May 31st, 2024

 Today is the last day of May. Five months have flown by as we find ourselves at the doorstep of the Summer of ‘24.

What are you going to remember when you look back at this summer?

Big George and I are starting the summer off with a quick trip to Indianapolis. We are going to jam together a shit ton of projects into a 25 hour period.

I am going to see a couple people I haven’t seen since the Reagan Administration. I might also see someone for the last time.

The main purpose is to see an uncle that was a large part of my youth. His birthday is Monday and we are going to visit with him on Saturday. He lives in a retirement home in Carmel. Like many of the brilliant people in our lives, he too is growing old with dementia.

So I’m going to go tell him that I love him. Let him know the positive impact that he had on young John Shepley and give him a JumboLove hug.

I’m going to tell my uncle how he made the Summer of ‘73, the Summer of’75 and the Summer of ‘78 a little more special.

That is how the Summer of ‘24 is going to begin for this somabitch.

Hopefully George can get a picture of my gramma’s house on Indianola. I wish the old Nickle Plate was still at Broad Ripple Park.

“Hey George… this is where I had my first beer and touched a boobie for the first time. Can you get a picture of it?”

George is going to experience his first Indiana pork tenderloin sandwich and capture a picture of me and my Uncle Chris.

Though I’m a Chicago boy true and true… for 25 hours, I’ll be back home again in Indiana.

May 30th, 2024

 All of my closest friends have or had great parents. Parents that engrained their children with integrity and love.

Integrity is taught at home, it is the gift of a moral compass and strong principles.

A person who has integrity uses it more when others are not around to notice. Integrity is an inherent value that shows up with honesty and hard work.

That is what I get from today’s quote.

I left the window open and it is brisk outside of the blankos. The moon has about fifty percent of its glow as it crawls across the southern sky.

I put a huge smile on the sun today. It’s going to be a gorgeous day, the last Thursday of the month.

Find a sprig of mint for your cocktail tonight and be astonished.

May 29th, 2024

 I think today’s quote is trying to tell us that life is unpredictable. Most of the occurrences we experience are out of our control, but it is those things that throw us off of our game.

Like Joel once said in a college interview, “If there is one thing I’ve learned through the years. Sometimes you just gotta say, ‘What the Fuck, make your move.’”

Don’t let the things we can’t control ruin your Wednesday. When something shitty happens today, just think….

…if this is the worse thing to happen to me today? It is still going to be a good day!

Yesterday, first day of summer, Big George was doing his thing and an illegal clipped the back of his bike coming out of a parking lot.

George is okay, but the bike is fucked.

“Hey George… if this is the worse thing to happen to you today, it is still going to be a great day!”

Today’s lesson: look out for minivans stuffed with Guatemalans!

Life is a lesson, not a task…

….live and learn, buy an umbrella for rainy days and keep on groovin’

Today is going to be gorgeous in Chicagoland. Be astonished, not all of us are Ivy League….

“Looks like the University of Illinois!”

May 28th, 2024

 I’ll never understand what Mick Jagger was talking about…

To this day I don’t think I have found a logical explanation.

Anyway….

Time to get back in the groove and get the summer rolling.

There is a smile on the sun, but it might not last too long.

Be astonished…

May 27th, 2024

 My mom had a younger cousin that died in Vietnam. Whenever Vietnam was on the news, she would remind us that she had a cousin that died in Vietnam and then she would start praying.

This guy would have been my second cousin and was probably around twenty when I was born. I heard his name constantly as a kid, but can’t remember it to save my life today.

His gramma was my great gramma and she lived in an old farm house in Greensburg, Indiana. She lived to be 101 and we visited her often during my youth. Her front room had ugly old wallpaper and portraits of my relatives hanging everywhere. The one picture set aside from all of the others was my second cousin who died in Vietnam.

I can’t think of this kids name.

Most of the people who knew him, who loved him are all together in heaven.

The house in the small Indiana town was sold years ago. The smell of pipe tobacco gone and all of the pictures packed away.

Even though I can’t remember my cousin’s name and I can’t call my mom to ask her…

…his memory lives in my heart.

