Lane Moving off to Northwestern

We knew the day was coming. We knew the day would arrive, when an ultrasound showed us a healthy looking fetus, and confirmed an estimated delivery-day.  There was never a point when we pondered the possibility that Lane would not attend college. With Northwestern on the quarter system we actually had an additional 20 plus days, just over 480 hours, hearing friends tell stories and post pictures of them packing, delivering, and then tearfully waving goodbye to their child..  

All this points to my complete lack of justification for being caught off-guard by Monday the 15th, or as I refer to it, "Black Monday." Don't get me wrong, I'm excited that at college, he is going to learn, grow and make many new friends. Lane just called me and told me about the courses he has selected, and I'm delighted by the prospect of him getting to take such an interesting collection of classes. It's just that him heading off to the dorm qualifies as a major event, and in our home, events are documented through writing but also at 24 frames per second.

In an ideal world I would have lugged around at least a tripod (a dolly and track would have been quite pretentious, particularly at a school  with a film department). I also am trying to force two short movies into one, something that is artistically flawed, but OK, since the idea was to document the first 24 hours.
.

.

Hunter Dunn sings at Old Town School with Lane.

Free time is not something Lane has much of, particularly during the school year. Teachers at Latin had no qualms about sending students home each night with many hours of work, his commitments to the theater department also swallowed large blocks of his time, and then there is my propensity to swoop in and lay-claim to most every remaining moment. Despite the precious few unchecked boxed on his daily schedule, he manages to find time to write a play, compose and post film reviews to his website and consistently have at least two films in some state of production. But this post was about his musical side.

Lane, finds small holes that he fills by moving from one instrument to the next, playing and writing songs for the pure enjoyment as well as for possible use in connection to some future larger project.   Of his many talents, putting things away is not on the list; so it is common to come home a see the his ukulele next to the piano with a tambourine on the floor within taping distance of the stool. Guitars left plugged into amps, a boom mic stand set by the drum kit. It is possible that Lane's greatest single gift  is the ability to find and attract talented people to work with him. He has been able to gather talented people to work of his films, and in this case, an amazing singer that makes anything he did sound great.

 .

Hunter, is going into her junior year at Latin, but already has a smooth sophistication to her singing often associated with someone several years older. Her personality is even sweeter than her voice.   

Latin Class of 2014

Latin School, as a part of celebrating their 125th year, commissioned a company to come out and take a photo of all of the kids and teachers, K-12, to line-up to spell out the 125. The photographer made use of a large Cherry-picker to get to the height needed to get the shoot. But then they realized that the process of getting some 1,200 people to crowd together in carefully designated positions, dictated by several math teachers capable of factoring in perspective, was an event worthy of documentation. Based on two previous, unsolicited, short videos of parent "Pot-Luck parties," coupled with the understanding that Lane knows how to make movies; the task fell to us to make the video.

The head of the committee emailed me an example of a college that had spelled-out their age, and was asked to "Make something like that." The heart of the video was time lapse footage condensing the event to three minutes. That seemed like a logical approach which led to several issues, the need to obtain a camera that was designed to shoot time-lapse, the need to guess how long the process would take in an attempt to select the best interval to compress the action; and finally, how with my pronounced fear of heights was I going to shoot from a 60 foot elevation. Lucky for me, Lane had the answer to all three questions; he used a GoPro camera to shoot time-lapse of a construction site while at an internship with a video production studio; he calculated the interval needed, and he was willing to go up in that cherry-picker. The only thing was, as a student, he needed to be IN the photo; so he had to set up the camera, confirm it was working correctly, then ride back to the ground to be a member of the class. So we decided that I would be down on the nice safe ground with the Canon 7D on a tripod,he would set the GoPro and help in shooting the kids arriving, and being arranged, including close-ups,till the moment he had to join the seniors in the photo.

