AND SO, CHRISTMAS

   I've  seen many a Christmas come and go and as another closes in, I can honestly say that the
anticipation and the adrenaline I felt as a kid remains to this day, the only buffer to my otherwise cynical and sarcastic existence.

     I've got my mom  to thank for this devotion to the season of goodwill. While dad would annually scowl come the holidays, mom was baking and decorating and singing and instilling traditions that would remain with me forever. I treasure Christmas and I anticipate it all year and savor it once it arrives and I do not apologize for any of that.

       It has been a long time since that kid searched the sky for Santa Claus and looked forward to the gifts he would bring on that one magical night.Heck, I was scared to death of this "little" elf who was larger than life. I didn't want him in my room and I definitely didn't want him checking to make sure I was asleep because if I wasn't, I was sure he would depart and leave me giftless...and who can sleep under that kind of pressure ?

       Like so many of you, my traditions and customs have changed over the years because that's what life does . The crowded house occupied by my old world Italian grandparents served as a landing spot for members of the italian side of the family each December 24. Good food and gifts and an occasional glimpse of Santa (or perhaps someone dressed as Santa) as we rode to grandma's house. I still miss hearing "Buon Natale" on Christmas Eve.

      These days my Christmas Eve have transitioned from family to friends. I am fortunate to be included in a friend's family gathering each year, joining them in song and food and drink and the joy of the season. I always hate to leave the party but I have a set of good friends who visit before midnight mass (an integral part of my Christmas) and we exchange gifts and drink a toast to the holiday and to friendship.

     I annually toast my late mom and dad and thank them for the best gift they ever gave me...a deep love and appreciation for Christmas. I get teased about it and that's okay. I know there is value to living one day at a time and I also know that with each Christmas comes advancing age and I have less Christmas Days remaining than the number I have experienced. Yet this stark reality doesn't make me look any less forward to it and start considering the next one once this one is a memory.

      I am so fortunate. I am struggling in a lot of ways and not everything is mistletoe and holly in my world no matter how it might appear. But I have my own little unconventional  family with whom I will sit down to dinner with on Christmas after we scatter wrapping paper to the 4 winds. And I have a raft of friends on whom I can depend and almost all of them make me laugh on a fairly regular basis and never discount humor because when you think your down to your last emotional bullet, it can save you.

        After a Christmas Eve of celebration and anticipation , when the first few notes of the organ echo through church to begin midnight mass, I always think "We made it to another one."  And as long as there is Christmas there is hope.

          It's almost cliche to write these heartfelt reminiscences and I know the feelings expressed here are not uniquely my own, yet I wanted to share it with you on this Christmas because I'm just glad you're here and we celebrate together no matter where we are tonight.

         Thank you for being part of my life this Christmas. Let's do it again in 2016,whaddaya say?

        

SOME THINGS I'VE LEARNED DURING THE CUBS PLAYOFF RUN

    This didn't end the way most of us had hoped but during this improbable and breath taking run to MLB's final four, the team of my childhood (hey I remember Cuno Barragan!) taught/reminded me of a few things.

      The exuberance of youth cannot be denied.
      This extraordinary collection of youngsters had no ties to the past with its fake curses and black cats and late season collapses. They played in the now because they knew no other way. And these talented collection of ballplayers will be youthful again when pitchers and catchers report in February. Young kids with talent who aren't going anywhere...and in fact are slated to be joined by another bumper crop of farmhands as the system is now set to keep feeding fine players to the major league club just the way the successful big boys have done it for years.

      This exit feels like no other.
       When the Cubs were evicted from playoffs past there was always a sense that the team choked and was destined to be the lovable losers for a lifetime. They were the punchline that kept on giving and the feeling that they had blown a rare opportunity was predominant among fans and media. Not so now.  While nothing in baseball is a lock, the Cubs learning from this unexpected trip to the baseball stratosphere should put another arrow in their quiver when they begin the championship season again in the spring. Been there,done that...let's go. The boys become men. And with the now proven plan put in place by Theo Epstein and the crackerjack front office that is the best in baseball, be assured that the Cubs are going shopping this winter and they're going to be bringing some pitching to the checkout lane. There will be at least one big splash made to the mound corps.

     I've gotta clean out my friends list.
     This might seem random, but the Cubs run to the Championship Series exposed a few people whose lack of class and maturity had me rethinking why I would associate myself with those particular individuals. While it's just a game, I got a glimpse into the dark souls and personality disorders of some folks of whom I expected so much more. It caused me to re-evaluate my need to have them in my life, no matter that they were just on the periphery anyhow. If the Cubs aren't your cup of tea that's fine! Sports would be so much less interesting if we all backed the same team. And if you prefer the Sox,Cardinals or Brewers that's great! But can you at least muster up the class and maturity -if you are bound to express your feelings via social media or text- to refrain from being a jerk? One former FB friend found it mandatory to observe the Cubs ascension into the NLCS by writing an obnoxious screed that made the person look like nothing less than a sour grape ravaged  jealousy laden fool. It gave me great pleasure to hit the button that sent them to defriended hell. Another person I will be seeing so much less of delights in not just sending hateful Cub  messages but seems to have no concept of baseball past,present or future and just says things that are totally devoid of reason ..things that I know would have other Sox fans disassociating themselves from Mr. Clueless and perhaps suggesting a good therapist. One less Christmas party invite!
      But I can't leave the topic without pointing out that there have been Sox fans of my acquaintance who had the good sense and the decency to either wish the Cubs luck (no matter how sincere that might have been) or who just laid low and said little or nothing. I do not expect Sox fans to do as I did in 2005 and climb aboard to root Chicago to a championship (no matter how much sense that makes to me) but when you get to a certain age, I think it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that you might exhibit a level of maturity.

