NORTH SHORE DOINGS
Find out what’s happening in your town with our weekly events listing pg4
#HASHTAG
Darrin Utynek joins Paws for Patrick as Executive Director pg10
MAN ABOUT FILM
We review Mickey 7, an intergalactic dark comedy pg12
NATURAL PROGRESSION
—Carl Sagan
Our expert interior design team would love to help you refresh or transform your home Come into o r ne sho room or
NEWS
4 north shore doings
Your go-to guide for all the latest local events this month
8 la bohème
Puccini's timeless tale of Parisian romance, friendship, and tragedy returns to Lyric Opera
6 north shore sports
Lake Forest Academy boys' basketball squad amasses 25 wins behind its team-first approach
LIFESTYLE & ARTS
8 eve of indulgence
Winnetka brasserie Aboyer paired culinary artistry with cigars at last month's event
10 #hashtag
Meet Darrin Utynek, Executive Director of Paws for Patrick, and find out what's trending in his world
NORTH SHORE DOINGS
EDITED BY CHEYANNE LENCIONI THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
NOW THROUGH MARCH 31
GRAB N’ GO GARDEN KIT
WHERE: Lake Forest Library
Stop by the Adult Refer ence Desk at Lake Forest Library to pick up a kit containing two seed packets, soil peat pellets, and biode gradable pots to start your own garden. Supplies are limited and are available on a first‑come, first‑served basis; limit 2 kits per household while supplies last. lakeforestlibrary.org
NOW THROUGH APRIL 13
LOVE AND PSYCHE
WHERE: North Shore Art League
This new North Shore Art League exhibit features work by Elizabeth McKenna. While each painting mani fests its own individual style, the paintings included in the show tap into McKenna’s passion for poetry. northshoreartleague.org
NOW THROUGH APRIL 24
PATTERNS AND POEMS IN NATURE
WHERE: North Shore Senior Center
Chicago Alliance of Visual Arts is hosting a joint exhibi tion with the North Shore Senior Center featuring Kathleen Haslwanter, Chris tine George, Maryse Rich ards, and Karen Beatty. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., celebrate spring and explore the beauty of patterns and repetition in art. wearecava.org
NOW THROUGH APRIL 28
CONCEPTUAL COMPOSITIONS
WHERE: got?art contemporary studio Got?art contemporary studio in Winnetka is
featuring a new exhibit that prioritizes form, color, and texture over representational or realistic depictions— featuring work by Piotr Antonow, Irena Siwek, and Voytek. gotartstudio.com
MARCH 23
SPRING FAMILY FESTIVAL
WHERE: Kohl Children’s Museum
From 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., get ready for an afternoon of fun and baby animal ex ploration at Kohl Children’s Museum. There will be meet and greets with reptiles and amphibians, a petting zoo, an opportunity to meet Ra punzel, and so much more. kohlchildrensmuseum.org
MARCH 24 TO 25
POTTERY ON THE PRAIRIE
WHERE: Mellody Farm Nature Preserve and Claire Willis Pottery Studio Children ages 6 to 12 are invited to participate in a collaboration between Claire Willis Pottery and Lake Forest Open Lands Association (LFOLA). This two day series will be held at LFOLA’s Mellody Farm Nature Preserve (Session 1) and at Claire Willis Pottery Studio (Session 2). Partici pants in Session 1 will be at collecting plants and natural found objects to inspire clay pottery projects. They’ll also participate in guided hikes and engage in hands on, project based learning ac tivities. The next day they’ll meet at the Claire Willis Pottery Studio where pottery will be glazed and decorated. Each participant will create at least one clay art project to glaze and decorate in the studio during this second part of the workshop. lfola.org
MARCH 24 & 31
ZUMBA FITNESS WHERE: Highwood Recre ation Center
Join community members at the Highwood Recreation Center from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a dance exercise class. highwoodlibrary.org
MARCH 24 & 31
JOB CENTER ON THE MOVE
WHERE: Highwood Library
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Lake County’s Workforce Development will be host ing its weekly program at Highwood Library to help the community with careers. This program will focus on one on one resume develop ment, job training, intern ships, career transitions, and more. No appointment is necessary.
