January 21-27, 2009 by StreetWise

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J A N U A R Y 21- J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

YOUR CITY FROM THE STREETS

ThinkWise Governing from the Inside-Out

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Executive Director/Publisher Government needs to be an inside-out act. That means that we are each responsible for governing our own lives. It is convenient to blame the President, the Governor, the Mayor, the IRS or any other governmental unit or official for challenging appearances in our lives. It’s equally easy to blame our “significant other”, our parents, our friends, our boss, etc., for our issues. Governing from the inside-out is accepting that we are each responsible for our own experience of life. It means being willing to give up our stories about how other people stood in the way of our good or “ruined” Mary Beth & Michael Speer our lives. We are each responsible for our lot in life! Yes, some of us may have been dealt a challenging Executive Director, Publisher hand at birth, and/or had physical, economic, emotional or cultural issues to deal with. But, we were he “new day” has finally arrived - Barack also each given the same birthright to change those Obama is President of the United conditions, or at least to change how we deal with States! The StreetWise family them. There are countless stories of individuals with congratulates him on this tremendous significant hardships who have done just that. We are accomplishment and applauds him for constantly moved by the many individual StreetWise vendors who, despite significant issues in living from his vision and staying the course. Now, the real work begins The moment their life, proclaim every day,“I’m blessed woke up this morning…” restoring our economy, rebuilding our you decide to - I We believe there is a Great Intelligence health care and education systems, govern your in this Universe that can create anything shoring up the infrastructure of our cities, realizing peace on this planet, own life, the you desire once you decide to get into the driver’s seat and stop blaming others. The maintaining our environment, and a host world around moment you decide to govern your own of other critical issues. He has his hands full! you begins to life, the world around you begins to But, it is really all of us who have our change. This is exactly the support our change hands full. The moment we place new President needs from each of us. It’s responsibility for our well-being on the your life – live it fully now! shoulders of any government office or Mary Beth & Michael Speer official, we have given up the very freedom our constitution provides. Yes, our government is responsible for managing the affairs of the United Mary Beth Speer is Executive Director of the DuPage Center States and representing the “best interests” of its citi- for Spiritual Living. Michael Speer is Executive Director of StreetWise and is also a Spiritual Teacher at DuPage Center. zens. But, that does not dismiss us from our own per- Contact them by e-mail at michael@speerit.com or visit their sonal responsibility. Web site at www.dupagecenter.org

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www.streetwise.org J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

Street News Service What’s next for the ‘Grand Old Party?’ Portland’s Street Roots talks to Nixon attorney James Dean about the difference between “ruling” and “governing.”

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ginny & the chef Ginny & the Chef suggest a unique kind of active Super Bowl tailgate party, and show how to make bison burger kabobs.

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Super Sunday Section Local Hangout Specials Check out food and drink offerings and where you can find a team of your own to watch the Big Game.

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Urban Policy Promise Bronzeville seeks to capitalize on its history and to fix schools through a holistic Obama policy idea.

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J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

Guest Editor: John K. Wilson

Obama’s Hopes and Dreams

By John K. Wilson StreetWise contributor

n February 10, 2007, Barack Obama stood in front of 17,000 shivering, cold fans in Springfield, Illinois, to announce his presidential plans and invite them to join

“this improbable quest.” Obama’s presidential campaign was indeed improbable, but not for the obvious reasons –not because he is black and not because he was so little known nationally only a few years ago. Instead, Obama’s quest seemed so improbable because it defied the political establishment. Today, Obama is a political rock star on a scale not seen since the popularity of JFK, if ever. Obama has disappointed some progressives who hoped he would be a more aggressive critic of the Republicans. However, Obama has always been someone who sought bipartisan consensus. It’s precisely that trait that makes him so popular, and so effective. For a long time, progressives have been forced in the Democratic primary to choose between pragmatism and idealism, between electability and values. Progressives have been disappointed so often by so many deceitful politicians that they have formed a protective mask of cynicism and condescension. Putting one’s hopes in any candidate can seem naive, or impossible, or stupid, in the face of

‘

Obama understands the danger of becoming a leader based only on charisma

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a corrupt political system designed to support the rich and powerful. But Barack Obama is making a lot of people believe in the audacious decision to hope. Obama understands the danger of becoming a leader based only on charisma. He witnessed firsthand what happened when Harold Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago, was elected in the early 1980s and then died in office. Obama noted, "He was a classic charismatic leader, and when he died all of that dissipated. This potentially powerful collective spirit that went into supporting him was never translated into clear principles, or into an articulable agenda for community change.” Can Obama create a political movement rather than a mere political campaign? Announcing his campaign for president, Obama declared that he was running “not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation.” Obama will inevitably disappoint those who idolize him. But what he can bring us is the hope of a country that will try to live up to its espoused ideals of equality and justice, and the dream of having a president we can admire and trust.

John K. Wilson is the a uthor of “Ba ra ck Oba ma : This Improba ble Quest” a nd the founder of oba ma politics.com. He is the former commenta ry pa ge editor of StreetWise.

Contributing Writers John Godoy is a Chicago-based wellness consultant and personal trainer with a leading prevention-based, integrative health and wellness provider.

Jim Memolo is a member of WGN’s 720 Sports Central, where he can be heard from 7 to 9 p.m. weeknights and weekend afternoons. Memolo previously hosted morning drive on Sporting News Radio and was morning drive co-host for five years on WSCR. He also served as producer for Howard Cosell's shows on ABC Radio. Ginny & The Chef: Originally a professional chef, Chef J now writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column on food and fitness in Chicago. J. is

the president of the Chicago Research Chefs LLC and president emeritus of the Chicago Nutrition Association. Ginny has written nutrition and fitness articles for several local and national publications such as the Chicago Tribune and On-Health magazine. Ginny has a bachelor’s degree in nutrition science and dietetics and a master’s degree in nutrition communications & marketing. Richard Pegue has lived the music he writes about. Pegue has been music director at WVON and program director and fill-in disc jockey at WGCI. He is now heard Saturday nights on WKKC, 89.3 FM. Adeshina O. Emmanuel Jr. is a lifetime Uptown resident, and a student at Harold Washington W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

College, where he serves as Editor-In-Chief of the school's student newspaper, The Herald. He also contributes to The Conduit and Underlined, two online entertainment and lifestyle magazines. For StreetWise, Adeshina has previously penned an article about artist Daniel Heyman's Abu Ghraib Detainee Interview Project, and another article on the efforts to preserve legendary muralist William Walker's All of Mankind mural. Ruth L Ratny is celebrating her 30th year as chronicler of Chicago's visual media industry. A screenwriter also, she is working on movie about gospel great Mahalia Jackson, the Oprah of her day, whose dream of equality 60 years ago was fulfilled with Barack Obama in the White House.

