My Brawl on the Beach

I went to the beach today.  I sat myself, my chair and my belongings ( wallet, water bottle, phone, keys and towel) in the sand facing the beach restaurant.  Not because I wanted to face the place, but because that was where the sun was.  I left my stuff and went for my usual walk - from Oak Street to Division Street.  I do it for exercise and also to seek out old beach friends.  On my way I met Jose, who was selling ice cream goodies from his hand propelled truck down the lakefront.  The  kids were so excited to have him and his offerings from $1.00 and up.  It was a really hot day.

I got back to my spot on the beach - popular news about crime in Chicago not withstanding, all my possesions ( who needs them?) were still in place and I continued to enjoy my day.  This is when  the fiscal conservative and the social liberal in my life  came to blows. It was a real beach brawl in my head.
 
Jose and his truck had reached the southern end of the beach, where I reside, and was handing Popsicles to my beach neighbors for their $3.00 when two thugs from the beach restaurant ran down and grabbed Jose's cart.  Saying " We're going to dump   your f---in wagon  in the f---in' lake" and get your ass out of here - sorry kids- you'll have to excuse us ..................

Okay - so the restaurant owner  pays thousands of $$ for the permit from his friend the Alderman and the Ice
Cream vendor only pays about $50. for a street peddlers license.  Why couldn't the guy who is going to make millions this weekend at the Air and Water show let the hard working ice cream vendor make a few honest bucks for his family?  And why the angry rhetoric?

Why am I thinking of not buying the $12.00 glass of wine at the restaurant and seriously considering  trying a $1.50 snow cone?

There's More to the Newberry Than the Book Fair

To family historians, the Newberry Library is a gem of genealogy research.  To world explorers it is a treasure trove of maps, half a million to be precise. To plain lovers of books and history the 123 year old Newberry is a repository for 1.5 million books and 5 million pages of manuscripts dating from the middle ages up to modern times.

For me, it is a place of many delights - a place to party - I've been to weddings and fundraisers there.  A place to hide I've spent many an hour just browsing and learning.  But most importantly it's a place to exercise - my mind, that is.

Shortly before I retired, I decided to follow my husband's lead and start preparing for the after- career phase of my life.  I have loved to write since I was a child and the Newberry Library Seminars Program offered several classes that fit my schedule.  I have now taken these classes almost every Fall and Spring ever since.  This Summer, I even gave up some beach Saturdays for one.

Carol LaChapelle at BugHouse Square

What got me hooked was the first Carol LaChapelle class I took The Mind at Work:Writing the Personal  Essay. Carol is a teacher, writer, writing coach and author of Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories.   As a bonus, she is a fun person who loves sharing her gift with others.  She is, without a doubt, the reason I am as far along on my beach stories as I am.  She's also one of those who encouraged me to start this blog. Even thought I've participated in all the workshops she offers through the Newberry, I still continue to sign up a few times a year.  I call it a "jump start" that we all  need, no matter what field we pursue.  I may never be a published writer, as she is, but I'm enjoying writing and at this stage of my life that's what it's all about.
http://carollachapelle.blogspot.com/

There are other fine offerings in the Newberry Library Seminars Program and fall classes, which start in September are open for registration now. http://www.newberry.org/.  If you've got the writing bug, I highly recommend you start with one of Carol's workshops. 

Main Debate- Gun Control

The day of our last class this summer happened to be the day of the BugHouse Square Debates, presented by the Newberry in Washington Park, across from the front steps of the library.  The debates are held annually to celebrate the First Amendment and to commemorate  and revive the very spirited, spontaneous debates that prevailed at that location from the 1910s until the 1960s.  Orators from every walk of life, political persuasion and social point of view engaged in heated exchanges espousing their causes.  Heckling was encouraged then as it is now.  It's a fun way to spend a Saturday after you have filled your shopping bags with books from the Newberry Library Book Fair. 

This year's main debate topic was Gun Control in the City. The debaters were sincere,  made many great points and elicited some excitement from the crowd.  Still,  I long for the bombastic orators of yesteryear, there must be some still out there.  Or maybe we can just re-enact some of our family dinner conversations from the past.  In any event, it's great to celebrate freedom of speech. 

Joy at the End of July

Funny how we react differently to very similar things.  I  recently dubbed a pile of unread magazines a "scary monster in the house".  I started this weekend by acquiring  a pile three times taller and I'm not the least bit scared. I'm actually jumping for joy.

 Because this pile is books  from the Newberry Library Book Fair and I'm dying to read them slowly and carefully - savoring each word. I salivate when I walk past them. I think it's because the magazines stirred a feeling of deadline, whereas the books stir feeling of take your time - enjoy.

