The Marshfield Tattler

Farewell for Now

2010-08-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, dear readers, it's no secret I haven't been able to keep up with this blog since my son was born. At this point, I think it's best to call a halt to the Tattler and start up again when he's older.

Interestingly, we're at a narrative stopping point, too. It's a sad ending. The house next door where Dawn and Joey used to live is now for sale. Their parents lost it to foreclosure back in June. Dawn and her baby, and her boyfriend are all living with her father in Little Village. Joey was bouncing back and forth between his mom and dad, mostly with his mom through the school year. The good news for Joey is he did graduate from 8th grade at Chavez. I was able to see him at the Reading Fair where he had a presentation on Al Capone, and at graduation. I don't know what he is going to do for high school. I advised him to try to get into the Multicultral Arts School at Little Village High School if he is living in the attendance area.

Their mom was here in the house until the bitter end. At first I heard she was renting from School Lady but Peter Pan's mom told me she isn't. I don't know where she is now. I have Dawn's number but honestly I have enough on my own plate at the moment and have not been tempted to call. Dawn and her mother gave us a bunch of Angel's old toys--they are in a stack in the basement, waiting for me to wash them off (they're pretty dusty).

For years, Dawn's father had been promising to put up a fence on the border between their house and ours. He never got around to it. When it became clear the bank would take the house, he took down the lovely wrought-iron fence in front he had welded himself. So we were right back to people sitting on the underlying bricks, hanging out and drinking. (I think nobody was dealing drugs this time, but probably that was going on too, and I just missed it.) Dawn tried to get me to hire her dad to fence between the two houses, but I hired through Isabel's brother-in-law instead. I wanted to be sure the job got done. Now there's a tall, black, iron fence where Angel used to play. But now I feel safer.

Back of the Yards Retail Study--Food Oasis, Growing Middle Income Families

2010-08-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council and LISC/Metro Edge recently released a retail scan of the neighborhood, highlights of which you can see here.

Some info that jumped out at me:
Our neighborhood attracts folks from other nearby communities, who come here to shop for groceries and furniture. I've seen that on the Ashland bus--people come up from Englewood to shop here, so the southbound bus gets fuller at 47th Street. (The study says general merchandise but I would say more specifically clothing is also popular, thanks to the Burlington Coat Factory outlet at 47th and Damen.)

Swap-O-Rama is a big retail draw. No duh, but still, it's important to point that out as an asset to the neighborhood. The flea market also employs neighborhood residents, many of whom would have trouble getting traditional jobs.

Our neighborhood has held on to its population, has more young people than the city average, and has seen its share of households earning more than $50,000/yr. rise by over 20 percent since 2000. Today, nearly a quarter of neighborhood households are bringing home that much money annually. This is all good news that might surprise some people.

We don't have enough appliance and electronics stores to meet demand. Famsa made a smart choice by putting a store in the old Goldblatt's building. Although Famsa is primarily a furniture store, they also sell appliances and electronics. According to the data, a Best Buy or Abt would do well to set up shop here.

Back of the Yards Newspaper Hit the Streets Today

2010-02-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council on the successful launch of the new community newspaper. Currently, it's a newspaper in search of a name/un periodico en busca de un nombre (please excuse the lack of correct accent marks--I really must learn how to do that on Blogger).

Unfortunately, I missed the launch party yesterday evening, but my copy was in front of my house by about 10:30 this morning. If you don't live in the neighborhood and haven't received a hard copy, you can click here here to read the issue online as a pdf.

The lead story is about the delay in building the long-awaited new high school at 47th and Hoyne. 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas is quoted saying, "We need a high school now. We need to put pressure on CPS and particularly the Board. I want to take a group of students and a group of parents to the board meetings."

Just say the word, Ald. Cardenas. I'll be happy to bring my six-month-old son along, in hopes the neighborhood gets this school before he's a freshman.

Oh, and in the interests of full disclosure, I'm very happy they chose to print an edited version of my post about our local post office, which was recently saved from the chopping block.

New Paper for Back of the Yards Coming Next Week

2010-02-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

Watch for the new community newspaper for Back of the Yards--if you live here, it's coming to your mailbox Feb. 17!

Breaking News: New Commish, Street Vendor Crackdown, More Local Media Coming,

2010-02-03T13:05:00.001-08:00

Three quick hits:

Congratulations to Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who handily defeated incumbent Joseph Mario Moreno in yesterday's Democratic primary. You can see the results by ward and precinct at the Board of Election's website. Click on the far left button, then search for "February 2010 Primary Democratic" and then "Cook County Commissioner 7th District." Happy to see he won in the 16th!

This morning over at Park Federal Savings Bank, street vendors met to determine how to respond to a recent crackdown on their business from the 9th District. There was a news truck out front, but I'm not sure what outlet it was from. To some, perhaps, the issue is straightforward--a few years ago a North Side alderman attempted to ban corn vendors from her ward, if memory serves. Chicago does license and regulate street vendors; I have no idea how many of the carts on 47th have actually gotten licenses. Apparently local storefront businesses are fed up with litter from the street vendors. Our new commander in the 9th may have other concerns; I don't know. To me, street vendors are classic American entrepreneurs and should be encouraged within reasonable limits around licensing and sanitation. So I hope the vendors, storefronts, and cops can find a happy middle ground.

Last item: watch for a new bilingual paper to hit the streets here in Back of the Yards later this month! Here at the Tattler, I'm delighted to see a print media outlet opening up to showcase what's going on in our neighborhood, and look forward to cross-pollination with the folks at Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council who are putting it together. Watch for young writers to get a voice over there in the upcoming months, too.

Cook County 7th District Race Heats Up

2010-01-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

Back of the Yards is part of Cook County's 7th District, and the race for commissioner heated up over the weekend, with Mark Brown's Sun Times column revealing incumbent Joseph Mario Moreno is skirting campaign finance law. A drug company with a county contract contributed $25,000 to the political action committee that hosted a fundraising dinner for Moreno. By law, county contractors can contribute no more than $1500 to candidates for county commissioner. But a PAC can contribute an unlimited amount to a candidate. This is known as "soft money."

What this story says to me is Moreno fears his challenger, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, enough to go after some big bucks to defend himself. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to have made him run scared enough to get some boots on the ground--while Garcia's people have been out and about doorknocking in the neighborhood, I haven't heard a peep from Moreno people. Their only evidence of existence is the signs in the businesses along 47th and down Ashland--they did a good job of getting their signs out.

However, it looks like Garcia has done a better job of gathering endorsements. Read the Trib's glowing praise for him here. And check out the list of other endorses at his web site. I've only received one piece of mail from the Moreno side so far. Instead of official endorsements, it contained photos and a set of quotations about Moreno from a variety of local leaders, including Craig Chico of Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council and Fr. Bruce Wellems of Holy Cross/IHM. Thing is, you can't really tell if they were endorsing Moreno's candidacy or if they were just saying in effect, oh yeah, he's a nice guy. I'd like to know how that mailer got put together.

Rick Bayless Wears No-Manches

2010-01-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Chicago's dean of gringos cooking gourmet Mexican, Rick Bayless, has been spotted wearing Back of the Yards business No Manches t-shirts on his TV show, Mexico One Plate at a Time. Wish I had access to some photos, but I don't--he's been seen wearing "Greengo" and "Hecho in Chicago," among others.

Congratulations to local boys Jesse Iniguez and Rolando Santoyo for the exposure!

The Little Post Office That Could

2009-12-30T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a happy holiday story from Back of the Yards. We have a small post office location in the shopping mall at 46th and Bishop. It's official title is Finance Station L, and it's official address is 4642 S. Bishop St.

As you may know, the US Postal Service has lost a lot of business in the last few years. Stations are being closed. Our little station here was notified earlier this fall it was being considered for closure. I have a P.O. box at the station and it's an easy walk from my house. Even though there's a larger station on Halsted only a mile or so from the shopping center, it's not a pretty mile between here and there. You would either go through the Stockyards Industrial Park or take 47th from Ashland to Halsted and go north a little. I've biked it but didn't enjoy it much--there's a lot of trucks and it's pretty deserted. The road isn't in the greatest shape either (though it's much better than at 51st). And it makes a huge difference to me to be able to walk to the post office from my house rather than driving or riding my bike. (Someday I hope to ride my bike again!)

Anyway, it's not just the location, it's the service. The two clerks at Finance Station L are friendly and helpful and patient with all kinds of customers. I was just there this afternoon mailing belated Christmas cards and packages to faraway family. Rick helped me find a box for one batch and get my other box taped up and ready to go. Service beyond the call of duty. Two other women were in the station at the same time and said that our station is much nicer and friendlier than other nearby locations (I'll leave those to your imagination).

Then I noticed a sign on the window that said something like "due to the large response from customers, Finance Station L is no longer being considered for closure." I asked about it and Rick told me that people not only filled out the questionnaire the Post Office sent asking about service, not only signed the petition, but even took it upon themselves to call and say how much they would miss the station if it were closed. "They're still trying to respond to all the calls and questionnaires," Rick told me.

I'm delighted. Power to the people! Let's hear it for the little post office that could, and did. And thanks to all my fellow customers who, like me, put in a good word to the U.S. Postal Service. Our station is a treasure and I'm glad it's not going away.

Pros Arts @ Hedges

2009-12-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

UPDATED: Here's the flyer inviting people to the Hedges performances earlier this month. The visual art exhibit continues through January 28, so stop by after winter break.

Pros Arts Studios and my friend Irasema Gonzalez spent "an eight week playdate" at Hedges Elementary here in Back of the Yards, teaching writing, art and theater to 8th-graders. Irasema, a poet, and her teaching artist colleagues Lungelo Kuzwayo (theatre), Krystin Grenon (visual art) and Maria Gaspar (performance art) wrapped up on Friday, December 11 with two performances and an exhibition of student artwork. The art exhibition runs through January 28, 2010, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by Hedges and take a look.

The students wrote a play called Trouble @ Bubbly Creek. Just in time for Christmas, Irasema graciously shared some quotes from her students' writing:

"People don’t need to move to another neighborhood to live in a better one. People that live in our neighborhood can have a good future.” --J.L.

“…its important to follow our dreams and stop at nothing until we’ve completed…we can change our community if we don’t like it.” –D.A.

“The memories or items we gather along the journey can shape our future.” –P.O.

"We should keep luchando for our dreams" --D.

"the stuff that happens to us now can help us in the future…” X.O.

“maybe you can change your neighborhood without changing to a new house.” R.C.

“You can make a change in our city, country or community. You can shape your future and help others shape theirs as well.” --J.L.

Someone reading these quotes initially thought they were from students in Pilsen. When told they were young people from Back of the Yards, she said: "Viva back of the yards! Often the forgotten ones but great talent emerges from there ...in all forms. Heck, maybe the next President will come from B.O.Y."

Maybe so. With these hopeful thoughts in mind, I wish all the Tattler readers happy holidays and peace on earth, especially here on Marshfield Avenue!

Food, Glorious Food

2009-12-16T12:52:00.001-08:00

I need to come up with a system to make sure my babysitter gets lunch. Dawn's mom just knocked on the door with a can of Coke and a box of Church's Fried Chicken for her. (They are friends.)

I invited her in, but she said she was on her way to Casa Catalina, the food pantry run by Holy Cross/IHM. I have a bag of cans of food here I meant to donate during the pre-Thanksgiving food drive at church and never brought up there. I gave the bag to her and asked if she could take it with her to the pantry, adding, "And if there's anything you want, take it first."

After she left, the baby woke up and was hungry. I took a break from writing to nurse the baby while Sitter ate lunch. We were joking about how neither of us had eaten lunch yet. She brought me a hard boiled egg from the fridge, with salt. The baby nursed, I ate an egg and Sitter ate her chicken. She invited me to have some, but I'm avoiding meat exposed to antibiotics (long story) so fast food is out. I offered her a hard-boiled egg, but for whatever her reasons were, she said no.

In addition to accepting donations of non-perishable food, Casa Catalina is looking for cash donations to purchase ham and turkey dinners for families. I am guessing they purchase the food for the dinners from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Each meal's cost is very reasonable--about ten bucks for a turkey dinner, eight-fifty for a ham dinner. Click on the link above for details.

In case I don't get to post again for a while--Happy holidays, all!

HIgh School Hunting

2009-12-12T07:14:00.001-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again, when I play high school admissions counselor for whichever kids are in 8th grade within a two or three-block radius. This year its Ines, Jay-Z and Tone-Loc. Ines will get into Rauner on sibling preference--her older bro is a freshman--but I should check with her and see if she wants someone to help with her application essay. Jay-Z and Tone are tougher nuts to crack. Both are special ed kids with lousy test scores, grades, and behavior records.

THis morning I am hoping both are going to the former Creiger Multiplex, which became home to the Noble Network's Chicago Bulls College Prep Campus back in August. I've lost track of things a bit in the high school openings world--I thought Bulls College Prep wasn't open yet, but it's still young enough they should have a better shot in the lottery than at some of Noble's more established campuses. And as I pointed out to Jay-Z's aunt yesterday, Noble has been working hard to find seats for applicants who don't win a spot in their first-choice campus, so they may get a spot somewhere else. Noble is planning to open a campus in Englewood next fall--depending on where it is it might be easier for Marshfielders to get to.

A couple of days ago when it was really cold I managed to drag myself out of the house and knock at Tone-Loc's door. HIs aunt was home and told me he has applied to Dunbar. I was glad to hear they had made some efforts themselves. I gave her the Options for Knowledge book with the standard application in it. I need to get them copies of the College and Career Academy application--it's online at The Office of Academic Enhancement web site, but my printer's ink cartridge is toast so I can't print.

If folks are interested in the hot topic of the new proposed admissions policy, the link is on the site's home page.

Tone-Loc's aunt was hoping I'd go with them to Cregier today, but between a three-month old, the weather, and a recent stomach bug, I'm not going anywhere today.I talked to Jay-Z's aunt yesterday and suggested maybe she could take Tone and one of his adult relatives--I think she's friends with one of his much older sisters. She was open to that idea.

Joey is in 8th grade, too, but his dad says he and Dawn are moving to Cicero and they want him to come with. I was hoping they would move farther west in Little Village so he could go to MAS, but I think that's not going to happen.

Chavez News

2009-11-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Amanda Rivera is the interim principal at Chavez Elementary. Mr. Correa has left. I don't know what's going on regarding the search for his replacement. The Local School Council is now alternating morning and afternoon meetings--I think the next morning meeting is in January. Maybe I'll be able to make that one and find out how the search for a new principal is going.

Sarah, who was having such a hard time adjusting to Orozco, has returned to Chavez. I saw her walking home from school the other day with her big sister and her nieces. She looked perfectly happy. It's a good reminder that academics aren't everything when it comes to a child's school experience.

Right before the holiday I stopped in at Chavez to let them know I still have school supplies left over from last summer's block party. The gentleman I spoke with took my name and number and said someone from school could come by and pick them up. That would be a big help. That's also how I confirmed what I had heard about the interim principal. Ms. Rivera was the founding principal at Ames Middle School in Logan Square, where she was highly regarded. I'm glad someone with strong middle school experience is at the helm at Chavez, even temporarily. I have heard negative comments from parents about the state of affairs at the upper grade center (grades 5-8). I hope Ms. Rivera can straighten that out a bit.

Dorothy Update

2009-11-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

I have seen Dorothy here and there since the baby was born. She was on an ankle bracelet--house arrest--for a while--but I think that's over with now. She is staying down south of 51st, across the street from Junior's family's new house. A couple of weeks ago she left a blue snowsuit for the baby hanging off the knob of our front door. Thanksgiving night (yesterday) around 10 p.m. there was a knock at the door, and I suspect it was Dorothy. It was either her or Tony the car wash guy. Either way, we didn't answer--Papi and I were just finishing our late-night turkey dinner for two after the baby went to bed. The baby and I had gone to a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast earlier while Papi was working. We picked him up after work, came home, put the baby to bed (he'd fallen asleep in the car so we just hauled the car seat up to his room and left him in it), then sat down and had a little turkey and pie. Dorothy's knock came just as we finished the dishes.

"Who on earth is knocking at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving?" I thought. "There is no way I'm answering that door." Sometimes Tony Car Wash knocks late when the lights are still on, so it might have been him, but I'm trying to retrain my late-night pals to quit bothering me at those hours. It's so rare I'm up past 8 p.m. these days, and when I am, I just want to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Trouble

2009-11-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

Day before yesterday I ran into Picasso as he was coming out of Joey's house. I had been out walking the baby for the previous two hours or so since it's one of the few sure-fire ways I can get him to sleep in the daytime at the moment.

Picasso and I stood in the twilight in Joey's front yard near the wrought iron fence and talked for a bit. He says his grades are good except for one or two classes--he didn't say which ones. He likes his American Lit teacher this year much better than he liked his freshman English teacher. The way he smiled when he said school is good made me believe him.

Then I went for it. "Try to stay out of trouble, OK?" I said with a knowing smile.

He smiled back, embarrased. "I'll try."

Just at that moment, a police SUV pulled up and flashed the spotlight on us. The baby stirred in his carrier. "Are you waking up, buddy?" I asked my son, jiggling up and down on my toes. The cops turned the light off and drove away.

"That's trouble," I said to Picasso. "Listen, if you get picked up and you need help, call this number: 1-800-LAW-REP-4."

"Law Rep four," he repeated.

"They give free legal help to teenagers who get picked up by the cops. If you get picked up, make them your first call. And let me know if you ever need anything," I said, and went in the house, thinking about how I wish I could do more and yet being OK that that is all I can do for Picasso at this point. He's not my kid. I hope to God nobody ever has to say stuff like that to my son.

Picasso was a good boy when he was in fifth grade, sixth grade. He still is when he's not screwing around. He knows how to be polite and respectful. He's still the same bright young man, with artistic talent to boot. But he's in deep trouble and I don't know how to help him through and out. Dawn and I were talking last weekend about how we both thought when he and Joey started to hang out that he might help Joey stay out of trouble. Looks like it went the other way. This is the kind of thing that makes me afraid of staying here when my boy is a teenager.

Belated Halloween Update

2009-11-04T08:35:00.001-08:00

I really wasn't wanting to post this and have been using the baby as an excuse not to write about what happened on Halloween this year. We didn't get very many trick or treaters--don't know if it was the weather or the economy. We did get a couple of knocks on the door from the Chicago Police Department. They were looking for Joey and Picasso. Apparently the boys had been seen on Joey's front porch with spray cans and then there was "a disturbance" as one of the cops put it.

The first cop knock was a male officer asking if anyone lived in the house next door. No wonder they asked. There's broken glass all over the front yard and graffiti on the front stoop. ("He tagged his own house!" Jay-Z's aunt said to me months ago, utterly shocked.) The living room window is broken and hasn't been repaired in months. It's going to be a cold winter in there--if they are still there. People have been by to serve foreclosure papers.

I told the officer, yes, people do live there and gave their last name and a few other things. I had mixed feelings about this. It was an interesting insight into the culture of "don't snitch"--it's not just the fear that someone will retaliate, but the knowledge that people you know and care about are wanted by the police. Even if you know they are a menace, it's not fun to set the cops on people you know.

