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Right Here in River City ~ Just another Freedomblogging.com weblog

Didn’t the reporters check into Cohen’s background?

February 8th, 2010, 2:17 pm by Linda Weller

Many political watchers are speculating or just plain wondering who the Democratic party will select as its next candidate for Illinois lieutenant governor in the November election.

Me, I still am scratching my head over how Scott Lee Cohen’s 2005 domestic battery charge didn’t come to light until the day after the primary. I won’t speculate if or when the other party knew, or why the Democrats apparently were unaware of this charge from only five years ago.

Being in the newspaper business, I wonder if the media staffs in the Chicago area – which would have quick access to criminal charges filed in Cook and collar counties – have been cut so deeply that the reporters aren’t there to perform simple background searches.

I know the larger papers up there have had drastic personnel cuts, but this was a state-level race. It was important. Larger papers also oftentimes subscribe to LexisNexis or other, similar online searches where you can find out just about anything you want about someone – arrests, lawsuits, property ownership, marriages, divorces, credit situations, etc.

In this age of technology, all kinds of information is out there if you take the time to search for it. What can make it difficult is if the charge is expunged.

People who have read my election stories over the years know I have written about candidates or former candidates who have faced criminal charges. We don’t have the luxury of LexisNexis at The Telegraph, but I frequently check on candidates’ civil or criminal backgrounds using the computer at the law enforcement center lobby just to see what I can learn.

The computer is linked to the Madison County Court records; I can find Jersey County charges online. If I need more information, I have a colleague in Edwardsville who can pull up hard copy court files.

Besides the routine checking, when election seasons heat up, we get lots of backstabbing tips about opponents’ alleged arrests and other dirt. It takes time to check them out, and usually they aren’t true.

But we check.

In fact, I checked today on an anonymous accusation about two elected officials not being registered voters. Since the person who dropped off the written “tip” didn’t sign his or her name, I am using my blog to let you know their names are indeed listed on the Web page of the Madison County Clerk, under “voter registration list.” The addresses are current and they’ve been voting.

The second accusation was proved wrong years ago; I asked about it and city officials already had checked into it.

You wasted our time today, but I did check.

Why didn’t the much larger Chicago media have time to look up Cohen’s name to see what they could find? Did they check on any of the state candidates?

Or were those laid off-bought out reporters at the unemployment office; serving up beers at a tavern; or creating slick advertising mailers for Cohen and the others who ran during the Feb. 2 primary?

One plate or two? I’ll take a palmetto…

January 25th, 2010, 2:22 pm by Linda Weller

A state representative wants to change Illinois’ vehicle code to allow the Secretary of State’s office to issue only one license plate per car or truck in order to save money in producing the plates.

People would attach the sole plate to the rear of the vehicle, if it is enacted into law and when the state issues new plates.

Predictably, police – such as Alton Police Chief David Hayes – are opposed to reducing the number of identification plates on suspects’ cars, particularly if the vehicles are speeding past an officer. The officer would have to quickly twist his or head to verify the fleeing plate number – while driving the patrol car down the street.

Sometimes witnesses only provide a partial license plate lettering/number, also necessitating need for a backup identification. Also, some plates are hard to read if they are damaged or partially obscured from view.

Personally, I don’t have a preference, since I doubt if the state will lower the $79 fee I must pay each year for each of those little colored stickers, and new plates once in a long while. I do understand law enforcement’s concerns. I don’t really want to be pulled over by a police officer because he mistook my car for someone else’s with a similar plate number.

I’m sure, though, that some motorists out there would like to emulate their fellow car and truck owners living in states that issue only one plate.

How’s that? By being able to buy and attach their own “vanity” front plates that tell you more about the driver than his current rear license plate holder, his bumper stickers, mud flaps and appliqués on the windows reveal.

So far, our state is preventing these people from hanging up their Yosemite Sam, Stars and Bars, Harley-Davidson, Tweety Bird or nude-woman-sitting-down-with-her-knees-up silhouette plates they bought in Branson. Of course, there also are plates people attach to proclaim their favorite baseball or pro football team, alma mater or where the owner bought the car.

