Author: pvbella

 The holiday season is a time for celebration. From Thanksgiving to New Years, we celebrate. Christmas festivities include parties, decorating homes, trimming trees, planning holiday meals, and, of course, gift shopping.

It’s also a time to reflect on the past. The older we get the more we reminisce about holidays past. I remember my parents preparing the feasts for Christmas Eve, Day, and New Year’s Eve and Day. They shopped and cooked with love. There was a gleam in their eyes as they prepared the meals.

I remember sitting around the long table with relatives eating. My dad and uncle reminiscing about their childhoods. I remember the Christmas holidays spent in a suburb of St. Louis, where my mother’s siblings and my grandmother lived. After the meal, dessert, and coffee, there were card games. I remember opening gifts with my cousins early in the morning after we slept on the living room floor of my grandmother’s house.

I remember all the Christmas Eves and Days I worked as a Chicago Police Officer. It was a typical day at the office- handling calls about domestic disturbances, reporting crimes, and patrolling in a repetitive loop. There was a restaurant that would send Christmas Dinner to the station. A turkey, ham, dressing, and all the other trimmings, including dessert. We would meander in on our lunch breaks to eat.

Years later, when I worked midnights by choice, I would get off work at 5 AM. I would sneak into the house and place my daughter’s gifts under the tree. When she was older, I would put the gifts under the tree and sleep on the couch. After opening the gifts and hearing the oohs and ahs, I would go to sleep until it was time to prepare dinner.

Now I have other memories. People my age remember those who are no longer with us and those close friends who moved far away. This year was tough, as too many people I know died. The memories come and go. There will be no more getting together for holiday drinks or parties. There will be no more “Remember when…”

The holidays are also a time of loneliness for many. They are far away from loved ones and have or think they have no one to celebrate with. Celebrating with others is something they remember too. They can’t wait for it all to go away.

With the holidays come parties. People overconsume alcohol. If you are celebrating the season, please do not drink and drive. Take cabs, ride shares, or link up with a designated driver. Fatalities and catastrophic injuries usually occur at higher rates because of alcohol-related vehicle crashes. You may be the victim or harm or kill someone else. Just do not drink and drive.

Suicides increase over the holidays for some of the reasons above, amongst other issues. If you’re in crisis, there are options available to help you cope. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at any time to connect with a trained crisis counselor. For confidential support available 24/7 for everyone in the U.S., call or text 988.

The holiday season starts with Thanksgiving and goes through Super Bowl Sunday. It is a time of merriment, cheer, parties, and overindulgence. Sometimes the dissipation is of Bacchanalian proportions.

The problems with these levels of alcoholic overindulgences are extreme embarrassment, people talking, people posting things on social media, memory loss, especially if you do not remember if you made a fool of yourself, and the very real possibility you can get fired if it was a company event. There is also the dreaded hangover, for which there is no real cure.

In the cheerful spirit of all the various holidays, here is some helpful expert advice, ahem, based on my observations through the decades of holiday celebrations.

You do not have to drink every last drop of booze from every bottle at the party. Be polite. Remember etiquette. Other lushes want to drink as much, if not more, than you. Spread the cheer, alcohol-induced sickness, and hangovers around. Do not be a selfish savage.

If you are going to drink, stick with one kind of drink. You do not have to try everything someone puts into your hand. Forget the shots, too. The fastest way to hugging the porcelain is to put all kinds of different alcohol and mixers in your system. Jell-O shots or any drinks made with fruit punch or other highly sweetened so-called juices should be avoided.

Remember, this is the age of smartphones and social media. Your boss, spouse, partner, children, or other family members will not want to see that picture of you guzzling booze from the bottle, throwing up on the carpet, or passed out on the floor cradling empties.

Speaking of smartphones, the last thing you want is your fat-arsed plumbers crack or the top of your thong and tramp stamp all over Facebook because of your drunken, dirty dancing.

Keep yourself hydrated. Hydrated means drinking water between cocktails, not beer chasers. Nibble, snack, and eat during your course of drinking. Putting all that booze on an empty stomach is a harbinger of disaster. It may cause an all too early-end to your festivities.

