Living the American Dream: October 2009

Spamalittle

Well, did you guess correctly? Here are Robin and Richard as the Knights of the Round Pub Table. Thanks to Monty Python for the inspiration, and me for the terrible script.

Dance Macabre

Let the Halloween celebrations begin! Last night we attended a dance at De Sarge Dance World.

The scariest thing about it was our dancing.

Mrs Lovett baked a special jumbo pie filled with Butterfingers specially for the occasion.

Never too early to start auditioning for America's Got Talent.

"I told you not to eat all that spinach before we came out."

The ghost of Elvis gets everywhere! Sarge and Carole.

"Where's Waldo?"

I loved Lucy and Desi.

Spike and Devine as some spooky characters. (Not telling you witch is witch).

Clue 2:

Second cryptic clue as to who the boys are going to be for Halloween. Feel free to leave a guess under comments.

Nutcrackers

I told them Americans use pumpkins, not coconuts at Halloween...
Grumpy and Robin work on the first part of the boys' costumes..
Watch for another clue as to what they're going to be later...

Home for the Holidays

This evening our son Robin (formerly known as Orphan No 1) and his friend Richard flew in from London for the holidays (the Halloween holidays, that is).

First stop dinner at Redstone's in Oakbrook. Robin enjoyed a beer.....

while Richard had an app for that!

Time Warped - A Halloween Mystery

Once upon a time, there was a little town called Naperville. The town was filled with neat and tidy people. They kept their beautiful little town so clean, they even cleaned behind the metal memorial plaque stuck on a boulder in Central Park.

However, one day when they were cleaning, they stumbled across a mystery. There was a metal box hidden behind the plaque! They couldn't wait to see what was inside!

They carefully removed the box and took it to City Hall.

Although it may look like an old shoe box, it was actually a time capsule buried in 1939! It was buried by residents celebrating the town's Centennial.

Today the box was opened by Mayor George Pradel, ably supported by various other local dignitaries and members of Naperville Heritage Society. City Hall was packed with excited Napervillians of all ages. They couldn't wait to see what was inside!

Some of the helpers, however, got so bored waiting they decided to show each other photos of their children.

Mayor Pradel finally opened the box to find..... (It's ok, just teasing. This is the empty box after he'd taken everything out).

What he actually found were lots of letters and newspapers of the day, plus a program and medal from the Centennial celebration. There were also a couple of coins from 1839, but no one much cared because they're not worth a dime today....

However, the capsule uncovered a mystery. Hidden amongst the artifacts was a Beidelman's calendar from 1946! How on earth did that get in there when the capsule was buried in 1939?!

But wait, there's more! As the Mayor read the first letter, he discovered the inhabitants of 1930s Naperville did not want the capsule to be opened for 100 years! He had opened it 30 years early! (And you think it's a problem if your kids get to their Christmas presents a couple of days in advance!) Boy, was the City embarrassed!

Councilman Grant Werhli made everyone feel better by presenting a cup that had been owned by his grandfather. It was given to him when he was chairman of that very same Centennial committee.

Peggy Frank of the Naperville Heritage Society came up with a cunning plan to save the day.

"We're going to bury the time capsule again!" she said.

The audience gasped.

"It's ok," she said. "First of all we'll leave all the items on display in the Pre-Emption House at the Naper Settlement. Then we'll take copies of all the items. After that, we'll get a brand new time capsule and include a letter from our Mayor to the people of the future."

Let's hope the people of 2039 can stand the wait....

Hold The Front Page

Click on the title to read my first front page lead since joining the Naperville Sun. Not bad for someone who started as a comedienne at the back of the paper.

Halloweenies

It's that time of year again. I can't believe this is our third Halloween here in Naperville! As usual I couldn't resist snapping pictures of the little darlings at Downtown Naperville's Annual Trick Or Treat event. This year I tagged along with some young friends.

Will you bee hive! Here's Holly and Lucy (my little friends from Dubai) with their new school chum Gabriella.

Twin engines for these little fairies.

