September 30th, 2023

      I spent the last hour sitting on my balcony watching the Harvest Moon settle across the morning sky. An occasional car passes by between five and six o’clock. Just wisps of clouds floating with the stars twinkling sparsely in the air.

Like today’s quote suggests…. Take the quiet time to let your soul expand. Tomorrow is the first day of the month. A transitional month that begins with warmer temperatures and somewhat longer days.

….but the shadows are growing long and the end of the month will bring brisk breezes and grayer days. The leaves will no longer bring green colors to the trees. October is the month to harvest your life and prepare for the coldness of winter.

Start expanding your soul.

Last night George was in his room playing war games with Mathew Broderick, Hazel was taking a bomb bath courtesy of Hilary soaps and Fritz and I sat in the living room listening to Dave Brubeck and then Miles Davis.

Fritz is the middle child. Quiet most of the time, but witty when he finds the right opportunity. Years ago I nicknamed him “The Glue” because as the middle child he’s been given the role to hold things together.

We talked about the first month of high school. We talked about improv, high school girls, music, gaming and family.

I came to realize that my charming son is trying to hold things together in his mom’s life. He said it would probably be easier to live in Riverside with George and me, but Mom needs him. He has taken it upon himself to be that steady breeze in a chaotic world.

I got up to refill his root beer. Hard bop jazz and root beer go hand in hand. As the Barq’s filled his cup I felt a rush of pride in The Glue. He is learning that love is unconditional.

His soul is expanding more and more each day. Just like the shadows will expand across the October meadow.

Enjoy this gorgeous weekend you Chalkheads. There is a good chance we won’t experience another weekend in the eighties until late next spring.

Expand your soul today!

Put some pork on the grill. Some love between the sheets and hold the door open for old people.

… and don’t forget to put the smile on the sun!

Oh and it is National Love People Day. That should probably be everyday, but that doesn’t work out so well. All we need is love, love is all we need….

September 29th, 2023

      I came across a song Thursday evening that I haven’t heard in years. A local musician put on a show last night from his attic and played it… and he played it well.

I went back and listened to the original recording that came out about forty years ago. Then I listened to the singer/songwriter play it throughout the years.

The magic of YouTube.

Then I decided to write a lyric from the song on the Morning Chalkboard.

Just another example of how music triggers memories. I thought of memories from forty years ago when I heard this song last night, but now it has a connection to the end of September in twenty-twenty-three…

The song has the same words today as it did when I was a senior in high school. I heard those words when I was seventeen, but the lyrics have more meaning now that I’m in my fifties. All songs are like that.

They make a memory to cling to and then grow with you through the years.

Tonight is the Harvest Full Moon. It is the end of the month and the end of the third quarter.

The beginning of October has a forecast similar to the end of August.

So take it while you can.

September 28th, 2023

      The first express train into the city rumbles quickly through Riverside around 4:54 in the morning. I’m usually finishing up getting dressed for work when the tracks rattle.

I am making good time if I’m sitting on the edge of the bed putting on my shoes when the train passes. I’m running late if I’m still in the shower.

The morning train has more meaning than pushing me out the door and off to work. That was the train that I caught when I lived west of Mannheim Road. It picked me up around 4:48, made one more stop and then expressed to Union Station. Arriving about twelve minutes past five o’clock.

Sometimes when I hear it today, it reminds me of my morning routine from another era. A routine where I had to be quiet not to wake three children and a wife. I had to take Molly for a walk and then drive my Suburban up to the train station.

The sound of the train racing through town helps me in the present and reminds me of the past.

Today’s quote is by Existentialist, Albert Camus. He believed if we stop fighting against the past or worrying about the future, we can accept who we are. What we are doing at the moment is what is important. The present is the only known truth.

There once was a day when I was on that train listening to Spotify and reading the Tribune. Not knowing at the time when the Riverside Water Tower flashed past the train window, it would someday be my home.

All that matters now is when that train is racing through Riverside, I better be heading into my workday.

I have no clue what I’ll be doing in the future when that train passes through in the morning. I could hope and I could daydream where I’ll be when that day comes. Until then… I will settle into the harmony of knowing that today is a damn good day.

For you Cure fans, the song “Killing an Arab” off the “Boys don’t Cry” album is based from the Camus book, “The Stranger.” We try to educate you at The Morning Chalkboard.

