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Any trends or popular fads may be described, whether it would be something like the hula hoop or the pet rock or simply new slang.

Three Documentary Shorts at HollyShorts 2026

By Connie Wilson

On August 17, 2026

In Health/Medicine, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

I watched three of the documentary short offerings from HollyShorts tonight. There are usually 4 or 5 such shorts queued up, but tonight there were seven. I still have some to go, and I’m still wondering how I can summon specific films for watching, like “Little Bug.”(Martin Freeman).

ERUCTATION

Kayla, of “Eructation.”First I watched the 7-minute short “Eructation,” about Kaley, who wants to set the world record for the loudest burp, (currently 107.3 decibels.)

Kayla gives us 4 sure-fire methods to help create gas to facilitate burping: consume cereal, soup, beer, sip through a straw and lay down for at least 4 minutes.Cinematographer Max Henderson captures Kayla’s husband, Eric, who is not amused by her obsession with eructation. Says Kayla: “I think he’s super-ready for me to be done. It’s hard on the marriage. I think he’s kind of jealous.”

In the course of the 7-minute film from Director Victoria Trow we learn that different household appliances have different degrees of loudness: Hairdryer- 87 decibels; Vacuum- 74 decibels; Blender – 95 decibels; Barking dog – 76 decibels; Lawn mower – 93 decibels; Leaf blower -105 decibels; Forest – 35 decibels.

Kayla does not break the world record for burping. Maybe she can go for farting next?

PLUMPED

This 12’11” Rolling Stone short gives credit to Kylie Jenner and 2013/2014 for giving insecure women permission to spend as much as $20,000 to improve their faces (in particular their lips) by having them injected with Botox in an attempt to “feel sexy.” One girl, pictured having a needle inserted into her lips, said it was painful, but added, “but it’s good pain.”

Ouch!

A MAN WHO TAKES PICTURES OF FLOWERS

A gorgeous film! Bravo!

Korean native Jung Myung Kim was the photographer who spent 40 years taking pictures of flowers in Korea. He described for the documentarian, who collated 6,000 hours of movie clip of flowers in Korea to make this gorgeous film, how he actually stole his first camera and then learned to operate it.

One surprising bit of information, for me, personally, was this:

Convallaria majalis) or Lily of the Valley is a highly toxic plant containing over 30 cardiac glycosides (like convallatoxin) and saponins. Every part of the plant—including the leaves, flowers, roots, berries, and even the water in a vase—is poisonous and can cause severe gastrointestinal and cardiac illness if ingested.

Yikes!

My parents had a flower bed of Lily of the Valley planted right outside the ground floor window of my bedroom. It was customary for me, on Saturday mornings, to climb out the window and wade through the bed of Lily of the Valley and disappear in the neighborhood, in an attempt to avoid my mother’s favorite early Saturday morning wake-up call to “pitch in” and begin cleaning the house.

Mom was a kindergarten teacher. She routinely roused me and my four-years-older sister Kay to help clean the house early on Saturday mornings. It was not high on our list of “favorite things to do.”

My sister generally weakly resisted Mom’s directions to “pitch in.” Kay probably evaded it using some health ploy, as that seems to have been her M.O.

I took more evasive action. I actually climbed out of the ground floor window, wading through the Lily-of-the-Valley plants, and took off. I used a similar strategy to avoid going to the dentist (Dr. Lowell Schrader), although that avoidance technique was launched from elementary school and never worked well, long-term. This technique might not be something that today’s youth could safely do, but in small town America then, it was not only safe, but savvy. Never knew I was risking life and limb by wading amongst the Lilies-of-the-Valley, however.

Let’s enjoy some of the gorgeous flowers that appear in the short:

“The Liars of Black Mountain Road” at 2026 HollyShorts Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On August 15, 2026

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

Nolan Gould of “The Liars of Black Mountain Road” at HollyShorts.

Nolan Gould, who played Luke Dunphy for 247 episodes of “Modern Family” between 2009 and 2020, appears in the HollyShorts 12’ 37” film opposite Millie Gibbons as Abbie. Gibbons played Kelly Neelan on “Coronation Street” for 172 episodes between 2019 and 2022. Millie also appeared in “Dr. Strange.”

Also mentioned in the credits of this Parker Groff directed short is Aidan Gould, Nathan’s brother, as Music Supervisor, with Ian Chase in charge of sound design. Perhaps the most remarkable music choice was the use of “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Anslem Douglas of Baba Men.

MUSIC

Gould removing the dead dog from the highway.

