The 100 Year Flood is Here Again

Since living in the Gurnee area, I have experienced about four floods which is about three more than I should have when referring to a 100 year flood or even a 20 year flood pattern. I am blessed that it has never touched my home. For all the people who continue to be threatened by the DesPlaines River or farther west by the Fox River, I keep you in my prayers.

For all the volunteers who have chosen to help with sandbags in our community center either at schools, churches, or private homes, we are all in your debt. For all the businesses who opened up their hearts and donated goods,food, and assorted supplies during the sandbag process, thank you for keeping the teams going.

Also, the employees of the Village and District 56 Schools, who went far beyond what a paycheck is required, You are the BEST!!! The hours, the physical labor, and most importantly the dedication and commitment you showed is nothing less than heroic. Finally, for the others who dropped their daily responsibilities to help a community in need...Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is what life should be about,isn't it?

Gurnee is a great community and I am grateful to be part of it. We will overcome this latest adversity as we always do-TOGETHER! This is what makes Gurnee an absolutely amazing place to raise a family and I am proud to be connected with all of you. Bless you all. Until next time...

Gurnee Days 2007

It is that time again. Gurnee Days Weekend is here and that means the weather is hot!! In almost 30 years of participation, I can remember only one cool and rainy parade day. Most of the others have been 90+ degrees and this woman who wilts in the sun still enjoys the festivities each year.

I hope you were able to visit Viking Park to check out the tents filled with local business interests and pick up some great giveaways, the Ribfest with the Breakfast Exchange Club, the fabulous fireworks, and the wonderfully long parade on Sunday. My family has always been involved in Gurnee Days in one form or another. My oldest won a ribbon on her first birthday in the baby contest. She was named the baby with the "Prettiest Smile" and she still does.

This year the honors for the Grand Marshal duties goes to Dr. Ben Martindale who was feted at a testimonial dinner at Midlane Country Club on Thursday night. He was chosen as the 2007 Honoree by the Gurnee Days Corporation. It was a great evening with the chance to catch-up with some old friends and to get to know some new ones.

There is a large base of home-grown Gurnee residents who have made some wonderful contributions to Lake County and I am so grateful to have gotten to know them. Not to ignore the community members like myself who have made the Gurnee area home- from the highest in public office to little old me, Gurnee has no shortage of vested individuals making a difference every day. This definitely includes Ben Martindale, who during his tenure in Gurnee has contributed way beyond his administrative role in our schools.

After 20 years in Gurnee District 56, the retired superintendent is taking the reins in Round Lake. He will have his hands full with that, I imagine. Gurnee and especially District 56 will miss him bunches. Dr. Ben I hope you enjoyed your weekend and good luck on future endeavors.

My old employer, the Lake County News-Sun, will be blogging starting on August 13th with some top secret bloggers in charge named the News Hound and News Swami. I hope it will lead to some interesting commentary. Maybe, I will even have to join into a discussion or two.

In the announcement article today, they cited 12 million people who have blogs and about 57 million adults read them. I guess we will all be in good company with that kind of readership. Of course, I am very partial to this particular blogspot and they were right about it being easy to start one. Even I can do it. Until next time...

A Bit of Paradise

Each year my family joins my sister-in-law's family at their cabin by a small lake in Upper Wisconsin. It is still the best few days of any summer. Rain or shine, we are just glad to be together for a little R and R. Of course, having some hot, sunny days doesn't hurt.
The picture on the left was taken when we went for a walk after dinner and before the evening's bonfire. You could hear the loon's call in the background and almost nothing else, as we called it a day. An absolutely awesome day at that!

Where in the world are we going?

Here I am almost five months in exile from my column. Although, I admitted my departure for artistic reasons might have been a bit hasty, I still seem to be Persona non Grata with my former employers. A lesson learned, I guess. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Anyway, it has forced me to look elsewhere for my writing fix. Better things are on their way.

There certainly is plenty to write about with turmoil all around us. The War in Iraq keeps churning along with a death toll that continues to claim far too many. What is scary to me and should be to everyone else who cares about our young men and women fighting in this senseless battle; the psychological ramifications when these brave soldiers come home. We are in for a generation of veterans scarred emotionally and physically that will make the Vietnam War look tame in comparison. The government better take care of our own with honor and dignity. Their lives forever changed when they signed on to protect their country only to become pawns in an never-ending internal conflict. The cost is too high, President Bush.

How about our housing market? Tanking before our eyes. Or the number of bankruptcies filed this year? Twice as many as the year before. Bridges and our infrastructure? Falling apart at the seams. Yet, the stock market is working its way up to an all-time high! We have trouble, my friend. Hopefully, the bottom won't fall out on us.

My biggest concern for this week? Why does an American teacher fresh out of college need to learn Spanish in their own country to qualify for most teaching jobs these days? Most vacancies are for bilingual certification, but that is not what they are requiring in college. So what is wrong with this picture? Until next time...