       Joe Maddon is the best manager of my lifetime.
       Granted the list of managers I've seen since being birthed into baseball might be less than stellar, but there HAVE been some good ones. Yet Joe Maddon tops the list. Forget the fact that he brings excessive cool to the sixties, he is as well prepared and as intelligent as any manager in any sport. While I was never sure about the outcome of the game, I was always more than confident that the manager of my team would make better decisions than the guy in the other dugout. Versed in metrics and the numbers that drive baseball in the 21st Century, Maddon  was able to combine that with the best attitude of any manager I've seen. Magicians, dress up road trips, animals in the outfield....Maddon doesn't get lost in the metrics-he keeps baseball fun and he made every member of that team feel valued. Keeping a large number of young men engaged just can't be easy. The Cubs have the manager everybody wants and like the kids that surround him, he will be here awhile.

        ESPN is awful
        Like so much of the out of town media, they relied on the lazy narrative of curses and black cats and collaspses because it would have been too much work to actually get into the trenches and study this team that owes nothing to that past and  those images and comes from a far different ideology. Instead, feeding into the lovable losers mentality that makes them comfortable, out of town outlets showed why you can't rely on coast based media for anything you will ever

be able to use.

       Chicago sports reporters are mostly awful.
       Gee, it's just great to see Jim Rose cheerleading through his 6 pm sportscasting and picking the Cubs to win! I don't think Rose has ever picked against any team with Chicago in its title. He should get pom poms to match his suit. And the same can be said for most of TV's sports reporters. The exceptions are Mark Giangreco and Siafa Lewis ,neither of whom I expect to see kissing the Cubbie mistletoe during their air time. I also applaud radio people like Dan Bernstein, Matt Spiegel, Jason Goff , Terry Boers, Brian Hanley and Mike Mulligan who give you an honest count. And then there's Gordon Wittenmyer who writes for the Sun Times covering the Cubs but seems to bend over backwards to be critical even at the expense of being correct.

       The Cubs are the next team win a Championship.
        Aren't they? The Hawks are off to an unspectacular start with many new faces who have yet to find their footing and may spend the season doing so. I sure hope they win the Cup again but I'm not expecting it. The Bears are on year one of rebuilding on the fly and while Aaron Rodgers is in the NFL and LeBron James in the NBA I think the outlook is similar for the boys of winter. The Sox need a Cubs-like restructuring but that isn't going to happen so they will continue to search for the right combination of skill and chemistry. They have pitching to build on but their manager is vanilla and his team seems to often take on his persona, as the Cubs have with Maddon.  The Cubs return fresh, talented and pitching fortified in a year where spring baseball forecasts should be picking them to finally win the world series. And I think they will.

       Facebook Loves the Cubs
       The flood of memes and Cub related posts were a Facebook tsunami. It seems almost everyone with social media access had something blue posted or had thoughts on the Cub climb . It would be hard to dispute the Cubs position as "America's team" based on what has been posted, written and produced these past weeks. It has been a great run and it may never be this way again. That's because starting in spring, the level of expectation rises big time. This was the year the Cubs almost snuck up on MLB and won everything . Next year they will be expected to perform in this manner and the weight of those expectations could be cumbersome. Yet Joe Maddon will be there keeping the mood light and imploring his charges to never let the pressure exceed the pleasure.

       How many more days til spring training?
     

'WE ARE GOOD' CUBS ARE HERE TO STAY

    97 WINS.
    I think it's safe to say no one...not the experts or the casual fan, expected the Cubs to win 97 times this season. This was supposed to be the year of measured improvement for the perennial losers from the north side. It was 2016 that Cub fans circled as the year when the new crop of Cubs would mature to the point of pennant racing. This year has been a true baseball bonus. The team blossomed early and rocketed to the third best record in the game and would win the division were they in any other division but the NL Central were the Cardinals and Pirates finished slightly better.

     And now, on a fall evening in October, a poorly devised one game playoff is all that stands between this upstart collection of Cubs and an epic playoff series with their arch rivals, the St.Louis Cardinals. But before that can happen, the Cubs and their unquestioned ace Jake Arrieta have to record 27 outs in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, a team that won 98 or 97 games will be out of the playoffs despite having a better record than any other team in the post season but St.Louis. This is going to sting for the losing team Wednesday night.

