Families protest Show-Me’s - Naperville Sun

Fascinating story in the Naperville Sun. If you read it carefully you'll see some locals are protesting about a proposed restaurant coming to town. It seems to be much like Hooters or the Tilted Kilt - a place to eat where the food is the last reason people go there.
To me, this is Naperville at it's worst, but not for the reasons you might think.

“I’ve been living here for 14 years, my whole life,” said protester Emma Sliwinski. “I don’t want to see this godforsaken place loaded with drunks, drug addicts and strippers.”

I'm sorry, but just because waitresses are scantily dressed, does it really mean the place will be loaded with 'drunks, drug addicts and strippers?' Any bar is going to have the a few drunks. It's like complaining that vegetarians like to shop in Whole Foods. Drug addicts and strippers? In Naperville? She obviously doesn't know the place as well as I do, and she's lived here a lot longer.

Personally I look forward to the ribbon cutting, and I have a sneaky feeling our mayor may as well. Not sure I can see the waitresses attending Chamber of Commerce meetings, but you never know.

We already have a few places like this around the area, so I really don't see what all the fuss is about. In this economy you would think the city would be happy any restaurant wanted to bring customers in.

Either way, it's great publicity for Show-Me's and they haven't even finalized the deal yet.

Families protest Show-Me’s - Naperville Sun

Guest Blogger

http://emmadecent.wordpress.com/

Our cousin Emma is currently in Ohio where she has found time to update her blog with thoughts about her visit here last weekend. Feel free to add comments to her site.

Welcome Home!

The Hotel Decent opened its doors for the holiday season this evening - the Halloween holiday that is. For the fourth year Robin (formerly Orphan No.1 but I think he's forgiven us by now) arrived this time with three friends in tow. They graciously joined us for dinner, but I'd barely cleared up before a pretty girl was on the door step to whisk them off for a night on the town. And to think I thought they were visiting because they wanted to see me and Grumpy!

Poetic Licence

This weekend we've played host to Grumpy's long lost cousin Emma. It turned out great. Emma's a poet so last night she introduced us to the world of the poetry slam. The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Uptown is world famous having started this poetry competition 25 years ago. Now there are places all over the world where aspiring poets can perform for audiences who decide how good they really are, but for Emma, this one is truly the shrine.

She'd traveled across the ocean to stand upon this stage,
A shrine to tortured poets, full of angst and full of rage.
The mood was dark and brooding as they battled with each other,
One by one they stood in line to complain about their mother.
Thirty minutes in I was prepared to slit my wrist,
When Puck-like Emma bounced on stage and delivered up a twist.
Her poems were amusing, intelligent with grace,
It soon became apparent she was the leader in this race.
And thus it was the humble Brit with a little bit of fun,
Conquered the Americans, by George sir, yes she won!
Poetry's a noble art but it can be hard to rhyme,
She's inspired me to have a go, but I just don't have the inclination.....

Rick's Girl

Another day, another celebrity. Of course just because you are famous over here, it doesn't mean the whole world knows who you are. When I heard I was to meet Rick Springfield my first thought was that he was one of Dusty's brothers!


Anyhow, I've posted my story below. Whether you know who he is or not, it's always a fascinating experience when the rock world rolls into town.

RICK SPRINGFIELD Adored By 600 Naperville Fans

by Glancer Magazine on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 11:14pm

by Hilary Decent, Features Editor – MORE THAN 600 ADORING WOMAN WISHED they could be Rick’s girl when Jessie’s Girl legend Rick Springfield hit Naperville on Wednesday evening. The rock star and General Hospital heart throb was at Anderson’s Bookstore promoting his new autobiography, Late, Late at Night.

The evening was packed with rock and roll clichés. The woman who had her left breast tattooed with Rick’s signature. The teenager who Springfield has virtually adopted since pulling him up on stage when he was three. A film crew making a documentary about the 30 year relationship the star has maintained with his loyal mostly female fan base.

If you were asked to draw a rock star, Rick Springfield would appear on your paper. Strikingly handsome at 61, a goatee beard and for my ears alone as our photo was taken, a whispered faux English accent that reminded me of Mick Jagger.

I didn’t have time to interview him, largely because all I could think about was how jealous my facebook friends would be when they saw the photo. It’ll be a great momento, although nothing as grand as the one 41-year-old Cyndi O’Hora, an uberfan from Frankfort, Il has.

“He autographed me when I met him in Milwaukee in 2006,” she said as if she’d been blessed by the Pope. “I had it tattooed.”

Cyndi has seen Springfield countless times, including that very morning when he appeared at Barnes and Noble in Chicago.

“This is my third copy of the book. I’m crazy, nuts,” she said. “He’s always so sexy.”

14-year-old Dustin Walker was called from the back of the line to say “hi” to his mentor.

“He pulled me up on stage when I was three and we’ve been good friends ever since,” he said. “Sometimes I play lead guitar with him. I’m good friends with drummer Jack White’s son Jackson. We’re like family.”

In the middle of the chaos was a team filming Affair of the Heart, a documentary commemorating the 30th anniversary of Springfield’s breakout album Working Class Dog. Director Sylvia Caminer said shooting began in May and will continue until the end of the year. “It’s about Rick, his career and artistry and his unique and passionate exchange with his fans,” she explained.

For executive producer Melanie Lentz-Janney, the project is definitely a labor of love.

Like the other women there, she’s been a long time fan, but unlike them has landed the dream job of following him around, really getting to know him.

“He’s never really gone away that much over the years, especially to his fans,” she said. “He has such a positive influence on their lives – a real human connection. This is more than a rockumentary. We want people to know he’s about more than just Jessie’s Girl.”

www.rickspringfielddoc.com.