Do not drink and drive. God made cabs for drunks who own cars. Take a taxi or rideshare to and from your drunken revelry. Drinking and driving can have tragic or lethal consequences. If you are lucky enough to be stopped by the police, drunk driving can have costly consequences. Legal fees are not cheap. It may cost you well over ten thousand dollars if you are convicted, including fines and the vastly higher insurance rates.

Take cabs if you plan to drink. Oh, and write down your home address on your hand. If you are too inebriated to speak coherently, you can show the cab driver the address.

If you are stumbling home from a neighbor’s party and need to clear your head, the worst thing you can do is stick it into a snowbank. You may not be able to get your head out, or you may sink lower into the bank and get stuck. While your upper body is immobilized, your legs will be kicking like a dying cockroach. Aside from the various unconcerned people who will pass you by, you are a perfect target for a dog who needs a place to lift its leg. The dog owner may have a smartphone too. Then again, some people with a warped sense of humor may steal your shoes or, worse, your pants. Imagine your ugly bare feet and legs sticking out of a snowbank.

Last but not least, the dreaded hangover. Look, there are no real cures. There are ways to mitigate some of the symptoms until your body processes the overabundance of alcohol in your system. When you peel your eyelids open, sit up slowly from wherever you slept. Ease out of bed, off the floor, out of the bathtub, or off the couch.

Hydrate. Once again, hydration is water, not the hairs of the various dogs that bit you. Another good rule is to stock up ahead of time on sports drinks. Sip them slowly to get electrolytes back into your system. Go back to bed or wherever you feel most comfortable and try to get more sleep.

If you must drag your bedraggled, hungover, pale, bloodshot-eyed self into work the following day, do not ask stupid questions like, “Did I do anything foolish last night.” The pathetic looks and muffled giggling will tell you all you need to know. So will the security guard who escorts you from the building because you got fired for drunkenly and obscenely hitting on the boss’s spouse, mistress, or family member.

The holiday season is a time for merriment, cheer, and goodwill towards your fellow man. If you overdo the goodwill and cheer, you might end up working at Goodwill.

I was safe from Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As a good patriotic Anti-American consumer, I bought nothing, and did not contribute to the economy or government because of sales taxes. My money is safe. I refuse to follow the herd of less-on* lemmings.

I am not a cheapskate and chiseler when it comes to gifts. I just refuse to be sucked in by the foolishness of the retail industrial complex. I refuse to follow the great unwashed rubes and bark chewers who are suckers for phony sales.

I saw a post on Facebook the other day and realized I omitted something. With all the homicides over the past three years, what is lost in the news are all the lives of shooting victims saved by Chicago Fire Department Paramedics. These people are Chicago treasures.

It was 15 degrees when I woke up yesterday morning. The flailing Chicago government is doing nothing to move the thousands of homeless people into shelters or their ridiculous tent “cities.” Go figure. They just barely got the immigrants off the streets and out of police stations. The Johnson administration is in full-blown failure mode. There is no winter plan for the thousands of homeless people. Chicago is a town without pity and a city without plans. Oratory is more important than people. Brandon Johnson is full of oratory- hot air.

Brandon Johnson is blaming, without proof, right-wing extremism for his failures. He fails to listen to the people in the neighborhoods who are angry about his ham-fisted actions placing migrants in their communities. He refuses to consult with the aldermen. Maybe Johnson should realize something. He works for us. We are the bosses. He is the employee. So, he better shape up or ship out.

Johnson proves every day he is clueless and not fit to be the mayor of Chicago. He is ruling by the seat of his pants. He finds irrelevant excuses for his failures. I do not blame the moronic people who voted for him. I blame the almost 70% of the voters who stayed home on election day.

Johnson was a nobody nobody heard of until he was tapped by Chicago Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle to run against Lori Lightfoot. He was a silent backbencher on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Now, he is the mayor of the third largest city in America and he has no clue how to run, manage or administer the city.