Seems like we are in a pattern of gloomy days this week. Today is going to be a great day. Perfect for a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato basil.

Today is also National Beer drinking Day. Make mine a Lowenbrau.

Even though it might be cloudy… don’t stop putting the smile on the sun!

September 27th, 2023

        I’m not going to put the cart in front of the horse just yet, but I woke up thinking about Christmas movies.

I’m pretty good about waiting until after Thanksgiving dinner before I watch the first one. Usually “Miracle on 34th Street” because it starts out at the Macy’s Parade.

I always try to listen for the first Christmas Carol on 93.9. They start every season with the Mariah song, which I don’t hate.

My favorite Christmas movie is “The Bishop’s Wife” with Cary Grant. My favorite Christmas Carol is “Merry Christmas Baby” by Charles Brown.

But it all starts on Thanksgiving morning when I play my annual Thanksgiving album, George Winston’s “December.”

I know, I know…. I’m getting way ahead of myself!

We just celebrated EWF day and I’m already thinking about rocking around the Christmas tree.

Let get over this humpday and slide into the last weekend of September.

Let’s cherish tonight’s sunset before it becomes the afternoon sunset in about five weeks.

Happy Wednesday Chalkheads!

September 26th, 2023

      I wrote the sunrise and sunset times down and realized that today is the last twelve hour day of sunlight until next March.

Hello darkness my old friend…

Nice way to start today’s Morning Chalkboard… with a firm kick to the throat!

I pray a shit ton everyday…. yes… I swore in a sentence about praying. I pray in a blunt Chicagonese accent to heaven in the morning, during the day and right before bed.

Papa God will lay down an F-bomb at me on occasion. Jesus loves calling me a jag off when I don’t act like he does. The Holy Spirit will scare the living crap out of me when I’m being devilish. My mom kind of ignores me when I swear during prayer and my dad doesn’t even notice.

Having both my parents in heaven has given me more opportunity to communicate with God. I haven’t personally met anyone from the Holy Trinity yet, so I’ve always been a little hesitant in the past. My parents have broken the ice for me.

That made me just realize. On the day I die, it’s going to be like a blind date. I’ve never met Jesus and his Oldman. Never met their Ghost buddy either.

I think if Jesus asks me what I want to do on our blind date, well… it’s gonna be one helluva night.

I’d like to start out with dinner at a nice tapas restaurant with him, his mom and all his Jewish buddies. Then hit up a Louis Armstrong show featuring Billie Holiday. Maybe grab a quick burger at Gossage Grill after the show.

Go see Don Rickles open up for Mr. Sinatra.

Follow that up with a visit to George Harrison’s garage for a Beatle’s jam session. Head over to Maxwell Street for a Polish and then have Saint Peter drop me off at my mom’s.

Id like my mom to tuck me in on my first late night in eternal rest.

Back to the praying thing.

Who would have ever thought that a big mouth arb clerk from the bond room would be a prayer kind of guy.

I’m not one of those Bible thumping know-it-alls. I’m not a Holy Roller either. It just makes me feel better about myself when I’m praying for all you guys and the crap that you deal with in your lives.

It also keeps me from grieving the loss of my parents. How can I grieve that my parents died if I’m talking with them constantly?

My dad lived In Pennsylvania his last ten years of life and my mom lived in Indianapolis. I see them more since they moved to heaven than when they lived within driving distance. No need to grieve if that is the case.

A couple of you asked me to pray for something yesterday…. Done!

My Oldman told me not to worry so much about the bullshit that you are dealing with. He said he talked to Jesus and Jesus told him not to fucking worry about a thing. His Pop has your ass covered.

I just pictured Jesus and my Oldman standing there in heaven. Like a couple mobsters under surveillance. Their hands cupping their mouths as they pray.

Jesus leans over,

“Tell your son that my Dad has this shit covered. Not to worry about a fucking thing!”

Then my dad muffles through his hand into Jesus’ ear,

“My son really appreciate everything that youse guize do for him! He’s a good fucking Christian Soldier.”

Jesus puts his hand on my dad’s shoulder and winks,

“He’s a good earner. The God Father is proud how well he pisses Satan’s crew off on a daily basis.”

So I’ll end today’s Morning Chalkboard with some Stanley Kirk Burrell.

“We need to pray just to make it today!”

September 25th, 2023

         It is the last Monday of the month and the first full week of autumn.