highwoodlibrary.org
MARCH 25
TINY BOOK WORKSHOP
WHERE: Glencoe Public Library
Youth in grades 4 to 7 can create tiny versions of their favorite books from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Books can be held, worn, or added to a keychain. Registration is required. glencoelibrary.org
MARCH 27
I DWELL IN POSSIBILITY
WHERE: Lake Bluff Library
From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., join Betsey Means from WomanLore for a historical portrayal of American poet Emily Dickinson. Learn about the reclusive life of a
MARCH 29
ACADEMY CHAMBER
MUSIC CONCERT
WHERE: Music Institute of Chicago, Winnetka Enjoy a free concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Thore sen Performance Center featuring Music Institute of Chicago duos, trios, and quartets. musicinst.org
MARCH 29
BROADWAY AND BEYOND
WHERE: Lutheran Church of the Ascension
poet who wrote about such powerful subjects as nature, immortality, and death. lakeblufflibrary.org
MARCH 28
SENSORY SHENANIGANS
WHERE: Winnetka Public Library
Children from birth to 4 years old can enjoy an hour of interactive play from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Winnetka Public Library. This program will be fun, but messy, so parents are encouraged to dress children accordingly. Adults must accompany children for this program. No drop offs permitted. wnpld.org
MARCH 28
DROP IN LEGOS
WHERE: Highland Park Library
From noon to 1 p.m., chil dren ages 5 to 14 can drop by Highland Park Library to play with LEGOs in the Activity Room. hplibrary.org
MARCH 28
ESCAPE ROOM
WHERE: Evanston Public Library
Teens grades 6 through 12 can gather in the Loft to solve the puzzle and get out of the “escape room.” This program is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and registration is required. epl.org
Join Northfield’s Lutheran Church of the Ascension for a free performance of songs from "Broadway & Beyond," featuring Chicago's own Temple Sholom cantor and talented entertainer Sheera Ben David,, and from New York, The Book of Mor mon Musical Director and keyboardist Adam Ben David. This amazing sibling duo last performed at the church’s small stage in 2017 and packed the house. This concert is sponsored by the One Tree Many Branches performance series. ascension-church.org
APRIL 3
THE GREAT MIGRATION & THE GREAT WAR: ENGINES OF CHANGE
WHERE: Lake Bluff Library
From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., learn how the shock waves of the Great Migration and the Great War in the early 20th century resonate to this day at an engaging Lake Bluff Library program. Join Clar ence Goodman to discover the lesser known ways these two events influenced and affected each other. Registra tion is required. lakeblufflibrary.org
APRIL 3
SIT & KNIT
WHERE: Northfield Public Library
Spend the afternoon with fellow knitters in the Com munity Room at Northfield Public Library. From 3
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. adults of all levels of experience are welcome. Basic supplies will be provided and library staff will be present to assist. Registration is required. wnpld.org
APRIL 3 TO 6 BREAKTHROUGH!
WHERE: Josephine Louis Theater, Northwestern University
The Evanston Dance Ensemble asks big ques tions and searches for big answers in Breakthrough! Artistic Director Enid Smith is joined by guest choreographers Ryan Gal loway, Béa Rashid, Sophia Santore, Sophia Vangelatos, Laura Wade, and Eduardo Zambrana in this celebra tion of the scientists, seekers, and explorers of the world. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 3 and 4; 10 a.m. on April 5; and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on April 6. evanstondanceensemble.org
APRIL 9
APRIL JOB FAIR
WHERE: Wilmette Park District
Discover exciting job opportunities from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Wilmette Park District’s Community Recreation Center. This is for individuals aged 16 and up, or age 15 with a work permit for select positions. wilmettepark.org
APRIL 12
BUNNY BRUNCH & EGG HUNTS
WHERE: Lakeview Center
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., children ages 2 and older can meet the Easter Bunny, take part in an Easter egg hunt, and enjoy a delicious breakfast. Registration is re quired and all children must be accompanied by an adult. wilmettepark.org
To submit your event for consideration, please email events@nsweekend.com.
Love and Psyche
LA BOHÈME
Puccini’s timeless tale of Parisian romance, friendship, and tragedy returns to Lyric in a stunning new to Chicago production that immerses audiences in one of opera’s most beloved stories.
Love burns bright in the City of Light as Puccini’s La Bohème returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago. Running now through April 12, this masterpiece captures the essence of young love, artistic passion, and the bit tersweet nature of life’s fleeting joys.
With its stirring music and unforgettable characters, the heart of Paris is brought to life on the Lyric stage and reminds us why La Bohème—the inspiration for the iconic Broadway musical Rent—remains one of the most beloved operas of all time.
An extraordinary blend of world class performers—Pene Pati in his Lyric debut and returning favorites Ailyn Pérez, Gabri ella Reyes, and Will Liverman—master fully reenact the triumphs and struggles of bohemian Paris. Conducted by Jordan de Souza and directed by Melanie Bacaling, this poignant and visually stunning pro duction will captivate you with its enduring charm.