     But if ever the Cubs and their fans could follow their great manager's advice "Don't let the pressure exceed the pleasure", this is it. Unlike Cub teams of the past, there is no pressure here. This won't be the Cub teams of yore that caught lightning in a bottle and made the playoffs only to be dispatched quickly , said to be a victim of a curse that doesn't exist.

     What actually existed was a team patched together by bad management with no direction ,given to plucking a few free agents and making a deal or 2 that looked attractive at the time . The expiration date on those ill advised moves came quickly and then the team would try the same formula, come up empty again and retain the title of "lovable losers".

      This edition of the Cubs owes nothing to its pitiful past. Most of the players have little or no knowledge of the disappointments and "Cubbie occurances" that have deprived Cub nation of a Championship for over 100 years. They play in the now and unlike Cub teams past, these kids- home grown and not major league mercenaries patched together with fingers crossed, are fresh and talented and likely to return to the post season until they get it right. As trite as it sounds it is no less a truism, this is NOT your father's Cub team. A loss Wednesday night will be disappointing,sure, but only the stupid or ill informed will refer to it as a choke or glory in another year that the Cubs won't be champions. These Cubs are built for the long haul...."sustained success" as Theo Epstein stated. Baseball fans better get used to Bryant, Schwarber ,Rizzo and the rest because  they will be post season mainstays for years to come and candidates for a slew of post season awards. And with the Cubs expected to be buying pitching over the winter, an already formidable staff that has given up almost nothing in the last week of the season\, will become even stronger. With the best manager in baseball and a bright, young, energetic front office, the sky would seem to be the limit and first place a familiar neighborhood.

       No one expects the spanish inquisition or the Cubs having a 97 win season but this was just the appetizer. After a nuclear baseball winter that seemed to last forever as the team retooled, the Cubs are good...real good...and will be that way for awhile.

      We saw the city erupt as the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with a huge civic celebration that is probably still going on somewhere . And the Hawks will drop the puck on a new season the same evening the Cubs play their biggest game in years. Two teams, one big night...and both rebuilt from the dust of losing into organizations that are now the best the city has to offer and models for other teams regardless of the sport.

      Enjoy the evening and no matter the outcome don't look on it as the end, because it's just the beginning.

IF YOU HAVE ANY REGARD FOR ME PERSONALLY,POST THIS ON YOUR FB TIMELINE!

NO!!!!!! Don't do it!  That was just me trying to get your attention so I can rail against people who would ask such a thing and even people who would do it.

 This has been irritating me for awhile now and so I thought I would make myself feel better by taking a few paragraphs to gripe about some facebook postings that sour me on social media whenever I experience them.

   First, there are few things as personal as ones religion. You may like proclaiming your love and loyalty to your God and related religious figures and that is fine for you. I, however, prefer to keep my religion and beliefs a little more private. So when  a facebook friend asks me to post something to my page that glorifies God ..."If you love God,  don't be afraid to post this on your Facebook page," I am insulted. The inference is that if you won't post this religious thought on your page...you may be an atheist or just a bad person bound for hell. Don't use Facebook to try to influence people into your spirituality. Respect everyone's personal views and issues and don't expect them to subscribe to yours on the merit of being a Facebook friend. It is the same with politics. People who have visited my page have no doubt where I stand politically, but at the same time, I would never ask anyone to subscribe to my political thoughts and I would never share those posts with anyone but those I KNEW shared my beliefs. While my posts will show on many newsfeeds I don't seek your validation, approval or your share.

    What is with this post where someone decides to see if you really pay attention to their posts and decides to put you to the test? You have just come home from school or work  and your time is your own. But here is a casual facebook friend deciding to require you to read the post all the way through as a test of your fealty and then cut and paste it on to your page.."don"t share--that's too easy"( and demands much less of your time! )Your penalty for not doing so is risking their facebook friendship. I will take that risk every day of the week. I decide what goes on my page and I won't be held hostage by the threat of losing a cyber friendship that requires me to jump through hoops. Take your FB friendship elsewhere if you must. I won't be taking the test.If you want to make sure I read what you write make it something worth reading and not a threat. I have no idea how many FB friends I have at present and if I lost one, I probably would never know.

    Along these lines is the test of  your patriotism (post this if you love America) which is both insulting and condescending. The inference is that if I don't do as you say, I may be a member of an Isis cell . If you know me, you know I love my country and you also know I don't need to prove it on Facebook. I display the flag there often but I never try to shame you into doing it and I won't. It is particularly galling when you are asked to repost if you support veterans. It's pandering. Do you personally know anyone who doesn't support veterans? If so, why are you Facebook friends with them? We don't have to delcare everything for the benefit of the facebook public. "Post this if you love Goats!"  Don't underestimate the number of lemmings who will do just that.

    I am an autism activist. I am in support of anything that promotes the eradication of this disease...and in fact any disease. And because of that, there have been instances when I have posted something I was asked to post on my page for an hour or so at the request of a close friend. I don't do this often and I take quite a few things into account before I decide to do it. I don't generally do requests  so I hope you understand . It won't mean I don't think your cause is just, it just means I won't try to program your page so please don't program mine.

