“Nothing will muck up your day more than an escaped llama.” That was my friend’s words of advice when I offered to llama-sit so she could escape with her husband for the weekend. “Ginger, farm animals might be friendly but they can take you out if you turn around. So always, always always focus. Shut the gate behind you. Pat the horse’s butt when […]
Daily Dalai Llama
The Donut Tree and Donut Dares
This is the first summer in five years I haven’t been at the family cottage in northern Michigan, treat in a town with more fudge shops than people. The cottage is on one of those back roads that require a few stops at a gas station for directions. One of the landmarks has always been this big tree with a hole in the […]
Same Same But Different.
In Bangkok, there is a T-shirt that’s popular with tourists. On the front it reads: SAME SAME, on the back it reads: BUT DIFFERENT. I found that XXL saying true this weekend following another shooting in Uptown. Now after living in China, I know what firecrackers sound like. And living in Uptown, I know what bullets sound like. And just like the popular tourist T-shirt, there […]
Walk of Shame: Displacing Uptown’s Homeless
Over the past two days, I witnessed two walks. First, was the walk of thousands of music lovers in Chicago’s Uptown to the Mumford and Sons concert. They walked right in front of where I live, lemmings on their way to the concert venue at Montrose Harbor. The Alderman wanted to make sure the streets were clean for these drive-by visitors […]
Sugar Glazed Justice
“Miss, could you spare a dollar so I could get something to eat?” I took a good look at his leathery face as he rattled his cup near the Dunkin’ Donuts in Uptown. “Nope.” I didn’t feel guilty at all when I said it. That’s because I was the cook in the building where he lived. “I am so insulted!” I laughed. “Are […]
A Big Awesome Birthday Wish
I remember this birthday like it was yesterday. Debbie Patrujiah made my wish come true. She got me a twist and turn Barbie Doll with real eyelashes and bendable legs. And suddenly, I forgot all of my troubles and other gifts, including a modeling clay kit and hot dog machine game. But now, years after Barbie’s limbs have been broken (though her […]
Broken Faith
Sometimes it isn’t the big things that renew our faith, it’s the little stuff. The stuff that we should take care of ourselves while the creator of the cosmos mends the holes in our Ozone. Take for instance, exhibit A: a broken key. Friends of mine gave me the keys to their condo while they were traveling to an exotic island […]
Down and Out in Uptown
Okay, so for the past six months, I’ve been living as an honorary hippie at a faith based community in Chicago’s Uptown. If you’re not familiar with the neighborhood, Uptown is where Chicago’s down and out congregate. There are bullets and Baptists with pamphlets, flamboyant street walkers and shady street corner pharmacists, immigrants from Africa to Asia, panhandlers and skateboarders. Plus the colorful residents of JPUSA. And […]
Creating a Craving for Literacy
Harriet the Spy. Curious George. Homer Price with his donut machine Three of my favorite childhood friends. I would travel around the world and back with them, my ticket to these places being a local library card. Now, kids aren’t even getting off the tarmac of their imagination, as some won’t read anything longer than a tweet. In Asia, there […]
Mosquito Theology
I call him skeeter. That’s what Frank* reminds me of. Actually, with his tweed cap and trimmed beard, Frank reminds me of someone who should be smoking a pipe at an English pub instead of making cornbread at a Jesus Hippie Community. Anyway, he started telling me his story while cracking thirty six eggs. “I was a drug evangelist. I liked them so much, I’d […]