I was delighted when Tammy Duckworth won last week’s election: it means she’ll  serve as senator here in Illinois for six more years. Senator Duckworth has a long career serving her country, and when it comes to disability access, she is an expert: she served in Iraq and lost both legs when a rocket-propelled grenade […]

We got the news Monday morning. Our dear friend Wanda Bridgeforth had died. Wanda’s daughter, Wanda Jr., had texted me last week to let me know “Mama is in hospice care at home.” She added, “Don’t be sad about this, Mama l-i-v-e-d long…and much!” I was grateful to Junior for that message — her letting […]

My 15-year-old author friend Anja Herrman, a.k.a. DJ Mermaid, is going to be on WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) today, September 22, 2021 at 3:44 pm. I wrote a post here years ago when a conversation Anja had with her aunt first aired on StoryCorps, and this is the week the Chicago StoryCorps booth will officially […]

Thank you for all your thoughtful responses to our posts about Whitney’s happy retirement in rural Pennsylvania. Thought you might like a quick update from an email message her new/old family sent yesterday. “Having Whitney is giving me the motivation to take walks again, so that’s been good,” reports Elisse, who walks with Whitney every […]

This post I wrote was published at the Easterseals National blog earlier this week (I work part-time moderating that blog). It occurred to me later that some of you Safe & Sound blog followers might find it worth a read, too, so here it is. When sidewalks are covered in snow and ice, walking to […]