    And heaven help us, stop posting pictures of money and asking Facebook page owners to repost if they want to receive cash in the next 48 hours. Rub a lamp, do an incantation, find a 4 leaf clover but please don't expect people to buy in to your everlasting superstition. It doesn't look good on you.

    I'm going to root for my team on my page, you root for yours on your page. You won't change my mind about what I believe with your Facebook post and I don't intend to try to change yours. Our Facebook pages reflect our interests, beliefs and many of the things that make us tick.  I enjoy that  and I visit the page of friends when I want to do so, not when I am coerced...."repost...don't share"...

      Having said all that, I will, on occasion post something on the page of another FB friend. However, I do it infrequently and only if I am certain the person will not take offense. I have an AC/DC loving pal so if I find a decent story about the band (not just tripe) I will post it to his page. If I know you well enough to know what interests you, I will send things I believe you will enjoy and if you know me well enough, you can do the same. If  I am not interested I will delete it.  Know your audience.

      These are all small gripes in the large scheme of things but I think many times we just post things without thought. There really is a person on the other end of the keyboard and we want to enjoy the experience with them and not make it a source of annoyance. Don't use these rote "Post if you like/hate/believe..." posts in place of being engaging,interesting opinionated or humorous.  String some thoughts together without a patronizing meme and you'll make the facebook universe a better place in my humble opinion.

  

  

IN APPRECIATION OF THE BIRDS

 Baseball mediocrity.
 
 That's been our plight in this city since 2005 when the Chicago White Sox showed us what World Series glory was like. And since then we have been teased and disappointed and in some seasons, downright depressed by the local representatives of the great American past time.

  As a fan of the game and a fan of The Baltimore Orioles for many years, (why is another story that
isn't all that interesting) I was fortunate enough to have a fallback. For while the Orioles have been almost as horrible as our impotent squads, the past few years have been a Bird rebirth. And while our local heroes were booting the baseball, striking out in the clutch and showing little baseball intelligence in key situations, I sought asylum by enjoying baseball as it was meant to be played by the surging Orioles.

 While Chicago baseball fans were making winter plans and inspecting the roster of the Chicago Bears on September 1 (or sooner) I was rooting for a team doing the unthinkable ...playing meaningful September baseball and chugging to an October playoff date that would keep baseball alive for me and give me a genuine post season rooting interest as our teams packed it in for the year. I would still have baseball.

   I thrilled to clutch home runs and solid pitching performances. I wore my Oriole gear and painted the alcove between living and dining room oriole orange with white baseboards . I was a rooting section of one, alone in my fandom but able to enjoy the game and playoff baseball while my fellow fans went wanting and dreaming of next year.

   I'll always be grateful for the big moments and the thrills that the Orioles provided me as Chicago endured a meaningful baseball drought. But while the Orioles have and will continue to hold a special place in my major league heart, I'm getting my baseball thrills now from the team on which I was raised, The Cubs.

   I like to consider myself a critical fan. I don't believe in the "My team right or wrong" philosophy. I expect teams I root for to play a certain way. I expect them to execute, to be professional and smart and to live up to their abilities and salary. And when they don't, I get peeved.

   What originally had me shopping for a new team -sort of my baseball AshleyMadison- was that I realized many many years ago that I wanted the Cubs to win more than they seemed to want to win. They would field teams that were lacking in talent and the front office didn't seem to care. They hired managers that were out of their league and soon literally, out of the league. Crowds followed the ineptness like lambs to the slaughter and it suddenly seemed so stupid. I'm supporting a team that doesn't seem to care what they put on the field. I was patronizing a restaurant that served me bad meals on a continuing basis.

    Watching Baltimore baseball showed me how the game was supposed to be played. I saw things on the diamond that I didn't know ballplayers could do, having grown up watching the Cubs. It made me appreciate the game more.

       Today I looked at the standings and considered the Orioles as if they were an old girlfriend. I was interested in how they were doing, felt some fondness for them and still wish them the best as they struggle to reach the .500 mark with an outside shot at a wild card playoff spot. I'm still going to wear my Oriole cap and throw on a bright orange jersey which goes so well with autumn, but I've gone back to where my baseball fandom started. It's like going back to my own bed after being away on tour.

        The Cubs are looking Orioleish these days, doing all the things the Birds used to do when they surged toward the post season...only the Cubs are doing them better. And they bear no resemblance to the fumbling, loveable losers of my youth with an unengaged management and an apathetic roster. My boyhood team has been rebuilt in the image of a dynamic baseball genius named Theo Epstein who had a plan and executed it. It's a new, fresh, talented bunch with unlimited possibilities and perhaps the team that has been the most fun and the most exciting to watch in my lifetime.

       And all that's left of the franchise I used to know is the memories of going to Wrigley Field with my dad and unwrapping baseball cards hoping to get a Cub..and 1969. The Cubs were my youth, my first love. And while I left them  I never stopped caring and I never stopped hoping. And I wonder how my boyhood friends Ken ,Johnny, Carmen ,Joey and all the rest are feeling these days, watching the current team start to make us believe that maybe we willget to see what our  dads never did.