Then another officer, female, came to the door thinking it was a two-flat and looking for the other occupants. I explained only one family lives here. She admired the baby. I offered her candy; she laughed and declined.

Later, Picasso's mom came to the door. Some mail for me had come to her house by mistake, plus she wanted me to interpret for her so she would understand what the police were saying. I came back out. The cops, at least one of whom had seen me before, were surprised I came out on her behalf. "And who are you?"

"I'm her neighbor and friend," I said. "I speak some Spanish, so I can help you talk with her."

They told her she needed to watch her son more carefully. I told her they said that and added, "you know." I know she knows. Picasso is 15 years old, and she is working. I don't know how often he sees his dad these days. She does her best to keep a leash on him. She already lost an older son to this kind of madness. The cops were just useless.

She wanted to know what would happen to Picasso. "He'll be out of the car in a minute," one of the officers said. I said it again in Spanish. That was probably the only helpful thing that happened out there.

I called Joey's dad that night and told him if he didn't get his truck off my parking pad I was going to have someone else do it the next day. I had heard that people are out to get Joey. A couple of weeks ago, someone threw a brick at the truck and broke the windshield. More recently, someone broke into it and took out the radio. I had been bugging Joey's dad for months about moving his truck--he hasn't paid rent on the space in over a year--to no avail. Until Halloween, when I said, "The cops were after your son today. People here tell me they think this is his house because your truck is on the pad. I have a little one now and I'm afraid."

The next afternoon Joey, his dad, Dawn and Picasso all came to get the truck. "I still want to know who your teachers are," I said to Picasso.

"OK," he said.

Haven't seen him since.

You Just Never Know

2009-11-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

...where life will take you. Back in 2005 I chose the four digits 2-0-0-9 for something because Dawn was starting high school and was part of the class of 09. Until she wasn't anymore. Soon after that, 2009 became the year my son would be born, which I had no idea would be the case when I picked the four digits. Now I'll keep on using them, but with a totally different meaning behind the numbers.

Dawn and her mother came by a few minutes ago with some big news. Dawn is six months pregnant--due in late January. She's not working right now and has not started back to school. I am just at the point now where I need some help to be able to start working from home again, so I asked her if she would want to get paid to come and help me with the baby for a while before her own baby arrives. I would never leave her alone with my son but I would be delighted to have her around to help out with him and with household stuff for an afternoon or two a week. So we're going to try it out on Thursday.

Uncle Yup-yup Stops By

2009-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, Yup-yup is back. A couple of weeks ago I was up early with the baby and heard the cry on the street. "Aw, no," I thought. A while ago I asked The Groundskeeper if he knew what had happened to Yup-yup--it was quiet around here for months.

"He did something really bad," The Groundskeeper told me. So bad that even if he wasn't in jail, he wasn't going to hang around here. "IF he comes back here people will be looking for him." So that's all I knew.

But I guess the heat is off now. Maybe a week or so ago there was a knock at the door and Yup-yup was there, looking for an odd job (or a handout). Sarah and her niece were here in the house--Sarah had been doing homework--and I was about to send them home.

"Well, Uncle, want to see my new baby?" I said to him.

"Sure!"

I had the girls leave--I escorted them past Uncle Yup-yup--I'm afraid that was a little scary for them but they managed it well. Then I went and got BJ out of his bassinet and went out on the front step. He was awake and his eyes were wide open.

"He's going to be a leader," Yup=yup predicted. (I did not let him touch the baby, just look.)

Then Yup-yup launched his pitch. "Maybe this isn't a good time right now..."

"It sure isn't," I said. I also explained I've had a financial setback. "Maybe in a few months I'll be looking for outside help again. I'll let you know."

I have not seen him since, but I doubt that will deter him for long.

Quick Sarah Update

2009-09-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, Sarah stayed home from school today. She was out in my backyard in the afternoon with some of the other kids. "I had a fever this morning, so my mom let me stay home," she told me. She looked very happy.

Some of the neighbors are getting worried about her. Late last week and yesterday morning I could hear her from inside my house, up in the baby's room, sometime around 7 or 7:30 a.m. when it was time to leave for school. She was making a horrendous fuss, screaming "No!" and crying. This morning Jay-Z's aunt told me people across the street were worried her family was abusing her. I explained what was going on to her and to Picasso's mom, which hopefully will get the word out so no one calls the cops or DCFS.

And, yes, I slept through the mural celebration last Saturday. If any readers have news to share, feel free to comment.

Last night I was out on my front stoop chatting with a friend visiting from out of town. A couple of our local beat officers drove by in a large police van. "Is that your baby?" asked the officer on the passenger side.

"Yes."

"We were wondering where you've been. We miss you at the meetings. There's one tonight."

"I'll probably be back by December."

Mural Celebration Saturday

2009-09-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here are the details for the mural celebration. Mothers for Peace/Madres por La Paz and Precious Blood Ministries are sponsoring a celebration of the new mural at 49th and Throop (by the railroad viaduct), from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday September 19. Mothers and youth worked together to design and paint the mural, which features a host of quotations from famous peace activists: Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi, to name a few.

I'll try to get out there and get some pictures tomorrow if at all possible, but life with a newborn means there's no telling whether we'll get there or not.

Upcoming Events

2009-09-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

This Saturday September 19, there will be a celebration showcasing a new mural recently completed on 49th Street east of Ashland (I have to get the exact address, sorry). Oscar Contreras and the mothers against violence worked with local youth to design and paint the mural. I'll try to get some photos if I can.

On Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. at the Chavez Lower Grade Center (4747 S. Marshfield), the UNION Impact Center will hold registration for fall youth and parent classes. Registration is free but space is limited. Youth programming includes soccer, art, guitar, video and photography. Parent programs include aerobics (women only), women's support and leadership, and art for the whole family. For more information, contact Rafael Yañez at 773.600.1601 or email yanezr@unionimpactcenter.org. Classes begin September 22.

CORRECTION/UPDATE: Some class programming has changed slightly as of September 17. Guitar is now a family class; art has been dropped. A parent class in dance has been added.

Sarah Update

2009-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know how Sarah felt about school today, but she's over here now working on homework. She got to read Robert Blake's short story Akiak for homework tonight--it's a good story. She doesn't seem to be freaking out about doing the homework, so that's a step forward.

Maritza Seeks Help for School Phobia

2009-09-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers:

This afternoon/evening, Abuela and I sat out on the step with Sarah, her neices, her mom and her big sister and had a big chat. Sarah has started at Orozco but she is having a lot of anxiety about it. The orientation went ok, but on the first day of school she got so nervous she threw up. The second day it happened again. Today her mom let her stay home and called me for advice. They're going to try to send her tomorrow but maybe she will just talk with someone and not go to class. On Monday her mom intends to speak with her teacher.

I asked Sarah to tell me about her experience. She said the building is very big and unfamiliar and they didn;t really walk around it during orientation. She made some friends during orientation and two of them are in her class, but they sit pretty far away from her. I gather on the first day the bus was late--it's supposed to pick her up from Chavez at 7:45 but it didn't arrive until 8:20, so she was late to class. Perhaps that was also a factor. She said she got nervous when the teacher gave homework, although when she got home and tried it she found it was pretty easy. She clearly misses her friends and teachers at Chavez andwants to go back there.

The problem is, as Tom Wolfe said, you can't go home again. Her mom tells me Mr. Correa has left Chavez and things are very disorganized now. She's also heard the stories about drugs and gang recruitment in the upper grade center (Sarah wouldn't be there yet, but soon) and she won't have her daughter go there. This sounds like a fairly titanic struggle of wills between mother and daughter. Sarah, like her mom, is a pretty determined person, but it's not in her long-term best interest to go back to Chavez. How to help her understand that, I'm not too sure.

If anyone has tips on dealing with school phobia, new school anxiety, etc., we are all ears here on Marshfield Avenue. Thanks!

Dual Language School Info from a Reader

2009-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Somosamerica sent in this comment for an earlier post, but so people can see it I'll repost it here as an entry:

Maritza et al...

In Chicago, I'd like to make sure parents know that to get into Inter-American's school's dual language program, you need to apply for preschool (4yo), not kindergarten. By the time kindergarten rolls around, all our preschool slots are filled -- no one leaves and there's no room.

In reality there should be more programs like this. There is a dual language strand at Talcott and heritage language programs at Tepochcalli and Whittier that I know of.

Good luck! ,

Welcome Baby Party

2009-08-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to have the official "come see the baby" soiree with at least some of the neighbors yesterday. All the kids have been bugging me about seeing him. Two of my friends were coming down from the north side for a visit, so I thought it would be a good time to open the floodgates and let the baby be officially seen while I had two extra pairs of hands around to help out.

Abuelita (Granny, here from Mexico, who deserves a note of her own at some point) and I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon with BJ (for Baby Jaime, not baby's real name) to show her where El Guero (nearest Mexican grocery store) is and go to the bakery for some pan dulce to go with the fruit I had from a lovely edible arrangement. Yesterday was the St. Joseph Summer Festival, so we stopped by on our way to 47th Street. Abuelita got to chit-chat with some real Spanish speakers--whew! I introduced her to a bunch of friends from the neighborhood who were around and they all chatted while Tony and I sat in the sun and watched the ballet folklorico. Abuelita knew the songs and sang along a little bit. My friend Lety took her under her wing and they went to get some food--she had sopes and a quesadilla. (I bet she was glad to have good Mexican food she didn't have to cook.)

I also got to ask Lety, "What is it with all the Mexicans worrying that he's cold all the time?" Abuelita has him bundled in three layers almost all the time. It is an unseasonably cold August, but it's still August. And he has jaundice and needs some skin in indirect sunlight sometimes. Lety was a good person to talk with--she was reminding me most Mexicans would say I shouldn't have even been out of the house (40 days confinement, and there's good reason for it, but I would go crazy inside that long), and that yes, the way they protect babies is to keep them very warm. We are managing some balance, Abuelita and I, but it is interesting. Lety was telling me her mother-in-law was very protective when her kids were infants, too. "Just remember it won't last forever," she said.

"True. And she is really a godsend," I said. "So many women don't have that kind of support--someone who is always there and has experience with their own children."

Then we took a look around the grocery store and went to the bakery. I forgot I had spend a wad of cash at Whole Foods and had to dig hard in my pocketbook to come up with the cash for almost 10 bucks worth of baked goods. We got it.

When we got back to the house Junior's mom was out front with Junior and his little brothers. The youngest is about 18 months older than BJ--I'm hoping they'll be friends when BJ is a little older. Apparently they already have a lot in common--similar birth weight, both had jaundice. Junior's mom and I were comparing notes. She's working nights I think; she looks really tired. Her older boys offered to come by and help out. They will get their chance, I bet. For now, I encouraged Junior's mom to stop by and talk with Abuelita any time since we have trouble conversing. Abuelita has made friends with Dawn's mom next door, which is good, but I'm hoping to help her find some more women she can have a good platica (chat) with now and then. (I'm not feeling so chatty in Spanish these days--the extra step to figure out what to say/what's being said is slowing me down big time.)

A little while later Liz and Lisa showed up and we got the pan dulce and the fruit out. Then a young friend of mine, F, who just graduated in June from Big Picture came by. She had a baby two weeks before I did. He's a boy with an amazing head of black hair. She had a tough labor followed by a C-section. She is up and about and getting ready to start a new class at Morton College with a three-week old. I have a ton of respect and admiration for her. I had invited her over to pick up extra baby clothes and gear--I got a ton of hand-me-downs and have been trying to share the wealth with neighbors and friends who have new babies but don't have as many friends with gear/clothes to spare and share. Sarah's niece, the boy down the street and now this Big Picture grad's little boy have all benefitted from the largesse. We had a teary new mom moment upstairs while F was looking through my stuff. She has been trying to breastfeed but it's been really tough between the C and sore, cracked nipples. Right now she is pumping and supplementing with formula. By contrast, I've had a really easy time getting the hang of it (the first week was hard but now he latches well and my nipples don't hurt and he's gaining). I felt almost guilty when F looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "It's hard, right?"

"Yes, honey, it's really hard getting started," I said. "And it stays hard for some people for a long time." I gave her a spare nursing pillow plus a ton of extra bottles and nipples. And a bagful of clothes we hadn't even sorted out yet.

Then the deluge. I'd say we had a dozen or so kids show up, and when the word got out there was food, kids I didn't even know (people's cousins) came in--I just sent them to the back to get food or pop. A couple of moms from down the street swooped in and had to hold the baby. I knew that was coming. Tony was quite mellow about it. I figure one of these moms has six kids and the other has at least two or three, so let them at it. My friend Christina told me the mom I don't know as well (with fewer kids) joked in Spanish, "I'm going to take him now. You can have him back when he's five."

"You know what--that might be OK," I joked back in English to Christina. (I'm not sure if she passed it on. I like school-age kids; I could save a lot of diaper changing and toilet training, right? So kidding.)

The kids I knew who wanted to hold the baby all washed their hands and lined up. Most of them have handled very young brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews, so I wasn't too worried. One youngest had to be shown how to support his head; the rest of them probably know more about the whole business than I do. One girl who I know by sight but keep losing her name helps her aunt out with her cousin, who is now seven months old. She clearly knows how it is for new moms. She came up right away and put an arm around me, and was clearly very interested in and competent with BJ. I still think Ines is my first choice on mother's helper, but they are buddies so maybe as time goes on they can help me out together.

The party gave me a chance to get a couple of key messages out to the kids--we won't be so visible/available for a few weeks, and we'll put a sign on the door to let you know when visits are OK and when not. I want to get someone to take pieces of red and green construction paper over to Kinko's and get them laminated together so I have an all-weather sign. Red=no visitors; green=welcome. Simple enough.

One of my friends brought a camera and took pics. Both helped me throw everybody out when I got tired. I may post some photos when I get them. Really glad that's over with, at least for now. (Some neighbors who want to see the baby couldn't make it.) One person I'd like to stall is Mrs. Ribs across the street, whose daughter told me she apparently insists on feeding babies potatoes the first time she meets them. Can I hold her off for six months??? :-) We shall see.

Maritza Takes Maternity Leave

2009-08-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

My son was born last Friday night. He's now seven pounds and healthy, but still a little jaundiced. Obviously I'll be taking a break from chronicling the neighborhood goings-on for a while. Lots of neighbors have wanted to see the baby--a few squeezed in, but until the jaundice clears we're not having visitors.

More in a few weeks, most likely.

Unofficial Block Party Celebrates Street Resurfacing

2009-08-10T19:28:00.001-07:00

I got home tonight about 9 p.m. and the new asphalt was on the street. Whoo-hoo! A couple dozen kids were celebrating with bikes, trikes, wagons and mini-cars. Fernando's mom and Peter Pan's mom were out in the middle of the street with the kids. The Brady dads were sitting on their front stoop keeping an eye on their joint brood. The south end of the street is still blocked off with cones because they're going to paint the crosswalk tomorrow morning, I think. So tonight there's nothing but empty, newly asphalted street.

"It's another block party," I said to some of the parents. They nodded.

Mrs. Traback was out with her new dog viewing the action, too. I think she might have been talking with the kids and their moms before I arrived. Please keep her in your thoughts/good energy/prayers--she's been having some health issues lately.

And Now for Something Completely Different

2009-08-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Overheard on the Orange Line earlier tonight: a young woman was on the phone with her mother explaining that she and a disabled friend who has a service dog had tried to get a meal at Golden Thai on Taylor, but the restaurant refused to serve the friend because she had the service dog with her. Her friend is looking into what she can do but in the mean time I won't be eating at Golden Thai for a good while and wanted to let others know.

Golden Thai is at 1509 W. Taylor.

Streetlights Are Back On!

2009-08-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

The streetlights on Ashland Avenue between 47th and 49th streets are back on again. Yay!

Thanks to Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council for staying on the city to get the work done.

Block Party 2009

2009-08-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, this year's block party went off pretty well. The weather was cool and it sprinkled a bit, but it didn't prevent us from doing any of the activities. The mask-making was definitely the best part. I couldn't watch it too carefully--we were setting up the food then, which was a bit of a production, but the kids could paint and use a variety of interesting materials. They made 3D objects as well as masks. My favorite was Brady Bughunter's boat--he made something with a long (maybe four feet?) broomstick in the middle. You probably could tie a sail on it and float it somewhere.

Hopefully I will have pictures soon and post them. I know the kids had more fun last year because it was hotter and we had the jumping jack and water balloons, but I was just happy it went off calmly and everyone had a good time. "It was lovely," Jay-Z's dad told me afterwards.

Bradys at the Beach, Plus Block Party Update

2009-07-30T16:49:00.001-07:00

Well, the good news is they did not start resurfacing the street this morning, and the signs are down. We need to put up block party signs but there's a good chance of rain tonight, so I think we'll do that tomorrow.

Today I took the afternoon off and drove a chunk of the Brady kids up to the north side for some time at the beach. Originally I had planned to take girls only--it's a five-seater car and there are four of them who play together a lot--but at the last minute we squeezed Brady Bughunter in, too. His older brothers left this morning for two days in Michigan with their dad and uncle, and Brady Bughunter was going to be heartbroken if he had to stay home all day with just his mom and Littlest Brady. I was a bit concerned because we don't have enough seat belts for five kids in my car, but he and his younger sister are small and skinny. We put them in the middle of the back seat and put one seat belt across both of them. Obviously I drove very carefully. Everything was fine.

So we went way up to Foster Avenue Beach on the north side because they have a lot of parking and it is very kid-friendly. It is a smaller beach and since it wasn't super-warm today the kids got cold in the water pretty fast. They had a good time looking for shells and burying each other in the sand. I had been thinking we should at least see the edge of the bird sanctuary at Montrose Beach, too, so we decided to pack up everything, take a walk around the rocks and the pier at Foster, then go down to Montrose and decide whether to swim some more or go look for birds or a little of both.

The rocks and the pier were a bigger hit than I expected because the lake was clear enough to see fish swimming. Some of them were very big. Brady Bughunter was so excited that his big sister Ines had to hold the back of his shirt to keep him from peering too far over the edges of everything. Ines did a very good job of looking out for her little brother today--she wanted to know if he can come help put the school supply bags for the block party together tomorrow, too, so he won't feel lonely while his brothers are gone. I said sure.

They definitely preferred Montrose Beach--it's a lot bigger, and you can go farther out in the water. I think the water was warmer, too. It was a longer hike from the water's edge back to the washrooms (which was a little bit of hassle for me, but we all survived). One of the Brady Girl cousins is a little water baby--she was always the last one out. Brady Bughunter and his sisters got colder easily--they're all very skinny. "I'm a skeleton!" BB proclaimed at one point, and he's right--not much meat on those bones. When his teeth started chattering I got him out of the water and wrapped him up in my extra-large beach towel. He was OK with playing in the sand for a while until he warmed up. The girls can all swim, though the youngest is not a strong swimmer yet. Brady Bughunter doesn't swim yet so I kept my eyes most closely on him in the water. Even though he really wanted to go way out in the water, he knew his comfort level and would stop when the water got higher than he was comfortable with. Part of me wanted to teach him to blow bubbles in the water, but he was more interested in just playing than learning to swim and I wanted to keep my hat and glasses on. I wasn't up to swimming, but I played "shark" (tag in the water) and monkey in the middle--another group of kids let us use their ball for a while.

At the very end, after we were back in our clothes and had had some fruit cups from a cart for a snack, we took a walk along the edge of the bird sanctuary. We only saw one bird, but we heard a few more once I shushed them. I said, "If you stop talking you'll probably hear and see more birds"--they all went "Shhh!" and then were quiet--we could hear bird calls then. We found tons of milkweed and they all made wishes. Right after we saw the one bird (might have been a female blue jay--we were pretty far away so it was hard to see), it started raining a little so we headed back.

Shortly before we got back to the car, BB hollered, "A bunny!" and ran toward a tree. We all followed him. There was a big hole in the bottom of the tree trunk. I'm not sure if the rabbit went in there or if there was no rabbit and BB just faked us all out, but we had fun looking for the bunny in the rain. Then it rained harder so we went back to the car and went home.

Clearly they had a good time, since in the car they wanted to know when we were going to do it again. "Probably next summer," I said.

Later, Water Girl Brady said, "So next month when we go again--"

"Um, what am I doing next month, you guys?" I asked.

"Having a baby!" they all chorused.

Yeah, so I think it will be next summer before we have another beach trip. But I'm glad we got to do it once this summer.

Block Party Drama?

2009-07-29T17:45:00.001-07:00

Well, this morning signs went up all over the block (and the adjacent blocks east and west) warning that street resurfacing will start on Marshfield Avenue tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Resurfacing has already started further north--the asphalt was off the street last Friday at 48th and Marshfield.

First, let me say I'm delighted that we're finally getting the street resurfaced all the way from 51st to 47th. It's just what we were hoping for, and it crosses two wards so probably wasn't so easy to arrange. But the timing is not the best, given that the block party is set for Saturday.

Jay-Z's aunt called the alderman's office this morning. Latrece Thompson got back to us saying that they will hold off on the street resurfacing until after the block party. I hope that comes true. I may be up early tomorrow morning just to make sure a construction crew doesn't start tearing up the street. Stay tuned.

Hoops on Marshfield A Rousing Success

2009-07-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hoops in the Hood made it to the parking lot at 48th and Marshfield tonight. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council also blocked off the street at 48th and Marshfield. Kids and families from the surrounding blocks came by as well. The basketball action went on for two hours, and non-players enjoyed face-painting, hopscotch and riding their bikes in the street. Peter Pan and Tone-Loc played on the UNION Impact Center team--I'm glad to know they are hooked up with them. My friends whose son made his First Communion recently held a birthday party in the street--I saw Peter Pan's parents and some of the Bradys over there. Members of Jason Gill's family also have friends on the 4800 block and were sitting out with them in front of their house during the festivities. It was nice to see people from multiple blocks enjoying themselves together.

Everything seemed to go quite smoothly. I gather there was one incident where someone showed up and wanted to play ball but hadn't been on any of the organized teams that have been playing all summer. They let him join the court briefly but it became clear quickly he just wanted to draw attention to himself, so some of the officers present escorted him out, and that was that.

There were some nice freebies for everyone, too. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council had hot dogs, icies, popcorn and water for the crowd, and gave away tote bags. Teen Living Programs gave away pen key chains and let people know about their services. We're not so used to free stuff around here. A lot of the kids took a minute to realize they could just get something to eat. "It's free?" asked my buddy Eddie.

"Yep. Go ahead and have a hot dog," I told him.

Lots of neighborhood stalwarts were out and about at the event: Sandy Traback and Officer Tony Mejia, CAPS beat facilitator/NHS Advisory Board member/ Richards LSC member Veronica Lopez, Officer King (who regularly comes to Beat 914 meetings), Rafael Yanez of UNION Impact Center, and tons of folks from the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council.

Congratulations to Maria Raygoza, who has been doing excellent work on the 4800 S. Marshfield block. She's formed a block club and they are working with Ald. Cochran to get street resurfacing. Signs on the block show that work should be starting next week. They've already gotten some sidewalk repairs and tree-trimming.

My camera isn't working, but I hope to get pictures from others early next week.

Hoops on Marshfield Tomorrow Night

2009-07-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hoops in the Hood will be hosting youth basketball in the newly-paved Chavez Elementary parking lot at 48th and Marshfield tomorrow night. I think game time is 6 p.m. but am not totall sure of this. Anyway, it should be a good time.

Quick notes on other upcoming events--our block will be having its block party August 1. We missed the chance to get a city jumping jack for free, but if any readers know someone who can rent us one for a couple of hours we would be interested in talking with them. We expect to have basketball, soccer (I think), a blessing of some sort from Holy Cross/IHM and perhaps an art activity. A neighbor will DJ in the evening. The kids are thinking up games they can organize among themselves.

Special thanks to a number of local groups who have donated food or school supplies. The Su Casa Catholic Worker has large numbers of frozen hamburgers and buns left from the Fourth of July, plus a new arrival of beverages. Ald. Joann Thompson will provide chips and some beverage, and we are hoping to get hot dogs again this year from Rep. Esther Golar. Her office put us in touch with the 9th District CAPS implementation office, which may also be able to help. Park Federal donated bags and pens for our school supply kits. NHS may also be able to help with that. No Manches has agreed to donate some t-shirts as game prizes and Cafe Cedahlia will also help with refreshments. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's auntie and I have been hitting the back to school sales for pencils, rulers, scissors, folders, etc. A couple of neighbors have said they would help kick in more substantial amounts toward the expenses, and we'll probably go door-to-door and ask folks for a few bucks to help with the DJ (who's a lot cheaper than the person we got last year--whew!).

We may still be looking for someone to coach soccer and could use a high school or college student to supervise kids' activities like a bicycle race, water balloon toss, etc. (I would do this but at 8+ months pregnant I'm trying to limit how much physical activity I'll have to do day-of-event.)

Update on Ashland Avenue Streetlights & Friday Night Hoops

2009-07-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I was at the corner of Ashland and 47th when I ran into the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council's Sean O'Farrell. He let me know BYNC is working on getting the Ashland streetlights back up and running. Thanks, BYNC, and I hope it can be done soon!

Sean also let me know that Back of the Yards is participating in Hoops in the Hood for a second year. They are hoping to play on the new parking lot at 48th and Marshfield, across from Chavez Elementary, next Friday night, but that is not yet confirmed. Tonight they are playing somewhere on Ada. Hoops in the Hood is a great way to bring neighbors together and make the streets a fun, safe place for kids on summer nights. To get a feel for what it's all about, click here and scroll down to "B-Ball on the Block," the original Little Village program that grew into Hoops.

Is CAPS Going the Way of the Dodo?

2009-07-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry to rehash old news here, but I just found this great WBEZ piece from June about how drastically CAPS beat meeting attendance has fallen since 2002. Both the story and the comments below make excellent points about how people do not trust police officers, how gang members' friends and families attend CAPS meetings and thus silence real discussion with officers, and how recent cuts are likely to make the situation worse. You can also see the contrast between police service in West Town and in South Chicago on display in the comments section.

I'm just now trying to get in touch with the CAPS implementation office--I have a contact email but not a phone number. Well, thanks to CLEARpath and a few minutes of digging, I now have a number: 312-747-9987. But now they're asking me for my party's extension and there doesn't seem to be a way to leave a general message. It's now awfully close to 5 p.m. on a Friday in July, so I can't say I'm surprised. Will have to try again next week.

What's up with the Streetlights in Back of the Yards?

2009-07-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

So this has been bugging me for about a month. The streetlights are still out on Ashland Avenue between 47th and 49th. Last night I drove home along 47th from Western to Ashland and discovered the streetlights are also out for a few of the half blocks between Damen and Ashland. Is all of that from the building explosion near 48th and Ashland in early June? Is there something else going on with the 47th Street lights? And what is the holdup about getting them fixed?

All I can say is, I bet if two major commercial strips on the North Side had streetlights out, it wouldn't take over a month to get them back in action, building explosions or no.

This Week's Vegetable Winner

2009-07-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

...was Sarah and her family, since she hasn't been to the farm since last summer and the trip was canceled. She got a small bunch of carrots with the greens still attached, a zucchini or two, two heads of red leaf lettuce and a bagful of peas. On the way home from the craft store she was about the only one who said she liked peas, which also factored into my decision.

Camp Marshfield Goes Mobile, Part II

2009-07-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

So today was supposed to be another trip to the Growing Home urban farm at 58th and Wood, but between the drizzle and a last-minute meeting, I ended up having West Town Bikes deliver again. Instead, I took five girls with me to Merceria Maria on 47th Street near Wood. It's a sewing/craft store with a lot of decorations for weddings and baby showers. The girls like to do craft projects, so I figured I could invest $20-$25 in their efforts and they would be less bored now that the summer community arts program at Chavez is over.

"So here's your challenge," I told them. "You have about 20 dollars total to spend, and you want to figure out how to get the most out of it." At first they were pretty set on dividing that into four dollars apiece and each picking out stuff they wanted for their own projects. Before we left, Youngest Brady Girl was saying, "Wait. I could go back to my house and ask my dad for some money."

"No, honey, that's not the point," I told her. "Your mom and dad have enough things to spend money on--food, gas, the house."

"Yeah, the house is expensive," said her older sister. I gather the family is thinking about trying to refinance their mortgage. Her mom has taken a part time job--night shift at a laundry on weekends, Thursday through Sunday. She works 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. I think it sounds killer hard just because it's night shift and she has five kids in the house (granted some of them are teens and working this summer). One of the girls said her mom likes it because it's not hard work and the money is good--$890 a month. The girls all have to be very quiet in the house on the days their mom sleeps in before she goes to work.

So we walked over to the craft store and talked about snakes on the way there. We went past the hole in the viaduct where the garden snake lives, which sparked the discussion. Ines said she was taking a shortcut to McKinley Park (if I weren't pregnant I'd walk with her one day to see how she gets there) when she saw a really big, fat garden snake and she got scared and ran. We were all laughing about how the guys at the farm told us there were lots of snakes on the viaduct at 58th Street last week, but they didn't tell us that until after we came down, so the girls got a little scared after the fact.

When we got to the sewing/craft store the girls took a long time checking out the inventory and admiring the pretty shower decorations. They eventually began to understand what I was saying about pooling their money--for example, if they bought larger bags of beads and shared them, it might be cheaper than buying individual bags. But I don't think they could all agree on a color scheme, so it ended up being a mix of larger and smaller bags. Sarah got very interested in the felt squares and foam boards. Ines' little sister had her own project in mind that required a single piece of something that was part of a larger shower object (they sell it in pieces and the owner was OK with just selling her the one part). Ines and her two cousins were pretty set on making bead bracelets, I think.

But they kept having these secret conferences and giggling in the corner of the store. I knew they were talking about making baby-related things for me--not actual stuff for the baby, but little showery-type things. Once they had their items picked out, we took a minute before going to the counter to estimate how much everything would cost. Each girl had an armful of items she had picked out and we estimated their costs. Most of the girls had it figured out before I even asked, but when we got to Youngest Brady Girl, her face was a blank and she shrugged. Her sister, with a slightly exasperated air of 'do I have to do this for you again?' grabbed the beads out of her hands, looked at the price, rounded it up and started calculating. (By the way, youngest Brady Girl's mom is no dummy-she voluntarily put her youngest in academic summer school this summer. Hopefully our trip was a little nudge in the direction of the idea that math actually helps you in real life.) When we added everyone's items together, we thought it would come in between 20 and 25 dollars. (We didn't figure the sales tax--since I guess it's still an easy, and outrageous, 10 percent, we could have.)

Anyway, we went to the counter and it came out to be something like $22.60. The owner gave us a couple of discounts and threw in a freebie, probably because he's nice and could see I was treating the girls, and maybe also because it was a fairly large order of small, random items. (I"m sure he and his wife make their real money on the shower goodies.)

"I was afraid it was going to be like 30 or 40 dollars," Ines said as we left the store.

"If it had been that high I would have made you put some stuff back," I said. "But you came in right where I thought you would. Good work shopping and estimating!"

"It's hard deciding when there are so many choices," she said later.

"Yeah, sometimes that's the hardest part about shopping," I replied.

When we got home, the girls had a craft fest out on my back porch. They brought over stuff from home so they could make flowers out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners. They also made cards out of construction paper as well as some of the felt. And yes, the cards were in shades of blue and said "It's a boy." Ines made me one with blue and purple felt hearts that said, "I'm always here when you need help." I'll take her up on that. She's 13 and the oldest of six; I was her age when I had my first babysitting gig (with a toddler, not a newborn, but I had learned baby stuff on my youngest sister). I wouldn't leave her alone with the baby until he's older, but she's definitely top of my list of candidates for mother's helper this fall.

Meanwhile, Peter Pan's youngest sister, Youngest Brady Boy and Angel were running around in the yard chasing each other. So we had about 10 kids out back, including the bun in the oven. As the crafts wound down, a couple of Brady Girls wanted to feed the composter. So I looked in the fridge and found some bagged broccoli florets that had seen better days. They dumped them in, then they wanted to mix and water everything. Oldest Brady Boy had stopped by at this point, and he had the longest reach, so he got in there with a trowel and mixed everything up. Then they watered it with the hose.

Around that time we also got a very special guest--the first appearance in my back yard of Baby D, Sarah's five-or-six-month-old niece. Tia Sarah, who's nine, and Baby D's four-year-old big sister brought her over in a stroller. Baby D was very quiet and watched everybody with her big eyes. She was very patient with all the attention from the girls. Youngest Brady brought over a toy accordion and Tia Sarah tried playing it for Baby D. "Sometimes she turns around suddenly if you make noise," Sarah said.

They also tried getting her attention by calling her name. Sometimes she responds and sometimes she doesn't, Sarah and Baby D's big sister told me. Then Baby D's big sister tried waving one of the little rattles from the craft store at her. She wanted to hold it. "Don't let her put it in her mouth," I said. "It's too little-she could choke on it."

Of course, once in Baby D's hand, it went to her mouth in an instant. One of the Brady girls swiped it and handed it back to D's sister. Since she's only four, she started to show it to her again, and Baby D started to cry in frustration.

"Don't let her see it," I said. "Watch, she'll forget about it." One of the girls hid it, and I started playing a different game with Baby D, just waving my fingers at her or something. She stopped crying within seconds. "Right now she thinks it just disappeared for good," I told them. "When she gets older she will realize it still exists, and then she won't stop crying for something she wants right away if you take it from her." I got a kick out of explaining object permanence in pretty basic terms to the girls.

Camp Marshfield Goes Mobile, Part I

2009-07-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's interesting how Camp Marshfield seems to be evolving this summer to fit two key changing circumstances: the new car and the impending baby. The new car means I do more road trips. On Tuesday I took Picasso, Joey, Jay-Z and Peter Pan's brother to Pros Arts Studio in Dvorak Park in Pilsen for their street art class. I've only been talking about this since February, but hey, we finally got there.

We were late. I had the time wrong, and then Peter Pan's brother was getting a haircut from some guy down the block. Bro got a Nike swoosh shaved into the back of his head. Jay-Z got a cool, abstract kind of design shaved into his head recently, by somebody over on Ashland Avenue.

"The first one is free. Next time it's five bucks," Mr. Shaver told me while we were all standing around watching him put the finishing touches on Bro's swoosh. Peter Pan's older sister went by and so did one of the older Brady Girls--the boys were teasing them about did they want a haircut. "Oh, no, I worked too hard to grow my hair this long," said the relevant Brady Girl. Peter Pan's sister just squealed in disgust at the idea.

When the swoosh was done, we all got in the car and drove to Dvorak Park. When we got there I had no idea where in the park the class was. At first I thought it might be over by the pool because that building is painted over with youth art. But no, that was the locker rooms. One girl peeked out and didn't say anything when I asked, "Is the art class in here?" But then she saw all the boys and suddenly there were a couple of girls screaming at them to come over. We all laughed and walked to the field house. The guy at the desk wasn't very clear about where the room was, so we spent some time wandering in a maze of locked rooms before we got down to the basement and saw the little room on one end where a bunch of kids were at a table, drawing.

"Hi, can we join you?" I asked the young Latina teacher.

"Sure," she said. "Come on in." I came in and hung out with them--normally I wouldn't be such a helicopter mom-figure but I really didn't know if Jay-Z and Bro had the stamina for an hour of an art project. I also didn't know if there would be any trouble since the guys weren't from the neighborhood, so I thought it was worth hanging out on the sidelines. I passed some wet wipes around and asked Jay-Z and Bro how it was going once or twice, but mostly I just let them alone. The vibe in the room was good--with our guys it was 14 young people and they were all concentrating hard on their projects. The teacher gave some kids suggestions here and there but mostly just let them go at it and made sure they all had the materials they needed.

The teacher got the guys set up at the table (they split up except for Joey and Jay-Z) and gave them pieces of paper and pastels. The task was to pick a word--your name, some other relevant word--write it out big in whatever style you preferred (block letters, bubble letters, Olde English, the really hard to read graffiti style, or whatever) then work on a color scheme using blended pastels. Once you were done you could take it outside and spray it with fixative. Picasso jumped in right away and Joey was not far behind. Jay-Z and Bro took a lot longer to decide what they were doing, as I expected. Eventually Jay-Z got bored and went outside to watch basketball. Bro surprised me--he hung in there and actually had something I thought looked cool by the end. The teacher gave Picasso and Joey registration forms to take home, get filled out and bring back next week if they go back. Bro didn't get one, but when we got home he said, "I want to go next week." I promised we'd get him a paper then.

Picasso said it was "not bad" and was noncommital about going again, but if it's raining or he's bored I bet he would go. I think Joey would go--I get the feeling he is pretty bored hanging out here this summer. I wish I had more to offer him.

Just as we were turning on to Marshfield Avenue, the New Boyz song "You're a jerk" came on the radio. I had never heard it before and started making fun of it instantly. "You're a jerk," I said, real nasally, and all the guys cracked up.

"They get paid to do that," Picasso said in semi-mock amazement.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I could do that. I could put it on YouTube." We were all laughing.

I double-parked in front of my house to let them out and run in to grab something for a meeting. Picasso and Joey's moms were on the other side of the street, so I went to talk to them. "I think they liked it," I said in Spanish. "They have papers that need your signature to register. It's free but they have to take the papers back next week."

"Is it far?" Joey's mom asked.

"No, it's in Pilsen, at a park," I said. "I can help drive."

They each said they could drive sometimes too. So maybe this will actually happen. If Picasso actually liked it enough maybe he could get a job with them next summer. The guy I think was the paid student intern/apprentice--he asked where the timecards were--didn't strike me as the most dedicated. He did his own thing, didn't seem to interact with the other young people, and left to play basketball when his own project was done. Maybe it was an off day. I bet Picasso would be better, though.

Block Party Fever Begins to Rise

2009-06-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Last night Peter Pan told me his mom wanted to know if we could do the block party on July 4. Good Lord--that's like next week! "I think we need more time to plan, but your mom can call the alderman's office and see what they say, " I told him, and gave him the number.

