Since 1970 we've been celebrating Earth Day. For those of you who may not know exactly what Earth Day is all about, in short, I offer it deals with environmental issues...all over this Big Blue Marble. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/F_Big_Blue_Marble_Storybook_Text.html One day seems hardly enough to deal with all of these problems and of course it's not a one-day happening. It's happening everyday in every country, county, city, town, neighborhood and street, aven...
When I was growing up on the Northside of Chicago as a kid I remember many sights and sounds that have long since disappeared. Let me share a few with you and maybe you'll recall these sights and sounds. There was the horse-drawn junk man. Now you must realize this is not his hay-day (pardon the pun) but actually the last couple of years that any one would hear, "Old Rags and Iron" or as we kids would say "Old Rags Alion." He was usually along driving his horse up and down the alleys lo...
It's Saturday and we are on our way to the Cornicopious Center which is a place for seniors and they are holding a meeting about winterizing your home or apartment, however that is not why we are going. We are taking the bus to get a bus pass (reduced fare for eligible seniors). The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. The streets are crowded with people shopping and going to and fro perhaps getting ready for tomorrow's Super Bowl. We must transfer to another bus so we get o...