The editing, took a while because of the need to cut 45 minutes of footage from the 7D down to under 3 minutes, That's cutting that involves both aesthetic choices as well as providing a fair distribution of ages and perhaps not cutting the wrong people. This is version of the 125 video Latin has on their website. They made Lane use their fight song instead the better music he had planned- Something about alumni and money. But I understand the difficult nature of being the head of the committee having to please so many people; so the plan was to give them what they wanted. They asked us to help, and after all that the school has done for Lane; we were looking at this as gift, and would cut it anyway they requested.

http://youtu.be/GXcWkngeHPM

Moments after, the plan was to shoot a photo of the senior class. Well, as long as we had the equipment set-up, it seemed natural for Lane and I to shoot a video for the class of 2014. I hope it will be fun for the class of 2014 to see now, and bring back memories years from now, in a way that a single still photo can't match.

Wow it's hard to believe that another school-year is coming to a close. For Lane, he has but one more year before he takes off for some school out east.

There was a time when everything was about "Firsts". the first time Lane had chocolate, the first time he road a bike, but lately it's been hard not to slip into the recognition that this might be the last time we do _______ together. There is something rather sad about the "Rear-view-mirror" approach to life; even though I overwhelmingly feel good about the decisions Ilene and I have made and am very proud of Lane. I can at least walk around with the knowledge that I spent as much time with Lane as it was possible to spend. I missed nothing and I have the video and pictures to prove it.

But it is still a time for "Firsts;" like Lane's first prom which was last weekend.


 Malory also had her Prom on the same night, only in her case it was her Senior Prom.

The Kirsch family had another big event this month, Teddy graduated form the University of Michigan.

2012 Chicagoland High School Film Festival

For the second year in a row, Lane has a film that's been selected

as a finalist in the Chicagoland High School Film Festival. 





2012 Film Festival Finalists


Academic Integrity by Geoff Neal, Hayden McAfee, Frank Henderson, Jacob Hellinga, Patrick McGrail Lake Forest High School 13:11

Derivation by Nhan Huynh. Palatine High School 2:21
Robin and Her Wolf  by Lane Lubell. Latin School of Chicago 12:55

The Following by Jess Greenthin. Palatine High 1:02

Heart and Soul by Anna Price. Palatine High School 3:18
Bridge by Devitt Conboy. Fenwick High School 7:00

John Shepphard Skate Contest by Patrick McGrail. Lake Forest High School 3:54

HIV/AIDS Awareness 2010 by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 2:51
Letter From a Stranger by Grant Terzakis. New Trier High School 11:47

Q-Tips by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 1:00

The Dream Act by Nayelly Trujillo. Juarez High School/Street-Level Youth Media 7:00

Room For One by Andre Kaplan. Latin School of Chicago 5:40

Party at the School by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 3:43

Invite your friends, family, teachers and neighbors–this is a celebration of you and your work.

Tickets are only $3.00 for students and $5 for adults. Tickets can be reserved or purchased at the door.

We will have popcorn, water and a few concessions available to purchase.

Chicagoland High School Film Festival 2012

6:30-9 PM Friday, May 18

Wrigley Theatre,

Latin School of Chicago

59 W. North Blvd.

Chicago, IL 60610

The Count.... A Film by Lane J Lubell

In 3rd grade, I walked into school with my dad's copy of Woody Allen's book "Getting Even." Even back then we had already gotten into the habit of reading out-loud to each other works from Woody Allen and Neil Simon. My dad was utterly incapable of reading more than a handful of words without breaking out into laughter; so I assumed that my friends would be equally amused and off to school I went.

I was somewhat surprised to find that my friends did not share my enthusiasm for the humor, but even more taken-back when my teacher declared the book to be "Age inappropriate" and confiscated the book. I liked my teacher, I received no punishment: and assumed she probably wanted to read the book herself.

Now in high school, with a replaced copy of "Getting Even", I turned back to a favorite one act play entitled, "The Count," this time I sat down and adapted it into a screenplay, which I was encouraged to open-up to the class with various classmates reading parts. I was so excited by the way that worked out, that I figured I had to go the next step and make a short film using the students in that class.

There is a lot to learn when wanting to make films, from lighting to camera angles to editing; but on this project I learned a few more basic lessons.

