Diary of a Newspaper Hawk

Wally Phillips kept this old newspaper hawk warm on the coldest days. There's not much more to say except I'll miss you. Wally Phillips, pioneer of talk radio, dies at 82 See more news Wally Phillips - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chicago Tribune's thoughts : Wally Phillips, whose wit and charm dominated the art of the on-air radio personality in Chicago for two decades, has died after battling Alzheimer's disease for the last five years, WGN Radio announced Thursday. He was 82. Phillips was the morning program host on WGN Radio from January 1965 until July 1986, and was number one in the morning slot from 1968 until his departure for an afternoon radio slot in 1986. He retired from WGN in 1998 after 42 years with the station, but came out of retirement the following year to host a weekly two-hour program on WAIT-AM, a station based in Crystal Lake.... Good-bye, old pal. R. Hawk, a faithful listener since childhood

It is 5:30 - I saw out the window - 40 degrees, pouring rain, completely dark, some guy chugging away jogging. Dedication. I'm sitting in a big comfy chair, cozy sweatshirt, steaming coffee, warm laptop. Not so dedicated. Yet, like the runner, I need to be on my shift, hawking papers, making my daily bread. I'll get there by 6:30 today. Want to tip me today? How about a Starbucks card? The News Jack Nicholson's in drag campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has predictably chosen to support Barack Obama, though somewhat weakly, "If you could take Barack Obama's image, add Hillary Rodham Clinton's money and John Edwards' voice, that would be my candidate," Simmons said in January 2007. No word on what Obama will do if he wins the nomination about his weekend job as senator. Sad news : one of the guys who helped begin the Jesus Movement of the the 1970s, Larry Norman, has died. He was a guy who grew up in a regular church, but s...

The days are getting longer, and not just metaphorically. It is nice to see daylight on my way back, but the sun has dwindled by the time I hike up to the Hawk home. My corner has been blessed recently by a squirrel which is not really a city dweller. It is alone, hungry, shivering. It comes by, looking for something to eat - can't find anything in the concrete - and stares at me at like a lonely puppy. It reminds me of the kids who move here, looking to be sophisticated, but end up looking for the same things they had trouble finding in small town USA. The News The word is, officially, that Kathleen Savio was murdered . Her name is famous because of the monkey on the left. Well, no, not a monkey. He's the man who proves Charles Darwin was wrong. No one knows for sure who killed who, but we know Drew Peterson's had two of his wives murdered. At least, we're pretty sure. And a third one isn't saying very nice things about how he treated her. Whether Peterson is a mur...

Rush hour has begun, it seems, earlier today. The flush of people grabbing newspapers at 4:00 was amazing, and continues. Valentine's Day plans, I suppose. Likewise for me. I will be home by 6:00 p.m. if the L goes on time. Breaking news The News Multiple Victims In N. Illinois Univ. Shooting In short, a student stormed into a room, shot some students and was apprehended. My prayers go out the students.

No one at the Hawk home will be voting tomorrow for Super Tuesday. Me? I think they are bums. The whole lot of them. Bums. When November comes, I'll send my love to the Chicago Bears, and, if the right bum is still running, to him. When the ones who say they care for the poor are raking in millions to suck up to the American public, I have got to say no. I know Chicago's a Daley Democrat city, and there's a good chance my dead Uncle Roberto is casting a few votes tomorrow, but I'm going with someone will kick Osama bin Laden in the behind. The News Huckabee's still running . The weather is strange. And I'm going to bed.

More snow at my door step. A guy can't catch a break, but I can sure catch the snow. The morning rush is starting to trickle. Luckily, the Super Bowl is causing a couple of Chicago Sun-Time sales. Tips from Chicago Sun-Times readers come in nickels and dimes. They are the "Just keep the change" kind. Chicago Tribune readers tip in large chunks. The guy might walk by a hundred times without tipping, then whamo! He gives me a 50-spot. It even out, and in each case, I'm thankful. It is nice to know they know this is a hard life. Time to poor another cup. Almond this morning. The News Nationally, the big news is the Super Bowl victory the New York Giants had over the presumed winner, the New England Patriots. Tom Brady was no match over Eli Manning. Even in Chicago, they are cheering . We understand underdogs. Locally though, we know that five women were murdered by some two-bit thug in a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park. There are more details, but so far, that is about ...

The snow is unbelievable. I've seen more snow, but this much and at such an inconvenient time. My regulars stayed home today. Oh, the train commuters and workaholics are in, but the salary girls, the work-a-days, the project managers - all home. It is shooting me in the foot. A few flakes and I'm not selling papers. The politics are picking up, so I'm thinking I'll see a few more sellable headlines as the primaries close in on Chitown. The News You might think the news is politics, but frustrated voters are getting tired of the hogwash coming at them. Bobby Fischer died, but that's old news now , and you knew that. Drew Peterson is looking less guilty if the photos that look like his missing wife Stacy are really her. If those photos are Stacy, there will be big apologies to Drew. If they are not, and worse yet, Photoshopped, then Drew will look more guilty than ever. Amy Winehouse is living up to her name . Don't ask illiterates Kelly Pickler or Charlize Ther...