Commentary2020-03-30T17:38:07-04:00

Commentary

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The Real Field of Dreams

By |July 8, 2023|Commentary|

That tiny patch of Iowa might well have been returned to corn production when the movie makers left town, but was not. It was preserved, haltingly at first, with nothing more than a rusted coffee can nailed to a post to solicit preservation donations, and now has become an industry, a revenue stream for both Iowa and big league baseball.

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Gordon Lightfoot’s Great Lakes’ Lives

By |May 6, 2023|Commentary|

No song better captures the terrifying power of the Great Lakes than Lightfoot’s tragic, captivating rendering. It is a sonic and literary achievement, translating the sudden confusion, fear, and despair as the Edmund Fitzgerald is unable to weather a November storm.

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Midwestern Ghosts of Christmas Past

By |December 24, 2022|Commentary|

That was the street-level  windows of the big department stores back in the glory days of Christmas shopping before Walmart and Amazon teamed to suck the last dime from us while, at the same time, squeezing the last drop of joy from the season.

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