Not the memory of knowing him because he died when I was a toddler, but the memory of how he was missed and how my family mourned his loss.

My second cousin would be in his late seventies or early eighties, “if some gook in a rice paddy didn’t shoot him.” He’d be waiting to die of old age with his middle aged kids looking in on him. I would have bumped into him at family gatherings, weddings and funerals.

Maybe my older second cousin would have played catch with me when we drove down to visit in Greensburg? Maybe we would have sat on the porch swing at Gramma Stier’s house? Maybe sharing stories of surviving enemy fire in Vietnam? Maybe he would have been my confirmation sponsor?

My second cousin never did any of these things. He never flipped bratwurst on the grill or handed me a cold beer out of his ice bucket. He wasn’t at my graduations or my mom’s funeral either…

…but the Hoosier with the big ears and the skinny neck will always live in my memory.

I’m going to listen to patriotic music this morning. I do it every Memorial Day because that was what my dad did. He cried when the bugle played “Taps” and he would make everyone stand quietly with hand on heart if our “National Anthem” played.

Yesterday before the biggest spectacle in racing, I did the same thing. I cried during “Taps” and the Archbishop’s prayer and I made the Shepkids stand during our National Anthem. I’m just as fucking crazy as Grampa Don.

That is how we do things over here. We worship Jesus, we raise the flag and we give respect to those who sacrificed their lives for this great country….

Be astonished and put the smile on the sun today.

May 26th, 2024

 It’s Sunday funday… there are sausages to be cooked. Watermelons to cut up and beer to get iced down. Apple pies to get baked and potato salads to make.

There is baseball, rugby and an automobile race today.

There is family and friends to spend time with and Memorial Day memories to be made.

I’m going to keep today’s Morning Chalkboard simple.

…and end it with song lyrics.

“Summertime

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy's rich

And your ma is good-lookin'

So hush, little baby

Don't you cry

One of these mornings

You're going to rise up singing

Then you'll spread your wings

And you'll take the sky

But 'til that morning

There's a'nothing can harm you

With daddy and mammy standing by.”

Be astonished…..

May 25th, 2024

    Yesterday was humbling for me.

I’ve made it no secret that my oldest son is on the autistic spectrum. It took me years to take my canoe out of the river of denial, but once I accepted it, I became a better man and definitely a better father.

Since I chalk about parenting and autism, I have had many Chalkheads come out and support me. I’ve also experienced many that are in the same boat that I am in and appreciate my frankness and openness.

The first lesson in humility….

I want to give a shoutout to those dedicated to special education.

George graduated yesterday in an abandoned Catholic school that is rented out by the local organization that supports students with disabilities, LADSE.

Nine students were in his graduating class. Nine special needs students, nine families of special needs students and a group of dedicated teachers and staff.

Teachers and staff that were emotional as they sent their students into the world. I witnessed the passion that these educators possess. I witnessed the love that they have for George and George’s eight classmates. All of them touched nine different ways with a special gift from God.

I left that gymnasium a little sad that these incredible people won’t be nurturing my son any longer.

So, with my biggest trading floor voice…. I give a shout out to Special Education Teachers. They are a unique breed, gifted with the patience and dedication to making the world better.

Now for my second humbling experience yesterday……

The lunch after graduation.

We went to George’s comfort place that just happens to be his father’s happy place, Shanahans. It was just yesterday when George hit his head on the corner of the booth. He still has the small gash mark near his hairline.

We walked in and our family friend, Diane was working. She had two huge “Class of 2024” balloons waiting for George on the infamous table where George whacked his head fifteen years ago.

The lunch included George, his brother, his sister, his godmother, his JoJo and his mom. This was the first time in many years that George and his siblings sat for a meal with both of their parents.

I give George’s mom a shit ton of credit. She came into a restaurant on my side of Mannheim Road.

The tension was thick and the talk was small, but when it was all said and done. Shanahans again created another memory, another turning point, another chapter change.

We sat at a table that my dad once sat in. Next to a room where we had our rehearsal dinner. A room where my dad pulled me to the side and said, “Tomorrow, when you marry this girl.. you marry her family and they will be in your life for a very long time.”