The choice of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” coincides nicely with the theme of the short, which involves a couple who accidentally hit and kill a dog on a highway (filmed near Los Angeles) and then attempt to do the right thing and contact the owner. There is a chip on the dog’s collar with the owner’s phone number and the couple does stop and notify the owner (Bill Welden) who drives out to recover the dead body of his pet.

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES ?

But does Ethan (Nathan Gould) tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth in letting the owner know how his pet died? That is Abbie’s (Millie Gibbons) repeated question for Ethan. She feels it incumbent to tell the bereaved owner the whole truth of the tragedy. (A second song used is “There Is So Much Pain in the World,” performed by Touching Ice, but the tune that burrows its way into your consciousness is “Who Let the Dogs Out?”)

Who, indeed?

Millie Gibbons with Nolan Gould in “The Liars of Black Mountain Road” at HollyShorts Film Festival.

We never learn the answer to that question. You can draw your own conclusions as to which member of this couple—-Ethan or Abbie—is the most truthful and honest.

It was fun to see Nolan Gould as a much-older version of Luke Dunphy, although his remark on a talk show interview that he is a member of MENSA defies believability based on past performances as the youngest male “Modern Family” member. We can assume that he is such a good actor that he portrayed a dim bulb beautifully.

As always, smart to have a car be the “set” for this small slice of life, which has us pondering issues about truth and transparency that are germane with what’s going on in today’s world—especially the political world.

Michael Keaton & Kyra Sedgewick in “Sweetwater” at HollyShorts 2026

By Connie Wilson

On August 14, 2026

In Best Paranormal Stories Online to Read | Paranormal Podcast, Movies, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

Michael Keaton in “Sweetwater,” a HollyShorts offering.

Michael Keaton directed and starred in a 20’ 52” Holly Shorts short entitled “Sweetwater” that also featured veteran actress Kyra Sedgewick. It was a stroll down memory lane into the past for main character Robert (Bobby), who is returning to the home once occupied by his now-deceased mother, a former Hollywood singer/actress.

The mysterious gift-giver of what appears to be a black 8-ball that Michael Keaton’s character (Robert/Bobby) rolls across the floor of his mother’s house after entering summons an apparition of Mom during life. The disembodied voice says it is “a token of appreciation” and “something that your incredible mother deserved.” The gift allows Robert (Keaton) to interact with Mom one more time, from beyond the grave—but not in a spooky or scary fashion.

DENOUEMENT

Michael Keaton’s character of Robert/Bobby is the son of the dead woman who is now able to show up and give him, one last time, a tour of the house where she lived during life with her Teddy Bear of a husband for 42 years.

The interesting thing, for me, was seeing Michael Keaton again, credited as Michael Keaton Douglas. The 75-year-old has not been as present on our movie screens since his Oscar-nod in “Birdman” in 2014, 12 years ago. Keaton’s real name is and was Michael Douglas; he merely adopted Keaton to cut down on the confusion with the other Michael Douglas and has never legally changed his name.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

The script was written by Sean Douglas, who also composed the music. Cinematography was by Christopher Ripley. The special effects were as good as those used on the TV show “Ghosts,” a UK import. In that series, a couple inherits a house that they hope to turn into a bed-and-breakfast,only to learn that it is inhabited by ghosts. One of the new owners develops the ability to see the ghosts, which leads to humorous situations.

Here, humor is missing, conflict is missing, and it’s as if Jackie Kennedy rose from the dead to take us on another of her tours of the White House. It was kind of an odd dispirited tour when Jackie was alive (yes, I’m old enough to remember it) with Jackie speaking in that Marilyn Monroe-like Little Girl voice. If Jackie O. had led us on that tour as a spectre or a wraith it would have been even stranger , but not necessarily any more engrossing or entertaining. Just….odder.

This short led me to think that, like “Chop Cheese” that featured Christopher Meloni helping launch his daughter Sophia’s directorial career, Michael Keaton (Douglas) is trying to help a family member (son Sean) get a start on a larger career in Hollywood. Or maybe it marks a new chapter for the 75-year-old Oscar-nominated Keaton himself, who is already a producer. He’s been somewhat quiescent since his 2014 Oscar-nomination for “Birdman,” (although he did suit up for “The Flash” in 2023 and was in “Morbius” in 2022), so maybe he’s going in a new direction?

