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With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I have started paying extra close attention to the way the definition of love has changed over the last few decades. Over dinner the other night, my mom told me about the love story of her parents. My grandpa lived in Panama and kept a long distance relationship with my Grandma, who lived in Switzerland. He would call her every night after he got off work. But with the time difference, this would be around 3 a.m. in Switzerland. My...
When I moved my household from Washington, D.C. into storage, I got rid of about 100 books. Some were obvious choices, like the global trade textbook that was required for a class I took in 1989 but irrelevant both to me and the current study of economics. Some gave me pause, like the novel "London" by Edward Rutherford. It's an informative history of the city wrapped up in a gripping 2,000-year narrative, but it comes in at 829 pages and weighs a ton. As I went through this...
Imagining what the inauguation would look like in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic was difficult for me. Would Planet Fitness sponsor "pods" for first responders to view the events, as they did at Times Square on New Year's Eve? Would 6-foot circles be chalked on the ground, with invitees bringing their own lawn chairs to sit in them? Would everything be broadcast on Zoom or Google Teams? Having stood - wedged shoulder to shoulder - with other attendees at the first inaug...
Welcome, Tier 2! Now we can get back to high school basketball games, eating at our favorite restaurant and inviting 49 of our closest friends over to watch the playoffs, right? Wait a minute, that’s Tier 1. Tier 2 is much less exciting when it comes to life in Hinsdale. Museums (one) and casinos (none) can open at limited capacity, and indoor fitness classes can be conducted with up to 10 participants. The move to Tier 2 is good news, though, for high school athletes. Teens on the boys swimming, boys and girls bowling, girls...
In September 2019, I thought it would be wise to get my doc's clearance prior to running 26.2 miles on a Sunday the following month. In my check up, he asked something typically not asked by a doctor - "What do you eat?" Although I ate relatively healthy at the time, he strongly encouraged focusing on a plant-based diet. He recommended some Netflix documentaries ("Forks Over Knives" and "The Game Changers"), a website (NutritionFacts.org), and a book ("How Not To Die" by Dr. M...
Responding to Reid McCollum’s letter last week (Jan. 14) regarding Republicans, it is hypocritical to say one party uses racial stereotypes when your party has the history of racial exploitation and seeking power by maintaining a permanent underclass. Cancel culture and media bias are real. How can we have an honest dialogue and any reconciliation when one side’s facts are labeled as propaganda but then replaced with the other side’s false narratives? — Joe Craig, Hinsdale...
The best advice I encountered for 2021 as 2020 came to a close was hilarious. And prophetic. "Nobody claim 2021 as 'your year,' " the Facebook post advised. "We're all going to walk in real slow. Be good. Be quiet. Don't. Touch. Anything." Unfortunately, a whole bunch of people didn't get the memo. We're still recovering from the events that took place at the nation's Capitol Jan. 6, but I for one refuse to believe this country is irreparably broken. Nor do I feel discouraged...
Like so many facets of life since COVID-19 hit, blood drives and blood donation centers were shut down or severely restricted as a health precaution. Thankfully, those activities have resumed, and individuals are being urged in January — National Blood Donor Month — to help meet the need for blood, which the pandemic did not suppress. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 are particularly encouraged to give blood because of the potential antibodies it contains. One step further would be a plasma donation to help address the...
A lack of bipartisan civility is not what led Trump supporters to storm the Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths. Opportunists from one political party encouraged conspiracy theories, resulting in 82 percent of Trump supporters believing that Biden’s victory was illegitimate. Even after the violence, 147 Republicans voted against certifying election results. For years, some leaders of one political party have used racial stereotypes and ethnonationalism to divide us. Right-wing propagandists turn perpetrators into v...
T.S. Eliot's J. Alfred Prufrock once famously stated that he had "measured out (his) life with coffee spoons." In these parlous times, however, I've found myself measuring out my life by limited streaming series. Normally, all I do is read, but it's been difficult lately. At least, it's been difficult to concentrate on the type of fiction I normally read - that is, realistic fiction about everyday people in everyday settings having everyday problems. Honestly, that kind of wri...
"Schadenfreude" is a term introduced to me by the very erudite musical, "Avenue Q." Its technical definition is taking pleasure ("freude") in another person's pain ("schaden"). Or, as the song lyrics go, "When I see how sad you are, it makes me sort of happy!" I've seen schadenfreude at work, and wrote the better part of a column about it a few years ago. After a bit of a scheduling snafu that caused Ainsley to miss dress rehearsal for her school's variety show, she took...
If there’s one thing the past 10 months have taught us, it’s patience. We learned patience when we were told, after staying home for two weeks in March, that we would have stay home longer in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. A lot longer. We learned patience on Nov. 4 and in the days that followed as we waited to see who would be the next president of the United States. We learned patience this week as votes were counted in the Georgia Senate run-off, with the Senate majority hanging in the balance. Of course, som...
