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"Right now, it's like this." I was introduced to this phrase earlier this week while listening to one of the Teacher Talks on the Ten Percent Happier app. "Duh," you might be saying to yourself. "Of course right now it's like this. How else would it be?" Or it might have reminded you of another phrase often used to characterize current circumstances: "This too shall pass." So how is it for you right now? My right now is Wednesday afternoon, with deadline looming and my...
We see examples of it every day. Far too many vulnerable populations cannot afford access to basic rights and justice. Low-income Americans cannot get legal help for 92% of their noncriminal legal problems, up from 86% in 2017. It’s not surprising that seeing so many people denied their rights and justice brings a sense of powerlessness to many of us. But we have reason to be hopeful. A pro bono lawyer can make that access to justice possible, often bringing dramatic change to the lives of their clients and bringing them a...
Like many kids, I loved horses. They were my favorite thing to draw, my favorite thing to talk about and my favorite thing to collect - in My Little Pony form, of course. I would have owned 10 real ones if I had my way, but Santa always seemed to forget that item each and every year. When I finally got the chance to horseback ride for real, I jumped - first up and down and shrieking at a pitch only my dog could hear and then at the opportunity itself. Clad in pigtails and my...
I hope all of you love reading the work of our contributing columnists as much as I do. You’ve seen some different — but familiar — faces this summer as former contributors penned some guest columns to fill our annual summer break. Now it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled programming. And, as is the case every September, I must bid farewell to the writers who are moving off the rotation. This year that is Bret Conway, Mistie Psaledas, Kelly Abate Kallas and student...
Every year in this issue, we dedicate this space to remembering the events of Sept. 11, 2001, paying respects to those lost and the heroism of those who, in many cases, knew it would be their final act. As the years pile up between then and now, the unspeakable series of deadly terrorist acts that upended our collective consciousness has become the province of annual commemorative events with limited participation. But as Americans, we cannot let our collective memory consign it to the pile of the past. As President George...
Picture a hammock: blue, suspended between two maples. From the end of the hammock protrude two feet. They are well-tanned and have not seen a shoe in days. Sunlight glistens through the swaying pine branches beyond, dancing across the lake on a million tiny waves. The Internet scarcely touches this part of Wisconsin's northwoods; even the most urgent email is powerless to penetrate the pines. Oh Outlook, where is thy ping? It's family week here for four parents, three...
This is my first letter to the editor, which I wrote as soon as I arrived at my office downtown this morning. I am a longtime Hinsdale resident and commuter. I was running late this morning (Aug. 29) for the 7:52 and missed it, standing behind the east pedestrian gate on the north side of the tracks at Washington. As a few fellow late commuters and I watched the train stopped on the other side, my heart stopped as I noticed two young girls, perhaps 15 and 10, crossing the tracks, behind the stopped train from the south side....
Despite the appearance of pumpkin spice coffee and baking mixes in the grocery store and the start of "meteorological fall" today, I continue to mark the beginning of my favorite season with the autumnal equinox (Sept. 22 this year). That said, I appreciate the fact that the kids are back in school (unless they go to Hinsdale Central) and that Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. With those facts in mind, it seems appropriate to reflect on the highlights of summer 2022....
Labor Day traditionally marks the unofficial end of summer. Vacations have been taken, the kids have gone back to school (unless there’s an extended summer construction schedule) and life gets back to normal. This year, some employers hope that mindset will help them convince remote workers to return to the office, according to a New York Times article. “Each pandemic fall has brought with it employers’ hopes of a broad-scale return to the office,” Emma Goldberg writes in “The office’s last stand.” “Last year’s plans we...
When I was a child, growing up on Chicago's northwest side, there was a saying that went something like this: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." At least that's how I remember it. Unfortunately, this childhood saying doesn't reflect the truth. Flash forward to today, and I'm still learning words can hurt. Deeply. Even with unintentional meaning. They open up wounds that haven't healed, regardless of who made the initial cut and who later...
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." - Robert Burns Ever since I started backpacking, I have wanted to hike the John Muir Trail, a 213-mile long distance trail in the Sierra Mountains in California. The trail starts in Yosemite National Park and ends at Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48 at 14,505 feet. The JMT is known as one of the most beautiful hikes in the world, and permits are hard to obtain with a lottery process occurring exactly 168...
I still remember the outfit Ainsley wore the first day of kindergarten - a navy short-sleeved T-shirt dress with fuchsia and yellow trim. I bought it for her weeks before school started and might have asked her if she liked it. But that was the extent of her input on her first-day-of-school attire. Things proceeded like this quite nicely for several years. In first grade, she wore an adorable light blue dress with white butterflies. In second grade, a sleeveless shirt...
Hinsdale Central students may be going back to class a little later this fall, but it’s never too early to bone up on healthy habits for scholarship. Here are some tips from The Princeton Review: 1. Have more than one study space. Let variety be the spice of learning. Coffee shops, libraries, parks or even just moving to the kitchen table will provide a change of scenery to stimulate better information retention. 2. Keep an all-inclusive calendar. Tracking homework assignments is obviously important, but so is honoring e...
