MY SUN DAY NEWS
As many Sun City residents pack for warmer climates, it is important to spend an hour or so to get your house ready for winter. When you are going to be away for a week or more, you should prepare your home so there will be no surprises on your return. Several of our neighbors had pipes freeze last winter, and the cost to repair their homes was tens of thousands of dollars.
In January of 2020, Sarah, my daughter and I traveled through England and Scotland prior to her studying abroad in the Czech Republic. It was a trip that brought that brought us closer together and filled our souls with happiness and peace. That peace was very much needed as the world starting closing down just a few weeks later and all of our lives would be forever changed.
Hope you had a good Labor Day weekend; I sure had. And thanks to Tom for allowing me a week off to recharge myself. Honestly HBO Max dropped Elvis that weekend and it was very good, one of the most exhilarating films I saw all summer. This season saw the biggest dearth, a desert wasteland in terms of good content. Which makes this sad to see a release in August with as much complete originality get treated like dirt. It is not; more like an oasis. Love it or hate it, Three Thousand Years of Longing is clearly the work of a singular filmmaker creating what they want.
The Six County Senior Games celebrated its 40th Anniversary on Monday, July 25, 2022. 500 participants took part in 15 different events this year. On Wednesday, July 13th SunCity residents traveled to Elk Grove Park District to compete in the Senior Softball Event.
When planning a day out with friends, they invariably ask us “where’s a good place to go for lunch.” We are trained professionals, after all. This time, however, one of our friends, Barb, remembered a sandwich that she loved from days gone by. She then suggested a restaurant that once seemed to be everywhere, but suddenly vanished off the face of the earth.
Letters for the week of September 22.
Sun City resident Elaine Kadakia’s passion for art has been a lifetime journey. “As a child, I was always drawing. In high school, my drawing got some recognition and I took Saturday classes at the Art Institute. It was so exciting. I decided to apply for the Bachelor of Arts Program at the Art Institute and I was accepted and earned the degree with an emphasis in art education,” she said.
Sun City resident Elaine Kadakia’s passion for art has been a lifetime journey.
“As a child, I was always drawing. In high school, my drawing got some recognition and I took Saturday classes at the Art Institute. It was so exciting. I decided to apply for the Bachelor of Arts Program at the Art Institute and I was accepted and earned the degree with an emphasis in art education,” she said.
First, I’d like to thank everyone who took a moment to write in and respond to my last editorial on bagels. Frankly, the response was somewhat overwhelming. It appears many of our readers are passionate about bagels! Throughout those responses, it occurred to me that my publicly made opinion on bagels was not presented as carefully as I would have hoped. Reading the many responses, though no one said as much, I realized that I indirectly criticized the area’s bagel selection by insinuating that the bagels I remember from my youth are good and all others are bad. That was NOT my intent. Nor do I believe that is the case.
First, I’d like to thank everyone who took a moment to write in and respond to my last editorial on bagels. Frankly, the response was somewhat overwhelming. It appears many of our readers are passionate about bagels!
Throughout those responses, it occurred to me that my publicly made opinion on bagels was not presented as carefully as I would have hoped. Reading the many responses, though no one said as much, I realized that I indirectly criticized the area’s bagel selection by insinuating that the bagels I remember from my youth are good and all others are bad. That was NOT my intent. Nor do I believe that is the case.
HUNTLEY — A brand new Student Helpline for all students and parents of Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) has been developed for individuals to have the opportunity to report instances of bullying, mental health concerns, and unsafe situations in schools, said the district in a press release statement. The platform, which was customized in partnership with SmartSocial, allows for two-way communications between staff and students via text messaging.
HUNTLEY — A brand new Student Helpline for all students and parents of Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) has been developed for individuals to have the opportunity to report instances of bullying, mental health concerns, and unsafe situations in schools, said the district in a press release statement.
The platform, which was customized in partnership with SmartSocial, allows for two-way communications between staff and students via text messaging.
