Letter from the Editor.

Well, well, well...if it isn't me using an ellipsis in the opening line of a newsletter when I know full well that I would prefer not to use ellipses in my writing as it not one of my preferred types of punctuation! I guess I'm being a bit of a PUNKuation, if you will.

Haven't written much since I had my t-shirt announcement. I think we can all agree that was pretty cool. And all those newsletters I wrote in code like * **** * ******, was just an exercise in restraint not to spill my big secret.

Unfortunately for me, now a lot more people in my own life hate me because I hate crows. In my head, it doesn't seem controversial to hate crows. They are well-known to be bad omens! But now people are coming up to me trying to tell me crow facts about their intelligence and social habits like I don't already know and find those things make me dislike crows even more! And when it boils down to it, I think crows may be the only bird to go out of its way to peck my eyes out.

Wow, I just got pretty worked up. Back to the newsletter.

Mike's Drive-In opened its first location on the west side of the river and it is just down the street from my house! I went on opening day and spun a prize wheel. I am now the proud owner of a Mike's ice cream scoop. Really made up for all pro-crow sentiments I had to deal with.

Not the only shake I had either. I had my second ever pie shake from Shari's. Wasn't my idea to get pie shakes but I was also not against the idea. It doesn't sound delicious but it is better than you think it's going to be. But now you know that if I need a plain old Oreo shake, I'll be at Mike's.

Stocks are climbing back up. Time will tell if my investment in Dutch Bros coffee was genius or not. I bought even more stock while they were down bad.

I saw a one-man play that my friend was in. Only my second one-man play and I'm happy to say I'm 2/2 on seeing cool one-man plays. My friend put on a production of Every Brilliant Thing. It was incredible and everyone in the audience even got to be a part of it. I guess it was more a of 30-man play.

Not only have I been slinging crow t-shirts and eating milkshakes, I've spent two Saturdays moving gravel. Nothing like it. