WRONG COAT ANTHOLOGY

Reading
“The Wrong Coat” anthology
Tues., July 12, at 7 p.m. at Brookfield Library

“Our coats are quiet, obedient servants, reliably there for us when we need them . . . until they're not. Learn what can happen when the wrong coat meets the wrong person. It could happen to you.”

Local authors will present a reading from a paperback collection of their fiction works, “The Wrong Coat: an anthology by the Brookfield and La Grange Writers Group,” Tues., July 12, at 7 p.m. at Brookfield Library, 3609 Grand Blvd, Brookfield, IL 60513. For more information, or to register to attend, contact the Brookfield Public Library at 708-485-6917 or visit www.brookfieldlibrary.info.

Copies of the anthology, based on the authors’ responses to a writing prompt based on one individual’s personal experience, will be available for sale at the event. Copies of the book are also available for check out at local libraries, and are available for sale on Amazon.com.


“The Wrong Coat” is now available on CreateSpace and Amazon, edited by contributor Marie Anderson*, with other contributors Barry Abrams, Sally Anderson*, Janet Barrett, Jim Chmura, Kevin M. Folliard*, Lorelei Glaser, Linda Lea Graziani, Judith Kessler, Bonny Kotapish*, Carlos McReynolds, Joan Nelson, Ruth Princess, John Quinn, Margo Rife, Judith Tullis, Cindy Wallach, and Laurie Whitman* with cover design/artwork by Rife and Jessica Myers. *Several members including Lauryn Kotapish further volunteered to serve as contributing editors.

Publication Date: Apr 10 2016; ISBN/EAN13: 1530652057 / 9781530652051

Join us - ! It is very interesting what happens when you get the wrong coat!

My Favorite Restaurant

My favorite restaurant is Nickson's. I love the food, I love the preparation. I always tell people it is just like what you would make at home, but a few steps up in both taste and interest. Owner/brothers Rick and Nick Baca are now in the 9th year of running this successful and homey restaurant.

Chef Nick changes the menu seasonally, and though interested in trying new combinations, manages to keep the standard selections the same. It is like going to your mom's for your favorite meal. Never disappointing, always appealing.

So, when I received an email a couple weeks ago saying that the television program starring Brittany Payton "Chicago's Best" was filming there, I thought I can't miss this.

My friend Maureen Hernandez emailed me and said "Wanna go? I'll make reservations."

The day before, I wasn't sure I would be able to make the lunch due to a previous appointment. When I got up last Wednesday, the day of filming, I went back to my original thought: I can't miss this.

So, Maureen, her son Keith and I went to lunch. The actual making of the meal takes place before everyone congregates in the establishment, so Brittany Payton was sitting at a table by herself with the lunch crowd approaching her, taking selfies and talking with everyone. Maureen mentioned that her son had ordered the Texas brisket grilled cheese sandwich, the dish they were featuring. Brittany is very sweet and takes time to talk to the patrons, kindly acknowledging that some of us witnessed her dad breaking records for the Chicago Bears.

We noticed that Brittany then went up to the camera crew and indicated that someone at our table ordered the featured sandwich. So, the camera crew was soon at our table.

They interviewed Keith, took a video of him chomping on his sandwich. I thought maybe they would pan Mo, as Keith did mention that the taste of grilled cheese brings back fond memories of his mom making buttery grilled cheese sandwiches coupling them with tomato soup. But, alas, we did not make the cut.

Nickson's is a comfortable place; to me, it represents our community: friendly, convivial atmosphere, local flavors and beverages, great prices and a spot where the owners care that you are there.

I heard the air date was supposed to be the end of April. When that is confirmed, I will pass it on.

Nickson's
30 South La Grange Rd
La Grange, IL 60525

Where is the Justice?

Recently I was involved in an accident in my hometown where a woman slammed into me trying to make an illegal left hand turn.

Passers-by stopped to ensure I was okay; I was fine, just stunned.

Debris was all over the street (La Grange Road just north of Ogden in La Grange, IL) and the washer fluid container was on the ground. The entire right headlight and all surrounding areas were crunched. The car had to be towed.
The driver stopped, fortunately. Unfortunately she had no insurance.

The police officer indicated that he could not force me to go to court, but if I didn’t go, she would get not even a ticket. He issued two tickets – one for failure to yield and the other for no insurance.

I went to court.

The judge informed the court room that if the party with whom you had an accident was not sitting in the room, plead ‘not guilty.’