Those words haunted me as I settled up with Diane and we gathered our things to leave.

Here I was again with my mother in law and her daughter twenty years later.

My dad was right afuckingain…

There will be many more special events in the future that will bring us together. Let’s hope they happen on the high road that leads to great memories.

When I walked back to Betty the Green Blazer, I turned around and watched my former wife walk the other way. I thought about our third date when we were leaving Shanahans. I walked her to her car which was parked by a flower bed next to the Forest Park bank. I gave her a kiss goodnight and suddenly she took two steps back and rugby tackled me into the flowerbed. That was in October of 2000.

Twenty four years later and here we are back at the scene with our firstborn on the day he graduated from high school.

I will never understand the turns on the path of life, but I will continue gripping the wheel and looking ahead….

…..only using the rearview mirror if there is a good memory in view.

How many of you know what “143” stands for? I just learned about it this morning. I’m going to use it more often.

Go be astonished!

The sky is starting to get blue. The lions are roaring on the other side of the river and I didn’t get rugby tackled yesterday by George’s MomMom.

It is going to be a good day.

May 24th, 2024

I think you can figure out what the first song on the radio was this morning.

I have many subjects to chalk about, but I’m going to keep it simple.

I’m laying in bed listening to the birds under a sky lit by a full moon and the first reach of daylight.

I don’t have to make a school lunch this morning and I’m taking the day off from work. I rarely do that, but today I’m going to skip the market and watch my firstborn graduate from high school.

Most people my age watch their children graduate from college or get married.

I’m not most people….

It’s going to be a good weekend. George graduates, the Pacers are going to start a winning streak, the Shepkids will all be in Riverside, it’s race weekend and Monday is Memorial Day.

I don’t care what political party you belong to.

I don’t care if you support Ukraine, Israel or hamxs.

I don’t care if your heritage is Irish, Italian, Mexican, Polish, Puerto Rican, Croatian, German or British.

I don’t care if you don’t want to be tread on or if you can’t breath.

I don’t care if you’re a Cubs fan, a Sox fan or an Illini fan.

This weekend we honor all U.S. military personnel who have died or were wounded while protecting our right to fly any flag we want on the side of our house.

This weekend make that flag the Star Spangled Banner.

Let’s all come together and give thanks to the American military personnel that sacrificed for our safety.

And be astonished, and be kind, and be horny, and be stuffed with brats, and be giddy upped by a Pilsner beer, and play your music cranked to eleven, and cry when you hear a bugle play “Taps.”

‘Merica…. Fuck yeah!

I think you can figure out what the first song on the radio was this morning.

I have many subjects to chalk about, but I’m going to keep it simple.

I’m laying in bed listening to the birds under a sky lit by a full moon and the first reach of daylight.

I don’t have to make a school lunch this morning and I’m taking the day off from work. I rarely do that, but today I’m going to skip the market and watch my firstborn graduate from high school.

Most people my age watch their children graduate from college or get married.

I’m not most people….

It’s going to be a good weekend. George graduates, the Pacers are going to start a winning streak, the Shepkids will all be in Riverside, it’s race weekend and Monday is Memorial Day.

I don’t care what political party you belong to.

I don’t care if you support Ukraine, Israel or hamxs.

I don’t care if your heritage is Irish, Italian, Mexican, Polish, Puerto Rican, Croatian, German or British.

I don’t care if you don’t want to be tread on or if you can’t breath.

I don’t care if you’re a Cubs fan, a Sox fan or an Illini fan.

This weekend we honor all U.S. military personnel who have died or were wounded while protecting our right to fly any flag we want on the side of our house.

This weekend make that flag the Star Spangled Banner.

Let’s all come together and give thanks to the American military personnel that sacrificed for our safety.

And be astonished, and be kind, and be horny, and be stuffed with brats, and be giddy upped by a Pilsner beer, and play your music cranked to eleven, and cry when you hear a bugle play “Taps.”

May 23rd. 2024

 I prefer reading the story about second chances over tales of has been. Second chance stories offer us hope and an example to never give up.

