All posts in Thru the Windshield

By Marjorie Klise

Speaking of orchids and onions…oh, yeah, we weren’t really speaking of that. But it is such a good way to clearly show the difference between good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant.

So, here is my summer onion:
My fence goes down. Hit by a car? Blown by the wind? No matter. It is down. So, I called my insurance agent and, yes, I have replacement insurance. He calls the adjustor. The adjustor looks and calls with a value (less than 1/5th of what I paid for it over fifteen years ago). Since the price of lumber and labor will have gone up over the years, I object. I go out looking for bids. It is a busy time for
carpenters who do custom work and I am late getting on their schedule but several come. Most want to put in a pre-fab fence. I want replacement. I make more calls. Finally, I have only one bid. So I call my agent again to seek some help. “Does he have a contractor I could contact…this must happen often in his line of business?” His response, after consultation with the ‘experts’ in the office, was “to try the Yellow Pages.” (As if I had been calling names and numbers off the police blotter). And then he added that “if you put in a claim, you know your premiums will go up.” Was that a threat? I give up. He wins. I don’t get a replacement fence. Really big ONION experience.

On the other hand we have to concentrate on the Orchids in our lives:
My gutters badly need a serious cleaning, and they are also showing age and wear, so I call my roofer. He comes out to the house. He doesn’t send an apprentice or an adjuster. He comes within 48 hours. He looks carefully, offers several ideas and finally, he suggests that another company could do a good job and cheaper. And they probably could get to it sooner. HE calls the company. HE gets the bid. HE sets up the appointment. And I am ready to go. MY hero! My ORCHID.

How do we live our lives? As Orchids? As Onions? I am trying really hard to forget the ‘smelly’ agent and enjoy the ‘fragrant’ roofers in my life. Life is too short for the negatives to take up so much room.

How do we look to those passing by? Observations…questions…hopes…concerns
by Marjorie Elise

There are certain facts that occur to us…and surprise us…and prove to be so true that we wonder why we didn’t know it before now. Here are a few that shouldn’t have surprised me:

•  If you pass a plate of cookies and fudge, the  fudge goes first!
• Taking down holiday decorations isn’t as much fun as putting them up
• Lego sets seem to take up a lot of time for fathers and mothers. Aren’t these supposed to be for kids? And if they are for adults why are there l00 teeny-tiny required pieces in each set that immediately get lost under the table or behind the sofa cushions?
• Snow and ice are both just frozen water but snow is fun and romantic and good while ice is treacherous, dangerous and bad. Why?
• If you have a drawer full of A, AA, AAA and D batteries, why does the toy require the XYZ variety?
• Simple outdoor holiday decorations for a house are so much more attractive than the Disneyland over-the-top displays.
• A big party is great….so much fun for everybody, but what about  that phone call that says ‘come on over right now for a glass of wine and some cheese…and maybe stay for chili if you’d like’…that’s the greatest!
• We are surrounded by need and sickness and sadness every day of the year….and do nothing about it. But when a disaster occurs we rise to the occasion, open our wallets, give of our talents, and bring food where needed. Why don’t we heal the sick, feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted just because we can…..today and tomorrow and next week? What a world this would be!

by Marjorie Klise

As we look out over a new year it is always wise to look at those issues that  cause concern for the neighborhood. We are fortunate to be well organized in the West Bluff. We have the strength to address our concerns. We may be able to find solutions. Two of these concerns that need our attention are grocery shopping and internet service. We are losing the neighborhood Aldi’s store and our area is not served by AT&T as far as fiber optic availability is concerned.

Aldi’s has been a vital part of this neighborhood’s grocery shopping for several years. It is a convenient place to shop. It is small enough to allow us to get in and out efficiently. It has wonderful fresh produce, quality canned goods and unique ‘specials’ to perk up our dining experience. This store provided the only national chain shopping opportunity between Harmon Highway and the 4200 block of Sheridan or the 3300 block of Sterling. We have seen what happens to neighborhoods that have no stores and it is not a good sight! Can we do anything to re-attract this business to our area?

The second issue is that AT&T provides many of us with our Internet connection. But it has been noticed that this service is very slow and below normal power. According to one of their technicians who came to my house to investigate this deficiency, AT&T has chosen to target their resources and install fiber optic potential in the northern end of Peoria…and they have NO plans for updating those of us who live in the West Bluff. Large institutions (i.e. Bradley University) have their own program so they aren’t pressuring AT&T for that update. We can certainly sign up for Comcast or other cable connection (which have their own problems) but why should we have to?

Please plan to attend our monthly neighborhood meetings where we can voice our preferences as to how we should address these two areas. We are presently under-served as far as vital services are concerned. As a group we are strong. As individuals our needs and opinions are easily over-looked.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Moss Bradley Residential Associations or its Board of Directors