War-n Out

Monday marked the fourth anniversary of a war that should not have occurred.

Few if any of us who voiced concerns over a pre-emptive attack on Iraq foresaw how horribly this war would be prolonged.

While many of us believed that this war would be troubling, we did not foresee how cruel some of our military leaders would become.

We did not foresee how uncaring our government would be of the men and women who lay their lives, their well-being and sometimes their sanity on the line.

Nor did we envison how casual this government would be about civil liberties at home.

But even as we protest the continuation of the hostilities, we must confront the terrible destruction we have inflicted – not only upon Iraq but upon our own country, in the loss of civil liberties and the danger of being inured to the idea that torture has its place in our arsenal of defense.

While such reflection may be difficult in the atmosphere of fear and terror promulgated from our nation's capital, reflection is necessary.

Whether individually, in small groups or in institutional, congregational settings, the people of this country must look at what has been allowed, what has been done in our names and look toward ways of peace and reconciliation.

We are – even in this luxurious country – somewhat shell-shocked and battle weary. But the voices for peace will continue and, we trust, grow stronger.

Weekends of Art

The RoundTable invites artists and photographers who live in Evanston to submit samples of their work for bimonthly artists' weekends to be held at the Frame Warehouse, 814 Dempster St., from May through December. The only criteria for submission are residency in Evanston and artwork that can be hung on a wall.

Each Weekend will begin with a Friday evening reception, followed by Saturday and Sunday showings at the Frame Warehouse. The RoundTable will publicize each Weekend, and Frame Warehouse will take a commission on all art sold during the show. Artist's Weekends are open to any artist who lives in Evanston and whose art can be displayed on a wall.
A word to the artists: We at the RoundTable will leave the selection process to the artists at Frame Warehouse and stick with our agile phrase-making to notify the public.

Peace Parable

By Charles Wilkinson

Not that long ago, a young poet, as poets do, saw his world through uncommon eyes. He believed that all others were just like him, a pilgrim journeying through an imperfect world. He knew he was not alone with the hurting in his heart because of the violence all around him. He was naïve enough to believe that everyone knew his pain if only because it was theirs as well. But, he asked himself, if that were so, why does the violence continue? And grow?

"Who among us would not want peace?" he wondered. "What is it in all of us that needs to define life by arrogance and righteousness, by fighting against rather than by working toward? How long must we tolerate the abuse of wars, not just the global ones, but those in our cities, our homes and ourselves?"

Such questions unsettled the young poet – so much so that he became depressed and reclusive. His friends began to worry about him. They saw a sadness in his eyes and a slump of shoulder that all but shouted, "I am done. There is nothing more to do but let be. My eyes are tired of seeing what will never be, and my shoulders weary of carrying dreams heavy with disillusions."

In the depth of his despair, the young poet turned to the only strength he knew, his words, and wrote from his soul

We are not there yet,
Not where we came from,
Not where we are going.
We are here
In a becoming world
Far, far from whatever
It is meant to be.
Here is where I am meant to be,
Just as far from what I dream
But, still, a part of my world
The way it is.
In this way-it-is place I need to speak my soul,
To find a peace within.
And if, perchance, my words are heard,
Others -
Or an other is enough –
May do likewise.
After all, peace within
Is the beginning
Of peace all about.

The young poet's head nodded at his words. His eyes blinked "Yes," and his shoulders lifted with a cleansing breath.

Women, Still Growing

By Peggy Tarr

It's still National Women's History Month. I revisited a book of nursery rhymes and was again struck by some of the notions about women and girls.
"Here's Sulky Sue,
What shall we do?
Turn her face
To the wall
Until she comes to."

"Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders,
Warming her pretty little toes!
Her mother came and caught her
And whipped her little daughter,
For spoiling her nice new clothes."

"Hush-a-bye, baby,
Daddy is near,
Mamma is a lady,
And that's very clear."

"What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all that's nice
And that's what little girls are made of."

Women have come a long way in many parts of the world, but still have far to go. Here in the United States (and elsewhere), women are still subdivided in the struggle for women's rights based on race, ethnicity, age, religion, et cetera. Historically, we are reminded of this division in a section of a speech by Sojourner Truth – an African-American, born Isabella Baumfree (or Van Wagener), 179?-1883, abolitionist, orator, and women's rights advocate, born a slave:

"That man over there says that woman needs to be lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helped me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me the best place, and aren't I a woman?" (paraphrased)

This statement captures the "catch 22" situation among women when the group divides/dilutes itself based on discriminatory notions. There has existed and does exist the misconception that African-American women are "strong," able to handle any- and everything. Wrong. Humans (a species to which African-American women belong) cannot handle everything.

