By John F. Di Leo -
Life in Chicagoland, and the unfulfilling refreshment of a temporary stay…
For all we like to say about the great culture of ancient Greeks – for all intents and purposes, they invented theater, you know! – they were really just as human as the rest of us. Sometimes, no matter how well the story was going, they wrote themselves into a corner. There was just no way to resolve the situation and end the play.
So what did they do? They rigged up a contraption to lower Zeus down from the sky and utter some final judgment from Olympus that would resolve the conflict, punish the villains, send off the hero with a deserved bow, and save the poor playwright from having to come up with yet another convoluted act for us all to suffer through.
They called this technique a Deus Ex Machina – literally, “God from the machine.” When not only the cast and crew, but even the writers, are all stuck without an option, they call on the Heavens to save them. And sometimes it works. On the stage, anyway.
So it was in Chicagoland on Friday, June 30, in Cook County, Illinois, as the businesses and residents of one of America’s largest metro areas faced the last day before a massive new tax, ranging between thirty and seventy percent, was to kick in on almost all non-alcoholic beverage purchases. And they prayed for salvation from the heavens, in the form of a judge, Daniel Kubasiak, who might, just might, issue at least a temporary stay on this outrageous new tax.
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