Newsletter November-December 2020
NOTE FROM THE BOARD
Dear Skyline Village Chicago Members and Friends,

Read what our friends at Chicago AARP say about the Fair Tax Amendment (graduated income tax) on the ballot: “The graduated income tax will not tax retirement income. Don't believe what the opponents are saying.” Read here. 

Skyline Village hosts a regular Zoom chat for members every Friday at 4:00 pm. Join us if you’d like to discuss this and other issues. 
Email [email protected]. Write "Chat" on subject line.

Don’t forget to vote! 

Early Voting Sites in our neighborhood:

Hours:
Monday-Friday - 8:30 am-7 pm
Saturday-Sunday - 9 am-5 pm
Election Day, Nov. 3 - 6 am-7 pm

Locations:
Loop Super Site at Clark & Lake - 191 N. Clark St. 
Goldblatts Building, 1615 W Chicago Ave.
Ogden Elementary School, 24 W Walton St.
Maggie Daley Park, 337 E. Randolph St.
Lincoln Park High School, 2001 N Orchard St

Covid Holidays?
For some of us the holidays are no big deal. In fact, we welcome schedule-free days and time alone to catch up. But for others, this may be the first time we “celebrate” the holidays without family and friends around the table. Here are some ideas you may want to put into your planning to keep the blues away.
  1. Have your own Zoom party. Zoom is only $15/month and easy to set up. You can Zoom with one or many people and have as many parties as you like. Use Zoom to contact someone else who is alone.
  2. Offer to pet-sit for your friends and families who may be going out of town.
  3. Learn how to meditate or increase your meditation time. There are plenty of free online groups and classes.
  4. Attend a virtual religious service or class.

What are you doing? Let us hear what you’re planning not just for the holidays but for the covid winter. Email: [email protected]

Stay in touch. May you, your friends and families be well and at peace.

Skyline Village Board of Directors
Thank you for supporting Skyline Village Chicago
Please consider making a donation to help us keep our virtual doors open.
Join Skyline Village Chicago
Annual Dues $75 per individual, $100 per couple
Mail check: Skyline Village Chicago, PO Box 81334, Chicago, IL 60681
Our 501C3 status affords members tax deductions to the extend allowed by law.
ADVOCACY
Make Our Voices Heard

The following non-violent organizations are working to confront many of the systemic and institutional racism issues facing Chicago. We suggest you get to know them and perhaps direct your resources there.
 
NLSD Project aims to improve NLSD between Grand and Hollywood. This is a major historic project that may change the quality of life on or near North Lake Shore Drive. Add your voice! The city wants your input! Watch the attached videos and submit your comments to [email protected] by Nov. 9.
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Skyline Village Chicago is using Zoom to connect with members and friends. Please join us at one of the following.
Women’s Salon Zoom
Second Tuesday of Every Month
3:30-5:00pm

SVC members gather in conversation monthly to increase their awareness of cultural and societal notions on aging. If you’re interested in joining us and are not already on the Zoom list, contact [email protected] and write SALON on the subject line.

Click here to register.
Weekly Zoom Chat
Every Friday - 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Check in for a backyard over-the-fence chat on how you’re getting along during the Shutdown and what strategies you’re using to stay sane and healthy. If you're not already on the Zoom list, contact [email protected] and write Friday Chat on the subject line.
Zoom Forums
Medicare Part D
Skyline Village Chicago and the Center for Life and Learning
Thursday, October 29
2:30–3:30 p.m.
Esther Craven
Resource Coordinator
CJE Senior Life
Kate Paz
Director of Programs
Without Walls at Mather Lifeways
Esther Craven, Resource Coordinator at CJE SeniorLife, and Kate Paz, Director of Programs at Without Walls at Mather Lifeways, will give a timely presentation on what’s new and your options during Medicare Part D Open Enrollment. Following the talk registrants will have the opportunity to sign up for a free consultation with Esther or Kate, who are SHIP trained volunteers and can assist you in selecting the prescription plan that best meets your needs.
What is Racism? What is Anti-Racism
Dr. Sarah E. Dennis, adjunct Professor of Education UIC, anti-racism trainer and coach and co-founder of Families for Racial Justice Chicago, and NAME Illinois (the National Association of Multicultural Education: Advancing and Advocating for Social Justice and Equity
Yvonnie DuBoise, an editor at BellaOnline, is a meditation therapist and racial healing trainer and coach.
Skyline Village Chicago & Forward Chicago Zoom Forum
Wednesday, November 16
4:00-5:00 pm

The forum is free but you must register here “What Is Anti-Racism?” Forum.

