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December 10, 2020

Editorials

The DMV, a place of endless lines and inspiration

In writing, there’s a saying: “Everyone has one book in them. Almost nobody has two.” I don’t like this saying. In my opinion, it’s mostly said by egotistical writers trying to marginalize those who don’t write or have a difficult time writing. But on the surface it appears true, but only because most people do get an idea for a story but they’re not interested in storytelling or writing enough to develop more. So they stop there. One story.

A run with a view

Every morning, it’s the same routine: get up, get dressed, get out the door to the Prairie Path, run.

Not mentioned: Grabbing my earbuds. Making sure the cord is twisted in the perfect way so that the music works. Configuring the perfect way to hold my iPhone and keys so that I can pretend I’m not really holding electronics and sharp metal keyrings while I settle into my four-mile dash.

A trip down memory lane, see if you can guess where

One of my favorite things to do with my son is drive through a rural area at late evening during summer when crop fields are bursting and not yet harvested and the sky in the west is orange-going-red and it smells like late summer.

I’ve always been partial to rural areas, but my love of farm country developed when I was a reporter/photographer for Shaw Suburban Media and covered DeKalb County, most of which, as many of you (or all of you) know is farmland.

That sound is so 2019

I have always loved the radio.

When I was little, news radio was always playing in the background. Almost always AM, rarely FM. The crackly, grainy sound of AM waves might seem abrasive to new listeners, but to me, it’s nostalgic. It’s comforting. It means you’re listening to something important.

Conversations with a 3yo are bananas

One of my most popular Happy Trails to date was when a I published a two-part series of quotes by my wife when she was pregnant with our son. They were little blurbs of funny things she said about her pregnancy or upcoming parenthood. It went over famously with readers but not so much with my wife when she found out.

How to take your Monday from boring to exciting in a few easy steps

A few Mondays ago, I was walking on the Prairie Path (a nature trail that runs across Illinois), and I was trying to social distance. Bikes raced past me. Clusters of Nike-clad joggers forced me to the outskirts of the trail. I had enough.

2020: A climate of change

In Anthony Powell’s 2013 documentary “Antarctica: A Year on Ice,” the story focuses on life in an unfamiliar climate.

The film depicts the life of researchers at United States science bases in Antarctica. Life in this environment is not an easy one.

A riot speaks a thousand words but one voice speaks millions

You might think that the Sun Day’s black masthead this edition is in memorial of George Floyd’s death but you’d be wrong…or only part right…because in reality it’s memorializing the loss of voice.

In response to Harvard Magazine

In the May-June 2020 issue of Harvard Magazine, in an article titled “The Risks of Homeschooling,” Erin O’Donnell got one thing right: homeschooling is risky.

But risky for whom?

Thank you and DON’T!

After publishing my piece on the Sun Day’s tenth anniversary, we received numerous letters (and cards!) from readers wishing us congratulations and continued success, and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you. On this note, I would like to highlight one item in particular that caught my attention.

5 things to look forward to when nothing seems certain

Although nothing in life is ever guaranteed, the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine lifestyle definitely bring this fact into the light. What can you look forward to during these uncertain times? Turns out there are still some things to get excited about.

Sun Day celebrates its 10th anniversary!

This edition marks the Sun Day’s 10th anniversary, and every time I’ve attempted to start writing this piece in my head (which I’ve been doing in one way or another for months but only running into roadblocks these past few weeks), I keep circling back to the phrase “it’s a bitter-sweet celebration.”

An important note about our local businesses

While the present threat to our health and well-being is serious and needs to be taken with the utmost care, caution, and regard, our entire economic system is under the greatest strain any of us have seen in our lifetimes, which poses a very serious threat in itself to us all. Just like we need to heed our orders of quarantine and social distancing, we all need to do what we can to keep our economy safe and healthy, too.

Positivity in the time of pandemic

A few days ago, on one of the first days of social distancing, I saw a quote on Instagram that read, “When the Great Plague of London was going around in 1665, Cambridge University shut down and Isaac Newton was forced to stay home. During this time, he invented calculus, parts of optic theory and allegedly, while sitting in his garden, he saw an apple fall from a tree that inspired his understanding of gravity and the laws of motion.”

I liked the positivity and energy of that thought (no pressure intended – we aren’t all going to win Nobel Prizes for what we do in this quarantined time. And that’s okay).

