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As I learned when I met Maya Angelou, the late author believed that true arrogance lay in denying one's own specialness-and denying the specialness of others.

As I learned when I met Maya Angelou, the late author believed that true arrogance lay in denying one's own specialness-and denying the specialness of others.


Laura Ott, 36, and her husband Greg Ott, 35, have three kids under age 4, including an 11-month-old baby and a bulldog named Kevin.With the coronavirus spreading and their day care closed, the Mundelein family began self-isolating, working remotely …

Laura Ott, 36, and her husband Greg Ott, 35, have three kids under age 4, including an 11-month-old baby and a bulldog named Kevin.

With the coronavirus spreading and their day care closed, the Mundelein family began self-isolating, working remotely from home by split-shifting hours to juggle Laura’s job as a senior talent acquisition partner for Zebra Technologies, Greg’s position as a senior sales executive at United Healthcare and child care.


The Rhythm of Love

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES

An award-winning feature about a couple and their undying love through the ages.

An award-winning feature about a couple and their undying love through the ages.


Sail Away

Michigan Avenue magazine

As veteran mariner Peter Thornton strives to make history in the Race to Mackinac, the Chicago Yacht Club steps up its quest to build a new, more diverse generation of sailors.

As veteran mariner Peter Thornton strives to make history in the Race to Mackinac, the Chicago Yacht Club steps up its quest to build a new, more diverse generation of sailors.


Hollywood Calling

Michigan Avenue Magazine

Marilyn Monroe would probably never have visited the downstate village of Bement, Illinois, in early August 1955—just two months after the release of The Seven Year Itch—had it not been for a chance encounter with Robert Carleton Smith, a native of …

Marilyn Monroe would probably never have visited the downstate village of Bement, Illinois, in early August 1955—just two months after the release of The Seven Year Itch—had it not been for a chance encounter with Robert Carleton Smith, a native of the rural town who founded the National Arts Foundation
and counted then-President Harry Truman among his friends. “Carleton met her at a New York hotel,” says Harry Porter, 79, who met the actress himself soon after his graduation from high school. “She didn’t have enough money to pay for her room because her manager screwed up, so Carleton told her he’d pay for the room ‘if you come to Bement for me’” for the town’s centennial.


Giving Thanks

American Way magazine

“Would you like some water?” Dr. Maya Angelou asks as she welcomes me into her New York City home. “Or the world’s greatest apple juice?”

“Would you like some water?” Dr. Maya Angelou asks as she welcomes me into her New York City home. “Or the world’s greatest apple juice?”


River Renaissance

Michigan Avenue Magazine

The afternoon glow of a sinking sun peeks through Albert Friedman’s office, backlighting a bookcase filled with green, blue, and caramel-colored glass bottles still frosty from the Great Chicago Fire that glazed them more than a century ago.

The afternoon glow of a sinking sun peeks through Albert Friedman’s office, backlighting a bookcase filled with green, blue, and caramel-colored glass bottles still frosty from the Great Chicago Fire that glazed them more than a century ago.


Extra Saucy

St. Petersburg Times

INVERNESS - Alfredo Cali stands behind a long glass deli counter filled with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, cannoli and Italian cookies. His eyes dart behind his bright blue Armani glasses. His cue ball head bobbles.Near Alfredo is a bright yellow pl…

INVERNESS - Alfredo Cali stands behind a long glass deli counter filled with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, cannoli and Italian cookies. His eyes dart behind his bright blue Armani glasses. His cue ball head bobbles.

Near Alfredo is a bright yellow plastic sign that says: This is not Burger King. You don't get it your way. You take it my way or you don't get a (bleeping) thing.

"Darling," Alfredo beckons a young woman close to the counter, as he climbs on top of a small wooden stool so he can reach her.

"It's so nice to see you," he says, planting loud kisses on her cheeks.

He scans the deli.

"Excuse me. Excuse me," he calls out to a table in the back. "Do you know who that table is reserved for?"

The stunned couple looks up from their paninis.

"That table is for couples who made love this morning."


The Cobbler on The Square

St. Petersburg Times

INVERNESS - John Millard's hands move quickly as he shapes a leather heel. He rotates the leather, his arms gliding in half circles as he carefully works through his latest repair.Being here in the back room of John's Shoe Repair is like walking bac…

INVERNESS - John Millard's hands move quickly as he shapes a leather heel. He rotates the leather, his arms gliding in half circles as he carefully works through his latest repair.

