Donna Vickroy

An election should pique your interest, raise concerns, propose opportunity, inspire a hopeful “what-if” kind of thinking.

I was cleaning excrement from my dad's carpet, and crying, when it hit me. No one cares. The weight of that realization was crushing.

In times of stress or uncertainty, I turn my attention to nature.

There's no place like Chicago. There's no place like Chicago. There's no place like Chicago.

Anne Quetua knows that most Americans, including her father, have an immigrant story to tell. Some stories are more challenging than others but none are as moving as those told by refugees.

None of us knew anything. And that's what made it so much fun. For many years, I hosted Christmas Eve and a big part of it was our family's annual Trivial Pursuit tournament.

It’s not ususual that the pressures of the world and life can suck away the positive feelings we want to be experiencing during the holidays. A little self-care and analysis can help a lot to count…

It is the present that gave me back my past. For decades they stood like dusty relics in a museum diorama, always there, with stories to tell, but rendered silent by the passing of time.

Missing you hurts. At sunrise. At lunch. While sweeping the floor or scrolling through photos or planning dinner or watching the birds at the feeder.

It’s a long way from LA to Chicago, but the world is small if you have friends or relatives in Southern California, or if you simply have empathy for people under duress.