Making even a short film requires a considerable investment of time. and while I was more than willing to spend the time, the same students that were happy to spend 20 minutes reading in class, were not willing to invest their entire weekend filming. I do understand that, however I wish people would have told me prior to the day of shooting and after I rented a costume. Since that day, I have reached out to people that actually have an passion for acting, and are excited to be in a movie. This is also when I first started creating Facebook groups, and blogs designed to keep people enthused, and thereby more likely to stick with the project.

File this under "Silver-Lining," despite 4 of my 6 actors no-shows on the day of the shoot, I was able to get the movie shot through the kindness of old friends that canceled all of their plans and arrived within 45 minutes notice. This was not because they had some sudden desire to be in a movie; but came because that's what friends do for each other. Watching the movie, I was painfully aware of how much harder making movies are compared to what expected, how much I needed to learn, the value of better equipment and the importance of confirming I have every shot I might need. Sure some of my "last-minute" replacement cast members performances might have less than stellar, but as friends they exceeded my wildest expectations.

March 2011

Ilene and I took a tour of the new 9 million dollar addition to Latin's science lab, floor to ceiling whiteboards,
30 foot wide LED video walls with live feeds from CERN,
3D projectors, walls that move so spaces can be reconfigured at will.

I wish I could go here,(Save for the homework) but I'm even happier that I can give this opportunity to Lane.

http://www.latinschool.org/ftpimages/348/misc/misc_80264.pdf

Faculty Presentation re Science Facilities on Prezi

http://prezi.com/ghlnf13lqado/faculty-presentation-re-science-facilities/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Old Mobile Phone Can Make a Difference

by Lane Lubell, 8th Grade

ALL: If a child drops his books, the unwritten laws of integrity say that one should help him by picking-up the books. In other words, the right thing to do is to help clean-up the mess.

As you read this, thousands of barrels of oil are leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, closing in on the Mississippi River Delta. Considered part of the Atlantic Ocean, this large body of water is being destroyed.

Whilst cleaning up the mess isn’t as easy as picking up a book, we can do things to protect what remains, and prevent further destruction.

One way to do this is to recycle. Another is to round-up other nasty chemicals, for example, mercury (Hg), which can ultimately ruin the oceans’ ecosystem. This round-up will ward-off improper disposal of these nasty chemicals into the environment.


Here at CCS, being environmentally friendly is something that is taken very seriously.

The support and success of the Acts of Green campaign, which ran in conjunction with Earth Day, not only realized over 800 Acts of Green within the school, but it also encouraged us to believe we should participate in a completion called March to a Million.


The basis of the competition is to collect as many old cell phones as possible. The winning school will receive $5000 towards a party, and a performance by the famed band, Hey Monday! (Sorry, girls. I guess Justin Beiber just isn’t as eco-friendly, or maybe his people just don’t have connections with the sponsor.)


Cell phone collection and recycling is very important. In an average cell phone, there are precious metals like gold (Au), silver (Ag), and even platinum (Pt). In addition to the precious metals, there are also multiple ounces of mercury (Hg), which is a metal in a liquid state. When thrown into a landfill, cell phones leak mercury, which can seep into the groundwater and contaminate our oceans. In fact when mercury meets the ocean, it can be more toxic than the petroleum (CH4) that is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico!

So what does this mean to you right now? Well, it means you have the opportunity to make a difference by gathering old cell phones from your homes, from your coworkers, from your family members and bringing them to the collection boxes at school. Mobile phones can be donated through the end of the month, and will be turned over to the March to a Million campaign, which will coordinate the proper disposal of these phones.
.

High School Admission Results

by Kate Anderson, High School Placement Counselor

MS: Our fabulous 8th grade students have done it again: another year of terrific high school acceptance results to celebrate! All twenty-eight of our students have received offers to rigorous programs throughout the Chicago area, and we are thrilled to report the following high school highlights for our soon-to-be-CCS-graduates:

• This year, we had our first ever acceptance to Northside Prep! 
   Good Job Lane Lubell

• Four acceptances to Walter Payton and seven acceptances to Whitney Young; the highest number to date for both


• Three of our eighth graders earned perfect scores on the Selective Enrollment Placement Exam!


