Comedy of Errors: Shakespeare for Children

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater was kind enough to provide complimentary tickets for me to bring my family to the opening day of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. While I usually dread going to Navy Pier because of the steep parking tab, I jumped at the opportunity to introduce Eva, age 7, and Charlie, age 4, to Shakespeare. Even though I have a degree in English Education and therefore have studied and taught Shakespeare, I could not recall this particular play. No matter, the synopsis is provided in the program. Just before the performance was to begin, I read and explained the story to Eva. When she responded with a, “huh?” I became worried and told myself that since it was a mere 75 minutes long, it would not matter so much if she understood it. As for Charlie, I just prayed he would be able to sit still and behave.

As soon as the performance began, the laughs came simultaneously and my anxiety quickly disappeared. This play had it all — slapstick physical comedy, romance, jugglers, cross-dressing, and drama. Yes, I did have to lean over to Eva a couple of times to explain, “You see, she thinks he is her wife, but he is really the wife’s husband’s twin brother, ” and, “No, the two servants have the same name and they look alike.” She really seemed to get the hilarity surrounding confusing the lookalikes. As for Charlie, my four-year-old, I don’t think he understood one bit of the story, but he enjoyed it on his own level nevertheless. He laughed at all the right times. When I asked him to tell me his favorite part, he exclaimed, “All of it!” As for Eva, she liked the mustached man dressed up as the wife of one of the twin brother servants (Strangely, this was my husband’s favorite part as well). As befitting a children’s performance, the lights go up after the show and the audience is encouraged to ask the cast members any questions they may have. Following that, the cast members mingle with the audience in the lobby.

I was especially amazed that the children did not complain about the Shakespearean language. Before the show officially began, one of the actors wisely “warned” the audience that the language would seem difficult at first but to give it a chance and rely on the context instead of getting hung up on understanding every little word. During our lunch following the show, I asked the children whether they had trouble understanding what the actors were saying. They looked at me curiously and answered with a resounding, “No!” I’m so happy that this was their first experience with Shakespeare. They had fun! When I told them that William Shakespeare was one of the greatest storytellers of all time, I think they really believed me. Try telling that to a group of high schoolers faced with reading the stuff and you get a room full of eye rolls. Oh, and as for that supposedly steep parking tab, the theater validates and it only came to $14.40. Thank you Chicago Shakespeare Theater!

Of Course We Didn’t Get the Olympics

Picture after picture of Chicago fans with their mouths dropping open seemed so ridiculous to me. Our city is in crisis! The following is actually a comment I posted to my fellow Chicago Moms Blogger, Miss Lori’s article, Dead Children Walking. I was so worked up over it. Then I decided I liked what I said so much that I wanted to post it here too. You should read what she says about the terrible tragedies that have befallen our inner-city youth. My response was:

I remember volunteering at a charter school in Pilson and one of my duties was to stand outside to usher the teenagers in so that there was no loitering outside the school. “Loitering makes them targets for drivebys,” I was told. Believe me, my heart beat a little faster every time a car drove by during that half hour. I can’t imagine what these children go through every day walking around the neighborhood. The very fact that people (Daley especially) were “shocked” that we didn’t get the Olympics proves that most people, while they are quick to say, “Oh isn’t that a shame about all those young people dying?” Really don’t understand the severity of the problem. Of course we didn’t get the Olympics! While to the naked eye from all the cool tourist spots like Millenium Park, the Museum Campus, and Oak Street Beach, we look like the perfect city on the lake, we simply can’t hide the ugly truth about our children any longer. Generations have been and are growing up without parental involvement. We can’t put all the blame on the teachers, as those in the past like Valis and Duncan liked to do. We can’t rally the parents, because they are too busy struggling with addiction, poverty, lack of health care and gangs to pay attention to whether their young one has clean underwear or has a bedtime story to read. However, we can’t throw up our hands and give up! Something drastic and radical has to be done. If it means year round schooling with longer school days just so we can give the kids a few hours of supervised play on a playground, a place to do laundry and a decent dinner before sending them home to bed, then it has got to be done. Maybe we need boarding schools? If the parents won’t parent, then we’ll have to do it. Of course all of this would be very expensive, but if we don’t pay for it now, believe me, we’ll all pay for it later.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The whole family went to a baseball game out in Schaumburg, Illinois. Read about our wonderful time and why it doesn’t matter whether you are a Sox or a Cubs fan, and why you should take your family to a Flyers game at Chicago Moms Blog here.