The McCaskey Ken Dolls finally won a game, yet it was by the skin of their teeth. It was not won by the quarterback, but a kicker with ten seconds left. Big deal. The Ken Dolls are not going to the post season. They will flounder through the next couple of months. The McCaskeys will be going to and laughing all the way to the bank. They will be thumbing their noses to the back woods peckerhead Ken Dolls fans. The only hope for that miserable team is for the McCaskeys to sell to owners who value winning over Kachingo$.

*Less-on- Lower than a moron

“When you cook, there is a great deal of love. You cannot cook indifferently. You have to give a lot of yourself. Cooking is the purest act of love, whether it’s for your kid or your grandmother or your lover or your wife. It’s always to give.” (Jacques Pepin/Artnet)

The older I get, the more I look back. A lot of those memories are food-related. Sometimes the memory flood is overwhelming. From simple pleasures to fabulous home-cooked feasts. Food is what we have to comfort us, especially since the cooler to cold weather sets in. Food is sensual, satisfying all six senses- sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing, and umami.

I remember the summer barbecues. My dad grilling lemon garlic chicken or ribs. Sometimes there were hot dogs or burgers. My mother made potato salad. On hot humid days or two later, that cold leftover potato salad was a meal.

Sometimes, my dad and I would sit at the table with Italian cured meats, cheese, olives, homemade bread from a neighbor, and wine. We would sit and talk. Two men, one aging and one younger adult. He would talk about the past. I would talk about the present.

Food was always part of my life. I grew up in a food-loving family. My parents loved to cook, and that love showed in their craft. Even a simple pot of chicken soup was made with love. Holidays were special. They pulled out all the stops. There was enough food to feed an army.

I think about all the holiday dinners I prepared or helped prepare. A month before, I would scour the food magazines looking for recipes. There was the calvados, cider, and apple pork roast, the leg of lamb wet rub marinated with pesto, the varnished turkey, geese one Christmas, plum duck, ginger ham, stuffed trout, and the various side dishes to go with them.

Fall is when I really think about food, past and present. Fall through winter is the time for comfort foods. Foods that mend your heart and heal your soul. Foods that take you away from the junkyard world we live in. Meals to enjoy alone or in the company of others.

Our lives are complicated. We get too wrapped up in all the political, cultural, and social rhetorical wars swirling around us. We forget the simple pleasures of life, food, wine, and companionship of family and friends.

The pandemic brought out the best of us in relation to food. People were home with too much time on their hands. First it was the bread bakers, then sourdough took over. All of a sudden social media was flooded with home-cooked dishes. People discovered what that strange place in their homes, the kitchen, was for.

Fall is here and winter is around the corner. The brutal hawk, the cold Chicago wind that chills your heart and soul, is hunting. The days are shorter. Soon, sunny days will be few and far between. I think about food, comfort food. As much as I love to eat out, I love to cook or eat someone else’s home cooking. I no longer like cooking for myself. I prefer to cook for and share the meals with others.

Now that many of you found uses for your kitchens, scrap the delivery or carryout. Stay home and cook. Cook for yourself, your family, and friends. Cooking and sharing food is one of the purest forms of love. Cook the simple comforting foods, soups, stews, meat loafs, chili, or roast chicken. There are plenty of places to get the few other necessities, like good bread or other food items.

Go into the kitchen, turn on your favorite music, and forget the outside world, the junkyard world we live in. Cook for yourself. Cook for family or friends. Keep it simple and comforting. Share the love.

I ate in some of the finest restaurants in Chicago. I enjoyed the food. But nothing ever beats a simple, comforting home-cooked meal made with love and shared with others.

Cooking should be treated as a survival skill. Everyone should be able to cook for themselves, families, and friends. It is not hard. You do not need a lot of equipment. All you need are recipes and the literacy to follow them.

Winter is upon us. Get in the kitchen and cook. Even if you screw up, you can still eat your mistakes and learn. Oh yeah, do not forget dessert.

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” — Henry Van Dyke

Thanksgiving is on Thursday. The Christmas shopping season- Black Friday- starts the next day. Thanksgiving is the only holiday that celebrates gratitude.

