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Mike Slonoff is getting married tomorrow. Fifteen years ago, when his father, Jim, and I started this paper, he was a senior at Hinsdale Central. We’d see him in the halls while we were working on a story (why wasn’t he in class, Jim would wonder) or spot him in uniform on the sidelines while covering a football game. Mike’s little brother, Matt, was a second-grader at Madison School in 2006. Now he’s a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy. Fifteen years ago my daughter, Ainsley, had yet to be born. I lived in a differ...
Today I have the privilege of introducing you to our new contributing columnists. We have quite a big group this year, so I will keep my opening comments brief. Before I jump in, however, I want to express our gratitude to the writers whose terms have ended: Jack Fredrickson, Gabriela Garcia, Susan O'Byrne, Amy McCauley, Beth Smits, Alegra Waverly and Carol Wittemann. They have made me laugh, made me think and occasionally brought a tear to my eye with their columns over the...
We passed our neighbor, affectionately known as "Farmer Tom" (for the fresh garlic and tomatoes he's always passing out) on a walk last week. We stopped so our dog, Lizzy, could get a treat. (He's always passing out dog treats, too.) "I just love him," Ainsley said. "He's just like my grandpa." She stopped and thought a minute. "Of course, he's like my sixth grandpa," she mused. We made a count. With her paternal grandfather, my dad, my mom's second husband, my mom's...
The time will come, people would tell me. When I would complain about constant interruptions from a 3- or 4- or 5-year-old Ainsley while I was trying to cook dinner or do some work or even go to the bathroom, people would tell me there would come a time when Ainsley would hardly be home. And I would miss the interruptions. That time has come. Of course the start of a new school year - other than last year's - always means more time out of the house. This year Ainsley has...
One of my mom's signature phrases was, "Too much weekend." She would pull it out on a Sunday evening when I was anxious to get to bed early or a Monday morning when I was less than anxious to get out of bed. During the 15 months I lived at home after graduating from college, I went out a lot. And so I heard this phrase many, many, many times. As we spent our first full day of vacation in Saugatuck, Mich., on Aug. 15 lounging around the house - rather than heading to the beach...
Getting ready to go to Michigan in August has become almost as much of a ritual as the trip itself. We've fine-tuned our packing list over the years and start gathering our supplies - from marshmallow roasting sticks for s'mores to a battery-powered pump to inflate floaties - a week in advance. I've got a routine at work, too, part of which is to find a column I have previously written to re-run in this space. A favorite of mine has been one I wrote about a delicious grilling...
I walked into a meeting last week, grabbed a chair and settled in. At some point, I noticed I couldn't quite recognize the person sitting next to me because she was wearing a mask. I looked around and came to the realization that everyone was wearing a mask. I was the only maskhole! Fortunately, I had one in my purse and quickly put it on. I was more prepared when I went to get my haircut a couple of days later. There, it turned out, masks were not in wide use. These moments...
Pat Kenny made a list of promises to his wife, Eileen, before she died in 2016. The final one was to write a book about their son Sean's struggles with mental illness and death by suicide in 2006. The former Hinsdale fire chief had been traveling the country for years sharing with other first responders his experience about losing his son. "You can't tell enough people, and emotionally it's not good for you," Kenny remembers his wife telling him. "Write the book and tell the...
What would people think of you if they judged you at your most difficult moment? That’s not a question I like to ponder. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and would like to believe they are tempered by the moments I did my best. Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles received her share of hate after she decided Tuesday to withdraw from the team finals in order to focus on her mental health. A day later the 24-year-old also withdrew from the individual all-around com...
Sticky toffee pudding eluded me for most of my life. A lover of cakes and cheesecakes, I didn't discover this amazing dessert until I was almost 40. Dan and I were on my dream "Jane Austen trip" to England (with some dungeon visits thrown in to keep him happy) to celebrate my milestone birthday. In addition to visiting her grave in Winchester and her museum in Bath, both of which brought me great joy, I discovered sticky toffee pudding. I can't remember what prompted me to ord...
I have friends who went to summer camp - out-of-state camps in beautiful locations like Colorado and North Carolina and New Hampshire. My own summer camp experience was limited to the kind offered by the park district. Money was tight when I was a kid. Traveling out of state - or even out of town - for camp was not a possibility. So when Ainsley said, toward the end of third grade, that she wanted to go to sleep-away camp, I was excited that we would be able to send her. She...
Dan and I absolutely hated the first road trip we took, to visit Boston some 984 miles away. We split the 15-hour drive into two, complaint-filled days. Looking back, I see two problems: 1. We planned to camp on the way there and when we missed an exit, we decided to stay in a hotel, but we didn't have reservations, and there was a quilt convention in town, so it took forever to find a room. Whew! 2. We didn't bring enough snacks. We felt much different after our second road...
I'm not very skilled at saying no. I have such a hard time, in fact, that one of my friends/co-workers once suggested a simple remedy if I find myself unable to respond in the negative when asked to do something I don't want to do. I should write "No" on an index card and hold it up. I know I'm not the only person who struggles with this. And the reasons why I do are many. First of all, I'm a people pleaser. This is a role many of us - especially women - have been raised to...
