Wheels of Fire

Late fall in Lake County is a time when the trees and the foliage and the people and their vehicles all converge for a wondrous display of color. Of course your LakeCountyEye refers to the combustible combination of yard waste and hot catalytic converters and the resulting street fires:

A suburban fire department has advised residents to keep their vehicles away from fallen leaves after a car parked on leaves ignited, causing the car to burst into flames. The Mundelein Fire Department said that firefighters responded to a fully involved vehicle fire late Sunday evening, with the car and surrounding leaves completely engulfed in flames upon arrival of firefighters. Officials said that the blaze was quickly extinguished and that no injuries were reported.
Mundelein Fire Department advises residents to keep leaves away from vehicles after parked car ignites

In related news, you're invited to a drive-thru holiday festival of lights. Please fire up your engines and take a cruise through the open field site of last summer's outdoor marijuana festival in Mundelein. For best results, drive slow and roll your windows down.

Phase 2 of Halloween+Thanksgiving+Christmas

Thanksgiving is that time of year to be thankful. To reflect on what matters most. To share in your good fortunes.

So could there be any better time for a pop quiz?

Q: Why did the giant Thanksgiving Turkey parade balloon cross the road?
A: Because it was under the Long Grove Bridge (clearance 8ft 6in).

Q: What did the McHenry Man who shot himself in the foot say at Thanksgiving dinner?
A: I want another leg.

Q: Why did the Waukegan Airport annex the turkey farm?
A: They wanted the planes full on thanksgiving.

Q: Why did the the thanksgiving turkey stay away from the Mundelein outdoor marijuana festival?
A: Everyone was getting baked.

Q: What did the thanksgiving turkey who got stopped driving the wrong way in a Lake County roundabout say?
A: Nothing. Turkeys do not talk.

First prize is a butterball turkey. You may pick up your prize at traffic court.

It is Happening Again

Did anyone really think the McHenry County Man who shot himself in the foot was just going to walk away from it all?

Last week the McHenry County Man shot himself in the foot in Des Plaines:

Police: Woman's gun goes off in car, hits boyfriend outside Rivers Casino

And now, less than a week later, he shot himself in the foot in Mount Prospect:

The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of what police called a nonlife-threatening injury.
Man shot in leg Sunday night in Mount Prospect

McHenry County Man confirms the old adage: It doesn't matter where you go in life. All that matters is that your weapon is loaded.

Even If You Could Run, You Can't Hide

The McHenry County Man who shot himself in the foot is playing them close to the vest:

A shooting outside Rivers Casino in Des Plaines early Saturday turned out to be an accident where a woman's gun went off and hit her boyfriend, police said.
Police: Woman's gun goes off in car, hits boyfriend outside Rivers Casino

In an effort to evade scrutiny, the McHenry County Man had ...

• Relocated to Des Plaines
• Identified as female
• The foot that was shot belongs to a boyfriend

Despite all that, the McHenry County Man was apprehended by the police. They said the McHenry County Man took a gun out of her purse, ...

"when the gun fired striking her boyfriend in the leg," police said. The man suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police: Woman's gun goes off in car, hits boyfriend outside Rivers Casino

Note to Ops: There is no point in trying to cover your tracks when you shoot yourself in the foot.

You Can't Spell Long Grove Without Noel

Tis that special time of the year again, anticipated and beloved by everyone throughout Lake County. Of course, that joyous season your LakeCountyEye refers to is the Countdown to Christmas 2023 on the Hallmark Channel.

If you are lucky you may already have that special feeling that you are living in a Hallmark Christmas Movie. And if so, that means you are resident of Long Grove. They were filming another Hallmark Christmas Movie in Long Grove, last month:

'A town straight out of a Hallmark movie': Long Grove provides perfect setting for new Hulu rom-com

The IMDb says the movie is a remake of the 1957 epic WWII film The Bridge on the River Kwai.

"The plot tracks the labors of allied POWs, who build a covered bridge on the perilous "coffin" road. Only to witness the bridge's destruction in a thrilling climax. A supply train fails to heed a warning that the covered bridge has a razor-thin 8 ft. 6 in. clearance."

Spoiler alert, the Lake County exploding bomb train makes a cameo appearance.

Hit the Streets

Did you know that there once were flying cars that flew like airplanes? Those are all extinct now. The last flying car, sadly, had to stop for a red-light at 5,000 feet.

So it should come as no surprise that an airplane landed on a road in Cary last week:

A flight student got quite the lesson Monday morning when her instructor was forced to make an emergency landing on Cary-Algonquin Road in Cary.
Flight instructor makes emergency landing on two-lane road in Cary during lesson

In related news, Waukegan National Airport annexed Cary-Algonquin Road for an emergency runway.