Columns

  Here we are on the cusp of 2016 and I’ve got some updates and clarifications about 2015 topics in my most recent columns. I am also going to continue with a description of my fantastic trip to Italy with the Veneti nel Mondo. First off, let me say that the 42nd Annual Pullman House Tour was a great success and a major reason for that success was the made to order beautiful weather. There were nine houses on the tour this year along with four civic buildings. The first floor of the Hotel Florence was open for viewing and on …

  Going back many years, it is hard to remember a Lyric Opera production that fired on all cylinders so marvelously as on the October 23rd performance of “Cinderella.” (No doubt for marketing purposes Lyric calls Rossini’s comic opera “Cinderella” instead of its original, commonly known title, “La cenerentola.”) During the time I have been reporting on the many productions of operas at Lyric, I have never shied away from pointing out (and occasionally discussing “ad nauseum”) various weaknesses in the musical or dramatic presentations, but in this “Cinderella” I was extremely pleased to find only hearty strengths in every …

  Experiencing Italy with 35 like-minded individuals was a true gift. I can see why many of my fellow travelers were making the trip for the second, third or even fourth time. For some, the trip was an opportunity to visit family while for others like myself, it was a chance to see the many beautiful cities we had heard about throughout our lives. To me, the most enriching and rewarding part of the trip was our “guida’ guide Simonetta Ferramosca, for her third trip guiding a Veneti nel Mondo excursion. In 2009 my son and I visited Rome and …

  Everyone’s decorating style is unique; one person may like a contemporary style while others may like a more classic Victorian look. But the true beauty in real estate is in the eye of the beholder. Many sellers spend thousands of dollars to ‘stage’ their home to show buyers the true potential of the living space. Use neutral colors when staging your home and make sure your tactics will appeal to a majority of buyers coming to see your space. If your furniture is worn out or just plain ugly, why would you stage your home with it? If you …

When I first went to Salt Lake City years ago, I saw a rather elderly lady struggling to drag two large heavy carts of papers with her into the Family History Library. One cart bumped into the door, the other cart fell over. It was not a pretty site. As I rushed to help her, I thought to myself. “Self, make sure all your documents are portable and electronic so you don’t have to lug carts full of papers everywhere you go.” With scanners and cloud storage, you can carry any number of pages with you in a phone or …

  When you’re building a home, you don’t hire a contractor to start slapping bricks together until you have decided on the number and types of rooms and their location in the overall structure. Likewise, it’s imprudent to draft a will, trust, powers of attorney, irrevocable trust or annuity without having a design in mind to give shape and structure to your efforts. This can be very costly and foolish. How can you create a plan consisting of various documents that are supposed to protect you without a design in mind? Mindlessly putting together layers of documents yields nothing except …

  Each week I produce shows with entertainers who are mainly from the eras of the ’60s through the ’80s. This covers MY era of music, with others that I was exposed to by the older kids in high school or the younger ones we were hanging out with. I get the privilege of doing shows with big names in classic rock, classic country, Motown and what is now called “Heritage” music, or the Oldies. But as I fulfill my musical fantasies, I have come to realize there is much more going on at The Arcada than meets the ear. …

  In nearly 30 years of reviewing opera for this and other columns, never have I been so carried away by the euphoria of experiencing this great art being professionally performed. But the other night, Aass I listened to Mozart’s brilliant overture, played by a group of first-class musicians, I was struck by how lucky we are to have the Chicago Lyric Opera to go to for performances of opera at the highest artistic level. Oh, sure, there’s room for criticism — mainly that Mozart scored the roles of Figaro and the Count for basses, and the Lyric used baritones, …

  As it gets closer to Veterans’ Day, we are reminded of our ancestors who sacrificed so much to serve in our Armed Forces. Sadly, the World War II generation is rapidly shrinking as they reach their nineties, and there are no combat veterans living who served in World War I. I hope that when you research your family, you try to go beyond just names and dates and attempt to create a story of their lives. Part of what we do is to supplement the lack of autobiographical narrative by finding genealogical items our ancestors left behind, and to …

    In the fourth installment of my ongoing series on how to deal with the looming crisis associated with long-term care costs for the middle class, I would like to talk about when it may be necessary to revise wills and trusts. Also, what should these revised wills and trusts look like? First of all, we should remember that during our maturing years, most people, especially those with children, will prepare wills and trusts that deal with what happens to their assets upon death. This is a very understandable and laudable goal, especially for those people that are afraid of …