A Senseless Display of Talent

You won't know these kids until you know their work.

Anna, program director, prepares the copies of "Senseless,"

the sparkling cider and her speech for the crowd at the unveiling party

Open Books, Chicago's non-profit literacy center, uses a wide spectrum of programs to teach youths and adults how to read. One of those programs is ReadThenWrite, an immersive, months-long project in which a group of students read a book together, then write original stories based loosely on one of the themes from that book. Once the kids' tales are finished, Open Books has them printed as a collection, making the students real authors of a real book.

Selected readings from the authors

The first semester of ReadThenWrite ended this winter, and Open Books brought its graduates to their bookstore for the unveiling of their just-printed collection of stories. Each writer's tale focused on a world in which the entire population lost one of the five senses; the students decided for themselves which sense their Earth would be without.

Signing the "Senseless" plaque...

They named their collection "Senseless."

Each story takes the shared theme in a unique direction. A few are set in the modern day, others in the future; some involve magic, others military experiments; some take an optimistic approach to humanity coping with the loss of a sense, while others foresaw a dystopian outcome.

...and receiving the copies of the finished product

With sparkling cider in their hands, this group of young writers

is grateful that the world has not lost its sense of taste.

Come to Open Books and read these kids' work — and gain a better "sense" of who the writers behind the stories really are.

Facebook

Faith In Action Assembly

There were 100 rallies, assemblies, service projects, observances and such on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Chicago. I got lucky — I covered one of the best.

The Community Renewal Society held its 2012 Faith in Action Assembly at Kingdom Baptist Church, featuring music, speeches and (as the name implied) action.

The numerous speakers reflected King's wide array of subject matter.

Jonathan Gilmer of First United Senior High addressed the crowd with a calm firmness...

...while Rev. Calvin S. Morris was passionate.

Here's the action: five officials from Illinios government came to publicly sign their names on CRS' Platform for Renewal, which will promote education funding, affordable housing and better job opportunities for felons who served their sentence.

And here is even more important action: Representatives of 28 churches and community groups told the speakers and lawmakers that their organizations stood on the Platform as well.

As the man himself likely would have wanted it.

Facebook

You may never see what's really here

I'm doing something with this post that I have never done before: I am leaving the most beautiful and exciting photographs out. To see what I saw, you'll have to speak with the man I spoke to, and learn about his quest.

All-new construction, like the great staircase, will blend into original work nearly a century old

Rosario Rosi is not the type of man who gets scared off when he faces 5-figure construction bills, harsh Chicago winters and apathetic city officials. This sculptor found a building worth saving, and he is going to save it, and Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood is going to benefit from his vision.

New supports for the new roof are here, new tile is coming

The building began its life about 100 years ago as a live theater, and it still contains one of the largest performances spaces on the North Side. That space went dormant long ago, though, when the owners sold their property to a car dealership.

The Great Depression was harsh on this dealership; ownership changed a few times, maintenance kept getting pushed back into "someday," and the two factors combined to leave the structure vacant, archaic and decaying. Even the front facade began leaning, until its top protruded 3 feet over the sidewalk.

The new owner will be glad to tell you about the technology that goes into support beams these days

Rosario saw the shame of what was happening here in the summer of 2008, purchased the building and started making things happen. He discovered after making his investment that he even has family history inside the performance space — ask him about it, it's a great story.

We all know what happened in the fall of 2008. Construction loans dried up, and government agencies and non-profit foundations that used to fund projects like this closed their doors. City officials tour the work that he and a group of volunteers are doing, love what they see, encourage the crew to keep going...and leave, having not a penny to share.

My group did exactly the same thing, of course — we were astounded by what we saw, and we did not have anything to offer Rosario.

He doesn't care. He just wants people to know what is happening in Edgewater. He wants people to know that there is new life swirling inside a building that for years looked like it was years past its death.

Give him a call — he will show you everything, and he will ask for nothing but awareness in return.