Speakers: Dr. Sarah Dennis and Yvonnie DuBose 
DuBose and Dennis are anti-racist/anti-bias co-founders of New Roots. They are also co-facilitators of Racial Healing Circles sponsored by the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) initiative of the Woods’ Fund. This brief Zoom encounter will introduce concepts and tools to motivate anti-racist action. 
 
Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Women, LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, etc have been protesting for centuries, but our current times feel different. This is a national uprising where the USA has never gone before. It’s time to reimagine every facet of our community and create a space that allows all non-dominant folks to flourish. Just as this transformative revolution is not a sprint, but more of a marathon, this one-hour Zoom Forum cannot answer all our questions, but it will be an insightful introduction.
 
“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” (James Baldwin).

In lieu of payment, Yvonnie and Sarah are requesting that every attendee donate as much as they are able to the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute, a (black woman founded & run) non-profit organization. Click here.
PAST EVENTS
Zoom Forums
Interview with WBEZ's Monica Eng and Regan Burke on Her New Book, In That Number
Author and Skyline Village Chicago board member, Regan Burke, was interviewed by Monica Eng, reporter for WBEZ, about her life experiences growing up in a wildly dysfunctional family and moving on as a political activist in Washington, DC and Chicago. Request the book from your favorite bookshop, Amazon or from the publisher, Tortoisebooks.com.

From Hispanic to Latino to Latinx…. 
Sylvia Fuentes Click here for video
Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum, took us through a fascinating history of the changing demographics and language that have been used to describe Mexican Americans. The term “Hispanic” is a made-up word that was first used on the 1980 U. S. Census Forum.  Then we began to hear Latino and Latina. Today, we hear and read the word “Latinx” a gender neutral term used as an alternative by news and entertainment outlets.  
 
Zoom Comedy Hour: Comics Unmuted
Click on the video to view Skyline's first-ever Comedy Showcase
Previous Zoom Forum Videos
Dr. Ison
Northwestern Medicine
Covid & Flu Season
Jawanza Malone
Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization Equitable Housing
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Many of our friends are conducting online classes and events. Click into their newsletters and websites for information.
  • Forward Chicago Website
  • The Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy Website
  • Beth Finke MasterTeachers™: Website
  • Center for Life and Learning 4th Presbyterian Church: Website
  • Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease: website
  • Rush Generations Center for Excellence in Aging:  Website
  • Streeterville Organization for Active Residents: Newsletter 
  • AARP Chicago Newsletter

Yes, there is a virtual choir you can join. No audition. Check out their website or contact Jonathan Miller at (630) 441-5157.

Here’s a sample of what a virtual choir does: The Storm Is Passing Over
Support Skyline Village Just by Shopping
Log into Amazon through www.smile.amazon.com. Choose Skyline Village Chicago Inc. as your charity and .5% of your purchase will be donated to help SVC continue its mission. That's it! Everything else - all your logs ins, lists, saved items and all the prices will be exactly the same.
A MORE LIVABLE (COVID) CITY
What are you doing? Going to restaurants? Museums? Movies? Long cold walks? Watching Netflix? Zoom Courses? What can you recommend for others? Tell us what you’re doing or planning to do as it gets colder to make our city more livable. If you’re staying in, what are you watching? Schitt’s Creek? The West Wing? Vera? What do you recommend? Send photos and experiences to [email protected].

November 1 Day of the Dead
The National Museum of Mexican Art’s Day of the Dead celebration this year pays tribute to and remembers the numerous individuals from our community, Mexico, the U.S. and the entire world who have died from COVID-19. Join to see new installations, paintings, and prints created by local artists for this, the 34th annual Day of the Dead exhibition. Sign up HERE for a virtual tour.
Restaurants!
Let us know if you’ve discovered restaurants where you think you’ll eat when it’s cold outside. Add [email protected] to your email contacts so you can readily send us your photo eating in an igloo (!) or a heated outdoor patio.
 
