Columns

Joy can seem as hard to come by nowadays as hand sanitizer, but at least there’s good news when it comes to joy. You don’t have to wait for a restock at Target. The supply is limitless if you know where to look. If you’re lucky enough to be sheltering in place with someone you care about, you can begin your quest with a great big hug. Studies show that an embrace of 20 seconds or more releases a flood of hormones that elevate your mood and promote relaxation and happiness. There have been hugs aplenty at our house since …

Throughout the more than 10 years I’ve been writing Petals from Roseland, I’ve been told many stories. I’ve also conducted many interviews with friends, family members and readers. These have yielded a treasure trove of random snippets, some of which I’d like to share with you now. The Pullman Tech All Class Reunion back on Oct, 14, 2016, was a special event for me because I finally got to meet accordion and keyboard player Frank Rossi in person. He, Michael Vittori and Bruce Meyer have been entertaining Roselandites for years but this was my first face-to-face encounter. We’ve been buddies …

The Italian verb passare means “to pass,” as in “to pass through,” “pass by,” “pass time,” or “spend time.” This verb is used in many ways in Italian! We use the verb “to pass” or “passed” less often in informal English, often defaulting to more general English verbs like, “get/gone,” “put” or “spend/spent” when we really mean “pass” or “passed.” But in Italian, it is important to be more specific and use the verb passare if you want to sound like a native when describing situations that have come to pass! 1. Use passare when you will “pick up” or …

When it comes to selling your home nowadays, it’s all about staging. When buyers are looking for a home, they want to see something clean and simple. They want to be able to imagine themselves living there, and that’s hard to do when all they can see is someone’s else’s home. You want the buyer to be able to picture it as their own. Most buyers shop for homes online these days, and the most important part of online shopping is the pictures. If the home isn’t eye-catching in the photos, the buyer is a lot less likely to want …

Five-time Oscar winner Federico Fellini once said, “A different language is a different vision of life.” As a world-renowned film director, Fellini captured many aspects of life through his lens, immersing us in various cultures. Fellini believed that exposure to different languages forces us to see the world from the perspective of the people who speak those languages and the cultures in which they live. I am proud to have been named the ente gestore (president) of Italidea-Midwest as of January 2020. Italidea-Midwest is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to teaching students the Italian language as well as the traditions …

We are stronger together than apart. There is no greater testament to that fact than the multiethnic coalition that has rallied to reverse the Chicago Board of Education’s decision to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The removal of Columbus Day is not just about Italian Americans. On the evening of Feb. 26, while most of us were welcoming home our children from school or sharing dinner with family or friends, the Chicago Board of Education usurped Columbus Day. Poof. It was gone faster than your Nonno could pinch your cheek and let go. And why? Because the community …

  You might think that I’ve covered all the Roseland bases after writing this column for 12 years. Not so! So many people have such a deep love for Roseland that it’s become a never-ending love story. I’ve been busy lately, what with selling my book, delivering local copies, and, as always, keeping an open ear for all things Roseland. As a result, I’ve found three more groups of Roselandites that regularly meet to share a meal and reminisce. I’ve attended a number of those casual meet-ups,  interviewed a 94-year-old mother of seven from Roseland, received more Roseland memorabilia for …

If we want to make general statements in Italian about what has happened in the past, we must be willing to be a little imperfetto! The conjugation of the imperfetto past tense is fairly straightforward. The tricky part is knowing how to use this verb form. The Italian imperfetto refers to the recent past, and is useful when describing events that happened frequently in the past without a specific time frame. The imperfetto in Italian translates into the simple past tense in English and also into “used to” or “was/were…ing.” Let’s learn how to form this tense, which is actually …

Many of the traditions we grew up with have gone by the wayside. Somewhere along the way we’ve come to realize and accept, albeit grudgingly, that change happens — without our approval! Halloween is working hard to overtake Christmas as the major holiday of the year. President’s Day his when we buy our mattresses at great savings and, rather than focusing on former members of the military, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day weekends have regrettably become opportunities to save money on appliances and material for home improvements The Easter of today is more about bunny rabbits and plastic eggs in …

You’re deciding whether to buy property as part of a homeowner’s association, and you’re excited at the prospect of shared amenities like lawn care and snow removal. Before you sign on the dotted line, though, be sure to read the bylaws or rules-and-regulations packet completely. There are several items that a homeowner’s association may not be able to legally enforce. Most homeowner’s association will deny your rights to solar drying, a fancy way of saying drying on clotheslines. This old-school method may mean sun-kissed laundry to you, but to your homeowner’s association it may be an eyesore. Many states, though, …