Going Inkless

Up to now, Fox Lake's claim to fame was that it was a favourite vacation spot for some of Al Capone's gang who spent a lot of time drinking and gambling at the Mineola Hotel.  Otherwise, it's a generally quiet place with some pretty scenery.  Working class families live here.  Neighbors might have weekend barbecues, and you have to take it slow on the side streets because it's not unusual to encounter packs of kids playing ball or riding bikes.  There's been a different tone since Tuesday. I say "here" not in the just-passing-through way you may have heard reporters use on the news lately.  No, "here" is where I live.  Fox Lake has been my home for around 20 years now.  That abandoned cement plant they referenced in the early reports of this crisis is the very same I posted about here (though it's now devoid of its cheerful graffiti.)  I passed by it on my way to work only about 10 minutes before the crime that day.  While I did not know L...

     We make promises to ourselves, and we break them.  We feel guilty, and the guilt can even eclipse the real consequences of the broken promise.  Guilt, or the threat of it, is a tool we use to keep ourselves on task, but that tactic can turn on us.  Too many broken promises, and you learn not to make them.  It's hard to make the leap from "want" to "goal" when you're afraid you're not good enough to get it done.  So you stay where it's safe, and you sacrifice the possibility of accomplishment to "someday."      Here's the truth that you need to swallow before you can make good things happen in your life: You are destined to fail. You will promise yourself things that you won't be able to deliver.  You will set goals you never reach.  It may be circumstances beyond your control that knock you off that ladder; it may be that the timing wasn't right for success, but you will fail. Sometimes. and then, sometimes,...

I don't go into haunted houses anymore, not the commercial kind at least. It's unfortunate in one sense because I love to see the special effects, the makeup and the creativity. Spooky stuff is fun. When it comes to movies, I've always liked the classic monsters and have a particular fondness for werewolves. Though I've never cared for the simple blood-and-gore slasher sort, a suspenseful, truly creepy horror film is a delight that can prompt spontaneous shivers for weeks. I'll even take a little gore if the context is worth it, as in the case of the comedic horror movies that spoof our traditional fare. So, why avoid the seasonal treat of a trip through a haunted house? We'll start the explanation with a story. I guess I might have been about ten years old, sitting on a bench swing in the yard with my older sister. It was a late summer night and as dark and quiet as a secluded community with only a handful of street lights gets. The moon was full...