A side note: When my daughter moved to a state that only required the rear license, she was in luck for awhile because she could not remove the front, Illinois plate that wanted to stay attached permanently. The rear plate was from where she was living. So, she drove around with plates from two different states until a police officer there took issue.

If she’d had a goofy plate on front, that apparently would have been OK. (If a police officer had called in either plate, the computerized system they use would have come up with the same owner – her parents in Illinois).

Maybe what Illinois needs to do is incorporate all of the above: Provide a more sturdy metal plate for the rear of the car or truck and enclose an adhesive-back strip of each vehicle’s registration number in fairly large-sized type.

People would be legally required to attach the strip to whatever tacky or cool front plate they buy on vacation, or opt for a plain one of metal or recycled plastic that the state could sell to them. It still would be cheaper for the state than issuing a second metal plate with identification.

That’s my suggestion.

Does anyone out there have any better ideas?

Any opinions on the one-plate versus two-plate system?

If this bill goes through into law, I need to make another trip to South Carolina.

They sell some beautiful dark blue license plates with a palmetto in the center that would coordinate with my little white palmetto sticker on my rear window.

Let’s hope for sunshine in 2010…

January 7th, 2010, 11:49 am by Linda Weller

By now, most of us have yawned through repeated television rehashes of what happened and who died in 2009, as though we slept through the year. (Michael Jackson died?)

Some years drag on, others slip by easily.

Many have few or no particular milestones in our lives.

For me, 2009 was an important year that left me both anticipating and apprehensive about 2010.

For a long time, when I hear “2009” I will remember it was the year of finding out, to my surprise, that my brother-in-law died the morning of my birthday. I was getting ready to head to Memphis to celebrate my special, long weekend when the call came.

There were economic slams from several sides, and a family member faced what could have been a deadly health issue if it hadn’t been addressed.

But, as the sun shines today on snow that some people dreaded and feared, my sunshine of 2009 was birth of my first grandchild, Colin, in October.

I didn’t know I would be so taken – immediately - by the sweet little guy, who lives four hours away. I arrived at my daughter’s house the day he came home from the hospital and stayed eight days to help. I will care for him next month for a few days after his mother goes back to work, too.

She sends me e-pix nearly every day, and we hooked up a webcam I got for Christmas for live interaction – as close as I can get to picking up the cuddly, blue-eyed boy who looks so much like she did.

The sun also shown on my life in other ways in 2009, on which I also choose to focus.

I got to take my first trip to Europe, and meet the parents of our former foreign exchange student who turned out to be nice people who put us up and showed us a great time.

I also visited two of my favorite refuges, Asheville/Smokey Mountains and a beautiful, peaceful place in South Carolina near the ocean.

I paid a visit to my sister in Nebraska, and we drove 90 minutes to make our beloved, 96-year-old aunt happy. My late father’s last living sibling, Aunt Kate is a retired banker, a real character and as mentally sharp and conversationally blunt as ever.

She told me to come back and visit her “in a couple years.”

I guess she is an optimist, too.

So, looking back, my sunshine outshone the darkness last year, and I hope yours did, too.

We’ll see what 2010 brings.

Random thoughts might perk up holiday conversation…

December 16th, 2009, 8:24 pm by Linda Weller

I don’t normally pass along emails that are funny or attempt to be funny, but I thought I would share a pared-down version of one that my daughter sent me that is making the cyberspace rounds.

If these “random thoughts” make you think or you agree with them, maybe they might be worth sharing at one of the Christmas family gatherings next week. It beats discussing religion, old grudges, new “hurts,” gossip, politics or someone’s myriad of ailments.

Once prodded, people might even come up with their own “thoughts” for an even more lively conversation. Feel free to contact me if you have any gems to add to this.

Here goes, with my 2-cents-worth in italics (thanks, Zoe):

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
Not that this ever has happened to me, but I can imagine.

2. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
Yawn.

3. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.
Yes, I’ve discovered humor and sarcasm get lost in a print version, especially in newspaper stories and blogs.

4. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie that I saw when I was young and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
Yes, I didn’t understand the kissing parts, especially.
Also, I was grown when I realized the terrifying flying monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz” were not real, but people in costumes. (This subject can really get people talking).

5. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take two trips to bring my groceries into the house.
I’ve been getting better at remembering to bring the cloth bags into the store so I don’t have to get 10 plastic bags packed with five bags’ worth of groceries.

6. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history and messages if you die.
But the friend has to agree not to read them first! RIP.

7. Was learning to write in cursive really necessary?
Well, it looks better on Christmas card envelopes and wedding invitations.

8. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

9. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
Depends on who they are and whether it matters what they appear to be saying.

10. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
Two words: Kendall Hill.

13. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

14.Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I am more interested in if they are older or younger than me.

15. Bad decisions make good stories.
This actually was on the list, I didn’t add it! Everyone could elaborate on this one.

16. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
ABSOLUTELY. I don’t have many DVDs, but I’ve got plenty of video tapes and a unit that plays both. I still have a nice vinyl collection from the ‘70s and ‘80’s that I partially replaced with CDs. I’m not ready for any more movie or audio changes.

17. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my 10-page research paper to which I swear I did not make any changes.
Or to a news story on deadline or when I’m running out of hours on a Friday.

18. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and, “Pinning the Tail on the Donkey” - but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…
It’s Pavlovian, the reward is another few minutes of sleep. I find it more restful to turn off the alarm completely. (See Random Thought #2)

19. It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on a news Web site and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
And the video won’t start until they’ve flashed an ad video in your face.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay diamonds..

SMILE —- it makes people wonder…….

People here really give at Christmas…

December 4th, 2009, 1:00 pm by Linda Weller

Something that always impresses and touches me is how people in the Alton area give so much at Christmas time, particularly those who are hurting or not well off themselves.

So many times this season I’ve heard people mention “pay it forward” or some other interpretation they have of karma – if they give, they will “get” back something good somewhere down the line.

Of course, that shouldn’t be the main reason for helping others.

One woman I talked to this week lost her job in July, but insisted her children are not hurting as she collected food, toiletries and other goods for others so they would have a good Christmas.
She doesn’t plan on keeping any rejected or surplus items, saying they will go to a pantry or other local charity.

I noticed that the Alton Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign already is at nearly 29 percent of its goal of raising $110,000 locally. The marquee outside the citadel on Alby Street said it had raised $31,650, but that amount has been posted for several days so I’m sure it’s higher than that by now.

Children especially love to drop (or push, if it’s a greenback) money into the kettles, although the newer red buckets are plastic so the coins don’t jangle so much.

Speaking of children, my story in today’s Telegraph about the Salvation Army’s Angel Trees is another chance to give at a level at which you are comfortable. It’s also anonymous.

This annual effort lets people pluck a gift tag with a disadvantaged child’s Christmas wishes and clothing sizes. The “secret Santas” buy the gifts, bring them back to the tree site unwrapped and thereby help a child up to age 12 have a better Christmas.

Last year gifts were slow in coming in, but at the end, citizens came forward with gifts for all 958 “angel” children.

The campaign needs extra help this year because the Salvation Army is not getting gift cards from the Santa train, as the Holiday Express is bypassing Godfrey this year.

Check out the story at: http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/alton-33793-salvation-army.html, where you can find a list of tree locations.

Don’t forget, if you attended an Alton Police Benevolent and Protective Association event this year, the money you contributed or spent on a ticket will go to holiday food baskets to be delivered in a few weeks to needy families.

Some of the money also will be spent locally at Target on Dec. 12 when Alton police officers volunteer to take 48 less fortunate children on a shopping spree (at last count).

Also, for the first time in this area, people were able to drop off coats in Kurt and Brenda Warner’s Coats for Kids drive. It felt nice to clear out a half dozen coats from my closets.

Another usually successful effort, Community Christmas still has collection boxes to garner clothing and toy donations.

And I hear super do-gooder Bobbie Vandalia, despite her health problems, still is planning to hold the annual, free Christmas dinner at College Avenue Presbyterian Church in Alton for anyone – the needy or those just wanting a meal with fellowship. The Telegraph will publish details on that later.