As a schoolteacher for more than 35 years, I found it important to keep a key principle in mind at all times, and the principle is this: How much — or how little — a student achieves is directly proportional to a teacher’s trust in their ability to master difficult lessons. Students will usually live up to — or down to — your expectations of them. Buoyed by your trust in them, students will usually reach a level of achievement far higher than even they imagined they could reach. But if they sense that you have low expectations of them, they will almost always fall to those low levels, and often even lower.
As a schoolteacher for more than 35 years, I found it important to keep a key principle in mind at all times, and the principle is this:
How much — or how little — a student achieves is directly proportional to a teacher’s trust in their ability to master difficult lessons. Students will usually live up to — or down to — your expectations of them.
Buoyed by your trust in them, students will usually reach a level of achievement far higher than even they imagined they could reach. But if they sense that you have low expectations of them, they will almost always fall to those low levels, and often even lower.
The American Psychological Association explains that resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficult or challenging life experiences through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment. When life throws its curve balls, resilience is what helps us thrive in spite of them. While some of us are born more resilient than others, we can all get better at practicing it.
My right foot looks like an overstuffed sausage in my black flats. Yesterday, a faint, kiwi-green bruise was on the top of my foot, casting a shadow on the bulging portion of my foot, which in turn spilled over the edges of the shoe, reminiscent of a muffin top. Today, the bruise has migrated closer to my toes—concealed by my shoe, at least — but angry and purple. Ugh. I was trying to help out my Gentleman Friend, who is a band teacher at our local high school. It was the first home football game, which meant the first performance for the marching band, too. Everyone looked sharp: brass buttons shining on their jackets, plumed hats dancing impatiently in the breeze. They were lined up on the front stairs of the school, and all I had to do was snap the group photo to be used in the yearbook.
My right foot looks like an overstuffed sausage in my black flats. Yesterday, a faint, kiwi-green bruise was on the top of my foot, casting a shadow on the bulging portion of my foot, which in turn spilled over the edges of the shoe, reminiscent of a muffin top. Today, the bruise has migrated closer to my toes—concealed by my shoe, at least — but angry and purple.
Ugh. I was trying to help out my Gentleman Friend, who is a band teacher at our local high school. It was the first home football game, which meant the first performance for the marching band, too. Everyone looked sharp: brass buttons shining on their jackets, plumed hats dancing impatiently in the breeze. They were lined up on the front stairs of the school, and all I had to do was snap the group photo to be used in the yearbook.
On Aug. 23, the Pioneer Center for Human Services and the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) celebrated the inauguration of the Huntley Bright Program through a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which also included a multi-chamber mixer that was hosted by the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce.
Village Manager David Johnson presented a board discussion only an agenda item on the use of golf carts on roads outside Sun City and Regency Square. “The current Village code permits golf cards on the roadway network within Del Webb’s Sun City and the streets and roadways within Regency Square development to include Regency Parkway and Farm Hill Drive.”
Village Manager David Johnson presented a board discussion only an agenda item on the use of golf carts on roads outside Sun City and Regency Square.
“The current Village code permits golf cards on the roadway network within Del Webb’s Sun City and the streets and roadways within Regency Square development to include Regency Parkway and Farm Hill Drive.”
Sun City resident Alex Schank is behind the plate from May to August officiating for 16-inch and 12-inch slow pitch softball games. Schank travels to Chicago Suburbs and all over the United State to ump for various leagues. One of the leagues that Schank has umpired for a number of years is The National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA). “I have been involved with the Wheelchair Softball League since 2001. I have been umpired every year since 2001 except for covid,” he said.
Sun City resident Alex Schank is behind the plate from May to August officiating for 16-inch and 12-inch slow pitch softball games. Schank travels to Chicago Suburbs and all over the United State to ump for various leagues. One of the leagues that Schank has umpired for a number of years is The National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA).
“I have been involved with the Wheelchair Softball League since 2001. I have been umpired every year since 2001 except for covid,” he said.
Working with CNN Films and on HBO Max, Navalny follows Russia’s most notorious political dissident. Filmmaker Daniel Roher and crew follow Alexei and his family after he is poisoned and almost lost his life. As it begins, we are set with a static medium shot of Navalny talking to Daniel and essentially to us. Errol Morris this is not however.