Family Time to Lift My Spirits

Gadget Man has been off of work this week on vacation and since Eva started second grade on Wednesday, we decided to take Charlie on a family of three outing to the Shedd Aquarium in the big city. We were happily surprised to find a “dress rehearsal” of Fantasea, their new dolphin show which is so much more than a dolphin show now. Gone are the “don’t litter” lectures and the endless blabbing on of the marine biologists. What they have done is quite magical. Gadget Man and I speculated someone consulted Disney for this new show. Costumes, lights, a boat which flies across the pool and umbrella toting divers dressed in dolphin outfits appear a la Mary Poppins style and drop into the water unexpectedly. The belugas, hawks and penguins join the dolphins for this spectacular show. The only downer was a special pre-show film narrated by Bill Kurtis of how they had to fly the belugas to Connecticut for nine months while the the Shedd was renovated. I can’t believe they couldn’t find or build something suitable and it was better to fly the whales on a plane! I guess I’ve been watching too much Whale Wars and I’ve really come to love those guys. When Fantasea officially comes out go see it!!!

Chicago Moms Blog Brunch Was Yummy!

Thank you to Cindy Fey and Kim Moldofsky for organizing our awesome Chicago Moms Blog brunch two weeks ago. The location, a luxurious party room in a posh downtown building, was perfect. The locally donated food sublime.   We had delicious cheese and nut selections from Pastoral Artisan (check them out for their cheese-making classes).  The pickled veggies and old-fashioned jams from the Jane Addams Hull House were colorful and yummy, and the Eli’s Cheesecakes simply decadent! Thank to all those companies who donated! A special thank you to Virginia Montgomery, a massage therapist with magic hands (and, as you can see on her website, quite a unique location for a massage)! Also, it was such a great idea to have all the guests bring books for donations to Bookworm Angels, a worthy cause indeed! Oh, and by the way, I just loved listening to my fellow bloggers read some of their posts and poems. I am humbled to be a part of such a talented group! I can’t wait to see you all again at our Blogher pre-party!

Jeremy Piven Called a Liar

I guess I should preface this by saying I have been a big fan of Jeremy Piven. Although he has made some terrible terrible choices in movies (PC U is one of them), his talent has always shined through. He makes that show Entourage. Gadget Man and I are constantly rewinding his one liners so we can see him perform them again. Anyway, he has gotten a ton of flack b/c he dropped out of his Broadway show due to mercury poisoning. Apparently, he used to eat sushi every day. Anyway, his producers didn’t believe him and are pursuing it through arbitration with the actors union.

Mercury poisoning from fish is well-documented. Pregnant and nursing women, as well as children have been advised to avoid certain fish for fear of this poisoning.

It is such a shame that we can’t trust our food supply. It is also a shame that Piven has to suffer through the stress of having to defend himself on top of the effects of the poisoning. I hope Piven will make something good come out of all of this and use his clout and celebrity to get our government to crack down on those poisoning our waters. Finally, all of this should serve a reminder to all of us (including myself): practice moderation; no good can come from eating one thing in excess every day.

Should I Go to D.C. for the Inauguration?

I was too chicken to go to Grant Park on Election night. It would have been so much easier than what I am contemplating now, going to D.C. for the Inauguration. My applications for tickets were denied. My request to Senator Durbin seemed to be denied the day after I applied. Just a couple of weeks ago, I heard from Jan Schakowsky, my Congressional Rep., who denied my application for tickets as well. In her email notification, she encouraged a ticketless attendance, explaining that the entire National Mall will be open to anyone without a ticket. I would have no problem finding a place to stay, I have many relatives and some friends who have already expressed their willingness to put me up. I would have to get Gadget Man to agree to take off work to watch the children. I have already planted the bug in his head, but he didn’t seem very enthusiastic.

The biggest problem I have is that I’m a bit squeamish around large crowds. The last time I was around a very large crowd (Stevie Wonder in Grant Park) I had a wonderful time once I found a place to put my lawn chair. However, walking in such a large crowd to enter and to exit the park, I nearly had a panic attack. There were people shoulder to shoulder on all sides of me and I was totally paranoid that one of those deadly stampedes could break out at any time.

Another problem I have is trying to figure out why I am so drawn to the idea of going. Is it just for bragging rights, so I can say, “I was there.” Wouldn’t I be able to see more and hear more if I watched it on television in the comfort of my own home? Chances are, I’d be watching it on a big screen out there anyway. But something is calling me. Perhaps it is a desire to be a part of something bigger than myself. To witness history, not just through my own eyes, but through the eyes of those who are just as willing to brave the crowds and the cold to be part of it all too?

