There was a time when people behaving badly could ruin my day and my mood, and lead me to behave in a way that would have a domino effect. Just ask Beth. I’ll never be accused of being a Zen master, but over time, things have improved. Some of it has been a conscious effort—breathing […]

On September 3, 1986, Beth called me at work and said, “Today’s the day.” As in, her OB-GYN was scheduling a C-section for later that day to deliver our son. Because Beth’s a type 1 diabetic she routinely—thanks to the kindness of friends—made twice-weekly visits to the doctor to monitor things. So I was used […]

Every year, Chicago hosts the Air and Water Show, a weekend of modern and vintage airplanes performing aerobatics, skydiving, all played out in front of a gazillion spectators along Chicago’s North Avenue Beach. In truth, it’s a lot more air than water, though lots and lots of people watch it from their boats. A standing […]

I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this year’s Summer Olympics. A lot of factors conspired against them. To start, way back when, Chicago pushed to get this year’s games. I’ve read a lot of pretty solid stuff on the economic impact of getting the Olympics—not to mention using public money for pro sports—nothing I’ve seen […]

The best thing on the radio in my view is an hour-long weekly program on NPR called On the Media, produced by WNYC, and hosted by journalism veterans Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield. Full disclosure: I’m a journalism grad, a giant consumer of journalism, and I think about what makes good journalism more than the average […]