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I first met Ly Hotchkin some 30 years ago. If I remember correctly, I had just become managing editor of The Doings when I was sent to The Community House to meet her. Ly wanted someone from the organization to write a column about something or other, and I knew I was going to have to tell her no. I was still in my 20s and found Ly a bit intimidating. She seemed used to getting her own way, and the thought of refusing her request scared me a little. I remained slightly...
Wow, is it really true that September bursts on the scene next week? No doubt many of us are still trying to keep up with day, let alone the month. And with every new month means a fresh set of obscure holiday observances in our country. Thanks to websites like nationaldaycalendar.com, all these fascinating and highly questionable designations are curated for our convenient reference. Like National Blueberry Popsicle Day on Sept. 2. We haven’t done a deep dive to see if other popsicle flavors have been deemed worthy of s...
Was that a cough? A sniffle? Did it take place in a classroom? Or a school hallway? Then that student — and her siblings — must be sent home to quarantine until a COVID-19 test comes back negative or a doctor makes an alternative diagnosis. “Probable cases” (kids with COVID-like symptoms who are epidemiologically linked to a known case) will have to be quarantined, with siblings, for 14 days. Any time kids experience any one of a dozen other symptoms (that also could mean a cold or flu), the same thing will happen. They wi...
I've been a little obsessed with Brené Brown's "Unlocking Us" podcast since I first was introduced to her in February by Tim Ferris on his eponymous podcast (notice a theme here?). She's on hiatus for several weeks this summer, and I miss her. I've decided to cope by recreating a piece of her podcast here. She concludes every episode with a set of "rapid fire" questions for guests. I've enjoyed listening to their responses and thought it might be fun to write up mine. 1....
I am challenging myself to write this column without (not once) mentioning that word we are all tiring of. Here goes ... I would not consider myself a good cook. Adequate, yes. I fed my children fairly nutritious food - although an occasional Pop-Tart or chicken nugget wasn't unheard of. Now that the kids are gone, I have even less motivation in the kitchen. I am reminded of my Norwegian mother's sentiment: the only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house!...
As concerned residents, we would like to express our gratitude to the District 181 Board of Education for staying diligent to the CDC’s recommendations of distancing at least 6 feet. As COVID numbers continue to rise, in Illinois and in DuPage County, specifically, the D181 Board has taken the prudent path to reducing COVID cases in the schools and the community. — Susan Blumberg-Kason, Sudha Yalamanchi and Julie Zhu, Hinsdale...
As a parent of two students in D181, I received the survey to which the previous author and current board member referred (Bill Cotter’s Aug. 6 letter). Given the choice of a five-day in-school option and a fully remote track, I saw no good options. Though my family selected the five-day choice, we were relieved that a hybrid solution was ultimately adopted. It’s clearly safer to have a half-full classroom, and our 6-year-old is unlikely to successfully keep a mask on for an entire school day. I’m concerned that a sitti...
To the parents who used their children as props holding “Open the Schools” signs during a recent protest, shame on you. As if children have the maturity, life experience or should bear the burden for such a decision. — Geri Kendall, Hinsdale...
Many, presumably by their own inattention, are uninformed about the extent of the local crime surge, uninformed about what’s being done and uninformed about how they can better protect themselves. For example, I-55 is a thoroughfare for drug traffic and County Line Road is a direct access point into Burr Ridge and Hinsdale. There is heightened proximity to opportunistic crime and it’s increasing. The more the opportunity, the bigger the problem is becoming for everyone. The escalating car thefts, burglaries and robberies are...
When I was 10 years old, I was the new girl at a small school. To feel better about myself, I was mean to another girl, a girl who’d been nice to me. I also kicked a boy named Jerry on the playground. I know these are little things but I’m sorry nonetheless. I also recognize that I was a scared little girl, and I temper my self-judgment with compassion. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could do the same with others? Adopt a “walk in their shoes” level of understanding when we read about them online, when we hear about the...
I asked Ken yesterday what happened at the Hinsdale Village Board the previous night. "They're going with a hybrid model," he replied dryly. "Tom, Laurel and Jerry will attend the first meeting of the month. Scott, Neale, Matt and Luke will attend the second meeting." He jests, of course, but the "hybrid model" is on our minds. We've spent a lot of time learning and writing about hybrid plans for Hinsdale students to return to school. First I "attended" (i.e. watched online)...
We’ve all heard it expressed ad nauseum by this point: School will look much different this fall. That, of course, includes the college campus experience. And while some may be studying remotely and others are able to receive in-person instruction, there are some kernels of wisdom in reaching new heights in higher education that transcend a pandemic’s dynamics. Here are helpful tips to live by — at least for the next four years — as excerpted from campusgrotto.com and based on surveys of hundreds of college graduates. • Befor...
A great American once wrote that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. An overwhelming majority of respondents to a D181-commissioned survey wanted the board to adopt a five-day per week, in-person reopening plan for our schools. Those respondents, and the D181 community at large, were deprived of an up-or-down vote on that reopening plan. The failure to call for a vote on that plan was an injustice. While that injustice is trivial compared to those that Dr. King faced while writing those words from a...
