Ed Bachrach in last Saturday’s Tribune writes a wonderful, insightful essay on “10 reasons to see ‘Medium Cool,’ featuring real scenes of 1968 DNC.” He correctly calls the Haskell Wexler film the best Chicago movie/documentary ever made.
One suggestion I have for Bachrach is to point out Uptown as the neighborhood in which many scenes of the film take place and where a number of the actors, including 13-year-old West Virginia boy Harold Blankenship, lived. These Uptown children in the film were not professional actors; they were actual residents living and trying to survive in Uptown in the late 1960s.
— Fred Case, Chicago
A miracle made by many
On July 23, my daughter, newly married for only a year, received a call that her husband, who works installing windows, had a serious injury after getting cut with glass. He punctured an artery in his forearm; the glass deeply cut into his muscle. With arterial bleeding, you can bleed out in minutes.
I immediately put out a prayer chain, asking people I know from my Bible study and church, to pray. My son-in-law was rushed to the closest hospital. They couldn’t handle his injuries, so they rushed him to a second hospital that handled trauma, and he went into emergency surgery. He was in surgery for an hour. They were able to repair his punctured artery and his muscle, which was 75% cut into. He lost 20% of the blood in his body through all of this. The surgery was successful, and he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Two hours after surgery, my son-in-law walked out of the hospital to go home! This truly was a miracle, when we didn’t know if he would even make it.
I’m grateful for the kindness of friends and family praying during all this. For the quick efficiency and care by a friend and co-worker who was with my son-in-law when the accident happened. For the quick use of a tourniquet. For the hospital, staff and surgeon, who were more than just professionals, in doing their jobs.
Everyone had a part in this outcome, which is nothing short of a miracle, and I am grateful for the kindness and care of so many that day.
— Melody Vestuto, Elmhurst
Kindness as a celebration
This is a bit of a different approach to random acts of kindness but just as powerful and truly life-changing for anyone touched by this movement.
My friends lost their 21-year-old son eight years ago. To honor the goodness with which he lived his life, they began an organization called Selfless for Scott (S4S), whose mission is to enrich the lives of others. Every year on Scott’s birthday, they organize an “army” of more than 200 volunteers to do a huge community service project. The events are free of charge and are not fundraisers.
The events have ranged from partnering with a city high school to paint a huge mural in the school cafeteria (with the help of students) to throwing a gigantic carnival for children in foster care to working with the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation and Chicago Furniture Bank.
As I am writing this, I am getting ready to join them at Bernie’s Book Bank for a pop-up volunteer opportunity. Best of all is the number of days of what would be Scott’s age leading up to his birthday: Everyone everywhere is asked to do a random act of kindness each day! It culminates in the annual event, which is different every year. They are the most fulfilling, contagious, good-feeling and fabulous days.
This year, it will be 30 days leading up to Feb. 6. Readers are encouraged to join us with a little act of kindness each day. Even if it’s just smiling at a stranger.
Everything kind matters and makes a difference.
— Beth Gilford, Northbrook
Inspired by Illinois story
I am writing to thank the Tribune for a number of great articles that were reprinted in the Boston Herald. We in New England were blessed to have them; a really helpful article was by Denise Crosby: ˝It’s a ‘pride thing’: Three Aurora homeowners with developmental disabilities bond as roommates.˝ The article focuses on a successful model of shared homeownership in Illinois known as Project Ground Floor.
To be honest, I had been waiting a decade for such an article. As thanks for that article, I wanted to share good news about a few models of teaching personal finance that have worked well in New England. Why? Because going through life without an understanding of personal finance is really not an option anymore.
While working in high schools from 2000 to 2008, I was struck by the lack of understanding of mortgages by high school students. Later, while doing graduate coursework, I was a little surprised that very few college students understood mortgages and that very few graduate students understood them either. Since 2000, I had been writing about this, but a proper answer to the riddle appeared in a 2011 Boston Globe article by John Laidler about the SM.AR.T. program, sponsored by the Salem State University economics department.
Standing for ˝Save More. Act Responsibly. Thrive.,˝ the SM.AR.T. program is a one-day seminar. As the article noted, that seminar was absolutely packed. If anyone is surprised by that fact, they have not been paying attention. Many young people are under a lot of pressure and are truly hungry to improve their situation. For schools with limited time or on a tight budget, or both, this is a great model. The economics department at the storied state college also offers the Economics of Personal Financial Decisions as an elective course for economics majors, but that could the subject of another letter.
At the high school level, the Council for Economic Education makes a great contribution to teaching about personal finance by helping high school teachers choose the right materials. Most teachers have not been trained in how to teach personal finance, and being shown the right books is a great first step.
Thank you again for the Crosby article, and I hope the information here is of some use.
— Matthew J. Fraser, writer, Salem House Press, Salem, Massachusetts
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