John Burkholder

So the real question is, if the small town grows, will it lose the character that makes it appealing in the first place? Let me start from the beginning. I grew up in a small town in the middle of Illinois called Clinton. The town has a town square, restaurants owned by the locals, three car dealerships (Ford, Chevy, Chrysler) and the major source of income is the nuclear power plant about 7 miles out of town. There are four cities around Clinton. Bloomington to the North 25 minutes, Decatur to the South 25 minutes, Champaign and Springfield are 45 minutes East and West. Basically, if you drew a line on the North and South, East and West, you would place it on Clinton. Clinton has history. Abraham Lincoln made the statement, “you can fool some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time” on Clinton’s town square in front of the courthouse. Abraham practiced law there as well. Clinton was also known for being the home of

For years the Queen has been telling me that I look younger with my hairs cut short. I am one of those people who only gets my hairs cut when it impedes my life. This is much like going to the doctor or dentist, neither of which I would willingly want to go to. For me though it is not the pain of hearing every single hair scream in horror as the clippers get closer to my scalp, it is the fact that I am spending money to have hair cut. Back to my reason for the blog entry...I had my hairs cut. Hairs...off to another tangent. OK, so if you have more than one hair, it is hairs. But one article of lower body clothing is a pair of pants. Huh? If someone could explain how the plurals of each ended up reversed, I would certainly appreciate it. Let's try this again...So my removal of 3/4 of my hairs on my head...another tangent. Why is it grown men will wax themselves? Is it just for vanity? Have men become so vain that they feel that they need to cause extreme bodily harm to themselves? G

In this all important time of debates and discussions concerning Presidential prospects, the anniversary of the war in Iraq, and American Idol contestants, the most important debate of all rages once a year as we approach the Easter weekend. Cadbury Eggs or Peeps?  Personally, I cannot stand the Cadbury egg. This is mostly due to the "yolk" feeling somewhat like snot running down the back of my throat. Texture is important to my gag reflex and that is one texture I can't deal with. Add that feeling to oysters and cream of wheat. As for the Peeps, how sweet is too sweet? Fancy marshmallows covered in iridescent colored sugar. My kids have always had Peeps and love them. I just can't do it. I may as well pour an entire bag of sugar into my mouth. What is it that comes around every year around Easter that just makes the holiday proper? Those EVIL Girl Scouts pushing the cookies on every corner like it was crack cocaine. That trans-fatty goodness is addicting and every ye