Being here in the back room of John's Shoe Repair is like walking back in time to a day when the local cobbler was a fixture.

But people don't repair shoes anymore. They buy new ones instead. They don't wear wingtips or high-heeled pumps like they used to - in short, they don't always need craftsmen like John Millard.

He jokes that if someone walked in the door today and offered to buy his business, he would sell it.

He knows that probably won't happen.


Field of Dreams

INDIANA UNIVERSITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE


Teaming Up With Bonnie Hunt

The Saturday Evening Post

It’s 40 days until the Cubs' April 13 home opener against the Rockies. Bonnie Hunt has been counting down for months. A die-hard Cubs fan, she hasn’t missed an opening day at Wrigley Field since 1977.

It’s 40 days until the Cubs' April 13 home opener against the Rockies. Bonnie Hunt has been counting down for months. A die-hard Cubs fan, she hasn’t missed an opening day at Wrigley Field since 1977.


As an art history major at Indiana University, am Angelotta, BA’08, jokes that everyone always asked what he would do with his life after graduation.

As an art history major at Indiana University, am Angelotta, BA’08, jokes that everyone always asked what he would do with his life after graduation.


No Longer a Game

St. Petersburg Times

CRYSTAL RIVER—Lillian Posselt always wondered if her son’s birth on Veterans’s Day had a deeper meaning.

CRYSTAL RIVER—Lillian Posselt always wondered if her son’s birth on Veterans’s Day had a deeper meaning.


Two States, One Best-Seller

St. Petersburg Times

Hemingway had Cuba. Tim Crothers has Inverness. The small Citrus County town, tucked away from the bustle of urban life, is where the former Sports Illustrated writer chose to write his first book, a biography about University of North Carolina wome…

Hemingway had Cuba. Tim Crothers has Inverness. The small Citrus County town, tucked away from the bustle of urban life, is where the former Sports Illustrated writer chose to write his first book, a biography about University of North Carolina women’s soccer coach, Anson Dorrance.


Budgets are tight, and Christmas is coming. Bah humbug. Shake off that Grinchy attitude by shopping a largely overlooked venue: estate sales. (Vintage shops get much of their merchandise from estte slaes, then double or triple the price.)

Budgets are tight, and Christmas is coming. Bah humbug. Shake off that Grinchy attitude by shopping a largely overlooked venue: estate sales. (Vintage shops get much of their merchandise from estte slaes, then double or triple the price.)


The Lotus Always Blooms

TIME TO SPA MAGAZINE


Tallgrass Rehab

Landscape Architecture Magazine

It is just after 8:00 a.m. on an unseasonably warm day in April with the kind of overcast muggy weather that ratchets up into a scorching midday sun.

It is just after 8:00 a.m. on an unseasonably warm day in April with the kind of overcast muggy weather that ratchets up into a scorching midday sun.


Living With Lymphedema

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

I was seven months pregnant when a woman in a children’s toy store stopped me while I was browsing a few books.“I know what you have,” she said very loudly, looking at my legs that were bandaged up to my knees in seven layers of gauze and blue medic…

I was seven months pregnant when a woman in a children’s toy store stopped me while I was browsing a few books.

“I know what you have,” she said very loudly, looking at my legs that were bandaged up to my knees in seven layers of gauze and blue medical boots on my feet. “You just had a bunionectomy.”


Kim Greenberg knew something wasn’t quite right. Last year, she had just given birth to twins and had a daughter who hadn’t yet turned 2.She knew things would be tough, but this was more difficult than she had ever imagined.

Kim Greenberg knew something wasn’t quite right. Last year, she had just given birth to twins and had a daughter who hadn’t yet turned 2.

She knew things would be tough, but this was more difficult than she had ever imagined.


An Education in Donation

Indiana University Alumni Magazine

Today, Amy Waterman is thriving as a national player in the kidney-donation world. But six years ago, that outcome was anything but certain.

Today, Amy Waterman is thriving as a national player in the kidney-donation world. But six years ago, that outcome was anything but certain.


Asmaa Aeash remembers the first time she met her husband in Syria.

Asmaa Aeash remembers the first time she met her husband in Syria.


The Making of Chicago's Moholy-Nagy

Chicago Architect magazine

Chicago Architect magazine Maholy-Nagy

Millennium Impact

Michigan Avenue Magazine

Cover story about the 10th Anniversary of Millennium Park which included exclusive interviews with Frank Gehry, Anish Kapor and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Cover story about the 10th Anniversary of Millennium Park which included exclusive interviews with Frank Gehry, Anish Kapor and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.


