The Hinsdalean - Community journalism the way it was meant to be

When I moved my household from Washington, D.C. into storage, I got rid of about 100 books. Some were obvious choices, like the global trade textbook that was required for a class I took in 1989 but...

Each January after the holidays are over, there seems to be a renewed obligation or duty to reorganize. Everywhere you look there are articles, books and news stories that promise to help you tidy up...

I’ve never actually met two of my best friends, though our friendship has lasted over 40 years. John Irving and Stephen King have been dear companions of mine since 1979. I met each when I was 13,...

Every Christmas for the past 14 years, I've sat in a wooden pew at St. Isaac Jogues Church. I've looked around at the evergreen Christmas trees, admired the poinsettias covering the altar and enjoyed...

Every year, my husband and I debate the aesthetics of our outdoor holiday lights. I like the lights to look symmetrical and enchanting and labor over each light placement. He calls the job done after...

I was listening to the radio the other day when I heard something that resonated with me deeply. The radio host was talking about the significance of family during the holiday season and the...

We sold Mom’s Spode Christmas Tree china set this week on Craig’s List. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I asked Mom. She pointed out that we had packed up the set over a year ago. She...

One year and one day ago, a 93-year-old woman ran down my wife, Susan, on the sidewalk on First Street, shattering her, shoulders to knees. Sue and I were out for our daily walk. Those were our times...

In a recent community theater production, I portrayed a woman who has an affair. “Becky” loved her husband and son, endured a boring job with good humor and did not suffer in any way. Her...

Do you remember where you were when you discovered who you could be? I do. I was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Well, at least in my imagination. My favorite television character,...

No matter how much you prepare or plan for it, parenthood has a way of writing its own story. Its love has a strength that is greater than I could have ever known. My own journey to become a mother...

Our family moved to Hinsdale in 1976, buying a more spacious house on a wooded lot with an easy walk to the train. An especially appreciated feature was our much-needed, first-ever basement. We...

They say that time flies. They say that these four years will go by in a flash. But I remember my first day of freshman year. It was a scorching hot day in August. A short-sleeved gray dress was not...

"You have to be patient to live here," Patrick remarked with a wry smile. We were trapped in a narrow street in the small French town where we were spending the month. There was nowhere else to go,...

Have you ever longed for a flavor? A favorite food you remember from childhood or a particular dish? A little over three years ago, my family made an unexpected cross-country move from Texas to Chicag...

“Wow, you look warm,” someone comments. This is a frequent occurrence for me. Neither dewy nor glowing, I simply appear uncomfortably hot. Which, in fact, I am. But there’s a lot more than...

Sometimes in life you just have to move on. For me, this time, it happened suddenly. In fact, if you had asked me just a month ago if I was excited to go to college, I'd have said something like,...

My teenage son, who runs cross country, shrugs and cringes slightly when I invite him to run with me these days. Once a junior Olympian and collegiate runner myself, I'm no slouch, but there's no deny...

The classic film "Gaslight" (1944), starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman, has been a favorite of mine for years. (Spoiler alert: Set in Victorian London, the dashing, dastardly Boyer manipulates...

I have long dreamed about backpacking the Appalachian Trail and in July, that dream became reality. I've gone on organized hiking trips in the past, but this adventure would be different. No guide or...

I recently read about a study that investigated the relationship of human happiness to random social contact. Scientists found that even momentary social interaction with a stranger increases our...

On Thursday morning, the alarms went off. All of them. Every cell phone. Every egg timer. Every theft alert in every Walgreens, Walmart, Best Buy and bank. In an instant, every man, woman and child...

I knew this column would be written one day - I just wasn't sure when. After 12 years in Hinsdale, the Neiman family is packing up and heading back to the West Coast. When I dragged my family here...

My baby just turned 10 and, even setting aside my emotional baggage over that, it is a momentous birthday. This milestone involves special traditions in our home, the most sentimental of which is a...

Vacation. It is a time of rest, relaxation and recuperation. It is a time when families can get away and re-strengthen their bonds. It is a time when the rat race of the American lifestyle can be safe...