Set against the backdrop of 19th century
Paris, a group of scrappy young artists navigate the complicated social landscape of love and loss. At the center of it all is the tender love story of Rodolfo, a poet, and Mimì, a fragile seamstress. As their love blossoms, the realities of poverty and illness loom, weaving a tale of passion, sacrifice, and the enduring power of connection.
This vibrant opera is bursting with soar ing arias, lush ensembles, and moments of both joyous celebration and heartbreaking tragedy. Reflecting its well deserved repu tation as a classic, Puccini’s score brings the bohemian lifestyle to life like no other. From the camaraderie of Café Momus to the intimacy of Mimì and Rodolfo’s duets, La Bohème is an emotional journey that will leave you reaching for your handkerchief.
La Bohème runs through April 12 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago. For more information about this and other upcoming shows, visit lyricopera.org.
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BY BILL MCLEAN
THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER NORTH SHORE SPORTS
Take heart, Loyola Academy (LA) girls’ basketball followers.
Yes, your Ramblers—the reigning Class 4A state champions at the time—lost a pair of games on Final Four weekend earlier this month, resulting in a fourth place finish at the state tournament in Normal.
But LA’s JV squad went 29 0 this winter, and this fall’s incoming freshman class fea tures more than a few promising hoopsters, LA coach Jeremy Schoenecker notes.
“Plus,” he says, “next year’s team will be more well rounded and hungry to see what it can do as a follow up to another successful season.”
Schoenecker’s 2024 2025 edition won 28 straight games from December 4 to March 3 behind senior guard Aubrey Galvan’s sen sational shotmaking, the consistent efforts of several indispensable role players, and the Ramblers’ stifling, tireless defense.
Vanderbilt University bound Galvan averaged a team high 19.8 points per game and poured in 37 points—including a record setting seven three pointers—in LA’s gut wrenching 80 74 double overtime
FOUR-MIDABLE HAILING CAXYS
Loyola Academy girls’ hoops team takes fourth in Class 4A at state, looks forward to another strong playoff run in the 2025 2026 season.
loss to William Fremd High School in a state semifinal at Illinoi State University’s CEFCU Arena on March 7.
“Phenomenal scorer and player and per son,” Schoenecker says of Galvan, who also paced the team in assists (3.1) and earned All State honors for the second year in a row.
A year after going 38 0 en route to the program’s third state championship, LA produced a 34 4 mark, meaning Ramblers under Schoenecker (418 125, in 17 seasons) won 95 percent of their games since the start of the 2023 2024 season.
“This year’s group worked hard each and every day,” says Schoenecker, who also guid ed LA’s 2011 2012 crew to a fourth place finish at state. “Practice was the favorite part of their day, in part because they’re all good friends and they enjoyed being together. But they also looked forward to each practice because they wanted to know, and work on, what it would take to defeat our next op ponent.”
Six other seniors turned in their LA uniforms for the final time: forward Grace Bronski, guard Nora Emerson, guard/ forward Hannah Naraky, guard Jacqueline Lukic, guard Nene Wrenn, and guard Clare
Leyden.
Junior guards Clare Weasler and Marycait Mackie averaged 8.3 points and 6.9 points respectively and finished second and third in assists behind Galvan; sophomore Emily Naraky (7.4 points per game) grabbed a team best 143 rebounds—off the bench; Bronski averaged nearly seven points a game; and Emerson contributed about five points per contest.
LA lost to Alton Senior High School 54 44 in the Class 4A third place game on March 8, with Galvan and Mackie each scoring 11 points and Emily Naraky tallying 10.
“Tough weekend, especially our loss in the semifinal,” Schoenecker says.
“I’ve always believed, ‘Hard work pays off,’ and we saw that from this group,” he adds. “After our (49 43) loss to St. Ignatius (Col lege Prep) in mid December, after being up 30 15 at the half, the girls focused on taking it one game at a time from there.”
The approach produced that 28 game winning streak.
Lake Forest Academy boys’ basketball squad racks up 25 wins in 31 games.
Kyle Koncz’s favorite brand of basketball is agenda less ball.
In other words, the kind of basketball that is all about wins—and not about a player or play ers whose only order of business on hardwood each game is to score at least 20 points.
If that total comes in a win, fine. If that total occurs in a loss, also fine.
“Togetherness was our strength this year,” says Koncz, Lake Forest Academy’s eighth year boys’ basketball coach. “Our players didn’t care about stats; they shared the ball, played unself ish basketball.”
Played winning basketball, too. The Caxys started 0 2 but ended up 25 6, averaging an impressive—and selfless—16.5 assists per game and downing a slew of sturdy teams, including Northridge Preparatory School twice, High land High School, Grayslake Central High School, Lake Zurich High School, and Bosco Institute (Crown Point, Indiana).
