Page A2 / The Joan
De Arc Crusader / Sunday, April 1, 2018
Front Page
A1 /
50th Birthday A3 /
Best of Crusader A4
/
Interview A5 /
Easter Nostalgia A6 /
Crossword
A7
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
Letter from the Editor
By J. Bueker
50
big ones
The eternally wise Dr. Seuss is said to have
advised us all, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
We like to think of the Joan De Arc Crusader as our way of smiling that it
happened. The Joan De Arc years were a
wonderful gift, and the notion of documenting them seemed like a
worthwhile idea early on. Yet the true richness of that era has only
become apparent in hindsight, and I believe the evolution of the Crusader
over the years has reflected this growing awareness and documented it with
an ever-increasing appreciation for the full scope and splendor of our
years on the Avenue. Such was the bounty of
that era that the potential supply of stories about Joan De Arc Avenue
appears inexhaustible. I never despair of recalling a meaningful event or
fond memory from 3219 to use as fodder for a new Crusader piece. Memories
have the quality of becoming intertwined in such a fashion that one leads
to another and then on to the next, and I often find myself musing over a
future story idea as I’m completing the one in front of me.
I’ve always been tickled by the idea of such an obscure publication as the
Joan De Arc Crusader being available on the World Wide Web, where every
soul on the face of the planet with an Internet connection can access and
peruse our humble little street newspaper. If you had told Carl Bueker
back in 1968 that one day the Crusader would be available on a world-wide
basis and cited in the hallowed pages of the Wall Street Journal, he would
have thought you had completely lost your mind. And yet here we are. ‘Tis
an amazing world. Our sincerest thanks to all
of our readers, contributors, friends, and supporters stretching back a
full half century now. You are crusaders, one and all.
LETTERS
Congratulations, Crusader!
So many of us aspiring writers dreamed of having our own newspapers
when we were kids. John Bueker, being younger than me by the same
difference as is his oldest sister Sue, was fortunate to be born after the
invention of movable type. I remember trying to etch block letters on cut
potatoes and dipping them in my father’s India ink which made printing a
neighborhood newspaper unwieldy. I don’t think I ever got past “T”. But I
was five. Thank goodness for progress. And in
1968, when budding journalist John introduced the first copy of the Joan
de Arc Crusader, typewriters were just around the corner, and history was
made. Now we celebrate the march of industry and the blessing of the
writers’ tenacity with the 50th anniversary of the inimitable Joan de Arc
Crusader, one-of-a-kind journalism nonpareil.
What a chronicle of local history is the Crusader! And with such wit,
humor, and, almost singularly today, integrity. Who knew there would be
such a continuous wealth of local lore to be enjoyed by neighbors near and
far over these years! Would that every neighborhood in America could enjoy
the interminable reminiscing of the Bueker family and their friends. I
know, for me, just the girl on the next street and the BFF of Sue Bueker
Nolan, the Crusader has made it virtually impossible for me to forget my
past. Much like social media, the prescient
Crusader made it possible to recycle and recycle again all those fond
memories. And with features such as puzzles and recipes, the wisdom of
Chuck the Elder, and the wonderful art of Barbara Stewart, we all looked
forward to the next issue with the anticipation of holidays at Sahuaro
Elementary School. Congratulations to founder,
editor, and brilliant wordsmith, John Bueker. And congratulations to Mr.
Bueker for restraining himself from browbeating every member of the
Arizona Memories group on Facebook when they ask, “Does anyone remember
Legend City?” My goodness, people! How can we ever forget?
Respectfully,
Pattie Krohn Willow Avenue
________________________________________________________________________________________
We welcome your letters at
jdacrusader@aol.com.
Chuck’s Corner
News from Around the Block &
Around the World ©
By C.H. Bueker III
|
Is it
“This n’ that?” I forget now
Well folks, Chuck’s old brain is running on fumes today and you
know what that means. Yup, another installment of Chuck’s This n’ That. Or
is it Odds n’ Ends? Potpourri?
Whatever…
• Having
recently retired, one of the things I really miss about work is driving
through the middle of Phoenix twice a day in miserable traffic. I
particularly enjoyed sitting behind car brands that told me a little
something about their drivers. After getting nearly sideswiped by some
other driver’s brilliant maneuver, for example, I’d say “How big of a
$#&@*!# idiot are you?” Maxima, sometimes. Or Infinity.
• I think
we’re the only ones in our neighborhood getting a physical newspaper
delivered to our house anymore. It used to be that early in the morning
you could hear the “thwap… thwap… thwap…” of the papers as they
sequentially landed on everyone’s driveway.
Now all I hear is “vrrrrooOOOOM… thwap… screeeech… VROOOooom”.
• The closure
of the Toys “R” Us retail chain is very disturbing, not only to us as
consumers but undoubtedly more so to the 64,000 company employees who are
soon to be out of a job. I worry the most about their corporate mascot
Geoffrey, though, because I would imagine career opportunities for cartoon
giraffes to be extremely limited. Best of luck to you, Geoffrey.
• The U.S.
Postal Service has started sending me daily emails to show me what the
carriers will be delivering to my mailbox in the next few hours. It’s sort
of cool because I can decide if it’s worth going out to the mailbox on a
given day, but it definitely spoils the traditional thrill of discovery in
sorting through the envelopes. “Yup, there it all is,” is about all you
can say now. If they could
only open up my junk mail and send me pictures of the insides they
wouldn’t have to deliver it at all.
So, I think my word count is finally adequate for this column. Next
issue I hope to have even more fascinating things to write about!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
Front Page
A1 /
50th Birthday A3 /
Best of Crusader A4
/
Interview A5 /
Easter Nostalgia A6 /
Crossword
A7
|