When you read about someone who has become a “has been” you feel the pain and want to make sure that this never happens to you.

What about the “has been” that has been given a second chance?

This is where I bring out my report card on life that has straight “F’s” on it.

Foundation: Faith, Family, Friends and Fundamentals

If you have a report card that has “F’s” on it, you’ll never be a “has been.”

Every morning is a second chance and I’m on chance 21,146. The day I run out of chances is the day I enter eternal peace.

We have ourselves a full moon these next couple nights. Make sure to soak in the lunar beauty.

May 22nd, 2024

 I need to borrow someone’s black eyeliner this morning. Today is World Goth Day and I’m all set with everything, but eyeliner.

The first big decision of the morning is if I go with my “Joy Division” t-shirt or my black ruffled blouse that I bought for a “Cure” concert in 1992…

I think I’ll keep it simple and just go with the t-shirt.

I’ve got to pick up Hazel today at school and I’m already pushing it with the “Hot Moms” sticker on Betty’s tailgate. Hazel would probably freak out if I show up looking like Robert Smith this afternoon.

Tough overtime loss last night for the Pacers at Boston. I was up past my bedtime, so this Chalkboard is ova.

I’m just going to say one more thing.

I am the only Indiana Pacer fan in Cook County. I was never a Bulls fan when they were decent thirty years ago. I’ve been driving the pace car since the ABA days.

… so I better not see any of you Michael Jordan people wearing Blue and Gold!

Be astonished and go back for another ice cream today. It won’t be as hot, so you won’t need as many napkins.

May 21st, 2024

   I was having a hard time finding a quote this morning. The one I was going to use was two sentences long and had about eighteen words.

I took those eighteen words and summarized them into four simple words and came up with today’s quote.

It is obvious the original quote was by a politician from the twentieth century. It takes a politician close to two dozen words to explain that life is full of surprises.

I’ve come to learn if a politician has a surprise, I’m getting fucked. That’s enough with the mention of politics.

Let’s talk about ice cream instead.

All the soft serve joints have opened for the season by now. I have the same spots that I’ve been going to since the Carter Administration.

My two favorites are “The Hole in the Wall” on Oak Park Avenue just south of the Ike and “The Polar Bear” on Cermak just west of Harlem Avenue.

I keep my soft serve very simple, Chocolate with a chocolate dip.

Now when it comes to ice cream, I mix it up a little bit. My main stay is mint chocolate chip followed by butter pecan. At Christmas I always get a container of peppermint.

My dad would get us in the car and drive up to Petersen’s in Oak Park back in the day. They have the best pralines, but my favorite is their New York Cherry.

Lately when I get an ice cream, I’ve been going to the Brown Cow in Forest Park. They have a decent mint chocolate chip that costs about the same as a hurricane next door at Shanahans. Ice cream is expensive, but I said several paragraphs earlier that politics won’t be mentioned.

The simple decisions in life.

Am I getting a soft serve or am I getting an ice cream?

That brings into mind another great decision…

… do I go get a depression dog or a Chicago dog?

When I can’t decide, I go with a Maxwell Street Polish.

When I was married and before the Shepkids showed up…. My former wife and I would get a couple late night Polish when we were doing something in the city. We’d sit on the hood and look at the skyline while we gobbled down encased meat smothered in grilled onions….. very romantic!

When we got home we’d put the perforated sheets on the bed. Without them the chances of a Maxwell Street Dutch oven in the middle of the night were high.

Ice cream and hotdogs…. I love summertime in the big city.

I bet a large percentage of Chalkheads will be heading to their local ice cream shop this evening.

What is your favorite ice cream and where do you get it at?

Be astonished today and grab extra napkins.

May 20th, 2024

 Today is Big George Shepley’s last day of his internship program at the Marriott. It has been a great learning experience for him and I’ve seen him adapt well.

Next year he has been given the opportunity to enter a program called Project Search. It’s kind of like a fifth year senior program that will give him another year to mature.

He will be going to Lagrange Hospital in a classroom and working atmosphere setup. The program gives high functioning autistic students the chance to learn how to work in a real world setting.