This afternoon he called me and said his mom had spoken to the office. "They said they can do it, but somebody they already worked with has to come in for the permit." I said I could go with her tomorrow afternoon. I think we should talk to a couple other people on the block first, though, and decide for sure about the date. I think Peter Pan's family wants it on the Fourth so the street will be blocked off and they can shoot fireworks, but I don't know what else they are willing to do to make the party nice. (They did get the DJ last year, so maybe they can do that again on a week's notice.) I doubt I could get In the Paint or the Chicago Children's Museum to show up on a holiday with so little lead time. And just scanning their websites, In the Paint is at the Taste of Chicago on July 4 and I don't see a link on the Children's Museum web site for the traveling programs they had last summer.

But if they want to do it July 4 because people are off work, let 'em. I personally want to get out of town if at all possible. I hate street firecrackers--they make me very nervous. And boy, they are hard to avoid around here.

Summer on Marshfield Avenue

2009-06-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the other day four or five kids were on the front step and we were talking.

"I might not be as much fun this summer as I was last summer," I warned them.

"Because of the baby?" Alicia asked.

"Yep."

One thing I think I'm good for is a weekly field trip to the Growing Home urban farm at 58th and Wood. I got a discounted share of vegetables for the summer on condition I share it with the neighbors. So far Su Casa got the kale and lettuce the first week, the Bradys got the strawberries last week, and Junior's mom got carrots, zucchini and lettuce this week. A lot of the early vegetables, like kale and asparagus, are unfamiliar to the Mexican moms on the blook. I tried to give Ines's mom the pick of the box the first week, but she said, "I don't know how to cook them," and it's a bit difficult to teach cooking unless we're going to actually sit down in the kitchen and do it together, which I didn't really have time to do. When the tomatoes and more squash come in it will be easier to share.

Last week with the car out of commission I was lucky to get West Town Bikes to deliver the box to my house on short notice. Some of the girls got to meet the two young women who stopped by with it along their bike delivery route.

Now that the car is back in action, I piled two Brady Girls and Peter Pan's two sisters in the car yesterday for the trip.

"It's fresh in here," said Mary Brady on entering the car. "My dad's car is hot!" (By the way, "fresh" is a literal translation of Spanish fresco/a, which would really be "cool" in standard English, but I hear it so often I know what it means now.)

"It's only because it was parked in the shade," I told her.

When we were about a block north of the farm, we ran into a couple dozen kids in the middle of the street with an open fire hydrant. I drove through them very slowly. One boy had a big plastic box full of water. He looked like he was thinking about throwing it at the car.

"Don't even..." said Peter Pan's big sister. (The windows were shut; he couldn't hear her.)

I wouldn't really have minded if he had, but he didn't. They all ran off to carry some girl into the hydrant's spray.

"That's hard when they hold you in there," Peter Pan's big sister said.

We parked, got the box, then waded across a giant puddle to go see how the veggies were growing in the hoop houses. It was so hot they had the plastic walls rolled up to let the heat out. Mary noticed the three compost bins across from the hoop houses. "Is that like your composter?" she asked.

"Well, these are a lot better maintained," I said. "And look, there's a thermometer in one of them. Let's see what it says." It read 100 degrees, which was probably not more than 10 degrees above the air temperature, but that's a lot hotter than the temperature in my compost pile. We had a little discussion about that.

Then we got to their favorite part--going up the viaduct. "We can go farther today, because I feel good and I'm not in a hurry," I told them.

The girls chased butterflies and looked for other bugs and interesting things buried in the long grass as we walked eastward across Wood. It was so hot I don't think we quite even made it to the next block. "Do you guys want to go to the lake?" I asked them.

"Yeah!" So we walked back, eased our way back down the steep slope by the hoop houses, got in the call and called their moms to make sure it was OK. It was. So we went to 31st Street Beach. The only hard part was that the parking lot was very full. We drove through all the teeny lots and I let them get out at then end and go walk in the park while I kept looking for a space. "Do not go near the water until I join you," I warned them. "BUt you can stick your feet in the shower or play on the playground."

I got almost all the way back to the 31st Street entrance when someone pulled out of a handicapped space. I swear I have never parked in a handicapped space before in my entire life, but I knew we weren't staying very long and I was desperate to get out of the car and go find the girls. They were walking along the stone pathway next to the lake when they saw me and came running. We went to the bathroom and then out to the lake. They had a grand old time splashing each other and looking for shells and pretty rocks in the lake bottom along the edge. Nobody went out past their knees and we all kept a close eye on Peter Pan's baby sister. "You can't drown or Mom will kill me," her big sister told her.

I kept a close eye on the time and hauled them out after 10 minutes or so. It took us another ten minutes to get the sand off everybody's feet and walk back to the car. Just as we arrived, a cop was walking around my car looking for the handicapped tag. "I'm leaving right now, sir!" I called. "I'm pregnant and I just had to stop to pick up the girls."

"You're lucky," the cop told me. Whew!

The girls agreed with me that Brady Bughunter should come next week since he will have such a good time looking for bugs on the viaduct.

Summer Job Hunting

2009-06-17T20:43:00.001-07:00

After the car saga came to a successful conclusion, Oldest Brady Girl came by tonight to do her online application for a summer job through the Youth Ready Chicago website. They are taking applications through July 6, but some programs have earlier deadlines, so if you haven't signed up yet, do it soon!

Oldest Brady Girl's two sisters did their applications here last night, and another girl from the next block up did hers here a while ago. Here's what I've learned about the application process. It seems to go a lot more easily if you know the organization you want to apply to--if you're just applying for everything it takes a long time to work through all the stuff. Last night for some reason some of the girls found themselves accidentally logged out and had to start all over--I'm still not sure why that happened. The After School Matters programs are listed by sponsoring organization, and that's the easiest way to find the program you're looking for. So if you want to do an ASM program, it's good to do your homework first and know the organization you want to apply to.

While Oldest Brady successfully completed her application tonight, her sisters and cousins were wanting to help me out. "Do you need us to clean anything?" Ines asked me.

"Yes I do," I said. "Want to sweep the floor?" They did. Then they organized the vast pile of baby gear in the room that will eventually become the nursery. They found this goofy doll somebody gave me that I kept mostly to practice with baby carriers (especially the sling wrap that a dear friend and regular reader of this blog recently got for me--thanks so much! Now that the car works again I can go pick it up.) Tonight Ines came downstairs with the dolly in a Baby Bjorn. It was flopping around and we were all cracking up.

"You don't fold your own clothes that nicely at home," Oldest Brady Girl teased one of her younger sister, who had been organizing and folding baby clothes.

I had leftover baby shower favors from a shower with my relatives out east, so each of the younger girls picked out their favorite animal-shaped cookie cutter to take home with them.

I hope the older girls actually do get jobs out of this. I have contacts at a couple of the organizations they applied to, so we sent emails to those contact people saying they have applied on line and is there anything else they have to do. We'll see.

Car Trouble Fixed!

2009-06-17T20:26:00.001-07:00

So, the saga of the car picked up again around 5 today, when some young Brady came and said, "My dad says to come to the garage." So I went. The two Brady dads were out there with the car and Mr. Upstairs Brady was ready to give me a ride wherever to go get the part. I called the Auto Zone at 53rd and Ashland this morning and they said they had an alternator for my kind of Camry and it was cheaper than the parts place down 51st. At first Mr. Upstairs Brady thought we were going to the Auto Zone at 56th and Western, but we got it straightened out.

At the Auto Zone, they checked the battery and it was dead, as expected. Then they checked the alternator. At first the guy used a bad serpentine belt and he got a bad reading. Another guy gave him a better belt, and the reading came out better. He checked it twice to be sure, but I admit I felt a little skeptical. I bought a new battery and we took the old alternator back.

Back at the garage, the Brady dads put the new battery and the alternator in, then started the car. I hung out and watched them. Occasionally Littlest Brady would come in and visit--he and his brothers and Peter Pan's little sister were running around out back. Once they got the parts back in, the car started fine, the radio worked and so did the headlights. They suggested I take it for a test drive, so I took it out and drove it around in a big square from 51st to 47th and back to the garage. At this point, the car was back to how it had been running on Saturday--lights, radio, but no windows, no speedometer, no tach. I came back and told them that and they said they'd look at it some more and let me know what they found. So I went home.

I have to admit at that point I was once again ready to say "give it a rest guys--I'll just take it to Castro's tomorrow." I kind of thought there must be some other problem that maybe they wouldn't find and it was time to spend the money on the pros. But I was wrong. After I had been home for a while, another bunch of Bradys came to the door with the message, "My dad says the car is ready."

When I got there, the a/c was on, the headlights and hazards were on, the radio was on full blast and the windows were down. Truly, I was amazed. The oldest Brady girl told me later some gear wasn't turning right--they had tried to tell me something about what they figured out but I couldn't understand them. I drove the car and the speedometer and the tach worked. Yay! I went back and shook all their hands very formally to say thank you. I sent strawberries over to their house earlier this afternoon from my Growing Home share. Unfortunately, right now the share is mostly greens, which aren't vegetables they are familiar with. Oldest Brady Boy's mom stopped by this afternoon with my raincoat (I loaned it to her son while we were out in the rain yesterday), and I showed her the box and asked if she wanted anything, but she said she really didn't know how to cook any of the vegetables in it. Later in the summer when we get tomatoes and squash, they will get dibs.

Car Trouble and Good Samaritans

2009-06-16T18:56:00.001-07:00

Well, there are some good reasons I have assiduously avoided car ownership for the last 20+ years of my life. I'm not the most organized person on the planet when it comes to paperwork. I like not spending money. I'm a mechanical idiot.

Most of these weaknesses have come into play rapidly since I bit the bullet a month ago and bought a friend's old Toyota Camry. The car looks like a dream--one owner whom I know, no major repairs, meticulous records on the vehicle and the friend hasn't driven it very much (less than 75,000 miles in over 10 years). Just my luck, something went wrong with it less than a month after I bought it.

Saturday afternoon I took Jo, Beth and Amy over to 57th Street Books so they could go shopping--Jo wanted more James Patterson; I think Amy got a Japanese anime book and I forget what Beth picked out. On the way back, the speedometer and the tach stopped working.

I knew I needed to take it to the shop, but I took a chance and drove it twice--once yesterday and once today--to take care of some meetings, thinking once it went to the shop God only knows how long it would take to come back. Besides, my dad used to keep an old bomber around and the speedometer didn't work on it, so I am familiar with judging one's relative speed without a reliable gauge. Yesterday the car drove fine. Today, not so much.

I had a meeting in Bridgeport today--not far but not convienent by public transit. So I went out and started the car. The radio died before I got to 35th Street. The wipers began to slow. The car had trouble accelerating after stop lights. Uh-oh. But I was committed--had to get to the meeting. I got it into the parking lot and was pretty sure I'd need a jump to get home. Fortunately, after the meeting, someone there had cables. As I suspected, the car wouldn't start. He looked at the battery, said it was corroded and warned me the alternator might be in bad shape too, from working extra hard to start a failing battery.

It was daylight but raining heavily.I drove home through the rain with wipers that moved very slowly. By now the car's headlights had quit (flashers and turn signals still worked). Fortunately the car seemed to accelerate decently after stop lights. I got it all the way to Castro and Sons, the repair shop just south of 50th on Ashland, pulled into a parking space on Ashland, and the car died with the back end still sticking out of the parallel parking spot further than I'd like on a main artery. After a few moments to breathe and call a friend for advice, I got out and went over to Marshfield Avenue to look for some neighbors who could help me push the car into the space.

In the end, I got a lot more than I bargained for. On the way down the block I called Junior's house but his dad wasn't home, so I told his mom not to worry and I'd try someone else. Over at the Brady house a couple of guys were bringing in a microwave. I asked one of them in very slow, simple English if he'd be willing to help me push my car (I couldn't think of the Spanish). He got the idea, gave me a smile, explained he was bringing in the microwave, and disappeared. I figured he'd be back, but it was really raining hard and he didn't come back for a while.

Then I heard a noise over my head. Mr. & Mrs. Brady from upstairs were looking out their window at me. The window was up and the screen was down, so they could hear me without my having to yell. "Necesito poquito ayuda," I said. (I need a little help.) They sent one of their daughters down to find out what was going on. I told her about the car and how I needed some help to push it into the space.

"I"ll get my dad," she said. Meanwhile, her aunt and cousins on the first floor came out. Her aunt said something to me I didn't understand, but we all kind of hung out and waited for the guys to organize themselves. We joked around about Littlest Brady Boy coming to help push and tried to get him to show off his muscles. He didn't bite. When the other Mrs. Brady heard what was going on, she sent Oldest Brady Boy to join the car-pushing force. Her husband came out, too. Evenutally we had three adult men, Oldest Brady Boy, Ines and her cousin. Off we went.

When we got back to the car, it wouldn't budge out of park. All the Brady men tried it, I tried it. Nada. So they decided to try to pick up the back end of the car. Two grown-up Bradys on the left rear wheel, the Brady Girl and her dad on the right rear wheel, and Oldest Brady Boy on the back bumper. Ines and I held all the umbrellas. If I weren't seven months pregnant I would have joined the back bumper crew, but you gotta give up some things while the bun's in the oven. One, two three--with a mix of lifting and serious pushing from the two Brady men on the outside, the back end was hauled right up to the curb. Whew!

"So, you feel strong?" I asked Brady Girl.

"Yeah, she said. "I always wanted to push a car. I see people doing it and it looks like so much fun." I couldn't believe she was saying that in the middle of all the rain and wind, but I was glad she felt that way.

So at this point, I'm thinking we're done, I'll say thank you, and everybody gets to go home and dry off. Oh, no. Forgive my stereotyping here, but when you have three Mexican men in front of a car that needs fixing, there is no stopping them. (Ironically, my significant other, who is from Mexico City, knows nothing about fixing cars and has no interest in learning. He was at work during this escapade and I'm sure that was just as well.)

"My dad says he's going to go get another battery and see if it works," Oldest Brady Boy told me. I figured there was no fighting this. I explained to Oldest Brady Boy what my friend with the jumper cables had said about the battery and the alternator, but I'm not sure if he got it through to his dad. I took a break and went back to the house to drop off some stuff that had been in the car.

When I came back, the girls were gone and Oldest Brady was watching his uncles take the old battery out. "Do you like cars?" I asked him.

"Yeah. A lot," he said.

"Do you know anything about how to fix them?"

"Not really."

"You should get your dad and your uncles to teach you. It looks like they know what they're doing."

They put the new battery in and the car started right away. Oldest Brady told me his dad and uncles wanted to take the car back to their garage to check out "what you said" --the alternator. His uncle told me in Spanish to go home and they'd let me know what they figured out. I was ready to go somewhere dry, so I said, "OK, thanks," and let them have at it. (Actually, I didn't totally understand what Oldest Brady told me at first--I thought they were taking it to a garage where they knew somebody, but they were just taking it back to the garage at their house.)

About half an hour later Oldest Brady was at my door. "My dad wants to speak to you," he said. So I went down the alley with him to their garage. Sure enough, the battery had quit almost as soon as they got it to the garage--the alternator is worn out. Oldest Brady's uncle called Auto Zone and had me speak with the clerk to find out how much it would cost to buy a replacement alternator. The clerk said $139.99 but then said something I didn't understand about $80. The main thing was they didn't have them in stock and would have to order one.

So then we walked over to see if the parts place on 51st was open, but it was closed. On the way Mr. Upstairs Brady said something to the effect of, "Castro's is expensive. You work hard for your money. Save some." I couldn't muster up the Spanish to say "but I've really eaten up way more of your time than I intended." For tonight, the car is in their garage and after 3 p.m. tomorrow we'll work on getting the part. I'm going to do some looking on line tonight to see if I can find it.

To be continued...

Last Day of School Water Fight

2009-06-12T15:18:00.001-07:00

Around 3:30 this afternoon I heard a lot of noise and suddenly Joey was at the back door asking if they could use my hose to fill water balloons.

"Sure, do whatever you want," I said. "Just watch out for La Chismosa's car."

"Yeah."

A few minutes later, Sarah and her niece were at the back door. "Could we look at the bug book?" It must be summer. I had to go fish it out of the basement. Sarah showed me a bunch of pictures of bugs she and Brady Bughunter have seen around the block.

After we looked at the bug pictures for a while, it occurred to me that they might be good helpers for a long overdue project. "Hey, would you like to help me with my garden? I need to pull all the weeds growing in the boxes," I said.

"Sure," Sarah said.

I went and got gloves and a trowel. Sarah's niece used the trowel and Sarah and I mostly used our hands to pull the weeds out of the boxes. A little bit of cilantro and some other greens from last year are back again, so we left those alone.

The water fighters were mostly using Joey's spigot next door, not mine. The mostly boys (there was one girl on that team) would jump over the fence and run around to the other side of my house to scope out the opposing team's position. I held a lot of water balloons while Joey and his pals jumped the fence. One of Peter Pan's brothers got interested in what we were doing and helped us pull a weed or two. He also liked using me as base so he wouldn't get thrown at.

The girls and I were a little bubble of calm as the horde of water fighters ran in and out. Eventually, all the kids were at my hose dunking people, first Oldest Brady Boy and then Joey. The girls and I went up on my back porch to get out of the way. We were all laughing at the very soggy people--squealing girls and boys whose sneakers would squish when they walked. My significant other even came out with his camera, but I'm not sure whether he got there in time to get good pictures.

They got a little out of hand here and there--somebody threw a rock and hit one of the girls in the water fight, who she said she was OK--but basically they were fine and enjoying the first sunshine we've seen in a while. Not to mention celebrating the end of the school year--today was the last day.

Beauty in the Yards

2009-06-11T09:16:00.001-07:00

(Photo courtesy Beauty in the Yards web site. It's a north-facing view of Ashland Avenue taken from the railroad viaduct at 49th Street. It looks like it doesn't fit well into the Blogger layout, so all the more reason to go see these on the host web site itself.)

As part of their work through the Mikva Challenge Issues to Action program, Big Picture High School students took photos around the neighborhood this spring. Their goal was to offer a different perspective on Back of the Yards from the shootings and other negative images of the area most commonly found in mainstream media. Photos were auctioned as part of the Big Picture scholarship fundraiser held in May.

You can see more digital images at Beauty in the Yards, and I hear the webmaster has more yet to put up, so check back there more than once if you like.

Recent Graduations: Big Picture HS and Chavez Elem

2009-06-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, my camera is having problems, so I don't have pictures of graduation ceremonies right now (I may be able to retrieve one from Big Picture), but wanted to write up a little about each of the graduations.

Big Picture graduated its last class of 20 students on Friday , June 5. The vast majority of the graduates will be entering a number of two- and four-year colleges, including Northern Illinois University, Northeastern Illinois University, St. Xavier University, Chicago State University, Morton College, Daley College and Harold Washington College. The class valedictorian was Gleidy Flores, who won both a Mikva Challenge scholarship and a Big Picture scholarship toward her expenses at Northern Illinois University next fall. Salutatorian Arlet Correa won four scholarships, including one from Big Picture, and will be attending St. Xavier University in the fall.