I applaud Pamela Lannom’s July 30 “Democracy at Stake ...” opinion for exposing the left’s double standards and coercive practices. The censorship of John Kass is but one of many examples of cancel culture in action. Rather than pursue facts, journalists genuflect to Twitter mobs. This is happening because no one speaks up. The deafening silence is easily understood when the Twitter mob threatens one’s family and livelihood. And this will worsen as the public sits by idly. What’s next? Banning of “offensive” library books l...
As an ICU physician, I have seen the horrors of COVID-19 up close. I have witnessed firsthand what this virus can do to people, to their bodies, to their spirits and to their families. These patients become frighteningly sick, and they do so frighteningly quickly. In all my years of clinical practice, I have never seen anything like this before. And so, I am a big believer in doing what we can do as individuals to help reduce the spread of this virus. This includes social...
“I’ve been enjoying your crossword puzzle,” a friend mentioned to me at a party a couple of weeks ago. We tend to get a little insulted when people talk about what they love most in the paper and it’s something — like horoscopes or police beat — that we did not write. But this is a friend I know to be an avid reader of the paper. So I wasn’t offended when he told me he has been enjoying our crossword puzzles. I recognize he is not alone due to the uptick in our phone call vo...
Less than 24 hours after the Illinois High School Association had released its plans for high school sports during the 2020-21 school year, people already were complaining. The plan certainly is not ideal. Instead of a school year with three seasons that last a dozen weeks or so, the IHSA is proposing a year with four shorter seasons. Non-contact fall sports like golf, tennis, cross country and swimming will be played this fall. Other sports that typically open the school year — football, boys soccer and girls volleyball ...
We lost my paternal grandfather, Pooky, last month. He would have been 99 in August. He did not die from COVID-19 but was a victim, nonetheless. Pooky was the life of the party who never met a stranger. He had the unique ability to draw even the most curmudgeonly into his circle and find common ground in his many passions and joys. His was a life well-lived, full of love and laughter. The story of how he became "Pooky" is one I never tire of telling. As kids, my brother and I...
Having lived in Hinsdale for over 20 years, it amazes me that several times every year, our police still have to plead with residents to lock their car doors to prevent vehicle theft. Maybe if people would consider that every reported stolen car is a potential traffic stop, and a traffic stop for a stolen vehicle is a potentially very dangerous situation for a police officer, who may not return home to his family that night as a result. If you will not lock your doors for the security of your home and auto, then at least...
I haven't laughed out loud while reading a book for a long time. I opened Dave Barry's "Lessons from Lucy" a few weeks ago and was reminded what it's like to read something so hilarious I just can't hold it in. But like Mike Royko - the only other writer to make me laugh that hard out loud - Barry has something more than humor to offer. He writes about being treated like an "exceptionally dull-witted" 6-year-old during diversity training, makes a joke and then offers this...
Parents of school-age children have been riding the “What will fall look like?” bus for months now. Most likely boarded hopeful they’d be let off at the “Back in class with safety measures” stop. Crossing from spring into summer, the combination remote/in-person model appeared on the horizon as an alternative destination as COVID-19’s persistence compelled some rerouting. In recent weeks, a number of Hinsdale’s surrounding school districts have announced plans to — at the risk of straining the metaphor a bit more — essentia...
I could not believe the front page picture of last week’s Hinsdalean. Only one person wore a mask during the ribbon cutting of the parking garage in front of the new middle school. Our civic leaders should consider themselves to be role models for our children, and they need to set a good example. With school potentially starting in the fall mandating masks, our children need to see us doing our part to keep our community, friends and families safe. — Ellen Dunlap, Hinsdale...
I only have 500 words, so I'll be brief. Be who you are, ignore the critics. Listen to the person inside - not the one who's wrong, but the one who knows right from wrong. Really love those whom you love. Honor those whom you hate. Pray for them; they need it. We all do. Stop judging. We have all fallen short, and you do not increase yourself by decreasing others. You know that, and many other things, so follow truth. Who you are is great, so stop pretending to be great. What...
Summer Brew & Q — canceled. Taco Tuesday — postponed. Independence Day celebration — canceled. The messages stamped in red in the online summer brochure indicate which programs are not taking place this summer. No pool memberships. No group swimming lessons. On some pages, one or two programs carry the red notice; on others, all are affected. This seems a strange moment, then, to celebrate the Hinsdale Parks and Recreation Department. But July is Park and Recreation Month across the country, and the National Recreation and Pa...
I have a stack of travel journals in which I have documented the early days of many wonderful trips. Unfortunately, I’ve lacked the discipline to finish most of them. So when I saw Christine Dannhausen-Brun posting her coronavirus updates on Facebook week after week, month after month, I was impressed. And I knew I wanted to talk with her. After a hiatus of several days, during which time she was visiting her family in Door County, she caught up Monday with a post for days 1...