From a global pandemic to a tumultuous U.S. presidential election, 2020 has wreaked havoc on our minds, bodies and spirits. It was a soul-crushing year, yet - despite it all - I've learned some valuable lessons along the way that I'm looking forward to taking with me into 2021. As I look back on this past year, I'm proud of how my family and I navigated uncertainty and maintained consistency when the world around us was rapidly changing. In a year that was spent social...
With November’s election behind us, sharp focus should turn to the April 6 consolidated election. One important issue on the ballot that can drastically impact real estate value is the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board. Education costs amount up to 80 percent of our property taxes here in D86. In order to remain competitive with Chicagoland suburbs and private schools, voters in D86 must be informed on the issues and vote accordingly. Our kids are hurting. They are struggling emotionally, socially and academical...
Nine years ago I began an annual tradition that I have somehow managed to continue. In the issue before Ainsley’s birthday each year, I use this space to write a special letter to her. When I wrote the first, Ainsley was in preschool. She wanted to call Santa and ask for a ride in his sleigh so she could visit Baby Jesus in Heaven. She hadn’t yet learned to read — although she could recite many of her books by heart — and she had just received her first real bicycle for Chr...
5! It’s almost here, and I’ve never been more excited to welcome a new year. New Year’s is usually a pretty ho hum holiday in my book, but not this year, no ma’am. It’s been a train wreck of a year, and my readiness for transition from the old to the new is bigger than ever. Here’s how I would describe it ... Like a record player run out of songs, 2020 has been stuck riding the label, sliding and crackling at the end, the staticky nothingness signaling the conclusion of the...
A recent Saturday Night Live featured Kate McKinnon playing Madame Vivelda, a fortune teller, as she met with a group of clients in 2019. “2019 has sucked but I think 2020 will be our year,” one of them says as the skit opens. Of course the predictions she shares for 2020 — someone washing a bag of Doritos with soap, a road trip with no bathroom stops and indecent Zoom incidents, to name a few — make absolutely no sense to her clients. If only we had known. And now we again are on the cusp of a new year, and much uncerta...
For as long as I can remember, my mom has been the queen of Christmas. Perhaps your family has its own Christmas queen or king? Someone whose love for the holidays is so effervescent that it brings happiness to everyone around them. Each year well before December, my mom is already thinking about Christmas. Her unbridled joy for the holiday season has her planning new decorations, recipes and special handmade gifts. She spends months on end hand-stitching beautiful...
When I sat down to hang a picture frame and put my awl to the frame, I remembered Mr. Todd. When I was sanding a piece of wood and knew to trust my own sense of smooth, I remembered Mr. Todd. When I drew the plans for a small bookcase I wanted for my study, I remembered Mr. Todd. Mr. Todd was my seventh- and eighth-grade shop teacher at Hinsdale Junior High School from 1953-55. He began my love of hand tools and the beauty of woods. He looms in my memory as a self-effacing man who taught skills, procedures and respect for...
'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 s...
The sky is falling. At least our sky is falling, over our home, and within our family. Health concerns of beloved family members have my husband and me scrambling to help. I used to think we had a modicum of control over our lives, over our "sky" if you will, but as we are placing metaphorical buckets under our dripping roof, I realize we are powerless in the face of certain life events. We can only react to these events and try our best to do right by our families and friends...
“Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes.” — David Bowie One thing you learn as a parent is how much things change each holiday season as your kids (or kid, in my case) get older. One Christmas you’re lending Santa a hand assembling the Barbie Dreamhouse he delivered for your 5-year-old. Before you know it, her Christmas wish list includes a laptop and headphones for gaming and “merch” from her favorite YouTuber, YaBoiAction. For several years you enjoy gathering as a family...
Experience any hotly contested elections lately? Granted, the presidential race was certainly a spectacle not seen before (which goes for most of 2020!). But it also got two-thirds of the electorate to the polls, the highest turnout since 1900 when Republican incumbent William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Healthy turnout is healthy for a democracy, And so is a robust roster of citizens willing to throw their hats into the candidates’ ring. The window to file for candidacy in the April 6 Consolidated E...
The American Legion Post 250 of Hinsdale would like to thank each and every one of the Clarendon Hills Middle School PTO members that took time and effort to send gift cards to all the vets who attend programs at the schools. We all look forward to being at school on Nov. 11, on the 11th day, 11th hour. Thank you. — Jack Orbell, commander, and Charley Hartley, chaplain, American Legion Post 250...
Behind the steering wheel of my 2016 Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid, I've made some of my best memories. From hearing my favorite song on the radio for the first time, to driving to the city to watch the sunrise with my best friend, to going to school with my younger brother, those are the memories that will stick with me. However, when I tell my parents that I'm going to "drive around with friends," they look absolutely mortified. I'm not sure if it's the fact that my driving record...