The leaves have lost their pillowy sound with every passing breeze. The autumn gust of air crackles across the tired tree pedals. The final hurrah of exploding colors before the autumn teardrops fall from their limbs.

The short pants drawer has become the sweater drawer. It’s time to prepare for the long winter nights.

Who am I bullshiting here?

I’m no Robert Frost, I’m more Mike Royko.

Get ready for slush and potholes. The White Sox are finishing their worst season as the Bears are beginning their path to last place. I’m ready for the Blackhawks to take the ice as they continue their era of mediocrity.

It’s time to beat the crap out of the crock pot. It’s time to go to Chernin's and pick out your new winter boots. Don’t forget to grab the ice scraper out of the hall closet and put it in your trunk.

The one thing that reminds me that Summer is over and winter is approaching happens on my bathroom shelf. The GoldBond gets replaced by the Vicks Vapor Rub. Just like my summer powder, I put that stinky goo all up and down my big body.

Under my nostrils, behind my earlobes, across my sternum, along the small of my back and on the bottom of my feet. Just make sure you have tube socks ready to wear.

Don’t worry, before you know it I’ll be talking about buying bug spray, sunscreen and more GoldBond. Until that lush spring day comes we will need to stack the firewood and find the rake.

Enjoy this last week of September and get your harvest into the barn.

…and for my Jewish Chalkheads. May today help you find peace and bring you closer together with Faith, Family and Friends.

Mazel Tov and may you be sealed in the book of life.

September 24th, 2023

   

      I was laying in bed around 3:30 in the morning of Saturday May 1st, 2022. It was a weekend when I didn’t have the kids and I was volunteering for Riverside Rocks later that morning.

Suddenly I hear someone walking down the hall to my bedroom,

“Dad? It’s me George!”

George jumped on his mother’s bike and road about eight miles starting at 2:30 in the morning. His mom bought that bike when she was in college so it has to be thirty years old. Balding tires low on air and no lights, but George’s determination got him home.

George ran away… he had enough of the emotional roller coaster and set off to Riverside. He hasn’t left from under my roof since.

Neither has that bicycle!

I’ve offered to get him a new one, but he insists to keep his mom’s bike.

Earlier in the year he took it to the guy over in the Riverside train station that repairs bikes. Peter, the owner of the shop tuned the bike up and has become buddies with George.

George, like his Oldman has the Shepley bootie. So he has become a recognizable character in Riverside.

He rides that bike all over. He rides it to his job at the Farmer’s Market. He rides it to take pictures of trains and the river.

And lately I’ve let him ride it over to school which is about three miles away. The school told George he must wear a helmet if he plans to continue to ride it to the school.

So George took it upon himself to get a new helmet.

Just like a year and a half ago, I was laying in bed, but this time it was three thirty in the afternoon.

From down the hallway,

“Dad? I need to tell you that I got a new helmet.

You need to pay Peter at the bike shop.”

Well not only did George get a new helmet… he also got a headlamp, a taillight and a new tire.

Now I’m into Peter for more than just a helmet. I went over to his shop “Gears 2 You” and paid George’s tab.

Peter told me how much he enjoys when George stops by the shop. Just another example how George and I are lucky we found a supportive home in Riverside.

Back to George’s bike that was actually still his mom’s bike.

I thought to myself, “why does George have such a strong feeling towards this bike”

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the one thing that keeps him tied to his mommy. I can count on both hands the amount of times George and his mom have met since May 1st of 2022. My mom is in heaven and I see her more often.

If that fucking bike gives George a piece of maternal warmth…. We will let Peter fix it up until the day George rides it into the ground.

Today’s Chalkboard quote is by Carl Jung. His idea was if we invest our energy into avoiding or denying our feelings, we prevent ourselves from moving forward.

So George is using his mom’s old bike to move forward. My son on the Spectrum is giving me a lesson on letting go and moving forward.

It’s been a gift to have him under my roof since May 1st, 2022. I just hope someday he and his mom can find a common ground.

Sunday Funday!

Enjoy your time between the Sunrise and Sunset. Last week of the month, last week of the third quarter and the Harvest full moon is this coming Friday.

Sixty days until my favorite holiday and about ninety days until I put on my red suit.

Have a fantastic week all you Chalkheads!

Don’t forget to put the smile on the sun!

