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An Accidental Expert
I’m not sure when I realized I was an “expert.” When does anybody actually admit to themselves they are? How is it that one day you’re just you, and then suddenly you are an expert? After running my first half marathon, I wondered if I …
Point It Out
About a year ago, one of my most beloved staff members died suddenly. John was a true character, and those of you who knew him or of him will agree, but his passion for excellence and commitment to his clients was truly remarkable. At his …
Gary Sinise on his veteran’s vision
Kimo Williams is a Chicago composer, a professor at Columbia College and co-founder with me of the Lt. Dan Band, a cover band named after the character I played in “Forrest Gump.” We met in 1997 when I was acting on stage in “A Streetcar …
Train Tracks
Our new record, “Hallelujah! I’m A Bum,” has the Chicago Blue Line all over it. Literally. Before the first note of the first song, the very first sound you hear is the glorious rumble of the elevated Blue train — well, that and the sound …
Laura Schwartz’s Clean Getaway
I still steal the hotel soap. I have bars from around the world and just down the street. The Intercontinental Singapore, the Delano in Miami, the Park Hyatt Chicago — seeing these names imprinted on the little white bars takes me back to the places …
Grant DePorter on being green
I grew up living in the Hyatt Regency Chicago — picture Eloise as a high school boy. My father, Don DePorter, was regional vice president for Hyatt at the time. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, he would hear from tourists who thought Chicago …
Common details his perfect mate
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best in relationships. But I’m also not the worst. I’ve been at this dating thing for a while, and I’m beginning to think that my biggest mistake in relationships is not choosing what’s best for …
Brotha Fred Speaks Up
It’s time for me to make a public confession: I am a straight male who reads chick magazines. As with many ways I spend my time, I “say” that my perusal of said periodicals — and viewing of “Housewives” and “Bachelor/ette/Pad” type TV shows (while …
A Survivor’s Story
I was born in Berlin as Beatrix Westheimer in 1933, the year Adolph Hitler came to power. Realizing the dangers, my parents fled to Brussels when I was 5. To protect me, their only child, my parents gave me up to two Catholic rescuers, women …
Single lady Nina Chantele on the many faces of family
As if juggling three jobs isn’t hard enough, I frequently have to defend my personal life against well-meaning family, friends and sometimes strangers. Why? Because I am single with no children. As a woman and a Latina, I am faced with constant scrutiny of having …
Suze Orman says a final goodbye to her mother
One would think that writing nine consecutive New York Times best sellers, it would be effortless for me to write an obituary for my own mother. But, alas, it is not. What does one say in a few paragraphs to encapsulate an entire lifetime? Does …
Buddy Guy on the stuff of life
I wake up with the sun every morning as I’ve been doing all my life. They might’ve got me out of Louisiana, but they ain’t never gonna get the Louisiana out of me. Interviewers ask me all the time, “Buddy, what would you be doing …
Daily Splash: Sonya Jackson’s Aunt Lulu
Growing up, I spent every summer with my great aunt Lulu Merle Johnson, who was my grandmother’s older sister. While I didn’t know it at the time, those summer days spent by her side would wind up shaping the woman I am today and my …
Julie Latsko heading out on the town for Chicago’s Fashion Night Out
The first week in September is not just a return-to-school celebration but also the ultimate party for all fashionistas, thanks to the start of New York Fashion Week (also known as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week). Here are the stats: The week kicks off Sept. 6 and …
A Farewell to Trotter
W hen I was “coming up” in the restaurant business as a very young cook in Chicago, there was one name that dominated any discussion of becoming a chef: Charlie Trotter. Back then, there were very few options for culinary school and being a chef …
