Planning First Major Bike Trip

I am hoping to get a nice long ride in on Sunday or Monday. Plans are in flux, but a nice trip out of the city might be nice. The Skyway Bridge is a popular run for bikers and I haven't used the bike much. I just picked Parrish as my destination and for no particular reason, except it is a small town and I might find a nice small town bar. By the way, my truck is in the shop: out of alignment and I had a major suspension cave-in due to hauling the bike down.

Actually I need to get a nice compass because I never seem to know which direction I am going. They tell me that if I travel East I'll get wet. And if I travel West I'll get even wetter. If I miss the Skyway I'll get wet, too. So my options are to go North or South via the bridge. Down here I don't need to watch the weather to see if Sunday will work. Everyday is the same. Sure wish I could meet up with the North Henderson Mild Ones.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Flashback Friday - Cold Case - Part One

53 years ago today, Gordon "Peel" Duncan walked into the dark post office in Seaton Illinois and was brutally assaulted by an individual or individuals. He died two days later. The murder was never solved. Gordon Duncan was one of the publishers of the Seaton Independent, a weekly newspaper in town that started in the late 1800's and stopped publishing in the 60's. We boys were just young children when this took place, but we have been fascinated by it ever since. The imagination of kids, I suppose or maybe the fact that it was unsolved. Regardless, this was a big deal in our little lives. For our parents it tended to shatter the idea that Seaton, our town, was safe. That it could fend off the forces of evil in the world, that in our little universe we would be impervious to harm was gone forever. For us kids I don't suppose we were old enough to know real fear. Fear for us was not getting our list ...

Existing In BFE

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