Remember Their Sacrifice

Happy Halloween

Image via Wikipedia

A belated Happy Halloween to everyone from the Windy City. I’ve just arrived in Chicago for a couple of days. But before my plane took off this afternoon, I found myself swarmed with trick-or-treaters on Austin St. And I mean, swarmed! In case you missed it, there were tons of Harry Potters, Freddy Kreugers and a whole lot of characters I didn’t even recognize going from store to store today on Austin. I could barely move at one point there was such a crowd.

It seems this tradition of the retailers handing out candy to the kids keeps growing by leaps and bounds every year. It’s a really great event that is something to behold.

And now, with Halloween quickly fading into the past, the holiday season officially (or unofficially?) kicks off.

I find it kind of funny how these dates seem to keep moving earlier and earlier each year. Remember when the Christmas season didn’t begin until after Thanksgiving? That seems like ancient history.

Happy New Year !

Image by Templar1307 via Flickr

Eat Pray, Well Actually Just Pray

Need a place to worship this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?  How about the former home of the La Terrazza restaurant near the Midway Theater? It has been temporarily converted to a synagogue for the holidays. Now, that’s an innovative use of one of our abandoned storefronts!

Keeping Cool This Fourth

What better way is there to escape the heat today in Forest Hills, may I ask you, then taking in a flick at the Midway Theater?

Moving Out

July Fourth weekends, I guess, can be spent doing more than grilling and watching fireworks. For these guys, it’s about moving.

Water Fight in Forest Hills!

Wow, there really aren’t that many local Fourth of July activities here in Forest Hills. Why is that? I think that should change for sure.

Of all the ways folks celebrate the Fourth, there’s one event that I read about a few years ago that really stuck with me: A neighborhood water fight!

Now, before I get accused of promoting anarchy in the streets of Forest Hills, let me explain.

A sci-fi author I really like, Dan Simmons, says that each July Fourth the town where he lives in Colorado holds a public water fight. Anyone can join in. I don’t know all the details, but the way he describes it it sounds like they all have a great time. Here is the only link I was able to find with more information. It describes the one they held back in 2005: http://www.dansimmons.com/news/waterfight/july4_2005_waterfight.htm#

Not a bad idea. A crazy water fight on a street closed to traffic, then a softball game and then a block-party picnic. And maybe some fireworks later on to top things off? Not a bad way to spend a Fourth of July, huh?

Now would such a small-town event work in the big city? I think it would, after all, we here in FoHi have kind of a small town feel don’t we?