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

International Network of Street Papers (INSP)

Where now for the ‘Grand Old Party’? By Joanne Zuhl Managing Editor, StreetRoots, Portland, OR

ohn W. Dean, White House counsel to Richard Nixon and a pivotal player in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, looks at the future of the federal government between eight years of Bush, and four (or more) of Barack Obama.  Perhaps no one was better qualified to write about the secrecy of the Bush administration than Dean in Worse tha n Wa terga te. Dean’s testimony in Senate hearings on Watergate led to Nixon’s resignation, and laid down a template for later administrations’ views toward the press and the public.   Worse tha n Wa terga te was the first in a trilogy by Dean that assesses not only the Bush administration but also the impact of Republican leadership during the past eight years. He followed it with Conserva tives without Conscience. His most recent book, and the final in his series, is Broken Government: How Republica n Rule Destroyed the Legisla tive, Executive a nd Judicia l Bra nches. It is now out in paperback.

Joanne Zuhl: What was going through your mind November 4, the night of the election?

John Dean: Given what I know about what’s been going on in Washington, what I’ve been writing about for the past seven-plus years, it’s been very uncomfortable. So I felt a great relief that we might have a once-in-a-lifetime potential here. He’s certainly got the temperament and intellect to be a great president.   JZ: You’ve been outspoken against the Republican style of governing, or“ruling” as you call it. In Broken Government, you outline how the Bush administration has essentially abused the standard operations of the three branches of government, and created a virtual monarchy in the White House. JD: “Ruling” as distinct from “governing” is really just the use of power, versus the craft and the science and art of governing: where you’re in a democracy, you don’t rule, you govern.Yet Republicans, for reasons I have some understanding of, don’t look at it that way. They get in and they exercise power. They may or may not care what people think, and if they care, it’s likely to be

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

“how will this hurt us or help us keep or gain power,” or “what impact it will have?”  One of the very distressing things that’s happening with Republican politics is, it’s more about taking care of their party and their interests, rather than the broader view of taking care of the American public. We saw it painfully with Hurricane Katrina, we saw it in the thoughtlessness with which we went to war in Iraq, and it’s a pretty cold-hearted approach. And I think that’s the distinction between governing and ruling — where you really want the input of all Americans, not just the ones who vote for you or your base.

Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean, who helped push U.S. President Richard Nixon from office during the Watergate scandal three decades ago, testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, March 31, 2006. Dean is testifying in support of an uphill attempt to censure U.S. President George W. Bush.

JZ: Many people have said that the Bush administration learned its lessons from the Nixon White House in terms of secrecy and establishing a strong executive. How do you compare them?

JD: I find shocking comparisons between what is to me the Bush/Cheney presidency — because I don’t think you can separate the two in the way it’s operated — and the Nixon presidency. They have taken Nixonian concepts of executive power and an imperial presidency to distances the likes of which we’ve never seen.   JZ: Can you examples?

give

some

JD: For example, Nixon’s signing statements were limited to very specific issues. He believed, for example, that the Congress couldn’t force him to spend money that he didn’t want to spend. That he could impound funds, which became a very controversial issue. Bush, on the other hand, has issued more signing statements than all presidents who have been in office before him, not just Nixon, but all presidents. JZ: Among those who support Obama and who have opposed Bush policies and what are widely considered the erosion of civil liberties, there is a feeling that people need justice. What steps can be taken?

JD: I think they will repeal a number of executive orders that Bush has issued. Executive orders are not laws, they are directions to the executive branch often interpreting how the president wants the law interpreted.Things like Gitmo can indeed be removed with a strike of a pen.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REUTERS/LARRY DOWNING

Another thing a bit more difficult is that the Bush administration has totally ignored the civil service laws. They have implanted people who think like they do, not just where we’ve heard testimony in the Justice Department, but across the width and the breadth of the executive branch. The Obama people are stuck now in that they will likely honor the civil service law and those people will be there. However, I suspect also that one of the things that will happen is a lot of these people will be shuffled around.They will be removed to different areas, different departments.   JZ: So is he limited in de-Bushing the government, so to speak? He can’t fire these people?

JD: No, there’s a lot of administrative shuffling around you can do, but it will take a while to flush all that out. Bush also had a strong White House staff and a very weak Cabinet.    JZ: He essentially felt the Cabinet members were simply employees

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of the executive office?  JD: And that’s all they were. In other words, he didn’t want their advice and counsel, he wanted them to take orders from his staff and implement them. A strong Cabinet can be great way to govern and can help a president and create a much stronger presidency in many regards and much more lasting reform, and better policy if you will. It appears that Obama is going to go for a strong Cabinet. JZ: And that looks good to you?

JD: It does. When you have the White House staff running all the policy decisions and just dictating it to the Cabinet departments, you don’t get as good a policy. It’s totally driven by politics and ideology and it’s not in the best interests of the American people. The bureaucracy helps to develop a lot of ideas and when they percolate up from the bottom to the top, they tend to be much sounder, much better for the public interest, and you get a different approach.   Reprinted from Street Roots © Street News Service: www.street-papers.org

By Suzanne Hanney Editor-in-Chief

s the 51st Chicago Auto Show continued at the International Amphitheater, 42nd and Halsted Streets, old-time salesmen reminisced in the Jan. 21, 1959 Chica go Da ily News about the 1920s, when there was no service department and “even the boss wore overalls most of the time.” “I was the third generation of horse traders in Chicago,” said Joseph Levy, who started with Walton Motors on Walton and Milwaukee Avenues, which moved to Automobile Row on South Michigan Avenue in 1935. The dealership remained there in 1959, but the Da ily News said the Motor Row had “degenerated since the war,” so Walton had only one major competitor. “We took on cars in 1914 and dropped horses in 1919. Actually, the two are the same kind of business,” Levy added. D.J. Gillaspy, meanwhile, was a service mechanic for Chandler Motor Car Co. of Cleveland in 1926. He had traveled by train with parts for repair. “When I got into a town, I’d direct the baggage master to ship the part to this or that garage.” Sponsored by the Chicago Automobile Trade

