I haven’t been in the mood to write anything. Actually, as I confessed to Brandon (The Rock River Times’ assistant editor) a few weeks ago, I haven’t had anything to write about since there is nothing going on in my life. Except that I have a new cardiologist. She goes by the name of Atta (yes, like the terrorist). She is my personal terrorist. She is treating the aftermath of my heart attack of a few years ago much more aggressively.

I’m not faulting her for this. I had wondered why, for a long time, they weren’t trying to promote my heart function more vigorously. I can no longer say that. They are now increasing medication that should improve the function of my heart. But any time you increase this type of medication, it will slow you down for a while.

The first month, I slept a lot. Then, I started feeling more active, so naturally, they increased my dosage. Now, a few weeks have passed, and I am starting to get more energy again. I don’t have another appointment scheduled for a few weeks, so I will probably do something, and you will probably hear about it here. Hear, here! The first thing on my list is Katy’s roof: the roof of much leaking. It seems like when you have an old building, something is always leaking. You fix it or patch it, and another leak springs somewhere else.

The leaking roof occupies much of my thought, but what I want to write about is the mall. About 25 years ago, shortly after I opened the Rock River Café (café spelled without this stupid little schwa that Microsoft insists on entering here), I was working the dining room during lunch. John McNamara, the mayor, and Doug Logan, then known as the “downtown czar,” were having lunch in my dining room. They stopped me to ask me if I thought we should take out the mall.

When I first opened my business downtown, I used to print sheets of my table tents and deliver them to all the offices. By doing this, I would make all the office workers aware of my specials and promotions. It used to work really well. I replied to them that I had just visited all of downtown delivering my fliers and that while the entire perimeter was alive, three storefronts in from that perimeter, it was dead. I said they should walk around down there and see for themselves, instead of doing another $25,000 study. (In those days, a study was cheap.)

Doug, of course, told me I was nuts, but a couple of weeks later, they collectively announced they were taking out the State Street portion of the mall. I have always hoped that I had something to do with that. But even if I didn’t, it turned out to be a great idea. The minute State Street was reopened, the area took off. Unfortunately, as Ed Henry observed dryly, Rockford was the only place they had a cancer, so they took half of it out.

Now (25 years later), it appears as though they might finish the job. The old mall needs a lot of work. So there is a need to spend money either way. I vote for the total removal. One thing nice about living for a while is that you get to see what works. It also helps that we have a new force in our government. It’s kind of like having my cardiologist kick your butt, and, as with my cardiologist, there is some pain associated with getting better. But in your heart, you know it’s good for you.

Mike Leifheit’s “Hanging Out In Rockford” reviews locally-owned restaurants, businesses and Rockford life. Leifheit is owner of the Irish Rose restaurant in the downtown River District.

from the April 30-May 6, 2008, issue

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