Bird Lady, Friends, and the Migration Of Millions

Bird Lady, Friends, and the Migration Of Millions

The Bird Lady of Ryerson Woods. Costume designed by Ryerson Woods staff.

At last night’s Friends of Ryerson Woods 30th Anniversary celebration, we learned that millions – no exaggeration, millions – of birds like the ones featured on the costume above migrate at night through the North Shore each spring and fall. Internationally renowned expert Kenn Kaufman charmed the audience with his passion and knowledge of the wonder of bird migration.

For example, tiny, 4" long warblers, weighing no more than 1 ounce, fly thousands of miles – from Argentina to the Arctic Circle – stopping to rest in our trees during the day. The best time to see them is at day break; they fly just above the trees looking for a place to rest during the day.

We also learned that the Friends Of Ryerson Woods is a wonderful organization to support for many reasons. We particularly appreciate its collaboration with Mano A Mano in order to encourage Ryerson Wood’s use by under resourced youth. This provides access to and education about nature, conservation and art.

Me, Kate Sackman, Bird Lady of Ryerson Woods, Ellen Stirling

Many thanks to Ellen Stirling for including us. We will be proud to help amplify this wonderful organization’s work going forward.

Remember Me – Wilson Duval King

Wilson Duval King,
December 18, 1992 – April 12, 2013

Remember Me

Do not shed tears when I have gone,
but smile instead because I have lived.

Do not shut your eyes and pray to God
that I’ll com back, but open your eyes
and see all that I have left behind.

I know your heart will be empty
because you cannot see Me, but still I
want you to be full of the love we shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow
and live only for yesterday, or you can
be happy for tomorrow because of what
happened between us yesterday.

You can remember me and grieve
that I have gone, or you can cherish my
memory and let it live on.

You can cry and lose yourself, become
distraught and turn your back on
the world, or you can do what I want -
smile, wipe away the tears,
learn to love again and go on.

- FROM WILSON’S MEMORIAL PRAYER CARD

Who is your favorite man? Why?

Who is your favorite man? Why?

We’re planning the "Man Issue" of Make It Better magazine and we would like your help.

Please tell us – who is your favorite man? Why?

Also, what makes a man great?

This is one of my favorites – my son Pat. He enjoys life and is always thoughtful of others:

Find What You Believe In and Life Your life By Those Lights

“Use your education to figure out what you believe in and try to live your life by those lights.” - Scott Turow

Scott Turow

I’m proud to Chair tonight’s New Trier High School Alumni Hall Of Honor Induction Dinner. Ten individuals who have accomplished much by living New Trier’s motto “to commit minds to inquiry, hearts to compassion and lives to the service of humanity” will be celebrated. Scott Turow is one of them.

At a recent interview, Turow reflected on his youth and activism, the substantial improvement of opportunities and real advances towards equality for millions and millions of Americans, and gave great advice:

“Use your education to figure out what you believe in and try to live your life by those lights.“

Read more here.

Invest in These Girls and You Invest in the World!

“Invest in these girls and you invest in the world!” – Ana Maria Martinez

Internationally acclaimed Latina soprano Ana Maria Martinez

Girl Power

Educate and empower girls and you empower their future families, communities and the world. Women are the nurturers and connectors of the world; therefore, educated women are the most powerful change agents for the better.

Latina opera star Ana Maria Martinez proudly explained this in her Keynote remarks at “Girl Power,” the annual fundraising lunch for Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago. “Invest in these girls and you invest in the world!” she declared. We agree.

To learn more about the school please click here.

Martinez also offers donors a free copy of her CD.

Therefore your donation to YWLCS can earn you not only the satisfaction of creating a better future for many, but also the gift of great music for yourself.

It Doesn’t Get Better Than This!

Living La Dolce Vita Along Italy’s Amalfi Coast

Learn more here.

Quick and Easy: Wine and Warmth with A. Perry Homes

 

More here.

And Suzy’s Voice Made a Difference for Over 2.7 Million Children!

Here’s a bittersweet follow-up to my prior post and invitation to write to change the world.

Rest In Peace Suzy Yehl Marta. You made a tremendous difference, healing children across the country and around the world. May your example inspire others.

Susan Yehl Marta, Founder of Rainbows For All Children.

Founder of the World’s Largest Grief Support Charity Passes Away

Suzy Yehl Marta, founder of Rainbows For All Children™, Helped Millions of Youth Grieve and Grow after Their Own Losses

Suzy Yehl Marta, founder of Rainbows For All Children, and author of Healing the Hurt, Restoring the Hope. passed away on Jan. 13, 2013 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Millions of children worldwide have Suzy to thank for building an international support network to help them through their most challenging life struggles, whether they were grieving the loss of a parent, a divorce, or some other life-altering event, such as incarceration of a loved one or having a parent deployed overseas.

Suzy’s mission to heal the hearts of children started in the Chicago area more than 30 years ago after going through her own divorce. As a single mom and working several part-time jobs, Suzy knew her sons were hurting just as much as she was ─ and her divorce was to blame. Frustrated by professionals who told her kids were resilient and discovering a void in outreach to grieving children, Suzy gathered other parent volunteers and launched weekend retreats for grieving youth through her local church and the Chicago archdiocese. In three years, 800 kids came – each one broken-hearted, angry, confused and isolated in pain.