From the sports desk

Association, the Chicago Auto Show would run 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily through January 25. Admission was $1 for adults and 50 cents for children under 12. Attendance the previous day had been 40,906 and the cumulative amount had been 287,695. Also in the January 21 Da ily News, the chief aide to Chicago Police Commissioner O’Connor was denying what a New York City business executive said on Edward R. Murrow’s radio broadcast: “The use of call girls to entertain in business is well known. And in places like Chicago, St. Louis and Cleveland, we’ve found they’re in even greater use than in New York.” Chicago’s Capt. William Balswick responded, “Those radio people are nuts. They must know something we don’t know. If call girl and other prostitute operations were wide-spread at conventions and other business gatherings here, we’d do something about it.” Downtown at the Shubert Theater, 22 W. Monroe St., The Music Ma n stage play was set to open February 12, according to advertisements in the newspaper. Other movies being screened in the Loop included Fruits of Summer at the Capri Theater; Auntie Ma me at the Chicago; Gigi at the Cinestage; Crime Wave at the Clark; the Seventh Voya ge of Sinba d at the Garrick; Tom Thumb at the Loop; South Pa cific at the McVickers; Pla n 9 from Outer Spa ce at the

PHOTO COURTESY OF WORDPRESS.COM/2008/04/GIGIPOSTER

This Week in Chicago: 50 Years Ago

Monroe; Da ngerous Exile at the Oriental; South Sea s Adventure at the Palace; The Old Ma n a nd the Sea at the Roosevelt; Sepa ra te Ta bles at the State Lake; The Inn of the Sixth Ha ppiness at the United Artists; Bell, Book a nd Ca ndle at the Woods.

StreetWise contributor

ollege Footba ll could be the two most resonant words in American sports today. As insane as that might sound, consider that it was a topic of discussion among the Presidential candidates in November, the sport has literally put many universities on the map, TV ratings continue to rise even in prime time, and judging from the increase in Bowl games, it might be recessionproof. The allure of College Football even had enough power to inspire two oddly paired congressmen, one of them a fixture in Chicago, to collaborate on one of the more embarrassing attempts at legislation in a crowded field of embarrassment. Texas Republican Joe Barton recently teamed up with Chicago Democrat Bobby Rush to cosponsor a bill that would ban members of college football's BCS from using the title "National Champion" unless they used a playoff system to determine a winner. Currently, the BCS uses a formula that employs a combination of polls and computer rankings to evaluate contending schools, with the top two playing in the BCS Championship game. Popular opinion argues the system is too arbitrary, too exclusive and less conclusive than a playoff format. A University of Utah team that went undefeated, and overlooked in the BCS picture, is being seen as a rare valid example for the argument. Aside from the fact that most playoff

proponents can't even agree on any one format that, itself, might be arbitrary, isn't it nice to know there are at least two members of Congress who think our country is in good enough shape that their efforts can be directed at something so seemingly frivolous? Barton's motivation is an understandable act of voter pandering. He is from Texas, and the University of Texas felt the current BCS system denied them a chance at the National Championship game this season. But, how and why was Bobby Rush sucked into this vortex of political silliness? You would think Rush's social, if not political, conscience would have instead directed him to push legislation that might remedy the appalling absence of minority head coaches in Division One college football. Then again, politicians rarely resist a chance to come aboard an issue that has so much universal sentiment among the voters, especially when it is so meaningless. Most fans, including our next President, want a playoff system, no matter how short sighted and deluded the idea. But, like a parent buying off a brat with an ice cream cone, why not throw the constituency a legislative bone? By the way, for those fans who see playoffs as the noble solution to a BCS system that is portrayed as illegitimate competition and an excuse for profit, be reminded that professional sports owners created playoffs generations ago as an additional revenue stream -- not as a W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLOG.OREGONLIVE.COM

College football is the new national topic du jour By Jim Memolo

For the third consecutive season the Oregon State football team concluded the year ranked in the final Associated Press top-25

way to determine a champion. Some argue that the current college football system lends more importance to the regular season than any other sport. How ironic that a sport criticized for using polls is being scrutinized by politicians.

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

AZZ IN JANUARY Part Two: There are a Bunch of “B’s” in the jazz world and not enough space. So let’s get right to them. ART BLAKEY ON DRUMS I saw his name on my mom’s record labels long before I started paying attention to his music. Art’s JAZZ MESSENGERS showcased some famous names like Miles RICHARD PEGUE Davis, Donald Byrd, Lee Chicago Radio Personality Morgan and Wynton Marsalis. Art played piano first, switched to drums and at 16 was leading a big band in Pittsburgh. His move to New York put him in the center of jazz activity at the right time! On the road, Fletcher Henderson’s band gave Art the experience he needed to form his own group. Horace Silver and Freddie Hubbard became associates and big names in jazz with Art Blakey. Moanin’ was one of his more successful compositions. DAVE BRUBECK ON PIANO along with his mother at home in California. As she played, he played. And then along came Columbia records and Dave started assembling his group. First an eight-man group, then a trio until Paul Desmond entered the group. It was Desmond’s signature song that propelled The Dave Brubeck quartet to worldwide fame starting in 1959 with the album Time Out. The hit was TAKE FIVE and it took the Top 10 position on not only the jazz charts but pop and instrumental charts as well. EVERYONE was playing Ta ke Five on the air and on their band charts. Wasn’t it WGN TV Channel 9 that helped make Five an even bigger hit by using the song as a theme for its late night movie feature? Columbia records gave us 45 record buyers a bargain when they put Blue Rondo Ala Turk on the other side of Ta ke Five. HAVE YOU HEARD Dave Brubeck’s SUMMERSONG with the smooth Paul Desmond horn leading the way? Do yourself a favor and get with it! Born in 1920, Brubeck continues to tour working with his very grownup sons. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard WNUA play much Brubeck. Get with it guys…or maybe I just missed Dave and Paul every time I punch in and out. WILLIAM “COUNT” BASIE had a lot of space in his piano, playing something here and there…sparse. New Jersey, New York, and Kansas City are his geographic bases. Born in 1904, Basie developed his style from Harlem stride piano to Kansas City Blues. Basie’s big band developed with members and some styling from Bennie Moten’s band. John Hammond brought