No!! I said I wanted a bandana for my dog! Still, this cute costume certainly gives him kerb (curb) appeal.

Having a ball. Even Cinderella gets in on the act.

Clifford the Dog is less than happy at having his photo taken.

Here's a hoppy photo op. A frog outside Hugo's Frog Bar!

A chance to meet a real celebrity. The Blackhawks mascot was really 'ice'.

A Cut Above The Rest: Sweeney Todd at the Naper Settlement

More than 2,000 people attended the Naper Settlement's Village of Fear over the weekend. Fortunately they didn't all pass through our little vignette at exactly the same time, but let's just say my pies sold like hot cakes!

Always willing to lend a hand. Young Master Toby hard at work in the body shop...

Working at Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum is not as interesting as it sounds...

Sleeping on the job again!

You'd never know this was an amateur production would you? Here we are posing for the front cover of The Art Of Coarse Acting.

Halloween Fun

Here's a glimpse of last minute preparations before tonight's Village of Fear event at the Naper Settlement.

Some people just don't have a 'clue'! Those people are Mrs White, Mrs Peacock, Professor Plum, Mr Green, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet and Mr Boddy.

What happens if you don't look where you are going - black eyes.

Even ghouls have to eat.

And The Band Played On - Inside

Every Thursday in the summer we take our seats in Central Park and enjoy Naperville
Municipal Band. Sometimes it's too hot, sometimes chilly, occasionally stormy but always tremendous fun. I started going along to observe a piece of small town Americana, but I have to confess I am now a bit of a fan.
This autumnal Thursday night we heard the band play again. Fortunately it was inside the Wentz concert hall because it was deluging with rain. There was a special reason for this. Not because the instruments would get rusty outside, but because NCTV were previewing a new documentary they have just completed celebrating the band's 150th anniversary.
The documentary was a little old fashioned yet charming, much like the band itself. It was the sort of programme I would have enjoyed watching even back in England, because it says such a lot about a particular slice of American history which is still going strong today. Watching it here made me feel I was actually part of the documentary myself. I wasn't actually in it, of course, but there were plenty of shots of the audience I am a part of in the summer. It's like a metaphor for my life nowadays. I often feel I'm in a movie, because I can't really I believe I do live here, doing what I do and meeting the people I meet. Thanks to the Municipal Band for providing such a rousing soundtrack.

Friends in High Places

Regular readers will know how I've been stalking Naperville's mayor, George Pradel since we first arrived in the country. He's like a caricature of everything a town mayor should be. In fact you can even buy a bobble head caricature of him in one of the local gift stores.
It all started when we were preparing for our first annual barbecue,just three months after we arrived. I started joking that we had so many people I fully expected the mayor to turn up. Of course he didn't.
I did personally invite him twice to the Purim shows I directed at Congregation Beth Shalom, but again he let me down.
Like most people I often see him around town, but being the shy and retiring type, I don't make a habit of accosting him.
Finally at today's Rotary meeting I found myself sitting behind him. As we left, he shook my hand warmly and said he was happy I was living here. Now you would think I'd be delirious at this. At last the recognition I deserve! But I wasn't so sure. I suspected he said this to every stranger he met. In fact I was so unsure I even posted a status update about it on Facebook.
Much as I am totally addicted the social networking site, it often falls apart when you actually meet your Facebook buddies in person. Tonight we attended a concert at the Wentz arts center with several members of the local TV channel NCTV17. My Facebook friend and TV anchor Dolly McCarthy just couldn't control herself when she saw she was standing opposite me and next to the mayor.
"So Mr Mayor, do you know who this is?" she said, as bold as brass.
He looked blank for a moment, then said: "Yes, I shook hands with you at lunch today didn't I?"
Good answer, but not really a clarifier. To make matters worse at that moment someone else I knew leapt in so I found myself ignoring the poor man completely.
Eventually I got the chance to introduce myself and explain the story about the party. So here and now, let me say I fully expect Mr Pradel to join us at next year's barbecue bash, even if it means having to hold it in HIS backyard.