I didn’t think George was ready to go to college this year. Project Search will give him a year to grow into adulthood and develop his communication skills. We are blessed that he has been given this opportunity through LADSE.

George will bring the gregarious Shepley spirit. That big smile, big can and bright eyes along with him in August. I’m sure he will impress the people at Lagrange Hospital like he did the staff at the Marriott.

He took pictures of the staff and had them developed so he can pass them out today. He’s really excited to give his new work friends a lasting memory.

When I was George’s age, Don Shepley made a point of telling me that I wasn’t special. When I walked out the front door at 220 South Lombard, the world outside won’t give “Two Shits” who John Shepley is. There are only a few people in the world that think you’re special and that’s only because you’re family.

Those were harsh words to hear from your dad, but they were true and they kept me in check with my ego.

I’ve hinted to the Shepkids those words passed down from their Grandpa Don, though with George they don’t hold the same value.

Sure, he will face the ups and downs of the cruel world. He will face mockery and be looked at differently….

…but George IS special and brings a unique kind of person into society.

Something that has been tough for me to get my arms around.

As a parent, you want your kids to fit in and be “normal.” It makes their life easier to groove with the path that life brings.

George didn’t go to his regular high school. He didn’t play sports and go to school dances. George took radios and computers and clocks apart. He was more like the geeks in “Weird Science” than the kids sitting in Saturday detention in “The Breakfast Club.”

Life became easier when I finally got a grip on being the dad of a “special needs” kid. I found out that I’m not the only parent whose child didn’t play football, go to prom and walk the halls of the high school down the block. Tons of parents put their kids on the short bus that goes to a therapeutic school.

I’m a better man because of George Shepley. I never came close to making Don Shepley a better man like Big George has done for me.

Like many of you right now. We are sending our offsprings to their next chapter. They are going to IU, Marquette or Miami of Ohio. They are going into the military or trade school. Great paths to continue this thing we call life.

Don Shepley was right to a certain extent. The world doesn’t think we are special and you won’t get a break just because mommy and daddy wiped your ass and nose…

… but we are special if we can bring peace, love and happiness to the world.

So go out this week and be astonished and bring your own special gift to the people who cross your path.

Go Pacers… bring it to those Boston bullies.!.!.!.!.!

Oh and if you see George and he has his camera. Have him take a picture and capture the moment.

Because people do go, but memories last a lifetime.

May 19th, 2024

 I’m heading to a sunrise tee time, so today’s Morning Chalkboard will be short and sweet.

I had two out of the three horses in yesterday’s Preakness, but that doesn’t pay out.

Today is going to be another gorgeous day. Go be astonished….

May 18th, 2024

 I decided to take a walk along the river before I put today’s Morning Chalkboard together.

The birds were all in good form this morning with their sunrise serenade. I must have seen twenty deer along the way, a couple geese and some ducks.

I ran across an older man grizzled by time wearing a Knights Templar shirt. Of all things… no joggers wearing Michigan State sweatshirts or Cubs hats. My morning walk came across a man with a Santa beard emblazed with the Saint George cross on his chest.

He said good morning and I replied back, “Good morning sir, are you a member of Knights Templar?”

He said he was and asked me if I was as well. I told him I wasn’t, but I do believe it is time for a crusade.

He joyfully replied, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” as he continued walking in the opposite direction.

I immediately had to play some Leonard Cohen as I walked away from King Arthur.

The sun came across Riverside and the sky opened up the morning with a clear blue presence. The spring flowers, wet grass and newly formed leaves all gave off a bright fragrance that filled the morning breeze eloquently.

Time to put my typewriter back on the shelf and get this day started. Betty needs gas, George needs eggs and Jumbo needs love.

Big day in Speedway, Indiana as the drivers set out to build the grid of thirty-three.

Look at the smile on that sun! Get out there and get ready for the start of Summer. Enjoy the crunch of cicadas on the sidewalk.

May 17th, 2024

 I just realized that I’m almost done making school lunches for George. I’ve got that going for me!

It is Friday and we are looking at a sun with a smile and an eighty degree day.