Basie back to New York in 1937. So many good jazz guys came through Count’s band, including Lester Young. CHICAGO had an usher working at the Regal Theater and the Club DeLisa named JOE WILLIAMS, who got on the Basie bandwagon with a Top 10 jazz hit version of the classic Everyday I Have The Blues. The Basie 1955 treatments of Alright Ok You Win and The Comeba ck were THE BEST!!! Later, Count’s arrangement of Ray Charles’ I Ca n’t Stop Loving You busted your radio wide open. And don’t forget Basie’s April In Pa ris. MR. CALLOWAY, DID SOMEONE CALL A CAB? I dug up a CAB CALLOWAY DVD and propped myself up to see Cab in HI-DE-HO. The 1947 black and white film was soooo good. SCAT singing was just one of the things that Blanche Calloway’s younger brother brought us, along with a dynamic struttin’ presence that swung “jive” into overdrive in the ’30s and ’40s. From Rochester to Baltimore, Cab was singing and dancing in the clubs before moving TO CHICAGO! CAB CALLOWAY joined The Missourians in 1928 and The Hot Chocolate Review in ’29. He started recording and appearing at the New York Cotton Club, sharing dates with Duke Ellington’s band. And here she comes… MINNIE THE MOOCHER. Minnie took a Cab to Hollywood and several movies. The Hi De Ho man kept his band together into 1948. He quit touring and did music theater later with Hello, Dolly! and Porgy a nd Bess. He was active until 1994. Salute! Remember Janet Jackson tapping into his image for her video? BETTY CARTER was from Flint, Michigan and made the move to Detroit to sing in the jazz clubs before touring with Lionel Hampton’s band in 1948, exposing Betty’s singing and scatting talents. After leaving in 1951, she became popular in Europe, Japan and in the states. Betty and Ray Charles recorded their version of Ba by, It’s Cold Outside in 1961 and it’s still a seasonal hit. In 1997 Betty Carter was welcomed to the White House for Presidential honors. This was a very talented lady. Mo’ Jazz Next Week. WE’RE LIVING HISTORY SO >RICHARD STEELE’S birthday party at Taste was a fun affair as usual. Thanks to BOBBY HUTTON for his always excellent performance. YOUR COMPUTER ISN’T BROKEN. It’s just that WKKC for some reason stopped it’s on-line broadcasting. That hurts EVERYBODY. 89.3fm if you live between 51st and 95th maybe? Maybe! > It’s now MONDAY at the (New Name) Chicago Department Of Family And Support Services. The Blue Monday Luncheonette starts at 11. 79th and Cregier is two blocks east of the Regal Theater. Thursdays we do the same at Central West 2102 S. Ogden at the same time.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WWW.DOCTORMACRO1.INFO, WWW.JAZZ.COM, WWW.ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM

The Best Music of Your Life Art Blakey

Cab Calloway

Dave Brubeck

I’m just an ordinary guy, but I was wondering… By Nominal Nomenclature 1) Why is everybody in such a big hurry? Screech! Boom! Crash! BANG! Big snow last weekend, slippery, slideee on the streets, and so why are certain drivers speeding and trying to catch up with the first car that rolled down the expressway the day it opened? Admit it, don’t you just sometimes wish them the worst? And don’t they often have out of state plates or X plates? What do X plates really mean? 2) Is OPRAH gonna knock down those pounds? Now THAT’S Affirmative Action, right? 3) So, Chicago almost pays more cash in lawsuits against the

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

police than any other city except the Big NYC, Eh? 4) Now that the election is over and the gas prices are slowly going up again, why don’t the oil companies bail out the car makers? 5) He could be knocking on your door. Did you know that PRINCE has reportedly joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses? 6) To all who moaned and groaned about The President’s “friends” being brought to his cabinet. Would YOU want to have the job of fixing the world (by yourself) with a bunch of strangers? And where is Colin Powell now? W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

FoodWise with Ginny & the Chef PHOTO BY CHEF J

Chef’s Secret Recipe Bison Burger Kebabs

~ serves 8 ~

Shopping List: •2 lbs. ground bison •2 fresh egg whites •¼ lbs. fresh onions [chopped] •¼ lbs. fresh celery [chopped] •¼ lbs. sweet red peppers [chopped] •2 Tbs. fresh bread crumbs •¼ tsp. salt •¼ tsp. black pepper •¼ tsp. garlic powder •1 Tbs.Worcestershire sauce

Ginny’s Cooking Instructions

21st century tailgate party By Ginny & the Chef

StreetWise contributor, www.ginetics.com he American “tailgate party” has become a Super Bowl tradition. For many years now loyal fans have gathered to watch the game, cheer on their favorite team and EAT. On Super Bowl Sunday, most past TV ratings show that most folks will watch the game. Many will plan a huge food spread for the event. Almost everyone knows that tailgate parties are usually held in parking lots of football stadiums before the big event. Barbecued or grilled meats and beer make up the typical menu. The very lucky folks might get some potato salad or even some fresh lettuce and tomato slices to go with the burgers and wings. Well, Chef and I have a new take on the traditional Super Bowl party. This year, make your tailgate more like a block or house party. Host it in your own driveway or backyard! Not only will you have access to your entire kitchen to cook with, you’ll also be able to watch the big game on that new wide screen HD TV that Wal-Mart just marked down after Christmas. Plus, you’ll be close to a clean, warm bathroom, something that everyone might be very happy about if you’ve ever stood in line for the porta-potty in a parking lot. Send your guests a special schedule of the

day’s events.We even suggest making it an active party, even invite the kids.Take them on a morning walk or bike ride. Or an afternoon game of touch football that everyone can enjoy. For the younger kids, try an organized activity with a dogood cause attached, such as cleaning up the neighborhood, or helping the less fortunate. Challenge your neighbor or neighborhood to an event that has a do-good theme. Maybe even raise a few dollars for a worthy charity. Now, some Super Bowl fare can be less than exciting. In fact, hotdogs and burgers are pretty mundane. We suggest an International Potluck menu where all the guests bring a traditional food item from their native country or their favorite ethnic food. You know, like Mexican Chili, Italian Meat Balls or Irish Stew. Every culture has its own traditional “festival” foods. Most would go well at a tailgate party! This could be the beginning of a new way to try new foods and learn about other countries’ food-ways. Lastly, be sure to include some Super Bowl party favors. Maybe even caps, or T-shirts. You can get “print-yourself” iron-on paper at any office supply store. It’s easy to make your own Super Bowl shirts from old T’’s. The kids will love the “Super Bowl” craft project that was made at your party. The whole family can enjoy a happy, healthy 21st century tailgate party. W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

