Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy 20th anniversary, Paula. I love you.
About 24 years ago, when I was working as the managing editor of Press-Republican Newspapers, I was surprised to find a valentine in the mailbox at Fifth and Peyton. In it was a note from the little sister of a longtime high school friend—skillfully written, with just the right doses of flirtation and humor, and I was intrigued. So I screwed up my courage, called her, and we agreed to a date. We went to Ristorante Chianti for dinner and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure afterward, but it was in between the two that Paula Mary Williams got the first hint of the destiny her valentine had set in motion. Since we had some time to kill before the movie, I asked if she would mind going with me to a shindig announcing the election campaign of …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
From Charlotte's Web to Where the Wild Things Are, share these classic books with your children and encourage their love for reading.
- PATCH READS
-
Saturday, February 9
“Where’s Pa Going with that Axe?” The Enduring Quality of Children’s Classics By Anita Silvey Courtesy of James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read Foundation The opening line of E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web— “Where’s Pa going with that axe?” — has now been read by adults to eager young listeners for more than 60 years. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day have been picked up with enthusiasm for more than 50 years. For 75 years, parents have shared The Hobbit, and this year Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are turns 50. These books and others like them (Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables) bring …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The popularity of candy and flowers can't be beat.
- VALENTINE'S DAY GUIDE
-
Wednesday, February 6
Valentine’s Day is a day for displays of affection, and for years, two popular signs of that affection have been candy and flowers, with chocolate and roses on the top of the list. Some U.S. Census calculations follow. CANDY 1,177 Manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2009, employing 34,252 people. $12.6 billion Total value of shipments in 2009 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products. Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $7.4 billion industry. 3,386 Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2009. 24.7 pounds Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2010. FLOWERS $375 million The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
If I didn't see it done myself, I would have sworn Stevie Wonder hung my closet rods.
After almost six years in my house, I decided it was time to clean my closet. The only problem is my version of cleaning usually includes some sort of remodeling. In my head, the job was simple enough: I would reduce three walls of inaccessible hanging space to one well-organized wall by removing the rod from one, and installing it on the other. I even measured. As it turned out, the project was more archeology than architecture—the builder made a mess of the original job. Years ago, as the carpenter installed the rods, I walked into the room to tell him how I wanted the space configured. He told me he didn’t care and he was going to do what he wanted. Once I dug into the project, it was clear why. Behind the rods and brackets, it was …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
From Cyndi Lauper to Taylor Swift, here are a few tunes that might be blasted in my car, but only with the windows up.
I'm a man. I like cheering for the Bears. I eat big steaks. I consider Braveheart and The Big Lebowski two of my favorite movies. And while I love the songs of the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Pearl Jam and other man-friendly artists, there are some less-masculine radio tunes that have a special place in my heart. We saw last week that men have a pop-culture soft side when we delved into our favorite romantic comedies. (Check out the male commenters on this Patch poll.) This week, in the continued spirit of Valentine's Day, I'm putting myself out there and letting readers in on my favorite guilty-pleasure love songs. Sign up for St. Charles Patch's daily newsletter and get all the happenings in one email! What constitutes a guilty-pleasure…
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
American Heart Month: The Kane County Health Department says heart disease and stroke and No. 1 and No. 3 leading causes of death here. February is the month to do something about it.
- VALENTINE'S DAY GUIDE
-
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of the heart, which is why we recognize American Heart Month during the month of February. Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 leading causes of death in Kane County, and the Kane County Health Department will be emphasizing heart health throughout February. The recently completed Community Health Assessment shows that heart disease is the leading cause of hospitalization in Kane County, accounting for 23 percent of total patients; further, as much as 4 percent of the population reported ever having a heart attack. Throughout February, the Health Department will be emphasizing five themes via social media: This article is courtesy of the Kane County Health Department.
Art Stern
9:47 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013
Congratulations Rick and Paula! I'm of the opinion that you're among the hardest working guys around and that wouldn't be possible without the support of a terrific wife. more ›