“Why would you want to go somewhere where they just want to tell you what to do?” A friend of a friend’s husband asked this, when his wife was thinking about attending church with their children. My friend, a churchgoer with a rebel soul, happened to be there. She came back with: “Mark, you know […]
Two Europeans, One Pakistan Day, and Zero Samosas 
August 26, 2012 by
In 2011, 8000 people came to the Pakistani Independence Day celebration in Bolingbrook. This year, I wanted to go check it out, too. The founder, Talat Rashid, believes it’s the oldest continuous celebration in the Midwest, and maybe the whole country. My friend Monica was in town and, since she’s always game for international foods […]
Take 12 – August 
August 21, 2012 by
Not all taken on August 12, but thereabouts… (“Take 12” is a project to take 12 pictures of your daily life on the twelfth of each month in 2012). My desk, with calendars, church directory, thank you notes, a Sunday bulletin, cup from Subway, to do list, and various: The attendance count sheets we […]
Little Suburb on the Prairie
August 8, 2012 by
Laura said to Mary, “This prairie is like an enormous meadow, stretching far away in every direction, to the very edge of the world.” The endless waves of flowery grasses under the cloudless sky gave her a queer feeling. She could not say how she felt. All of them in the wagon, and the wagon and […]
The History of My Subdivision
July 30, 2012 by
My house stands on what used to be someone’s farm. Their home was here. Their family lived out every day on this land, under this sky. There were crops, animals, and outbuildings. Now, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of houses, here. Not much is left from the farm days but a few kitchy […]
Farm Archaeology: Two Artifacts
July 30, 2012 by
There are still active farms in Bolingbrook – complete with farm houses, barns, fields, tractors. But there’s not much left of the farm my subdivision now stands on. But I’ve noticed two things that offer a glimpse of our history: A section of wood fence, left behind because it was surrounded by a thicket of […]
A History of Cheap American Furniture
July 27, 2012 by
Some folks complain about the shoddy construction of IKEA furniture. But wait. Shoddy construction has a long history in American society. I ask you: doesn’t IKEA seem like a natural heir to an American legend: The Sears Catalog? Exhibit 1: Sears dresser (circa 1930? 1940?) Made of cheap wood topped with veneer. Styled to look […]
St. Benedict Was A Suburbanite
July 22, 2012 by
The patron saint of my church is St. Benedict, who lived in Italy in the 6th century. He was one of the first people to organize a monastery that wasn’t eccentric or extreme. His monks ate three meals a day, slept in beds, and, although they went to church nine (!) times a day and […]