• Combine all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. • Blend dry ingredients with fresh-cut vegetables. • Mix in egg whites. • Add mixture to ground bison and mix till just combined. Over-mixing will result in a tough meatloaf. • Form meat mix into one (1) oz. meat balls. Gently “press” balls flat into mini-burgers. • Cook mini-burgers using a medium fry pan until ¾ cooked. Remove from pan. Refrigerate overnight. • Using two (2) wooden skewers for each kebab [see photo] stick mini burgers onto wooden kebab skewers. • During “tailgate” party finish kebabs on hot grill. [until browned] Serve hot with pizza sauce, catsup or mayo. • Or – place one kebab into a fresh sub roll; top with fixings and “dig in” for a great, hot, tailgate hoagie.

Nutrition Facts

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

Health & Exercise

The mirror plays tricks By John Godoy StreetWise contributor john@lifepts.com

ith the New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resolutions crowd out in force, local gyms are packed with thousands of new and old members alike looking to better their bodies and in turn, their self-image. An interesting observation that I challenge you to make is to look around at the number of people exercising the muscles they can see in the mirror and largely ignoring those they cannot. You will notice that most people will either be performing some sort of chest, bicep, or front shoulder exercise. Very few will actuFast Fact: ally be doing much of any back, triceps, There exists in the rear shoulder, or leg body a natural state exercises. And even if they are, the ratio of muscular balance, of front to back and to facilitate efficient upper to lower biomechanics body will always be in favor of those that can be easily seen in the mirror. The problem with this is twofold. One is that if the exerciser continues on this path day in and day out, they will create both an overdeveloped upper body relative to their lower body and also an overly developed

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frontal part of the body, relative to the back side. But there exists in the body a natural state of muscular balance, to facilitate efficient biomechanics. In other words, there is an ideal length and tension relationship around every joint in the body in order to safeguard proper and efficient movement. If one side of the joint gets over-trained, then the muscle on the other side will become weaker in relation, thus creating an imbalance at that particular joint. This

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will in turn affect the proper and efficient movement of that joint, which can lead to injury. Secondly, as a result of our lifestyle, we develop many postural habits that tend to cause the muscles in the front of the body to shorten and those in the back to lengthen. This is because the body will adapt to the positions you put it into most frequently. If you are like most people, and you spend most of your day at a desk hunched over a computer, you can see how an imbalance might be created.Your shoulders and back are generally hunched and your elbows are constantly bent in order as to type. Therefore, doing exercises such as the bicep curl, forward shoulder-type presses and chest exercises, can further exacerbate the imbalance you are creating throughout the working day. The solution is to train your body evenly front and back, upper and lower by getting out of the notion of training muscles in isolation and shifting to training movements. Use the mirrors to guide your form and help you with your balance and not as a guide of what muscles to train. The take-away from here is to become conscious that you train the muscles you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see in the mirror just as much as those that you can. Sure, the bench press and bicep curl may make you look great, but, at the end of the day, if your body breaks due to injury from poor posture and mechanics, your hard work is for nothing.

event calendar - January 21-27 Wednesday

Friday

In One Ear poetry night. Pete Wolf hosts a night of various performances in five-minute stints ranging from spoken word and poetry to music and visual art. $3. Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Heartland Café, 7000 N. Glenwood Ave. For more information, call 773-465-8005.

Mission IMPROVable. Audience suggestions fuel a fast-paced, interactive, secret agent-themed improv set complete with code names and secret assignments. $10-$12 (18+). Fridays and Saturdays: 11 p.m. Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St. More information at 312-733-6000 or www.missionimprovable.com.

Thursday Called to the Challenge: The Legacy of Harold Washington. Relive the story of Chicago’s first black mayor who was one of the most influential figures in the city’s political history and who served as inspiration for such people as President Barack Obama. The exhibit covers the life of the former mayor and many of the projects he implemented during his tenure. Free. MondayThursday: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays: 1-5 p.m. Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. For more information, call 312-747-4050. Doc Films. This University of Chicago film club features a wide variety of films from blockbusters to more independent fare. 7 p.m. Steamboat 'Round the Bend, 9 p.m. The Town That Dreaded Sundown $5; $26 for unlimited season pass. Ida Noyes Hall, University of Chicago, 1212 E. 59th St. For more information, call 773-702-8575 or visit www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Saturday 47th Annual World of Wheels. See a monster of a car show with souped-up street machines, hot rods, and signature motorcycles. Also featured are pop-culture icons like the Batmobile and the original K.I.T.T. from "Knight Rider," $16; $5 kids ages 12 and under. There will also be a live auction for auto and music memorabilia. 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive. For more information, call 248-373-1700.

Sunday d’Vine Affair to benefit Catholic Charities SelfSufficiency (housing, counseling and education) programs in Cook and Lake counties, 2 to 6 p.m. at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Blvd. Taste wines from over 50 vintners, along with gourmet hors d’oeuvres and desserts. A wine appreciation seminar with Chicago sommelier Bob Bansberg and Patrick Fegan, founder of the Chicago Wine School, will be 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Business casual attire; no jeans or sweatshirts.

Tickets $120, at www.catholiccharities.net/dvine. Scrabble Sundays. Play Scrabble for a chance to win a free drink. Free. 1-6 p.m. Swim Café, 1357 W. Chicago Ave. For more information, call 312492-8600. Millennium Park Ice Skating. Free; $10 skate rental. Daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (ends March 15.) McCormick Tribune Ice Rink at Millennium Park, 55 N. Michigan Ave. For more information, call 312742-1168.

