Desperately Seeking Sunshine

You've heard the expression: "the only certainties in life are death and taxes."  As Chicagoans, we're guaranteed death, taxes, corrupt politicians, and endless complaining about the weather.  This unseasonably cold winter has earned high marks on my annoyance scale followed closely by complaints about the weather.  Aside from selfies, Facebook is littered with pictures of thermometers that read "-4."  It's cold.  Brutal cold.  High temperatures that are numbers less than zero.  We already had more snow in mid-January than we normally should get all season.  You know what, we have every right to complain!

To cope, I've found myself scheduling my weekend showers at noon.  Who schedules their showers, you're asking?  I do.  At noon, the sun shines directly above my bathroom window and brightens my bathtub in a way that makes bleach blush.  These days my body is craving Vitamin D like a plant desperately seeks sunshine.  If this cold doesn't let up soon, I may call off work....in order to catch my noon appointment with my shower.      

The Power of Local Radio

Having spent the majority of the 2000s working in radio, I've been fortunate to have shared an elevator with Dave Matthews, spoke to Jennifer Garner, and hugged teen crush Jenny McCarthy (she's tiny!).  But aside from the celebrity angle, I have also been blessed to be a part of Eric & Kathy's annual radiothon to support Children's Memorial Hospital (now known as Lurie Children's Hospital).  This annual fundraiser introduced me to dozens of brave children with rare and sometimes fatal diseases.  One story in particular had me sitting in a locked studio for nearly a half hour crying.  The story featured a brave you boy named Ollie whose dying wish was to be a train.  Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ollie's dream came true in 2003 when he sat behind the controls of a Metra locomotive and then Metra named an engine in his honor (the story is best detailed here).  Each year during the radiothon, Ollie's story gets revisited and it never fails to choke me up.  Radio has a unique ability to touch the lives of its listeners in a way that no iPod, Spotify playlist, or satellite radio channel can.  At times it's easy to lose sight of this, but then a story such as Ollie's reminds me and gives me pause.  This past Christmas, a radio station in Kansas City rolled out their annual Christmas Wish feature, and it left me speechless.  It's been viewed over 9,000,000 times on Buzzfeed.  If you haven't invested 15 minutes watching this video, then stop what you're doing and Do. It. Now.

Dropping The Misses and Mister

I bumped into one of my high school teachers at Target, and my instincts immediately took over when I said, "Oh, hello Miss Laskey."

"Miss Laskey?!?" she replies.  "You know you're old enough to call me Rita, right?"

Later at a friend's birthday party, I struck up a conversation with my friend's dad.  "Hey, Mister Sullivan."

"Hi, Todd," he said.  "You know you can call me Ron, right?"

My answer to both questions is: "Yes, I know that I could, but I can't."

Despite being in my mid-30s, I automatically revert to being a teenager around former teachers or parents of my friends.  It just feels wrong to call my 10th grade Spanish teacher "Rita" even if 20 years ago that's what I called her behind her back.  As for my friends' parents...the words just sound disrespectful when they come out of my mouth.  They're always be "Mister or Misses So-And-So" to me.  While I'm perfectly fine continuing these formalities, it seems to bother them more than it bothers me.  

A Babysitter Cancels...The World Reacts

When a couple goes through a long and convoluted process to get tickets in order to spend $700 on an extravagant dinner, they expect perfection.  But what happens when you're sharing that experience with 80 other people who jumped through the same hoops and are paying the same $700 on dinner....but they decided to bring their fussy 8-month old infant along?  Chef and Alinea mastermind Grant Achatz took to Twitter to get express his frustration over whether or not he should interject.

My favorite response to said Tweet was:
"I don't bring my bottle of whiskey to Chuck E. Cheese, please don't bring your infant to Alinea. And yes. If you can afford a ticket to Alinea, then you can afford a babysitter."

What happened next?  The story makes national news.  As people chimed in and the story unfolded across all forms of media, we learned that the folks who brought their 8 month old to Alinea didn't intend to bring their infant, but were forced to because their babysitter canceled.  This person is now the most talked-about babysitter since Elisabeth Shue.

Irresistible Video Titles

Not too long ago, you couldn't open your email inbox and not find a handful of forwarded jokes, articles, or pictures.  These emails usually contained subject lines like: "Too funny!", "Amazing...Pass It On!', or "The Funniest Thing You'll See Today!".  In other words, the subject lines read like they were written by a seventh grader.  We don't forward too many emails these days, but instead post them to Pinterest or Facebook.  I've noticed that the titles of videos have gotten more and more appealing causing me to click on waaaay too many links.  For example:

Gorgeous Video Shows Why An Entire State Is Obsessed With One Wave 

Every Citizen Should Watch This: The End of American As We Know It

After I Saw This, I Put Down My Phone And Didn't Pick It Up The Rest of The Day...

Some People Call It The Best Anti-Smoking Plan Yet.  After Watching, I May Be One Of Them

The Awesome Reason This Public Library Has No Books

That Burger Looks Awesome But It's Hiding More Secrets Than A Teenage Diary

I Didn't Think She Could Get Any Cuter, But In 20 Seconds Something Beautiful Happens

This Guy Used A Groupon to Give His Kitten a Photoshoot at JC Penney & Oh My God It's Amazing!

A 9-Year Old Girl Quietly Takes The Stage. What She Did Next Gave Me Chills I'll Never Forget.

Things To Be Thankful For When It's -16 Degrees

• CTA Bus Tracker so you don't have to stand in the cold helplessly staring down Sheridan for the elusive 147 bus
• Food Delivery because there's no way I'm going out to fight with a dozen people over a loaf of White Bread at Jewel
• Netflix / Hulu / DVRs make it possible to watch all three seasons of Louie without having to watch the local meteorologists deliver bad news on live TV
• Fireplaces since they not only scratch our primitive urge to gather around fires but they're also romantic, relaxing, and warm
• The Pedway is a handy shortcut and a warmer alternative than walking outside--plus it now has stained glass windows!
• Soup --it is good food, dammit!
• Stocking up on discounted booze at the Dominicks going-out-of-business-sale so that you can break open a bottle (or 4) of wine while snowed in

How Saying "May The Force Be With You" Transformed Lives

Photo: Chicago Tribune/RedEye

Photo: Chicagoist/Jill Howe

When the afternoon CTA Red Line train is packed with tired and hungry commuters who just want to get home, a friendly voice is there to soothe the nerves of passengers.  The voice is that of CTA Conductor Michael Powell.  His messages are always simple and gentle ("Welcome aboard, nice to see you!") and mixed with subtle humor ("Good night.  May the force be with you.").  Whether it was someone's first ride on the CTA or a daily commuter, Powell's announcements always managed to turn frowns upside down.  It wasn't necessarily because what he said was funny or even unexpected...but rather because his tidbits contained warmth (something that the CTA generally lacks).  With a face as friendly as his voice, it would not surprise many to learn that Powell dons traditional blue and white striped overalls and an engineer's cap on the job and also has a basement filled with toy trains.  With little fanfare, Powell retired on New Years Eve 2013 leaving a void that likely will go unfilled.  We'll miss you, Michael!