One of my favorite of many great moments in Appleton North's production of Shrek happens after the curtain call. That's when the whole jubilant cast bursts into Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer." Watch them all -- chorus members, fairytale creatures and leads -- dance and sing with such unfettered joy and contagious confidence and know [...]
Tag: Life
The crime of the half-century
On the southwest side of Chicago during a frigid February afternoon in 1967, a small boy took a nap, setting in motion a chain of events that reverberated through five subsequent decades. That boy, who grew up to be my husband Vince, may or may not have been a victim of a heartless crime, birthday [...]
Thanks Cheerios, American optimism is a honey of an O
Yesterday I bought a box of Cheerios because I believe those crunchy little Os stand for something we dearly need in this great country of ours: Optimism. Though I'm a fruit and yogurt kind of breakfaster, I'll be eating those Cheerios today, because I like the taste of class, and sweet rebuttal, and firm resolve. [...]
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Carpet
I had long since given up on vacuum cleaners when I met Paul. More than 25 years of love-em-and-leave-em relationships left me disillusioned and destined to a life full of dust bunnies and hairballs. Bissell? Eureka? Oreck? I'd had them all. I met them under bright fluorescent lights of big box department stores, flirted a [...]
In Defense (and Praise) of Sweatbands – A Guest Treatise by Charlie
I have a confession to make: My head is a weird shape. No, it’s not lumpy or asymmetrical --though when my neuroses really flares up I do worry that one ear may be slightly lower than the other-- the problem with my head is that hats don’t fit well upon it. I used to think [...]