Yearly Archives: 2011

Wearing uniforms does not level the playing field, as some smart people think. I wore the uniforms of parochial school, waitress, girl scout, cheerleader, lifeguard and the blue-jeaned; thus claim entitlement to state: Uniforms foment the churning need to stand … Continue reading →

Built with the post-war levity for anything new, our ranch house in Elmhurst forgot all about a family room or a den or a jacuzzi. We did have a half-bath which we called the powder room and it was tinier … Continue reading →

The senior women of my Midwestern tribe tend toward lightness in language. This has the effect of living happy, which isn’t altogether true but in some ways, it is. Among their words I have some favorites: Sippeecup.Jumpin’ Jiminiy or its … Continue reading →

During our 1960’s ranch-house years, Dad and I went places by ourselves, while Mom and my two brothers did something else, I don’t know what. We watched a movie at York Theater, where I planned to be urbane. We ice … Continue reading →

It’s disgraceful I can’t recall the name of the beagle who came to live with our family of five in our ranch house in Elmhurst on or about 1962. He left the morning after we welcomed him into our enclave. … Continue reading →

Occupying the passenger seat of any car driving Illinois highways offers the joy of billboard watching. Kareoke radio solos aside, it’s the only joy to be had traveling our flatbread terrain. El Cortez Mexican Restaurant! Simply the Best! We are … Continue reading →

It’s fun to invent new labels for people, a pasttime well known in the family I grew up in. When a new beau came a-calling, the best he could hope for was to be called a manly man, as in, … Continue reading →

Why the phrase “perception is reality” is getting so much attention beats me. I think it’s being over-used by the wrong constituency of the human race to explain what we don’t know, or are afraid to know. Poets are the … Continue reading →

Playing ball in Elmhurst during the 1960s was a great leveler, primarily because the playing fields lacked prestige. Nobody was too little, too girly, too nerdy to play on the little patches of grass surrounding our houses. In our backyard, … Continue reading →

On same days, unusual memories take on the patina of great entertainment. Today is a same day. Winter isn’t gone. Spring isn’t anywhere around Chicago. Today’s headlines duplicate yesterday’s headlines. So I am entertained, remembering feeding a rhinosaurus, while writing … Continue reading →