• Eight acceptances to Lincoln Park International Baccalaureate program; out of seventeen test takers, almost half were invited to continue

• 21 out of 25 students were accepted into one of the top five CPS Selective Enrollment high schools

• 25 out of 28 (about 90%) students were accepted into one of their top three school choices

• 79% private school acceptance rate; however, this does not include wait-listings, which could still result in ultimate acceptance at this time

• This year, we celebrate our first ever CCS recipient of the prestigious and highly-coveted Daniel Murphy Scholarship Award!

With all these offers to choose from, where will our eighth-grade students be going? Four students have accepted places at the Latin School, and two at Francis W. Parker School. Four students will be attending Walter Payton, five students will be attending Whitney Young, and three students are headed over to the Lincoln Park High School Double Honors magnet program. Two students will be attending St. Ignatius College Prep, and three more will be traveling up to Winnetka to Loyola Academy. Two students have accepted places at St. Scholastica Academy and one each at St. Patrick High School and Lyons Township High School. One student will be moving internationally at the end of the school year.


Congratulations, 8th graders! We are so proud of you!
.

History Isn’t Just Something That’s Studied; It’s Made

MS: Last Thursday six students from The Catherine Cook School joined hundreds of other junior historians from around the state of Illinois to compete in the Illinois State History Expo in Springfield, Illinois. Each student submitted a Chicago-related project under the National History Day theme Innovation in History: Impact and Change.


Seventh grader Brigid Freed competed with her Individual Historical Exhibit titled Schwinn Bicycle Innovations. She explored the impact of the bicycle, specifically Schwinn and Co., on Chicago and society at large. Seventh grader Blue Stevenson completed her Individual Historical Exhibit on The Ferris Wheel: The World’s Greatest Ride. During her research, Blue made her own impact on the history of the Ferris Wheel by proposing a marker be placed at the site of the original Ferris Wheel. The Univertisty of Chicago was excited about the idea, and pointed her to the Chicago Park District, who owns and manages that space. While there are formal proceedures and costs associated with placing a marker, the Chicago Park District likes the idea and has provided information on next steps. Sometimes History Fair isn’t just about investigating history, it’s about making it!


Three of our eighth grade students also received special recognition at the State Expo, earning ribbons for superior level projects:

• Davey Keegan Barry for his Individual Documentary The History and Innovations of the Chicago Transit Authority.

• Nour Hatoum for his Individual Historical Exhibit Open Heart Surgery: A Revolution in Medicine

• Brett Jacobson for his Individual Historical Exhibit The Reversal of the Chicago River


Only two projects in each of the History Day project categories qualify to continue to the National History Day competition in June at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. In the category of individual documentary, Lane Lubell is one of only two Junior Division documentaries to advance to the National History Fair with his film: The History & Legacy of the Chicago Blue. Congratulations, Lane!


History Fair is a year-long project for all 6th through 8th graders. The success of these six students has inspired the middle school community to continue to persevere in pursuit of excellent work.

Lane advances to National History Competition

For a person that walks everywhere I go, I have to say Wednesday was a very long day and night of driving. We left Southfield, Michigan after a beautiful and touching event honoring Shirley.  By the time we got on the road, it was a Little after 3:00pm. We had planed to go home to Chicago that evening, then get back on the road to Springfield early that morning, but the more we looked at the logistics, the less that plan appeared to make sense. That left us with no real choice other than to go straight to Springfield, and a Midnight arrival.

We got up, got to the convention site (It had all the feel of a fencing tournament only without the fencing) O.K. call me a Tech Snob; but I expected them to have a smart Board, or at least spring for a 42" monitor. But no, just one 16" laptop (Windows XP).

Any of these kinds of tournaments, if nothing else teach you Patience. There is an awful amount of waiting. That said, the judges seems nice and in good spirits, as did the other kids there for the event. It was clear they had all put in the time, and all deserved to be proud of their work.

I think I might have been less bothered by the waiting if any one of the 16 Pop machines worked- no such luck.