September 23rd, 2023

       My Oldman had this saying, “It is a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it….”

He used this phrase whenever he met somebody that knew someone that he knew. The six degrees of separation.

I think about this when I scroll through my friend list on Facebook and see people that I know from different parts of my life…… that know each other.

Then I think…. If these people ever realize that they know me….will they tell John Shepley stories?

My dad also told me to learn how to make friends and to determine the difference between friends and acquaintances.

Facebook makes that hard to do. It was easy in 1993. Either you knew someone or you didn’t. Someone asked me the other day how I knew that guy. I told him, from Facebook.

If I told my dad that this guy was a good friend… he would ask me what the guy’s birthday is. If you don’t know a friends birthday than they are an acquaintance. Pretty good advice.

But Facebook makes that easy now!

When I get birthday greetings on Facebook, I tell myself that I’m going to make a point of wishing everyone a happy birthday. I’m good about it for about six weeks after my birthday, but six months after…. Not so good.

For years I would call my mom on my birthday at 11:51am and tell her that I love her. I was born just before midnight. Many of those calls when I was in my twenties happened after a ton of shots. Only a mom can appreciate getting drunk dialed on her child’s birthday.

My dad started losing friends and colleagues when he was about the age that I am now. He was pretty sad when I look back and think about it.

How quickly life goes from losing your first pet when you’re a child. Then you get to an age where you bury your grandparents, great aunts and uncles. The hard period of losing your parents comes next. That is the cycle where my age group is in right now.

The shitty news is that our older years will bring the loss of friends, acquaintances and colleagues.

Friends from high school. Colleagues from the trading floor. Friends you met when your kids went to school together. Kids that you played little league with and were Altar boys together.

Growing up you thought some of those people were jagoffs. Now that we are all older we realize that they are someone who has helped us paint the world smaller.

Like Johnny Cougar said forty years ago… hold on to sixteen as long as you can, changes coming real soon make us women and men.

Those changes came real fucking quick Mr. Mellencamp.

Today is the Fall Equinox. Equinox is a great Scrabble word. It’s also going to be a gorgeous day for a rugby match and an engagement party. I just got to take Betty to get her emissions tested first. Then I can enjoy the day.

Happy Saturday Chalkheads… Go paint the world with whatever color you have in your paint can.

September 22nd, 2023

    My dad graduated from Abraham Lincoln high school, Class of 1954. His fiftieth reunion was in October of 2004. It was two weeks after I returned from my honeymoon in Aruba.

ALHS is in Council Bluffs, Iowa which is located in western Iowa. Just across the river from Omaha, Nebraska.

My dad really wanted to go, but my evil stepmother didn’t want anything to do with it. I just got married a month before the reunion, so my Oldman was hesitant to ask me.

I think my dad needed some closure and to go back home for the last time. I bought an airline ticket to Omaha, rented a car and called my dad to tell him I was joining him for the Abe Lincoln, Class of 1954 Fiftieth Reunion.

I had only visited Council Bluffs a couple times as a kid. It’s an old railroad town that held many memories for my dad.

It was a long weekend that was filled with events for people in their late sixties….. and me.

Looking back at it know I’m glad that I went. My dad was glad that I went as well. It gave him the closure that he needed and a peace of mind that he was looking for.

My dad lived another sixteen years and he often brought up how great his fiftieth reunion was and how proud he was of me that weekend.

It’s that time of the year and the classes with three’s and eights have reunions coming up. The Class of ‘83 was a year older than me. It was a great class that got along well with the mighty Class of ‘84.

The guy I talk about often, John Wagner was in that class. I'm sure he’ll be there in spirit this weekend.

I have another dear friend in that class that is very hesitant about going. She’s a Chalkhead that will be reading this at some point this morning. Hopefully my ALHS Reunion story convinces her to attend the Cathedral High School, Class of ‘83 reunion.

It’s going to be a great night filled with memories, laughter, tears and maybe some closure.

We sure as hell didn’t know when we were eighteen that fifty-eight will be just as awkward.

It is and you’ll be fine!!!!

Can’t wait to see the pictures next week….

Let’s hope for some clear skies these next few days. Maybe pay attention to my sunrise and sunset times. It’s Chicago Henge weekend and the sun is perfectly lined up with the Chicago Grid. The sun will shine across the east/west streets in the city.