SEAN DOUGLAS

Sean Douglas Michael’s son, is the 43-year-old father of two (married in 2014), who attended Washington University in St. Louis. He has already established a strong career as a songwriter. A Grammy Award-nominee,^[5] he co-wrote Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man“, which won the ACM Award for Single of the Year,^[6] the Billboard Music Award for Top Country Song,^[7] the CMA Award for Single of the Year^[8] and the BMI Award for Song of the Year.^[9] The song, released in 2016, was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Song.^[10] Douglas also worked on Lizzo’s “Like A Girl” and “Soulmate” from her Grammy-winning album Cuz I Love You.

The music is solid and Kyra Sedgewick gets to sing, which she does well.

Kyra Sedgewick in the HollyShorts film “Sweetwater,” directed by Michael Keaton Douglas.

CONFLICT

For me—a genre fiction writer and University of Iowa grad—there should be some conflict in a story—even a short one— to hold the reader’s interest. Here there is none. The deceased Mom seems to have had a lovely life and a great career and takes us on a pleasant tour of her former home. Michael Keaton just stands around or walks around the now-empty house. (Jackie Kennedy Onassis does not chime in with commentary, which would have been an interesting, if inexplicable, turn the plot might have taken just to keep us interested.) The film was the equivalent of sitting down with your grandmother to leaf through her photo albums, which, as we all know, is the favorite thing for Generation Z movie-goers—who are rushing off to see “Obsession” at the theater—to do.

With old pros like these two involved, the end product is okay. But, for me, it was not riveting storytelling and I’m not sure that a longer version of this would attract today’s audiences.

“Fault” by Writer/Director Misha Calvert Screens at HollyShorts 2026

By Connie Wilson

On August 11, 2026

In Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

Steff (Sarah Rich) practicing her serve as “Fault” opens. (Robert E. Newman photo).

In slightly less than 15 minutes Writer/Director Misha Calvert of “Fault” takes us into the history of two sisters, tennis prodigies, who were both molested by the same male coach.

The successful younger sister, Steff (Sarah Rich), is still under the control of the never onscreen male voice, who is warning Steff against listening to her older sister, Gigi (Coco Jourdana).

Beginning

Sarah Rich as Steff in Misha Calvert’s “Fault” at the HollyShorts Film Festival. (Photo by Robert E. Newman, Director of Photography).

We see Steff practicing serving on her own private tennis court, adjacent to a fantastic mansion-like home. The sets and set decorations are outstanding, as is the music, with an original score by Stuart Michael Thomas and featuring the original song “I’m Gonna’ Haunt You,” sung by Fabienne Delso of Damaged Good Records.

End

Fifteen minutes isn’t much time to tell a story as complicated as Coco Jourdana’s. The screaming ending for the fifteen minutes of furious charge and counter-charge probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

Gigi (Coco Jourdana) arrived at her sister’s home primed for confrontation. At the door, sister Steff says, “I only have an hour.” Gigi responds, “I drove for four.” (Photo by Director of Photography Robert E. Newman).

After all, where else can you take a plot this complex in 14 minutes and 25 seconds? The real interesting story here is the backstory, which is supposedly based on actual events in the life of co-star Coco Jourdana (Gigi).

“The Colisseum” Is 12-Minute Holly Short with Vincent Cassel

By Connie Wilson

On July 29, 2026

In France, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

Holly Shorts Film Festival (August 13-23), a qualifying festival for the Oscars, is gearing up with some 430 short film offerings.

“The Colisseum” is a 12 minute 19 second basketball short from France, directed by Nabil Kechouhen and starring Vincent Cassel as the coach and Sammy Baroun as star player Mehdi. It is a climactic game for the French team in this Holly Shorts offering. Star player Mehdi is having an off night for personal reasons, suggests the dialogue.

EMOTIONAL ISSUES

References are made to Mehdi’s missing his Mom and long-absent father in the stands. The coach seems quite disgusted by his team’s failure to play “ensemble,” i.e., together, as a unit. Some of the players seem to be showboating for NBA Scouts in the stands.

Coach Cassel is quite pissed off at his team. His demeanor is a characteristic Cassel tough guy look. As he told IMDB, “I’m a little angry in life.” Some interesting camera angles (looking down through the hoop as the ball drops, for example) as the teams each attempt to pull ahead and win the game.

PERSONAL ASIDES

Can Mehdi make the shots and win the game?

The power couple marriage between Cassel and Italian star Monica Bellucci collapsed after 14 years and 2 daughters. Cassel just had his fourth child with a young model 31 years his junior, so looking up previous credits (“The Crimson Rivers,” 2000, with Jean Reno; dubbed voice of Hugh Grant in “Four Weddings and a Funeral”) proved to be even more dramatic than this 12-minute basketball short, which culminates with the team star (Mehdi) at the line with the chance to win the game via free throws.

