by admin | Jan 5, 2019 | Activism, Blogging, Careers, Education, Gratitude, Personal health, Personal history, Resilience, Urban Planning
Gratitude on Parade #1 Okay, call me a copycat. If an idea is good enough, why not copy it proudly? On New Year’s Day, I read in a Chicago Tribune column by Heidi Stevens about a woman, Jen Kramer, who began a daily effort on Facebook a year ago as #yearoflove....
by admin | Jan 1, 2019 | Activism, Careers, Education, Personal history, Urban Planning, Writing
As a New Year arrives, perhaps it was the gift-giving season and the story of Christmas that prompted this blog post. Or, perhaps, it was simply lurking in my subconscious mind, awaiting the appropriate opportunity to emerge into the light of conscious deliberation....
by admin | Oct 21, 2018 | Activism, Blogging, Civil rights, Government, Journalism, Personal history, Politics, Writing
Last night, I read one of those publisher columns that are often boring and laborious, but this one nailed it. Mother Jones CEO Monika Bauerlein recounted a conversation with a veteran editor she admires who inquired about the partisan bias he perceived in the monthly...
by admin | Jul 4, 2018 | Chicago, Personal history, Recreation, Sports
We interrupt this series of serious messages for some old-fashioned American holiday fun. Well, to be honest. I’m talking about yesterday, July 3. Following great American tradition, I took two grandsons, Angel, 14, and Alex, 9, to their first Chicago Cubs game at...
by admin | Jun 26, 2018 | Activism, Careers, Floodplain management, Personal history
I confess: I was taken totally by surprise. Most of us, if we have a level head on our shoulders, do not do our work with the thought that we will some day be presented with a major award because of it. Especially those of us in the world of public service and...
by admin | Feb 11, 2018 | Books, Careers, Disaster, Education, Environment, Natural Hazards, Personal history, Urban Planning
You tend to know when someone is a huge influence in his field. You can sense the gravitas when they speak, and you can find the books and articles, or major projects, that trace the impact of that person’s career. Urban planning lost such a person on January 27 when...