April 21 was a good day for baseball. A crowd cheered both HC and LT players. Although there were strong plays on the field that Thursday, fabrications about this game has become the story. On April 28, a woman sent a letter to Superintendent Tammy Prentiss alleging that HC players and students (“more than one hundred”) repeatedly shouted racial slurs at LT players. These were reported in the Patch on May 27, 2022. On June 3, Patch reported that HC and LT (working together) interviewed players, coaches and others about the...
When my oldest child Brian was a baby, I befriended a Hinsdale woman of my mother's generation named Rose. She gave me loads of practical advice about baby care and even babysat Brian at our home during what turned out to be strange and historical circumstances when a fire in a Hinsdale telephone center cut off most phone service in the surrounding area. My maternity leave ended when the outage began and, lacking access to a satellite phone, I was unable to call home from...
If you are a woman of a certain age, perhaps you've seen this Facebook post. "To all my female friends from 40 years and up ... most of us are going through the next phase of our lives. We're at that age where we see wrinkles, gray hair and extra pounds. Menopause has already appeared or just waiting around the corner. We see the cute 25-year-olds and sigh. But we were also 25, just as they one day will be our age. What they bring to the table with their youth and zest, there...
Students head back to school this Monday in Community Consolidated School District 181 and Sept. 6 in Hinsdale High School District 86. That means more youth and families crossing streets on their way to and from school to begin an exciting new year. May those of us behind the wheel not add to the excitement with unsafe driving behavior around our community’s learning centers; Heading back to class is always a change in routine for kids, and they may not always be as alert as they should be (i.e. eyes locked on a smartphone)...
“Why are you being so weird?” my son asked me as we drove to the DMV to get his driver’s license. “I feel like it’s my last chance to teach you,” I said, as I hurriedly told him what to do when you encounter a funeral procession on the road. He gave me a sidelong look and nodded. “I know, Mom. I know how to drive.” To my kids, I’m that annoying, unwanted advice-giver. I know they want to be independent and make their own decisions, but I’m still teaching and safeguarding an...
We concluded what I have dubbed “Summer of The Beatles: Part 1” (Paul McCartney concert, two American English performances, one by the Beatelles) with a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this past weekend. I should note early on, lest she feels overlooked, that my sister and her husband live outside of Cleveland and the weekend was a wonderful chance to visit them as well. But we’ve known about the special Beatles exhibit at the Rock Hall for some time now a...
We all know what we should be doing before we send the kids back to school in a few weeks. If students heading off to college haven’t learned to do their own laundry, now is the time. They also could use some tips on getting along with their new roommate and not running up their credit cards. Kindergarten teachers hope we’ve taught preschool grads to tie their shoes, zip up their coats and listen to directions. Countless websites offer tips on helping kids entering preschool to college with everything from social skills to st...
Katherine "Kay" J. Grabos, nee Williams, 75, of Hinsdale died July 29, 2022. She is survived by her husband, Daniel F. Grabos; her children, Megan Grabos and Daniel F. Grabos Jr.; her grandchildren, Luna and Jack Grabos; her siblings, Peggy (John) Hommel, Thomas (Kelly Quinn) Williams and Patricia (Fred) Seeholzer; and her nieces and nephews, Eliza, Graham, Molly, Ryan and Patrick. Kay was a longtime administrative assistant to the CEO and president of Ravinia Festival. A...
Life is best lived with the confidence of a 6-year-old in a princess costume. Let me explain. My oldest daughter Gabriella has always been one for costumes, crowns and princesses. Born with an imaginative mind, she is an expert in magical thinking and storytelling. However, there was a time when I began to worry that her zealous love of princesses might have become too much. A few years ago, she brought home a "what I want to be when I grow up" project. As we began to work on...
Periodically we get emails identifying the best and worst cities and states pertaining to a variety of categories — biking, hiking, driving, taxes, etc. One recent missive identified the best states for pioneer women, as if there were tons of females across the country wondering where they should move to grow their own crops, herd their own cattle and heat their bath water on a stove. (In case you are one of those rare women, you should move to Texas and steer clear of Rhode Island.) Another recent email identified the b...
Typing up obituaries was part of my very first reporting gig in 1989. The way things were structured at the time, the new reporter in The Doings newsroom inherited the responsibility — and kept it until the next new reporter was hired. The person who preceded me, if I remember correctly, had to type up obits for about a month. I did it for a full year and was oh so happy to let the assignment go. But life in so many ways is circular, and when Jim Slonoff and I started The H...
Police sometimes have to break up a party. But this week, they’re inviting you to one. Hinsdale and Oak Brook police are hosting a National Night Out celebration at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, at Oak Brook’s Central Park West, 1500 Forest Gate Road. National Night Out was introduced in August 1984 through an already established network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers across the nation. The first National Night Out involved 2.5...