        Sure,the negative among us, stung by history or out of touch with this new brand of Cubs are waiting for the disappointment and in some cases, rooting for it. And chances are the Cubs will not win the final game they play this season.  But what they don't see is that it just doesn't matter.

         The 2015 Cubs are playing with house money. They are ready, contending and  darn good a year before they were supposed to reach the heights they are currently experiencing. The kids are gaining experience and they are participating in a pennant race. Over the coming winter the Cubs will make moves to make themselves even stronger and when they take the field in April, the experience and winning of 2015 will make them  even better . Epstein built this team with the idea of sustained success over the coming years and they are right on track.

       Anticipating a different kind of year, last March I put together a Cub motif for my dining room .That doesn't make me psychic but it does make me proud. I'm all in. The Cubs have regained my trust and respect and I'm in this right up until the final out.

        Good luck,Orioles. It would be great to have two teams in the post season .But while the Orioles will always have my gratitude, the Cubs will always have my heart.

HARRY VOLKMAN

   Harry Volkman was everybody's friend.
   In the days before Doppler, Skilling and green screen technology it was Mr.Volkman, whose skill and accuracy, combined with an everyman personality radiating warmth no matter what the temperature outside, who was the last word in weather.

     We lost Mr. Volkman  tonight. God Bless his family and deep condolences to them.

    I don't think I'd ever heard the word "boutanierre" before Mr.Volkman started sporting them on his lapel, gifts from the schools and organizations he took the time to visit almost daily. And how proud the folks he visited were when Mr.Volkman began his report by mentioning the school that had given him the flower. He enjoyed wild popularity for many reasons and one was that his forecasts were never dull. There were "whooshes" as a cold front prepared to sweep in and an arsenal of verbal sound effects that Mr.Volkman enjoyed as much as the viewer. And he would sometimes toss in a pun that would make the anchor team groan.

     While some in his line of work used severe weather events to alarm viewers into watching, Mr.Volkman was a calming presence in those situations. While he advised caution, he would more often than not but a reassuring spin on such incidents  I know of several times he took phone calls in his office from a mother calling on behalf of her frightened child, scared of the encroaching storm. He would tell that mom her child need not be afraid as in most cases the danger was not great and the storm would soon pass. Just like in life!

       My interest in weather began when I was 7 and was fostered by Mr.Volkman.  Through old fashioned snail mail and an infrequent phone call, Mr Volkman and I staid in scattered touch over the years . During the 80's I contacted him about appearing at a fest being sponsored by our local parish. I was shocked that he remembered who I was. He came out, hugged my mom and said some very nice things about her son. And even after his broadcast days were done, he appeared at parish events that I chaired and stole the show.

       Before the comedy production that my group, The Harlem Nights Players perform annually, I am fortunate enough to be able to interview the guests kind enough to come show their support for the parish.  On the occasions Mr.Volkman visited I needed to have no questions prepared. All I would say to Mr. Volkman is "How are you?" and then sit back and listen to his stories about his days in the service, his family, behind the scenes stories from his broadcast career and of course, plenty of comedy. He was a master storyteller and a gifted humorist enthralling the audience with his wit and charm . He's the only guest we've had that I actually had to cut off as the hour grew late and the show was yet to begin. I regretted that as Mr.Volkman may have been more entertaining than the show...at the very least a tough act to follow. Those interviews are safely stored on DVD and I will watch them again in the coming days. A guy like myself sitting there with a legend. What a blessing.

      Mr.Volkman , as our other guests, was free to leave after the interview but he stuck around! Once he introduced his audience to his niece and she came on stage and sang for our audience. Another time, while watching the comedy show we were doing where we featured our own fictional weather forecaster, Mr.Volkman took the stage of his own volition and told our character he was doing it all wrong. Our audience was thrilled and it remains one of the great moments in the history of our many shows. This was a man who enjoyed life and made ours happier in the process.

       Mr.Volkman was so proud of his family. He had stories about all of them and one of his sons, Eddie, himself a media star , joined us before the show last April. He is as bright and engaging as his dad and he shared some wonderful stories. Our condolences to Eddie and his entire family. While we have lost a legend they have lost a father, father in law, grandfather and more.

        I didn't know Harry Volkman much better than you did. While we weren't good friends he always made me feel special by just remembering me from childhood to present and I was always in awe of him.He was such a nice, humble man with a winning smile and wonderful sense of humor.

         Now on the other side of the clouds he watched for years, the name Harry Volkman will live on in Chicago broadcast history for decades and decades to come.

           Rest well, Mr.Volkman.

CENTERPIECE OF THE SUMMER

 This isn't deep or thought provoking. It doesn't deal with society's ills and offers no political insight or  sports commentary. And not a sentence about the "leap second."
   It's going to be light, fluffy and basic because it's summer . And the centerpiece of my summer happens on July 4 when I get to slip behind the steering wheel of a truck that isn't mine and, with my friends, The Harlem Nights Players, get to act like we're much more important than we are for just about 90 minutes.