Power of the Press

Thought you'd like to see this from today's Daily Herald....

Acting Up

Tonight was dress rehearsal night for our gig at the Naper Settlement at the weekend. I now realize that what I really like best is the dressing up part. Acting is really hard work!
The attention to detail that the Settlement put in is awesome. My Sweeney Todd vignette is in an old carriage house. The whole place has been turned into a tavern, save for a special corner for Mr Todd's barber shop.
Perfectionist that I am, I learnt my part and looked forward to meeting the rest of the little cast. It turned out to be a bit littler than I imagined. The rowdy customers turned out to be two high school boys. Naperville high school boys. That means they are very quiet and well behaved. Certainly nothing I was used to when I worked in schools back in England, and certainly not what you want when you're looking for some rowdiness.
"Shut up, yerl getya pies," I yelled at them as they sat in polite silence.
What made things worse that the 'waiter' who was meant to move guests through the scene was home sick with the flu.
"You'll have to take his part as well," said the director.
This completely threw me, so instead of calmly delivering my lines in my best Cockney accent, I was dashing around the tavern like a lunatic, greeting visitors, arguing with customers, collecting meat and making pies.
Even Sweeney himself wasn't there tonight. I'm assured he'll turn up on the night, because if he doesn't I expect I'll have to rush round and slit a few throats myself!

Rotary Hil

You don't need me to tell you what fun it is to eat ice cream, but did you know it's even more fun to serve? I got my chance today at Soup's On, Naperville Rotary Club's main fundraising event of the year. It's a kind of taste of Naperville food fair, where visitors are given soup cups to collect generous tasters from the city's finest eateries. Part of the money raised goes to our food pantry, Loaves and Fishes. I suppose we could cut out the middle men and just give the food directly to the needy, but I guess we do more good this way.
My love affair with Coldstone Creamery has been well documented on this blog, but today's event gave me the chance to give back - literally.
Red Velvet and Chocolate ganache ice cream cakes, Cake Batter and French Vanilla, all scrummy, and not tiny portions either. You'd think they'd be enough calories in each piece, but no, customers queued up for me to squish on chocolate sauce, caramel or raspberry puree.
"Do something really decorative," said one clever clogs.
"I could give you an autograph including my middle name if you like," I replied. "That would give you loads of sauce."
It was fun but exhausting work. After a few hours I was pleased to retire to the Rotary table to hand out information and work the film show via a laptop.
An hour or so later the thing suddenly froze. Typical, just as Grumpy appeared on a break from the silent auction table.
"You broken it again?" he sneered. "Why is whatever you touch breaks?"
"Come over here," I replied. "Let me massage your neck."

Happy Hallmark Day

Happy Sweetest Day!
No, I've no idea what it is either, but it's definitely today. Can't say it's made any difference to my life, but I didn't want you think I'd forgotten. Sweetest Day has to have been dreamt up by Hallmark because they can't wait until Halloween to sell more cards. I'm not even sure who my sweetest would be. Children, husband, mother? Oh I get it. Clever marketing eh? Sweetest Day can apply to almost anyone you know, so you have to send cards to everyone. Or in my case, no one.