We did finally get to go out to lunch with the other Catherine Cook families. I have said this before, but Lane is so lucky to be surrounded by these kids. They are so supportive of each other. I must admit It will be difficult not to be in the constant company of this group.

After several hours of waiting, we found that Lane was one of 4 that made it to a Run-off stage. Of that 4, two would go to represent Illinois in the national event.

The awards ceremony, while less than 45 minutes, seemed to drag on for hours. Of course the category of Individual Documentary was last. Lane was pacing like a caged tiger on crack. But the very last award, very last name was a poorly pronounced "Lane Lubell"

Lane advances to National History fair competition in Washington DC.

I was very proud of him, Ilene was excited, but I think his history teacher "David Harris" was the most excited. With that kind of support coming form his teachers, it's little wonder Lane is doing well.

Lane Lubell, spearheading Catherine Cook “Acts of Green” Phone Project.

Students and Staff Caught Green-Handed

ALL: As shared previously, Director of Facilities Bob Riccardino and Learning Support Teacher Anne Russell championed “Acts of Green” and “Get Caught Green-Handed” efforts in conjunction with Earth Day, which was last Thursday.

Efforts were embraced throughout the school, which made an immediate impact and we continue to “Get Caught Green-Handed” doing “Acts of Green” in our classroom, in our school and in our homes.

Mr. Beights reported in the school assembly today that the school has collectively completed over 800 “Acts of Green” in conjunction with Earth Day. He explained that if we continue at this level, we could reach over 20,000 in one year.

One way to get us to that number is to participate in a project 8th grader Lane Lubell is spearheading. In our assembly today, Lane explained that there are precious metals like gold, silver, and even platinum inside cell phones. Through proper recycling, these precious metals can be harvested, and even more importantly, the mercury in cell phones can be disposed of properly.


While this project won’t officially launch for another week, we’re encouraged to set-aside old cell phones for future collection, as we have the opportunity through this project to compete for $5,000.

More details will be provided as the project nears its launch date.
Thank you, Lane!
.

Lane Moving on to State History Fair Competition

Why do I not remember History Fair Competitions when I was in 8th grade? I do remember science Fair, if I recall correctly I entered that most years, but History fair does not ring a bell.
Of course even entering the Science Fair, I had no concept of "Citywide" or "Statewide" events. I had no clue that there was anything beyond the event at my own school. I'm not sure if that was because this is a "New" Concept, or that the school I went to just did not chose participate. Of course there is another explanation; maybe the quality of my work did not warrant further steps, and my school was being kind to keep me in the dark.

Well these competitions do exist and Lane's documentry was selected first by school to move on to the citywide event, where a team of judges decided that it should move forward yet again this time to an event in Springfield.
His documentry was on the history of the Chicago blues. ( I would post it on YouTube but Google's new software now catches any Copy written music.) Even though "Common -Use" laws I believe do allow for children to use recorded music in their school projects. (I will happily give 100% of all of the non-existing earnings to the artists)
It is hard to get a sense in this shot, but there were a large amount of people it this event.

Lane is being joined by Nour, Davey, Brett, Brigid and Blu; other 7th and 8th Graders from Catherine Cook School.
The competition is on May 6th.
http://www.chicagohistoryfair.org/
Click on congratulations winners and then junior metro Chicago then documentaries.
http://www.catherinecookschool.org/page.cfm?p=12&newsid=250
___________________________________________________________



While taking the 911 out for the first time this year, Lane and I found a new Korean market.

Look at the fear in Lane's eyes. It is clear he's not eating that

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a great place when the weather is nice. Ours has been all over the place. Warm one day, 30 degrees colder the next.

Visited Teddy Kirsch at Univ. of Michigan.

Back in Michigan for the Jewish Holiday, unfortunately Shirley was not yet out of the hospital. I am glad to say she is now back home.

Looks Like it's Latin

Monday morning we went for a tour of Northside College Prep.
We arrived to find two police cars and a "Paddy wagon" double parked by the entrance of school, all the same we parked our car and walked through the door and to the front desk.