Humans have celebrated a “holiday” related to gratitude since ancient times. After the harvest, people celebrated the bounty in various ways. That whole garbage about the Pilgrims and Native Americans being the first Thanksgiving in America is pure horse droppings. Native Americans had been celebrating a harvest festival for ages. They just celebrated that one with their new neighbors. The feast was wild game, fish, and whatever the Pilgrims and Native Americans cultivated.

Let’s remember why we celebrate. Forget the history, legend, lore, or myth. We should ignore those imbeciles who want to change the name to something more socio-political accepting to assuage their made-up group guilt.

We celebrate once a year to be grateful for what we have, no matter how much or little. As a friend used to say, “If you have a roof over your head and a loaf of bread under each arm, you should be thankful.”

“The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about?” — Nora Ephron

We dedicate the day to food. It does not matter what you prepare for the feast, no matter how lavish or meager. You are sharing the love. There is no rule that turkey must be on the menu. Make whatever you want. It is your choice how you celebrate. Just do not forget why we celebrate. To thank God, some other deity, the Great Comedian, or your friends and family for whatever you are grateful for.

Every year I think of all the things I am grateful for. It is a list of little things. It does not change much from year to year.

I am grateful for everyday I wake up, take a breath, my feet hit the floor, and live another day.

I am grateful for my family.

I am grateful to still have a somewhat sound mind.

I am grateful for living in Chicago, the best city in the nation.

I am grateful to have the bare necessities of life, food, shelter, and clothing.

I am grateful that I can still cook the feast with family and friends.

I am grateful for my friends and acquaintances from all walks of life, beliefs, or lack thereof.

I am grateful for our police, firefighters, and EMTs, who keep us safe 24/7/365.

I am grateful for the emergency utility workers who respond to outages no matter the weather.

I am grateful for the medical professionals working in hospitals instead of celebrating.

I am grateful for all the restaurants who sent turkeys and hams to the police stations while we worked on Thanksgiving.

No matter your station or status in life, there is always something or someone(s) to be grateful for.

This Thursday, celebrate gratitude, then enjoy the feast, family, and friends.

“The just-announced DiGiorno Thanksgiving Pizza takes a thick Detroit-style crust and piles it high with turkey, rich gravy, diced sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberries, two kinds of cheese, and a crispy onion topping.” (Food and Wine)

DiGiorno is tapping into the moronic lemming market. The same drooling zombies who cannot wait for and line up outside for over a block for fake pumpkin spice crap from Spewf**ks.

A Thanksgiving pizza? The idiots do not have to wait in long lines to get this garbage pizza. They can order it online every Wednesday until November 22^nd. It is enough to make you blow chow.

Not to be outdone, Salt and Straw has five Thanksgiving flavored ice creams, including Cheesy Potato Casserole, Turkey Stuffing, and Cranberry Sauce. This too is probably flying off the shelves for the braindead consumers. Jumping Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I want to vomit.

It appears the more disgusting companies can make food or drink, the more hugely popular it will be. American consumers are a bunch of gullible people. If the food people created a chocolate-flavored manure spread (Chocoshit?) the schlubs would be out there buying it for their morning toast. There are millions or billions to be made from the stupidity of the average American consumer. These are the same idiots who are allowed to vote.

I was shocked, shocked I say. The Chicago Sun-Times finally wrote a piece on the McCaskey Ken Dolls that was not a slobbering love letter. Unlike the rest of the corrupt sports media in this city, they stated what I have been saying, the McCaskey’s are to blame for the team’s p**s poor performance. “What ails the Bears? Call it the Curse of the McCaskeys.” While they do not scorch the McCaskeys, they hit the nail on the head. It is not journalistically appropriate to scorch people who deserve scorching in this new age of supposed Chicago journalism.

My friend, Bob Angone wrote this piece for the Beverly Review- “Mind-boggling increase in crime awaits answer.” He discusses the huge rise in armed robberies in Chicago. He quotes former Attorney General Bobby Kennedy- “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.” Bob is a retired Chicago Police Lieutenant.

