Everywhere We Go
Everywhere We Go Vered L. Harris On October 10, 2023 I went to our regular Rotary Club 29 lunch meeting. I was in a state of shock over the events on October 7, when thousands of people in Israel were brutally attacked, murdered, tortured, maimed, and kidnapped by people who infiltrated the country from Gaza. […]
Facts are Stubborn Things
Facts are Stubborn Things by Drew Edmondson Rotary Club 29 survived another election. From president to board members we were voting, vying and surviving. The results are in and there were no challenges, no court actions, few surprises and not much comment. It is a credit to our nominating committee members that our elections […]
Changing Views on Education
Changing Views on Education by Freda Deskin There is no doubt that public opinion about education has changed over the years. Phi Delta Kappa has been capturing those changing views in a yearly scientific survey since 1969. The survey is eagerly awaited by school leaders and others who are in a position to shape policy […]
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams by Ted Streuli Frances Streuli’s birthday was yesterday. She would have been 105. She dreamed that everyone would have a cookie. She made the best cookies and she loved to see people enjoying them. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, take your pick. But the special ones were the sugar cookies, always on […]
How did we get into this mess?
How did we get into this mess? by Bart Binning. Ed. D. Charles Krauthammer, before his death in 2018, wrote “conservatives think liberals are stupid, liberals think conservatives are evil.” Neither respect the other. Stated another way, conservatives and liberals tend to speak different languages. To paraphrase John Gray’s 1992 book: Conservatives are from Mars, […]
Redemption
Redemption by Charlie Smith In The Kite Runner, a 2003 novel by Afghan-American author Kaled Hosseini, there is a phrase that stirs the heart and drives the plot – “There is a way to be good again.” The central character, Amir, betrays his boyhood friend, Hassan, in a way that leads to tragedy and suffering. […]
Bah! Humbug!
Bah! Humbug! by Charlie Smith Bah! Humbug! Who said it best? Why, of course, that classic figure from English literature, Ebenezer Scrooge, in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Dickens writes: “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind stone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and […]
Rotary Making An Impact In Our Community
Rotary Making An Impact In Our Community What is the reason for Rotary? Why does Rotary exist? by Jerrod Shouse After about a decade of membership in Rotary, I started pondering these questions, and what I believed the answer to be. And I have come to the conclusion that there is not just one singular […]
The Rotary Welcome
The Rotary Welcome by Jessica Sherrill On Tuesdays when I am leaving my office to go to Rotary, a nostalgic feeling washes over me that I can only describe as a calm anticipation and a joy of what’s to come. Although the speakers are top-notch, that’s not what it is. It’s you. I love Tuesdays, […]
Spring Thaw
Spring Thaw By Ron Page In past years I have written about my childhood in the 1950’s on our farm in northern Illinois, very near the Wisconsin border. What I never mentioned was our spring thaw, an issue in places where the ground remains frozen solid during the winter months. In our county, soil freezes […]
Beyond the Hype (again)
Beyond the Hype (again) by Pat Rooney While in San Francisco recently, I noticed billboards advertising generative-AI products. And while that information itself is not a bad thing, I couldn’t help but think back to the crypto craze and all the advertising schemes surrounding that nascent product. Generative-AI is indeed the next big thing. As […]
The Acorn and Oak of Rotary
The Acorn and Oak of Rotary Jim Priest As Autumn arrives we look amazed at the trees and the change in Fall foliage. Among those trees are oaks, each of which started as a tiny acorn. Season, after season, the growing tree stands tall. A brand new life, from an acorn grew, that mighty oak […]