Photo courtesy of Steve Vukosovic for Glancer Magazine.

Hold The Front Page: Raquel Welch Named As Other Woman In Decent Divorce!

Photo: Steve Vukasovic, Glancer Magazine

No, this isn't us at the waxwork museum - Grumpy and I really did get to meet Raquel Welch today. (See previous post).
Not only that, but we were the only people she posed with. Everyone else had to sneak one in during a busy book signing. Nothing beats having your own personal Press photographer.
The really funny thing was that Grumpy wasn't even going to attend the event, but when my new editor said it would be fun to get a photo of the three of us we couldn't resist. If nothing else, it's the only time in his life that Grumpy could say he was late for an appointment because he had a date with Raquel Welch!

Friends With The Famous

One of the perks of my new role as arts and entertainments correspondent for Glancer Magazine is that I'm going to meet a lot more celebrities. Today Grumpy and I met the still serenely fabulous Hollywood icon Raquel Welch.
"Look, I'm still skinny enough to hide behind this microphone..."
It's amazing. Ms Welch is 70 years old. Which means I still have 17 more years to get to look like her.
Raquel and Mayor Pradel swap autograph books. We have our celebrities here too, you know...

(I'll post the real story behind this photo once Glancer Magazine has used it).

As The World Turns

It never ceases to amaze me how much my life is like a soap opera sometimes - now I have the proof. Next weekend the Hotel Decent will be open for business again, welcoming Grumpy's long lost cousin Emma. Like many people I stumble across these days, Emma popped out of facebook a few months ago. She was part of the family that Grumpy didn't know much about. Considering what some of the ones I do know about are like, this could either be a blessing in disguise or proof there is a God after all.
Like me Emma also writes, so the good news I don't have to say anything more about her. It's all here on her blog which she started just before setting out on a trip around the world following her late father's footsteps in a voyage of discovery.
http://emmadecent.wordpress.com
Emma will be with us for a glimpse of small town America. She's landed right slap bang in the middle of all our Halloween festivities so she'll probably think we're nuts. I've lived here long enough to have a pretty good grip on small town suburbia so to start off I hope to take her to visit a distribution at Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, followed by a fashion show at White Eagle Golf Club. A matter of going from the sublime to the ridiculous....

Naperville Sun Last Word

Here's my last story for the Naperville Sun. It's ironic that it's about Naperville Rotary Club. I only joined for the contacts it would give me, but now find its become a source of great joy and increasing fellowship. By the way, for local blog readers, the article is about our main fundraiser of the year, so I do hope you can come and join us.
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1897542-423/rotary-president-soup-auction-club.html

As My Time At The Sun Sets.....

I only worked at the Naperville Sun for three years, but I'm a sentimental old fool so here are my top five highlights.
8. Getting the only interview with Mayor Pradel and his highly reclusive wife on their 50th wedding anniversary.
7. Introducing myself as Hilary Decent of the Naperville Sun.
6. Digging out hidden stories at all the local festivals.
5. Meeting Dick Tracy author and artist Dick Locher, a true gentle man.
4.The issue when they introduced me by putting my photo with a banner across the top of the front page.
3. Getting the opportunity to contribute to their opinion columns, particularly the one explaining my situation with the whole Green Card issue. That's the power of the Press for you.
2. All my Naperville Women columns. The column was my idea and I have loved meeting and highlighting the fascinating women who call Naperville home.
1. Evan Lysacek. I loved following him for the paper on Dancing With The Stars, but I doubt I'll ever have a day in my career to beat Evan Lysacek Day when he came home to a hero's welcome after winning a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. You might recall I spent an entire day following him around on a press coach filing one story after another as the day progressed. Nothing beats the excitement of working on tight deadlines knowing your work will appear instantly in the news, and I couldn't have been more excited if I had won the medal myself.

Immediate Release

I'm unceasingly astonished at how my story is unfolding here. Yesterday I discovered where my career path has been leading. I've been freelancing since I arrived, but more by necessity than desire. All I ever wanted was a regular job in one place, but I wanted it on my terms which is why I never did get round to applying for that job as a shelf filler in Jewel. It's not that there's anything wrong with that kind of work, but with my experience I thought I'd feel really bad when I was rejected.
Anyhow, after appearing in every publication in town, it seems my destiny lies with Glancer Magazine. I hadn't been here long before I wrote to the editor, but never heard from her. It was only when my Grumpy stories were ejected from the Naperville Sun that I thought a magazine would be the perfect place for them.
Ironically I lost work for another local magazine by doing this and Grumpy was really grumpy as he kept pointing out the stupidity of going somewhere that actually paid less.
After all my recent adventures with Patch.Com I really was starting to feel that whichever route I chose was the wrong one. If it were actually easy to get that job at Jewel I was a hair's breathe from giving up on my dream of making a career out of writing.
But as usual it's always darkest before the dawn. As of yesterday I am now the features editor of Glancer Magazine and will work exclusively for them. They have two titles in the Chicago area with another one launching in January. I'm still working part time, but that could change eventually.
The good news is that it means plenty more writing. I'm moving away from news into the world of women's magazines. I'll really miss working for the Naperville Sun, but I realize I've been living in the past. I was always on the outside there and the reason I loved it so much was because as a 75 year old paper I felt I was becoming part of the city's history. It was old Naperville, a place I can never get enough of.
But you can't live in the past. Personally I had no real future with the paper. I was only ever going to freelance as and when. Now I have a shot at a more steady position where I can my talents and learn more. It also means I've re invented myself more times than Doctor Who, but hey, you've got to survive somehow.