Chicago communities and some alderpersons are in an uproar over the Brandon Johnson regime, not involving them in deciding where the migrant tent cities are going to be placed. Winter will be here before one tent is pitched. If Johnson was smart- which is a stretch- he would have put the first tent city in Austin, where he lives. Then he could tell the detractors if it is good enough for his neighborhood, it is good enough for theirs. It is called leading by example. Johnson is not bright enough to realize this.

The Cubs replaced manager David Ross with Craig Counsell from the Milwaukee Brewers. Counsell will be the highest paid manager in baseball. Counsell worked in various capacities, including the front office, so he knows the game and the business. He is known as one of the best managers in baseball. The Cubs could not pass up the opportunity to grab him.

It may anger Cubs fans over the quick firing of Grandpa Ross, but they will get over it by the season opener. Milwaukee fans are furious over the loss of Counsell. In major league sports, anything can happen and will. Professional sport is a tough s**t business. Winning is everything in. Losers go some place else.

It is snowing. Chicago is expected to get four inches of that white stuff. Winter is finally here. Soon that pretty white fluff will turn in to ugly masses of gray slush or yellow stained by dogs.

The season of the dreaded winter overnight parking ban is also approaching. Starting December 1^st, parking is prohibited from 3a.m. to 7 a.m. on over 100 hundred miles of city-designated streets until April 1^st. It does not matter if there is snow or not. The city will tow your car.

There are also 500 miles of streets that prohibit parking if there is two inches or more of snow. If you park on these streets overnight, your car will be towed. Check for those signs, people, or trudge down to the pound to pay the piper twice, once for the ticket and then the tow. In the city of Chicago, it is all about the Kachingo$. City Hall does not care about streets or plowing. City Hall only cares about cold hard cash.

After a heavy snowfall, Dibs is holding a shoveled-out parking space by putting barricades in the street to claim the space. Dibs is a decades-old winter tradition in Chicago. Some people claim Dibs all winter long. Some do not wait for the heavy snow. They claim their parking space when there is little snow or even a threat of snow.

Some get creative to the point of setting out a dining table set with plates and silverware. There are plastic Christmas religious statues, inflatables, children’s plastic playhouses, nativity scenes, standing frozen pants, and other unique items. The usual things are milk crates, sawhorses, or lawn chairs, some with boards stretched across.

Technically, dibs are illegal. According to the municipal code, streets will not be obstructed with items including “crates, boxes, or hogsheads” (Barrels). Like many in Chicago, including our politicians, no one cares about laws. The only law in Chicago is the Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shall not get caught.”

Dibs is controversial. Dibs can lead people to damage cars, arguments, or even violence. Violent crimes committed over Dibs should not be a worry as our Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, will not prosecute crimes of mutual combat. Our lenient judges will probably throw the cases out if she approves charges.

Columnists and editorial boards have written pro, con, and humorous articles about the practice over the decades. Former mayors supported the tradition. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot discouraged Dibs, though she understands it- whatever that means. We do not know what Mayor Brandon Johnson’s view on dibs is. I am sure it will be a nonsensical statement filled with terms like equity, parking justice, and other inanities.

How popular is Dibs? There are social media pages about the tradition. There is a Facebook page too, Chicago Dibs. Dibs is a form of tolerated subversiveness in Chicago. People take to the streets with their shovels and snow blowers to clear a parking space, then put up the barricades. They worked hard for it, risking the widow making heart-a-stroke. They earned it. That space is theirs. “Whose streets? Our streets.” Why should some lazy, low-life motherless mook, mameluke, or jamoke be entitled to reap the benefits of their hard work?

There was a Judge Dibs in Chicago. He was as wise beyond his years as the ancient Greek philosophers. He decided dibs cases based on the rules and the situation, the“Dibstitution.” Judge Dibs was tough but fair. He once named me the Lord High Chamberlain of Dibs. I would have preferred Lord High Executioner, but Illinois eliminated the death penalty. I was honored to have such a title bestowed on me. But I do not have the time to execute my duties. I have my own problems with people blocking my side driveway because Illinois issues driver’s licenses to blind people.