At Big Picture graduations around the country, the tradition is for each student to say a few words upon receiving his/her diploma. Here are some quotes from the graduates:

"I didn't think I was gonna make it, and here I am." Juan Serrano

"Daddy, thank you for always pushing me to do better. Mom, gracias por apoyarme." Zuleyma Alatorre

"Big Picture has helped me discover my passions....Thanks to [College Bridge] I'm confident on attending college next fall." Jonathan Salgado

"I want to thank my son, whom I did this for, to prove no matter what, you can always make it in life." Elsa Gomez

"I never imagined myself up here. I wouldn't have made it without Alfredo [Nambo, principal]. He never gave up on me," Martha Bacilio

"I would like to thank my classmates, especially the ones who encouraged me to continue my education." Mara Jimenez

"My teachers encouraged me to pursue college. I became a responsible, organized and strong person. If it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be here giving this speech." Gladys Medel

"Education is the most powerful weapon in life." Mayra Banuelos

This afternoon Chavez Elementary held its 8th-grade graduation ceremony. There were four students from our block walking across the stage today: Peter Pan and his brother, the third of the four girls down the block-Meg's little sister Beth, and a girl I didn't know. (I think she's the younger sister of the boy who was sneaking into his girlfriend's window at night. She is now pregnant.) I knew a couple of other grads from nearby blocks as well. Oldest Brady Boy did not get to cross the stage today. He will be in summer school for math. I saw Mr. Correa today, who told me his test scores are OK, so all he needs to do is show up and he will graduate in August. Oldest Brady says as long as he graduates in August he is OK to go to Rauner.

Meanwhile, Beth will be going to Curie High School in the fall, and her older sister Jo is doing fine at Kennedy. Meg has moved in with a guy up in Logan Square and is expecting a baby in September. After the baby is born she is planning to go to the Northeastern Illinois University extension campus near there to get her GED and then go on to college. I hope it works out for her.

Hood Heats Up

2009-06-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

Well, even though the temperature isn't that high, summer is here in the hood. Last night there must have been about 15 kids up at the north end of the block arguing loudly and semi-fighting with each other. At first I thought it was Jay-Z's family two doors up, so I ignored it, but it got really loud and there were so many voices I figured it had to be more serious. I peeked out the window and saw the mob of kids pushing somebody against a neighbor's wooden privacy fence, so I called 911. I'm not convinced the police ever came.

Eventually I heard a male adult voice telling people very calmly to go home, but I figured that might have been one of the neighbors either from this block or the next block up. Things calmed down after that, then got loud again, then subsided for the night.

Someone I know north of 47th had a much worse experience yesterday. She lives by 46th and Wood, near Seward Elementary and Holy Cross Church, and apparently the bulding next door to her is run by a negligent landlord who doesn't screen tenants and doesn't make repairs. There's a woman renting there who is dating a Latin King. My friend's husband was outside putting new license plates on the car when he was harassed by about 20 gangbangers. They are still not sure whether it was a case of mistaken identity or what, but someone flashed the husband a gang sign. He didn't respond and suddenly this giant group of guys were chasing him down. He ran in the house, locked the door, and told his wife to come upstairs. The guys smashed glass and broke through a steel door to get in the house. The couple called 911 three times and had to wait 20 minutes before police arrived at the scene. Fortunately, she and her husband are physically find--the cops did arrive before the gangbangers reached them, but just barely. And their house looks like it's been in a war zone, she tells me.

"How can that happen in a city?" she asked me. "We might as well not have police at all." She has been trying to contact her alderman's office--it's Willie Cochran, 20th Ward--without a response so far. After all the nice things I said about him recently I'm sorry to hear his office hasn't responded to her yet.

Richards LSC Meeting Postponed

2009-05-21T17:48:00.001-07:00

Well, I got to Richards this afternoon, and one LSC member was there. She told me the meeting has been postponed until next week. Unfortunately, if it's next Thursday at the same time I won't be able to attend.

I will keep in contact with her and other LSC members to find out what happens at the next meeting.

LSC Meeting at Richards High School Today, 4 p.m.

2009-05-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today's LSC meeting at Richards should be a doozy. I spoke with some LSC members earlier this week who told me the main item on the agenda is principal evaluation. It looks like Principal O. Joyce Smith got sent to the woodshed. Her contract is not up for renewal until next year, but if I were here I'd start thinking about the next thing now.

Readers of this blog have seen posts here in the past about safety issues, high dropout rates, lack of academic progress and extracurricular activities at Richards. Other than their well-regarded culinary program, I can't see a reason to put a young person in the school right now. Many community leaders, LSC members, and neighbors of mine who have children who have attended Richards have complained about the principal's lack of leadership and reluctance to work with the community over the nearly five years since I moved here.

To see for yourself, come to Richards High School, 5009 S. Laflin, 4 p.m. today, Thursday, May 21.

Ted O'Keefe, Art Velasquez Honored @ Peace & Education Fundraiser

2009-05-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ted O'Keefe of the Chicago Police Department received the 2009 Arturo Velasquez Community Leadership Award tonight at U.S. Cellular Field during the 12th annual Peace and Education Coalition of Back of the Yards scholarship fundraiser. O'Keefe is known as the founder of CAPS (Community Alternative Policing Strategy). Mayor Richard M. Daley and Fr. Bruce Wellems of Holy Cross/IHM Parish are with him in this photo.

CAPS Coordinator Marina Alonso hugs 9th District Commander Eugene Roy. Alonso was instrumental in building the community-police relationships necessary to solve the 2007 murder of Leticia Barrera on the 4800 block of South Seeley.

Arturo Velasquez, Sr., who died recently, was an important figure in Back of the Yards and a mainstay of education and scholarship efforts in the neighborhood. He was honored with a video tribute. His family turned out in great numbers for the event, including his daughter Carmen, who founded Alivio Medical Center.

Year after year, Mayor Daley has consistently attended the event, although he did miss last year, if memory serves. The year before, there was a lot of media attention and he had to dash out pretty quickly. This year there was no mainstream media present that I'm aware of and he was able to relax and stick around a bit longer. I'm guessing he may have wanted it this way to spend a bit more time with the Velasquez family.

His remarks also seemed more relaxed than I've seen in some of his public appearances. Right off the bat he teased Fr. Bruce, who has been exercising and losing weight to control diabetes. "I thought he was getting ready for 2016," the mayor joked.

Daley went on to express his appreciation for all the people in Back of the Yards who offer a helping hand to young people, especially those who are most in need of help. "There are many great stories in Back of the Yards that I wish the media would tell. When a kid falls down, there's a helping hand to get him up. You all are the helping hands, and I want to thank you for your passion," he told the crowd.

This year, 61 college and graduate students who have served the Back of the Yards community are applying for Peace and Education scholarships. Another nine students in private high schools have also applied. One of the college applicants is Melissa Rodriguez, who is planning to return to the University of Illinois and study biochemistry after having to shift her studies to community college in order to save money. In her application essay, she writes, "I had the choice of quitting school and finding a job or continuing my education but in a community college where the tuition would be more bearable. I chose to continue my education. I refused to surrender in defeat."

15th Birthday and Mother's Day Surprise

2009-05-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I have fallen behind again. Earlier this month, a buddy of one of the Brady Girls invited me to her quinceanos (15th birthday party). She didn't even tell me it was her birthday! She just said, "We're having a party at my house this Sunday. I hope you can come." Then I forgot, and she and Brady Girl called me that afternoon and reminded me. Whew!

Although the Wikipedia article I linked to above makes much of the traditional Church ceremony and formal reception, what the girls I know actually do for their 15th birthdays varies widely, for a mix of reasons. Brady Girl herself already turned 15, but it was in the winter and her parents suggested they hold the party until the summer when it would be more fun and it could be outside. Brady's buddy did not get all dressed up, nor did she have a church ceremony-perhaps her family is not all that active at church, I don't know. But her dad works in a restaurant, so they had nice servingware and great food out on a table in the backyard, plus a DJ. Dawn never had a 15th birthday--her parents were too broke. They suggested a sweet sixteen instead, but by then I think her dad may have been moving out and they had other things on their minds. I was thinking about having a graduation party for her but at the moment, she's not graduating. (But she may yet be--more on that below.)

Also, I know some churches insist that girls complete all their sacraments before they can become a quinceanera. For families who aren't all that regular about church, that's a big barrier to a formal ceremony.

Meanwhile, a girl on the other side of the block had the whole nine yards for her party a year or two ago. I stood on the street with some younger girls and watched the big stretch limo pull up and all the girls in dresses and guys in suits get in it.

Meanwhile, back at Brady's Friend's bash, the big highlight was her friends slamming her face in the birthday cake. This is a Mexican birthday custom that I admit I have never understood. Everyone thinks it's hilarious. I'm one of those meanies who does chuckle watching other people subject themselves to this, but would hate it if someone did it on my birthday.

Now for the Mother's Day surprise. I actually spent last weekend out on the East Coast with family (including spending time with my mom for Mother's Day). But yesterday I ran into Dawn's mom and she went in the house and emerged with a bouquet of flowers for the mom-to-be from her daughter. They're on my kitchen table. I left her a thank-you message and said, "Let's talk about getting you back in school." She saw me the same weekend as the quinceanos and said she's ready to find a school now. Stay tuned.

Zulema Ortiz Named Sor Juana Young Visionary

2009-05-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night Zulema Ortiz, Big Picture Class of 2008 and dedicated catechist at Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart parish, received the Sor Juana Young Visionary Award at the Chicago Cultural Center. She was one of ten Women of Achievement honored at the event, which is part of the Sor Juana Festival sponsored by the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Zulema is now studying at Morton College and performing with Teatro Americano, a theater group that creates productions about issues affecting Latino immigrants. Zulema also continues to advocate for the DREAM Act and to raise awareness about the struggles undocumented minors face in trying to continue their education. "I wonder if Sor Juana were alive today, what would she say about only allowing some young women to continue their education? Would she say, 'Oh, we should only let the young women who have those nine digits [referring to a Social Security number] continue to learn?'" Zulema asked the crowd as she accepted the award. And no, Zulema didn't think that was what Sor Juana would say if she were here today.

Zulema's own personal story of struggle has recently taken a turn for the better. Her father has been able to establish legal permanent residence in the United States, and now Zulema is able to pursue that process for herself. She has already obtained a work permit and is eagerly looking for a summer job.

Dorothy's Back on the Block

2009-05-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon I was on my way to 51st and Ashland to catch the bus downtown when I heard someone calling for me from south of 51st Street. I looked down the block and there was Dorothy running to the corner. I crossed the street and we hugged.

"When did you get out?" I asked her.

"Yesterday." She launched into a long explanation I didn't totally understand. The way she tells it, Haymarket tried to insist she had left their program without permission (I guess that would have violated the terms of her probation). When Dorothy explained that she had been put into a nursing home rather than a formal long-term recovery program, the judge threw out her case and ended her probation. She was very happy.

I, on the other hand, was very worried. "So do you have a caseworker now? Do you need a payee?"

I was just asking, but of course she took that as a sign that I would serve as her payee. Unh-unh. "Honey, I love you very much, but I have somebody coming I have to take care of," I said, pointing at my stomach. "I can't be your payee." (Gotta say I love how this baby is getting me out of one jam after another--it's great.)

She's staying in somebody's basement for now. There's an SRO with on-site social services that's going to open over on Halsted in about a year--she needs to get on the waiting list for that building. A long time ago I worked for the company that is putting this together, so I know they are good (not like that nightmarish nursing home). I have somebody's card related to that project here in the house. It might be time to dig that up.

Nitty-Gritty Midterm Exam for Local Aldermen

2009-04-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

This week's print edition of the Chicago Reader has hit the streets. Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke review the city's nine freshmen aldermen, three of whose wards contain slices of Back of the Yards. Their yardstick was pretty straightforward: "Are our representatives up to the task of telling the mayor 'no' once in a while?" The answer is a resounding no.

I'm not surprised that that's what Ben and Mick care about, but I can tell you very few people, especially in the South Side wards that have long been neglected and lack basic city services, give a good gol dang about that yardstick. In fact, I suspect most voters here would prefer their aldermen have a good relationship with City Hall (even a bootlicking one), if it means they can get city services to work and get access to dollars for ward improvements. They also care about whether they ever see their aldermen and whether they feel like their aldermen are paying any attention to local needs. It all comes down to "who will get me a garbage can?"

By that standard, here's my take on the freshmen aldermen I've had contact with since the were elected, starting with the one who runs my ward.

Joann Thompson, 16th Ward--Ben and Mick lump her together with Toni Foulkes of the 15th Ward, noting the similarities in how they were elected--both were backed by organized labor, SEIU to be specific--and as the gentlemen put it, "both have had their hands full just trying to set up an office and confront some of the problems in their long-neglected communities." Both, the guys tell us, have been quiet, reliable yes votes.

What this doesn't tell us is the important difference between them on the ground. I've only seen Foulkes in action once, but last summer she got herself out to an NHS block beautification event, clearly knew the block club members, and spent a good half hour or more talking with them about safety and street improvements that could be done on their block. I don't know the extent to which she followed through, but she was out there.

As for Thompson, she has sent out one newsletter, which I grant had the dates of her monthly ward meetings. I haven't been present at any yet but I have heard back from others who've been there. They weren't very impressed. A while back some of our local leading lights, including Rep. Esther Golar, went out with petitions for street resurfacing here on Marshfield Avenue. I heard a rumor that the street will be resurfaced from 51st to 47th, which includes parts of both Thompson's and Willie Cochran's ward. My guess is that it's Cochran and Golar who are really making this happen. My impression thus far in Thompson's term is that she concentrates very hard on the Englewood portion of the ward, leaving Back of the Yards and Gage Park to their own devices. My impression of Foulkes is that she has made broader and more effective outreach across her ward as a whole, but if any readers know more than I do about this, please fill us in.

In short, if I were Jimmy the Greek, I put money on Foulkes getting re-elected and not on Thompson. Stay tuned.

Willie Cochran 20th, and Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward. Ben and Mick discuss them separately and at length, giving Dowell credit both for her presence in the community and for thoughtful and occasionally-gasp-independent votes. However, they give Cochran short shrift: "He's not exactly a disappointment, since we never expected him to stand up to the mayor anyway." By contrast, the view from the ground here would lump them much more closely together because of their strong commitment to constituent service. To me, Cochran gets extra points because it would be easy for him to concentrate on Woodlawn redevelopment, especially amid the Olympic furor. Yet I saw 48th Street get plowed this winter and we've seen the long-awaited sidewalk improvements on the 4800 block of South Marshfield. There's almost always a 20th ward staffer at the local CAPS beat meeting; I think the 16th ward superintendent came once.

Just as a side note Ben and Mick join the chorus of critics who've ripped the Olympics community benefits agreement for being toothless. For reasons I won't go into here, I can say just getting the words publicly on the table in the face of City Hall opposition is not an achievement to be sneezed at. For a couple of aldermen whose wards heavily depend on city services to pull this off is worthy of a lot more respect than they're getting.

More Good Admissions News

2009-04-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sarah got into Orozco! I happened to run into the principal at a meeting today, which prompted me to ditch out for a moment and call her mother to find out whether she got in or not. Her mom told me she is going over there tomorrow to register her for next year. That's the best news I've had in quite a while. I think it will make a real difference in her chances of going to a good high school.

Arturo Velasquez Dies

2009-04-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Arturo Velasquez, whose jukebox business in on Ashland Avenue here in Back of the Yards, died Friday at home. He was 93 years old. The Tribune obituary on him recounts his work with the Peace and Education Coalition of Back of the Yards, as well as his service on the board of the City Colleges of Chicago. The West Side Technical Institute was formally renamed the Arturo Velasquez West Side Technical Institute in his honor in 2007.

Velasquez was born in the Mexican state of Jalisco and grew up in Chinatown, where he first put a jukebox in a taco shop. Thus was born the business that made him a wealthy and well-known member of the Latino community for many decades. He was still going to his office this year, according to the obituary.

I was unable to attend his funeral, but others I know who went told me it was quite a send-off. Seventeen priests concelebrated the funeral Mass at St. Rita of Cascia, led by Fr. Bruce Wellems of Holy Cross/IHM. Mayor Daley attended, along with a full house in a very large church.

One of his children, Carmen Velasquez, is also an especially well-known force in the community. She founded the Alivio Medical Center, which provides culturally sensitive health services to the Latino community.

Marshfield Avenue High School Admissions Report

2009-04-20T17:38:00.001-07:00

Well, all three of the guys I helped with applications this year are going to Noble Network schools. Peter Pan is going to Noble Street HS; Oldest Brady Boy is going to Rauner; I'm not sure which one of those Peter Pan's brother is going to, but he's in at one of them. Peter Pan was saying at the barbecue Saturday that he got into Rauner first, then they called and said he had gotten into Noble from the wait list. He switched, but he's having second thoughts. He had wanted to go to Noble Street all along--someone in his family knew about it; they used to live up that way--but with his best bud (Oldest Brady Boy) going to Rauner, that probably has some pull, too.

However, he can't diddle around about it. "Pick and stick," I told him.

I get the feeling Peter Pan's older sister is in a jam about school. Her grades have never been the greatest, and much as I'm reluctant to say it, she may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. She started off liking Perspectives, but when I ask her about it now, she kind of shrugs. She had said back in January she wanted to transfer. When I asked her what was up about school on Saturday, I got another shrug. I'm afraid she may be at Richards in the fall, which wouldn't do much for her chances of graduating, I don't think.

Shooting Last Thursday Night

2009-04-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm behind the times. Just spotted this story from the Chicago Sun Times. The link will stop working by Friday April 24, so the gist of it is below.

Juan Cazares, 14, was shot and killed Thursday night at the corner of 50th and Wood, near Cornell Square Park, where he had just finished playing a basketball game. I appreciate reporter Annie Sweeney's pains to make clear that this kid was a human being and that this neighborhood is working hard to reduce violence. She's done a lot of reporting on this neighborhood and it shows.

However, I do have to make a comment based on my experience with kids who have left school for one reason or another. Juan was a student at Richard Milburn Alternative High School. Last I knew it was primarily serving students who had been expelled from Chicago Public Schools, so although the piece portrays Juan as a nice kid, I'm sure he was a complicated kid, too. Don't get me wrong; that doesn't mean he should have been killed. Nobody, especially nobody 14 years old, deserves to die. But if there's one thing I've learned from living her for nearly five years, everything is a lot more complicated than it looks on the surface.

My prayers go out to Juan and his family. I'm sure he was a lot like Joey and the other boys I know over here on our block, which isn't very far away from his home or from the corner where he died. It's stories like this that make me really nervous about raising a kid, especially a boy, here. It's so easy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's also easy for teenage hijinks to get out of hand with terrible, even fatal consequences.

That last point is what it turns out the pushup showdown on Saturday was all about. After the pushup contest ended, I went to the barbecue next door and Peter Pan's uncle told me how it all got started. The older men in the crowd, Yup-yup included, were trying to make a point to the young boys about staying out of trouble--that tagging and gangbanging are not how you prove your manhood. "It's not like I'm a saint--I did my little things when I was their age, too, but somebody has to show them right from wrong," Peter Pan's uncle said.

A woman sitting by the grill told me she has a seven-year-old son. She said, "I already told him, if I see you trying to join a gang, I'm going to take a baseball bat to you myself. If anybody's going to hurt you like that, it's going to be me, not some little gangbanger." She was referring to the gang initiation rite known as "violation in," where to join you have to endure a beating from the gang. It's like frat hazing on steroids.

