Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 1086
"Why would I want to go see 'Hamilton' in Chicago?" I asked a couple of months ago as we were talking about the show in the office. I've seen the original New York cast perform more times than I can count - even if it has been on my TV screen. How could anyone top Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs and Renée Elise Goldsberry, I asked my co-workers. Lisa, who has been to see the show two times - once for $10 when she won the ticket lottery - assured me I should...
Ahh, the early days of January, when we have yet to disappoint ourselves by failing to live up to our New Year’s resolutions. Since it’s already Jan. 4, I guess that might not be true. A cookie might have been consumed, a morning workout skipped. Yes, resolutions are tough to keep. I wrote last year that part of the problem, at least for me, is the specificity of the resolutions I tend to set. I will walk X number of days each month. I will spend X minutes a day cleaning out...
We flew out Dec. 31 from O’Hare and the airport was completely empty. The weather was sunny, clear and 60 degrees. TSA waved us through, smiling and wishing us a wonderful flight. Then, they called us an airport transport and whisked us to our gate. The ground attendants upgraded us to first class and we boarded immediately. The captain came on the intercom and said we would arrive in New York City 40 minutes early due to the westerlies. Meanwhile, we drank champagne and ate c...
In our first January issue last year, we kicked off a new weekly series designed to celebrate Hinsdale’s 150th anniversary. Last week we ran the final installment. We learned a lot about our favorite village’s history over the past year — and not just from the weekly series. We also dedicated our summer series, “Quintessential Hinsdale,” to the places and events that make Hinsdale the special place it is. And, of course, we can’t forget the 120-page special section we published Sept. 28 honoring the sesquicente...
I've been thinking about presents. It's the season to do so, right? I'm not talking about gifts, which can be intangible or abstract; for example, the gift of friendship, of good health or family, etc. Rather, I've been thinking about the physical things we give one another, the things we shop for and wrap, exchange, perhaps even return. What are the best presents you've been given? I'm sure we've all been given presents that have been amazingly thought out, beautifully...
For a dozen years, I've dedicated my final column of the year as a birthday message to my daughter. I hope Ainsley does not one day resent that her birthday letters were first conceived to fulfill a work assignment and instead chooses to appreciate her mother's functional approach to life. (And her mother's inability, after more than 30 years in the newspaper business, to write anything if she's not on deadline.) I once again will offer my apologies to those who are tired of...
Exercising more. Eating and drinking less. Spending less time on social media. Getting together more in person with friends. These are among the resolutions found on many lists as a new year approaches. Here at The Hinsdalean, we like to offer a different assortment of resolutions in our final issue of the year. So, as has become an annual practice, we offer our suggestions to local taxing bodies, agencies and residents for smooth sailing in 2024. • Take a time out If District 86 Board members hope to hire and keep a new s...
Hunched into the crawl space, my eyes do a quick scan. A collection of unlabeled plastic bins are organized into sections, known only to me as "Halloween," "Easter," "Christmas," I see it. A weathered cardboard box that predates the colorful bins surrounding it by not just decades, but generations. Ever so gingerly I pick it up and squat-walk-shuffle my way out of the storage space. Relieved to be standing up straight again, I carefully open it. Beneath protective layers of...
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the town The Hinsdaleans were scurrying, they rushed all around. For last-minute gifts and cards they did sprint, Armed with lists and ideas and maybe some hints. Gateway and Grant squares and downtown they traveled But with each stop, their nerves did unravel. The hustle and bustle had dampened their mood. They were tired and cranky and needed some food. They stopped for some lunch and looked over the list. To finish their...
My sentimentality tends to spike during the holidays when I take comfort in Christmas music from Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby and the Ray Conniff Singers (anyone?). I bore my children with stories about some of the tree ornaments that belonged to my great-grandparents. I find time for my favorite holiday movie classics. I’m particularly fond of Charles Dickens’ timeless story, “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens’ inspiration was born out of the socio-economic state of...
The time to make a special contribution in support of Hinsdale’s enduring story is quickly running out. In commemoration of the village’s 150th anniversary, officials launched the Memorial Building Historic Plaza & Railing Campaign. Funds collected will go toward restoring the original Chippendale roof railing on the nearly 100-year-old village landmark as well as renewing the outdoor gathering space adorning Hinsdale’s “front lawn” on the south side of the structure. The iconic and treasured symbol of Hinsdale owes its exist...
Have you seen the ads for the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones from Google? With a feature called “Best Take,” you take multiple shots of a group and then combine everyone’s best look in one photo. Magic Editor — using generative AI, whatever that is — lets you reposition and resize subjects. Audio Magic Eraser lets you erase the sounds of the barking dog or background surf from your videos. I’m amazed by this technology, and I can think of many of my own photos that would have benefited from Best Take. I can’t help...
There's a quote from one of my favorite TV shows, "One Tree Hill," that has stuck with me from the moment I first heard it: "Six billion people in the world. Six billion souls. And sometimes, all you need is one." I think this quote rings true always, but especially in the world we live in today - and especially during the holiday season. For what has been branded as "the most wonderful time of the year" is often anything but for those who struggle with mental illness. A...