Some claim Dibs is uncivil. They believe people who toil should not reap the fruits of their labor. According to these apostates, we should be kind and understanding towards each other. A few go so far as to suggest people shovel out parking spaces for their neighbors or even the whole block. It is an act of kindness and a neighborly thing to do. Those people are Communists. There is one problem with this line of thinking if you call it that. Chicago, the “City of Neighborhoods,” does not have Mr. Roger’s neighborhood. I don’t know if they noticed, but Mr. Roger’s is dead.

Winter is coming. Snow is coming. Dibs is the natural order of things. Let there be peace on earth and Dibs in Chicago.

As Judge Dibs states:

“Respect Dibs.

Revere the Dibstitution.

And love thy neighbor, baby.

So let it be written. So let it be done.”

Once again, the McCaskey Ken Dolls of the NFFL- National Fake Football League- lost another game Sunday Night. A few former pundits expressed they might- might being the operative word- only win one more game this season. Because of their miserable performance and horrid owners, I have a modest proposal.

Since Mayor Brandon Johnson does not have the cojones to go into federal court to stop the unlawful filtration of migrants from Texas Führer, Greg Abbott, Johnson should use his emergency powers to cancel all Ken Doll home games.

Soldier Field should be used to build a tent city to house the migrants. It is the perfect facility. It has space, it is not near a neighborhood so no residents will be against it. The facility has restrooms, food concessions, and the home and away locker rooms have showers. The city could provide the migrants with meal ticket books. They could reimburse the concessionaires for food consumed by the migrants.

Volunteer agencies could replace those offensive tailgaters, providing nourishing food to the migrants instead of that moldy swill they are getting from that politically connected staffing agency bilking the city out of millions of dollars.

Since the communities are rightfully up in arms over Johnson not involving them in the process of tenting migrants in their neighborhoods, this would eliminate public anger over his dictatorial edicts.

Johnson refuses to inform or seek input from the communities. He and his regime just do what they want. Meet the new mayor, same as the old mayors. So, if they want to do what they want, take over Soldier Field. Screw the McCaskeys, their team, and the drooling, bark chewing, knuckle dragging, brain dead Ken Doll fans.

This would be a benefit because communities would be mollified. Ken Doll fans would not have the embarrassment of watching the team lose at home. The other benefit is not having Ken Doll fans in drinking establishments on the canceled game days. Intelligent people can drink in peace without seeing all their offensive clothing and listening to them cheer for losers. We can watch other sports like soccer and rugby, you know, real football.

This modest proposal is a win-win for the city. They have a safe environment for the migrants. They can provide decent meals and sanitary restrooms. The migrants can be contained to receive social and legal services in one place. Soldier Field is a safer alternative than the neighborhoods. Everything is in one place for these people.

The only people who would suffer would be the McCaskeys. But turn-around is fair play. They caused enough suffering and emotional distress with their horrid ownership and management of the team. So what if they have to forfeit games? It does not affect the city as a whole. It does not affect the team because they are not going to the postseason, anyway. Oh, and they would have to refund ticket holders. The McCaskeys deserve to lose the money.

The only people who may be affected are the Chicago sportswriters, who are bigger cheerleaders than the fans. Chicago sports writers should be required to wear colorful uniforms and carry pom poms so they can be instantly recognized. Their few criticisms are so mild they sound like compliments.

Once again, a simple solution to a simple problem.

Fixture: a familiar or invariably present element or feature in some particular setting especially : a person long associated with a place or activity (Merriam Webster)

Shelley Howard was a fixture on Rush Street and in Old Town. He was dubbed the Mayor of Old Town. Shelley Howard knew everybody and just about everybody knew him. If people did not know him, they knew or saw his work. He provided the posters for acts that played in various Northside clubs, especially Jam Productions.

During the 1980s, Shelley Howard created Video Dancestand which presented music videos for a dance-club audience. Video Dancestand appeared in various clubs and venues drawing thousands every weekend.

Shelley Howard had a presence on social media. His pet peeve was people misspelling his name. He had to remind them it was Shelley with an e. I met Shelley several years ago in Gibsons. We would run into each other at various events and a friendship was formed.