The woman who hit me received a $214 court charge plus a $100 fine for not having insurance.
I, on the other hand, paid my $500 deductible plus additional car rental charges of $600 on the $9,000 repair bill on a 2015 automobile.

Justice?

P.S. As an aside to this story (which I submitted to the Tribune editorial page) I thought I recognized the officer who was writing up the accident report. I asked him if his birthday was February 17 (which is my birthday also).

He answered with a surprised lilt in his voice, "How did you know that?"

"Because it is my birthday also and you let me off of a ticket about 4 years ago for the sole reason we have the same birthday."

He laughed, did not remember that incident but he said it is unusual for him to work day shift - lucky for me, though.


Laurie Whitman
506 N Waiola Ave.
La Grange Park, IL 60525
(708) 829-8286

Competition is a Good Thing

My son, the perpetual fitness advocate and giver of Christmas presents I would never buy for myself, got me a Fitbit for Christmas 2014.

I had asked for it because I walk every day, had been clocking my steps with my Nano (a previous gift from him many Christmases ago). I saw Fitbit advertised, thought it looked good and he got me one – with a fuchsia band.


I set a goal of 10,000 steps a day and 8 hours of sleep a day. I never thought I would achieve the latter.


I reach the step goal a few times a week. I’ve doubled it twice in a year. I also have ‘friended’ two girlfriends, one is 10 years younger than I and walks every day with a fellow woman warrior and another friend just one year younger than I. And yes, I usually am beaten to a pulp by my younger friends.


An unforeseen benefit is that I am sleeping! Maybe not like a baby but clocking eight hours a night, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. There is a sleep graph that shows you your restless times and your awake times. I do wake up a couple of times during the night, but the time between wake-ups is totally clear on the chart – meaning uninterrupted sleep. It’s a godsend.


Having raised two kids, I don’t think I have had uninterrupted sleep in – let’s see, one kid is 34 the other is 29. In about 34 years.


No longer am I complaining about how badly I slept. No longer am I nodding off during the day while reading the newspaper (even at 7:30 in the morning). No longer does my bed beckon to me at 8:30 p.m.
I am now well-rested….all because I want to beat my Fitbit!

Summer Field Trips

Now that we are at the “official” end of summer (and by the way, I think school should not start till after Labor Day like when I was a kid) we have reviewed our “Field Trip” list. Each June, sitting on the porch on one of those warm breezy nights when summer is beckoning us, we draw up the things we would like to do in the three months that are before us. This year’s list included:


1) Train ride and dinner to Two Brothers Brewery in Aurora.

2) Pedway tour that I saw advertised in the “On the Go” section of the Trib.

3) Farnsworth House in Plainfield – the Mies van der Rohr Glass House.

4) foot detox at The Salt Cave.

5) Milwaukee boat brewery tour that I read about in the June issue of Cooking Light.



Haven’t done the train ride yet, but we did look at the schedule. It appears that we would have to drink about three hours worth of Prairie Path beer should we decide to train and dine there – and that’s the weekday schedule. There is still time, however in September for that adventure.

Have not taken the pedway tour but I think it still sounds cool. There are a few offerings and it looks like the one that costs about $20 is worth it, as the tour guide is also a bit of a historian.

Still need to get uptown for the foot detox. Just putting my feet into cool water and sitting there for a half an hour sounds heavenly.

We did go to the Farnsworth House on a gorgeous Thursday for the two hour tour. Plainfield is a trek and it took a good hour and fifteen minutes to get there. There is a movie that is shown prior to the tour so you get a bit of the history. The story of the house and of Dr. Farnsworth, her relationship with Mies and the actual building of the house are fascinating. We had a very good docent who gave a great tour and answered any and all questions.

Finally, the boat brewery tour was a blast! I read about it in Cooking Light magazine in a small section about gastronomy in the Midwest. Tours are arranged by Riverwalk Boat Tours phone number 414-283-9999, www.riverwalkboats.com. For $30 a person, you have a 4-hour combined tour and boat trip along the Milwaukee River. We started the day at Lakeshore Brewery where we were treated to a very fun, alive tour for about forty-five minutes. Upon arrival at each brewery, each participant gets 2 tickets for 2 beers per stop. We also each got an orange 12-oz cup. So, you get 2 12-oz beers per stop times 3 equals 6 regular sized beers! (Plan to stay overnight, we didn’t so I could not imbibe as much as I would have liked).

There are about 50 people in the group. After the first tour – we got to taste some of their specialty beer as well during the tour from a tapper installed in the basement – I think it was 8.6 percent – we boarded the pontoon and went to Milwaukee Ale House. There was a short talk there, describing the beers. The actual brewing occurs at a warehouse a few blocks from the Ale House.