Bret Conway. Jack Fredrickson. Gabriela Garcia. Kelly Abate Kallas. Amy McCauley. Susan O'Byrne. Beth Smits. Alegra Waverly. Carol Wittemann. These fabulous writers served as our contributing columnists during 2020-21. Would you like to see your name added to the list? We have a handful of openings for new writers to join this pool in September. Every summer, the columnists who have spent the last two years writing for us retire, so to speak. This year we are losing Susan, Car...
“If the story you’re telling doesn’t serve you, tell a different story.” I typed that while taking my morning walk and listening to my current favorite podcast, “Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris.” I wanted to remember the quote to share it with someone, which I did. And I thought I might want to listen to the episode again. If only I had written down which episode I was listening to at the time! I can never remember where I’ve heard things. There I go. Telling a story about...
Spending a few days in a small guest house on Knapp Creek Farm in Wisconsin provided just the break we needed a couple of weeks ago. We headed out on a Wednesday night after the paper was done, a little later than we had hoped, given the four-hour drive. We were heading toward Viroqua, Wis., a town my husband, Dan, had visited on a fly fishing trip with Joseph Meyer (who opened a shop called One More Cast in Countryside after spending years at Luv It! in Gateway Square). Dan...
For three and a half years, plastic cups in the fence on the 47th Street bridge have reminded many of the courage young Brooks Tonn of Hinsdale displayed in his fight against cancer. The cups spell out two words: "Brooks Strong." Now Brooks, who passed away in December 2017 after a year-long battle with rhabdomyosarcoma, will be remembered in a more permanent way. The Illinois House of Representatives voted 118-0 May 12 to name the bridge the Brooks Edwin Tonn Memorial Bridge....
I wouldn't call Jim Slonoff a liar. After all, he's my friend of more than 30 years and business partner here at The Hinsdalean. But he does, at times, play fast and loose with the truth. Someone called The Doings once with a question about a tree, which none of us could answer. I can't remember the specifics. But I know when Jim heard about it, he offered us a lengthy explanation about squirrels and nuts and the acidity of the soil. He sounded very convincing. And then I...
Charlie Harley stopped in Monday to let us know about the Armistice Day celebration in Burr Ridge May 15 — at which he will receive the Jack Schaus Patriot Award. I told him I wished I could come, but we are having a small memorial service for my mom, who died in November. “Of course you have to go to that,” Charlie said. “After all, you only ever have one mother.” “Well,” I responded. “I’ve got an interesting story for you.” And so I told him about being adopted and taking...
I had great dreams for myself as a parent before I became one. I was going to spend each and every day laughing with and enjoying my children (back when I thought I would have more than one). I remember thinking once that my best friend, who at the time was experiencing a trying moment with her 7- or 8-year-old twins, should just have a better sense of humor. Then things would go so much more smoothly. I now find that hilarious. Just last night I told Ainsley I don't have a...
I don't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Do you? Ooh, wait - I do. I saw "Frozen 2" on March 8 of last year - the day after I was out much too late at the cast party for "Hinsdolopy," the 2020 Community Revue. (I discovered after the previous revue that watching a movie in a reclined seat with some snacks helps with post-show/post-party recovery.) Since then, I've seen "Troop Zero," "Onward" and "Soul" from the comfort of my family room, where the seats don't...
“Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.” I used those lines from Wallace Stevens in the first round of a grad school party game. Recite a quote or drink a shot. Or it might have been recite a quote and drink a shot — I’m not sure. Either way, I wouldn’t recommend the game. First, because games that involve drinking shots typically are not a good idea. Second, because this one makes me sound like a real nerd. I thought of the quote — and the game — because April is National Poetry Month....
My memories of taking Ainsley to Disney World when she was 5 are magical. We rode many wonderful rides, met many princesses and ate dinner at Cinderella's castle, with Ainsley dressed as a perfect miniature of the palace owner. We picked a week when attendance was historically low and never waited more than 40 minutes in line. We had a slightly different experience over spring break when we visited a crowded Universal Studios and its Islands of Adventure. I usually don't...
How will women be remembered in history? Clearly it depends on whom you ask. Esquire magazine identified the 75 greatest women of all time a couple of years ago. The headline popped up in one of my Google searches Monday afternoon and I was intrigued. I suppose I should not have expected too much after reading the blurb that accompanied the list: “Politicians, pop stars, Native American guides: A definitive list of the women who have shaped the world. Well, inasmuch as definit...
I remember when my mom first uttered the words. "The doctors are all kids!" she told me. My father, who was a brittle diabetic, had been hospitalized again. My mom - younger at the time than I am now - couldn't believe how youthful the medical professionals looked. From then on, she would periodically offer this assessment of any adult who was under the age of 30. They all looked like kids to her. I heard a similar comment from a co-worker's husband at an office Christmas...
