Our Naperville house, April, 2016
Rarely do I tear up at the theater.
Frankly, rarely do I even go to the theater.
But “Naperville,” which opened Sept. 6 at Theater Wit, and runs through Oct. 16 at 1229 W. Belmont in Chicago, hit home. And home is the centerpiece of the splendid work from Naperville born playwright Mat Smart.
“Naperville” is framed by nuance and empathy, characteristics that are key to getting by in urban and suburban living.
“Naperville” premiered off-Broadway in 2o14 at New York’s Slant Theatre Project and New York [...]
RAF Chicago Executive Director Joanie Bayhack delivering smiles. (Courtesy of RAF)
Life isn’t so daunting if you break it down into a series of small gestures.
The non-profit Random Act of Flowers recycles flowers from weddings, parties, funerals and grocery stores. Volunteers then deliver floral bouquets to Chicago area hospitals and long term health care facilities.
Knoxville, Tn.-based Random Acts of Flowers (RAF) has only been in the Chicago area for a little more than a year. From January to December of 2015, RAF delivered bouquets to 16,142 people in the Chicago [...]
Something was lost here.
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Two herons on a pier
Redemption at every sunset
The winter circus comes through town
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Questions splatter on the windshield
The old mystic answers in her home on Hwy. 1
Wednesday Karaoke at the Caribbean Club
A prune-faced lady leans over to sing “Cabaret”
Songs are tickets to another time, old chum
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“We had it all, like Bogie & Bacall”—Bertie Higgins
Bare feet dance on blades of [...]
Lock myself out, the first time in 20 years
Am I becoming my parents, losing my memory
Bit by bit like the drip from an unforgettable icicle
Outside of the house I grew up in.
I wait for the locksmith on the back steps.
A cardinal stops on along the driveway
I see my Mom who grew up near St. Louis
Until the man arrives with his box of magical tools
The man says it will not take long and begins to chip away
The [...]
