John Rice

Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. It’s also the birthday of my childhood friend, Ed Wackrow. Ed and I have been friends since we were 7. We always made a big deal about Ed’s birthday. It was the kickoff to our Christmas celebration.

It was late-October and Forest Park Private Detective Sam Diamond sat in his shabby Madison Street office. His buzzer announced he had visitors, a middle-aged mother and her 12-year-old son. They introduced themselves as Blanche and Tommy.

Mike Chiappetta was a rule breaker. He didn’t abide by the “rule” that a white guy couldn’t step up for a Black family that needed help. It was January 1976 and Ezra Buckner had just bought the house at 1001 Ferdinand. Mike heard on the radio that the Buckners were suffering harassment, including bricks thrown through their windows.

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Two baby girls were recently born to our neighbors. Here is a primer for first-time parents, explaining the stages of childhood:

Years ago, a shopkeeper on Lake Street in Oak Park compared the heavy foot traffic there to the lack of shoppers on Madison Street in Forest Park. He declared, “Forest Park is a myth.” The newspaper immediately sent out a reporter to check on his claim.

The pandemic triggered a resurgence in reading. So it’s sad that our area has lost two bookstores: Centuries & Sleuths here in Forest Park and The Book Table in Oak Park. To save us from becoming a “book desert,” however, The Pile Bookstore has opened at 7117 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. It’s already luring Forest Park residents to travel a few blocks east of Harlem Avenue to get their literary fix.

Rob Sall and John Cunningham are on a mission to make Forest Park shine. They started Light Up Forest Park, a group dedicated to wrapping trees in holiday lights. It’s been a phenomenal success. This year, there are 170 lit trees in town. The effect is stunning and many take walks or drive slowly past the lit trees.

I don’t like using words that readers have to Google, but I’ve had two guys tell me they were drawn to Forest Park because of its “propinquity.” I looked it up just to learn the pronunciation: “pro-PING-kwede.”

Here are some holiday tips, based on mistakes I’ve made and others I’ve observed: Do not give a 3-year-old a gift card instead of a toy because you didn’t have time to shop. They will cry regardless of the amount. Family parties are not the place to blindside someone by bringing up an embarrassing story […]