The nursery rhymes below are presented to show that women come in varieties of strength and character, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, et cetera, that one version does not define all the members of a group.

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,
Eating of curds and whey.
There came a big spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away."

Versus
Little Miss Rough-it
Had to tough it,
Eating her curds and whey.
There came a big spider,
Who plopped down beside her;
Miss Rough-it just shooed it away.

Curds – The coagulated part of milk, from which cheese is made after milk sours.
Whey – The thin watery part of milk which separates from thicker part (curds) after coagulation.

Letters to the Editor

In Support of St. Francis Hospital
Editor:

I was so disappointed to receive a ridiculous flier in my mailbox a couple of weeks ago, labeled "Resurrection Health Care – A Risky Choice." The flier, distributed en masse by a union that deserves no more headlines, did everything in its power to convince Evanston residents that St. Francis Hospital is inferior, offers poor quality at high prices, requires fewer certifications than most hospitals and provides patients with substandard care because of understaffing.

This is one 42-year-old patient, seen by many departments over the years, who felt she absolutely had to speak out.

I first sought out St. Francis Hospital as my hospital of choice more than a decade ago, as it provided both exceptional care and a spiritual embrace. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, I received nothing but the most exceptional care from surgeon Matthew Hyser, oncologist Ann Kinnealey, all attending physicians, every lab technician, pathologist, radiation oncologist and nurse along the way.

They not only worked as a team to save my life, but listened when I was concerned about being able to have children naturally and without invasive procedures. My husband and I began adoption paperwork.

After aggressive chemotherapy, I beat the odds and eventually became pregnant. I continued to miscarry, which brought heartbreak. Though specialists at Rush and the University of Chicago could not diagnose the problem, St. Francis Hospital's Dr. Joan Leya examined every moment of my health history and ran a simple test. Her hunch was right, and with an aspirin a day I was suddenly carrying a child to term.

At age 38 I had a beautiful son. At age 40 I had a beautiful daughter – thanks to a healthy lifestyle, prayer and the St. Francis staff.

They greet me by name – not simply at hospital appointments, but at the grocery store or on the street. That's right ... Randi from the lab, Ann from the Breast Center, Brigit from maternal fetal ultrasound.

Dr. Hyser's call was the first one I received after having my son, and Dr. Kinnealey's staff came running to see my children when they were born.

I doubt that happens at most hospitals.

Dr. Ines Baquero, now at U of I in Champaign, was the champion OB/GYN doctor who saw me through a high-risk pregnancy and handed me my son.

Though she had moved two hours away, she drove up to Evanston – on her own time – to be at the delivery of my daughter.

And a lack of patient care? I can't imagine a greater insult to Ann Hart, Zhiana, and the labor nurses who hold the hands of women throughout 30 hours of labor. I know. I was one of them.

I, my family and friends have seen many other doctors and staff members at St. Francis over the years – Drs. Cathy DiVincenzo, Marko Jachtorowycz, Patricia DePoli, Jan Johnson and others. Each has been outstanding, and all are board-certified practitioners. It should also be noted that St. Francis Hospital's nursing staff is above and beyond those of most other hospitals in specialty certification.

Incidentally, the last line of the ridiculous flier I received gave the phone number of a message center that I should call if I would like to "share my experience of St. Francis Hospital quality of care." I called the number over and over for two weeks. I had plenty to share.

The extension given on the flier is not valid; a taped message recites, "This mailbox is not initialized and cannot accept any messages." Since they were not able to hear my praise of St. Francis Hospital, it allowed me the opportunity to share my experiences with this newspaper. How fortunate.
Thank you for listening, for caring and for continuing to enjoy the board-certified, tremendously experienced and thoughtful care that is provided by St. Francis Hospital's physicians, nurses, technicians, general staff and volunteers.
-- Carrie Swearingen

Council's Actions Are Disturbing
Editor:

To re or not to re, this is the question. Your cover story about the Civic Center rehab quoted both entities bearing figures they knew to be fictitious. We can't hold Friends of the Civic Center accountable for their slight-of-hand, but we must do so for those of our City staff, who were involved in the packaging of their renovation figure.