Monday The Exquisite City: City in Cardboard. Features an architectural model of a fantasy city made almost entirely of cardboard created by more than 70 artists. Also includes an audio installation of music and sounds recorded on Chicago streets. Free. Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (January 15 through March 15) Chicago Tourism Center, 72 E. Randolph St. For more information, call 312744-2400.

Tuesday Magical Musical Showcase. Hear original work by a locally-based emerging artist at the Museum for Contemporary Art. Free. 6:30 p.m. Lampo presents Alex Inglizian. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. For more information, call 312-397-4010.

ER ’s time on TV, in Chicago, coming to an end By Ruth L. Ratny StreetWise contributor

For the past 15 years, NBC/Warner Bros.’ Chicago-set ER crews came to Chicago three or four times a year to shoot exteriors with stars of the show. Now ER will film here for the last time, January 31-February 1, according to Roger Anderson, who has been the Chicago producer/production manager on the top-rated series for all of its 15 years. The medical drama will be treated to a twohour finale airing March 12. Running in its slot a week later will be the mid-season drama, Kings, a retelling of David and Goliath set during an alternate history. ER has meant a great deal to Chicago, not only for the $1 million spent here per shoot, and the local people it employed,“but for showcasing the city, making it synonymous with the show, and demonstrating that Chicago is a place for a TV series,” said Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal. Anderson has been the Chicago link to ER since it first began filming here in 1994, first for a few years through now-defunct RAH Production Center. He had worked out of Chicago Studio City for several years before settling in at Big Deahl Studios on Dayton Street. “I can’t say enough good things about them,” Anderson said of the L.A. producers and actors he’s worked with over the years.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TVSERIES-ON-DVD.BLOGSPOT.COM

ER’s crew from L.A., usually the director, a writer-producer and actors and a local IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, motion picture technicians, artists and allied crafts) crew of 80, would film exteriors, said Anderson,“such as the ‘L,’ or the roof of the Hilton hotel as the top of the hospital, the NBC Plaza, Michigan Avenue.” “We’ve all been pretty lucky,” he said, noting that the show spent around $1 million each time it came to Chicago to film, usually three to four times a year. W W W. S T R E E T W I S E . O R G

“It was a great deal for everyone who worked on the show. Most of them could rely on eight weeks of work throughout the year to fill in,” Anderson added. Although ER will take its well-deserved place in the pantheon of TV entertainment, Anderson said he’s heard that there’s a possibility of an HBO series filming here in its entirety next year.

Article reprinted from Reelchica go.com.

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Local Super Sunday hangouts State Restaurant and Café, 935 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, 773.975.8030. Watch the game on over 80 televisions at this restaurant, café, and bar. Choose a variety of deals throughout the work week: Wednesdays, half-price meals with a beverage purchase, Tuesdays, burgers are $5.95, appetizers are $2.95 Fridays from 4:30-6:30. ESPN Zone - 43 E. Ohio St., Chicago, 312.644.3776. Catch every play as you sit on a DreamSeat leather recliner watching the game on the 16-foot HD projection screen or on the other 67 HD flat-screen televisions. John Barleycorn -1100 American Lane, Schaumburg, 847.619.5540. Start celebrating one hour before kickoff with $2 brats, 50-cent buffalo wings, bingo, raffles, and more. Then, get more sports action every Tuesdays when the restaurant holds a live ESPN radio remote with a Bears Player. Walter Payton’s Roundhouse - 205 N. Broadway, Aurora 630.264.2739. This 70,000 square foot entertainment facility will surely satisfy the sports enthusiast. $2 brats, free chili until half time, 50 cent buffalo wings, DJ, prizes. Free admission on game day. The South Loop Club: 701 S. State St., Chicago. 312.427.2787. Never go hungry at this sports bar which serves food until last call. Post game, keep trying the laser disk juke box and the Golden Tee Golf and dart boards. Sully’s Tap House and Grill - 1501 N. Dayton St., Chicago, 312.929.2779. - Watch the game at this upscale Irish-style sports pub from its three seating areas and two separate bars on one of the 16 HD flat-screens and 3 projection screens. Declare a table allegiance when you are seated (Team A or Team B) and get the point spread as a percent off your check at the end. Call bar for details. Duffy’s - 420 ½ W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, 773.549-9090. On game day celebrate the victories while munching from a $25 food and beverage buffet as you watch the game on over 30 42-inch televisions. Come back for their Sunday $15.95 brunch burger, $5 salads on Mondays, and $1 burgers on Tuesdays. Cans Bar and Canteen - 1640 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, 773.227.2277. Fuel up for the game with a full food buffet and stay to improve your score on

Tetris and Ms. Pac Man and listen to a jukebox blaring eighties favorites. Return on Mondays for 35-cent wings and fried pickles. Shoeless Joe’s - 10290 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont, 847.296.5760. This sports bar connected to the Best Western O'Hare will show the game on 40 TV monitors and 4 giant screens broadcasting from 20 satellites. In addition to prizes and giveaways throught the day, it is featuring a special package: $50 for a four-hour open bar. Bourbon Street 3359 W. 115th St. (Merrionette Park), 708.388.8881. Chicago, An entertainment megaplex with a Mardi Gras atmosphere featuring live shows, a sports bar, nightclub and a year-round beer garden, $25 package includes buffet and a beverage selection. Watch the game on over 17 27-inch screens and six large 15-foot screens while feasting on a $25 buffet and beverage package. Come again for live music every Thursday through Saturday evening.

What is your favorite Super Bowl memory? And, what will it take for the Bears to get to the Super Bowl? Chris Dell, Logan Square, Sales

1) The thrashing of the Bears defense against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20. 2) A lot. David Buetow, Edgewater, Law

1) In 1972, the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season despite the missed field goal attempt by Garo Yepremian.

Brownstone Tavern and Grill – 3937 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. 773-528-3700. A Big 12 and University of Texas sports bar, the game will be seen on the two large-format LCD TVs. Return for $5 sandwiches on Mondays, $2 hamburgers on Tuesdays, $1.50 mini burgers and $5 bone-in wings on Wednesdays. Rock Bottom Brewery - 1 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, (312) 755-9339. Enjoy locally made award-winning brews while you take in the big game in this richly furnished hangout. 42 Degrees North Latitude, 4500 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 773-907-2226. Watch the game in the bar or dining area and take 25% off all food from the dinner menu with the purchase of any beverage from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Come back for two entrees for the price of 1 on Wednesdays and 3 appetizers for the price of 2 on Tuesdays. Jack Melnick’s Corner Tap-41 E. Superior St. Chicago, 312.266.0400. Watch the game on 17 flatscreen TVs in the bar area that seats over 200 or check out the private room which will be transformed into a football lounge for $35 a person. Only 35 seats available to enjoy the game on 4 flat screen TVs and the perfect pigskin spread with favorites like Buffalo Wings, BBQ beef brisket and pulled pork, baked beans, macaroni & cheese and Jake’s cole slaw.