Look around and see what you can do, donate something or maybe help out a family you know whose breadwinner(s) lost a job this year?

And drop in some coins and bills in those red kettles.

It can get cold out there ringing those bells, believe me, so make the ringers happy, too!

Thanks, guys!

October 9th, 2009, 12:12 pm by Linda Weller

We get a lot of comments posted on our Web site and called in to Sound Off about “young people these days” blah, blah blah.

Well, I would like to balance some of these negative comments with
an experience I had Thursday morning in Alton. It wasn’t a big deal, but I give credit:

It was pouring down rain and I was walking down Alby Street hill from Alton City Hall to East Broadway. I was trying to keep dry under an umbrella being attacked by the wind, while also protecting two reporters notepads and an accompanying, important piece of paper while gripping two pens.

I was trying not to slip on the rainwater, but I didn’t expect to trip on an uneven piece of sidewalk.

But I did.

As quick as can be, I found myself sitting on my downturned foot, my clothing already getting soaked in the rain. I was stunned to find myself in that situation.

Just as quickly, three young men rushed out from the protected, dry lower doorway of City Hall that once served as a sally-port when the police station was located in its basement.

“Are you all right?” “Can I help you?” “Don’t worry, your umbrella isn’t going anywhere,” they chimed as I tried to grab all of the aforementioned belongings to keep them from blowing away or getting even wetter.

One of the young men scooped up my things and the others helped me back up to my feet. With less dignity, I continued back down that hill, albeit even more careful than before.

The top of my foot swelled a bit and it was somewhat painful, but it’s only tender today.

Of course, just prior to my fall I had joked with a woman who works in Alton City Hall about the treacherous Alby Street hill.

People up there always comment on my resolve to walk up the thing, but I always say I’m more worried about going down that hill than climbing up the incline.

Now, even more so.

Anyway, regarding these young guys - I do not know their names - I so appreciated their quick actions.
They jumped out of the dry doorway, not worrying about getting wet in the drenching rain and not just laughing at me or calling 911 – when all I needed a helping hand, or six.

Dave Coffman, head of maintenance at City Hall, said the men were helping him clean and move items in the old police station space.

He said they are employed through a Madison County work program, which is funded by the federal stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) money. They were at City Hall one day, and plan to do some chores next week at the public works building.

I hope these men find permanent employment soon.

Although I know nothing about them, it appears that their hearts are in the right place and someone taught them right.

Thank you, guys!

More on Tuesday’s heroes…

October 1st, 2009, 12:06 pm by Linda Weller

It was personally gratifying to meet three of the men who jumped to action Tuesday to bust into a car that had crashed on the Berm Highway that was full of smoke. They, and reportedly some other people, pulled out the driver before flames could overtake him.

He is recovering in a St. Louis hospital.

In the course of my work, I’ve talked to many firefighters and police officers who get paid to do such feats – and they also are to be commended for taking such actions and risking their lives for a job.
But Tuesday, these people (including a nurse) just dropped what they were doing to save a life without qualms.

They didn’t ghoulishly stand there to watch, as has happened in some places when people are attacked on the street. They didn’t stand there and take cell phone pictures to put on the Internet or with hopes of selling the images someplace. They didn’t worry that they could get sued or killed, by traffic or if the car exploded.

They acted.

One of the people most impressed was Assistant Fire Chief Brad Sweetman, who repeatedly said if not for these peoples’ actions, driver Michael McKenna surely would have died in the car fire. He wanted to make sure I publicly credited these heroes with their unselfish actions in the news story.

Sweetman himself was recognized in 2004 with a Medal of Honor from the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office. He was honored for a daring and dangerous rescue and body recovery at Melvin Price Locks and Dam 26, not too far away from Tuesday’s car crash.

On Sept. 28, 2003, in the dark Sweetman braved leaking boat fuel and cold Mississippi River waters filling a crashed boat to rescue two injured women. In the course of the rescue, he discovered four people inside who died when the boat hit a tainter gate at the dam.

