Siftings
Jan
30
Saddle Up
I would have been a Maverick. In the cafeteria last night at Mid City High, I think back to the bumpy trail that was my high school career. My conventional high school did well with students with conventional lives, but they didn’t have a clue about what to do with a kid working full-time to help...
Jan
29
Craig’s Friday Countdown Astronauts
American Astronauts
10) Tie – Everyone who isn’t numbered 9 – 1.
9) Leland Melvin – Because of his official picture, posted this week.
8) John Glenn – First American in orbit. Returns to space on the Discovery at age 77. Democrats go with Mondale in 1984 instead of him. Reagan carries...
Jan
28
Since 1941
Returning from Chicago Monday, I’m filling up the Jeep at the DeKalb oasis. Some guy filling up a Toyota Camry asks “Is that thing loud on the highway”? I tell him it’s louder than his car but not too bad. He says he’s always wanted a Jeep, but hasn’t been able to take one on a test drive. This...
Jan
28
Thar She Blows
(Note: the original davenporttoday.com post did not include the handy link to the 1/23/15 Times article)
Tom Saul had it right. Back when newspapers had beat reporters that would spend their day plying the city for THE story, it would be customary for him to spend fifteen minutes or so in my...
Jan
27
Cold Hard Cash
The sidewalk is a sheet of ice. We decided to walk from the hotel to our 9:00 a.m. meeting at Moodys and I’m wondering if hailing a cab would have been a better idea. I’m in standard protective mode, walking just behind Assistant Finance Director Linda Folland and Mayor Gluba, ready to grab them...
Jan
27
James Madison Meets Thomas Edison
It’s a stalemate. Friday on my lunch break. She won’t take my money. I won’t leave without paying. I have to be in Chicago Monday morning to meet with Moodys and Standard and Poors, so I’ll miss the counter demonstration at West High. The idea to use a traffic message board in lieu of the...
Jan
24
Play Too
The number behind the jeep is 14. There’s a somewhat amusing story to tell how my assigned parking space behind City Hall was numbered out of sequence to be #14, but the how will wait for another day. The why is simple. Ernie Banks’ number was 14.
Mr. Cub has passed away. To think I wasn’t...
Jan
21
Newton’s First Law
Snow atop steel equals something more slippery than ice. Eye-foot reaction time is longer than hand-eye by about two tenths of a second. That’s one reason batters get drilled with fastballs they can otherwise hit. I’m in Louisville, but there’s no slugger in my hand. We’re touring riverfront...
Jan
17
James Madison On The Sidewalk
Faded but still legible, original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights are enshrined at the National Archives. Created in the heat of a revolution that still inspires freedom around the world, the precious papers lie immersed in argon gas at a constant...
Jan
16
Craig’s Friday Countdown - Your Countdown
A draft of the semi-annual community survey is in and rather than my ranking of something, here's Davenport citizens (the 403 responses to the 1,500 randomly mailed surveys with a +/- 4.9% confidence interval) ranking community issues that should be the City's top priorities.
1.7% - None (these...