Waiting is difficult - and we don't get much practice doing it any more. We used to have to wait for our favorite show to be on TV, for the weatherman to tell us the high for the day, for a trip to the library to check out a book. We even used to have to wait for the rotary dials to tch, tch, tch, back to zero seven times in order to make a call. Now TV shows, weather forecasts and books are available in an instant on our phones. We can call anywhere in the world by touching...
How wonderful it is on a snowy December night to pull into the drive and see Christmas tree lights twinkling in the front window. But leaving those lights on while you’re not home is a safety hazard that can lead to a fire. And in the event of a holiday-related fire, the Hinsdale Fire Department will swap out a red bulb with a white one on the wreath hanging just inside the fire station’s mini museum near the main entrance at 121 Symonds Drive. The annual “Keep the Wreath Red” campaign is a joint effort between the Illinoi...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board of Education consists of seven elected members. Two of those board members, Kay Gallo and Debbie Levinthal, recently resigned within weeks of each other. Both resignations were based on accusations that the D86 board is dysfunctional. The problem is neither person explained the specifics of that dysfunction. When you make statements like that, the community and sitting board deserve the facts to back them up. Making broad accusations without explaining them is irresponsible. And now,...
I recently enlisted my children to help organize our basement storage area, which houses everything from Christmas decorations and suitcases to sentimental items no one has the heart to part with. After the initial protests, my kids - now 13 and 10 - exclaimed at the hidden treasures we unearthed: onesies worn home from the hospital, bedraggled stuffed cats and frogs, baby doll beds with homemade quilts and pink princess castles. Sifting through the objects, my daughter,...
My daughter Ainsley’s favorite Advent calendars are the ones you can find just about anywhere for $2.99. I’ve tried to substitute an upgraded chocolate calendar — whose windows contain more than a teeny tiny piece of the cheapest chocolate money can buy. But she wants the same kind of calendar her Gram and Papa, who are no longer with us, used to buy her. I love holiday traditions — some might even call me a stickler — and apparently I’ve passed on my passion/obs...
Small Business Saturday, a day to celebrate and support local shops and all they do for their communities, may have been observed last weekend. But that doesn’t mean the need to show love to local merchants is any less critical. Hinsdale stores are eager to welcome patrons with unique items hard to find elsewhere in the area. And we should welcome to the opportunity to patronize them. Here are some reasons why, as articulated in an essay by Forbes Finance Council member Joseph Lustberg: • By making a commitment to shop loc...
I enjoyed your newspaper’s account of Hinsdale’s 150th anniversary. The 1960s-70s were an electric time. HTHS was much more than an athletic powerhouse. The junior high and high school had outstanding teachers. Robert Michalek taught an eighth-grade advanced science class that presented DNA concepts other students did not get until college. The foreign language program prepared us for college and lifetime travel abroad. In 1965, the high school hosted a Community Conference on Values. Dr. Bruno Bettelheim was the keynote spe...
One night I was sitting at my desk, contemplating the very mundane task of either moving my tired body to the closet to grab my math textbook or jumping through the hurdles of pulling up the textbook online. I chose the latter, clicking through my teacher's information page, clicking the website, clicking the textbook and clicking on the page number on the little box at the bottom of the screen. Clicking, clicking, clicking. And all my lovely hard work was well worth it as I...
"No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present." - Ann Voskamp Canadian author and blogger Ann Voskamp might not celebrate Thanksgiving, but she knows a thing or two about gratitude. One of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions is offering a list of reasons Hinsdaleans have to be thankful for - one for each day of the month leading up to Turkey Day. Nov. 1 - those who will not be with us this holiday s...
Once upon a time, in the good old days of analog, I could do no wrong. In fact, some said - mostly me - that I was the King of Analog. Yes, as the song goes, "Those were the days." During those dear old analog days, I was smarter than all my kitchen appliances. And they darn well knew it. Yes. I knew how open the fridge, turn on the stove and even use the oven without a YouTube tutorial. Now, all my kitchen appliances are smarter than me. My fridge knows when I've left the...
I am sorry to report Hinsdale once again has fallen short of the North Shore. One of those fancy “W” towns — Winnetka — beat out Hinsdale for the No. 1 spot on the latest list published by HomeSnacks. What is HomeSnacks, you ask? We’re not entirely sure, but it produces lots of lists — safest states, most dangerous states, even dumbest states. You can read all of these lists on its Facebook page (which contains no information about who is preparing them or why). And what do...
Mark the holidays by making a life-impacting gift to a local nonprofit agency on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28. At the Hinsdale Humane Society, funds donated as part of #GivingTuesday2023 will help save animals’ lives by enabling the organization to offer the programs and services people and pets in more than a dozen area communities rely on. Contributions will be used to shelter strays, adopt out hundreds of homeless pets and provide veterinary care for animals in need. Visit www.hinsdalehumanesociety.org/donate. Gifts to Wellness...
