Okay, so I'm not, like, brand new to town. Back when my wife and I moved here from Carol Stream, I was spending enough time reading the newspapers to find out anything I could about my new hometown, I figured I might as well post what I was finding online. But as time went on, "Wegolb: The WeGo Weblog for West Chicago" went the way of so many other weblogs. It just dried up.
Anyway, given the opportunity to occasionally blog here, I'm up for it. Sounds fun. And, honestly, I still feel like the new guy in town. I'm certainly not "in the know" like Merle or Bob or whomever. I'm just a guy with a lot of questions. Like:
- Given that West Chicago's main tourist attraction seems to be the train junction (at least there always seems to be a tourist trainspotter there, or two, or more on weekends), how come we changed the name from Railroad Days to Heritage Days?
- Why did Chief Kuhn quit, when his contract was through 2009? It seems like he just got here. And if he needs to retire in a hurry, why isn't he actually leaving for another two months? When I Googled him to find out, I got another question: Why are people in Allentown, Pennsylvania, still upset with him? And why was I reading about his troubles in West Chicago in the Allentown newspaper, but not in our local papers? Like I said, I don't know anything about Chief Kuhn other than what I read online. Chief Kuhn's probably a great guy. It just all seems weird and very confusing to a new guy like me
- And what was I supposed to figure out from the Mike Kwasman for Mayor mailing I got in the mail yesterday? All it had was a bunch of corporate logos, from Starbucks to Jel-Sert. Are these places he shops or something? Mike Kwasman: He Shops Locally? Mike Kwasman: Uniting People Who Spend $5 for a Cup of Coffee With Those Who Spend a Nickel on Otter Pops? Mike Kwasman: He Likes Corporate Logos?
- Why is Supermercado Tampico so much more popular than Carnicerias Jimenez? Seriously. Tampico is always packed. Jimenez is always empty. I can't tell much difference. What am I missing?
- How is it that no one until recently thought that West Chicago could support a Starbucks, but apparently we have no problem supporting three Dunkin Donuts within walking distance of each other?
- Is the Gary Gibula who keeps reporting on West Chicago for the Tribune the same Gary Gibula who plays in the Grateful Dead tribute band The Schwag? If so, has The Schwag ever played
Railroad Heritage Days or one of our other festivals?
More questions in the future, I'm sure. These are just the ones rattling around my head.
