Mirror Mondays: The Past is a Foreign Country

I recently went back to my old hometown of Jacksonville, IL, to visit my mom and dad. My dad is 96 and will be 97 in just under two months. He is doing pretty well, if you ask me. But this was also my first trip back to Jacksonville since my Jackson project had taken full steam.Jacksonville of 2026 is not the same as Jacksonville of 1986. And neither is the same as Jackson, IL, of 1986. But if you look hard enough, you will see the similarities.The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.Jacksonville is trying very hard to improve its image. So they are rebuilding the downtown area. Bringing in new shops, restoring buildings.But they have a long way to go. This is not really uncommon for towns of this size in Illinois. We see it in nearby Ottawa, IL. It's about the same size, same sorts of history, and there is a booming tourist trade. Same with Woodstock, IL, and Long Grove, IL. So I think Jacksonville is doing all the right things; they just need what a lot of…