The truth is the the director of admissions could not have been nicer. There were two other children, each with a parent, also on our tour. He walked us through the school, which was bright, clean and open. While they did not have much of the technology that is present at Lane's current school; they seemed to have all the basics. At separate times, we bumped into the two girls we knew attended Northside, they both ran up and gave us hugs.

We spent time speaking with the principle, who seemed quite competent and who answered questions openly. Among the questions were ones concerning the One Billion dollar short fall facing the CPS, and the resulting cut-backs. She was clearly unhappy that they were being forced to cut out all second year sports, particularly considering that she understood it was just the first of many shoes to drop.

The bottom line was Ilene and I both felt that this was a viable choice for Lane. Neither of us had any question that the school was a safe place, filled with smart kids. We did say that we were going to let Lane pick.... and I know as soon as Lane heard that the average class size was between 28 - 31 kids, his decision was made.

While I would have loved not to have the pressure of having to write those large checks; I do believe Latin will be the right spot for him.

To his credit, Lane was very concerned about the cost, and said he totally understands if we don't want to spend the money. We said it's OK, but understand there will be times when some of the kids in your class might be planning to fly off to Zurich for Spring skiing, and your going to have to tell them "Sorry, but my dad's Gulf Stream is in the shop." "Maybe Next Year."

Well, at least the process is complete.

.

High School Letters

I would Love to tell you about the calm, C'est La Vie attitude with which I approached this whole High School application process. About how I always knew it would all work out, that Lane would have a choice of fine options. The only problem is, for me to sate that would be a complete lie.
Forget about discussions over whether I viewed the glass as half empty or half full, I got to the point I was worried, what if the glass is poisoned. My Mom and Dad both had a hard time understanding my panic, especially since Lane was still in Kindergarten at the time.
"Don't you think your a bit premature in your worry," he said ,comforting me while reminding me that Lane was only starting his second week of SK.

Ilene managed to remain a bit more up-beat. To put this into "Homeland Security terms" she was a code YELLOW to my code RED.

As the years went by my pending sense of "DOOM" would range in volume from a constant dull hum, to the roar of a Harley "Fully-opened" on an otherwise quite night.

Time was on our side, but only in-so-much as the fact that I could tell myself that we have years before we have to face it head on; not that time was reducing the inevitable battle. To put it another way, we had years before Lane had to face the Dragon, but battle it he must, and the dragon was not getting any weaker while waiting.

Seventh grade was spent with me constantly apologising to Lane that we had put him in a situation where near perfection was the required minimum. I never had that pressure when I was in school; I did feel bad that he had that demand placed on his middle school years.

In addition to a school year that "REQUIRED" all "A"s , Lane had his Bar Mitzvah, and Fencing five days per week. One day he came home and told me he wanted to teach an elective class at school. I told him "I didn't know kids were allowed to teach classes to other Middle-school students." He said "Well not yet, but I made up a lesson plan and then I'm going to present it to the head of Middle School and the head of school, and see if I can persuade them to let me be the first. I can't remember the exact words of support I uttered but it went something like " Have you lost your Fu@k!#g Mind'? "This is 7th grade, don't you have enough on your plate already?

But, to his credit, he ignored me, and added teaching to schedule.

Somehow he pulled it off.......

He managed to jump-through the very center of each and every flaming hoop in his path. As a result, 7th grade concluded with Lane having a "Point-Total" that kept even the most competitive schools on the list of possibilities. At the same time it focused the need to continue down the path that could not entertain the idea of a single flaw. Like a person walking a Tight-Rope 100 feet off the ground - it doesn't help to make it "Almost across."

The first 3 months of eighth grade was basically one unending set of tests.

The Catholic School test, The Selective Enrollment test, The International Baccalaureate (IB) test, The Independent schools test (ISSE) and the National Merit Scholarship Test. The idea was to cast the largest possible net, so as to achieve at least one acceptance.

When he was not taking one of these tests, he was either "Shadowing" at some school, or we were all touring some open house, attending some event. Each of which required carefully crafted letters thanking "_______" for the opportunity to visit their school. I can state with absolute certainty, that I devoted more time writing the some total of these letters; than I spent on all the writing assignments I completed in all four year of high school.

