Winnetka Talk

Why such a rush to raise speed limit?

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:32:01 -0500

It doesn’t matter. That would be a normal first reaction to the news that Illinois may raise the speed limit on highways to 70 mph.

Beer marketers should get a grip

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:46:01 -0500

Budweiser will introduce a bowtie-shaped beer can in May. I’ll concede it’s trendy and maybe eye-catching. But have you, or anyone you know, ever complained that a can of beer is too hard to hold?

Famous John eats like average Joe

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:30:02 -0500

I haven’t encountered many celebrities in my life. But, I am proud to announce that this column today will give you some hot celebrity news. Ready?

Movie saddled with expectations

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:50:02 -0500

Don’t pre-judge. People tell me that. Perhaps because I often have an opinion about, say, a movie before I’ve seen it. But it’s hard not to be squeamish about the upcoming film, “The Lone Ranger.”

Pondering the limits of protection

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:14:01 -0500

I care about the safety of children. Yet I question the proposal put forth by Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and the accompanying bill in the Illinois Legislature sponsored by State Rep. Jack Franks (D-63rd) that would prohibit public and private schools from being used as polling places.

No Oscar? Join the incredible cast of folks who didn’t win

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:10:48 -0500

I live backwards. Take the Oscars, for instance. They’ve been over for a while. But I’m just catching up to the Oscar-nominated films. What most people do is see the movies nominated before the Oscars are awarded. I see the Oscar-nominated films on DVD after the awards are handed out.

Daylight time really cleans his clock

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:22:01 -0500

Daylight savings time is here. It started March 10. I hope you are all happy. The U.S. Department of Transportation says you are. It has a poll to prove it. Americans like that there is more light in the evening. And daylight savings time is eco-friendly. It reduces the country’s electricity usage by approximately 1 percent a day. And then, there is the patriotic angle. Daylight savings time originally was conceived by one of the greatest Americans, Benjamin Franklin, the guy who invented everything but the re-sealable jumbo food bag — in which, by the way, you can store an …

We’re all in Congress together

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:26:02 -0500

There are many things that divide Americans. But congressional districts shouldn’t be one of them. Yet here we have, once again, candidates for a congressional seat complaining about outsiders.

So, are all jobs created equal?

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:40:01 -0500

Dear Governor: I am a job creator. I have been reading for a while in the Wall Street Journal how job creators should have their taxes lowered. With lowered taxes, job creators would then hire more people and the economy would be saved. So, let me point out there are many jobs that depend on me. It is thus in the state’s interest to keep me financially happy. What jobs? Let’s see ... There are the people who wait on me at the grocery store; the people who work at the gas station where I buy gas for my car …

Car-repair fear is the wheel deal

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:40:02 -0500

My car needed an oil change, so I took it in. I always get the oil changed promptly. I had a car once I didn’t and, well, that’s a story only Edgar Allan Poe could write. So, I take my car in regularly now. But with some trepidation. Because I don’t want to spend any more than for an oil change, which means I have to get by the car-repair adviser. It is obvious I need my car in working order. If it isn’t I can’t get where I want to go, or I could wind up taking a horizontal …

No, Virginia, there’s no Saturday delivery

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:42:01 -0500

I reached out to Fred Gailey for comment. (By the way, “reached out” is one of the new loaded phrases TV reporters use. They say they reached out to Person X, but that Person X did not respond. This makes it seem as if the reporter was doing Person X a favor by reaching out to him. But Person X knows that the reporter was “reaching out” to ask him about allegations he did something sleazy and/or illegal.) Anyway, my reach exceeded my grasp. I couldn’t get hold of Fred Gailey. Probably because he never existed. Gailey was the attorney …

Appealing to our animal instincts

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:24:01 -0500

I could just open the front door and wait for it to happen. Though that’s no guarantee it would. And while it might not happen to me, it did happen to a friend of mine. Maybe I’d better start at the beginning and explain. Since our cat Jack died a few months back, my wife and I have been in mourning and constantly taking our emotional temperature to know if we can ever invite another cat into our home. So far, we haven’t been able to take that step. Then I heard from a friend. She never had a cat. …

We see red, stores see green

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:16:54 -0500

Christmas is over. So what are we to spend our money on? But wait, over there on the horizon. That big, red heart. It’s Valentine’s Day, coming into view to help us boost the economy.

‘Rules of the Road’ offers a funny read

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:40:01 -0500

It was called “1,001 Jokes,” or maybe it was “Jokes For All Occasions.” I don’t remember, exactly. It did have one of those gray covers libraries glued on books after the original covers had worn out. I would check out that book for two weeks, return it and come back a half hour later and check it out again. Then I would pester everybody. Hey, mom. What time is it when your clock strikes 13? “I don’t know,” my mother would absently reply as she mashed the potatoes. Time to get a new clock! Ha ha ha ha ha ha... …

Businesses should keep messages to themselves

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:56:43 -0500

I probably should have been annoyed by this sooner. What I was, and am, annoyed about this time is Starbucks ordering its employees to write political messages on the cups of coffee customers purchase.

No need for tiered handicap parking

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:16:05 -0500

Who can argue with Illinois’ new disabled parking law? I can, of course. The new law creates a two-tier parking system for disabled drivers: severely disabled and less severely disabled.

Turning an optimistic eye toward 2013 ...

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:52:02 -0500

Fiscal cliffs. Mass murder. War. Unemployment. End-of-the-world scares. Glad to see the last of 2012. But will 2013 be any better? We approach the new year warily. After all, it has the number 13 in it.

Evidence of Santa is hard to refute — for kids

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:50:02 -0500

I’ve known the truth about Santa Claus for years. I reasoned it out when I was a kid. My brother Mike and I thought it was strange that no matter how hard we tried, no matter how many times we punched each other on the arm to stay awake, we’d never see Santa leave our presents. Yet, there the presents were under the tree every Christmas morning. Why was this? Well, there always were ugly rumors circulating through the kid world that Santa’s seeming invisibility meant there was no Santa, that the presents were put there by human agency. But …