I'm just fascinated that Yup-yup got in on the "don't do it" message. It's too bad most of those young boys probably aren't connecting the dots between what they're up to now and guys like Yup-yup and even Tony. Those thugs who live to be old thugs never die, they just end up hustling and washing cars and doing other people's yard work, when they aren't locked up.

Yup-yup's Pushup Showdown

2009-04-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure how all this got started, but I was sitting with Ines and her mother on their stoop and suddenly we heard Yup-yup hollering. We looked up and there he was in the middle of the street, surrounded by at least a dozen of the boys from the block. He seemed really mad about something. I never could figure out what.

A couple of dads came out and stood with their sons while he went on and on, but nobody stopped him. So I'm thinking the boys did something wrong and Yup-yup was giving them what for.

Anyway, Yup-yup challenged them to a pushup contest. At first he wanted to challenge them to 50 pushups, but he brought it down to 30 when there were clearly no takers. He took off his shirt (he could have spared us that but I guess he didn't want to get sweaty, or he just wanted to show off his muscles,) then borrowed La Chismosas front step as the site of Pushup Showdown.

He put his feet on a middle step and his hands on the ground and did 30 in very rapid succession--Army-style, I'd call it. (Not karate-style, which I used to be able to do.) Then everybody stood around and looked at each other for which boy would go first. Some people were calling for Peter Pan--'You're the leader of the Marshfield Boys, aren't you?'--but Yup-yup called for Joey. He turned red, but he decided his pride was on the line, so he went for it. He did 30, too. Secretly I was kinda proud of him.

Picasso was up next. He almost pooped out around pushup 26, but he got through it.

Then everybody leaned on Peter Pan, who gave it a try and pretty much failed miserably. Busted! One of the moms on the sidewalk with me joked, "And he's the leader??"

Then La Chismosa came out and told them to get off the step, just in time to save Oldest Brady Boy from going next.

There's a party next door--maybe a baby shower for Sarah's niece. I wasn't sure I was invited, but Peter Pan's mom said I should just come, so I'm going over there now.

Oh, and I had a minute to tell Joey and Picasso about the new round of art classes in Pilsen through Pros Arts Studios. Picasso sounds interested in street art on Tuesdays, but he'd be getting there late because he leaves Curie late (freshmen get out last). I told him to go anyway and explain. Hope he takes Joey with him. Joey remembers the Marwen instructor who's teaching the Monday night class. One way or another I'm hoping they'll get there.

Easter Vigil

2009-04-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night I went to Easter Vigil at Holy Cross/IHM for the first time. The three oldest Brady Girls were getting confirmed. Before Mass started, I was sitting toward the back when their youngest sister walked past me and asked, "Would you like to sit with us?"

"Sure," I said. "Is there room?" There was, although the Brady relatives filled up nearly three pews. Two of the girls had aunts serving as sponsors, so the aunts were there with their husbands and kids. I think one of them had seven kids, though it was hard to tell the brothers and sisters from the cousins. The youngest of the bunch was probably about a year old, maybe a little less, and he got passed around among all the kids and a few of the grownups. I even got a turn holding him for a few minutes. Easter Vigil is tough on kids--this one went for two-and-a-half hours--so the innumerable Brady cousins got a little squirrelly.

The confirmation came in the middle and that gave everyone a chance to move around to get a better view. They always say "don't take pictures during Mass, wait until afterwards" but people always ignore them, and this night was no exception. Then we all took even more pictures after it was over.

Afterwards, the family invited me back to their house for a party. Mrs. Brady is a great cook--she bakes bread and sells it around the block every so often. I always buy some. On Saturday night they had tamales and two kinds of atole--the regular kind (kind of chocolatey) and atole blanco--it's a thick white drink without much flavor. I like the regular kind, also known as champurrado, better.

The Bradys downstairs didn't come to church, but they were all there for the party, and one of them even brought one of the chickens upstairs to show her cousins. Oldest Brady Boy told me he doesn't know where he's going to high school yet. That worries me a little. I'll have to check in and find out what is going on--if we need to do a last-minute push to get him somewhere or what. I thought the Nobles would have given out answers by now, so I'm worried he may be on a waiting list.

Housing Resource Fair Next Saturday

2009-04-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

On Saturday April 18, Rep. Esther Golar and Neighborhood Housing Services will host a Housing Resource Fair at John Hope College Prep, 5515 S. Lowe. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the event runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aid for homeowners facing foreclosure and public safety responses to the growing number of vacant houses in the neighborhood will be discussed.

I heard recently that over 500 homes were lost to foreclosure in Back of the Yards in 2008.

To RSVP for the event, call Rep. Golar's district office at 773-925-6580.

Good Friday Via Crucis

2009-04-11T12:55:00.001-07:00

Our neighborhood puts a lot of effort into Good Friday, partly because it's such a big deal in Catholicism, especially Latin American Catholicism, partly because the spirituality of suffering is so important in a neighborhood like ours.

Holy Cross/IHM held a via crucis (way of the cross) in the morning up at the north end of the neighborhood, then the folks from Port Ministries held one from noon to 3 p.m. in the southern part of the area. The photo above was taken at the corner of 51st and Ashland, where they held the second station.

The photo below was taken later, along 50th Street west of Ashland:

Junior's Latest Grades

2009-04-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

I talked to Junior on Friday. He got his grades for third quarter at Golder. No Ds!! Both civics and physics are up to Cs, and everything else was an A or a B.

"I'm really proud of you," I told him. He looked a little embarrassed. It was cute.

Oh, and he told me it wasn't that his mom told him not to call me, he was just understanding his homework better and didn't need help. Yay!

More Baby News--Other People's

2009-03-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

I believe I posted a while ago that Sarah next door has a new baby niece. She's about two months old now. I've only seen her once--her daddy had her out on their front steps on a warm Sunday afternoon earlier this month.

Yesterday Sarah's big sister, the new baby's mom, was out on the steps with her husband and their older daughter. Over last weekend I aquired a bagful of baby girl clothes from a friend, plus another friend had bought me a girl's six-month-old outfit before we knew I was having a boy. I asked if they would like some baby clothes and they said yes.

When I came back out with the mini-wardrobe, Sarah's sister asked how my nausea was. "Not great, but not bad," I told her. She told me she had had terrible nausea with both her girls--this time she threw up all the way through the pregnancy. Apparently her new daughter is still not as strong as they would like, either, but she's getting better. This family is functional enough I'm confident they are taking good care of her, though if I had had more brains I might have asked if they know about Alivio Medical Center. Since they used to live in Pilsen I would think they might, but you never know.

Hopefully we'll have a chance to talk more. She seemed like she was pretty eager to share stories with another pregnant lady. Unfortunately, the conversation was pushing the limits of my Spanish and I had a deadline waiting for me back in the house, so I ended the conversation a little sooner than I might have otherwise.

It's good to know I have a mom buddy right next door with a little one very close in age to my impending little guy. Junior's mom across the street is another good resource, since her youngest is just a year old or so now.

Some Posts Just Keep on Truckin'

2009-03-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

I had to laugh today--got a comment from someone named Jenee who used the science fair project I found for Junior over a year ago (post is dated December 11, 2007) and found it helpful.

I should double-check my stats, but I bet that "Last Minute Science Fair Project" post was probably one of the most-viewed ever on this site. What a riot.

Personal News

2009-03-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided it's time to let readers know why I've been such a slacker about posting to the blog since January. Usually I prefer not to say too much about my personal life here other than how things are going in the neighborhood, but now something personal is affecting everything in my life, including how I relate to my neighbors.

I'm having a baby in August.

As is true everywhere, once you tell one person, the word spreads fast. Back in January I told Dorothy because my money was running tight, I couldn't buy her diapers, and I needed to make it really clear to her that I wasn't going to support/enable her anymore. "I'm going to have a baby to take care of, and I need to start saving money now," I told her. She got it, I think, because she took a few steps back and didn't bug me as much for a few weeks, and then I didn't see her at all for longer. However, she also got locked up a while ago--Yup-yup just told me the other day she had a court date coming up--which is probably the real reason she hasn't been hounding me lately.

However, before she got busted, she certainly got the word out. Ms. Ribs stopped by on one of the nice days earlier in the month when she saw me outside at the mailbox. "I heard you're expecting," she said. "Congratulations. I just wanted to make sure you were doing OK."

The other night, Tony ran into me on the street and congratulated me totally out of the blue. "Oh," I said. "I see the word has gotten out."

Junior's mom has also been looking out for me, primarily by telling her kids to quit calling me for homework help. I've been grateful for that. During first trimester I was wiped out at night and had more afternoon/evening sickness than morning sickness, so it has been nice that they haven't been asking for help. But now feel better and I'm a little worried about how Junior is doing (the quarter must be coming to an end), so I want to call him this week and check in. I might have mentioned that his little brother called a while back to say he met some UIC students; Junior got on the phone on that call to interpret for his mom, who wanted to know if I was feeling OK. She had a hard time with their youngest (he's almost a year old now)--she fell down in a parking lot and had to go on bed rest for a while--so I know she has been concerned that I take it really easy.

So, in the spirit of taking it easy, I'll quit there, but I'll give you a heads-up to expect posts in the future where I'll be working out thoughts about parenting here in the neighborhood. Even though I have good friends who are raising good kids here, and good friends who are middle class who are raising good kids in Little Village and Chicago Lawn I can talk to for advice, my inner suburbanite (yes I grew up in the burbs) is a little intimidated about the idea of raising my own kid here.

Oscar Contreras on WBEZ's 848

2009-03-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to see Oscar has landed on his feet since Catholic Charities cut funds for Street Intervention here in Back of the Yards. Yesterday Oscar and two young men from other parts of the city were on WBEZ 91.5 FM's show Eight Forty-Eight to talk about CeaseFire and how they work to prevent gang violence. During the piece, Oscar says he's already been to a dozen wakes this year.

For anyone interested in how communities can work together, especially with young people, to respond to violence, there will be a community forum in Little Village on Saturday April 4, at Farragut High School, 2345 S. Christiana, from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. You can find out more about it here.

A Pleasant Surprise

2009-03-23T14:37:00.001-07:00

About an hour ago I stepped outside to check the mailbox and found more than just the day's mail. There were five boxes of crayons and a drawing signed by one of the older girls of the gaggle. Brava!

I'm glad they made the effort to bring the crayons back; they've risen in my estimation.

Camp Marshfield Spring Session Opens

2009-03-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

So it's warm today and all the kids were out. I got home around 5:30 and was talking on the front steps with Dawn when the Bradys brought over their new pet chickens. Wow! They're not baby chicks--they're about two months old now--but they are still small enough to fit in two hands. We think they have two roosters and a hen. They showed me how if you hold them in your hands a few feet above the ground and kinda push them, they'll fly, or at least flap their wings as they fall to the ground. They eat rice and bread and "pretty much anything," Ines told me. One of Ines's cousins ran home to get a piece of chocolate cupcake to show me how they eat. We let them loose in my front yard to see if they could peck up any worms.

Four Bradys and three young chickens in my front yard drew a crowd. First Sarah and her niece, then Junior and his little brother, then the gaggle of girls who are related to Mr. Worrisome and Jay-Z. The gaggle was scared of the chickens at first, but then they got brave and wanted to hold them. One of them pooped on the jacket sleeve of my least favorite girl in the gaggle (she usually acts very bossy and wants to be waited on hand and foot). The other girls laughed at her and she started to cry, so I went in the house to get some wet soapy paper towel to clean off her jacket. They had been asking whether they could color, and I felt sorry enough for Little Missy that once she was clean I went back in the house and brought out some crayons and construction paper for them.

The Brady Girls took their chickens home, but the Brady boys stayed, plus Junior, his brother, Picasso, Joey and a few others. They were playing basketball out back on the parking pad while the girls colored out front. I went out back to watch the basketball.

Junior's brother was just watching, too, so we hung out. When they took a break I asked if they wanted some water, and they said yes. I brought out a pitcher but had to scrounge up plastic glasses because I'm out of disposable cups (even though I try to wash them out and re-use them at least a couple of times).

"I'd rather hang out with you guys that those girls out front," I told them during water break. "They drive me crazy." The guys laughed. They told me Littlest Brady and Joey's little brother (who are both about 3 now, I think) had been holding hands out back. The older boys were making fun of them.

"Oh, come on, give the little guys a break," I said. "When they're three, it's cute--when they're your age, not so much," I teased, punching Picasso in the arm. They were all laughing.

Although I did go check on the girls and their coloring project a few times, I pretty much left them to their own devices. When they were done, they were prepared to leave and leave everything--construction paper, Twix wrappers, crayons, glue sticks--all over my front step. I wasn't so into that. I came out and started picking up, then called over to where they were on the sidewalk and said, "So, who's going to help me clean up?"

The two oldest girls in that group are pretty responsible, so they brought everybody back. I gave them some plastic bags: one for trash and the rest for those who wanted to take their pictures home. I repeated what I told them all along: they could use up all the construction paper and take it home, but I wanted the crayons back so they could draw another day. (I did hold a couple boxes back in the house.) Good thing I kept some back--the next time I came back the steps were bare. There was one white crayon left.

Lesson learned: If I want the crayons back, I'll have to supervise cleanup more closely.

5200 S. Wolcott Report

2009-03-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day--the sign on Park Federal said it was 65 degrees late this afternoon--so I decided it was a good day to take that stroll over to 5200 Wolcott and check out the scene. As our commenter reported, there are quite a few vacant lots over there. It was pretty quiet when I walked the block--there was a hoop on the east side of the street, but no one was playing ball. Over on Honore a bunch of little kids were shooting at a hoop, and older kids were playing in the street south of 51st on Wood.

The most striking feature of the south end of the 5200 block of South Wolcott is the giant vacant lot on the west corner. It's full of trash. There are more vacant lots everywhere south of 51st than north of, but there's a whole new house going up at the south end of 5100 S. Wolcott, so that was nice to see happening.

I saw maybe half a dozen people--three teenage girls and a younger boy--plus some older guys on the east side of the street --but everything was quiet and I felt perfectly safe.

On the way over, the block that really impressed me was the 5200 block of South Honore. They have a block club street sign at the north end of the block, an older Latino guy was picking up trash at the corner, and an African American man and woman (not sure if they were a couple or just neighbors--I kinda thought just neighbors) were chatting on the sidewalk and made the effort to greet me. That's where the little kids were taking turns shooting at a hoop--boys and girls, which doesn't always happen when it's basketball.

I talked with the guy picking up trash for a couple of minutes. "This is a really nice block here," I said.

"We try," he told me. "I've been here 30 years."

I told him I lived over on Marshfield. He asked how long I've been here.

"It'll be five years this summer," I said. I could see he was pleased and surprised.

Anyway, driving through the Wolcott block in broad daylight didn't seem like it would be any problem to me. But if I wanted to talk to people, I'd probably go over to Honore and see if any grownups outside seemed friendly.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

2009-03-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Just as I was walking home from the bus stop this afternoon, I passed Peter Pan's house and Middle Brady Boy was yelling something in a voice I'd never heard from him--loud, authoritative, even menacing.

I slowed down as I got to Peter Pan's front steps, where two other boys were on the ground as Middle Brady looked down at them. "Whoa, (Middle Brady), what's that all about?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He looked up and said eagerly, in his usual boyish tones, "We're playing cops and robbers. I'm the cop."

"And they're the robbers?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. You have a great cop voice. Have fun!"

Then I passed the Brady house, where one of the Brady Girls had given me a big wave when I first turned on the block. She and her dad were with her cousin, Brady Bughunter, who was making them laugh while he tried to open a bottle of Gatorade. His uncle finally got it open for him.

I got to my own front steps just as that friend of Joey's I don't like (the guy who sneaks in and out of windows) came around the corner with a friend. Sneaker was walking, his buddy, with a purple-tinged mohawk, was riding a bicycle. Since they seemed harmless in the moment, I carried on and went to open my front door.

Just as I got the door open, I heard Bob the Builder hollering at Sneaker, "Hey, come here! I'm talking to you, punkhead!" Bob and I have a deal--he's the cop-calling, tough-talking bad cop to my "let me find you a program or something better to do" good cop. He seemed to have it down, so I went on into the house.

Big Picture High School Fundraiser March 27

2009-03-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Big Picture is holding a series of events this spring, with the goal of raising $10,000 in scholarship money for its last graduating class.

The kickoff event will be held March 27, 9 p.m. to midnight, at Soiree, 2438 N. Lincoln. For $35, you get a wristband that entitles you to appetizers and a premium open bar featuring Grey Goose, Ketel One and Bacardi. A portion of the wristband proceeds will go to the Big Picture scholarship fund.

A Taste of Spring in the Hood

2009-03-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

It's a bit warmer today, and Picasso, Joey and Oldest Brady Boy are playing basketball out on my parking pad. Joey's hoop is rigged up from his yard next door in such a way that they can shoot at it from the parking pad. I hear the "thump, thump, thump" of the ball and their voices as I'm typing.

Picasso and Joey bumped into me on the street about an hour ago and asked what was going on with the Su Casa mural project. I called over there but we had to leave a message.

Meanwhile, the graffiti wars rage on over by the viaduct at 49th and Marshfield. Some big black tagging happened recently; I could see it from a block away. Frankly I didn't have the energy to call 311, so I turned the corner and walked west on 50th for a while instead. I'll probably call tomorrow. The traffic circle looks terrible, too. There's beer cans and plastic bags all over it, and I didn't have the energy to pick them up.

There's a lot going on right now in my personal life that is taking a great deal of energy, so I don't have a lot left to give to the neighborhood or to this blog right now. In another month or so I may be ready to post more regularly. Thanks for your patience.

Ditching School

2009-03-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Back on Wednesday I was walking north on Ashland Avenue around noontime, if memory serves. As I was passing the laundromat by 48th Joey and a buddy of his came strolling my way from the opposite direction. "They should be in school," was my first thought. The buddy of his, who is already in high school, is someone the neighbors gossip about. They've seen him coming out of the window from the house across the street from his--sneaking out in the early morning before his girlfriend's mom finds out he was sleeping with her. He seems like he has potential but I didn't meet him early enough in my time here to make friends before he got too old to listen to somebody like me. I wish Joey didn't hang out with him, although I'll take him over the creepy way-older teenager up on the next block.

As they got within talking distance, I said, "Hi, you guys." I'm pretty sure I didn't quite keep "you're busted" out of my voice, though I was halfway trying not to do that. Joey's buddy looked sheepish; Joey didn't even seem to register it. That really worried me.

That night when I got home, I was unlocking the front door when Joey called out my name from his porch. He had heard from Picasso about the possible art project at Su Casa and wanted to know more. "Like, what do they want us to draw?"

"I don't know. Something that connects to the neighborhood and is positive. You could do graffiti style or something with cartoon characters, maybe." He nodded.

"Weren't you supposed to be in school today?" I asked.

"Yeah, but my friend was in trouble, so I was helping him."

I wasn't listening enough, so I didn't get more of the story. Honestly, it was cold and I was tired and I just wanted to go inside. "Are you going tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he said with more enthusiasm than I expected. "I have to do a rap on Friday so I have to get ready tomorrow."

"Oh, good," I said, and went in.

Art Project

2009-02-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

The folks at Su Casa called me up on Sunday looking for some neighborhood kids to help them design and paint a mural on their soup kitchen wall. I called Picasso to put him and Joey on the project. We'll see if they come through. Hope it works out.