Last year’s edition of Lake Forest Academy (LFA) Caxys finished with a sub .500 record. LFA, an associate member school of the Illinois High School Association and there
fore ineligible to compete in the state playoffs, capped its season by winning its tournament in February.
Koncz’s boys of winter edged Bosco Institute by one point in the LFA tourney final, after trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter.
“Not many schools in the state end their sea son with a win, and we’re one of them,” Koncz says. “It was such a coachable group. I enjoyed every practice.
“As the season progressed,” he adds, “they believed more in themselves.”
Five Caxys averaged 7.3 points or more in the 2024 2025 season. Senior forward Arnas Simaitis, of London, England, paced the bal anced offense, averaging 12.3 points to go with his averages of 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks.
Junior guard and Harka, Hungary native Levente “Levi” Tallos served as the team’s sec ond leading scorer (10.8 points per game). The 6 foot 2 hoopster also averaged 7.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.3 steals.
That’s getting it done—all over the court.
“Players trusted Levi to make the big plays
when needed and to make the right plays for us,” Koncz says.
Senior forward and Canadian Mekael Mian averaged 10.6 points and 3.2 boards per game; senior Paulius Karvelis, who hails from Zamec kavo Kaimas, Lithuania, averaged 8.1 points and grabbed nearly three rebounds per game; and sophomore guard Tej Johnson, of High land Park, contributed averages of 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.
“What also made me proud was how often we did what we needed to do at the end of close games,” Koncz says. “In our second game against Northridge Prep, we were up eight or nine points in the third quarter, then overcame a run by them in the fourth quarter of a tough, physical game.”
In early December, LFA would have been excused for playing a flat brand of basketball in its first game at a weekend tournament in New Jersey. The players woke up at around 5 a.m., got on a flight, and then had to wait until 9 p.m. to compete in The Garden State. They hit shots. And then they hit the hay, finally—as winners.
Marycait Mackie
Q & A Lake Bluff native and Milwaukee Brewers infielder CALEB DURBIN
The Milwaukee Brewers visit the New York Yankees for their season opener on March 27.
Learning of the matchup must have made Lake Bluff native and 2018 Lake Forest High School (LFHS) graduate Caleb Durbin smile.
Durbin, a 25 year old infielder hop ing to make his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut this year, was traded from the Yankees to the Brewers in the offseason.
“It caught me by surprise,” says Durbin.
Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round (427th player overall) of the June Amateur Draft in 2021, Durbin—a standout in his three seasons at Division III Washington University in St. Louis—got traded to the Yankees in 2022 and played 82 games for New York’s Triple A affiliate last year, batting .287 with 10 home runs and 60 runs batted in. The 5 foot 7, 185 pounder also stole 29 bases in 32 attempts.
Durbin has had an incredible batting eye since he first wielded an aluminum bat as a youngster. In his junior season at Washington University, when the Bears reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division III tournament, he struck only twice in a 40 game span. During the 2023 Arizona Fall League as a member of the Mesa Solar Sox, Durbin fanned only seven times in 103 plate appear ances.
“Caleb has a crazy high baseball IQ and quiet confidence,” former LFHS assistant baseball coach David Holmes (LFHS, Class of 2008) told Forest & Bluff last year. “Loves to work hard, loves baseball. To me, he has a big league infield glove to go with his great eye at the plate.”
Your other thoughts upon finding out your new baseball home is only about 60 miles north of your hometown?
Trades feel like they come out of nowhere, but I was excited to hear it was to Milwaukee.
What excites you most about the Brewers’ organization?
They have a lot of young players who are hungry to win a championship.
How would you describe your 2024 season with the Yankees’ organization in a nutshell?
It was another great experience learn ing from the ups and downs that take place during a full season.
Your top three goals for the 2025 season?
I have many goals for 2025, and they all revolve around helping contribute to winning a World Series.
Your fondest memory or memories as a Yankee?
My best memories as a Yankee are all the times spent with my teammates and coaches and the great relationships I made within the organization.
Best advice a Major Leaguer has given you?
I was told, “Playing in the big leagues is the same game you’ve been playing your entire life, so don’t make it any thing more than it is.”
BY JOE ROSENTHAL THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
There’s a reason why environmentalists like Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, and Graham Nash say that young people are the key to preserving the planet (“Teach your children well,” as the old song says). Our childhood beliefs about nature often define our later relationship with the environment. Director of Corporate Sustainability at UL Solutions Dorthea Emery Duenow can trace the roots of her current position back to an idyllic, outdoorsy childhood.
Emery Duenow grew up—along with her parents and many siblings—on sparsely
SOCIAL LIFE
inhabited Wadmalaw Island in South Caro lina at her grandfather’s house. Living off the grid, they bathed in salt water, grew their own fruits and vegetables, sailed the Atlantic coast, and did their best to learn all the species around them by studying the old books that lined the home’s walls.
