Diary of a Newspaper Hawk

I ran into my old school friend, John. He is starting a church on the south side. I said to him, John, do we need another church in Chicago? No we don't. It isn't really a church in the way I was thinking. It is about people living the way God wants, not the way people want. What do people want? People like church, sort of, doing this and that, and forget the rest of the world. No, they don't? Yes, John said. and the rest of the world has forgotten God. The world people and the God people need to get together. John said more than that, and he is not doing it exactly the way it sounds. He didn't buy a newspaper. The News Days have been rough on our heroes. Our boys in Iraq are fighting for truth, justice and the way of freedom, while spat on by those who sent them. Always fighting for right has been Captain America. ( Pentagon deploys more troops to Baghdad - Bomber kills 30; 3 soldiers die in Iraq ) Capt. America dead? It is no wonder when Americans themselves think l...

I'm an innocent bystander. Always am. I'm a bystander, and I'm innocent. I sit on my box, saying "Buy a paper," or, maybe, "Read what the Bears did." Things like that. People hand me a buck or a five-spot, grab a paper, and I hand them change. It is busiest in the morning, between 7:30-8:30. I make 50% of all I'm going to make right then. Too quick to be cold, but it is still cold. When it is warm, it is never so hot that early. The cold and the rain. Nothing else bothers me, but there's nothing else to bother me. I read the paper throughout the day. People stop by. My corner is like a neighborhood bar, only most everyone's still sober and stays that way when they leave. Cops stop by. Bike delivery guys too. Homeless people, looking to relate to someone. Streetwise sellers. Elderly neighbors, hoping to find someone familiar. I know them. My hands are blistered with temporary stains of newsprint. Paper cut scars mirror the lines in my hands. T...

Weekends are meant to rest, and I rested. Besides church, I stayed inside much of the time. The week before sank a lot of energy from me. Today, it was quiet, even though Mondays are usually a-bustle. The crowds came, bought a few papers, and moved on. Like troops marching, they shoved past the weekend, past my corner, tossing quarters, grabbing Tribs and Sun-Times, and disappeared. Surreal, like zombies, waiting for Rod Serling. Rod never came around and told me it was not real. The News As news goes, it was slow. The Bulls won in overtime last night, but no one really cares. Buy all 156 complete episodes of the Twilight Zone on DVD: Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection

First, the rain, then the wind. Next, I think are frogs and locusts. While Chicago's weather is as fickle as a private school prom queen, it really isn't so bad. A good scarf and a little grit solves the problem. Standing out of the wind helps. The wind will blow, but if I'm not in it, or I'm protected, what's my grouse? Where it is toughest is for my Streetwise pals. They make a lot of nothing selling those, and the benevolent skip them more on hard days than me. Benevolence is that way. I know I am. Too bad, too, that Streetwise is not a product most people are buying the same way they are buying my papers. I sell a Tribune or Sun-Times because there's something they want to read. Maybe they know what the news is, like when the Sox won the Series, or when Daley this week crushed his way into his sixth. They want to read the story. Or, they missed the news and need to know what the Dow-Jones did. The News Lovie Smith signed a contract to keep him for four year...

Mayor Richard Daley had a series of commercials. It might be the most we have heard from him. Here's his last one. The rain killed my business today. There's rain, and there's rain, and this was a wet one. My plastic covers were drenched. My customers skipped. I don't blame them. The News Rain, rain go away. Come again another day. Big news, rain. Flooding everywhere. My yard, my neighbor's yard. What this means is real weather problems. When things dry, the streets will be worse off, meaning repairs will be needed.

There are too many whiners in this world. Criers, I call them. They won't use words like "I'm crying." They will use words like, "I'm annoyed," or "I'm offended." Oh yeah? What's really annoying? Water dripping incessantly from my faucet. My neighbor's dog barking when I'm sick. A paper cut between my finger and finger nail. That's all annoying. Ideas you don't like? Get over it. That's not annoying. That's crying because you disagree with them, or, you are judgmental. Pick your neurosis . What's really offensive? Garbage behind the butcher in the alley after a hot day. Someone insulting you over your religious beliefs (yes, even those of you who aren't deity worshippers can be offensive, so get off your high horse). Walking by a homeless guy while eating your third sandwich. That's all offensive. What is not offensive is being upset your guy isn't the president , or that someone wants to pass a b...

Richard M. Daley wins sixth term as Mayor of the City of Chicago The News This ought to sell a few papers in the morning. Why don't you stop by and buy one? Save it for your kids and grandkids. This is headline stuff, record breaking news. It was expected, but is news just the same. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_re_us/chicago_election Breaking News Mayor Daley wins his sixth term MAYOR DALEY, COMED ANNOUNCE NEW POWER UP FUND TO RESTORE ... Daley re-elected to his sixth term Richard M. Daley's next 4 years Casting a vote (1 in a series) against Daley Richard M. Daley deserves four more years