If you have not gone through this process with your child, it is difficult to grasp the emotional marathon. The simple truth is that the lion's-share of Chicago public schools fall far below the threshold of "Possible choices." That results in somewhere around 20,000 + students competing for approximately 200 spots at Payton and 250 Spots at Northside, and I think somewhere in the vicinity of 400 at Young.

While the numbers are frightening, at least you understand the process, and have a numerical guide - a target.

The private schools have all the transparency of joining the Skull and Bones Society. As a result it is only natural to make some effort to fit into what you perceive to be that school's ideal candidate. This left me second-guessing each wardrobe choice, and, yes, actually standing in front of a mirror asking the burning question- " Should I tuck my shirt in, or leave it out."

If your a Black male, with straight "A"s, and test scores in the top 2%, and have parents that are able to write "Large-Checks" over and above the $28,000/year tuition - I have to assume your acceptance letter is in the mail.

Other than that, it's a mystery!

On February 16th Ilene flew out to Detroit to be with her mom while she was in the hospital suffering from a reaction from a new medication. Two days later, Lane and I drove out to be there as well. ( I am so happy to report that she is feeling better).

Friday February 18th was the day that the Private school letters we all sent. That meant that when we arrived back home Sunday night results would be waiting in the mail box. Starting Saturday morning, the first of the Facebook postings started to appear. Lane was busy congratulating friends that got into schools that he new were their first or second choice. This time of year is a social minefield- your happy to see friends get into places they want to attend, you feel bad for those that you know are disappointed. Clearly there was a part of me that wanted to get home as soon as possible to check the mail; while I also must admit that the idea of getting in the car and just continuing to drive till we reached a small town in Utah where we could Begin "New Lives" with out ever looking back, and more importantly; without ever opening those envelopes.

It was about 7:30 that night when we pulled into the garage, the 30 foot walk from there to the back door felt like it took hours. The envelopes were spread-out and Lane opened them up one at a time, with a care that almost felt like how they were opened would somehow effect their content.

Yes, to my surprise Lane did get into Latin,

No, to my surprise Lane did NOT get into Northshore Country Day.

I was pretty sure it would have been the opposite.
I still think Lane is a "Perfect fit" for North Shore. But OK. I'm fine with the way it turned out. You have no idea how hard it is to get Lane up and out of the house by 8:00, the idea of him making a 6:45 train is hard to imagine.
I keep a spray bottle of water in his room- spraying him in the face is about the only way to get him up in the morning.

We first applied to Latin when Lane was 5 years old. After being "Wait-listed" for JK, again for SK, again for third grade, we had the YES we had been waiting to hear. The Contract signed, the first $1,000 check attached, just $119,000.00 more to go. Ilene ready to personally deliver the envelope.

Based on his test scores- we were not surprised that he was accepted into the I.B.

I was almost hoping that he did not get into Northside Prep. so I would feel better
about paying for Latin - but he did.

This brings us to today - Torn !

Latin is a beautiful building, at the idea location, 2 1/2 miles from home, a mile from my work.If he forgot something at home, we could "Cover" After school, he could walk to my office, the building, literally looks out at my parents building.

Class sizes range from a high of 15 to as few as 5.

We know if we email a teacher at 1:00- they will write back by 3:00 that same day. It would be impossible for Lane to fall-through-the-cracks. He will go there with some of his friends, including one of his best friends.

Their list of former students is quite impressive.

Check out Project Week Catalog 2010 I would LOVE to be able to go here!

Even though this has a reputation as a very academically challenging school;

We KNOW Lane will be successful here. Cost $28,000 +

__________________________________________

OR..... Northside Prep

Top 100 high schools in Illinois
In 2010 Northside was rated #37 in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report

#1 High School in Illinois

With an Average ACT Score of 28.5

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/illinois/northside_college_preparatory_high_school

The location an hour round trip. A Public school with 20+ kids per class. (20 very smart, over-achieving Kids).

The school is likely the best public school in the Midwest.

They have a Laptop program the school is about 12 years old.

