Friday, July 27, 2007

Currently Writing without a Home

I want to start off by saying how much I appreciate all of the people that read my column, "For the Love of Community" for offering your support. I find it difficult to understand how the local daily newspaper can receive dozens of letters and even more phone calls about the cancellation of my weekly column and only print one of the letters. I have spoken with numerous people who told me they called the paper and are now being put through to a voice mail. No one will talk with them, except one reader who was called back after his second letter and was informed that I "wasn't fired," but that the paper had decided to use some "new voices." So far, it sounds mostly like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. They won't let this become a public discussion because of the heat that they will take.

So, in the meantime, until I find another home in the print world, I'll continue to try and keep up some semblance of writing skill with our "Pretzel City Logic" blog site. The following is the column that was to appear in The J-S on July 2, 2007 about the demise of the Germania Club.

Can We Fix It? No, We Can't!

By

Roland Tolliver


The room within is the great fact about the building. --Frank Lloyd Wright


Good morning, everyone. I hear there was some brouhaha about a beloved building here in Freeport recently. There has been word on the street about some conspiracies, though Oliver Stone hasn’t been here to film anything, yet. There is no grassy knoll, so I guess it didn’t peak his interest.


Another star has come to town, though, with dreams of filming a new television show. The producers are planning on calling it: G.S.I.: Germania Scene Investigation. A few of the show’s cast sat down for an interview with our curmudgeonly correspondent, Al Bebach, recently.


Al: Welcome, gang. I understand that you’ve taken your new roles quite seriously. I’d like to introduce some of the actors who’ll be in the show. There’s Bob T. Builder; his best friend,


Wendy; Scoop; Muck; Dizzy; Roley; and Lofty. These construction crime scene investigators leave no stone unturned. Let’s start with Bob. What attracted you to this show?


Bob: Well, Al, I really like to build things. I’ve been doing it most of my life. It is also fun to tear things down and rebuild them. I don’t know much about the Germania, but there have been some interesting theories about it. We want to get to the bottom of the collapse. Not literally, mind you, though!


Al: Wendy, you seem to be more than just another pretty face. You’re even wearing a hard hat to the interview. What do you do on the show?


Wendy: I’m there to make sure that Bob does his job properly. I get the permits, manage the crew and basically get the work done. Of course, I also make sure that our pets Pilchar and Scruffy are fed.


Al: Doesn’t leave much work for Bob, does it?


Wendy: No and that’s the way he likes it. Uh, huh! I work closely with Lofty to find out if any of these theories are true. Scoop, Muck and Roley are really the workhorses in this show, though.


Al: What theories are being bantered about?


Lofty: We’ll look into whether construction of the Lindo expansion weakened the Germania building or possibly that the sound from ‘Music on Chicago’ was too loud.


Roley: Yeah, and we’re going to see if the Mayor or the Publisher were anywhere near the site before the building collapsed. Everyone is a suspect on this show. Except us, of course!


Al: What about the citizens. They have a number of ideas about what happened and all of those memories.


Bob: The producers and writers have thought about that. They’ll incorporate those memories into flashback scenes. We’ll use Big Band music and try to recreate the interior from old photos and people’s stories.


Al: Will this be a reality show, documentary or a serialized drama?


Wendy: Well, Bill Kurtis isn’t narrating, so it won’t be on A&E. We’re hoping to be a companion show to CSI on CBS if that’s A OK with the CEO. We’re hoping to last long enough to be syndicated. That’s where we, as actors, we’ll make some extra money.


Al: Will you focus on any other structures for the show?


Muck: We’re thinking about looking into Cheaters and Super 8, but we like the history of the Germania building. We couldn’t help but notice how people feel connected to the building and the memories. The collapse is more of a mystery, which should keep the show interesting. We want to eventually solve the puzzle so that other historic buildings don’t suffer the same fate.


Al: So, what you’re saying is that the show is basically about preservation?


Bob: Of course, that’s why we’re mostly builders. Even we can’t save every structure, though. Didn’t you guys used to have an historic courthouse?


Al: Hey, that’s not fair!


Bob: Just trying to have some fun with you, Al. We heard there is a Carnegie Library that may need our help, though.


Al: Well, our time is just about up. We want to wish you good luck with the show and hope that you solve this mystery next season. I think we’ve heard from everyone but you, Scoop. Do you have any last thoughts for us?


Scoop: Not really, Al. I’m just here to pick up the pieces and put them into the trucks. I just do my job and hope we can find some answers.


Al: So do we, Scoop. So do we.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Farewell Column, but not Farewell

I would like to publish the column that appeared in The Journal-Standard in order to show the comparison of what was deleted and edited from the original "Farewell" column, but it was not made available online to our readers. If you read Saturday's paper in the Home and Garden section (please, how ironic, I can't get anything to grow) then you can see how altered it was from the original. Again, thanks to all who are signing the petition, calling or writing The Journal-Standard and are otherwise upset with the cancellation of the "For the Love of Community" column.

I Read It In the Sunday Papers

By

Roland Tolliver

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. --Rodgers and Hammerstein

Dear Loyal Readers,

It feels a little strange (okay, very strange) writing this week’s column. Here I am, almost 50 years old, and I’ve never been fired from a job, or let go from anything before (unless you count being cut from the varsity basketball team my junior year, but then some men really can’t jump). So, it is with sadness and befuddlement that I share this “For the Love of Community” column with you today.