CONCLUSION

All-in-all, this offering reminded me of the lengthier Miles Teller vehicle “Whiplash.” It also provided me with the opportunity to enjoy a spirited debate about famous men dumping beautiful women their own age for younger models (some pro; some con) as I refreshed my memory of the career of its 70-year-old star, Vincent Cassel.

Rapprochement?

Viva La France!

Banks of America, Banking, and Me

By Connie Wilson

On July 8, 2026

In Editorial, Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Texas

Since things have been going so well with the BoA bank accounts in Chicago, it occurred to me that I should, perhaps, get some cash from the local TBK bank for my upcoming Chicago birthday trip.

I cruised through the ATM lane to ask for some cash. The screen remained very blank. I realized I had not really counted up to see how much cash I might need for my planned Birthday Extravaganza. I opened my wallet and counted my cash and realized—to my surprise— I still have two $100 bills left over from a whirlwind April trip to Reno to watch granddaughter Elise play volleyball. Time between games was spent in the casino.

I don’t know about you, but a $100 bill, for me, is about as useful as an umbrella on a sunny day.

It was clear that I was going to have to go into the bank: (1) find out why my debit card did not work in the ATM (2) to get smaller bills for the Reno hundreds—cash I might actually be able to use.

FIRST HURDLE

I was parked in back of the bank.

It was in the eighties. The back door of the bank was locked. I had to walk around the entire building to gain access to the front door entry to the interior lobby.

SECOND HURDLE

The second hurdle was explaining exactly what had gone “wrong” with the ATM machine and presenting my driver’s license.

My driver’s license—which is from Texas—had fallen into the interior of a purse roughly the size of a large laundry basket. I finally located it. I also dragged out my defunct Illinois driver’s license, even though it has a hole punched in it.

THIRD HURDLE

The clerk wanted to walk out to the ATM machine to see what, exactly, was happening with my card. She made reference to them having “worked on” the machine earlier in the day.

What I primarily wanted to do was to find a rest room. I had just spent 3 and 1/2 hours playing cards and drinking Diet Dr. Pepper. No rest room stop was factored into our trek outside.

Off to the ATM in the eighty-four degree heat we went. (The clerk seemed surprised to find no car at the ATM lane. She said, “Did you walk here?” I explained that I had parked my car and walked the entire circumference of the building to gain entrance, certainly what I was hoping would happen—-(not). I didn’t think other customers behind me would be too forgivig of a car abandoned in the ATM lane, so I drove to the parking area.

The ATM now spit out a message saying my debit card had expired.

FOURTH HURDLE

We went back inside. The bank clerk made phone calls. I was told I would either have to wait 6 weeks or drive to Iowa to the TBK Bank in Bettendorf—a bank I have never even been inside—to pick up my debit card.

So, bright and early today, I drove to the Bettendorf bank in the nearby state of Iowa across the I-74 bridge. After some explanation of the situation, I was given an envelope. The already-opened envelope had apparently been sent to my East Moline home when I was in Texas. Envelopes rarely make it to me in a timely fashion once I flee the Midwest. Usually, this results in a late fee if I don’t use a charge card that is connected to bank moneys (assuming they ever straighten out my bank money accounts, an account which the BofA bot recently told me could not be found at all.)

This envelope was probably one of many such missives that fell into the USPO trap. The post office will not forward credit cards, which is also not helpful.

FIFTH HURDLE

I now had the actual debit card, within the envelope. I was told to take it home and activate it.

[Have you read Installation #4 about activating my BoA card?]

I suggested that we activate the debit card right then and there.

I got the card out of the envelope, dialed the number on it, and followed the bot’s directions. Two times. The bot said it could not activate my credit card.

I suggested that the bank clerk try to activate my credit card.

She, also, followed the bot’s activation directions two times. It would not activate it for her, either.

MORE PHONE CALLS

Eventual diagnosis: the activation period ran out June 30th.

Today was July 7th.

Fortunately, since I had the foresight to try to activate the card BEFORE I left the bank, someone somewhere was able to direct the bank clerk and extend the time for me to activate my TBK debit card. I did tell the clerk that I never use it in Austin, Texas, because they don’t have TBK banks in Texas. She protested that there Are TBK banks in Texas.

She was right, but I am also right.