Friends presented a figure of $13 million, based on Wilmette residential gut/rehab that, as led by an architect, they must know to be inaccurate. Commercial construction has a far higher bar to meet in code compliance, particularly in structural, lighting, plumbing, and electric trades, that drives its cost significantly higher. But it is understood from their organizational name, that they have a singular point of view.
More disturbing, by presenting their $31 million figure without revealing that one third was additional scope, our Council representatives were absolutely duplicitous.

In this way, they are not representing us fairly by laying out the facts upon which to make a decision. It was not disclosed which representatives were involved in this misrepresentation, but I hope this may be identified.

I believe U.S. Equity's $20 million renovation figure is accurate and makes that option palatable, but whatever the depth of our passion about the issue, if any plan is executed well it will likely be of little concern to a following generation whether we renovated or built. The true matter always before us is to cut out the rot in our Denmark.
-- Barry Johnson

Not All Are Friends of Central Street
Editor:

We have all heard the acronym NIMBY (not in my back yard) but I propose another collection of capital letters: NIMN (not in my name).

It is my understanding that the community group "Friends of Central Street" claims that everyone opposes the development at 1700-1722 Central St. This is a 51-unit, four-story mixed-use development (residential and retail) that has been hotly contested by this group.

Let me make something clear: This group does not represent either my husband or myself or many others who are in favor of the development. This development will replace the rodent-infested theaters and collection of small leased stores with an attractive, vibrant and useful building.

Residents of the development will be able to walk to transportation and neighbors will be able to use the retail stores. At four stories, with parking allocated for retail employees and residents within the development, it is a step forward in improving the north end of Central Street.

Some of the tactics of this group are abhorrent: For example, booing Seventh Ward Alderman Elisabeth Tisdahl at the City Council meeting on Feb. 26, when she voted in favor of this project. We have lived here long enough to remember hundreds of other hotly debated proposals in Evanston.

Eyeball-to-eyeball we used logic and reasoning and, most of all, collaboration, to come to a consensus. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost. It was, however, not the norm to use tactics of personal destruction to make a point. In fact, that happened rarely, and when it did, there was a realization that it was wrong to do. Our arguments were simply not good enough to win.

Sometimes groups or individuals get off on the wrong track and, like little kids, become bullies.

Bullies only exist by virtue of our own complicity in silence. We can agree to disagree: I like the development – you don't. I want to see the adaptive reuse of the stores on the north side of Central Street east of the Metra; maybe you like what is there.

O.K. Let's discuss the impact of non-development on the Evanston bottom line: the budget and our property tax bills. Let us never get caught up in the smug satisfaction that being abusive somehow makes us tower over others. It doesn't; it only means your argument failed.
-- Susan Roupp

Editors note: NIMN, Not In My Name, is already the name of the Chicago Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Wary of History Redux
Editor:

One of the issues facing the decision for a new city hall is cost. It is sobering to look at costs of city halls for nearby communities, some of which run well over $300/sq ft. Yet the rehab of Malinkrodt in Wilmette, an old school building converted to condos,is estimated to cost $130/sq ft. – that is a sobering difference.

Among the many other issues facing a new city hall is where? There have been numerous sites mentioned, and all have serious disadvantages compared to the present site, which is in a park-like setting and has ample free parking. Among the proposed sites under consideration for a new Civic Center is the former bus company site on Emerson Street. There are probably underground fuel tanks, leaked engine fluids and who knows what there. There has been no mention of the distinct possibility of a need for environmental abatement and who would be responsible for the costs. Also, has anyone raised the issue of power line proximity on the site, and line radiation with its impact on humans and communication devices, in addition to its lack of aesthetics?

The reason I mention this, is some years back, as properties were being acquired for the downtown theater and redevelopment, one of the sites was a former car rental office. I raised the issue of possible environmental contamination. Nothing was done, and ultimately we taxpayers had to foot the cost of environmental abatement because of a buried fuel tank. I also recall that environmental abatement was required at the Dempster/Dodge shopping site, but I do not remember if costs were borne by the City.
I hope history will not repeat itself.
--Vito Brugliera

EDN Heads Toward the Century Mark
Editor:

Evanston Day Nursery (EDN) is moving toward its Centennial Celebration in 2012. Since 1912, four generations of children have been served, and we'd love to hear how you or your family has been touched by EDN.

