Whenever you are in any big city with a few days and nothing to do - try to call or E-mail a dance studio!!!

   

       Hello there everybody reading this section! The Spring is coming in Chicago so it's time to get out of the winter "cabin".
     If you want to meet a lot of quality people of every kind - you need to learn Ballroom dancing. You can also learn Bridge however - the Ballroom dancing will keep you physically fit, clean and healthy.
     When you start group lessons - keep in mind that your physical appearance, your clothing, you personal hygiene - are extremely important. You do not need to look like a superstars nor you need to have Gianni Versace collections of attire. You also do not have to spend a lot of money.
    All you want to have is a good attitude, positive outlook and a bit patience with your skills. It will take a few months for you to learn some basic steps so you will have to - perhaps - put up a bit with some more experienced dancers in a studio acting a bit "condescending" towards you - but believe me - it will be worth you efforts and they will be rewarding.
    I will pull for you since I remember when I just started out a few years back. Ballroom dancing will give you a lot of confidence and poise in every area of your life even if it's a little difficult at first. 
    See you in the ballroom dancing studio!

                   Copyright@L.Hadley and Associates 2026

Get ready for Easter 2013 at Saint Benedict Catholic Church - Western/Lawrence area.

          
         Every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter - for the last six years - the big, impressive, Cathedral looking - Saint Benedict Church - in the Northern part of Chicago - has an awe-inspiring event which involves a lot of effort from the parishioners, clergy and the neighborhood volunteers from several neighborhood churches.
      When I arrived as a volunteer - to serve the lunch to "the needy" - I expected to see a mixed "bag" of individuals "down on their luck".  I tried to get an idea about what kind of people come for a free meal.
      I asked for some numbers. The tall, wiry gentleman who appeared in charge of the event - who stood outside of the big kitchen - - gave me some data re: the food and the people who come to those events. Tons of turkeys and hams - are donated by various parishioners of three neighborhood churches.
     Inside the huge, nice Saint Ben's kitchen - a big guy with kind eyes - a typical kitchen supervisor - who feeds a lot of people - kept working hard as I asked him about the various side dishes - stuffing and vegetables which were almost ready to serve.  

     Saint Ben's kitchen and huge dining hall in the basement of the three-story Ecumenical Building next to the mini mansion resembling - a Rectory - the Saint Ben Church fed about two hundred people in the basement level.

     They fed another hundred and fifty "needy" and some not so needy - as I noticed - on the first floor. Then - another event organizer told me that ab. hundred and fifty people more - came and left fast - not wanting to sit down and get a small gift raffled off in a lovely manner by tiny parishioners (adorable little children) - helping a lot in an orderly process of reading off the raffle tickets and dispensing small gift packages of the toiletries - made up for visiting "guys and dolls" - in need. 

     All in all - they fed approximately five hundred people - a big meal - consisting of a generous portion of turkey/ham - dressing - three kinds of vegetables - soda - coffee - and pumpkin pie for dessert.
     The volunteers of all ages and backgrounds - like me - kept smiling at the people sitting at the numerous tables - waiting for the meal. The good feelings penetrated easily the whole place in spite of some offensive smells of unwashed bodies of quite a few participants.  

     Some of the people - though - (a very few gentlemen - not the ladies at that event) - had an indifferent, stony look on their faces - as if they wanted to eat their free meal quickly in order to have more time for their God/Alcohol - or another drug - evidently - their reason for living - at the moment.
     Most people eating the free meal - however - appeared kind and appreciative in spite of their hard luck, bad breaks and probably a few wrong choices they made - while negotiating their lives' crucial turns. It felt good to see how they genuinely smiled at the parish's little children and volunteers like me - making them happy - even for a few moments.
  
     Copyright@L.Hadley and Associates 2024       

Rogers Park Business Alliance - in Chicago's Rogers Park contributes to everybody in the community.

     
       Chicago's Rogers Park is a truly democratic cluster. Long time alderman Joe Moore sincerely cares about all his roughly - forty-eight thousand constituents. Even though some members of this community by the glorious Lake Michigan - are the mentally handicapped individuals living in subsidized units of different sizes - most people in his 49th ward are working decent jobs or having a respectable income as they live in some impressive dwellings of all kinds and sizes.
      Rogers Park Business Alliance has had a fun and exciting record of strengthening the cooperation between the business owners and other members of the community. Their computer training courses are a super terrific tool for the community to sharpen their business skills.
     I - personally - really enjoy the business networking breakfasts in local eateries/venues - held every second Wednesday of the month - so the small business owners can "mingle" and network.
     For more info click www.rogers-park.com.
     Copyright@L.Hadley and Associates 2024
       
    

Happy Thanksgiving - Everybody! We have a lot of blessings to count!