We can’t vouch that the following restaurants are covid-safe enough for us. But if you’ve been or if you go, let us know what you think at [email protected]
 
  • Beatnik on the River: Sweeping views overlooking the south branch of the Chicago River with a newly added transparent enclosure and patio heaters 180 N. Upper Wacker Drive, 312-526-3345, beatnikontheriver.com
  • Cabra: Girl & the Goat rooftop escape. The garage doors that flank its dining room close during the winter to keep the space warm. 200 N. Green St., 312-761-1717, cabrachicago.com
  • The Dawson: Branded blankets available for $15 that guests can use while dining, and then take home. The restaurant’s outdoor heaters and fireplace will ramp up comfort too. 700 W. Grand Ave., 312-243-8955, the-dawson.com
  • Eduardo’s: Highly recommended by neighbors. Outside seating with open air enclosures and heaters to keep away the cold. 1212 N Dearborn St (312) 337-4490 Mon - Fri Lunch, Dinner Open at 11am Sat - Sun Brunch, Lunch, Dinner Open at 10am
  • Frontier: A fireplace will heat up an outdoor patio during winter 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-772-4322, thefrontierchicago.com
  • I|O Godfrey Rooftop Lounge: Heated igloo, piled with blankets and plush furniture for up to 10 people. Fire pits, where guests can toast s’mores, and hot cocktails made tableside. 127 W. Huron St., 312-375-1830, iogodfrey.com
  • The J. Parker: Hotel Lincoln’s rooftop bar, which offers both indoor and outdoor heated seating. 664 W. Lake St., 312-600-0600, jparkerchicago.com
  • Piccolo Sogno: Back deck now sports a tent overhead, enclosing the large garden-like space. 464 N. Halsted St., 312-421-0077, piccolosognorestaurant.com
  • Porto: Atrium with wood burning in a nearby wheel grill. Hybrid of indoor-outdoor space with glass roof. 1600 W. Chicago Ave., 312-600-6336, portochicago.com
  • Saint Lou’s Assembly: A heated patio offers seating on a first-come, first-served basis. 664 W. Lake St., 312-600-0600, saintlouschicago.com
  • Stella Barra Pizzeria: Warm up near the 6-foot fireplace. 1954 N. Halsted St., 773-634-4101, stellabarra.com
 
Instacart Senior Support Service
Now available to help customers who are 60+ use online grocery delivery and stay safe during the pandemic. Contact Instacart’s Senior Support Service 1.844.981.3433 Daily: 7am - 10 pm to:
•    Set up an Instacart account
•    Fill your virtual cart & place your first order
•    Learn key features like "setting replacements" & "chatting with your shopper"
•    Troubleshoot issues & questions about existing orders
SKYLINER EXPEDITIONS
As 2020 winds down, Skyliners still are finding creative ways to have expeditions. If you have a story to tell about the holidays or other late 2020 adventures, please send it to [email protected] by December 21st. 
Fish Story
By Richard Sylvia
 
This fall I was lucky enough to be on eastern Long Island during the annual striped bass migration down the Atlantic coast. I have always fished, but surf casting is its own thing really, especially daunting for an older person, and requiring an incredible amount of faith. Can I keep my balance in the wash of these powerful waves? How far out dare I venture? What are the chances that this tiny lure is anywhere near a fish in this great ocean? There are signs to follow of course: wind direction, tide and wave height, diving birds, and bait fish that roil the surface, but none are dependable. I’ve been knocked off my feet on a calm day and caught fish when all the conditions were wrong.
 
Facing out to sea, thigh to waist deep in the continuous wash, focuses the mind. And provides much to savor: a dolphin fin — or is that a shark? — just out of my casting range, a seal swimming leisurely by, a whale spouting between me and the horizon. And then, if I’m lucky, after a hundred casts and twice as many second thoughts, shoulders sore and the cold creeping in: a strike! The thrill is indescribable: validation, exhilaration, pride.  
 