If you have a school reunion, attend it. If you have some marinating pork chops, grill them. If you have someone you love, hug them. If your football team sucks, support them. If God is in your life, Praise Him.

…And if your sun needs a smile, get out the chalk.

September 21st, 2023

    I’m trying to get acclimated to my new Wednesday pick up schedule. Hazel is at the middle school and Fritz is over at the high school now.

I scooped up Hazel and found Fritz and we started back to the other side of Mannheim Road. I needed to pick up dinner for George because he had to head back to work.

I drove over to the Culver’s on Ogden next to the old quarry off of 1st Avenue. We’ve been going to this location consistently since the move to Riverside. Often enough that the staff knows us well.

We’ve gotten to know a lady that works there named Dianna. I actually met Dianna when she worked at the CVS across from Tischler’s in Brookfield. She worked there when George was a toddler and Fritz a newborn. Her and George hit it off immediately.

Dianna isn’t a very healthy lady. She probably has had a tough life and it was obvious in her appearance. She carries a heavyset frame and her elbows are covered with psoriasis. Dianna always greets us with a huge smile. A smile that framed a few missing teeth.

No matter what kind of life Dianna went through, she was always kind and loving to her customers. So it was comforting to see her at Culver’s. She gave an awkward time in our life some familiarity.

I got up to the box and ordered George a hamburger and some fries. I could recognize Brendon’s voice and he knew mine.

We pulled around to the window to pay and there was a note on the glass. It had a three paragraph statement and a picture of Dianna.

Dianna passed away earlier this month.

I knew she was unhealthy and that she had been taking more time off recently. That’s how often we go to this Culver’s.

I started to tear up in front of Brendon, Fritz and Hazel.

I only knew this lady from a drug store and a fast food restaurant. I didn’t know her last name or where she lived. Dianna popped up here and there for the last fifteen years. She was that Eleanor Rigby that brought some joy into the world.

Hazel squeezed my hand as we waited for George’s fucking hamburger. Funny thing is Dianna always scared Hazel. Dianna would stick her big head out of the sliding partition and say, “hello kids! How is everyone doing?”

George would spout off everything going on in life. Fritz would say something witty, but Hazel would lean away and get shy.

The world is full of Dianna’s. They pop in and out of our daily routine with small roles to play. Our role is to respect them and give them purpose. My dad taught me that and I’m passing it along to the Shepkids.

I will miss Dianna’s hard featured presence at the Culver’s drive through.

When I handed George his dinner I told him the news.

“You’re kidding me? You’re kidding me dad? Right?

....That’s not something to joke about.”

Hazel assured George that I was serious, but also told him that Dianna isn’t sick anymore. Hearing that comforted George and made me proud.

On a happier note… today is EWF day.

Did you remember?

Today is the 21st day of September! Today is the day where our minds are changed. We can’t pretend about love. Because love chases the clouds away.

Today I’m going to move my body and glide like a seven forty seven ya’ll…..

Let Earth, Wind and Fire put the smile on the sun today.

Rest in peace dear Dianna.

September 20th, 2023

                                           Humpday

 

September 19th, 2023

      A close friend of mine kept nagging me about another friend of hers. Recently divorced with two boys and a girl.

“Just like me!?!?”

Her friend is in her early fifties and lives a couple towns over.

Since the sudden move to Riverside six years ago, I’ve had several friends set me up with another of their other divorced friends. Most of the time I’ve come out of it with another divorced friend of my own. Most of the time…

I gave in and met this girl for a late lunch. We both walked into the restaurant at the same time. Now I figured this was her when she pulled up in one of those fancy battery issued kind of automobiles. The complete opposite of my precious Betty the Green Blazer.

Long story short…. We sat down, she ordered an ice tea and I ordered a manhattan.

Yes a manhattan!

I’m a trading floor alumni. We don’t follow that “it’s five o’clock somewhere” rule. Market closes at two o’clock, cocktails poured at two o five o’clock!

Blah, blah, blah…. Typical job interview date. Here is where the date turns south. She’s in her early fifties with age appropriate children. Two in college and one finishing high school. I’m in my mid fifties…. Okay… my later fifties and I have a daughter in fifth grade. Those numbers didn’t fit very well with Suit Pants Sally.

“I should probably tell you John that this is a red flag immediately for me.”

I’m thinking to myself, “Hazel is a red flag? Oh jeez… what would George be? A nuclear blast? How about Mellow Fritz? Maybe he gets away with a yellow card?”