So, when a 20-year veteran firefighter who has risked dangers himself is that impressed by people snatching someone from certain death, it means even more to a civilian such as myself.

Tuesday’s events should be a reminder that everyone should welcome the chance to help another person - in even a small way.

If we have the opportunity to save a life, even better.

It’s only funny when it’s someone else…(whew)

September 8th, 2009, 3:36 pm by Linda Weller

A “senior moment” is only funny if it happens to someone else. Maybe I should replace “funny” with relief that it wasn’t me.

Recently I was at the rear of a large grocery store, (OK, the really big Dierbergs in Edwardsville), inspecting the fresh loaves of bread, trying to decide which one would go best with dinner. I finally made my selection and turned around to put the loaf in the shopping cart.

I couldn’t find the cart.

I looked and looked. No cart. I walked past several aisles to my right, then around the bread display a couple times, casually peering into a few carts in the area. I didn’t see mine, only “claimed” carts people were pushing, except for one. That one cart was all by itself, with no apparent shopper nearby, and containing food I never would buy.

Dodging blueberries someone had spilled all over the floor, I walked to the dairy wall to the left. No cart. What to do? What had I done with the cart? I was totally baffled. I was confused and starting to get agitated. Was I looking at the bread so long that an employee had taken it? Should I just go home?

This went on for what seemed like a long time, but it probably wasn’t. I just couldn’t figure out how I had totally lost the cart I had spent so much time filling with groceries.

Then, a cashier walking a near mile from the front of the store somehow picks me out from several shoppers in the bakery area. She is carrying some beer, the type I had put in my cart. She asks if the beer is mine. Umm, more importantly, where is the food I wanted to buy? That’s what I really wanted. And where is my cart?

The next thing I notice is an older man and younger woman who I’d seen as I perused the aisles of the store, pushing a shopping cart that had the same groceries I had put in my cart. It WAS my cart. They had made it all the way to the checkout lane, all the way to the front of the gigantic grocery store and were checking out or nearly checking out. There, the woman apparently got upset when she thought the man had put beer and ice cream in the cart, the cashier explained.

The man claimed innocence.

I guess she didn’t notice that there also was sushi, a can of spicy Indian food and acai juice, which I seriously doubt if the man ever bought, according to what I saw in the abandoned cart nearby.

We exchanged carts with few words. I gave him the only item he had put in my cart, Excedrin, and they walked the distance back to the checkout lane with their own food.

Greatly relieved, I told the nice cashier, “I thought I was having a senior moment!”

“No, he was,” she said with a smile. Whew!

Have a laugh with some cops, really …

August 28th, 2009, 1:16 pm by Linda Weller

Many people don’t equate cops with a lot of chuckles, but area residents can make an exception Sept. 17.

Go on down to Argosy Casino’s entertainment hall that evening, as two standup comedians plan to keep the jokes coming from 7 p.m. on. Laughs are nearly guaranteed at the Alton Police Comedy Night show and buffet dinner benefit. (There will be a cash bar).

Funnymen David Graham of St. Louis, and Tim Northern of Louisville, Ky., will be on stage to help raise money for sponsor Alton Police Benevolent and Protective Association Unit 14’s holiday charity activities.
Each fall, police distribute holiday food baskets to needy Alton families and take underprivileged children Christmas shopping during their annual “Shop with a Cop” excursion.

It is fund-raisers such as comedy hour, a dance and trivia night that Alton police hold to pay for such charity efforts, which they do on their own time. Police need to raise at least $20,000 for the projects each year.

Back to comedy night: Doors open at 6 p.m.

Sgt. Richard Gillespie, supervisor of the Alton Police Department’s traffic division, is organizing the event. Tickets to comedy night were late in arriving - in fact they came in after a story on the show ran in The Telegraph - so he had to take names at first.

They are selling now.

Only 300 tickets are for sale, and Gillespie said Graham packed the house at a Downtown tavern in February to also raise money for Benevolent’s charities.

“He’s really funny,” Gillespie said earlier, adding that Graham calls one routine, “Forest Pimp.”

