Charles Melton — The Villagers Voice

Charlie’s Voice – Motherhood

June 27, 2026 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee...” (Jeremiah 1:5 KJV)

When does motherhood begin?

All of my adult life, abortion has been a hot topic. In college speech class, I drew that subject for my impromptu (extemporaneous) speech. It was a disaster. My classmates weren't happy with anything I said. It was so bad I dropped the class, and never took it again.

Discussion about abortion hasn't evolved. As a man, I'm not allowed to have an opinion about what goes on in a woman's uterus, even if I was part to the goings-on. Any comment is met with outrage, and references to “The Handmaids Tale” by Margaret Atwood. It all centers on a woman's rights. Maybe if I profess to be a tran-woman I get to have an opinion.

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Charlie’s Voice – Geezer Matrix

May 11, 2026 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

I don’t know if modern technology can read our minds. I don’t know if new algorithms are so precise they can predict every thought, and action. Maybe we’re not real, and are just programs in some sort of self-aware computer system. Maybe demonic forces are afoot.

I was coming in from the shop. The patio blocks I installed on the cracked sidewalk clicked as I stepped on them. I silently thought that I should find some rock dust to sprinkle under the blocks so they’d be quieter. I got a cup of coffee, and plopped down on the couch. Being true to my addiction, I slid my phone into life and opened Facebook. The first entry on my feed was a reel on how to use rock dust. How is this even possible?

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Charlie’s Voice – When AI Makes Fiction Feel Real: The Hidden Harms of Emotional Deception

April 17, 2026 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

In an era where synthetic voices, hyperreal visuals and tailor-made narratives can be generated in minutes, AI-powered videos and stories are increasingly blurring the line between reality and fabrication. What once would have been recognized as clear fiction now often arrives fully textured — complete with convincing actors’ faces, ambient sound, and details that invite emotional investment. That visceral realism can be powerful, but it also carries a growing set of harms when audiences are led to believe an invented item or person is real. [Read more...]

Charlie’s Voice – That Time I Drowned, Almost

January 13, 2026 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

“If you don't go in the water, you won't drown.” (Grandma Fern McKinney Mecum, 1914-1989, Carmi. Illinois)

Our family is very safety-conscious. Sure, we chain smoke. We eat lard fried in more lard. We often indulge in whiskey, pie, and erratic driving. But, we don't swim. It's too dangerous.

For no particular reason, my daughter was transferred to Florida. She was doing mortgages in the housing wild west of Palm Beach County. For our family, that translates to free lodging and food during a fun vacation. This is before I got my joy from writing for “a partisan political rag”. But, I digress.

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Charlie’s Voice – Why I Support Bailey

January 5, 2026 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

Anyone that knows me understands that I support Darren Bailey. I have what I consider an excellent reason, a biblical reason, for supporting him.

Integral to this is Jane at the local bank. She's a good Christian woman. She's also funny, which is a rare quality for a banker. She has these homespun sayings. She says that her son is, “big enough to kill a bear with a switch”. I say that's the best colloquialism I've ever heard. Another saying of hers is, “I got my ox in a ditch”. That implies things are going wrong for you. It's biblical, from the books of Exodus and Luke both. That quote is related to helping with a critical need, even on the sabbath. That's why I'm voting for Bailey. [Read more...]

Charlie’s Voice – Just Call 211

December 23, 2025 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

For the last several weeks I've been working on a series of articles on homelessness in a nearby city. I spent a lot of time (and gas) tracking down services for the homeless there. Weeks into my research as I talked to a previously homeless person she said “Just call 211”.

Just call 211. Maybe you knew that. In my many decades on this earth I never heard of that number. It's real because I called it and I talked with the operator for quite a while. She said that they indeed are in the business of helping people. For Illinois, the operator serves our state, Iowa, and Nebraska. If you don't have a place to go to be warm, or are hungry, or in danger, or are having a mental health crisis, call 211. Trouble paying your electric bill? Call 211.

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Charlie’s Voice – Solomangarephobia

December 8, 2025 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

Solomangarephobia. I can't even pronounce it, but I guess I have it. I found the term by accident, as often happens to me. I guess the AI Matrix pulled it up for us.

Solomangarephobia is a fear of eating alone in public, which I have. Nothing says, “I am so weird that I have nobody that wants to sit at a table with me” quite like eating alone. If you look up what psychologists have to say, they think it's just groovy to eat alone. They think that the solitary diner is confident, and they engage in “mindful” eating, whatever that means. Who cares what a shrink has to say, anyway. [Read more...]

Charlie’s Voice – The Mist

November 24, 2025 by Charles Melton

Charlie Melton

By Charlie Melton

Its cool, just a degree from a shiver. The air is damp, and has a gentle mist. The inch of skin between my jacket collar, and the stocking cap, is teased with a chill. The night isn't crushingly cold, but it has a hint of danger.

Nights like this must have sent our ancestors scurrying to the fire, and in the eons before fire, to the safety of the clan.

Foreboding, I guess is the term. A sign that colder nights are coming. Maybe empty larders, and hunger, and frostbitten feet are on the path, hunting us.

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Charlie’s Voice – Motherhood

By Charlie Melton

Charlie’s Voice – Geezer Matrix

Charlie’s Voice – When AI Makes Fiction Feel Real: The Hidden Harms of Emotional Deception

Charlie’s Voice – That Time I Drowned, Almost

Charlie’s Voice – Why I Support Bailey

Charlie’s Voice – Just Call 211

Charlie’s Voice – Solomangarephobia

Charlie’s Voice – The Mist

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