We’re back home in Chicago now, and the magnificent Mondays with Mike post Mike wrote about New Orleans sparked a lot of questions from friends here. What prompted the trip? Do you have family there? What is an herbsaint? Answer to that first question? Kismet. Our friends Steven and Nancy and their dog Doug are […]

Our friend Ellen Sandmeyer had us over for Christmas Eve this year. Her two sons, her nine-year-old granddaughter Kaia and Kaia’s mom had flown in for the holidays, and we spent the evening together munching cookies, sipping drinks, sharing stories, and…learning Braille. When I called ahead to make sure no one had allergies or a […]

Just got back last night from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois — Mike drove Whitney and me down there so I could give a presentation to a lecture hall of 400+undergraduates enrolled in an Animal Sciences class at the University of Illinois. Inspired by the Pick of the Litter documentary Mike posted about on Monday, I spent a […]

A week ago at this time, Whitney and I were answering questions from third-graders who attend Goudy Elementary, a Public school in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The third graders are part of a Friday “reading buddies” program at Admiral At the Lake, a retirement community where I lead weekly memoir-writing classes. Goudy is near The Admiral. […]

Dear Whitney, Remember when Mike read that New York Times story out loud to the two of us earlier this month? Yes. That one. The article about Seeing Eye dogs, and how a trip to New York City is part of the training we do: The school’s training is done in a suburban setting far […]