Graham began working in comedy in 1992 at the FunnyBone Comedy Club in St. Louis. He has appeared on “America’s Funniest People” on ABC-TV, and “Comic Justice” on the Comedy Central cable television channel. He also has been in two independent films, “Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen” and “Tapestry of Shadows.”

Northern, a former truck driver, characterizes his brand of humor as being “smart,” with an intellectual bent involving word play, puns and twists on phrases.

“Nothing is off-limits to Tim,” Gillespie said. “He will joke and make fun of anything.”

Maybe even police.

Both men are performing at a discount to assist in the benefit, Gillespie said. “They are both good people, nice upstanding people,” he said.

Tickets are available from Gillespie at the Alton Police Department, 1700 E. Broadway, until night of the show or until they sell out.

For more information, call Gillespie at (618) 463-3505, ext. 235.

It may be the only time you really want to get a ticket from Alton’s head traffic cop.

From Julia to the Food Network …

August 24th, 2009, 2:19 pm by Linda Weller

I don’t go to a lot of movies, but I did see “Julie and Julia” 10 days ago. I liked it more than I thought I would, as Meryl Streep did an excellent portrayal of the late famous chef, Julia Child. I just wish the producer would have included how she landed on television, perhaps cutting back a bit on the lengthy book process or Julie Powell’s drama.

For those who haven’t seen the movie or know its premise, it’s about Powell, a young, modern day woman from New York City who vows to spend a year preparing every one of the recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She blogged about the process, then published the blogs in a book, “Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously,” on which the film was made. (My previous comments shouldn’t ruin anyone’s viewing of the movie. Enjoy, or bon appetit, Julia would say!)

Child compiled the cookbook with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle while living in France, aimed at American cooks. The first volume was published in 1961, with Volume II coming out in 1970. At that time, Child had Americans’ deep attraction to France and all things French in her favor when she published the volume, probably spurred by Jackie Kennedy’s impecable style and her French heritage.

Child’s television show also was French-themed, which had to have helped, during Americans’ Francophile stage that eventually faded during the British “invasion” of music and clothing styles. Their food did not catch on.

At that time, Americans didn’t just refer to poodles, they were French poodles. There also were French bikinis, French creme donuts and French cologne, et al. People decorated their homes with a French poodle base lamp; wallpaper with La Tour Eiffel images; pictures of Frenchmen carrying a bunches of balloons; sad French clowns; and even sadder-looking tots with their hauntingly oversized eyes. Any French food was a notch above American fare.

In my junior high school, more of us - including me - took French than Spanish. When I was in high school, and continuing my French studies, I tried to land a foreign exchange student trip to France, but they could not place me anywhere. I finally spent one day and one evening, with a memorable dinner, in the country last May. I hope to go back and spend more time there someday, preferably after checking out some French language instruction CDs from the library.

Years after her cookbook was published, I watched Child on television in black and white. We had only four television stations so we didn’t have a lot of program selection. I wasn’t particularly interested in learning to cook at that age, but Child was interesting to me because of her mannerisms, voice, flair and because I only knew of one other cooking show on at the time - The Galloping Gourmet with Graham Kerr. Such shows were a rarity.

Now, it amuses me to hear so many people discuss the various television cooks by first name, as though they are personal friends. I was at a party a few months ago and names such as Ina, Giada, Emeril, Bobby and others were tossed about by men and women, and everyone seemed to know who they are and chimed in. A guy I knew used to do a perfect impression of Food Network chef Ina Garten’s generous use of “budda.” He said his father could do an even better job.

I can understand people’s attachment to these kitchen wizards, even though some are more about “personality,” panache and lifestyle than displaying advanced cooking skills. You get the idea that these cooks and chefs invited you into their homes, and more intimately, into their kitchens. You see how these people fix a meal, so seemingly easy and not as messy as most of us do at home. Then there is the final spread of well-presented goodies, with friends arriving with wine and flowers to enjoy the bounty and converse. Is that an empty seat at the table? For me? Those inviting shows can make you feel that way.

You can credit Julia Child for starting this television “feeding frenzy.” I feel like going into the kitchen now, and turning on the Food Network.

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