Toni's Time

Michigan Avenue Magazine

Some have called her “the Tower of Blunt.” At six feet tall, Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, is a female force whose no-nonsense style has made her one of the most powerful politicians—of any gender—in all of C…

Some have called her “the Tower of Blunt.” At six feet tall, Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, is a female force whose no-nonsense style has made her one of the most powerful politicians—of any gender—in all of Chicago.


Water, or Whine?

Chicago Magazine

Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water. Turns out, the joke’s on us: Not only are top sellers Aquafina and Dasani just bottled public water, but the wasteful plastic packaging will still be lingering in the year 3000. But do water s…

Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water. Turns out, the joke’s on us: Not only are top sellers Aquafina and Dasani just bottled public water, but the wasteful plastic packaging will still be lingering in the year 3000. But do water snobs have a valid argument that private water tastes better than tap?


Flight Sight

Indiana University Alumni Magazine

Heat hangs in the air like a smothering blanket. It is hours before noon, but the tarmac is already starting to sizzle at Phnom Penh airport.

Heat hangs in the air like a smothering blanket. It is hours before noon, but the tarmac is already starting to sizzle at Phnom Penh airport.


Make No Little Plans

MICHIGAN AVENUE MAGAZINE

As the Metropolitan Planning Council celebrates its 80th Anniversary, president MarySue Barrett steps up her quest to foster Chicago's development.

As the Metropolitan Planning Council celebrates its 80th Anniversary, president MarySue Barrett steps up her quest to foster Chicago's development.


The Commemorator

St. Louis magazine

It was once known as the Gumbo Flats. Rich with silt from the spoils of the Missouri River flood plain, the prized fertile land turned into a muddy gumbo when it rained or the water overflowed the river's banks. Mixed into a gravel-like substance, t…

It was once known as the Gumbo Flats. Rich with silt from the spoils of the Missouri River flood plain, the prized fertile land turned into a muddy gumbo when it rained or the water overflowed the river's banks. Mixed into a gravel-like substance, the earth here helped pave the streets of Forest Park for the 1904 World's Fair and Olympic Games in St. Louis. Farm fields and the former "Gumbo Jail" have given way to the longest outdoor strip mall in America and Spirit of St. Louis Airport.

Tucked next to the runways are a white farmhouse and barn that have been converted into an art gallery and a working foundry where bronzes are cast alongside other artistic endeavors. It is as easy to miss as it is to find...


Through 20 years and countless miles, Harley Fleming gets riders where they're going.

Through 20 years and countless miles, Harley Fleming gets riders where they're going.


Pretty As a Picture

MICHIGAN AVENUE MAGAZINE

Brothers Maurice and Seymour Zeldman emigrated from Russia to Chicago as teenagers, and the budding photographers didn’t waste any time pursuing their American dream, combining their names to open Maurice Seymour Studio on top of the St. Clair Hotel…

Brothers Maurice and Seymour Zeldman emigrated from Russia to Chicago as teenagers, and the budding photographers didn’t waste any time pursuing their American dream, combining their names to open Maurice Seymour Studio on top of the St. Clair Hotel in 1929.


It's Bieber Fever

Teen Sensations Magazine

He's shut down Paris and New York. He's danced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and sung for President Obama. By now you all know his name. Justin Bieber.

He's shut down Paris and New York. He's danced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and sung for President Obama. By now you all know his name. Justin Bieber.


A writer gets thrown into the apartment shark tank.

A writer gets thrown into the apartment shark tank.


Treasure Diving

Boys' Life magazine

There are estimated to be more than 200,000 treasure-laden shipwrecks in the world.

There are estimated to be more than 200,000 treasure-laden shipwrecks in the world.


Rev. Erik Christensen clutches a 64-ounce Diet Coke while a parishioner fixes a rusty slop sink—it’s a double Big Gulp kind of day for the pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square.

Rev. Erik Christensen clutches a 64-ounce Diet Coke while a parishioner fixes a rusty slop sink—it’s a double Big Gulp kind of day for the pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square.


Back in His Court

university of Chicago Alumni magazine

After suffering a tennis-related injury in college, back expert Brian Hainline prevents pain from sidelining the pros.

After suffering a tennis-related injury in college, back expert Brian Hainline prevents pain from sidelining the pros.


Nate Berkus 

TODAY'S CHICAGO WOMAN