Lonny Cain

Commentary Contributor at Northern Public Radio

30 years as ME of The Times, Ottawa, Ill. Retired 2014. Weekly PaperWork column for Times. Contribute Perspectives to WNIJ radio in DeKalb, Ill.

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Articles

PaperWork: Every visit to ‘Big Apple’ provides a real slice of life

3 weeks ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

“598! Medium fries!” The shout was easy to hear from the McDonald’s stand. We were nearby, waiting to board our flight to New York from O’Hare. “715! Seven-one-five!” The young man’s voice filled the area again. It remained a constant interruption. I could hear him well, but struggled to understand our boarding instructions through the PA system. Noise. Hustle and bustle.
PaperWork: This librarian knows how to make her books more special

4 weeks ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

I am not sure Mrs. Ellis is a real person. A real librarian. It doesn’t matter. Her story is worth sharing. (Apologies to those who already have read her story, as it is growing on the Facebook vine.)My friend Sue posted it recently, noting that she picked it up from “Astonishing,” a Facebook page that promotes similar stories about interesting or inspiring people. Anyway, I like the message this story brings:“Every Tuesday at 3 p.m., Mrs.
Paperwork: Even a lousy student can still make the grade … someday

1 month ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

I never cared for report cards. That might have something to do with the details they provided. You know, grades and those little notes from teachers. I saved most of them (of course). And recently, I had to pull them out to analyze them. This was inspired by a Smithsonian magazine article that told me I had something in common with Benjamin Franklin.
Paperwork: ‘Hello, sweetheart. Want to start with a cup of coffee?’

1 month ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

Let me tell you about this dream. I’m driving down a long stretch of highway, and I can see my future in the distance. I see myself slowly aging as I get closer. “Oh, it’s coming someday, that’s for sure,” I tell myself, pushing onward. Then BAM! Suddenly, older me is sitting next to me in the passenger seat. When did that happen? I wonder. Yeah. That’s how it works. Not a dream. At some point in time, I had to admit I was old. The world around me noticed before I did.
Perspective: A simple sentence

1 month ago | northernpublicradio.org | Lonny Cain

I could not stop thinking about the challenge I had just read on Facebook: "Tell me a sentence that changed your life for the better."A sentence that changed my life. I have so many. I actually collect them, print them out and display them. Words with meaning — to me. But none answer that question. Not as well as the simple sentence I heard so many years ago when I was in high school, a teenager doubting myself on so many levels. The words came from a young woman.
PaperWork: There’s so much more to see in my home besides furniture

1 month ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

Follow me, please. We’re taking a little walk through my house. My home, like most homes, I believe, is full of displays. Photos, paintings, ornaments and plants. Stuff like that. It’s become a museum reflecting those who live here, including Tucker, our dog. People are not lining up for tours, though. And I confess that sometimes I wish they did. (Note to wife: Relax. I’m making a point here. There will be no public tours.)Our home is our sanctum. Our safe and private place, we hope.
PaperWork: Pulling some truth from a silly scene in a funny movie

1 month ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

“Dodge and weave! Dodge and weave!”That’s me shouting my life advice for the day. I usually say it with tongue in cheek. I am sort of joking, adding a bit of humor to a basic truth … that life is stressful. Stress spills out over a wide spectrum. Trying to open a jar of pickles is one thing. Mourning the loss of a loved one is much different. Whatever the stress, I am told it does damage. There are days I feel like I’m in the fast lane full of crazy drivers – and it’s full of potholes.
PaperWork: Question: How many books in the world? Answer: Not enough

2 months ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

“A room without books is like a body without soul.” I love that quote from Cicero. He’d be happy to know that my basement shelves are full of soul. My love of books should be well known by anyone who knows me or reads these weekly chats. But today I want to share your love of books. Two weeks ago, I got sentimental about my history with libraries and shared that journey with you. A few days later, I posted that column on social media. The response was comforting.
PaperWork: So many memories in a lifetime, then you get that moment

2 months ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

I had my moment. I kept telling myself that when we drove away from the hospital Sunday afternoon. I had seen the hard truth on Saturday. Sarah’s tiny frame on the hospital bed. Her face covered with a mask feeding her oxygen. She looked so young. Maybe it was the haircut her daughter had given her. No one’s hair looks good in a hospital bed, but strangely, her hair looked beautiful. Clearly, every breath was a strain. And a victory. She had told us she was going to fight the lung cancer.
PaperWork: One book pulled from a row of books and my life changed

2 months ago | shawlocal.com | Lonny Cain

Elburn, Illinois. Third grade. If I’m getting sentimental about libraries, I must start there, when I borrowed my first book. I have few surviving memories of grade school, most of them involving the fenced-in playground area with a pole I climbed, my friend Ray and the tree stump he carved into a small engineering project, and a neighboring house where we were pretty sure a witch lived. But I do remember one part of my classroom.