UIC Basketball

2009-02-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry this post is so late--tech problems last week intervened. Yes, Junior, his brother, Picasso, Joey and I joined Su Casa in a trip to see UIC play Youngstown State at the Pavilion last Saturday.

Bad news: UIC lost. Good news: the guys liked the game, the Jesse White Tumblers at halftime (they were amazing), and the cheerleaders. Yes, they are teenage boys. I laughed.

The really good news came after the game ended. When they dropped us off, Joey's mom wasn't back from work yet, so he came to my house and hung out for a while. He was surfing the Internet when he said, "I'd like to take another art class. Not like the one I did before (at Marwen), but something else."

"There's some in Pilsen you might like," I said. I had the flyer for Pros Arts Studios--they had class registration in January. He looked at the classes and thought he might like them. "I was going to tell Picasso, too. I thought you guys could maybe go together."

"Yeah," he said.

I was just thanking God he's still interested in doing something like that. I've been afraid he was totally lost to the streets. They have something called open studios--I hope that means you don't have to register. I'll try to remember to call them up and see when Joey and Picasso could go.

Romance on the Sidewalk

2009-02-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

When I came out the door this afternoon to look for the Brady Girls, the first thing I saw was Joey escorting a young lady down the sidewalk. Back last spring he had a little girlfriend, but he was kind of shy and just walked next to her. He walked her home and then came back to his house.

Now that he's all of 12, he's getting bolder and maybe more jaded. (I'm not sure if this is the same girl or a new one.) They got to his gate and he kissed her. Then they chatted a little longer and she went on down the block by herself. I think he invited her in and she said no.

Job Hunting

2009-02-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I took a break around 2, when Chavez dismisses, to respond to a very cute message I got from a couple of the Brady Girls. They are having a Valentine's Day party and want to make cookies again to serve at their soiree. I'm not sure if the timing will work but I hope to talk with them soon about it. I went outside and Ines's mom was watching for her kids, but Ines had gone to the library so I missed her.

Meanwhile, Peter Pan's mom was out watching for her kids to come home, too. About half an hour later she and her husband showed up at my doorstep. He's out of work and was wondering if I had any job-hunting ideas. I asked him what kind of work he does and he said, "Warehouse." That's not the kind of work I know or get job notices for much.

I asked if he had tried Instituto del Progreso Latino at 46th and Wood. He said he'd been there once and they said they would call him but he never heard back. He also said there's a rumor that office may be closing. I know some folks who work at their main branch on Blue Island, so I gave him their names, the address and phone number. I hope it helps. Times are tough and I was very concerned to hear he's been out of work for a couple of months. I think they've owned their house for a long time, like 10 years, so hopefully their mortgage is manageable, at least for a little while longer.

How Oldest Brady Boy Saved Peter Pan

2009-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Here's the story, in Peter Pan's own words from his first essay draft [with a little copy-editing by me, but less than the application version got]:

This friend has been real close to me. [Oldest Brady Boy] is his name. He's athletic-focused and makes me laugh. He will do things for friends or will help you or tell you what's right. He gives advice on what to do in that circumstance. One thing he has helped me in is how to do things right, like telling me this is wrong, this is right. [He'll ask:] "What are you going to get involved in if you do these kinds of things? What is this going to lead you to in the end?"

He has made me a good person. He's always together with me. All the time we go places and play soccer, a good athletic sport where we can meet other kids at the park or in our own neighborhood. He helped me stop hanging with some people I don't need to be with, who are falling in a bad step now. [He helps me think about] what kind of friend should I hang with, what step are they on, if they are good. Who is going to give you good footsteps to accomplish what you want to be in life?

This friend has showed me a lot of things and has changed me in many ways. He is almost more than a friend [because of] how we look out for each other and changed one another on what to do right in life.

Perhaps readers remember that years ago I predicted Peter Pan would either be a real force for good on the block or the block's leading gangbanger. I'm pretty sure his friendship with Oldest Brady Boy pulled him away from the circle that Joey is falling into. They used to be pretty tight for a while, and I think that's who he meant by "people I don't need to be with." He's spot on, but it's breaking my heart that Joey's the problem on the block. I feel like he's slipped beyond me now.

Last Minute High School Applications

2009-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well, Peter Pan and his brother showed up this afternoon looking for last-minute help with their Noble Network high school applications. They said they both already applied to Perspective Math & Science Academy, where their sister is going. Three 150-word essays each, and they hadn't started a thing before they got here around 4 this afternoon.

Peter Pan has some potential as a writer--he got one and a half of his first drafts done before I had to throw them out around 4:30 to go to a meeting. His brother has a lot more trouble writing, and his writing is a lot more trouble to understand. He kept using the word "above" when he meant "about," which took me a little while to figure out. He didn't even finish one draft before I had to go. I made them promise to keep working on it while I was gone and then we'd work together when I got back.

I got home about eight and they were here until 10:30. The brother still wasn't finished--he's got to rewrite one of them because he got off topic--but he's pretty close and there are 150 words in his draft (even if they are poorly spelled and incoherent).

The Nobles insist that kids hand-write their essays on the application form, which I suppose is to deter parents or others from writing them for them. It's not too hard to get around that, though, if the kids are willing to copy. I will freely admit I have the kid write a first draft, then if time permits said kid revises it, then I write a nice copy with all the words spelled correctly and correct punctuation, which the kid then copies on to the application. Now usually they make some mistakes copying, so there are still errors in the final product, but it probably isn't a totally representative sample of their work, either.

Tonight I went further down the path of deception, I'm afraid, especially with Peter Pan's brother, who was struggling to come up with 150 words for these essays. He did write two drafts for all his essays, but the second drafts were to get more words and to make them more coherent, not at all for mechanics. I still had to revise his second drafts to make them understandable to someone other than the author. I don't know what the final versions will look like, because he didn't have time to copy the clean versions I put together from his drafts before 10:30. Now he's on his own. Whew. I thank and pity his future English teachers.

In better news, Peter Pan himself wrote pretty good essays that didn't take nearly as much copy editing. I'm going to do another post to give you an excerpt of the rough draft of one of them, which is about how being friends with Oldest Brady Boy has changed his life, maybe even saved it. I knew Oldest Brady was good for him, but now I know he is a real unsung neighborhood hero. Read on above.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do on a winter Sunday was make chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen with my mom while the Eagles game played on the TV in the den. Probably in honor of that, when I ran into three of the Brady girls coming home from the library on Friday afternoon, I invited them over to make cookies on Sunday. "If it's not too cold," I said.

"What time?" they asked.

"How 'bout around three?" So we agreed.

I guess 14 degrees was warm enough for them, because a little before three I heard a voice calling me from outside. (I never did get my doorbell fixed, and that's fine. It was so loud it would make me jump out of my skin. Now people have to work to get my attention, and I'm not giving myself a giant cortisol hit every time someone comes to visit.)

Three of the Bradys from the all-girl side of the family came. Their cousin Ines wanted to come but her family was going to see her brothers play soccer, so she went, too.

We cleared off the kitchen table and got to work. I softened the butter in the microwave to make it easier to cream with the sugar. That's always the longest part. The girls took turns and I only gave it a few whacks near the end to make sure the butter wasn't streaking and there weren't too many hard specks of brown sugar. The oldest Brady of the bunch was having fun searching them out and pounding them into nothingness with the wooden spoon.

"The last time I made chocolate chip cookies was four years ago," she said. They were at their cousin's house in Michigan. She must have doubled or even tripled the recipe, because they made more than a hundred cookies. "My cousin got mad because everybody was coming and taking them."

They broke the eggs over the bowl and picked out a couple of small shell pieces that fell in. After mixing in the eggs and vanilla, we started adding the flour. They were surprised at how stiff the dough gets, but they got all the flour in.

I think they had the most fun forming the cookies. I made one rounded-teaspoon size cookie as an example for them to match and then went to talk to my roommate the Good Elf while they made more. When the second batch went in the oven, one of them got the bright idea to round the lumps of dough into balls with her hands, then put it back on the cookie sheet. Those cookies came out looking almost store-bought. We all agreed making the dough from scratch was more fun than using the pre-made dough, although one of them thought the chocolate chips melt better that way because you leave the dough in longer. (She had a point.)

My oven's timer counts the seconds for the last minute, so they had fun counting down the last ten seconds of each batch. "Three...two...one! Cookies!" One of them kept saying "Blast off!" instead.

"It's like New Year's," said the youngest.

Between batches we talked about summer and swimming and going to Great America. They thought we should make more cookies and sell them as a fundraiser to buy tickets for a Great America trip next summer. I wasn't sure we'd make enough money selling cookies, but apparently you can get discounted tickets for so many Coke purchases or something like that. I made no promises.

The oldest told me her mom wants to learn how to make cheesecake. I found a recipe on my shelf of cookbooks and wrote it out for her to take home, but I've never actually made it myself. Maybe we'll have to test out the recipe over Presidents' Day weekend.

Sarah's Test Date

2009-01-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

I was out of town most of this week, but Thursday morning while waiting for breakfast in an airport restaurant, my cell phone rang. It was Sarah's mom from next door. Sarah's test date for the Orozco bilingual gifted program is in mid-February. She wondered if I had had a chance to talk to the principal about Sarah. Not yet, I told her. It may not matter anyway if they don't have space, but it doesn't hurt to try. We agreed to get together early next week to talk about the test.

It was funny when I explained I wasn't in Chicago, I was in Baltimore.

"Is that far?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm flying back to Chicago today," I answered. (Since she wasn't born here, I don't expect her to have a strong grip on US geography. But it still surprises me sometimes when moments like this pop up.)

Right after we hung up, I called a friend of mine who has had two sons go through the gifted testing process. She asked if Sarah would be going to IIT. I didn't know but said I'd find out next week. My friend's kids both took their tests at IIT. With the older son it was a cattle call--every kid had a number, there was a lot of waiting, it felt very impersonal. This year, with her younger son, she said it went much more smoothly. The wait was short and they called the kids by name. Apparently with the four-year-olds they just take them in a room and an IIT psychology grad student asks them questions until the kid can't answer any more. I wonder if it's different with the school-age kids who don't have standardized test scores yet. I guess we'll find out in February.

Junior's Report Card

2009-01-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I went to Golder today with Junior and his dad to get his report card for second quarter. The good news is his math teacher picked him as her student of the quarter for outstanding improvement in math. (This is the basic math backup class, not algebra, but he got a C in algebra, so I'm happy.)

The other good news is he brought his civics grade up from a D to a C-. That may not seem like a lot, but I know he had to work hard to do it because the class isn't easy.

Now for the bad news. His other D last quarter, in physics, sank to an F because he bombed the final. He got less than half the questions right. We talked to his teacher and she said she knows he is trying but he just didn't get it. This quarter Junior will stop in and see her after school on Tuesdays to go over the homework with her and make sure he gets help on the parts he doesn't understand. Wednesday is her office hours, and he may go see her then, too. The thing is, he'll also have to take a make-up class after school to earn the quarter-credit he missed in physics. The class will either be on Mondays or Wednesdays-they don't know yet.

The other bad thing about failing physics is he will have to pay for the makeup class. It costs $140, which is a lot of money for his family. His dad wasn't too happy about that, as he noted in the car on the way home. "Junior plays Nintendo three, four hours a day. Too much," he said. Dad's right.

The last bad thing is that Junior still hasn't gotten paid for the After School Matters program he did back in the fall and early winter. An administrator assured us she has done all she could to get the debit card from ASM to the handful of kids who haven't received theirs yet, including Junior. Maybe if we're lucky he'll get it in time to use some of it to pay for the makeup class.

Whodunnit?

2009-01-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I found out who was shoveling my snow yesterday. Around 5 p.m. the guy I refer to as "The Groundskeeper" knocked on my door. He had already shoveled off the front step.

"I'm broke," I told him.

"That's OK," he said, and kept on shoveling anyway.

"Have you got a place to cook?" I asked. When he said yes, I offered him some of my frozen hamburgers left from last August (it's about time they got eaten, yikes!). He took them.

This morning when I got home from church, Yup-yup tried to tell me he was the one who had been shoveling. I think word about the hamburgers must have gotten around.

Lost Dog--Still Searching for Buddy

2009-01-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

The search has been on since before Christmas for Buddy, the small white poodle with a purple collar owned by the former principal of Chavez Elementary. Ms. Traback is offering a $500 reward for the return of her dog, no questions asked. There are signs up all over the neighborhood in English and Spanish with the address--5030 S. Marshfield--and the phone number, which I don't remember.

"Buddy was a ball of fire" around the house, Ms. Traback told me right before Christmas. She really misses her dog, and is pretty convinced that someone found him and is taking care of him. He is a friendly little one so I agree it's likely someone took him in. Hope this helps Buddy come home.

Big Snow, More Applications

2009-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we're getting the big snow they said would come. Fortunately, this morning somebody shoveled my sidewalk. My front steps probably had six inches on them by around noon (I hadn't shoveled since early yesterday morning), but the sidewalk had an inch or less. Whoever that was, thanks!

Tone-Loc and Alicia stopped by earlier today. I had seen them on the street earlier this week. Their mom wanted to know when we could do their applications to Perspectives Math and Science Academy. I said, "How about on Saturday?" When they came here, I was on my way to the store to get more salt. I let Alicia borrow my shovel and said I would come to her house to get it back latet.

After I got back from the store, I went over to their place. I noticed there was a shovel out front and wondered why Alicia wanted to borrow mine if they already have one. I knocked on the door and on their window. "Who is it?" someone called. I answered with my name and Tone-Loc opened the door. I went in and stood just inside the front doorway where all the boots were, at the edge of the kitchen/dining room--I didn't want to make any more mess, but clearly other people had been tramping around the kitchen in their boots, so I wasn't taking my shoes off.

Tone-Loc's little brother was playing at the card table set up for dining. "I thought you said it was the police," he said to his brother.

"No, honey, it's just me," I told him. He showed me the photo he was looking at--it was the cake from his birthday party. Tone-Loc went to get his mom. The apartment was tropical-warm (to my feeling) and all four burners on the stove were turned up high with no pots on them. I noticed this but didn't say anything to anyone about it.

A little while Tone-Loc came back and started playing his video game in the crorner of the kitchen. He asked if he could shovel my back yard out. "Not now," I said. "Where is Alicia? Is she out making money with my shovel?" He said yes. (Note: I better get my shovel back, or she's going to pay me for it out of her snow-shoveling money. I thought she needed it because they didn't have one.)

Then their mom came out. She looked like she might have been taking a nap. We shook hands and I asked her when would be a good time to work on those applicatons. "Later this afternoon," she said. I told her I would come back around 4.

I sure hope this works. These kids could really use a good school behind them. As I was leaving, some guy stuck his head out the second-floor window and we greeted each other. I didn't recognize him.

Physics Homework Help

2009-01-08T19:35:00.001-08:00

Gotta say it's really sad that I'm Junior's lifeline when it comes to getting physics homework done. When I left the gym early this evening, I turned on my phone and there were four messages from Junior and his little brother asking when I was getting home and could I help them with their homework.

"I have physics, and I don't understand it," Junior told me. When I called him back, it was pretty late and I asked if he had gotten any of it done. "Yeah, some," he said. "There's just two parts I don't understand."

One of them was scientific notation and how to convert back and forth between scientific and standard. There were some problems where you had to multiply and divide numbers in scientific notation and I vaguely remembered you could just add and subtract the powers of 10 (the integers), but I wasn't really sure.

"Call Picasso," suggested Junior. "He's smart."

"Yeah, you're right," I said, and we called him. He's done it at Curie, too, and he thought yes, we could do that. So we did. (If we were wrong, you can call us out in the comments.)

Then we went back and checked something he had done earlier. Junior was supposed to explain and make a sample graph of a direct relationship between two things. He explained it in general and made a general graph, but he hadn't given a specific example. When we looked back, he came up with a good one: "The more kids you have, the more you have to do laundry."

"You see that from having your little brother around, right?" I said. They laughed. (There's nothing like a new baby in the house for laundry.) So he put labels on his graph--I think loads of laundry was the x-axis and number of kids was the y-axis.

Today's Dawn Update

2009-01-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Now that we're all back from the holidays, I went over to Big Picture at the end of the school day today. (I was looking to pay a student who has been helping me with transcribing and translating interviews in Spanish.) After finishing my errand, I saw Alfredo's office door was open and walked over. Just then, Dawn's mom walked out, clutching an envelope. We said hi and she went on her way.

I believe the envelope was a letter of support for Julian, who has a court hearing coming up soon. Alfredo and I talked about what had happened with Dawn. "It was really hard to let her go," he said. But she hadn't been coming to school regularly--she had quite a few absences and tardies. She hasn't been staying at home regularly and her mother doesn't know where she is, all the same stuff that has been happening for over a year. "It was putting a damper on the other kids," to have her come to school irregularly like that, Alfredo said.

We agreed that she is bright and has a lot of talent, but her (and her parents') inability to set routines and follow through on plans is holding her back. Her lack of faith in herself is also holding her back, but she's not taking the steps to take care of herself there either, like going to counseling. "We couldn't do it for her," Alfredo said. I understand that completely.

Interestingly, Alfredo's boss checked in with him when she found out one of Big Picture's last students was dropping out. "Are you sure that's the only solution?" he was asked. He explained the long process it had been and all the work he and Dawn's teachers had done to help her. Alfredo told me that Dawn's mom had thanked him today for all Big Picture had done for her children, even though neither of them will be graduating from the school. "She said she knew from the very beginning that we were on her side and she appreciated everything we had done for them," he said.

Of course, when I came back home from the school, I saw Dawn's mom on the sidewalk and Dawn pulling up in front of the house in her Camry. She gave me a big smile and I waved at her very enthusiastically, but I had to get back to work right away so I kept on going.

As far as Alfredo knows, Dawn is neither working nor going to school right now. Last week I stopped by next door and left a Christmas present for her, a small black purse--over the holiday I called one of her friends to get advice on what to get--so perhaps that will be a conversation starter the next time we run into each other.

A Christmas Tale from Back of the Yards

2008-12-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

This story is courtesy of the Holy Cross/IHM web site. Fr. Bruce told this story in church on Sunday but my Spanish was not good enough to understand it completely until I read it in English just now. Check this out.

A true Back of the Yards neighborhood Christmas story - The grandmother was a little overwhelmed with all the wonder of the Posadas. Her grandson had won two gifts at a raffle during some very special nights of Posadas, celebrated in the neighborhood from December 16th to the 23rd. The community walked all the streets during the evenings accompanying Mary and Joseph who were seeking a place to stay, ...a place where the light of Christ would remain. Each evening was filled with wonder and delight for hundreds of children, thanks to the help of many adults in the neighborhood. Each day was different, but on several nights donated gifts were given to hundreds of children.

The grandmother decided to hide one gift, a big truck, and give it to the four year old child on Christmas day. After all, she figured, the other gift was enough for now. But the clever four year old would have none of it and he asked what happened to the truck he had received as a gift. Staying a step ahead of him she told him that "La Llorona" had taken the gift. (The Spanish legend of La Llorona is famous in our community with several versions of a mother who lost her children in a moment of panic and now wept at night looking for them through the alleys and streets.) The grandmother explained that La Llorona would return the gift to Santa Claus on Christmas Eve "Noche Buena" to return it to him then.