By the way, I've dealt with the magazines in my own way - selective reading, laundry room sharing, and farming out to my kids took the pile down and it's now just a matter of taking one to the beach each time  I go to thumb through as a warm up for my book reading.

If you've never been to the Newberry Library Book Fair and you're a reader, you need to treat yourself to a trip there next spring when they have one devoted only to mystery writers and again next summer when you can purchase anything from antique classics and scholarly tomes to the latest pulp fiction, CDs and DVDs. 

Just walking through the Newberry Library and seeing and smelling and touching some of the tens of thousands of volumes all in one place,rubbing shoulders (and elbows and hips) with other book lovers gives me a feeling of well being and oneness with my fellow man. Well, maybe not the guy who gets there before me every year and gets help from the volunteers, who squirrel away his favorite authors for him. He and I happen to like the same authors. Maybe next year I'll beat him to some of them.



Kindle lovers need not apply.

                                                            http://www.newberry.org/

Survivor: Sid the Streeterville Spider

Every year the lake sends airmail delivery of black spiders - some of which find their way onto the outside of our floor to ceiling windows, where they create beautifuly intricate gossamer webs.  We love to watch their progress and observe their hunting and survival tactics.  We are saddened when they sometimes blow away.

I've named our latest one Sid - no particular reason for that name - and I'm not even sure its a boy - it might be Syd.

Friday night we had a storm which one of my writing classmates described as biblical in its ferocity.  High winds, heavy rain and an eletrical show to rival any man-made fireworks. Towns, highways and subway tunnels flooded.  Homes and businesses were without power and, again, trees were down.  Many people were late to our class on Saturday morning.  I got there early in an effort to avoid the rain that was once again threatening with "Puff the Magic Dragon" shaped clouds outside my window.

 Upon returning home later that afternoon, not only was I greeted by a remarkably rosy dusk, but also happily, by a lively and  happy Sid.

MOTHER NATURE IS TRULY AMAZING.

The Scary Monster in the House

What is the super monster that weighs 17  pounds, stands  only a foot tall and is scaring me to death?  If you guessed a half-elf or a vampire you'd be wrong.  Try again.  Give up? It is the pile of magazines waiting for me  after 6 weeks away and no suspension of delivery.  If it was the middle of winter I'd have less of a problem, but every day that I spend outdoors enjoying summer puts me one more day behind the 8 ball- or should I say print wall.  I think I need to  re-evaluate my need for  these publications and  do something about it. I'll take them alphabetically:

BON APPETIT:  I started getting this in December, 2009 as a consolation prize from Conde Nast after they shut down Gourmet.  I have been getting it ever since and have never paid for it.
What I like about it:  The photos and some of the fast easy recipes and the Feedback page at the end. I still miss Gourmet.

Why I probably don't need it:  I have 153 cookbooks in my collection, (left) not to mention the 5 albums filled with recipes from friends  and family or clipped from various publications.In spite of this I somehow always go back to preparing the same 10 dishes over and over.


CHICAGO MAGAZINE:  I think this gets renewed by osmosis.. I don't recall ever making a conscious decision one way or the other.
What I like about it:  The real estate stuff and occasionally a profile of an interesting Chicagoan.
Why I probably don't need it:  I have enough foodies in my circle of friends and family, that they give the scoop on the hot spots before they get reviewed by Chicago - and since we eat out so seldom, who  really cares.  I can get other events on line and pick and choose.  Nobody can change my mind about the best pizza and burgers in Chicago no matter how many issues they devote to it. I think it's time to cancel this one.

COOK'S COUNTRY:  I get this sporadically.  It is put out by the same people as Cook's Illustrated.. I don't pay for this one.  I guess Christopher Kimball is trying to entice me to subscribe.
What I like about it:  Just a handful of basic, easy to follow recipes and the many test kitchen results that have really helped me choose and prepare food with better results.
Why I probably don't need it:  I don't miss it if I don't get it and I don't need another cooking magazine.

COOKS ILLUSTRATED:  I consciously subscribe to this and pass the issues on to my local daughters.
What I like about it:  Everything.  They do the best reviews of products, most helpful hints and dummy proof recipes.  It only comes every two months, so I find myself looking forward to it and I usually devour it before I open the  rest of the mail.
Why I probably don't need it:  NA - I need it.

the NEW YORKER:  This is Joe's baby.  We've been getting it for  more yeas than I can remember.  I take them after he's done with them.  Sometimes they pile up and we wind up taking a suitcase full when we go on vacation. 
What I like about it:  Okay, I admit it, the cartoons.  I also like the fiction and the financial page.  My favorite issues are the all fiction one and the food one. 
Why I probably don't need it:  By the time I get to it, all the timely topics are old hat and we've seen the movies (or else they're not showing any more).  I hate the poetry and wonder how some of it gets published.  If it didn't come in the mail, I could read it in the library. This one is not my call.