Sitting at a table across from us are Don and Cecilia Shepley. So I better keep my cool with my parents popping down for the halibut.

“Maybe you should cut your losses, finish your ice tea and sail away in your “Tasella!”

(That’s how I pronounce Tesla.)

So she took a sip from her glass, crumpled up her napkin and pushed away from the table into the obsolete of life.

The waitress must have seen the end of my awkward date interview and rushed over to see if I was alright.

I explained that it was a first date set up by a mutual friend. Unfortunately it ended when I refused a hand job under the table. The waitress laughed and asked me if I was staying for lunch.

“Hell yes I’m staying…. I’ll have the ribeye, medium rare and another manhattan please!”

That poor lady drove her fancy car back to Fancyburg without no JumboLove. Probably better for her… my ten year old daughter would have chewed her up and spit her out.

“Hazel!!! When you spit out gristle at the table, you must be discreet and fold it nicely in the napkin before you place it under your lap! Never crumple it up and leave it on the table.”

…and so ends another adventure in the life of a Divorced Dad raising three crazy kids, yelling and screaming buys and sells for a living and driving a hunter green 1997 Blazer with a “I Love Hot Mom’s” bumper sticker.

The perfect sitcom for CBS. Sunday night after “Sixty Minutes,” the new show….

“Put the Smile on the Sun.”

September 18th, 2023

       The anxiety of early Monday mornings. Why would anyone get so anxious to start the week that they’d wake up at 1:17?

Well I did……..

Maybe I’m excited that today is National Cheeseburger Day?

Every year on National Cheeseburger Day I long for a Gossage, but Gossage has been closed for years. I always liked GoldyBurgers, but they haven’t been the same.

My Oldman use to make a pretty damn good cheeseburger. You could give my dad a pound or two of ground beef and he’d master it into a decent dinner.

I’ve got my mom’s KitchenAid mixer. I want to get the meat grinder apparatus and start making homemade ground beef. Most of the ground beef that you buy at the grocery is just ground up lips and assholes.

Maybe I’ll just pick up a sack of sliders? You know that James Earl Jones speech in “Field of Dreams?” He says that the one constant thing through the years is baseball.

This is true, but I’d include Sliders from White Castle on that list. I remember the first one that I ever had because I thought it was made perfectly for my little boy hands.

The two woman that I’ve fallen in love with both enjoyed a couple Sliders now and then. I need to add that to my profile on Bumble.

“Must appreciate a good Slider and not worry about farting in bed.”

I hope this Morning’s Chalkboard has made you hungry for a cheeseburger. I just realized it’s the First National Cheeseburger Day without Jimmy Buffet. Now I’m gonna need a Margarita with my Sliders….

Let me know your favorite cheeseburger joint and a good memory attached to the bun.

At this point, I might as well wait to see if my mom shows up on her Angel Number this morning. It’s about 2am, so I’ve got about 22 minutes.

Have a fanfuckingtastic week… Autumn starts, but more importantly…Thursday is EWF Day.

Love was changin' the minds of pretenders, While chasin' the clouds away. Now do you remember?

September 17th, 2023

    The other night I picked up a pizza for the boys that was still in the oven. So I stuck my head in the restaurant and saw a guy that I’ve gotten to know well since moving to Riverside.

He looked tired and warn out. I sat next to him and was greeted with a Ho Hum Hello…. Usually I get a huge smile, a firm handshake and sometimes a hug.

I asked him how things were going and he told me that his son was about to get out of the hospital after another unexpected visit. This gentleman and his wife have a son who has had a condition since he was very young. The condition has involved many visits to the hospital and the young man is limited to a wheelchair.

Actually I feel horrible using the word “limited” in that last sentence. This beautiful boy is a passionate part of the Riverside community. In a way he has made the town stronger.

I sat with this boy’s worrisome father and listened to the latest bout with illness. I watched him hurriedly eat his dinner so he could get things ready for his son’s return home.

My pizza was finished baking and I left my Riverside friend to finish his supper. As I walked over to Betty the Green Blazer I asked my dad to do something for this family. Just steps from Betty I found a dime placed perfectly on the brick sidewalk.

Many of you know my mom leaves me dimes from heaven. I always find them at the most opportune times. I’m thinking after my brief encounter with my friend… that this was an ideal time.