    For our 14th year we are proud to represent St.William Parish and the fundraising events we have staged during that time, amidst bands, floats, civic groups, politicians, businesses and entertainers as we pay tribute to the great American holiday, Independence Day. This is a parade I watched from the street as a kid and made fun of from the curb as a teenager. Driving in it all these years has given me a new perspective. This is as good as a parade gets.

     As we gather in the downtown area of Elmwood Park we see the organizers who have worked on this for awhile, checking to make sure everything is going smoothly and everyone is in place. Other parade participants are milling about, checking the other floats and folks involved, smiling and laughing and socializing. I bet that dentist will be handing out toothbrushes again and that one group will be giving out t shirts.The merchants allow us washroom use which is invaluable given the water we are guzzling  It's a festival in that EP Circle as we prepare to parade, knowing hundreds of people are in the process of lining the parade route because it's the 4th of July and this is what they do. And this is what we do. We have used Santa's elves and Satan as part of our parade presentation and we have a little something planned this year that we've done previously but will be certain to get us some cheers along the route.

      During the parade we wave to people we don't know and they wave back. We toss candy and hear people yell "Hey,St.William!" (Though that particular saint is never present physically). We wave our flags and we hold up signs we hope make the folks laugh and remember who we are and what we represent. We meet so many people on that morning...in the parade and out of it. And they all have one thing in common ..they're all happy (and usually perspiring!)

        This is summer's summit.A flag wavin, high fivin' song singin' ice cream eatin' party that anyone who wants to enjoy a slice of 4th of July as it was meant to be can enjoy. It goes quickly like the season itself and soon enough we park, take our decorations off the truck, gather up any items we've used to entertain and head back home until the fireworks later. And after the parade, the days get shorter, the mosquitoes more noticeable,  the temperatures and the a/c bill creep higher and the words "Back to School" begin to proliferate. But for a morning, one sunshine filled start of a great holiday, freedom gets celebrated, people are happy ,the candy is plentiful and the music is loud and flags get waved. And people smile. Alot.

        It's the centerpiece of summer and I'll see you there. Wave at me!

A LITTLE HAWK TALK

A LITTLE HAWK TALK

Thoughts While Awai ting the Big Game

 And so this is what it comes down to. One of the closest, craziest and best NHL playoff series most of us have ever experienced  has its finale Saturday night. The winner moves on to play for the Stanley Cup which at this point is almost anticlimactic. After all we've been through, our team and us, shouldn't we get the Cup  immediately?  There's a good chance whoever wins Saturday will wind up with it anyway.

  This bruising,bumping,nail biting, table banging , foot stomping roller coaster ride through Round 3 is almost finished and someone  is going home devastated  and disappointed...not to mention tired, and I don't mean a good kind of tired.

    There is nothing in sports like a Game 7. I collect 'em. There is almost no sport with a best of seven playoff format that I won't watch when the final game decides the winner. And this time I have a considerable emotional investment.

      I've jumped, high fived and yelled through our good times and cursed, retreated and shut the television off in disgust when we went bad. I decorated the house in Hawk and took them all down when I felt my fandom had been betrayed. A wise friend said you must experience the low points with your team because it makes the high points more joyful and that is correct. But I can't stand seeing my team, from whom I expect so much, fail to deliver. We are fortunate that in Chicago we have one team from which we can expect excellence..a team with the heart of a champion. When they sleepwalk through an opening period or cough up the lead in 37 seconds, I don't take it very well.

       I don't want anyone to be the kind of fan I've become. During game 4 the stress of the fight made me retreat from the bar in which we watched the game. I found a cozy spot on the deck outside and watched from the window to get out of the emotionally charged atmosphere. Sometimes during these games I have to get away. I wish I could enjoy the good and tolerate the bad a bit better. But I've had my sports spirit broken so many times over the years, the prospect of the one team that can deliver the payoff for avid fandom failing to play to its capabilities and bring us what we deserve just makes me want to retreat until things are more to my liking. Heck, I was in the yard last year when a group of friends in  my house watched The LA Kings score the deciding goal that eliminated the Hawks in Game 7 and deprived them of playing for a Cup they would have won.  I would've staid in the yard until the new season started if they hadn't come and got me! And with the memory of that awful ending still dancing in  my head, into the lions den I go again under the same circumstances but we've gone from a King to a Duck. I don't want us to crash and burn again, goals short of our ultimate goal.

       Who knows what's going to happen in Game 7? I've never been the kind of fan who blindly believes. They're gonna win....support the team! Never Give Up! All that sounds great but I read and I listen and I digest the thoughts and feelings of those who know more hockey than I will ever know and I like to think I am a fairly knowledgeable fan .

        Here's why I like the Hawks. They've been there before...it's difficult to think that they can be thrown into any situation they've not seen previously and to which they can't adapt. A bunch of Californians without the passion for hockey possessed by midwesterners chanting "Craaaawwwww-foooorrrrd" at our goalie and making noise for the home team shouldn't mean a thing to the Hawks. I'd rather be playing at home, but the environment is of no consequence.