“That’s the kind of stuff that just passes onto you naturally as a kid,” Emery Duenow says. “You just think that’s how grandparents are. That’s how grownups behave. And then when you move into other parts of society, you’re like, ‘Oh, that was very special!’”
From an early age, she felt the power of nature. “ I was always in the elements, getting tons of exercise and sunlight every day, climb ing trees, and using my imagination to play with sticks and mud.” Over those formative years, Emery Duenow felt her surroundings were more than just beautiful views; they were becoming part of her.
As she grew older, Emery Duenow hop scotched around the world as her professor father landed in different teaching roles. Improbably, the sunlight loving high schooler found herself visiting colleges in the Midwest. Looking back, she can’t help but laugh about her trip to the University of Chicago. “It was 40 degrees, freezing rain, and everything gothic and gray. And I thought, ‘Yeah, this is where I need to be!”’
Chicagoland became Emery Duenow’s
home, and she’s been here ever since. After graduation, she tried her hand at a number of different careers. The roles may have been different, but creativity was a common thread. She co owned a web design agency, wrote copy for nonprofits, and even drummed in a touring rock duo. Ultimately, the physical and mental burden of running a two person band and living out of a van proved too much, and the music came to an abrupt end one night somewhere outside of Austin, Texas.
She returned to Chicago to embark upon her next chapter. “I went back to full time work, had kids, and moved to the suburbs.” It was in those suburbs, sitting in her Highland Park home, that the epiphany hit. Perhaps it was the reality of having young children, new responsibilities, or the hangover of her cre ative sojourns. Emery Duenow saw a position listed at UL Solutions and decided to give it a shot. She pulled together her portfolio and landed a role at the global, 130 year old, Northbrook headquartered company that provides safety, security, and sustainability services to businesses.
Emery Duenow got the job and found herself working side by side with the head of corporate sustainability. “It was the right place, right time.” She suddenly found herself combining her greatest skill—writing—and her greatest passion—nature.
“We look at our own processes,” she
explains. “Where can we make positive reduc tions? We look at the health and well being of our employees, our customers, and anyone else impacted throughout the value chain.” It’s a mission she can get behind because it’s something she’s believed in since those child hood days with her seafaring grandfather.
“What’s cool and different about this company is the engineering mindset and our scientific approach,” she says. “If the data is there, and the facts are showing us things, we’re not ignoring it. We understand how to read data and know what it means.”
As for the big picture, Emery Duenow thinks a lot about her children and the world they’ll inherit.
“We all know there’s too many screens, too much indoors,” she observes. “Not knowing what we’re putting into our mouths. We are woefully out of balance. I think change starts with something as simple as walking your neighborhood every day of the year. Getting into the woods here has really changed the way I see living on the North Shore. I’m con nected to it in a way I never was before.”
And when it comes to the circuitous path she’s taken from a small coastal island to liv ing the itinerant life out of a van to corporate America in the Windy City, Emery Duenow takes it all in stride. “ I do trust the way, ‘the Tao,’ because I always seem to end up in a place that’s fitting.”
EVENING OF INDULGENCE
Winnetka’s Aboyer brasserie paired cigars with culinary artistry at last month’s event.
Aboyer’s February cigar dinner was a masterclass in culinary artistry and refined indulgence. Guests savored warm gougères, followed by scampi Provençal over herbed polenta with crispy fried leeks. The highlight was prime, dry aged sirloin steak au poivre, paired with haystack frites and creamy mashed potatoes. The grand finale? A baked Alaska, flambéed tableside with Cognac crème anglaise, was spectacular. Throughout the evening, Aaron Ashe of Cigary in Wilmette curated an impeccable selection of cigars, perfectly comple menting each course at the Winnetka French American restaurant. It was a true celebration of fine dining, expertly guided by Chef Michael Lachowicz, with the timeless pleasure of a well paired smoke.
BY
PHOTOGRAPHY
IAN MCLEOD
#HASHTAG
With more than 25 years of diverse leadership experience in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors, DARRIN UTYNEK has joined Paws for Patrick as the organization’s Executive Director, bringing extensive knowledge and expertise to the organization and its mission. Paws for Patrick is dedicated to improving the mental health of young people through the emotional support of animals. Utynek’s background includes being appointed as the first Chief Executive Office of Bernie’s Book Bank, which provides more than 2.5 million books annually to more than 300,000 children in the Chicago area. Under his direction, the nonprofit organization was able to enhance its business operations and technology to begin expanding its mission nationally. Prior to his time at Bernie’s Book Bank, Utynek served as the Chief Operating Officer of the American Red Cross, the Vice President of Administration for the Habitat Company, and Senior Director of Risk Management for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. As Executive Director, Utynek will apply his diverse experience to lead the organization and advance the mission and tremendous work of Paws for Patrick. Here is how he stays up to date amidst giving back.