Today’s quote is from the guy who had to follow Watergate, Nixon and Ford. Whoever would have won the 1976 Presidential election was doomed to fail.

Jimmy Carter might have had a horrible four years in the White House, but the forty some years since…. He has brought Peace, Love and Happiness to the world.

There is a golf bag in the back of Betty the Green Blazer. I think this weekend might bring a growler of beer from BuckleDown. Maybe a sandwich from Alpine or a hotdog from Parky’s. I still haven’t had a hotdog since late February.

I’m going to have a sticky belly button when I finally bite into that beautiful wonderful delight!

Memorial Day is almost here and the cicadas are starting to emerge. I say enjoy the little mother fuckers. They won’t be around again for seventeen years and some of us won’t be here when they come back.

I’m going to end today’s Morning Chalkboard like Rodney ended Caddyshack….

Now that I think about it, I better let you guys look that one up! My mother in law is a Chalkhead and I shouldn’t quote Al Czervek.

Go be astonished and bring more Peace, Love and Happiness to the world.

May 16th, 2024

 I woke up this morning without a story to tell… I’m going to see what the day brings and come back.

Go be astonished....

May 15th, 2024

 I was working in a kitchen at a country club in the summer of 1984. I peeled shrimp, took the garbage out, restocked stations and chopped vegetables.

The radio was always on while we were prepping for meals. Depending on the chef, it was either news radio or music.

Two occasions from that summer stick out to me.

The first one was on June 6th. It was the fortieth anniversary of D-Day and the radio program was dedicated to covering the occasion. Veteran interviews, historical facts, patriotic music and speeches filled the broadcast.

The one thing that stuck out that warm morning was how long ago D-Day seemed to me. The depression and the Second World War were always talked about by the adults when I was growing up.

The next occasion that still lingers in my memory happened several weeks later. I was helping the sous chef that morning and we were listening to a new song by a flamboyant musician named Prince. His latest album “Purple Rain” was released at the end of June in 1984, right before my eighteenth birthday.

For some reason I woke up earlier this morning thinking about the kitchen at the Manor House Club, the morning of D-Day and the impact of that Prince album and the movie that followed.

Two things that stick out…

…. how long ago the battle in France took place to me back then and how recent it is since I met the beautiful ones and darling Nikki.

This summer is the fortieth anniversary for the release of “Purple Rain.” Forty years doesn’t seem so long ago anymore.

I am the age today of many of those veterans that were celebrating the turning point in the war against the nazis.

I am still the eighteen year old boy whenever I listen to that Prince album.

I am caught in a forty year vacuum this morning.

Today’s quote comes from this paragraph….

….”I will die. You will die. We will all die and the universe will carry on without care. All that we have is that shout into the wind - how we live. How we go. And how we stand before we fall.”

We really don’t have that long together. Some of us will make history and all of us will live history. The memory of us will be gone soon after we die.

We celebrate historic events and listen to pop music along the way.

These next eighty five nights will bring us daylight well past dinner time. Then before we know it, darkness will set in before supper and winter will be upon us.

I don’t know about you, but in these next eighty five nights….

…. I’m going to strengthen my faith, celebrate my country, listen to a shit ton of music, confront jagoffs peacefully and love the people that think I’m alright.

I won’t be around in forty years to look back at the Summer of 2024, but I can remember the Summer of 1984 and I’m here to tell you…. Let’s go crazy!

May 14th, 2024

 Last night I fell asleep with the jazz station playing on my nightstand radio. Usually I have classical music playing during the work week. Last night I was listening to the Monday night Irish music program on WDCB. I didn’t change stations before I went off to dreamland.

That’s right, you read it correctly. I didn’t change stations, old school baby!

Instead of slumbering with Chopin and Beethoven, I was fidgeting to Lee Morgan and John Coltrane. It was definitely a different kind of sleep on a Monday night.

David Sanborn died yesterday, so the overnight DJ played a ton of Sanborn’s music throughout the night.

It is going to be a cooler day with rain off and on. A good morning for a cup of coffee, a newspaper and music in the background.

Tuesday morning, always a good day for a daydream.