      Also, the Hawks have been finding the net pretty often the last two games. The Ducks goalie ,Frederik Andersen has been netminding more like Hans Christian Anderson . This guy is not en elite goalie. He has made some quality saves but the Hawks have beaten goalies with much more talent than this guy. You might remember the Minnesota Goalie, Devan Dubnyk, was the hockey flavor of the month, lauded as the NHL's hottest goalie until the Hawks pantsed him in 4 straight games. I'm sure some of that had to do with the Wild defense but you get my point.  Fred Andersen is going to take down the mighty Hawks? For the second straight game, Fred tied his playoff record for most goals allowed-4. (he let in 4 in game 6 cuz one was an ampty netter). This is not a good time to become porous, Fred.

        The Ducks coach, an egg shaped fellow with ruddy cheeks, Bruce Boudreau, may have been a little too forthcoming after Game 6 when he admitted that for the first time in this series, the Ducks lost their composure in Game 6. So let's see... we have a suddenly swiss cheese goaltender and a team the coach admits lost their way right here on the eve of Game 7. "We turned into a bunch of nervous Nellies", Boudreau said. Yikes. You never want to hear that about your team, especially as Game 7 puck drop nears.

         AND, for the first time in this series the Hawks stars shined brightly. The guys who we depend on to come through were there and they were sniping. We have not seen that collection of goal scorers in this series previously. Putting Kane and Toews on the same line is generally an option Coach Q uses when the situation is desperate and the result is more often than not what you saw in 6. That is hockey dynamite- two genuine NHL superstars skating together and making magic with a hockey puck.If the Hawks stars  come to play again in 7 it is tough to see how they won't come away with a ticket to the finals.

          Plus, we have Duncan Keith, a mountain of a hockey player who is being referred to in other worldy terms for his play in the post season. We are looking at the best defenseman to ever skate in Chicago.

            History indicates that the Hawks get better the longer a series goes on.

BUT!   Here's why I like the Ducks.

While the place the Hawks are playing shouldn't effect them, it sure seems to effect the Ducks. They respond to that stupid chanting their Californicated fans present them with and it is hard to argue that they do not. The Ducks have not lost a game in the entire post season in regulation time. And even then they've only lost once. This is a team that won't go down on their home ice. 

    Toews and Kane will not be playing on the same line this time around. The offensive jolt that gave the Hawks was nice but now things will be different. Kane and Toews will be split up because on the same line, they make the second line (on which Kane plays) weaker and more vulnerable. They share the wealth when they split up these two. But, you say, the second line didn't seem to suffer in the Game 6 victory without Patrick Kane.  True, but because we were at home, Coach Q had the last line change and he could schedule that lessened second line against any Duck line he chose. Now that Anaheim has last line change, Q  doesn't have the luxury of winning the match up game. If you see Kane and Toews on the same line at some point Saturday, it would mean we are in trouble.

     The Ducks are a big, bruising team whose strategy has been to hit the Hawks hard and often to wear them down and slow them down.Often it has worked, Thursday it did not. But you KNOW that in this game 7, the Ducks are going to hit even harder and more often than they have previously. This is gonna be a slugfest and I won't be surprised if we see our first real fight of the series.

       Ryan Kessler and Cory Perry are the Toews and Kane of the Ducks and they have been more impressive than the Hawks twosome in this series. That might be heresy but it is also true. Just as it is true that the Ducks have been the better team over these 6 games. They were eliminated in game 7 and round 3 last year just like the Hawks and they are determined not to let that happen again.

       I'm not going to predict this. The Hawks have a maddening habit of giving their best only when they must. By all accounts Thursday's elimination game was their best game of the series. Will we get the Hawks team that flies around, practices puck possesion, offensive creativity and a Keith-Crawford combo that can't be penetrated? Or will they come out ,"nervous nellies" themselves, letting the Ducks feed off the momentum of the crowd and the prize that awaits the winner? They will do anything not to lose this in front of their fans who will be surfing next day no matter what happens.

      Pay close attention to the first ten minutes. That might tell you alot about the next 50.

       Go Hawks!

THE FINAL DAYS OF DAVE

      I "inherited" Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show from my folks. That was my first exposure to TV after dark and

I am forever grateful to my parents for that . Johnny was the best talk show host ever and I firmly believe he will reign

in perpetuity.

      But David Letterman........he was all mine. I discovered Dave with no help from mom and dad. 

      Dave was a smart ass, a guy with a different angle and a new perspective.He was a cynic with an edge to him and

he was unquestionably cool.

        There he was, doing things on TV that I'd not seen done before...a comedic horse of a different color and

appointment television besides. From morning to late night, there has been no one quite like Letterman.

         Sure, Dave lost out on his dream job...hosting The Tonight Show. He lost to a glad handing, generic, formerly

funny comedian whose humor was mild and populist  and Dave  finished second to Jay Leno regularly. But that only

added to his appeal and his legend. Because Dave was a non conformist, rebellious into his golden years with a shot

of adrenaline provided by late in life fatherhood.

         Thus two camps were set up-those that favored warm milk and Leno at bedtime and those who liked the rim shot

and a beer comedy of Dave.