Holding these children in her arms, and wiping away their tears, Suzy encouraged them to share and then (more importantly) listened to what they had to say. This vivid understanding of the need to reach hurting children compelled Suzy to write a curriculum that was later picked up in three Chicago-area schools. Suzy named the program “Rainbows” to note the great promise of life after one comes through the storm of hurt and grief.

The effectiveness of the program coupled with the great needs of hurting children has moved Rainbows far beyond the Chicago area. Nearly 30 years since those weekend retreats, Rainbows is now in all 50 states and 18 countries. All told, Rainbows has helped more than 2.7 million children grieve and grow after loss.

Suzy received numerous media honors including Family Circle’s “Women Who Make a Difference,” USA Today’s “People Who Make a Difference in the USA,” Newsweek’s “A New American Hero,” Woman’s Day’s “Outstanding Woman Award” and NBC’s Jefferson Award. Suzy also was the recipient of several organizational awards, including but not limited to the Mercedes Mentor Award, American Cardinals Encouragement Award from Catholic University of America and the Distinguished Service to Families Award from the Illinois Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In 2011, Ireland’s President, Mary McAleese, honored 40 Rainbows directors and Suzy at Áras an Uachtaráin, Ireland’s White House.

You Said It

We love to hear from you!  Below are recent messages about our January magazine issue, available here:

http://issuu.com/makeitbetter/docs/jan2013-digitaled

For iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/make-it-better/id483172434?ls=1&mt=8

Feel free to send your thoughts, suggestions, criticisms to me too.  You help make us better.

Thank you.
–

From Karen de Loys re our Pap Tests and HPV Testing article:

I wanted to point out to you that your age based testing checklist was somewhat inaccurate re: pap tests and HPV testing.  I am attaching the 2012 American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology practice bulletin, the United States Preventative Services Task Force Summary of Cervical Cancer Screening Recommendations and The ASCCP, ACS and ASCP 2012 Screening Guidelines for Cervical Cancer.

It is important when you are informing the public that you provide the most accurate and up to date information.  These three documents are what physicians in the women’s health field look to for screening guidelines.  The new screening intervals have changed from three years to five years for a negative pap and negative HPV for women age 30 and older.  If you are under the age of 30, pap testing with reflex to HPV is the level A recommendation with an interval of every three years until age 30.  No pap testing for women under the age of 21 regardless of sexual activity unless HIV positive, then pap testing is recommended every year.

I recommend you review these documents.  I know that women tend to listen to the media first and their physicians second.  If you are going to provide this very valuable guide, please make sure it is accurate.

Our Response:

Thanks for writing in about the health tests article. we appreciate your feedback. We got our information for that piece from the American Cancer Society. This is the guideline that they gave:

Women between the ages of 30 and 65 should have a Pap test plus an HPV test (called “co-testing”) every 5 years. This is the preferred approach, but it is also OK to have a Pap test alone every 3 years.

http://www.cancer.org/healthy/findcancerearly/cancerscreeningguidelines/american-cancer-society-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer

I spoke with doctors from Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem, who offered that the HPV test isn’t always suggested on a regular basis unless your Pap yields abnormal results, which I specified under the HPV entry. As we also mentioned in the article, these are just general guidelines for those in good health with no family history of the condition and individuals should consult their physicians before skipping any major tests.

Unfortunately we had a limited amount of space in the print article, so I was not able to include every detail for every test. We will, however, include the alternative of getting the Pap test plus HPV test every five years on the web version of the story. I hope this answers your question. Thanks again.

From Tom Adolphson re Better Makers photo spread.

I cured Sheridan Road of this annoying tendency. Seems all the rage with North Shore mags. I speak of 82 and 83 where heads go out of the frame, either into white space, or more interestingly, into a woman’s bosom, lower right of 83. To me this tendency makes subjects look stupid, –CSO Association pics, three poor guys disrespected.

Really.

Yes, subjective, but really now.

Tom

Our response to Tom:

Thank you for writing.  You are correct, it is a matter subjective taste.  We think that if this design technique works for the New York Times, it works for us too…

 

Tom’s final words, your opinion sought:

Do not mean to machine gun a dead horse, but where is this used in the Times, which I read religiously…the magazine? (Styles section?) I cannot recall seeing it in their issues.

Okay, objectively, you think Joe Konen’s head looks good like that, and
Sachs’s head looks good in Ms. Healy’s bosom?

You shot me down, seemed a bit smug to me, but ask others, wihout priming them, just check around.

Remember the debate with Benton and Quayle?

“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

I suspect you will not respond again, but really, my subjective analysis is better than yours. Ask Konen, Healy, and some people on the street.

Better Maker photo spread, Jan. 2013

Joyce Piven Book Launch Party

Please join Joyce Piven at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center on Tuesday, December 11 from 7:30-9:30 for the launch party of her new book, In the Studio with Joyce Piven.  The evening begins in the Next Theatre for a discussion with both the authors, ending with a reception and book signing.  Books will be on sale at the event.  Admission is free but reservations are required: http://joycepiven.com/eventscalendar/.