On Saturdays he could be found holding court with friends, eating Sushi or at Topio Gigio in Old Town, sipping a Martini. He was also a Rush Street denizen, usually at Tavern, Carmines, or Gibsons. Sometimes it would be all three. Shelley was also known for his birthday parties, usually at an upscale venue. He could also be found at various events throughout the Near Northside. If there was an open party, Shelley would be there.

Shelley remembered birthdays and posted them on Facebook with the message, “You’re not getting better, you’re getting older. Or is it the other way around. I kinda get confused at my age. Happy Birthday…”

Shelley was a devoted gardener. He posted pictures of his plants and lawn throughout the spring and summer months.

He was a devoted father and grandfather. His son, Sean, posted this on Facebook- “It’s with a heavy heart today that I say goodbye to my best friend. Dad you were an absolute legend and I don’t know what I’ll do without you…. You brought so many people together and were loved by so many. You will forever be the strongest person I’ve ever known and thank you for making me the man I am today. RIP Dad I love you forever.”

Friends and acquaintances posted their sympathies and memories throughout the day on Facebook and Instagram, some on Shelley’s pages. He was a friend to many and will be missed. Like a mutual friend posted, “He was our guy.”

Farewell Shelley. May your memory be a blessing. See you on the other side when I get there. Have the Martinis ready.

“The proposed ordinance also stipulates only “organizations, not-for-profit entities and licensed businesses” would be eligible to receive the necessary permit to build a bookcase on city land under the legislation.

Private individuals would not be allowed to construct the structures on public property at all, Lopez confirmed this week.

Libraries on private property, like a front yard, would not be impacted.”

Lopez did not directly answer a question about whether neighbors who have built Little Free Libraries on public property would be allowed to keep them. But he said they should “get ready to have that conversation” about the structure’s future. (Block Club Chicago)

In the realm of you gotta be f***ing kidding me. The Chicago Circus Council has nothing better to do than to “regulate” the Little Free Libraries that dot the city landscape. The concept of the Little Free Libraries is to place books in a small structure. People are encouraged to take a book and, if possible, leave one. Some provide non-perishable food items or toiletries for those in need.

In this age of book and language banning from the extremists on the right and the left, our alderclowns want these libraries to obtain permits if they are on the parkways. Only organizations, non-profits, and licensed businesses would be eligible. Individuals nope.

“So what this ordinance does is just basically creates a permit that will serve as a way of registering these in the public way.”

This is an ordinance Alderclown Ray Lopez (15^th) proposed last week. It will move to the full Clown Council this week for passage. It is hoped there are enough alderclowns who will vote this preposterous idea down. But, too many of them think alike when it comes to power of Circus Hall to stifle great ideas. It means they are not thinking.

What next? The contents of the libraries need to be registered too to assure “objectionable content” is not in the free libraries? Will people leaving food and toiletries need to get a license? Will the city demand architectural drawings for the permits along with inspections by the Building Department? How far will this go?

These structures do not pose a threat or danger to citizens unless Lopez thinks the ideas in free books are dangerous, or providing sustenance and comfort to those in need is perilous. Every one of these libraries I have seen is well constructed. They can be bought as kits or pre-built all over the internet and they are pricey- 2–3-hundred-dollar price range.

People do all kinds of things in their parkways, including ripping out the lawns and replacing them with types of gravel or stones, encasing them with barriers and planting gardens, and other decorative effects. They put signage on or decorate trees, which are owned by the city. They place lawn signs on the parkways. No permits are required.

What does alderclown Lopez have against free books? Why does he want to regulate books? This is one of the dumbest ideas out of the many dumb ideas to come out of Circus Hall over the decades.

The Little Free Libraries harm no one. They are not unsafe or unsightly, like the ugly ghost bikes chained all over the city on parkways or other city land. Those do not require a permit. They are put up with no permission from the city. They are unregulated. Worse, they are litter and blight. Yet, the city refuses to remove them. Hmmm? Maybe the alderclowns get hefty donations from the whiny bike people and their crybaby organizations. It is the only reason I can think of that these ugly displays are allowed.