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Galewood Community Church 6/28/25 – I was driving to my cousin’s body shop last week down the usual path using Oak Park Ave. At Diversity it was under construction, so I detoured to Narragansett and at one point was stopped at a red light. I looked up and saw the cross street was Bloomingdale and my mind instantly said LOOK RIGHT – there on the corner was Galewood Community Church. Now most people would look at the unassuming white church and not feel anything but, in my case, it is where we held our Boy Scout meetings for many years, and my mind instantly dug up a flood of memories. Some of the memories, 1) we did a winter display there every year and built a large monkey bridge, a signal tower and cook stand (and on Sundays cooked breakfast for people as they left church), 2) we camped on the front lawn overnight in tents as well during those winter displays, 3) I drove our 68 Mustang to a meeting one time (I had my permit) and got out to switch with my mom so she could drive home. We both exited the car and locked the doors as the car was running – thank goodness in those days a coat hanger got the door unlocked, 4) Ed Hanrahan lived near the church and there was a 24 hour police presence surrounding his home (he was the Cook County State’s Attorney who was involved in the 1969 Black Panther raid that killed two of their leaders), 5) Sam Giancana (organized crime boss) lived nearby too – in 1975 he was assassinated in his home before he could testify before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, 6) In the basement of the church we held our weekly meetings, along with the annual Blue and Gold spaghetti dinner, Pine Wood Derby races, and we dried out our tents and equipment after weekend camping trips there, 7) At one of those blue and gold dinners there was a raffle - I mentioned I was going to win the Replogle Globe and I did and still have it over 50+ years and 8) lastly I remember the most famous member of Boy Scout Troop 121 – Hugh Hefner (several years before me). Sometimes taking an unexpected detour leads you straight to memory lane.  

Why I do what I do 6/21/25 - This past week at work we had to get on several incident triage calls, for example, Thursday night from 9:15pm to 12:30am, Saturday morning from 12:30am to 4:15am and again on Father’s Day from 6pm to 6:45pm. The way people worked together on these calls made me proud to be a part of the team. First the people I work with are a dedicated bunch – they join these triage bridges and work until we restore service. I get the pleasure of leading these triage bridges at all hours of the day and I find it rewarding because the people I work with care as much as I do. I also enjoy these calls because I get to inject a little improv and humor to keep things going. Recently I have been asked “when are you going to retire?” and based on the job I do, the people I work with and how the company treats us it is a tough question because I will have to find something as rewarding, fulfilling, fast paced and challenging to replace what I do. In addition, when you get feedback from your co-workers and company leadership thanking you for the work you do it shows you are appreciated. Lastly, related to aging etc. people ask if I play Wordle or Connections etc. to keep my mind sharp and I tell them I do not since for now by facilitating these calls, asking questions, troubleshooting, taking notes, calling people, and suggesting potential solutions I keep my brain pretty sharp – a much better game for me (at least for now) than Sudoku!

Life is like poker 6/14/25 – Life is like a poker game in many ways,1) We are dealt a hand and if it is 5 card stud (or sometimes in life) we have to make the best with what we have, 2) You can bluff your way through life (or card game) but sooner or later someone will ‘call you’ on it, 3) We discard relationships and other things in our lives and we never truly know if it was a wise decision until the next card/person/thing comes along, 4) Life at it’s core is a gamble – we are never really certain how things will turn out, 5) Just as in life, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose but hopefully you have fun playing the game, 6) Some people rarely show their emotions (poker face) while others wear their emotions on their sleeve 7) Some people go through life and routinely ‘bet it all’ while others are more cautious and only put a little at stake or at risk, 8) Sometimes in life we have to know when to give up on someone/something or we realize something is no longer worth pursuing (and just like in poker we ‘fold’), 9) Sometimes in card games there are wild cards and in life some people are considered ‘wild cards’ and 10) Sometimes in life or in a card game we can be down to our last few poker chips and we go for it and win – reminding you that we are never out of it until the last card is dealt. 

Only 18% of Americans? 6/7/25 - Twice in less than a week there was only one person on staff that knew how to drive my car and at the time they weren’t there. First at a wedding in Chicago while valeting my car and then at the Niles Costco while having my tires rotated. I Googled it - approximately only 18% of Americans know how to drive a manual transmission – really? It also happened to me a few years ago when I stayed in Indianapolis – I pulled up to the hotel and asked the valet if he could drive a stick and his reply was, “sort of.” I asked “where should I park it?” – turns out right in front. Growing up we had a 1952 Willys Jeep that had a three-speed manual transmission that my mom drove – tell me how my mom could drive a manual, but you can’t (sorry we need to take your man card away if you can’t)? People don’t realize what they are missing – like going through the gears to leverage the most out of the available horsepower or increasing the size of your left leg when sitting in traffic. But what is the most positive thing about driving a stick (in addition to getting special parking spots at hotels and events) – no one is going to carjack you or steal it – they will get in and not know what to do – best anti-theft device! 

 Look at your hand 5/31/25 – Palmistry (the practice of interpreting one’s character or predicting their future by examining the lines of their hand). This looks at four major lines, your heart line (emotional self), your head line (thought process and mental state), your life line (vitality and energy) and your fate line (your destiny). What does this mean? 1) No need to go to the doctor – just look at your hands to see how you are doing, 2) Reduce the number of times you shake hands – this could wear the lines off and then your future is in real trouble, 3) Instead of lip augmentation, Botox or other cosmetic surgery on your face or other body parts – plump up your palms OR get line enhancement OR get a hand enlargement to make your lines healthy looking, bigger, longer and more youthful looking, 4) Take regular photos of your palms to compare to previous photos to detect any changes that may signal problems, 5) Don’t show people your palms – it is like revealing your PHI (Personal Health Information) and lastly 6) Take care of your palms with lotion (regularly) to keep them well moisturized, and to keep your lines from cracking! 

Characters 5/24/25  – Is it just me or does everyone do this? Based on what I am wearing and where I am it puts me into a certain character mode. For example, when I am in a suit and have my Army officer’s overcoat on it makes me feel like a hit man (but if I have my military black beret on with the overcoat, I am Special Forces). I just got new sunglasses and when I wear them, I feel like the villain in a movie. When I wear my black suit with the thin black tie (at weddings in particular) and I am on the dance floor, I get a little Blues Brotherish in my step. When I wear my Chicago police leather jacket (yep you guessed it) I feel like an off-duty police officer, and I stare at people in stores to keep them from shoplifting. When I approach an expressway entrance ramp, I put my car into sport mode, and I am instantly a race car driver (the title of the movie I am in is Honda versus the other car – unless it is a Tesla – I don’t race those). Lastly, in the Fall and Winter when doing outside work I usually wear fatigue pants with my M-65 field jacket (and yes, I am retired military doing yard work). My motto - why waste a vivid imagination and the world of make believe sometimes is much more interesting than reality. I think I simply like to dress up more than just once a year on Halloween. I basically sense a certain look and naturally come up with a character (and act accordingly)!