I live on the same block as Judy's; it's my claim to fame. When people far and wide want to know about Galesburg I mention Judy's and half the time they know what I'm talking about. But my family doesn't go out often, so that occasion was a time make some pics and provide a pop exhibit.

My foster daughters are moving back across town, so we told them we'd walk up to Judy's before they left. We walked up there today; it was a beautiful day. There were plenty of places to sit. Judy was there but was not working.

Some tourists came in while we were there. I swear at least half the families were from out of town, but these people were clearly from out of town. That's the first thing I have to say about Judy's: she brings them in. Do you see tourists anywhere else? Not really. But at Judy's on a Thursday morning, there were several. She took pictures with them. The waitresses tried to sell them a shirt.

Second, the place is strongly remodeled and there's lots of room in it. I faced directly across the street and it was a nice view, not crowded. The place was filling up and still wasn't crowded. The decor was sharp like Steak & Shake, a classic diner kind of feel. It looked good. The fact that it filled up was good too. She was making money.

There's nothing special about pancakes but one kind had this kind of lemon sauce on them and my wife wanted to try it so I ordered those. They were good. It's pancakes as pancakes are supposed to be.

My wife is mad at her for embracing the national guard and the people who occupied Washington. I say Judy was noot trying to be political and therefore should be forgiven for putting such people in her movies. Give her a break.

I'm glad to report she knew who I was, remembered my offer to make a book, and even remembered that I live on the same block. Another thing I like aboot her is that she's a pop artist like me. The logo, visible in one the pictures below, is a kind of pop image. I approve. So I will make pop too and will even keep making it. I'll put it on my pop pages.

Here's to you, Judy. Galesburg and I thank you.

---

Pretty wild Fourth

Here are a couple of research questions:

Do you feel that private fireworks buyers are generally Trump-oriented? Are people who display a flag on their truck generally Trump-oriented? Were there more private fireworks this year than ever before?

I felt, yes, yes, yes. It was very loud after the city's show, all over town, especially in our neighborhood. My guess is that that fireworks tent did better than ever before. Furthermore, it spread, over the entire weekend, and the weekend before, and pretty much all month.

Why do I bring Trump into it? Just curious. If you love the country, are patriotic, notice that it's not going so well, know that it's a 250 year, etc. etc., this could all spur you into buying an extra handful, no? I know that there are some of us on the other side (in favor of free elections, freedom of the press, separation of powers, the constitution) who are also into fireworks, and into guns too. I know it's not a 100/0 situation. It's just a feeling I've got that these are Trumpers out making a lot of noise.

We set up in the old Mall parking lot. There were about ten other cars/families who had the same idea. Kids ran around freely with the air fresher and less interaction due to less accidental stepping on blankets. Less bad air from everyone else's sparklers. Less time on the road waiting behind someone, while very slow traffic lets out.

But there were fireworks in all directions, all during the city's show, and all afterward. Many of them were as big as, and competed with, those of the city. Many were very loud.

Here are some more research questions: Was this true all over the country? Did anyone get hurt? Is it memorable distinctly or will it go down as just one more night of firecrackers?

Another Railroad Days bites the dust

It would be irresponsible to have a Galesburg-oriented blog and not at least mention Railroad Days, which once again just came and went. I love Railroad Days; I love Galesburg. But I know very little about either one, actually. Enough about Galesburg to do this blog. Enough about Railroad Days to be glad to see them again.

This year it rained and all I could think of was, it's raining on our parade. Kind of dampened everyone's spirits and at the same time kept a lot of kids home who could have been at the top of the ferris wheel. I have had a lot of personal issues lately and for that reason found myself on Mulberry Street a lot and I could therefore drive right past the Railroad Museum and the train station. And I was glad that there were people at the heart of it all, checking out railroad history and walking around the old railroad cars parked there.

I drive by Judy's a lot because I live in her neighborhood, on her block actually, and I always honk and wave when I see her. This weekend I saw her, honked and waved, and she never even looked up. She was too busy. Some other diners caught me and smiled but the light turned green and I had to keep going down Fremont Street. I consider Judy to be the person who brings the most tourists to Galesburg: fresh people, from far away, come to see Galesburg and especially Judy's. She's a tourist attraction. The place was packed.

I have a couple of daughters who wanted to do the fair so I took them down to the bank where one cashed in some money so they could go. Picked them up an hour or two later and they got into the car screaming at each other. They had had some kind of fight and it didn't get better; it got worse. All past the Innkeeper's, through downtown, and back across by the Railroad Museum they were screaming so loud I couldn't hear myself think. This was my Railroad Days. There will never be another one like it.

Let me record that it happened. It looked like the model train setup out on Fremont had a nice full parking lot. People got out there. People came to Galesburg. Biggest drinking weekend in western Illinois, I told my daughter's boyfriend. I don't know if he liked that or not. It was somewhat of a novelty to him to get out of Peoria, have a living room, and stay out of the crowds. In some ways we live our separate lives, taking care of many children, some of whom have special needs. The world goes on. People come to town, then they go back. Now comes the Fourth.

No Kings 3-28

Quakers in.Galesburg

Quakers, or the Society of Friends, do not number more than a few thousand nationwide. So it's not surprising that Galesburg's Friends' Meeting, Spoon River, has apparently gone dormant. Quakers are spread far and wide even in the Midwest.

Quakers believe that each person can access God directly, and does not need a church hierarchy to get in the way. We can by ourselves discern what is right and good and necessary, and what should be our path. Small rural meetings used to have farm families that helped each other in a pinch, and worked as communities, but thoough rural people could be as nosy and judgmental as anyone, it wasn't built into the religion that one had to behave a certain way. There was general agreements about many things - violence for example - but there was rarely unanimity about things like fighting in WWII, or whether one could carry a gun if one's job required it. People are left to their own consciences in such matters.

As the rural communities aged out of existence, Quakers have had to adjust. College towns still have functioning meetings and big cities often do too. But places like Galesburg - maybe not.

I moved here in 2022, and brought Cloud Quakers with me. It had been started before the pandemic because at the time I had to drive across two mountain ranges and the Tularosa Basin (inluding the White Sands) just to get to my meeting. Here, I would only have to go to Burlington. But I already have a meeting, so I don't. I drive enough in my life anyway.

Our meeting gets. on zoom Sunday evenings at 7 pm local time. To try it, follow directions at the page linked above, or find us on Facebook. We'll be shocked to find someone from Galesburg, but on the other hand, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. There are. isolated people eager to practice the religion and have a community all over the place. We have a healthy meeting, but I'm surprised we don't have more since there are basically Quakers all. over the place, in places like Galesburg, with no place to go. Community is important to religion. You can. say you practice non-violence, and practice doing good in this world, and work for social justice and peace among people, but it's really important for us to check in once in a while, get advice on what's right or wrong, or talk about our spiritual journeys. Having real people share our struggles not only helps us get them on the table, but also gets input from like-minded people about how to approach the. problems.

We often don't have much in coommon about. religious dogma in our meetings; we are more likely to agree on politics than on the nature of the Holy Trinity or Heaven and Hell. Though we avoid argument about these things (often), most of us are seekers of some kind and have active spiritual/religious lives. Galesburg now is the home of this meeting. It is international; it is regular; it has been going oon for about six years; and it will survive and carry on.

The world needs more Quakers, and needs those of us who are out here in the world, to carry our flag and show how it can be done.

Interview

Galesburg Public Library Blog interview
https://galesburglibrary.org/local-author-highlight-thomas-leverett/

I'll say more about this later; it will be coming around Facebook soon enough, too.