http://www.tribstar.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:14:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_196161406.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_196161406.html I grew up in a little town in Northern Illinois. It was close enough to Chicago that it was possible to motor into the city in the morning, enjoy lunch and a good bit of shopping and still get home in time to have supper and an early bed. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:09:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_189231017.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_189231017.html I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but if there is one thing which makes me feel like the village idiot, it’s one requiring some sort of technological know-how. Not only do I not know how things work, I am convinced that they gang up and decide NOT to work when I am in charge. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:11:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_176001102.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_176001102.html We were talking the other day about the increasing cost of groceries. Why this should come as a surprise is astonishing. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:49:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_169114920.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_169114920.html I think it was last fall when Joe lost his dog companion of many years.Joe, one of the regulars at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, was pretty broken up about it. My Best Friend and I urged that he get another dog — immediately if not sooner. But Joe had valid excuses. He wanted an outdoor dog and didn’t want to break in a new puppy during the winter. Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:11:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_162001154.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_162001154.html The early-morning regulars out at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center have been playing a little guessing game. Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:13:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_156161552.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_156161552.html One of the advantages of retirement is that you have the leisure — and sometimes the energy — to do what a friend calls “good and charitable works.” Mon, 19 May 2008 21:49:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_140214911.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_140214911.html I understand that seeing is believing. I’ve heard that of the five senses, the sense of smell is most apt to trigger memories. Since our recent move, however, I nominate the sense of hearing as vastly underrated. Mon, 05 May 2008 16:57:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_126170300.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_126170300.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:49:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_119235036.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_119235036.html Advice columns are fascinating. I’ve long aspired to write one. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:45:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_105174603.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_105174603.html My Best Friend and I got a mailing the other day from the federal government. That’s rarely good news and it served mostly to confuse us. Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:59:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_098210011.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_098210011.html Technology has changed the ways we communicateWe were talking with friends the other day about the miracles of modern communication. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:13:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_092001404.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_092001404.html I passed another anniversary of my birth late last month. You’d think I’d have enough sense to quit counting, but birthdays were always special when I was growing up and I’ve never been able to shed the notion that it is my special day. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:12:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_084171209.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_084171209.html A week or so ago, I attended a production of the South High Drama Club. In all honesty, the principal draw was the on-stage appearance of Number One grandson. But I was struck by the talent and enthusiasm of all the kids who are at least three generations younger than I. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:40:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_077164218.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_077164218.html I read the other day that if only it were politically expedient, the penny would go the way of the dinosaur. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:36:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_070163545.html http://www.tribstar.com/liz_ciancone/local_story_070163545.html I suppose you are all sitting around out there trying to decide how you are going to stimulate the economy and just what you are going to buy to get it back in the black. Of course that’s AFTER you get a check from the U.S. Treasury Department.