I realize that every journey has destinations, layovers and other stops and starts along the way. This journey began nine years ago next month when we shared a story about the Stephenson County Fair and how a young boy discovered how the Fair began. We’ve had many laughs and tears throughout these years about the fun, foibles, and events about our beloved community.

I think that of all of the comments I’ve heard over the years, it has been those that appreciate the stories of family with all the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that occur. We’ve grown together over the past nine years. I’ve listened to your stories and have taken them into my heart. The hundreds of calls, emails, letters, and face-to-face encounters have resonated with me, knowing that you’ve read my feeble attempts at conveying my thoughts about life, and that you’ve cared enough to share with me.

When my co-author, Dr. Steve Spyrison, and I started this column in 1998, little did we know where this would lead. I still miss his contributions and wish that there had been greater understanding before his dismissal. There have been more egregious omissions and commissions by others since then with lesser consequences. When we started freelance writing at the request of Jeff and Julie at The Journal-Standard, we took the “free” part too literally for the first two and one-half years. Hey, what did we know? We were both in the medical field.

The years have gone by fast as we’ve shared stories about birth, life, and death. I have been humbled when pastors told me they were using the columns in some of their sermons and one was read at the funeral of our dear Audrey. I was surprised when a column appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s online edition. That story generated emails from across the country and was published in multiple languages throughout the world. Other columns have appeared on "The Biggest Loser," Kingsford Charcoal, and various other websites. The wonders of the Internet!

Most heartwarming have been the letters from soldiers in Iraq and the comments from our local firefighters for my columns about the heroism of the men and women who perished in the tragedy of 9/11. Yes, the world has changed in the past nine years. That single day made sure our lives would never be the same.

I'd like a to take a few lines to offer my gratitude....

To the editors that I’ve worked with over the years: Thank you.

To those that I’ve shared the Pulse of the community with: Thank you.

To my office staff that put up with my other “vocation: Thank you.

To the readers that went out of their way to share their thoughts, stories and comments with me: Thank you.

To all of the men and women who serve our country and our communities: Thank you.

To all of the readers that kept up with Freeport and Northwest Illinois online through the columns: Thank you.

To my friends and fellow writers who shared your insights into this ever-evolving, dynamic field we call “writing”: Thank you.

To all of the grateful volunteer agencies, especially those that benefited from the books sold: Thank you.

To all of those that are asking me to continue writing: Thank you. (You may check out some online submissions and keep in touch at http://www.pretzelcity.blogspot.com/).

To Al Bebach: Thank you. You complete me!

And especially to my family, my lovely bride, Irena, our daughters, son and son-in-law: Thank you. You have been my inspiration and the source of many stories through the years. Thank you for being open-minded and encouraging! You don’t know how much that has meant, but I’ll keep trying to let you know.

So, as this journey called life takes a detour, we’ll plan on continuing to share our love of this community we call home. May God bless you and your families all the days of your lives.

In the Spirit of Community,

Roland Tolliver

If one door closes, don’t let it hit you on the way out. --Al Bebach

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Thank you for your support

Thank you to Heidi Downing for her letter supporting the column in Sunday's Journal-Standard. Maybe if there are enough people complaining about the cancellation of the column or calling to support its reinstatement, the powers that be may reconsider their decision. Here is Mrs. Downing's letter:

After reading the Editor's Notebook and From the Editor (7/8/07) I became excited about the changes coming soon to The Journal-Standard. However, I noted that one of my favorite columns - For Love of Community - was missing from the paper. Is this one of the changes I wondered. I called Lori Gray only to discover that this much enjoyed column written by Dr. Tolliver has been dropped as part of your "re-envision." The purpose of my letter is to ask that you reconsider your decision. I would also encourage others who have enjoyed For Love of Community to voice their opinion by either calling Lori Gray at 815-232-0186 or writing a letter to Mr. Analore.

Heidi Downing

Freeport

A Long Hiatus

I've been gone for a while from this site. My oldest daughter was married last month and I've been playing catch-up in the office and composing my weekly columns. Speaking of which... the column "For the Love of Community" was canceled by The Journal-Standard here in Freeport. No specific reason was given other than the typical doublespeak of "we've decided to make some changes" and my column was no longer part of that plan. It is interesting that I was able to submit a "farewell" column, but when it appeared in today's paper (and they didn't make it available online) it only vaguely resembled the column that I submitted. There was no mention of the reason why I was leaving. It was made to seem by their bastardized version of my column that I was leaving of my own accord. That was not the case by any stretch of the imagination.

My ten year-old daughter has started a petition in an attempt to have the column reinstated. She has more than 120 signatures so far. I envy her desire and determination. I think we have a budding social activist on our hands. I am proud of the way she has taken action. We'll see if the powers that be at the local paper take notice or continue to play this out as ostriches.

I will publish the original column on this site by Monday. It is currently on my office computer and I'm working from home tonight. I will also make the four "Wedding" columns available on this site.

So tonight I go to sleep with many questions about why my nine year-old column is being forced out when it was widely read and appreciated by the people of Northwest Illinois and online by many others.