It’s now early January 2025…
Offline, inquiring readers have been curious about the next issue of this publication. “Are you publishing this month?” one reader asked, noting some monthlies take off printing in January.
For more than 20 years, we explained, it’s been our tradition to wait until the first Monday after the New Year to publish our January preview of upcoming events. That way, we’ve hoped, the publication won’t get tossed out with all the holiday wrappings and decorations.
Then, shortly after beginning to keystroke this commentary on Jan. 2, for the first time in way too long, cloud cover disappeared. We headed outside to take in blue skies smiling at me and my shadow, welcoming fresh air and sunshine for good health.
Continuing to move right along during daily walks on the .89-mile trail in May Watts Park or along the Riverwalk, it’s comforting to know our hometown also touts low crime rates and a high quality of life. With more than 130 parks and an array of community events that bring neighbors together every day, Naperville exemplifies what it means to feel safe and secure thanks to Crime Stoppers and initiatives that remind residents to pay attention. Yet, it’s never a good time to let down guard.
Already the first few days of January have been filled with national drama and unimaginable tragedy at a time when folks traditionally are focused on happy New Year best wishes to the tune of “Old Lang Syne.”
“God bless us, every one,” to recite five words of Charles Dickens.
The Shadow Knows…
With camera in hand on the blustery day, I caught my tall shadow in front of me as I rounded the southern side of May Watts Pond.
Snapping the photo now on the cover, I flashed back to my childhood days in Muncie, Ind., when our family took Sunday drives while we listened to radio dramas. One of our favorites was “The Shadow,” now considered a classic. The show that originally aired in the U.S. from 1930 to 1954 featured the mysterious and crime-fighting character known as “The Shadow” and the haunting mantra, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? …The Shadow knows!”
“The Shadow” chronicled the adventures of Lamont Cranston and his companion Margo Lane. As a kid in the early 1950s, weekly Sunday drives were popular things to do as a family when Blue Laws prohibited opening certain stores and activities. Lessons were learned and remembered via the radio (Find the series now on YouTube) when “The Shadow,” aka Cranston, used a “hypnotic power to cloud men’s minds so that they cannot see him.” This power routinely was used to battle crime lords, mad scientists and psychopaths, all of whom learned from “The Shadow” that “the weed of crime bears bitter fruit…crime does not pay!”
Certainly a precursor to American comic strip detective Dick Tracy, McGruff the Crime Dog and Crime Stoppers, “The Shadow” was another role model my dad embraced to teach our family.
My dad and mother were avid readers. Dad particularly expressed his concerns even in the 1950s about the new age of communication with around-the-clock radio and the addition of early television. He expressed concerns about “dumbing down” America. He was fearful some folks likely could be cut off from important information that included practical value for self-reliance and freedom of choice.
Freedom, after all, is what we all desire. Let us peacefully find ways to attain and protect that equilibrium and resilience with a sense of independence, in our own space, free to pursue our own interests, happiness and desires.
Thanks for reading!
Think about constant contact via email, 24-hour news, social media and how it all impacts your life every day. If you include taking an hour to read this monthly publication, we want to express a big THANKS.
We met a PN reader on New Year’s Eve who credited this publication with how he became acquainted with this community when he first moved here from Springfield.
As we look forward to good things happening in 2025, we can’t say it enough. Thanks for reading!
– Stephanie Penick
PN Publisher