2) A new owner. Scott Johnson, Lincoln Square, Marketing

1) Hester's initial runback from the Bears in the 2007 Super Bowl versus the Colts. It went all downhill from there. 2) Defense needs to improve and Bears need better receivers. Chris Rogala, Lakeview, Commercial Real Estate

1) Richard Dent's defensive plays. 2) Bears need to learn to catch the football.

All specials and promotions are subject to change by the dining establishment. Check with establishments for details

J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

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StreetWise Feature

Urban policy â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;promiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bronzeville seeks to

By Adeshina O. Emmanuel, Jr. StreetWise contributor

capitalize on its history and to fix schools through a holistic Obama policy idea

arack Obama's ascension to the White House signifies a generation-shaping change to some people, so leaders from Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood are taking steps to help their community usher in some of that change. Bronzeville-based community organization, the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Commission (BMNHAC), held the Bronzeville International 2 summit: Owning The Cha nge Agenda last month. The summit's first session, Cha nge Communities a s Interna tiona l Hosts, addressed the "challenge and excitement that [Chicagoans] are feeling about all that is changing in the city, and America, and in the world" and tried to provide "a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye-view" of how these changes might impact Bronzeville residents, according to BMNHAC President Paula Robinson. Harold Lucas, president and CEO of Bronzeville's Black Metropolis Convention and Tourism council (BMC&TC), gave a presentation at the summit, Promise Neighborhoods, which stressed Bronzeville's prestigious history, its cultural importance, its stature as the Black Metropolis and how Bronzeville can make the most of the president-elect's reform-minded

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urban policy. "I think more than any other community in the nation, based on the Obama agenda, we are eligible to become one of the 20 Promise Neighborhoods," Lucas declared. President-elect Obama has a plan for the formation of 20 "Promise Neighborhoods" aimed at curing symptoms of innercity generational poverty by engaging children and parents from areas of low levels of student academic achievement, joblessness, high crime rates and poverty. An Obama administration will attempt to construct a goal-oriented achievement program to give communities early childhood education and childcare, while striving for "strong physical and mental health outcomes" for children and giving new parents career and parenting counseling, according to an overview of Promise Neighborhoods on the president-elect's transition team Web page, www.Change.Gov. At the BMNHAC summit, Lucas spoke about his organization's enthusiasm for Promise Neighborhoods and Black Metropolis' efforts to reach out to its Bronzeville constituency, to "find out what their self-interest is, [and] get them involved in the process from the bottom up." This is so Bronzeville can "be enfranchised by the redevelopment

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Education high on Obama’s priorities

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.FLICKER.COM

IIT’s new stop on the CTA Green Line at 35th Street is a Bronzeville landmark.

opportunity, in anticipation of preserving the tion, social service and community-building authentic experience of blues, jazz and gospel programs" serving the children and families in a music—and the politics that has elected the first 97-block area of Central Harlem, according to African American to the white house." the project's Web page, www.HCZ.org. The new administration will select Promise HCZ's Web page lists services such as "intenNeighborhoods after reviewing cities’ applica- sive" charter schools, early childhood education, tions. During this review, the federal government "community centers for children and adults durwill keep in mind local school districts, business- ing after-school, weekend and summer hours," es and community social service organizations early childhood fitness and nutrition education, that must fufill necessary roles in the program. programs based on health initiatives such as In a July 2007 speech, Cha nging the Odds for asthma and obesity, arts and media training for Urba n America , Obama said that the federal high school students, college and career guidgovernment would provide cities ance for students who have gradwith half of the funds needed, uated from High School and HCZ with the rest coming from philanprograms, and psychiatric, legal thropies and businesses. and financial counseling for all "I think we have a huge opporresidents. HCZ's programs also We've got to draw promote civic engagement and tunity here. We have a great colourselves together, give laborative nature about ourresidents a sense of create open meetings, responsibility to the community. selves," he said. "We've got to draw ourselves together, create "The idea is not just to provide have transparency, open meetings, have transpareneducation, but provide social suphold our elected cy, hold our elected officials port, health and cultural activities, officials accountable accountable who are not in fact to really make sure that our who are not in fact young people have an opportunidemagogues but think that they demagogues but are, and move the agenda forward ty to be successful," said HCZ think that they are, President and CEO, Geoffrey from the bottom up," Lucas said. and move the agenda Canada, during a Sept. 26, 2008 New York's Harlem neighborhood, like Bronzeville, has much appearance on the Tavis Smiley forward from the cultural and historical signifishow. bottom up cance and prestige, and is a comThere is a question of the plaumunity where children and adults sibility of implementing similar face familiar U.S. metropolitan ills models in 20 U.S. cities, as fundthat also plague several other ing such an initiative could be Chicago neighborhoods. hampered by the U.S.'s current fiscal nightmare, The Promise Neighborhoods initiative is mod- just as other Obama initiatives might be affected eled after a landmark urban reform program, the by the recession. Also, replicating such an innoHarlem Children’s Zone Project (HCZ), which vative project as the HCZ is easier said than the New York Times named "one of the most done, and will require long term commitments ambitious social-service experiments of our from the federal government in combination time." with strong leadership within communiThe HCZ project is "a holistic system of educa- ties and a consistent, general spirit of coopera-