Lane will only know two people, both girls, Very nice girls, but both years older.

My fear is that I'm throwing Lane into a "Pressure- Cooker).

Cost = $0

I try to tell my self I'm being "Nice" to Lane by letting him pick - Truth is I'm reluctant to make the decision.

We are going to tour Northshore this week.... It is impossible not view it as a real option.

.

Click for Breaking News

Click Here
Lane's YouTube Channel Also The Home of "Lance Justice"
.

________________________________________________

End of the Year Pictures

At the close of 2009, once again Ilene, Lane and I headed down to South Florida. We have been making the Christmas vacation trip since we were first married (Back in the 1700s).
For many years we would stay with Shirley in her Ocean-view condo in Boca. It's a beautiful unit facing the inter- Costal on one side and the Ocean clearly visable from the oposit bank of windows. The pool was a little heavy on rules, but the beach was just accross A1A.

When Judy and Jerry bought their town house at Glen Eagles in Del Ray, we moved or base of opporations there. Since it is tricky for both Jerry and I to be gone from Urban Insurance at the same time; we arrainge to be in Florida while they are back holding down the fort in Chicago.
This works out well because it gives on the place all to our selves for much of the time.

Going to Florida is less of a vacation, and more of a home away from home. Having the luxury to keep clothes in Florida reduces the amount of luggage we need; but it does involve another type of baggage. Could you picture paul gauguin heading off to Martanique to "get a way from it all."
Im trying to imagine how he might have reacted if upon arriving he found himself surrounded by parents, In-Laws, extended family and friends, negociating dinner reservations for twenty. Or having to get up early to "Save Chairs" around the main pool; an action that often placed Ilene, the Chicagoan up against anyone of an army of New Yorkers, in a struggle that resembled a Charles Knight mural of Triceratops in a Life-or-Death battle against Tyrannosaurus.


(by the way--Ilene won)


Jori and Eleo had us over for a Christmas day brunch, where we exchange Hanukkah gifts.

The next day we were off to Flamingo World.
It is one those "Old-Style" Florida attractions, the kind of place that you would expect to find advertised on a 40 year-old bilboard. That a big part of it's charm. It makes me miss the old Parrot Jungle World,
The trick to getting an acceptable picture of me, is to get the person to stand very far back, and then take the picture with a camera with crappy resolution. Lane the Golf pro


The morning after a very fun "Sleep-over" Lane had with James Garlin, His brother Duke, and Jack. Morgan joined them for the big carnival at Glen Eagles.

Lane found this little girl in the airport, not only did he entertain her, he tried to teach her to play. Well at least he found a way to Kill time during our very long trip home.
Happy New Years

One Brave Kirsch

Kirsh Family hanging out in Mexico

Quick Trip to LA

Marla was a friend that I met through Heidi. Marla was also an old friend Of Ilene's back from the days they went to Camp Interlaken together.

About 18 years ago, Marla informed me that "I had to go out with her friend, Ilene that had recently moved to town. As they say the rest is history.

Over the years Marla and Jeff Garlin's son James, and Lane became close friends. The fact that Jeff's acting career requires them to live in LA, has done little to keep them from being close despite the long gaps between visits.

We do both spend Christmas break in Florida, and they come to Chicago each year for a part of the summer.

After they came in for Lane's Bar Mitzvah, it only seemed right that we should go to LA to celebrate James's.

The party was catered at their home. The food was great, the night was beautiful and having it at their home gave it a very warm feel.

Yes there were "Celebrities" and No I did not take their picture.

Yes while we were there we decided to do a bit of the tourist things,

We saw Lane's old sitter, if you can call someone a few years out of college "Old"

She had recently moved out there and met us down at Sunset and Vine to see the walk of the stars.

It was great to see Shauna Stannard

It was also nice to see that the city cleaned up some of the prostitutes.

While there we also took a tour of Warner Brother Studios

This is the set from Friends

The Sets were fun to see.

We had to see the "Tar Pits"

And I could not miss the opportunity to have a few Jack in The Box Tacos.

I will add some of the Medium Format Black and White pictures I took.