There are 2 TBK banks in Texas in Dallas. There are no TBK banks in Austin. That’s another reason I don’t just tell the BoA to “take this card and shove it.” BoA is my cash lifeline when we are in Austin.

I hope this is the end of my having to deal with bank bots and misleading directions , but somehow, I doubt it.

Wish me luck on July 15th in Chicago—again— with Felipe.

“Jaws” on the 4th at the Last Picture House

By Connie Wilson

On July 5, 2026

In Local, Movies, Music, News, Pop Culture, Reviews

“The Last Picture House,” July 4, 2026, “Jaws” under the stars…and the fireworks.

Cognizant of the fact that DJT has pretty much f****ed up the 250th anniversary of the United States, which, further hampered by sweltering weather nationwide, meant the Fourth of July was likely to be a wash, we decided to do something different.

That something different was a movie on the roof of the Last Picture House, after a dinner at a local restaurant (Bass Street Landing, Moline, Illinois) with great friends. While our friends are “regulars” and even have their own booth, we drove to the wrong location—one they moved from years ago. (Our bad.)

A lot of restaurants shut down on the Fourth of July. (Who knew?) We thoroughly enjoyed dining with our companions, but my ability to eat much was zilch, courtesy of Mounjaro. In honor of the occasion I drank 2 glasses of muscato (they didn’t have white zinfandel by the glass) and, post meal, shared a creme brulee. The restaurant has recently changed owners and has some options for smaller appetites, which is good if you’re me.

“Jaws” plays like a brand-new movie after 41 years (1975). Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and RichardDreyfuss were great. The John Williams score emphasized, again, how vital music is to set the mood of any film. I missed a similar signature theme in “Disclosure Day,” even though it was the Maestro who scored that one, too. The movie is set around the Fourth of July, so, a perfect choice.

One of the best things I ever did as a member of the Chicago Symphony was to invite my cousin Lois to come to Chicago back in 2008 and join me as John Williams directed the Chicago Symphony playing the themes from the famous films he scored.

My only non-positive remarks: there is no bathroom on the second floor/roof. It is 28 steps down to the lobby area rest rooms. Yes, they have an elevator. It is very slow; takes 70 seconds to get from floor #1 to floor #2 by actual second-hand on my watch. I noticed another old guy (who probably has diabetes, like me) who made 2 trips to the rest room, also. Shame on us.

If you spent 6 months unable to walk, climbing 120 stairs is not on your bucket list of “things you want to do.” Is it even on the list of “things I am ABLE to do? Well, yes. Although I spent 5 minutes in the elevator (2 trips up and down), I successfully climbed the 28 steps at the end of the movie, none the worse for wear. Initially, I was fearful of dehydration, since I passed out on the Red Carpet opening night of SXSW (2025), but by the time the movie began (8:45 p.m.) it was a balmy evening, perfect in many ways, one of which was being able to see the movie and at least four sets of fireworks simultaneously.

I highly recommend taking in a movie under the stars at the Last Picture House. Only caveat: I should have scaled down my intake of beverages. (Ahem).

“Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” Amuses & Makes You Think

By Connie Wilson

On July 4, 2026

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Scary stories

Saw that Sam Rockwell (and Juno Temple and Michael Pena) were in “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die!” now streaming on Hulu (directed by Gore Verbinski) and we took it in.

I agree with whomever complained that the third act sort of ruined what was, up to that point, a charming and funny film written by Matthew Robinson. The cast was certainly a big part of my decision to give it a go, because I’m not a fan of Verbinski’s other movies, [like the first three “Pirates of the Caribbeans” films.] But ALL of the actors were spot-on and the dialogue was witty and entertaining.

Here is a synopsis of the plot from IMDB: “A ‘Man From the Future’ arrives at a diner in Los Angeles where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.”

Sam Rockwell’s outfit, alone, was worth the price of admission. The take-down of the cell phone generation was hilarious.

I admit that the cloning of members of one’s family who have been killed in classroom shootings was crossing the line, but it crossed a line with some pretty funny stuff, even though the humor is predicated on one of the most tragic situations imaginable. The family that says they have lost FOUR children to classroom shooters—well, one was really a clone of the first child victim—was funny in the way that you wish the underlying horrifictruth di d not exist in reality. I still laughed, because the couple describing the loss of their children to school shootings pulled it off so well. All of the actors did—even the weird little kid that weakens the end of the Hulu offering.

I admit to liking almost everything that Sam Rockwell does, and, yes, I agree that there are echoes of “Twelve Monkeys,” a Bruce Willis/Brad Pitt film I thoroughly enjoyed.

