Diary of a Newspaper Hawk

A new year is coming, and somehow, within the ticking of a clock, 2007 becomes a sentimental land of whim and misty-eyed baloney. Give me a break. My papers, every one of them, are going to be filled with Best of 2007 nonsense. True, looking back has merit, but we'll do it as it is a history lesson. You know the sort which gets into this. Imagine the scene: a party, everyone is having a great time, and some bonehead needs to pull out his or her cell phone and snap some pictures. That's fine, except for the part in which they show them to everyone immediately. What? Are we having a better time because you can show me what happened :30 earlier? What's wrong with enjoying right now, rather than reminscing about a minute ago. Give me people, not pictures of people. I want real relationships, not virtual ones. Speaking of real people, I must tell you about this former fat guy I know . He's keeping a blog about how he is losing (present tense) 60 pounds. Hopefully, he's l...

Christmas in the Hawk household is no different than many other Chicagoans. No work, much cheer. Strange, though, as today is a big day to read a newspaper. However, as busy as my corner is most of December, today is the least travelled. This is not to say the corner is empty. It never is. Monday to Friday, mostly, I am there, as are thousands of businessmen and women. Also, somehow not always as obviously, are other men and women. These are homeless, or semi-homed, if that can be said. It is hardly just Chicago. Every big city has people who need a meal and place to lay their head. And it is not just big cities, but the posh suburbs. Now, before you get on your high horse about how the rich burbanites don't care, get a load of PADS . They are based in the wealthy west suburbs, specifically in Wheaton, IL. They got a lot of churches (130 churches!) working together to help feed and provide a place to sleep. The deal is simple: every night, a different church provides a floor and sl...

Today is only colder than yesterday, but the coffee seems warmer. The salary girls and smokers are less apt to wander outside. Better for me, as I get tired of the stink of cheap perfume and second-hand smoke. At least the salary girls are fun to look at, unlike the smokers. Thinking of the days when newspapers did not include computers, I came across this fellow's site . That's his blog selling old bookbinding equipment. Intrigued, I see that he's got this whole old world style of bookbinding going on, with some very impressive samples, Weird seeing it on the internet. It is like seeing an Amish or hermitage website. Gilded Leaf Bindery Maryville, Tennessee The News As news blogs go, this one is hardly thorough, but very interesting: Hungarian News - http://hungariannews.blogspot.com . Where is a copy of the Budapest Sun when you need one?

The days are getting increasingly colder. Today, a Saturday, left me at home. I'm mostly hawking Monday to Friday. The snow - oh, the snow! Like piles of nothing useful. The News The Mitchell Report is out, and the losers who doped up to play baseball are listed. This must be why the Cubs lose. Not enough drugs. Reminds of those days when some of us (not me, too young), were forced to name Communists. Self-made murder suspect, fired cop (or did he 'retire'?) Drew Peterson, from our neck of the woods near Chicago, is the clown of the local media. Suspected, but as of yet not charged, nor arrested, as the killer opf his lovely and fourth wife (or was it the third?) is Drew Peterson. Guilty or innocent, he is the laughingstock of Chicago's diverse suburbia. Not officially known is whether Peterson killed previous wife Kathleen Savio (notch number three in the Peterson scorecard.) Now, one of his sons, Stephen Peterson, 28, a police officer in the very posh Oak Brook depa...