Yearly Archives: 2010

Autumn doesn’t patter in on little cat feet in Chicago. it doesn’t arrive on anybody’s schedule. One day, it just is. People generally grumble like overtaxed serfs on this day because it means that weather soon will reclaim its supremacy … Continue reading →

Today I met the me I often am. What a concept. She, who isn’t always present, is annoyingly cheerful, in the sense that she is happy without cause, whereas my usual me guages it acceptable to remain miserable until, and … Continue reading →

I don’t know if you can be good without the chance to be bad. Since we were about as diverse as comb teeth, I think I can speak for the entire neighborhood of under-10s during the 1950s in Elmhurst when … Continue reading →

In 1968, Mom took me to Marshall Fields in Chicago, and, defying family tradition to shop at Sears Roebuck and only Sears Roebuck, she did the extraordinary. She spied and bought me the most outlandish coat the store possessed. This … Continue reading →

Two pairs of words that don’t belong together are Motivational Speaker and Embracing Change. 1. Motivational Speakers are generally cheery people who really like being themselves, thus they are nice to be around. However, motivation doesn’t come on cue and … Continue reading →

On this autumn day, construction workers are building something on the roof of the 5-story Vic Theater at Belmost and Sheffield avenues. Maybe a dozen men are on site, illustrating three reasons Chicagoans have a fondness for being labeled a … Continue reading →

There are many reasons folks don’t write. Lack of talent isn’t one of them. Deadlines are. Deadlines can make nonwriters, famous writers, and everybody in general, feel all tensed up. A main reason is a deadline makes you promise something … Continue reading →

After 21 years at the helm of Chicago, Richard Daley decided not to seek re-election. Others know better his legacy, his contributions, near-misses and so forth. Tediously, such chats will ensue. Many will scramble to predict tomorrow. Others will lean … Continue reading →

Let’s say angels were doing a flyover above my brother Eric’s back yard in Wheaton the August Saturday he hosted a birthday party for his mother-in-law Barbara. They would have gone into hover mode. It was that nifty of a … Continue reading →

I am learning to play golf for reasons best left unexamined, since those reasons are boring. What is exciting is the confrontation this activity has unleashed. A battle has ensued on my inner field of play – between doing the … Continue reading →