This one requires you to think about the satire and respond with instantaneous merriment after which you can think about the dangers of A.I. or life in these unusual times.

Bank of America, Ghostly Tales of Route 66, & Me: Installment #4

By Connie Wilson

On June 29, 2026

In Editorial, Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

ANCIENT HISTORY

The first check to clear the Security State Bank, dated Oct. 8th, 1941. It was for $971.97 to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

I am the daughter of a banker. He got the idea for a bank and organized the PTB to make it happen in 1941.

My father—John Corcoran, Jr.—was the four-term County Treasurer of Buchanan County, Iowa in Independence, Iowa. Dad didn’t win the post the normal way. He ran as a Democrat in the still-hugely-Republican state of Iowa and lost to the Republican opponent.

I think the Democrats drafted Dad in the first place because he had been Deputy Sheriff under August Hamelmann. Therefore, people knew him and liked him. He had some pretty hairy stories about being sent to the First Ward Park to quell a gathering of Depression-era men who were considering breaking into a local grocery store. During the Depression, when he was the cashier for the Fairbank Bank, he was told to sit up all night with a shotgun to prevent “a run on the bank.”

Dad lost in that election, but they called him up afterwards and said, “John, your opponent died before he could be sworn in. Do you want the job?” He said yes, and that put a Democrat in charge of Buchanan County’s money, which, given recent experiences at the state and national levels, was a very good idea for Iowa and the United States. (But I digress).

I worked in the bank in my teen-aged years, primarily helping prepare the monthly statements by reconciling checks, which were filed in a large vault with a time lock—a vault that I once got locked inside when people forgot about me. (I won a radio competition for the person calling in from the oddest location.) As I recall, that is how I got out of the vault when they (inadvertently) locked me inside the vault. I also know that Dad’s ill-fated attempt to single-handedly lift a safe (!) semi-crippled him for life. His temporary paralysis led to him becoming one of the very first patients to have spinal fusion surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, back in the forties, before I was born. It was that risky surgery or be paralyzed for life. Dad chose the risky new surgery, but he had back trouble from then on and lost some feeling in his feet (which meant that he couldn’t tell when he had stepped off a curb and his foot was on the ground). Still, thank heaven for advances in back surgery!

Dad, during his County Treasurer days, knew of a bank on the corner of the main street and the major intersection, right across the street from the Farmers’ State Bank, that had gone under during the Depression. It had a rather grand bank vault within it, already installed. He correctly gauged the temper of the times that a second bank could make a go of it. He set about finding out how one would start a second bank in Independence, Iowa. It involved getting hold of the bank examiners and bringing them to town and getting investors. The year was 1941. He was 39 years old.

I offer this ancient history up to show that I have a fond view of banks, in general. Or did have. My enthusiasm for dealing with modern-day banks is diminished by the failure to provide human assistance. The days of the friendly cashier assisting you with a smile seem like life on a different planet. Things are not the same, are they, America? If the Pope could get his information updated manually, why can’t I? And why is it going to take six weeks? The credit card (which took a while to arrive at all) requires that you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. Well, it is looking like it may be at leaast 30 days before the BoA can “activate” it, so I’d like an extension on that, BoA. (The spending of $1,000 means you get a $200 cash kick-back.)

Dad. my husband Craig, and me on my 33rd birthday (7/23/1978) at the Axtell/Alerton house in Rush Park on the west edge of Independence, now long gone.

THE BANK OF AMERICA CREDIT CARD: The plot goes on

As mentioned in one of the previous installments, I bit on the new credit BoA card. I was told it would take a while to reach me by mail. You had to spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. At the rate things are going, half of the 90 days will be “up” before I am able to activate the card. It had no annual fee and gave percentages back on such necessities as groceries and gas.

I was apprised of the card’s progress through the mail. I was sent numerous updates on when the card would arrive by e-mail. (Which struck me as particularly egregious because I was not sent numerous statements about my literary account’s standing during seven years of time). When the bot kept trying to send “verification” codes to a land line (which I thought we had updated during my first in-person visit on June 13th), I asked for a phone call (didn’t come) or an e-mail to my old AOL account (didn’t come) and then girded for the 7-hour drive, which is apparently the best treatment a loyal customer for over 23 years can expect. I noted that the Pope threatened to take his business elsewhere, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this bank would pay me to take my business elsewhere, writing me off as a fossil who isn’t worth the time or effort to help her in a user friendly manner—UNLESS she drives herself 14 hours into Chicago in the months of both June AND July.