            Dave has been phoning it in for a few years now. He stumbles and stammers  through a monologue

unapologeticly, good jokes laid to waste by a confused and sometimes uninterested delivery.  The stuff he once did

so well- dealing with the common man utilizing razor sharp wit and a bad attitude is handled now by minions named

Biff and Andy and Todd....serviceable acolytes all but none of them were Dave and it was never the same.

             Letterman seemed almost content to rest on his laurels and his massive contributions to pop culture and

television history and he earned that so no criticism  of him is offered here.

              Yet Dave still had life in him and that would be evident when he got to show his skill as an interviewer,  a man

who unlike his network competition, refused to shy away from asking the tough questions .He held his own with the

players from the world stage, leaders and pundits who undoubtedly were taken by surprise by Letterman's intellect

and insight. Dave took stands, defended his beliefs and made no bones about where he stood.

                His final nights in our television lives are disquieting to him. He is uncomfortable with public love and

he blanches at celebrity tribute and affection.

                Dave, like Johnny,  his TV hero before him ,bids America a heartfelt goodnight Wednesday and in doing so,

takes his place in the firmament of true television stars. And David Letterman got there by throwing spitballs and

brickbats and poking at the medium that made him great.

                 And we've loved every minute of it. 

#justice4jacob

Like many of us, Jacob was a worrier. A worrier because his mom is a warrior...she is a cancer survivor and he worries about her because by all rights he should have lost her some years back to this Berkett's Lymphoma , a mother of 3 special needs kids. He worries about her well being, he worries about his brothers ,their dog and the two cats... and to help them out, Jacob recently took a job at Jewel in Rolling Meadows out there on Kirchoff Road. It was his first job and he was proud to be in produce--the section to which he was assigned. This new employment would help pay the bills for his financially strapped family and put a few bucks in his own pocket, the better to one day buy a car.

For months before he got this job, Jacob was involved and invested in an annual fundraiser to benefit St.William Parish. He was an important part of a show that was in rehearsal. Jake likes to make folks laugh and he's good at it, and he was sharing his talent for the benefit of a church to which he did not belong.

Upon being hired, Jacob made it clear to the manager of the store that he was willing to work any hours to which he might be assigned...but as the event he had been working on for months was near, he said that there were just 3 days he would not wish to be scheduled. Those nights were dress rehearsal and the two days of the event. He wrote down the days he would not be available for the benefit of the store manager.

Jacob went to work in the produce section of the Jewel on Kirchoff Road and he enjoyed the job even when the produce manager called him  an idiot and chided him when he didn't understand something. "This isn't rocket science," the produce manager sneered. And he wasn't aware that Jacob heard him mumble "Idiot".

And just as Jacob had worried, when the week of the big event at St.William arrived, the store manager scheduled him to work the 3 days he had asked to be free to fulfill his obligation to the other volunteers at the charity event.

He met with the store manager and reminded him of his unavailability for those 3 days but that manager claimed he didn't remember that particular condition. Jacob said he would be glad to work extra hours, any day..he wanted that job and he wanted to be there for those depending on him at St.William. The store manager would have none of it. Jacob asked if he would be fired were he to work the fundraiser those 3 days.

"I don't fire people," the manager said. "People fire themselves." Jacob reminded the manager that he had written the request for those 3 days off down for the manager weeks ago. But it seems that request had been lost. "And if it's not written down, it didn't happen," Jake was told.

Jacob stood up for what he thought was right, He showed up for his duties at the fundraiser and he sacrificed a job he liked and needed ..even with the verbal abuse.

Put in a situation where he needed to decide between a job he needed and a charity event that needed him, Jacob chose the latter even though he was put in a  bad situation needlessly. Surely Jewel would not shut down if one employee was allowed to give back to his community- an ideal that one would think Jewel would applaud instead of block.

The store manager didn't get back to me as I had requested, so Human Relations became involved and promised an investigation into the incident would be conducted.

"Please know the information shared (by you) will be treated seriously and followed up with appropriate action taken," said Melissa Hill, Jewel's director of Public Affairs and Government Relations. She promised the HR department would be contacting Jake.

A week later, nothing had been done and no one had called Jake as had been promised. A letter to Ms.Hill asking why nothing had been determined resulted in an email from another member of Jewel's HR department.

"The status and results of the investigation are confidential,please know that any appropriate action needed, will or have been taken."

But no one had ever called Jacob so that's a hell of an investigation...not talking to the victim. When I pointed this out, magically, Jacob was called. This "investigation" is ongoing.

At the least, Jacob should be issued an apology from that manager of the Jewel on Kirchoff Road for putting Jacob in a situation like that--forced to choose between his job and his community obligations,and for good measure, an apology for being called an "idiot" by a produce manager who certainly doesn't display the people skills most stores would like to see in their employees. Maybe an invitation to work at another Jewel location to help mom with those bills. And as I mentioned earlier, shouldn't a store like Jewel celebrate employees who involve themselves in the community? Doesn't it show character and good moral fiber and isn't that what most employers seek in a new hire? Well, not at the Jewel on Kirchoff Road it seems.