Yikes! The red words are coming, the red words are coming!

Have you ever seen a cat go after a laser dot? That’s news media across the world right now. Coronavirus is the dot and news media is the cat, and everywhere the dot pops up, they pounce. Don’t laugh too hard because this is us, too. Only when applied to us, the news is the dot and we’re the cats, and in our crazed efforts to “catch the dot,” we’re knocking over tables and chairs and pulling down curtains and breaking our mother’s good China and relieving grocery stores of their inventories.

The countdown continues, Part 2 – the Sun Day’s content

Many years ago, I wrote a column as a refresher course on the Sun Day’s content because there was some confusion circulating over its, for lack of a better word, “definition,” and it was perceived that all the material published in the Sun Day was “news.” Which is an understandable mistake because it’s a “newspaper,” after all. What would you expect to find in a newspaper? Baking recipes? Well, yes, baking recipes are commonplace in newspapers, especially around holidays, but you get my point. Newspapers print news. But not all news is news.

Makes sense, right?

Thought not.

The numbers say it all: A goodbye to Dwight Esau

You may have read in the last edition Dwight Esau’s letter to readers about his retirement from the Sun Day. Hopefully, you read it. It was superbly written, genuine, and heartfelt…heartfelt for me, at least, and I wanted to salute Dwight and his career with the Sun Day with a formal, public goodbye addressed to you readers.

A goodbye from Dwight Esau

When Sun City Huntley was built starting in the late 1990s, the theme was, “retire from work, not life.” And that’s still the best description of Sun City that I’ve ever known.

Lend me your star power

I’m not much for daily or “hard” news. It tends to lean towards the negative. Take this edition for instance. There’s a story about the Coronavirus, human trafficking, falls, and a sad story about a family separated by immigration policies. It’s a serious edition. And I agree with its newsworthiness. But while the bad should not be ignored or pushed aside, I believe in spreading positive messages whenever we, as journalists and people alike, can, which is why throughout my career in newspapers, I’ve predominantly been a features reporter and photographer, choosing to focus more on people’s accomplishments than their mistakes or setbacks or less-than-stellar activities.

Part 3, Anniversary countdown begins

No, you didn’t miss Parts I and II. Read on.

Hello, and welcome back to my annual book discussion

As usual, one of my goals for 2019 was to read 24 books. I would be lying if I said I came anywhere close to that goal. Some years, you just have to face the facts and admit defeat. (2020 will totally be my year, right?) Below is a little review of the books I did read over the course of 2019.

Wait, which 20s are we talking about, here?

2020 is right around the corner and that just blows my mind, especially since I learned recently that some teenagers today refer to the 1980s and 1990s as “the late 1900s.” As if we were all riding around in horse-drawn buggies. I grew up referring to the 1880s and 1890s as “the late 1800s” but I was born very nearly a hundred years after those decades. So I don’t know what gives with these kids.

I visited the world’s largest Starbucks

If you are long-time readers of the Sun Day, it might come as a surprise to none of you that I attended opening day of the world’s largest Starbucks. The four-story (five stories, if you count the rooftop patio) Starbucks Reserve Roastery was unveiled on November 15 of this year at the corner of Michigan and Eerie.

To be fair, I didn’t plan on doing this.

Thank you for my freedom to hate sweaters

When I was a kid, somewhere in my teens, at least, my dad got me an off-white knit sweater with a print of the American flag knitted into the chest. He immediately saw my disappointment upon opening it but rather than supporting the disappointment with his own, he told me I’d like it when I got older.

Almost thirty years later, while I still have the sweater, I still don’t like it (sorry Dad!).

9 pumpkin spice products to define fall 2019

Although everyone knows that the current season is called autumn or fall (or “spooky season,” if you’re really in the know), it seems like it really should be called Pumpkin Spice Season. People love autumn for a plethora of reasons, but lately, the only one that seems to matter is the fact that pumpkin spice can be found anywhere. In fact, Starbucks launched a campaign this year declaring the first day of fall to be August 27, which was the day they brought back the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte (or PSL).

Karma in the digital age

My wife and I are big returners. If we don’t like it (whatever it is) or if it’s broken, we return it, putting 100% satisfaction guarantees to the test wherever products are sold. After years of making returns, I’ve discovered that some stores are much more receptive to returns than others. Some stores take back their item with the same smile as when they sold it while other stores make you second guess your motives and feel like a criminal.