Working with CNN Films and on HBO Max, Navalny follows Russia’s most notorious political dissident.
Filmmaker Daniel Roher and crew follow Alexei and his family after he is poisoned and almost lost his life. As it begins, we are set with a static medium shot of Navalny talking to Daniel and essentially to us. Errol Morris this is not however.
Jim and I wanted to have a big breakfast one morning since our best friends were coming in from California and we were planning on a late dinner. A friend of Nancy’s recommended an establishment in Crystal Lake for breakfast/brunch, and since we are always looking for new places to eat, we decided to try it out. Now is where the fun begins.
Jim and I wanted to have a big breakfast one morning since our best friends were coming in from California and we were planning on a late dinner.
A friend of Nancy’s recommended an establishment in Crystal Lake for breakfast/brunch, and since we are always looking for new places to eat, we decided to try it out.
Now is where the fun begins.
My wife and I are in our mid-70s, and our daughter keeps hounding us to schedule an eye exam. She was mortified to learn that we haven’t been to the optometrist since 2019. In the past, my wife and I saw our optometrist every other year. Since our last eye appointment, I’ve retired and COVID hit the world. My wife and I sort of got out of the habit of scheduling annual physicals and other medical appointments. We’re in decent health and we haven’t noticed any changes in our vision.
Letters for the week of September 8.
Marilyn Schnake has a message for Sun City residents: “You are never too old to make your own art, your work that satisfies you alone.” Schnake takes pleasure in not only creating art herself but encouraging others to express themselves. She has an extensive background in art education. Schnake said, “Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, and imparts mental health benefits. Art helps people express experiences that are too difficult to put into words.”
Marilyn Schnake has a message for Sun City residents: “You are never too old to make your own art, your work that satisfies you alone.”
Schnake takes pleasure in not only creating art herself but encouraging others to express themselves. She has an extensive background in art education.
Schnake said, “Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, and imparts mental health benefits. Art helps people express experiences that are too difficult to put into words.”
There’s expectation in the air. It’s my daughter laying out different outfits on her bed, deciding on the perfect thing to wear to high school. It’s my husband, giving himself a smart haircut early in the morning before heading out to his teaching job. It’s the expanding stash of dorm room supplies growing in a corner, in anticipation of my son heading off to his freshman year at the university.
I haven’t seen my old friend Quitman Sullins in close to thirty years, but his name came up at a dinner party with old friends last night, and this morning I spent a lot of time thinking about him.
At the January 20, 2022 Village Board meeting Lisa Armour, Huntley’s Deputy Village Manager, presented a retail store concept she called “Shops on Main.” This was presented as a small business incubator to be developed in the First Congregational Church parking lot at Main and First Streets in downtown Huntley.
A visit to Sue Wallace’s home is a journey through the magical world of Oz with Dorothy and friends. The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wallace said, holding up an original copy of Baum’s book.
The Sun City Charter Club, Prairie Singers, is looking for singers to join in the music-making.
This year, CRConsumerReports/On Health wrote that even taking a 15-minute stroll or relaxed walk can lead to protection against heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes as it improves mood, reduces stress, and helps you sleep better.
Fred Senft grew a mammoth sunflower that stands an estimated 12 feet tall outside his Sun City home. “I just planted a couple of seeds and it kept growing. Now, my neighbors are requesting seeds from the sunflower,” he said.
Fred Senft grew a mammoth sunflower that stands an estimated 12 feet tall outside his Sun City home.
“I just planted a couple of seeds and it kept growing. Now, my neighbors are requesting seeds from the sunflower,” he said.
The last time I was in a movie theatre was before the Pandemic, which coincided with my last column as Sun City’s resident movie critic. I had no plans to go until a number of friends told me about the movie Elvis. They, in fact, insisted I see it. I finally gave in and Annamarie and I went to an afternoon matinee. That was one of the best decisions we’ve made in a long time.
One dull rainy day we were sitting around the Dining Duo palatial estate bored out of our minds. Our lives are so hectic that we cannot stay at home for a couple of hours and do nothing but relax. How screwed up are we?
Letters for the week of August 25.
