Nov 6 2011

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Dear Everyone

Of course, the highlight of last weekend was Halloween and pumpkin carving. The photos are posted above. Nintendo was the theme this year, and the boys are thinking of submitting the photos to some monthly gaming magazine that they get. Lucas dressed as a vampire, and Jasper put on his Iaido clothes (although he had to leave his sword at home during the school day). We tried to get Jasper to put his hair back in a top-knot without success. At U of C, Nicola went as the CTA stop “Archer”, complete with bow-and-arrow. She also carved a CTA token pumpkin, and her group’s effort won second prize in a pumpkin carving contest.

This week I took off from work. On Tuesday, as Roger wrote, I went over Barbara and Roger’s health care power of attorney materials. We are all getting older, and you might want to think about this for yourselves. The family office has a long workbook available to help you think about some of the more common issues. Wednesday was pretty busy for me, because I went into work to finish up some material and look at a couple of consults sent to me. Then, around noon, I drove back to Hinsdale where I gave a brain cutting demo to the AP Psychology students at Hinsdale Central. Then back to work, and then to Westmont for a dental appointment. My teeth are all still in. Meanwhile, Jasper left for Washington DC at 4 AM Thursday returning Saturday night. He saw a lot of monuments and museums, and took a lot of photos. I think he had a good time, but he hasn’t been any more communicative than usual. Lucas only had a ½ day at school on Friday, so that afternoon he went to visit Nicola at U of C until today. He played poker, saw a play, visited the school. The upshot of this is Cindy and I had about 24 hours as empty nesters. We went to Costco, saw some on demand TV shows, and went out to dinner in Hinsdale on Friday night. The weekend before was the Field Museum ball. It seemed much the same as previous ones. I thought the food was above average, but there was no goodie bag when we left. I didn’t see the new permanent exhibit.

As I mentioned in an earlier email, I will facilitate a discussion on Frankenstein in Mexico. So far I think Barbara, Roger, Andy, Owen, Maddi, and Bill Watson have agreed to participate. I would like to know who else wants to join by late November so I can prepare some good discussion questions. I recently finished “Ready Player One” by Ernest Kline on Gail and Joey’s recommendation. If you like Neal Stephenson or Corey Doctorow you will enjoy this book, although I thought it was a little predictable. I also thought “The Scheme for Full Employment” by Magnus Mills was a funny satire. Mills might be a worthwhile author for a future book discussion group.

Love, H.