School Lets Little Girl Try to Walk Home

This recent story in the Chicago Tribune had me angry and scared. Little Arejohnnae Powers was only six when her elementary school in Waukegan allowed her to wander off, failing to make sure she went home with her teenage sister, who had made special arrangements with the school to pick her up. This poor little girl was wandering the streets looking for her home for two hours before relatives found her. Understandably, she is traumatized. I know, I’ve gotten under some people’s skin for complaining about parents who leave their children home alone (see my post at Chicago Moms Blog). In this case, the child was neglected by her school. A school that deals with dismissing children every day and should have done better.

How often does it happen and how often can it happen that our little ones can fall through the cracks and be forgotten by school officials? I don’t know much about our elementary school’s pick up policy. For Kindergarten (a separate school in our district), the parents and caregivers lined up outside the door and waited while each child was dismissed one by one, paying careful attention to the notes on a clipboard listing authorized pick-up names. My six-year-old, now in first grade, takes the bus home. I have seen the chaos that comes just before dismissal. The “busers” as they are called, gather their coats and backpacks and head out for the back door where the buses wait. The children who are picked up are dismissed out the classroom door and are supposed to head for the front door, where they mill about, play on the playground, jump into waiting automobiles or are greeted by someone to walk them home. I think there are a few teachers watching this scene, but I don’t know how diligent they are.

I took Arejohnnae’s case as a chance to talk about school dismissal with Eva. I told her about the news article and asked her what she should do if she was told to walk home without me, her father, or her grandmother. She now knows that the best thing to do would be to walk right back into that school, go right to the office and tell them there is no one to pick her up and she will not go anywhere alone. I hope this never happens, but one never knows. Also, I hope Arejohnnae Powers feels safe again soon.

Toy Review: Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium

The Discovery Channel people were kind enough to let me and my family try out a cool toy from the Discovery Store: Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium. Oh my gosh is this amazing! If you program where you are on the earth, it will show you your night sky, in the comfort of your home. This is perfect for us, because we live way too close to Chicago to be able to see very many stars (not to mention the pollution and numerous cloudy days we have). It will also show you any night sky, from anywhere around the globe at any given time. There are tons of other things to do. You can look at the planets, the moon, and the constellations. You can use the night sky as a night light for relaxing or sleeping. The machine will automatically go off after an hour if you want it to, leaving the time aglow for when you awaken and need to glance at a clock.

Forget about the kids, Gadget Man and I were fighting over which thing to view first. He wanted to look at all the planets, while I wanted to see some of the constellations. He had it programmed and up and running in a few minutes and we could view the night sky all over the world.

Ok, now for the kids. We will be using this for years and years as they learn about space in science class and here at home (Gadget Man loves to look at the stars).

I would say the the one problem we have has to do with our own home, not the toy itself. It has to be very, very dark to get a crisp picture and the only really dark place we have is our basement. The basement has a few problems that are not “ideal” according to the instruction manual. First, it is not a dome or a square, it is an irregularly shaped room. Also, it is full of furniture, shelves, and knick knacks on the wall. Finally, our ceiling is that yucky porous (asbestos?) stuff of the drop down ceilings of decades ago, so it makes for a blurry picture. For our home, our new toy works best when the sun is down and we project on our bedroom ceiling. Sweet dreams, and thanks Discovery!

Oh Happy Day!

Yeah! Barack Obama won!!! I feel so relieved, so happy, so much safer. When I woke up in the morning after election day, I found myself singing — really! I was humming and singing all day (part of that might have have been from the nookie I got the night before). Around the neighborhood, people were happy, giving thumbs up, raising their arms in victory. In some ways, it feels surreal. I have been voting in every election since I turned 18. That’s 21 years. I feel like it has never gone my way. After all, the last campaign election I actually worked on was Paul Simon’s. I had pretty much lost my faith in humanity. I wasn’t optimistic about this year’s election. To coin a phrase, I didn’t have the “audacity of hope”. Frankly, if George W. could be elected for a second term, and then Palin could be nominated for V.P., anything was possible.

In many ways, I feel a vibe in our community that is directly opposite the vibe I felt when O.J. Simpson got acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and Ron Goldman (a childhood friend of mine). I was so resentful of the Black people I saw high-fiveing each other . I felt hurt by the suspicious looks I got from the African-Americans I worked with. The whole city of Chicago seemed to be on edge for a long time after that verdict. We were divided by color, and it hurt inside (I don’t want to stir up trouble again, I actually believed Mark Furman wrongly and unjustly planted evidence, but that Simpson was guilty just the same. No matter what, two people had died and I didn’t understand the joy anyone could feel over anything related to the situation).

My point is, it is so wonderful to live in a city united. A city ready to be protected by an intelligent, thoughtful, optimistic, charming and gorgeous (oh sorry, is that relevant?) new President of the United States. Thank you citizens of my country, you have renewed my faith in humanity. You have brought hope back in my heart.