#ON MY NIGHTSTAND
I am currently reading It’s Hard for Me to Live with Me by Rex Chap man and Seth Davis. I am a huge fan of biographies, and love learning how people got to where they are. Rex’s story is pretty amazing and he is very honest with his struggles around mental health and addiction. He has been on top, lost everything, and reinvented himself, a fascinating story that is still being written.
#ON MY MOBILE
Sports! I am a sports junkie, any thing to do with my beloved Packers, Badgers, Brewers, and Bucks!
#IN MY EARBUDS
I am a big podcast guy, SmartLess, Armchair Expert, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and Revisionist History are some of my favs. Music—I am all over the place and enjoy all genres. However, my favorite band of all time is Led Zeppelin, fol lowed by other favs such as Dave Matthews Band, Zac Brown Band, Beastie Boys, and Foo Fighters.
EDITED BY REDDING WORTH ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL
What to Consider When Upsizing
Are you feeling like you are growing out of your current home or it no longer fits your needs? It may be time to upsize your home! When upsizing to a bigger home, it’s important to carefully evaluate your long-term needs and lifestyle.
Things to consider:
• Number of bedrooms, bathrooms
• Overall square footage that will accommodate your current and future family size
• Other features you want or need
• Neighborhoods to look in
• What location works for your lifestyle - close to schools, restaurants, daycares, shops, transportation, nature/parks, or cultural experiences
• Timing of your move
Financial considerations are also crucial when upsizing. Here are some to consider:
• Higher purchase price
• Higher property taxes, utility bills, and maintenance costs
• Financing - get a pre-approval or ensure you have funds ready to pay cash
• Think about the interest rates
• Market conditions
• Equity from your current home to maximize the value of your investment in a bigger property
Call me to discuss your move and all the steps to consider.
MICKEY 7
This intergalactic dark comedy is a study in sci fi absurdity and existential quandaries.
BY FELIX MCMILLAN, MAN ABOUT FILM ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL
VERDICT: Mickey 7 is an intergalactic dark comedy that might just leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about life, death, and everything in between— while making you laugh at the same time. And really, isn’t that the best we can hope for?
Director Bong Joon ho, the master mind behind Parasite, returns to the science fiction genre with Mickey 7—a film that marries the dark absurdity of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with the grim existentialism of The Martian. Set on a far flung future colony on a hos tile planet, the film presents itself as a raucous, visually stunning commentary on humanity’s penchant for both self destruction and self importance.
The premise is simple but thoroughly engrossing—Mickey 7, a disposable human worker sent on perilous tasks, is inexplicably resurrected each time he dies on the planet, thanks to a highly dubi ous, almost comically flawed regeneration process. It’s a bit like watching a human attempt to jump through flaming hoops while simultaneously trying to keep their dignity intact.
What Mickey 7 lacks in subtlety, it more than makes up for with its raw, untamed approach to the futility of hu man existence in the age of technology. We meet our titular character (played by the ever charismatic Robert Pattinson),
a man who has not so much come to terms with death as he has simply grown tired of it. The endless cycle of reincarna tion, one might assume, would lead to an epiphany, some great revelation about life and death. But no, it only leads to Mickey’s weary yet oddly humorous resig nation. He is, quite literally, a man who can't catch a break, or a breath, and that, dear reader, is precisely where the film hits home.
“It’s a tough life,” Mickey mutters at one point, whilst being revived for the umpteenth time. And isn’t that the human condition in a nutshell? To be revived, reset, and sent back into the fray with nary a moment to reflect on the meaning of it all. The futility is ren dered hilarious, partly due to Pattinson’s deadpan delivery, but also thanks to Bong Joon ho’s deftness in marrying the absurd with the profound.
Visually, Mickey 7 is everything one could hope for in a space film without the suffocating reliance on CGI heavy spectacle. The alien world, in all its post apocalyptic glory, is painted with a muted palette of greys and oranges, suggesting that while humanity may be venturing into the stars, it’s hardly escaping its earthly failings. The planet is a harsh, unforgiving place, but it is, strangely, more forgiving than humanity itself. The shots of Mickey wandering the desolate terrain evoke a sense of cosmic loneliness, but also a jarring humour in his futile at tempts to make it through one more day.