POETS AND WRITERS:  I subscribed to this at the suggestion of someone in one of my writing workshops.
What I like about it:  It only comes every two months and it has a lot of calls for submissions to contests and announcements of writers workshops and retreats that look interesting.
Why I probably don't need it: Its target audience is authentic (published) writers.  The articles are too long and analytical. The contests and calls for submissions are for much more serious subject matter than I care to produce.  I am not renewing it.

The WRITER:   I started looking at this in Border's at the advice of my writing teacher.  Then Border's took the benches and chairs out of the store - so I'd have to read it standing up.  I decided to subscribe.
What I like about it:  It is truly geared to aspiring writers who need advice and helpful hints.  The articles are short and to  the point.  They have good writing exercises in them.  They also have calls for submissions and contests, but more geared to the kind of writing I enjoy - personal essays.  I will give it one more try, although true to my nature, by the time I look at the contests, et al - the deadlines have passed.  Oh well.

That's another story for another time - when I get around to it.

A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine...yada,yada, yada......

I prefer to make my own melba toast.   I cut the crusts off the very thin Pepperidge Farm bread, spray lightly with olive oil and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for 11 minutes.  I get a mountain of toast points.  I also get a bag of perfectly good bread crusts.  What to do?  Head for the south pond at the zoo and feed the duckies.  No kids around so I take Joe who loves feeding them and trying to outsmart the sea gulls who swoop in to steal the bread from their mouths.  After braving a sea of naked armpits on the dangerously crowded 151 bus, we hit the pond running.

There we were rewarded with momma duck and her 7 babies and also the many varieties of water fowl, gratefully accepting our crusts.  After a nice stroll around the pond we discovered the zoo was closing early for the Zoo Ball fundraiser so we'd have to be content with people watching instead.

 Back onto another outrageously crowded 151 and another sea of armpits and other body parts hanging from the straps.  We got off at the Wrigley building to cruise the North Michigan Avenue Art Fair - a very diminished display compared to other years- recession related- no doubt.A couple of our favorites were missing and there were no food vendors or street performers, a pretty sad event.

Back home in time for cocktail hour we feasted on the smoked salmon and cucumber appetizers made with the home- made melba toast and chose the wine for dinner.

Nothing goes to waste around here - it just goes to waist.

Dog Days of Summer

I'm not a dog lover, nor a dog hater  and I've had  and still have some favorite dogs in my life.  I  have  some good friends whose preferences in dogs leave me puzzled - I'm talking about the two with Pit Bulls, the one with the Rottweilers and the one with the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  I'm still their friend, but not a willing visitor to their homes.  Sorry, guys, they scare me.  

 But this post is not about them - it is about the certain breed of dog owners who have popped into my life way too often lately.

• Gold Coast dog owners who walk their pets on the lawn of our dog free building with no visible signs of a clean up device
• Farmers' Market goers who think the rest of us enjoy their mutts slobbering on the produce and tripping us with their leashes
• The neanderthal who brought his ill behaved dog to the 4th of July concert and let it bark all through the reading of the Declaration of Independence
• The beach goers who ignore the "no dogs" signs and see nothing wrong with letting their dogs pee in the same sand that toddlers love to dig in
• The matron who drags her poodle through Neiman Marcus and looks peeved if you don't smile approvingly at the doggy hairdo
• The  many whose dogs are in strollers, beach bags, purses and wagons.  If the dog can't walk along side of you - what's the point?

I'm sure you've got examples of your own - and just to be clear - this is not about the dogs it's about the dumb people who own them.  Before we had a family, we had Grandpa Jack's dog Spooky and one of own named Charles.   In New Jersey we had Beautiful Theresa - don't look at me, Joe let the kids name it. We also had the Moore's big dog Tippy whom we all loved. In River Forest we had Sam.  Sam is book waiting to be written about neurosis in canines.  We also had the Shefte's dog named Spot.  My sisters had two look alike dogs - Pebbles in Florida and Barnacle in Cape Cod.   Now the Florida crew has Princess. We are currently dogless and will remain so.

Our kids have some nifty dogs - Jody at last count was at two.  Very different, but great pets.  Terry's Daisy is sweet and gentle.  Kelli and Kevin's dog is a teacup variety and I'm afraid I'll sit on it - but it's well behaved.  Which brings us to two of the nicest family dogs ever.  They are recently deceased and missed.  They had loving responsible owners - unlike some of the characters I'm talking about.

Bridy with Finn

Goldy at Christmas

                                                                        

As for me, I'll just keep yelling at the irresponsible dogs owners and keep the dirty looks flying.