Went for the gusto, got the gold
When we called John Erickson Monday to check on his performance at the Nastar Amateur National Skiing Championships last weekend in Colorado, we expected to congratulate him on a fine effort. The River Forest resident, who lost his sight as a teenager, was skiing under a handicap system.
Quite an effort, all right. A gold medal effort.
“Oh my word,” Erickson said Monday evening, “What a wonderful experience.”
One of just two sight-impaired skiers, Erickson said that more than winning the gold, he was touched by comments from two other skiers, a man and a woman, who were gradually losing their sight due to macular degeneration. They told him that watching him ski despite being blind “was an inspiration.”
“Honest to goodness, that meant more to me than anything else,” he said.
But Erickson said he also relished bringing his guide, Jen Gardner, up on the awards platform with him. “That was the high point of my trip,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Erickson said he’ll be back on the championship slopes next year.
Fair Trade palms?
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, the kickoff for Holy Week in the Christian world, and church-goers are accustomed to being handed long, tapered, blanched blades from “traditional” palm trees (not that Midwesterners know much about them).
But at Ascension Church last Sunday, attendees found themselves holding-something different.
“The palms we ordered this year are recommended by the Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Program to help make Palm Sunday a day of celebrating economic justice for farmers and stewardship of God’s creation in Guatemala and Mexico,” read the blurb in The Dome, Ascension’s Sunday bulletin.
Rather than dry, long and tapered, these palms were decidedly deciduous in shape and very green. No matter. They don’t have the priest riding in on an ass, either, but everyone gets the idea that we’re recreating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
We just can’t help wondering how well they’ll burn next year when Ash Wednesday rolls around.
I’m dreaming of a White Easter …
And speaking of Easter (which, you’ll recall, is the Sunday after Palm Sunday), we came across this 100-year-old postcard, courtesy of Chris Stach in Brookfield, which was sent to “Miss Margaret Celeste Walther,” 310 S. Oak Park Ave. by Edward J. Rohman of 5937 W. Superior St., Flat G, in “Austin, Ill.”
“Hoping you all will have a pleasant easter,” Edward wrote. “I remain your sweetheart.” Certainly a warm sentiment-in contrast to the frigid depiction on the front of the card. But those of us who have seen more White Easters in our lifetimes than White Christmases can sympathize.
And what will this Sunday bring, weather-wise? Only the rabbit knows.
Trolley typo crisis averted
A simple typo in a piece of legislation was preventing two trolleys from being sent to Oak Park. It would take an “Act of Congress” to remedy the situation, village officials were told. However, the calamity has been remedied. Somehow.
Calls to multiple players in Washington helped resolve the situation, according to Village Manager Tom Barwin. Congressman Danny Davis’ office and some Washington advisors helped get the trolleys back on course. Just what happened remains a bit of a mystery, however.
“We got the stiff arm for a little bit, but we broke through,” Barwin said.
A form was marked in the wrong column, and funds had gone to the wrong community originally. Barwin declined to elaborate further, uninterested in “highlighting someone’s error.”
The $800,000 in federal funding, fortunately, have now been diverted back here through Pace. Oak Park is doing everything it can to expedite the delivery of the two trolleys, and it appears realistic that they could be on their way this fall, Barwin said.
The village board though has to figure out exactly how it wants to utilize the two trolleys, which each seat roughly 20 people. Should they replace or supplement current village offerings? That will be part of the board’s review of the free shuttle program coming up in June. Stay tuned.