“Birds have wings; they’re free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy.” – Roger Tory Peterson, ornithologist/naturalist (1908-1996) “We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability.” – Stevie Wonder Until the past year, I never thought too […]
“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.” – Charles M. Schulz “The true Christmas spirit is putting others’ happiness before our own, and finding you’ve never known such happiness.” – Toni Sorenson At 8:15 a.m. on a mid-December Saturday, I was in a drive-thru lane I’d never been in before. I was listening […]
“A friend is a gift you give yourself.” – Robert Louis Stevenson When I was growing up, I moved multiple times. Just during my lifetime, my United Methodist minister dad served northern Illinois churches in West Chicago, Chicago, Des Plaines, Durand, LaSalle, and Rockford, so we lived in a parsonage in each of those cities. […]
Ever have one of those months where you have a lot of things on your mind and on your schedule, and you need to share several quick thoughts before they disappear? As I start to write this month’s column, that’s where I’m at – too many things on the tip of my mind, both serious […]
“Just because you have a disagreement with your friends or family members does not mean there are not plenty of other areas on which you see eye to eye. It just means you have a difference of opinion.” – Victoria Osteen In the past decade, no matter which political party you tend to align yourself […]
Sue Ann Nivens: “I was lying in bed last night and I couldn’t sleep, and I came up with an idea. So I went right home and wrote it down.” Murray Slaughter: “Ted has been in love ever since he was a baby and saw his reflection in the bathwater.” Lou Grant: “If you’ve noticed, […]
Two years ago, this column gave readers something they could have fun with, especially for that time after the family has shared a Christmas meal together, opened any presents they’ve been fortunate enough to receive, and found themselves engaged in some potentially awkward conversation (e.g., “When are you going to find some nice person and […]
“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” – Thomas Aquinas “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” – Jim Morrison “Where would you be without friends? The people to pick you up when you need lifting? We come from homes far from perfect, so […]
“My life is really quite conservative. I’ve been married nearly 50 years. I don’t have hobbies or children. I don’t much care to travel. I’ve never had a big social life. I really just stay home, except when I go to work.” – Christopher Walken “I remember in grammar school the teacher asked if anyone […]
By Paul Lockwood As I write this column, it occurs to me that Wednesdays this month have ranged from: Horrifying (the deadly assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6), to … Sad, but unfortunately appropriate (the second impeachment of Donald Trump on Jan. 13 for incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection), to … Reassuring and […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