While we face the same financial challenges that all child-care facilities struggle with, if you have heard that we are not staying around, you should know that rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated (to paraphrase Mark Twain)! We have redoubled our fundraising efforts so that we can continue to serve Evanston's diverse population as we have for the last 95 years.

We are currently accepting enrollments for June as well as the fall. For those who have never heard of EDN, or want to see firsthand how it is a "home-away-from-home" for children of Evanston's working families, we always welcome visitors – we're the house with the red door at 1835 Grant St.

Also, we want to extend invitations to all who want to support this valuable Evanston community resource to come to our spring event from 7 to 10 p.m. on April 21 at the Firehouse Grill. We would love to give additional information about our programs and events and hear all of your personal EDN stories.

Please e-mail us at evanstondaynursery@sbcglobal.net, or call 847-864-9700.
--EDN Board of Directors: Kathy Rospenda, President; Dana Caspall, Treasurer; Cindy Aaronson, Secretary; Fiori Keribar and Kate Lauderbaugh

Prevent Strokes
Editor:

Someone in our country suffers a stroke every 45 seconds, and every three to four minutes, someone dies from one. The statistics are daunting, but two of our local representatives have taken action to literally STOP stroke.

The American Stroke Association applauds local Congressional Representatives Rahm Emanuel and Jan Schakowsky for cosponsoring the bipartisan STOP (Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention) Act in Congress. This legislation will help ensure that stroke patients are treated as quickly and effectively as possible.

Stroke is caused by an interruption of blood flow to the brain due to a clogged blood vessel or bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel. It kills more than 150,000 Americans each year – and 1,000 are from Illinois.

Nationally, it is also a leading cause of disability and is hard on our pocketbooks, too: The estimated direct and indirect cost for stroke in 2007 is $62.7 billion.

We are however, no longer helpless when a stroke strikes. Its effects can be greatly reduced if advanced treatment is available immediately. The STOP Stroke Act will help bring state-of-the-art medical treatments and services to our state for stroke care, prevention and rehabilitation programs. Even more importantly, it will also bring reassurance that proper care and services for stroke victims and their families will be there when our loved ones need them most.

We urge other members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to do their share to STOP stroke by co-sponsoring and fighting to pass this important legislation.
--Andy Rauh, M.D., President, Metro Chicago Board of Directors, American Heart Association/American
Stroke Association

So Who Really Wants A New Civic Center?
Editor:

Because it's a topic of local interest, I often ask Evanston people what they think about Evanston's building a new Civic Center. Not one has responded that it's a good idea. Those who have no information ask, "Why would they ever want to do that?" Many comment that the current Center is both handsome and easily accessible, with suitable space and good parking.

Those who are more informed say they doubt that building a new Civic Center would save the City money. In fact, they believe it will end up costing Evanston more than would repairing the existing building. But they are especially unhappy about the thought of tearing down one of Evanston's landmarks – a building that so fits in with much of the character of Evanston – in order to build a new edifice that, if the recent tradition continues, will be bland, ordinary and devoid of charm.

I am one who doesn't necessarily believe that new is better. Heck, my very old house needs a lot of repairs too,including the roof. Should I tear it down and start over? Not a chance.

It is so important to the lovely old flavor of Evanston, especially in our residential districts that have so many beautiful houses - and that includes the neighborhood around the current Civic Center and the nice open spaces surrounding it. To maintain the integrity of Evanston, a unique city, we must try to restrain those who think the only way to go, usually couched in terms of economics, is to tear down and build newer, taller, wider, and often, uglier.

Newer estimates of the costs of repairs to the existing Civic Center are considerably lower than originally discussed, thus weakening the argument for building a new Center. And so far, to my knowledge, there is no agreement about what the cost of a new building would be, but we all know it will not be cheap and fear that we, the citizens, will end up carrying the brunt of it through higher taxes.

As a former Evanston non-profit director and community activist, I have spent many hours in the current building, and have always found it a pleasant and very satisfactory place to be to carry out the City's business.

In April please vote yes to making the necessary repairs and staying in our present building at 2100 Ridge Ave.
-- Ann Jennet