   
        Chicago's northern suburbs - Wilmette - much warmer place than the rich, formal, stiff - "she-she-poo-poo" Kenilworth - has a great community center called Mallinckrodt Community Center - which has the members - nice older adults (not the old farts - cantankerous, loud and obnoxious - mind you). The pleasant people over fifty years of age and "better" - meaning - older - get together for social "interactions".  None of them are the older, idiotic "cougar" women looking for ridiculously young idiot lovers - or anything insane like that - or rich old farts looking for much younger women.
    The older ladies attending/volunteering at Mallinckrodt Center - are lovely, sweet and pleasure to be around while their magnificent, yearly Thanksgiving dinner is a sumptuous affair with great music and fantastic food.
    The nicest part of their yearly Thanksgiving dinner is the various, international - short - thank God - blessings delivered by the participants.
    Next Thanksgiving - attend this affair when you are in Chicago area. All you have to do is call them with a reservation - two weeks ahead and bring a non-perishable food item for their community food depository.
    Happy Turkey Day - everybody!!!

    Copyright@L.Hadley 2024
   

Skokie Library (5215 Oakton St - Skokie, Il 60077) Has a Magnificent Monthly Series of Young, Gifted Performers evey Autumn.

       Last Sunday - Oct. 7 - 2012 - Skokie Library had it's first in the series of the monthly recitals of young talented musicians - namely - The first concert in the - 31st Young Steinway Concert Series - started with the "bang" as the four young performers took the stage in the recitals taking place the first Sunday of the month - Oct. 2012 through June 2013.
     Derek Chung - a fourteen-year-old student of the Long Grove Middle School (a suburb of  Chicago) - demonstrated a huge mastery of the piano as he easily played standard concert pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelsohn, Prokofiev without using the recorded sheet scores. His musical memory must be equal to that of the musical genius.
    We congratulated his music teacher - a slender lady in her late thirties - who - herself could pass for a college student.
   The other three youngsters performed Schubert, Piazzola, Beethoven on the following instruments - Krystian Chiu - cello; Hannah White - violin; Ryan Jannak-Huang - piano.  Their play demonstrated a high level of maturity - even if they used the musical sheets for the advanced compositions they easily performed - flawlessly - in a super harmony.
    The Skokie Library director of events - chose a magnificent repertoire to showcase the super gifted youngsters - she - also - needs to be commanded.  It was a great afternoon - followed by a sumptuous reception - prepared by the parents of the young artists.

            Copyright@L.Hadley - 2026

Old Orchard Mall - Westfield - Skokie, Il 60077 has a sensational Sonoma Williams Store.

   Hey everybody who likes to watch some super fun, fun, fun cooking demos!
   You don't need to like to cook or be one hundred percent "foodie" or any other yuppie freak like that - to enjoy the Sunday morning demonstrations of how to prepare a simple meal - which is nutritious, easy to fix, looks good and "cleans" easy.
    Old Orchard's "Sonoma Williams" store has a terrific inventory of top line cooking utensils, gadgets, decorative cooking "doo-das" which always make nice Hanukka and Christmas gifts.
    In addition - the ladies who work there are tremendously knowledgeable, fun and good instructors.
    If you are not in church or some other gathering of that kind - I can't think of another place which makes you feel good to be with other nice people - like you.
    See you at Sonoma Williams - Sunday morning - 10 Am sharp.  Don't forget to pre-register. Just stop at the store before Sunday and put your name on the list for Sunday. Ask them at the counter for the Sunday list - while you there - buy something for the cook or for yourself.  Don't just come in for a free demo and a free food - of which you don't get a whole lot - anyway.
    Just kidding - see you Sunday morning!

Chicago has a terrific rock/indie band named Ode.

                                Copyright@L.Hadley - 2025   

         Last Saturday - August 19 - 2012 - during the annual Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest - on Morse and Glenwood Ave - in Chicago's - Rogers Park - the rock band named Ode - gave a fantastic performance.
       The five musicians handled their instruments like true masters/lovers. The listeners could feel the intensity of their music - in an almost tangible way. Real art will intensify the experiences of the recipients. Chicago is full of outstanding talents of every category.
       It was a perfectly lovely afternoon - their music blasted loudly through several streets. Little kids danced and wiggled joyously to the awesome sounds of the band - so did some drunk and stoned residents of Rogers Park standing or sitting next to the well-educated, affluent residents of Rogers Park.
       I tried to listen to the poetic lyrics belted out in a superb manner by the band's vocalist - but the fantastic sounds of their instruments distracted me from the lyrics. Every new piece they played - sounded better than the previous one. If they played forever - I would listen to them forever.
        Notwithstanding the fact that I have been exposed to all kinds of famous celebrities during the many years of my writing about them - this band really hit a big cord with me.
       I swear to you that I will not make fun of any rock musicians' "groupies" - anymore.
   Click immediately on their website -
www.odemusic.com - and either book them or buy their CD - I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

                               

                   Copyright@L.Hadley and Associates 2025