deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The State of Illinois. A midwestern state, one of the many states we have lived in. The word Illinois most likely was borrowed from the Ojibwe language by French Missionaries. The word irenwe-wa is something they heard the Host Nation people say, the French added their transliterative ‘ois’ and came up with Illinois. (The Ojibwe word translates as “He speaks the regular way”. So, I reckon you could say Illinois means …’dat guy, oh he talks right…’)

The flag does not receive high marks for design. It is basically a white bed sheet with the state seal slapped in the middle. The current version was changed in 1969 from the original design from 1868. In 69, the state legislature decided…’oh we better put our name on the bottom so people know who the flag is for…’

We lived in three different cities in the state. Zion, Vernon Hills and Moline. We loved being close to Chicago and in Moline we learned how John Deere changed agriculture with his invention of the machine/tool that would scour the soil to make planting easier. But, it was the people who changed our lives. Our family grew and we have friends as close as family.