Welcome to the em space, a staff commentary page with reflections -- sometimes serious, sometimes light -- on life experiences in Logan County and beyond. Thank you for reading.

- Mary Krallmann

[MARCH 7, 2000]  Let’s take an alternative look at the subjects on our front page navigation bar. Maybe you clicked there to get here. Alternatively, you may have seen the list from the left-hand corner of your eye. We’ll just go through the main categories.

School Closings (Anything in red must be important.)

That's a different idea, to read school closing announcements on the screen. When I was in grade school, we listened for them on the radio. Extended spring breaks with leftover snow days weren’t on the schedule back then. On stormy mornings we must have been awake extra early sometimes listening to the list of school names over and over. I guess we thought that if we listened often enough, we'd hear the right one. You realize, of course, that listening is an important part of education. They say that reading is a fundamental skill, too. That’s where reading the screen comes in.

We'll skip that for now. If you're reading this, the world is still going around.

I haven't counted noses lately, but a highway sign for Lincoln says 15,400. A few weeks ago, an article under Today's Top Stories told about plans to count us again. The last census reportedly omitted 1,632 residents, which cost us money. We'll be counting on you this time.

I think Lincoln is a fine place to live. I'm generally satisfied with city services. I said so in my response to a survey a few months ago. Now that there are newspaper and magazine recycling containers near downtown, I have hardly any complaints left.

Here's one: It's often hard to cross Keokuk Street.

Through the years, I've had many confrontations with that thoroughfare to Wal-Mart and the world beyond. Yes, there are stoplights, turn lanes and arrows. There are even several pedestrian crosswalks. Also, traffic is probably a positive sign in itself – an indication of healthy economic activity.

At the end of a long day, though, or first thing in the morning, I'd just like to get across the road, and the sooner, the better.

Here's what I've come up with. (A person has extra time to think while waiting for a break in the traffic, waiting for the signals to change and watching for vehicles about to make a turn.)

An additional crosswalk might be helpful. Many college students, for example, head for eating places and other businesses across the street.

A pedestrian overpass would be a picturesque way to handle the crossing, though less attractive to those with acrophobia.

I think we could just as well try for a subterranean passage. It’s hard to see the downside of something that's already underneath. Just think of the protection from wind, rain and snow. Beneath the surface, it should be warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. It could be a tornado shelter besides. Compared to the tunnel under the English Channel, this project should be manageable enough.

I'll leave the logistics and fundraising to someone else.

The latest special event in my family life was a weekend visit with my mother. We talked, ate, did chores around the house and attended church together. Due to an alternate schedule, my home church here in Logan County had already observed Transfiguration Sunday, but I was happy to celebrate it twice. After all, the event recorded in the Bible reading for the day was literally a mountaintop experience.

I'll miss "Peanuts." At least there are reruns.

(See the comments a few paragraphs back, under "Community.")

My favorite ad for early March is a hand-lettered sign I saw recently next to a hardware store display of garden seeds. I wasn’t there to buy seeds; I was with someone who needed extra keys made. Perhaps the sign indicates a key to gardening success – plant more. The sign said the seed packets were 10 for $1 or 69 cents each. With a bargain like that, hardly any gardener would buy just one. (The polite efficiency of the young boy at the computer checkout showed that the store owners try to nurture people as well as seeds.)

No, the navigation bar doesn't mention quotes. Here's one anyway, at no extra charge, sent along by Amy Nelson of Clayton, N.C. "I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship." -- Louisa May Alcott

Amy also sent a Spanish version: No tengo miedo a las tormentas, porque aprendo como navegar mi barco.

Happy sailing.

[Mary Krallmann]