Now that I am older, I release almost all the fish I catch, out of respect, I suppose, for the instinct to survive. In any case, the fish pictured here is just short of legal size and was returned uninjured to the sea.
80th Birthday Celebration
By Anna Rappaport
 
The pandemic turned my 80th birthday celebration upside down, but it went very well.

We had planned to have a family reunion and big birthday party for my 80th birthday.  My daughter was organizing the party. We were ready to sign the hotel contract for the party and room-block just about the time we realized that there was a pandemic that might last for a while. We decided to wait before signing the contract, and by mid-summer it became clear that getting together in person was off the table for September 2020. We are still hoping for an in- person get-together for 2021.
 
I am part of a blended family; between us we have five children. They all worked together to make this work. Our daughter Jennifer and daughter-in-law Lisa took the lead in several activities so that I had a marvelous family birthday celebration. Jennifer organized a Zoom party with the family and sent decorations, the most amazing cake, wonderful flowers, and dinner for my birthday. Jennifer had a local helper in Florida who decorated and organized the Florida end. With help from many family members, Lisa made me a memories album that is absolutely gorgeous, with an amazing array of photos and other memorabilia put together beautifully. Jennifer and her husband, with video input from many people, made a wonderful videotape showing pictures from all of my life and greetings from family, neighbors, friends, and more.   It made me feel very loved. I could not have asked for more wonderful presents.
 
All of our siblings, children and first cousins participated in this celebration – some in the Zoom party, some in the video greetings and the album. I have three first cousins, and I had not seen two of them for several years. Because we are a blended family, a few of the people had not met each other before. It was fantastic. 
  
My Florida friends got me a tiara and a sash. You can see them in the Zoom picture. My next activity after the birthday was to extend the celebration by drawing the flowers and the decorations. My drawing is in gouache on black paper.
 
Jennifer organized the Zoom call so that the family could share memories. One of my first cousins shared that they had not met me until I was a teenager. I grew up in Baton Rouge with my parents, grandmothers and siblings, but there were no other relatives nearby. It was so wonderful to have the whole family join together in this effort. What a fantastic celebration.
Rented Car
By Beth Najberg
7:08 AM, September 16th. A slightly terrified woman departs from her garage in a rented car. Alone.
Why?
To see her three granddaughters in New Jersey for the first time since Thanksgiving, 2019. The oldest is seven and the twins, five.
 
COVID-19 continues to confound traveling and visiting family, but my son and I figured that this method was the safest. He drove from New Jersey, met me at the Cleveland airport's rental car center, and we drove back to New Jersey for ten glorious days with three school-age children: a second grader and twins in kindergarten. We reversed the process going back, all on Interstates 80 and 90.
 
It was actually lovely, not scary at all. I loved seeing the landscape change from flat Indiana and Ohio farmland to the mountains of Pennsylvania. Rest plazas were comfortable, lots of coffee available.
 
Would I do it again? Yes!
I would likely wait until spring so I can drive entirely during the day, but it was easier than I thought. I'm not terrified going forward.
 
My only advice? If you rent a car and the gas tank is only half full, take a photo of the dashboard to document it. When Hertz challenged whether the tank had really been half-full at the start, I showed them this photograph plus the receipt for gas. I guess the gas tank icon with 211 miles shows that it really was half full! It took a few Twitter conversations to get it straightened out.
NEW MEMBERS
Do you have something you'd like to share with your Skyline Village friends in the next newsletter? A news story, a poem, blog, piece of art, photo, a Favorite Thing, a quote? We'd love to include you in upcoming newsletter and the website.
JOIN SKYLINE VILLAGE CHICAGO
New Members
Judy Erwin
Dee Farris
Nancy Hansen
Joan Wolfensberger, Ph.D.

Renewing Members
Kristina Valaitis
Annual Dues: $75 Individual, $100 Couple
Send a check to: Skyline Village Chicago, P.O. Box 81334, Chicago, IL 60681 

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in cultural, educational and social programs. We are active, informed
and connected advocates within our unique, vibrant high-rise neighborhoods.