Since this was our first time on a tour like this, we were not sure about eating lunch or if we could even get food along the way. At the Ale House, we got 2 tickets once again and also had a leisurely hour to spend eating and drinking as it is a full serve restaurant. The final stop was Rock Bottom Brewery – again 2 tickets and a full menu. We met some people from Boston and talked Hawks, Patriots, Bears. Also the tour guide was sitting with us. We commented on the amount of BEER on this tour and she laughed and said when people first come on board, they want to know if they can buy more tickets for beer. She quipped, “Believe me, you won’t need more tickets.”

We arrived back at Lakeshore Brewery at 5:30, a four hour tour. It was a delightful day, made even better by perfect weather and great company….oh and good, oh so good, beer. Riverwalk Boats offers a few different types of tours; my son told me he attended a bachelor party on a tour. Fun, but Sunday afternoon is probably free from that type of party. The tours start up in May. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday or if you are heading up to Milwaukee for a couple of days, this is a fun way to see the riverfront. Enjoy - !

The Salt Cave

There was considerable buzz when the advertisement went up for the Salt Cave on La Grange Road. When I walked by and saw the sign, I thought it was going to be a seafood restaurant...not so far-fetched since we don't have one and restaurants are opening and moving all the time.

But the Salt Cave turned out to be just that:  a salt cave. Fortunately, a friend enlightened me and told me it was a meditative experience and is relaxing, you sit and think, pray or just enjoy the quiet...and the healing air.

Then my husband got me a gift certificate for Mother's Day. He ventured in there on an open house and thought it was really cool. He tried to describe it to me, adding there are various treatments, and so gave me enough leeway to choose what I would like. Along with the gift certificate came a nylon bag with beautiful coral colored salt crystals.

I stopped in on a Friday afternoon with the work week behind me. Ah, I thought now I can relax.

The first thing that I noticed was the lovely pinkish lamps and crystals displayed everywhere. And the fragrance, it was lovely. Just enough to appeal to the senses without bombarding them.

After an introduction of each of the treatments, I decided on the Aqua Float.

There is a human-sized box in the room that you climb onto. A board is just below the top of this "box" and the attendant covers you with a sheet, then a plastic blanket that is filled with gussets that will eventually fill up with water. The attendant indicates that you will hear some gurgling, as that is the water filling up in the pockets.

You then are lowered very slightly and the water flows around you, gently massaging your neck and back. You are fully clothed and protected with the plastic covering. I expected the water to be cool, but it is body temperature. I thought I might get hot or claustrophic, but neither happened.

During the last 5-7 minutes, the water waves around your feet. It is not hard jets like a whirlpool, but rather gentle waves. I asked if anyone falls asleep and the attendant told me yes, but mostly people say it is like lying on a beach, watching no kids, just noting the sounds around you but not listening to anything in particular. It is much like that, when your body is carved perfectly into the sand and you drift off with the sounds of the afternoon. I think I did fall asleep for a bit, though.

I love the Aqua Float - I felt very relaxed and sat for a minute in a chair in the room and had a bottle of water. The room is very soothing with dimmed lighting and music and it all smells so good. Definitely a treat -

30 minutes and $30.00
8 S La Grange Rd., 708-482-2505 www.primaloceanssaltcave.com

The Cat's Meow

When my friend’s mother, Betty fell about a year ago and no one was able to get to her without breaking down the door, my friend and her sister decided to not only have keys made for their mom’s place, but also to enroll their mom in a “Help! I’ve fallen and can’t get up” service so that she could summon help if needed. Of course, the mom did not want this extra attention and figured that things were fine as they were, but the daughters won out.




One daughter got married in December and the newlyweds left on a long-awaited honeymoon this past week. Grandma Betty was delegated to take care of the bride’s cat, Socks. Socks is a very social cat and acclimated easily to her new temporary home.



On Tuesday, Betty awoke in the middle of the night to three paramedics standing over her. She was a little taken aback, what was going on?



The dispatcher relayed the story: When the help call came in, she could hear only meowing that got louder and louder. No human sounds, just cat sounds.



It turned out that Socks had hit the alarm on the bracelet while Betty was asleep and was holding a conversation with the dispatcher. It was later revealed that Socks had in fact summoned the service three times previously, but it was during Betty’s waking hours and Betty assured the dispatcher that she was all right, that the cat had “accidentally” triggered the alarm.



Socks must have become lonely in the night…..