I’m pretty confident my parents are helping the family that I’m talking about this morning. The power of prayer and our Faith is a strong force.

There is a good chance the mom and dad of the beautiful boy are reading this entry. They are both Chalkheads.

Your son puts the smile on the sun everyday. God has given you a tough go, but nobody could do it any better. You have been chosen to unwrap this gift and share it with all of us. Your rocking and rolling child has made the world Mo Betta'.

I’m a firm believer that it takes a village, but you must know that you have given the village so much more in return.

I hope this Chalkboard lifts you up and gives you the strength to keep unwrapping God's gift.

Today is Sunday Funday. We have World Cup Rugby, football on the gridiron and bacon ready for breakfast. I’m gonna make a pot of coffee and listen to the rain.

Summer ends this week…. Now you can have your damn pumpkin spice latte.

September 16th, 2023

        I picked Hazel up last night around nine fifteen in front of her middle school. Her fifth grade class had an outdoor adventure field trip up in Wisconsin.

She was dragging her feet when she walked from the bus over to Betty the Green Blazer. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but her face smiled brightly.

Her school is about five miles from my house and that entire trip was filled with exciting stories and instant memories. From zip lines, to hiking, to s’mores by the campfire .

I learned that bus drivers that wear ties mean that it’s a fancy bus. That poor bus driver had to listen to a flurry of ten year old girls singing Taylor Swift songs the entire way home.

In her elation I heard a different voice coming from my daughter. A confident voice, a more grown up voice. Hazel was articulating the whole way back to Riverside with a new strength. The experience she brought home was an immediate change that I was lucky to get to see.

I got Hazel home and she was showered and asleep down the middle of my bed within twenty minutes. Friday was the longest and busiest day my baby girl has probably seen.

I grabbed a pillow and headed to the couch. I get to hear all this excitement again this morning when she tells Fritz and George. Fritz will listen, George won’t care. I love these weekends when I have all three Shepkids.

I jotted down the first sunset before seven o’clock on today’s Chalkboard. There won’t be a sunset after seven until Saint Patrick’s Day next year. I think it’s time to pick up some mums for the balcony.

We have World Cup Rugby, college football and Oktoberfest's to visit today. It’s supposed to be an overcast day in Chicagoland.

Just cause I couldn’t put a sun up on the board doesn’t make today sad. Go put some gusto into the world and treat yourself to an indulgence. You deserve it!

September 15th, 2023

 The other day Fritz asked me why there are so many Mexican flags flying on top of cars lately.

I explained to him that the Mexican Independence Day is coming up over the weekend.

“But I thought that was what Cinco de Mayo was supposed to be dad?”

I then explained to him that the one in May is the victory over France and the one in September is the victory for independence over Spain.

Now here is where I go deep Cliff Clavin on all of you Chalkheads.

In the middle of the 1800’s when many Irish migrated to America they arrived to extreme racism for being Catholics. The Irish men would get off of the boat and get forced into the U.S. Military immediately.

The Irish soldiers were treated poorly during the Mexican-American War, so they deserted. Many of them joined the Mexican Army where they were treated favorably.

The Mexicans were mostly Catholic and that gave the Irish an even stronger bond with Mexico. The Irish soldiers were named The San Patricios or The Saint Patrick Battalion.

At one point there were seven hundred Irish fighting in the Mexican Army. The Saint Patrick Battalion was responsible for several victories during the war. The San Patricios were celebrated in Mexico for their bravery and commitment. Something they would have never received fighting for the United States.

Eventually many of them were caught. The majority of them were hung and several of the leaders convicted for desertion. The funny thing is most of the Irish soldiers never even had a chance to become citizens before they were forced to enlist.

Like many ugly stories in American history, the legends of the Saint Patrick Battalion has been forgotten. Next March and next May when you’re celebrating your Irish and Mexican heritage…. Bring up the story of when the Irish and Mexicans fought side by side against America.

While we are on the subject of hatred in America, we might as well give a shout out to our Jewish brothers and sisters. Tonight is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. May your love of family and faith in God make your bonds stronger.

L’chiam!

The week is drawing to a close and September is halfway over. I will be celebrating my Mexican heritage with a burrito from El Famous. I will be celebrating my Jewish heritage with a medley from “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Never forget to… “Pon la sonrisa en el sol” or “להעלות את החיוך על השמש.”