The child asked why La Llorona would not return it herself beforehand. The grandmother explained that La Llorona could not cross the border any longer because she has no documents, no legal papers. So she will give it to Santa to bring because he needs no documents.

Yucky Day and More High School Applications

2008-12-19T07:04:00.000-08:00

It's icy sleet/snowing this morning. Oldest Brady Boy stopped by early to shovel my front sidewalk. A little later I went to see his mom to fill out a couple of backup applications to Kennedy and Hancock. I decided they were probably the best of the reasonably close by schools for Alvaro.

His little brothers and sisters are all sick. They were all crashed out together in a heap on top of a long, wide but pretty thin mattress on the living room floor, covered in those big fuzzy dollar-store blankets. Seems like there's a stomach bug in the house. Ines told me she felt like throwing up.

In the corner stood their little fake Christmas tree and some bags full of presents. Brady Bughunter, who seemed less sick than the girls, was already playing with one of his--a giant transformer-style bug that you can guide with a radio control thing and make it change shapes. His baby brother is scared of it, so his mom made him quit driving it around the house.

We got everything on the forms except Oldest Brady's school ID number. He took his report card back to school and forgot to bring it home when their break started at the end of last week.

I was just interrupted by his mom. She stopped by. Her son got home but he didn't have his report card, so we called Chavez and got his ID number. I'll take the applications over to the post office early this afternoon.

Magnet Madness II

2008-12-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we got Sarah's magnet school applications done today. Her mom came over. This time I let her touch the forms herself--with the GEAP ones I was afraid of mistakes so I did it myself.

She made a mistake or two on these, but I have a white-out pen that puts precision tape over the error so it looks fine corrected.

Her mom really wants her to go to Orozco. She wants to be an involved parent, but she doesn't drive. It's a lot easier to get to Orozco from our houses than to any of the other schools on the bus--it's a straight shot up Ashland. I will say here frankly that I intend to bring Sarah to the attention of some people I know over there. It might not make any difference, but it can't hurt.

Last night when all the snow was coming down, Oldest Brady Boy and Tone-Loc were out with shovels doing good business. They asked if they could do my front steps. I said yes, but they took so long to get there I did it myself. And Joey's mom was out shoveling her snow, so we finally had time to call Casa Tepeyac. She was supposed to go over there today--hope it worked out.

Anyway, the boys saw the shoveled sidewalk and steps and kept going, but I came out and called to them as they were crossing to the next block: "Hey, wait! I want you to do my back steps and sidewalk. Plus I have stuff for you guys."

I had homemade chocolate chip cookies left over from Tony's birthday and school applications for both of them. This morning I saw Oldest Brady's mom and said we need to do one application by Friday for him to go to Kennedy, just as a backup plan in case none of the Nobles works out. "I don't want to see him at Richards," I said.

She smiled in recognition. I'm glad I don't have to worry about Peter Pan, although I'll probably go ask if he applied to the Nobles. Even though he has sibling preference (a guaranteed seat) at Perspectives, he was interested in Noble and Oldest Brady Boy is his good buddy. It's stricter, too, which might actually be good for him.

Crossing the Digital Divide

2008-12-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

Picasso called me about 1 o'clock this afternoon. I was in the tunnel at the Roosevelt station.

"Are you home?" he asked.

"No, but what's up?" He told me he was in the process of wiring up his new Internet, but it's 50 feet from where the jack is to his room, where he wants his computer to be, and his ethernet cable wouldn't reach that far.

"I'll try to go by Radio Shack after this meeting," I told him. The meeting ran long, but I was taking my computer to the shop--a repair place on the North Side--and they told me they could make a 50-foot ethernet cable for me. So I said yes, do it, and called Picasso back.

"Hey, the repair place can make you a cable," I told him.

"How much does it cost?"

"Hold on and I'll find out. If it's too much for you I'll make it your Christmas present." I asked the guy, who thought it was about $15.

"Oh, I can pay you back," Picasso said.

Then I remembered to ask him what he was doing home at one o'clock in the afternoon on a school day.

"It was a student development day. I went last time and it was really boring. We didn't do nothing," he told me.

"All right, you didn't miss classes, but we're going to talk about this the next time I see you. You're going tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"If I get home in time tonight, I'll call you and bring the cable over. Otherwise I'll get it to you when you get home from school tomorrow."

Picasso goes to Curie. I'll have to check in with some teacher buddies of mine there about what this student development day stuff is and why it's boring.

Dawn Update

2008-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry, dear readers--there's Internet trouble at Chez Maritza, which delayed this post. Here goes:

I saw Dawn's mom at the Guadalupe Mass at Holy Cross on Friday night. She came with Angel. Dawn didn't want to come because she didn't take a bath this morning?...something like that, which I didn't catch clearly. I do know she likes a long soak, especially in the winter.

I got to church really late myself, after the fun part--the dancing. Bummer! I didn't see Dawn's mom with Angelito until the sign of peace. After Mass, she asked me if I wanted to go get something to eat downstairs in the hall and I said sure. So we went down and got plates with chicken in mole, rice, a tostada and a tamal. Angel really liked the music--the marimbas were playing, and he was banging along on the table. I played a little table marimba with him, and his mom and I were cracking up watching him.

After we left, she gave me a ride home--she's got a car that works, mas o menos--and she told me a bit more about Joey and Dawn. She's working weekends now at a Food 4 Less (not the one here in our neighborhood), but she's working 11 to 7 and she doesn't like it because that leaves Joey unsupervised all weekend long. She's been trying to get him to stay with his dad but it sounded like that's not working well--I'm not sure if it's because Joey won't go or his dad is busy or some of both.

This is all leading up to the big news about Dawn. It probably won't surprise longtime readers of this blog to hear Dawn will not be staying at Big Picture. Her mom is supposed to come in to school on Monday to sign her out and work out the details of transferring her to another program. Her mom couldn't remember the name of the new school, but supposedly it has early morning and evening hours so students can work during the day. Dawn and her mother agree that she wants to work and should be working to help support the family. It sounds like Alfredo and her teachers support this because she has continued to be iffy about attendance and classwork

Of course I'm really disappointed, but since she and I have hardly been in contact--I think we have spoken less than five times since August--I don't have the right to say a danged thing about it. All I know is that Dawn's chances of ever getting a high school diploma are about to drop substantially.

Will she even show up at the new program? Is it really any good? I don't know, and at this point I also don't know if I have it in me to push much to find out. I hope she pulls a Meg and finds herself happy and working hard in her new school, but I somehow suspect the road for Dawn will take a few more twists and turns--Meg didn't get back in school right away and being out for a while and really understanding what a dead end life is without a diploma made her much more motivated to go back.

When Dawn started at Big Picture, I chose 2009 for a four-digit sequence I use all the time in honor of her graduation year. It was sort of a promise to her, and myself, that I would be there when she crossed that stage. She might cross a stage and get a diploma yet, but it won't be that one. I'll be there at Big Picture in June, crying happy tears for all the graduates, but part of me will be crying other tears for Dawn, too.

News in Brief

2008-12-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

A social worker from Dorothy's new home stopped by today to pick up diapers, laundry quarters and her mail, especially her Social Security card (just arrived) and a stack of letters from DHS about benefits. The social worker tells me that Dorothy has to stay for 30 days, but because "she's young" (i.e. in her 50s) they would like to help her find permanent housing elsewhere. They work with Thresholds, among other agencies. I know Thresholds and respect them.

The current residence does have meetings in the building, and Dorothy is now going to work every day. I don't know where or for what, but she's making $2 a day doing something and getting out of there. The social worker gave me her name and said she could help me find whoever ends up officially assigned to Dorothy.

This morning I ran out to the bank and on the way stopped to chat with some neighbors who sent their youngest to Perspectives Math & Science Academy. "She loves it. I love it," said her mom. That's what I like to hear.

Tony from down the street came by last night and again today. His birthday was yesterday. (Lucky fellow, he shares a birthday with Rod Blagojevich. Though I have a lot to say about that guy, I'll refrain here.) I've been working at home and cooking on the side, so he got quite a birthday meal: lentil soup with saltine crackers, baked potato, lemon pie and chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were at his special request--this is becoming an annual event. Yesterday Tony shoveled the snow off my back porch and back sidewalk. "Yup-yup got locked up," he informed me. That's why he hadn't been around to get the job.

We talked about how he spent his birthday. "I got some beer...I ain't even going to lie to you. I got a bag of weed too. As soon as I had the beer and smoked the joint, I went to sleep and didn't wake up til three o'clock today."

"I bet you're hungry now, aren't you?" I asked. (I was about to go pack him dinner to go.

"Mmmm-hmmm." We both chuckled a bit.

The best news is my new roommate, known here as the Good Elf. She hung out with me this afternoon and organized my utility closet while I made cookie dough, then scooped cookies on the baking sheets and put them in the oven while I got some work done. She already reorganized the front hall closet, washed the kitchen floor, and unclogged the first floor sink and bathtub drains. She's staying here while she looks for work and volunteers some time at Su Casa--for once, they have so many workers they don't need another one right now. But I need a housekeeper/secretary, and so far she's doing a great job.

"It looks nicer in here," Shutterbug observed to me on his way out the door this morning. I just smiled. Yeah, Good Elf!

Helping Troubled Teens (and maybe preteens, too)

2008-12-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today's New York Times features a story about Florida's efforts to intervene early with families where youth and teens are acting out, but before there's a need to bring in child welfare or the criminal system.

Teens can stay in structured, temporary shelter for up to two weeks, while receiving counseling and learning about anger management and social skills. Families who call the system can also receive free or low-cost counseling and referrals even without having a child stay.

This is a bit like Casa Tepeyac/Boys and Girls Town of Chicago here in the neighborhood, but different in some important ways. The explicit goal of Florida's program is to reunite the child with his/her family and stay in the community. Casa Tepeyac is beginning to do some outreach to families here but it is in the early stages.

Which reminds me that they told me to have Joey's mom call and they would try to help her, and then I went out of town and she and I haven't said boo to each other since I got back. Hopefully I will catch her by Sunday and we can call them.

Magnet Madness

2008-12-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Sarah's mom just stopped by. I did some research on potential magnet schools for Sarah--ones with decent-to-excellent test scores within the six-mile limit for transportation. The four I found were, in order of reputation/test scores: Murray, Sheridan, Saucedo and Gunsaulus. Sarah's mom is most interested in Sheridan because it's the second closest, she knows about where it is off the top of her head, and it has good test scores. I managed to tell her it would be good to apply to all four of them at this point because she can always say no later if she gets it. She's getting the point that Sarah may not get into Orozco.

She is really worried about high school for Sarah. "This neighborhood isn't the greatest, and neither are the high schools," she said. "Richards isn't very good, is it?" [all quotations are very loosely translated from Spanish]

"No, it's not."

"I need to know more about high schools."

"Jones College Prep is very good. It's downtown, so it's not hard to get to. Whitney Young is another good one."

"Better than Juarez?" [Juarez is where her older kids went. At least one of them was in the top 10 percent there.]

"Yes," I told her. "All the students in these schools have to take an exam to get in, so they are all very intelligent."

"Oh."

"I think Sarah has the mind to go to a school like that, but I'm afraid if she stays where she is they won't prepare her well enough to go there."

"Yes! I want her to be well prepared, and I don't think they are giving her enough homework." [She used a word I didn't recognize here--often people say tarea/chores for homework, but homework or assignments or challenging stuff do seemed to be the point from the context].

So I only have two Options applications in the house and no printer. I'm going downtown tomorrow and will run off some more copies of the form. We'll fill them out over the weekend and get them in the mail Monday. Applications must be postmarked by Friday December 19.

Dorothy in the Witch's Castle

2008-12-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

I went to see Dorothy at the nursing home today. It's the Witch's Castle all right--she's not even allowed to go outside for the first ten days. Today was day 3. And it's not a place you want to spend much time inside. The first floor lobby is full of dirty, smelly, mostly men sitting around arguing and watching TV. Not many of these people are old--just worn down by life, on SSI, with no other place to go.

Dorothy pointed out a few people in the throng she's made friends with already--to her credit, they generally seemed to be among the saner and more solid citizens in the joint. She also pointed out a security guard--a tall, thin man in a uniform joking around with a couple of residents--saying, "That's security," with more than a hint of disgust in her voice.

"People are getting high in here," Dorothy told me while we waited for the elevator. A seriously crazy guy came up to her and whispered something in her ear. She turned him down forcefully; it was a request for either money or sexual favors, I'm not sure which.

There are two elevators. One of them is broken. Fourteen of us piled in the one that works when it eventually made its appearance. The crowd got ugly when the fifteenth guy tried to get in, blocked the door, but wouldn't get out. He finally left. I got a spot against the back wall and kept my hands in my coat to deter pickpockets. It smelled. I was glad I had a very big coat on because I was more worried somebody would try to cop a feel in the elevator than I was about getting something stolen.

Dorothy is on the fifth floor. It doesn't look so bad up there--pretty traditional nursing home, usually two to a room. (She told me some are three.) The floor was shiny and there was an attendant at the station by the day room where people can watch TV. Dorothy's roommate seemed pretty well-put-together; she was neatly groomed, had clearly showered that day and was reading the Bible when we got there. The room was clean, orderly and nicely decorated with plastic flowers and such. Dorothy introduced me as her sister-in-law and her roommate said, "If I'd known she was having family come I would have made the bed." I told her next time we'd give her advance notice.

Dorothy had many complaints. First off, nobody told her where she was being taken when she left the treatment center. Supposedly this is a temporary placement while they try to find her a spot in a long-term recovery home, but who knows how long that will take. One of the aides who gives her her meds follows her medication schedule; the other one doesn't. They are supposed to be keeping her meds in strict confidence since some of them are for HIV, but they aren't doing that. They have them out in public and they talk to her in public about them. She says she saw a woman argue with staff and the staff gave her tranquilizers against her will just to shut her up. That seemed pretty plausible just from spending half an hour in there.

The attendant at the front desk on Dorothy's floor did a double-take when she saw me and heard Dorothy explaining to me how the women's shower doesn't work, so both the men and the women use the same tub and shower station on her floor, which means the guys are walking in while the women are taking showers. I walked us away discreetly before she had time to really freak out about me being there.

We stood in the back stairwell so I could ask her how she likes her roommate. Dorothy does like her. Then the same crazy guy from down on the first floor came down the stairs and started bugging Dorothy for 75 cents. "You don't know me! How come you asking for money?" she said to him. This started an argument that I was afraid might turn physical, until Dorothy said, "Besides, I don't have any!"

"Oh, OK," said the guy. He turned away and walked downstairs. A woman had joined us in the stairwell; she and Dorothy marveled over the looney tunes they were having to deal with in this joint. Clearly the other woman was pretty new, too. "I can't wait until my daughter gets me out of here," she said.

I got the numbers for her probation officer and her counselor back at drug treatment and promised her I would call them Monday to find out what is going on. I'll probably call the social worker in the building there, too, just to let someone on staff know someone is looking out for Dorothy. I also promised I would call her every day until the 10 days are up and she can get the heck out of there during the day. They don't have meetings in the building either, so she can't even go to a meeting for 10 days. That's crazy!!

Dorothy insisted on walking me down the stairs when it was time for me to go. "No way am I letting you walk down these stairs by yourself," she said.

She had just told me she doesn't walk up the stairs; I didn't want her waiting for the elevator again. "Girl, don't you know I used to do karate?" I told her. We both started laughing.

"Karate, judo, I don't care, I'm walking you down these stairs," she said. When we got back to the front desk, we said good-bye and she nagged me. "Put on your hat-it's cold outside."

"Yes ma'am," I said. When she gets out of there, I'm going to name the place, but not before. I looked it up on line before I went and it seemed like it wouldn't be too bad. Guess I was wrong.

P.S. On the bus after I left, I was trying to think of the reading from The Velveteen Rabbit my sister had me read at her wedding. It seemed rather appropriate to the circumstances. You can see it here.

Dorothy's Trapped!

2008-12-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

Far from being in A Safe Haven on the far North Side, Dorothy is stuck in a nursing home "right here!" Well, not right here--it's south of here--but it's not far enough away to be a real change of life for her. And it's a nursing home, which she made clear she does not want, and apparently they took all her money for expenses and left her with $30. And they don't give her adult diapers.

I will be going down to where she is tomorrow to give her some of her diaper stash. I know she doesn't want to be there, but we'll have to see what else is possible. I'm afraid she'd rather go back on the streets than live the way she is now. It could very well come to the point where she breaks the rules just to get herself thrown out, but then ends up using again.

Personally, I'd be delighted if she stayed locked up in the nursing home and quit trying to call me collect. I had a bunch of collect call messages on my voice mail and couldn't figure out why until one call came in when I had the phone on. The guy on the line assured me it would be about six bucks for six minutes (one of the automated ones said $14! No way!!), so I took it to get her number and address. I told her not to call me again because I won't pay for it. I'll call her before I go out there tomorrow.

Oy veh. Somebody remind me why I let myself get mixed up in this stuff? Oh, yeah, as the real Dorothy said, there's no distinction between the deserving and the undeserving poor. Sometimes that is seriously hard to remember.

Orozco or Bust

2008-12-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

Well, its Orozco or bust for Sarah next door. If you click on the link, you'll see why--parents like it and they have good test scores. As they should, since they are a bilingual gifted center as well as a neighborhood school.

Her mother came over earlier this week to get help filling out the GEAP application. I was trying to persuade her to look at some schools besides Orozco, but the other bilingual gifted centers are on the North Side and beyond the six-mile zone in which CPS will provide bus service.

Elementary school applications are a whole new world for me. I've always been more on top of high schools: which ones are good, how you apply, these days who I know that I can talk to about particular kids, etc. To help Sarah's mom, I called a friend of mine in Chicago Lawn who has been through the drill a couple of times. The first gifted program she had her son in was fine in the early grades, but she heard they hadn't worked out the upper elementary part so well, so she applied to Lenart and moved her child between kindergarten and first grade a while back. It's a long drive for them but they do it.

Sarah's mom was not interested in a long drive. Between the work schedules of everyone in the house, driving Sarah back and forth to school does not seem to be a very realistic option, though they do have a functioning car. Her approach is to just be determined and apply every year from now through 7th grade. She is open to some magnet school options in Pilsen and Little Village, so I hope to persuade her to send in a few more applications between now and the December 19 deadline.

In a way, I'm kind of glad her mother doesn't read English. She was spared the sight of these contradictory and somewhat confusing "Tips for Applying to Options for Knowledge Schools."

Tip #1: Do not apply to just one or two schools! Apply to as many schools as you would be happy to have your child attend.

Tip #2: Don not submit applications to schools that you would not want to have your child attend. If a school is too far from your home...then do not apply to that school.

Since we're not especially close to anything but Orozco, it would seem Tip 2 outweighs Tip 1.

A few years ago, IFF put out a report on the areas of the city with the greatest need for better-performing elmentary schools. New City (which includes Back of the Yards) ranked 23 of the top 25 neediest areas. South Shore ranked number 1. If we're only 23rd highest in need, I really feel for those South Shore people.

A few years ago