The card ultimately arrived, and, like all credit cards, it has to be activated. But, unlike the other credit cards I have in my billfold, you couldn’t simply make a phone call to a number. I tried that. Here is what happened, as I have described it for Felipe in one (of two) of the actual SNAIL MAIL letters I have had to resort to sending to 430 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago. That seems to be the only way I can (maybe) communicate with the staff. I did get a brief 10-second conversation with Felipe (who bailed on one of his current in-bank desperate customers) and asked him if my FIRST snail mail letter had reached him. It had not.

“Great,” I said grimly.

My Mom (Sadie Corcoran) and Dad (John Corcoran, Jr.) obscured by the head of Doc Leehey, who was, I think, my father’s cousin and, for many years, the only doctor in Independence, Iowa.

DIRECTIONS

Felipe—trying to save the day—abandoned a customer in the store briefly. He told me to call 800-276-9939 to activate my brand new BoA credit card, which did arrive (unlike my reports on my literary account in the years 2019-2026.)

Here is what I have written to Felipe, which I will snail mail tomorrow, as no one has seen fit to give me an e-mail address for the one employee who seems to have it together. [THAT would have been nice, but no.]

“Dear Felipe:

I called the number you gave me to activate my band new BoA credit card: 800-276-9939.
The bot answered and asked for “the account you are calling about.” I was not really calling about an account; I was calling to try to activate a brand new credit card, but, since it will pull against my personal banking account, I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that this meant the account that the new credit card would draw against.
I put the account number of my personal account in five (5) times.
FIVE TIMES the bot said: “I couldn’t find that account.”
Then it hung up on me.
My next in-person drive to the Roosevelt Road/Canal Street location is for July 15th. That will be a full month after my FIRST in-person meeting for which I also had to drive 7 hours. I was not planning on being back in July that early, but I’m not the Pope and I don’t know the CEO of Bank of America. (Brian Moneghan. He lives near Boston and may be worth $349 million.)
Stay tuned for the next installment.
And—by the way—I’ve been blogging on WeeklyWilson.com since February of 2007 using WordPress. I was using a computer in my workplace as far back as 1984, when I networked with One Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.. on a WANG PC to receive information for a book I was writing for Performance Learning Systems, Inc., of Emerson, New Jersey, entitled “Training the Teacher As A Champion.” The estimate of the number of people who were online and working with computers in 1984 was 300 people, worldwide.

Bank of America, Ghostly Tales of Route 66 & Me: Installment #3

By Connie Wilson

On June 27, 2026

In Books, Editorial, Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

Bank of America

Sep 20, 2025 — The emblem was a stylized monogram “BA”, with both letters merged in one smooth symbol with thick rounded lines and shortened horizontal bars.

Going to my Bank of America outlet in Chicago at Roosevelt Road and Canal Street requires a 7-hour drive—3 and ½ hours up and 3 and ½ hours back. Why don’t we have a Bank of America outlet in the Quad Cities?

I don’t know. Do you?

POPE LEO & ME

I went through a “verification” process similar to that described by Pope Leo (Installment #2) and it ended with me making a trip in, in person, to meet with a representative (supposed to be Caesar Hernandez, but I got Felipe) on Saturday, June 13^th. I took the 2 forms of ID, although, when I was told I needed my Social Security card (a passport would not do), I think I responded that I had not seen my Social Security card since I was sixteen. It did cause me to search for it, however, and—voila!—I found it! (Will wonders never cease?)

However, since the entire goal of “verification” seems to be to make things as obtuse and as computer-dependent as possible, I was told that the employees could not get to my page unless I gave them the specific amounts and dates of deposits from Amazon. Since I lost access to my Amazon account about the same time as I last saw my Social Security card, this turned out to be an impossible task. After the trouble with advertising “BEE GONE” and the directive that my cover had to be “changed,” things descended into the Stephen Colbert Canyon of Censorship. There didn’t seem to be much urgency about cracking the code on how to get back into my Amazon account to “write long”, once I tip-toed over to blogging full-time on WeeklyWilson.com and resumed reviewing movies on www.TheMovieBlog.com, I’ve been reviewing non-stop since 1970. Since Rex Reed and Gene Shalit recently shuffled off this mortal coil, I can try to lay claim to being the longest continuously-reviewing film critic in the U.S. (whether it’s true or not…and it might be.)

SOLUTION?

