Was it cold enough for you? Did you order all that snow? No, not just worn out clichés. To Melanie and Eric Bland they were questions to ponder, and the answer was “No!” It was not cold enough, and there wasn’t enough snow. So off they went for their annual winter vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where it was colder than it was in Forest Park and they enjoyed an additional 13 inches of snowfall each day. In a few years Sam and Sadie Jane will no doubt join Melanie and Eric.
Hundreds of Forest Parkers were gazing up at the lunar eclipse last Wednesday night. Were you one of them? It will be two years before such a celestial event occurs again. Most of us hope next time it will be in the summer. Irene Cosgrove dragged her oxygen tank outside to witness it.
Sympathy to the Moskos-Meola families on the death of Christ Moskos. Christ and Marge and their family were well loved, longtime Forest Parkers. I always remember Mary Meola, Marge’s mother, and her devotion to the Italian American Association at Saint Bernardine’s.
Belated sympathy to “T” Morovac on the death of her gentle, much loved big dog, Starbuck. In cold weather we dog walkers don’t get to see as much of one another as we do the rest of the year. So I only recently learned of Starbuck’s death. “T” knows the best cure for a broken heart is to go out and get it broken again, so she is now “fostering” a lovely, large, very soft dog named Zia. Between us, I think Zia has found a permanent home.
Sympathy to Dave and Dale Goetz, and their families, on the death of their mother, Catherine Goetz. Mrs. Goetz died Wednesday, Feb. 20. She was another longtime and well-loved Forest Parker.
This is a very exciting year for Alexi Silva, a student at Cornell University, majoring in veterinary medicine. This year Alexi is studying wildlife on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Where could a veterinarian get a better hands-on study of animals? Congratulations to this bright young lady for even getting into Cornell, probably the best school for veterinary medicine in the country. Her proud parents are George Silva and Monica Silva.
Former Forest Parker, now living in retirement in Lake Geneva, Orla Genens will celebrate her 90th birthday there on March 1. The party will be hosted by her granddaughter, Debbie Guracio. Orla’s health has been failing and Debbie hopes the party will go off as planned.
March 1 is the annual Saint Patrick’s Day parade here, so it will probably be a brisk 20 degrees. Enjoy yourselves; I’m sitting this one out.
On March 2 author Christa Faust will lead a discussion on her latest novel “Money Shot” at C&S at 2 p.m. On the 9th of March Ellen Feinberg and Eleanor Hanson will discuss their book “Learning to Cook; A Chicago Culinary Memoir,” at 2 p.m. The G.K. Chesterton Society will discuss Hilaire Belloc‘s “The Restoration of Property” on March 8 at 2 p.m. All of these events are at the bookstore at 7419 Madison St.
Special happy birthday this week to Rosemary Besich who will be observing her 19th birthday (I think) on Feb. 29. Rosemary is a Leap Year baby. On Feb. 28 it’s happy birthday time for Aaron Rada, Chris Borzello, Christine Quintana; March 1, Geri Kowalski, Kim Reina, Jim Breseman, Bill Brown (Bill is the grandson of Esther and Ed Huebner); on March 2, happy anniversary to Lucy and Joe Gianelli. This date is also the birthday of Heather Babcock, Isabella Celenzi, Joe Breseman, Diannemarie Williams, and Grace Spence. Grace will be entering high school this year, which is a huge milestone for this young woman who has battled through a terrible illness; on March 3, Edith Scheiwe, Jill Fink, David Rodenbostel, Brandon Thompson.
Good luck to Hubertine Henzler, who will be going in for surgery this week.