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As might be expected for the Columbia-andHarvard-educated, first African-American President, Barack Obama’s “Promise Neighborhoods” concept draws from his ideas for not only urban policy and poverty but education. The new Obama/Joseph Biden team will pick 20 neighborhoods in cities with high levels of poverty and crime and low levels of student achievement and transform them along the lines of the Harlem Children’s Zone, “which provides an entire neighborhood with a full network of services from birth to college, including early childhood education, youth violence prevention efforts and after-school activities.” Yet even beyond these neighborhoods, there is a holistic agenda for education, according to the transition team’s Change.gov Web site. In the early childhood sector, one goal is “challenge grants” to help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school. Funding for early Head Start would quadruple and regular Head Start funding would increase. More affordable, high-quality childcare would “ease the burden on working families.” At the elementary and high school levels, Obama and Biden seek to reform the No Child Left Behind Act by allocating unspecified sums of money toward it. Passed in 2001, the legislation has been controversial for its so-called “unfunded mandates,” or standards of achievement in math and science for all students at various grade levels; these mandates were not backed by extra money to help disadvantaged children meet the universal goals for their grade. Other elementary/secondary school goals include: • recruiting math and science graduates as teachers of students and so other teachers can learn from them. •funding for dropout intervention strategies as early as middle school including: personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction. • twice the funding for after-school learning centers, so one million more children could be served. • teacher recruitment through service scholarships that cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education. •support for the Make College a Reality initiative, to raise the number of students taking advanced placement or college classes 50 percent by 2016. •support for college outreach programs such as the federal government’s Upward Bound, GEARUP and TRIO. At the college level, one goal is a $4,000 tax credit that would make community college free or that would cover two-thirds the cost of a public college. Recipients would be required to do 100 hours of community service. Complicated free federal student aid forms would be replaced with a check mark on one’s income tax forms. -Compiled by Suzanne Hanney

The Playground crossword

Ask Eugene Each week StreetWise’s own Eugene answers life’s toughest questions. If you can’t take the answer, don’t ask the question. Dear Eugene: I have a giggling problem. Every time I try to not giggle, I giggle. I can’t even last 15 minutes. I am losing friends because of this problem. I tried to bite my sweatshirt, but it does no good. I am very worried about this problem. I am now a freshman in college! Please help -A proud member of the g-squad

Dear G-Squad Member Giggling is indeed a grave offense. Wait. No, it isn’t. Laughing is the most natural, awesome escape from everything--plus it keeps life in perspective. Granted, there are times where society deems it inappropriate to giggle, guffaw and the like. During church, talks with your superiors, or other situations like these it is best to think of something truly disappointing. Do what actors do: Create an

elaborate, depressing scenario in you mind (Ex: Imagine watching all of Eddie Murphy’s movies, from Dr.Doolittle to present, in a row, while sitting on an angry donkey, in a sauna while being force-fed canned beets.) Now that you have that situation well-mapped out, and have thought of it in great detail, you can quickly go back to that place during times a giggle might otherwise errupt. Dear Eugene, I need dessert. Where should I go? I just moved to the city this week and have yet to satisfy my craving for sweets. Please give me your best recommendation. -I need some sugar

Dear Sugar, Chicago has some great local chocolate boutiques. Explore them yourself, or with friends through Chicago Chocolate Tours.

You can send Eugene your questions at 1201 W. Lake, Chicago, IL or e-mail him at supreme_eugene@yahoo.com

sudoku medium difficulty

last week’s answers

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J A N U A R Y 21-J A N U A R Y 27, 2009

Vendor Profile

Gene Vock likes to spread good will By Ben Cook StreetWise staff ome might recognize Gene Vock from his frequent presence downtown, or from his vendor profile last March. Gene spent time in California for the summer trying to improve his fortunes, but the Windy City beckoned him. Living in Chicago again has presented its own set of challenges, and finding a home is the most difficult. In an effort to earn a steady income, Gene came back through StreetWise’s doors to sell the magazine for a living. “StreetWise gives people a second chance, and gives those who want to better themselves the support they need,” Gene said. He sells his magazines every day of the week in front of Harris bank at Washington and Clark from 9-5. “We all [StreetWise vendors] are trying to do the best that we can to keep going.” Gene not only works hard to sell his magazines, but he likes to set people straight about the mission of StreetWise. Since the organization has been there whenever hard times have fallen on him, Gene wants to protect the organization from those who seek to tarnish its image. ”I like to help out with recruitment for the StreetWise organization by passing out fliers. I try to make people understand that anybody is welcome at StreetWise. Some of the people out there don’t want to work, I’ve found. About 80% want to just be out there shaking a cup-they just like to take kindness for granted. I noticed during the holidays that there were people out on the street shaking a cup that I’ve never seen before. What, did they come out of

the woodwork? Some of the people shaking a cup even say “help out StreetWise” even though they aren’t a part of the organization. Some of the people shaking a cup are saying “help out Pacific Garden Mission” which StreetWise has no affiliation with.” Gene is a person who is thankful for what he has, and knows that his current comfort is due to the generosity of others. He still attends the same church that he grew up in on the northwest side. One of the church’s members recognized Gene from the corner where he sells his magazines. Knowing Gene to be a person of good character, the church member decided to boost Gene’s fortunes by paying for an apartment for one full year. This is the first permanent housing Gene has had in four years. Before this incredible bit of good fortune came along, Gene had been staying on trains and in the parks at night. “I was doing my basic survival thing, and was basically homeless,” Gene explained. “I got blessed big time. I really think it’s wonderful how that family took their good blessings and passed them forward. I know that not everyone could do what they did, but their kindness serves as a good example to others.” “I’m a peaceful-going person. I don’t like to fight or argue with people. I’m a more spiritual guy. I like to say to people,‘have a nice day.’ I’m out there to make people understand that we are all here to help each other. I try to thank God for everything that he does for me. I try to keep my life straight, and do the best that I can. I appreciate my preacher for preaching the word and making sure that I got more spiritually involved.”

Meet: Gene Vock

I’m out there to make people understand that we are all here to help each other.

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Has an apartment for the first time in almost 5 years

Now that Gene has a home to stay at every night, he is accomplishing other things that are important to him. Most recently he became a registered voter, and he has an up-todate state I.D. “I would like to thank all of the loyal customers of StreetWise. Also, I would like to thank my church and all of its members. I would also like to thank Greg Pritchett for my second chance to come back to StreetWise, and also Michael Speer, our Director, for believing in all of us here. StreetWise has been a great big help in my life.”

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Likes to ensure that people aren’t defrauding StreetWise

Available at www.streetwise.org

is back

Now in its fifth season, Join host Greg Pritchett and his guests as they discuss StreetWiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission and upcoming events. The show is on live every Wednesday at 5 p.m. on CAN-TV 21