Fashion Missed Her

"If you could just cut 8" off the bottom of my skirt, that would be great," I said to Grumpy as I clunked along in my little heeled boots.
We were walking into the Hotel Arista, Naperville's new boutique hotel to attend the closing night of Naperville Fashion Week. Even before we entered the building I noted all the other females were wearing tight black mini skirts and balancing on dangerously high heels. I say females because they weren't really old enough to be women, but not quite young enough to be girls. I, on the other hand, was old enough to be their mother.
Where most of the other attendees were dressed in the latest fashions, I had opted for a long black velvet skirt with an elasticated waistband and teal T shirt from Coldwater Creek, topped off with a Chinese style black velvet jacket. The jacket's label says Made In Hong Kong, but it was still the coolest thing I had on since I actually bought it in Hong Kong. Oh, and the little pointy black boots of course.
Before long we were playing the Naperville kissing game. You know, the one where you kiss everyone hello without actually touching them. You do it by leaning forward and making a kissing noise about 6" from the recipient's ear.
After an hour of this, interrupted only by the odd appetizer, it was time for the main part of the evening. A wonderful fashion show featuring clothes from some local boutiques. All the styles were new to me of course, because none of them sell anything that would fit me. The nearest I got to discovering a new look was an interesting display from the Curtain Exchange.
Just before we left, I made a pit stop at the ladies' room. It was full of shrieking women, wildly excited about nothing in particular.
"I feel so pretty today," said one of them to her friends. Then she spun round to look at me.
"Don't you just feel so pretty today?" she asked.
I was a bit taken aback. I can honestly say no one has ever asked me that question before in my entire life. If you met me, you'd know why.
I looked down at my frumpy skirt and Hong Kong Fooey jacket.
"Well, probably not quite as pretty as you do," I said. (If all four women lined up in a row, my jacket would have still been too big for them).
"Oo, but your accent's pretty," she shrieked.
Of course once I spoke, they realised who I was. It's not that I'm that famous, but there just aren't that many English people in Naperville.
"You're Hilary, aren't you? I follow your blog!" said another, putting out her hand. I hoped she'd just washed it. It suddenly struck me I was actually meeting fans in the ladies' room. Probably best place for them since my entire fan club would probably fit inside one cubicle.

The Great Moustache Hunt

Trying to turn himself into Colonel Mustard has not been an easy job for Grumpy. He can't find a suitable suit anywhere, and if he's not careful he's going to simply have to wrap himself in yellow card and pretend to be the actual game piece instead of the character.
It's ok, we haven't gone crazy, at least no more than usual. It's just that we're appearing as new characters at Naper Settlement's Halloween event next weekend and we're both as ridiculous as each other when it comes to the fine details.
Yesterday marked five days before dress rehearsal. I, of course, have an entire outfit including props. Grumpy has a monocle and a pipe.
"I wouldn't worry," I said, with the confidence of someone with a costume that wouldn't look out of place in a Broadway show. "The Settlement have said they'll provide you with a suit."
Grumpy was a little happier when he came in from work. The false handlebar moustache he'd ordered from a costume shop in Bolingbrook (a neighbouring town) was ready to be collected.
Although it may not be far, you cannot drive within an inch of downtown Naperville without running into construction. The journey took us about 45 minutes.
"Here you are," said the store owner. "One salt and pepper handle bar moustache."
Grumpy looked disappointed.
"It's a bit small," he said.
I held it up to his face. He looked more like Kaiser Wilhelm than Colonel Mustard.
"It's definitely supposed to be an English handlebar moustache," said the owner, now a little worried. Double checking, it was indeed the wrong thing. Since it had taken over a week to arrive, it was a little late to order another one.
Service is second to none in the mid West. Within seconds she was on to another store and located the object of our desires. Our little moustache was only 3" wide. The new one was 6", much better.
By now it was 6.20 p.m.
"The other store isn't far," she lied. "About five miles away."
Despite the fact we have a GPS, she spent ten minutes drawing an intricate map on the back of a business card, then we were off.
The other store turned out to be in Joliet, about 20 miles away. It looked like it was a disused warehouse made of corrugated iron. The owner looked suspiciously like the owner of the previous store.
She spent a further 20 minutes explaining how to affix said moustache, even though it only required a dab of spirit gum.
We probably drove about 50 miles in total to buy a moustache that cost $6.99. Next time I think Grumpy will just have to grow his own. If he starts on November 1st, it should be ready by next year's Halloween event.

Peanuts and Pumpkins

And I always thought they were just cartoon characters! Charlie Brown and friends still looking for the Great Pumpkin

No Yoke! It's Egg Harbor

All of our visitors know Egg Harbor, the cutesy breakfast place in downtown Naperville. But what they don't know is that it is named after a real place in Door County which is just as cute.