I don’t know the head of the Bank of America, so I didn’t have the route that Pope Leo took to get things fixed and updated in my literary account, where a REAL LIVE HUMAN might assist me in “fixing” and updating things without me having to drive 14 (fourteen) hours. (I know I said 7 hours, earlier, but this story goes on in installments, remember. This third installment only takes us through the first in-person meeting at the Roosevelt Road and Canal Street with Felipe. There is more).

FELIPE

Felipe was the one bright spot in the Bank of America verification process. Felipe is good. I will excuse him for asking if my granddaughter was “in the room” to help me during a recent phone call. No, Felipe, the granddaughters are in Texas. I’m in Illinois, talking to a bot most of the time. For hours. Becoming very aggravated. Wondering why I never got any reports on my literary account for over 7 years.

Felipe got stuck with me when Caesar got stuck with somebody else. There were lines of people queuing up at the cashier’s window at noon that Saturday (June13). They close at 2 p.m. I can vouch for the fact that it took all of the 2 hours to figure out how to recover my literary account. I still don’t know why I did not receive any “reports” or updates on that account since 2019. I received paper reports on my personal account, but my literary account seemed to reside only in my head and in the form of the checks I have that are supposed to allow me to use it. Both seem to be in limbo.

On June 13^th my personal account seemed to be chugging along okay, paying bills via auto-pay. However, that may have changed, as “suspicious” activity was noted because I went to the cashier’s cage, on June 13^th, IN PERSON, and moved cash from my personal account to the literary account. Let me repeat that: I did this IN PERSON, IN THE BANK. Yet this caused my account to have difficulties noted as suspicious thereafter. (This story isn’t over—yet.) My teacher’s pension is deposited in this account (a princely sum, as you can imagine, since I did not hit the Magic 20 number one must reach in order to actually be able to live on that money in retirement).

For years (and years and years) one-half of all Social Security payments made to government employees (i.e., teachers and firemen, etc.) was taken from us because we were public employees. It was patently unfair and resulted in years of legal wrangling until, quite recently, that one-half was restored. However, Social Security is not deposited into this account. It goes into the TBK less-well-known bank in the Quad Cities which has not yet made me come in twice in person to “fix” errors which cause bots to try to send verification codes to land lines and take over 6 weeks to “fix.” (Yes, I still have a land line. Deal with it.)

I always got PAPER reports on my personal account, although I did not get them for my literary account. As far as I am aware, I did not get e-mail reports, either, although I admit to moving from Einnoc10@Aol.com to Einnoc9876@gmail.com some years back. For almost 10 years, the state of Illinois has hovered over my literary account, eagerly suggesting it was “abandoned” and only too willing to take whatever pittance might reside in it. “Seized” is the chief goal of the state of Illinois with failing authors’ accounts, apparently. (I actually have a close friend who says she once worked on the “seize abandoned accounts” team in the state of Minnesota. Sheesh.)

A still from Seized by Sharon Liese, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jackson Montemayor.

Each of the three times I received written notices that the state of Illinois was hovering once again, hoping to “seize”my money, I wrote and explained that it was NOT an “abandoned” account. I was merely an unsuccessful (monetarily-speaking) author who didn’t have masses of eager fans gobbling up her books. The account, via Amazon, had its moments. Most of those moments can be laid at the feet of “Ghostly Tales of Route 66,” so kudos to Bruce Carlson for figuring out that ghosts were a guaranteed best-seller.

I did not intend to write only ghost books for my entire literary life. I wrote what interested me at that moment in time, whether politics, children’s books, horror stories, movie and television reviews—short and long—or one random book containing previously published columns and poetry. One can’t accuse me of not taking on a range of topics. Or, as one snarky guest writer at a QC Writers’ events once said, “You’ve ruined your platform.” (And then he went on ad nauseum to talk about writers’ platforms, ignoring the variety of things that a Stephen King, for example, might write about, aside from things that go bump in the night).

So, on June 13^th, I thought Felipe had “updated” all of the phone numbers (etc.) in my two BoA accounts. I even bit on the new Bank of America credit card, which sounded like a pretty good deal. I think Felipe was Top-Notch and whatever is now happening, to prevent me from being able to authenticate that credit card, is probably not his fault. It’s probably an inherent flaw in the BoA system and I’ve been victimized by it to the tune of a 14-hour driving trip. CEO of BoA: take note.

Me applying for a brand new BoA credit card was where things ended after my FIRST 7-hour “in person” trip to the Bank of America with everything “fixed”—or so I thought.

But, of course, things were not settled at all.

The bot was not finished with me.