Facebook

Trespassing with the Leflers

Sitting around the dining table, I asked the Leflers to describe their family to me. Virginia, the mother of two sons and grandmother of four girls, a former resident of rural Texas and Nebraska who uprooted herself and moved to Chicago long ago, let out a sigh.

"We're renegades," she said.

Nick, one of the boys and the father of five-month-old twins, did not see it that way.

"We are, uh, boring," he said.

I saw Virginia's assessment, but not Nick's. During the course of our morning photo shoot, various family members got concrete dust on themselves while posing in a nearby construction zone, climbed trees in neighbors' yards and got into a leaf-hurling fight in a stormwater-retention ditch (which was dry, thankfully).

When the family storytelling starts to center around the tales of the patriarch, Jim goes to his drum set.

Nick and Christine

Jeremy and Mwende...

with Samara, feeling camera-shy, ducking behind her mom, and Aiden capturing more leaves for her bouquet.

Lefler vs. Lefler.

This went on for quite a while, and appeared to center on Nick and Jeremy settling some unresolved childhood disputes.

Meanwhile, Aiden decided the best way to get more leaves was to follow Aunt Christine and Uncle Nick.

Grandpa just wanted some time with his littlest girls...

...and his main girl.

Trespassing and leaf-hurling aside, they think they have done a good job so far.

The results of that job agree.

Complete gallery

Facebook

How a new stage of life began

When Samantha's family and friends gathered in River Forest recently, they saw the girl they knew in a different light: as a young woman. Samantha celebrated her 15th birthday with a quinceañera, and dozens of well-wishers came out to introduce her to a world that had been waiting for her arrival.

Samantha starts her journey with plenty of love from her friends.

There were a couple of surprises for Samantha's guests...but there were also a couple of surprises waiting for her.

A surprise to none: Samantha and her fellow dance students at Local Motions put on a show.

Facebook

Complete gallery

Meet Joycelyn

Bennie and Nicky brought a beautiful new life into the world recently. They asked me to help them introduce her to everyone.

I'm glad — just meeting Joycelyn was a pleasure.

Facebook

Complete gallery

Rem and Jeanette: Back where it began

The Rosemont Park District does a fantastic job of making their garden-and-waterfall attraction at the corner of Higgins and River roads gorgeous — and, as the result of their meticulous work, they handle a steady stream of permit requests from engaged couples hoping to be photographed there. My just-married couple, Rem and Jeanette, were the umpteenth permit-holders to have access to the park for half an hour on a recent Saturday afternoon.

But Rem and Jeanette didn't come to Rosemont just because of the great background. This is where they started to fall in love.

The two met in July of 2010, and on their second or third date, they found this garden unoccupied (a rarity) and decided to search for a parking spot (nonexistent) so they could enjoy its beauty for a little while.

A little while has since turned into a lifetime.

Rem and Jeanette wrote and read personal vows to each other.

"We must have sat there and talked for three hours," Jeanette told me.

"We've been best friends since our second or third date," Rem added.

Wishing to keep their ceremony private, the couple invited no guests — the only witnesses were the party, and the camera guy.

With no one to disturb, I got to shoot from all kinds of angles that I normally cannot.

This wedding was a treat for me.

I may never get to shoot a first kiss that looks like this again.

Thankfully, my subjects made my opportunity look magical.

The pair returned to the waterfall nearly a year later, this time as a newlywed couple.

They told me that the spark began at the Rosemont waterfall, but that most of their falling-in-love took place during the dates that followed, many of which they spent simply talking in coffee shops and walking together through nearby Caldwell Woods. They started walking last summer, and haven't stopped yet, even trekking through the winter and this year's cloudy, rainy and generally gloomy spring.

This couple works because of their simplicity, they told me. Rem said Jeanette is "so easy to talk to," and Jeanette said there are lots of things they like to do together.

"It's a combination of having a lot in common and wanting to be around that person," Rem said.

And finding a good place to be around that person.

Complete photo gallery

Facebook