The supporting cast, including the brilliant Tessa Thompson as Mickey's conflicted scientist companion, serves as the perfect foil to Pattinson's increasingly cynical, yet oddly endearing, protagonist. The relationship between Mickey and his fellow workers—a motley crew of similarly 'disposable' humans—creates an unexpected emotional core amidst the chaos of intergalactic survival. These are people who, like Mickey, are caught in the machinery of human ambition, doomed to repeat their failures over and over again, though each iteration brings them only marginally closer to something resembling self awareness.
If there’s a flaw in the film, it’s the pacing. There are moments where the cyclical nature of Mickey’s resurrection feels drawn out, almost to the point of tedium. But just as you begin to wonder
if the film itself is about to get bogged down in the monotony of its premise, Bong Joon ho manages to inject a dose of levity, a well timed absurdity that reminds you that, much like life, this film isn’t sup posed to make perfect sense.
At its heart, Mickey 7 is a satire, skew ering not just the big questions about life, death, and humanity’s future, but the absurdity of human striving. After all, if you could come back from the dead, wouldn’t you eventually stop asking why?
The answer, Mickey 7 suggests, might just be that there are no answers—only a repeating cycle of missteps, hope, and a
hell of a lot of cosmic paperwork.
In its most poignant moments, the film mirrors the existential crisis of its protagonist. Much like Mickey, we’re left wondering whether our actions, our repeated failures, even matter in the grand scheme of things. Yet, somehow, despite the overwhelming bleakness, Mickey 7 leaves us with a touch of hope—a spark of human spirit in the face of infinite futility. It’s a space odyssey, yes, but more importantly, it’s a reminder that in the vast expanse of the universe, the only thing that truly endures is the absurdity of being human.
CHAOS: THE MANSON MURDERS
Now streaming on Netflix, this documentary offers a chilling dive into the darkness of cults and conspiracy.
VERDICT: CHAOS doesn’t offer easy answers. It leaves viewers grappling with unsettling possibilities and forces them to confront the shadows that still linger in American culture. While undeniably dark, it is also a powerful exploration of manipulation, conspiracy, and the consequences of turning a blind eye to the darker sides of human nature.
Errol Morris, the Oscar winning director known for his ability to peel back the layers of complex stories, has once again ventured into the unsettling depths of true crime with CHAOS: The Manson Murders, which
premiered on Netflix on March 7.
This documentary doesn’t merely revisit the infamous Manson family murders; it goes further, questioning the official narrative and delving into the potential conspiracies that have long haunted the case.
At the heart of CHAOS is a story that has fascinated, disturbed, and captivated the public for decades. The Manson family’s gruesome murders in 1969, which left seven people dead, remain one of the darkest chap ters in American criminal history. Charles Manson, a failed musician who seduced a group of vulnerable followers, used a com bination of manipulation, LSD, and a vision of apocalyptic race wars to instigate these horrors. Yet, CHAOS isn’t content to simply recount these events. Instead, it probes into the murky waters of potential conspiracy, suggesting that there may be more to the
murders than meets the eye.
Morris, known for his probing, almost sur gical approach to documentary filmmaking, uses CHAOS to explore not just Manson’s manipulative hold on his followers but also the broader political and social context of the 1960s. The film draws connections between Manson, the CIA, LSD experimentation, and even the assassination of JFK, present ing a chilling portrait of the ways in which power, influence, and fear can manifest in unexpected places.
What truly elevates CHAOS is its focus on Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor who led the case against Manson. Through interviews, archival footage, and a careful re examination of Bugliosi’s book Helter Skelter, Morris casts doubt on the trial’s conclusions, raising ques tions about whether justice was served—or if the true story was ever told.
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WEALTH OF TALENT
Meet Grove Mower, managing partner at a Chicago wealth management practice and author of Dusty Money the first of a new book trilogy with a sprinkling of North Shore references.
BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT RISKO
With apologies to the character Mulber ry Sellers in Mark Twain’s 1892 novel, The American Claimant, there’s gold in them thar book. Grove Mower’s books, specifi cally, and not just because he happens to run a wealth management practice, Hum mer Mower Associates, in Chicago. His latest novel, Dusty Money (Snafu Publications, 2024, the first in a trilogy), contains a string of gems doubling as clever, punchy prose, beginning with the appear ance and actions of Margaret Carlson, a high powered, quick tempered technology lawyer who had just escaped a torrent of rain in Chicago.
“She blew with a pffffft at the hair plastered around her face, to no effect,” Mower writes. “She dropped her handbag and briefcase and pulled her hair away as if drawing open a curtain.”
Here’s another, a delectable line uttered by Clare Reynolds, an ambitious banker from Chicago’s South Side, at the sight of a man at the Arts Club: “Believe me, he’s not here for the art,” she said to a colleague. “He wouldn’t know Manet from Monet from mayonnaise.”
