I’m sure we all have experienced something that takes us back to our childhood: The aroma of a favorite food, the sound of a familiar place, or the sight of a local landmark. I guess when we…
Financial situations were not something openly talked about when I was growing up. If they were, I didn’t hear them. We knew basics, but we also understood money conversations were private. It never occurred to me to worry about things…
Descending into woods, a sign says “No bikes, No dogs.” Good. Leave that behind. The first fallen tree, two big trunks. This one fell last year sometime, not so long ago. Continuing, another tree with a young couple’s initials. I…
Farewell to elections expert Tom Bride, who should get a patience award for months of listening to misinformed citizens gripe about voter fraud. Peoria City Council On June 28, Mayor Rita Ali presented an overview of Safety Network’s efforts to…
I made a trip to the Mississippi Delta last month. During the seven-hour drive, I had the opportunity to listen to the story of Anthony Ray Hinton on the radio. Anthony Ray Hinton was a Black man falsely accused of…
Give credit to the majority members of the Peoria City Council. As we reported last month, members blocked an alleged effort by Mayor Rita Ali and City Manager Patrick Urich to quietly slip under the radar screen a payment of…
Bearing witness to many of our challenges as of late, Peoria seems to be at a crossroads. A hot topic polarizing our community as of late is community crime and violence. Peoria is pushing records in shooting deaths per capita…
The film “Glory” tells the story of the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment, organized in the northern states during the Civil War. What is not…
Are you old enough to remember the song, “Ya Got Trouble (right in the River City),” from “The Music Man”? Robert Preston sings, “Friend, either you’re closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge or you…
Kevin Knox is a 57-year-old Peorian working as an engineer for Caterpillar, and he’s been a writer whose literary fiction has been published in small magazines such as Fear & Trembling, Haruah, and Bewildering Stories. And now, in a comic…