And one more, this one featuring a spot on descriptor: “The caravan,” Mower pens, “drove southeast down Milwaukee Avenue to a spaghetti of interstates … .”
The ebullient to the bone Mower, who resides in Lincoln Park and once lived in a Lake Forest garage for six months, is 67 years old. He started writing his debut book, Forty Rod Road: A Young Man’s Tale of Adventure and Discovery, at the age of 53.
“And I wrote it using a 19 year old’s voice—my voice,” he says. “I essentially wrote it for my sons (Chapin, now 32, and Ned, 30), because they were 19 or near that age at the time. I had worked at a ranch for a summer in Wyoming, after my freshman year at Brown. I was lost. My girlfriend had
dumped me. I was searching for meaning in life. I stayed in a trailer out West. But I loved it. I remember thinking, ‘This is so cool, so real.’
“The book is 175 pages, that’s all,” Mower continues.
“What kept me going as an adult writer—and I had struggled mightily with writing when I was young—was hearing readers say, ‘I want to know what happens next to
ing Christmas was near.” Book No. 2 in the Dusty Money trilogy, Amos and Ike, is scheduled for release this year. It's set in Lake Forest, where Grove’s brother Chapin dwells in real life. The final book of the trio, A Christmas Storm, is set in Winnetka and is in line for a 2026
“I write books in my spare time,” says Mower, who, for the past 40 years, has worked in
a St. Louis native who attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts before hitting the books as an Ivy Leaguer at Brown Uni versity. “I was never a good writer as a stu dent. The most I’d ever written before my first book was a 20 page paper for a class, and that took me two months to complete. Writing is hard. But I kept at it in my 50s, kept working on developing my style.
“It’s one of my passions now, telling stories. I like the writing process. It keeps me young, keeps me thinking.”
Positive feedback fueled him, particularly words from a client living in London, Eng land. The client had read Forty Rod Road, published in 2014.
The client is a publisher/editor/writer.
“He liked it,” Mower, a Chicagoan since 1988, recalls. “He told me, ‘I heard your voice throughout it.’ Hearing him say that gave me confidence and energized me.”
Another reader told the author, “While reading about your characters, I wanted to sit down and have a beer with them.”
John Conatser FOUNDER & PUBLISHER
Jennifer Sturgeon ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Gaven Conatser ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
@ TheNSWeekend @ TheNSWeekend
What kept me going as an adult writer—and I had struggled mightily with writing when I was young—was hearing readers say, ‘I want to know what happens next to your characters?’
your characters?’”
Dusty Money, which is about two strong willed redheads wrestling with love and money, is “fun, fast fiction, the break we need to escape the digital intrusion, the vitriol, and the nonsense all around us,” Mower says. North Shore references/ nods dot its breezy chapters, including a Highwood bar, Ragdale (the art residency in Lake Forest), Indian Hill (golf club in Winnetka), and dialogue centering on a hockey rink built annually atop a massive front lawn near Lake Michigan, “announc
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Michelle Crowe, Erin Donaldson, Dustin O'Regan, Kemmie Ryan, Megan Weisberg
FOOD EDITOR
Monica Kass Rogers
financial services in New York and Chica go, managing family wealth (dusty money) for the last 25 years. He launched Hum mer Mower Associates in 2018; it boasts a nimble, young workforce of seven, includ ing his son Chapin, a marketing/social media professional.
“Younger, faster, smarter,” Mower says of his firm’s partners. “All I do is bring in new clients.”
While continuing to hone his craft as a writer.
“I stumbled into writing,” says Mower,
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Cheyanne Lencioni, Bill McLean, Felix McMillan, Joe Rosenthal, Redding Worth DESIGN
Linda Lewis PRODUCTION MANAGER/GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Natalie Phillips ADVERTISING COORDINATOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Years later, an editor, shortly after polish ing off a book by Mower, told the author, “The love you put into your writing, how much you sweated over it—it all comes through.”
Mower’s books are character driven and heavy on dialogue. Were you to tell Mower that most of his chapters start like compel ling scenes in a movie, he’d reply, “Thank you.”
“The highest compliment an author could ever receive is, ‘You should write another book,’” Mower says. “You receive something like that, you get right back to work. I write humorous beach reads, books I want readers to pass on to a friend.”
His last line in “A Message From Grove N. Mower” in Dusty Money is pure Mower:
“I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.”
Visit snafupublications.com for more information about Grove Mower’s books.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART
George Pfoertner, Katrina Wittkamp PHOTOGRAPHY
Tom Bachtell, Barry Blitt ILLUSTRATION
Grove Mower
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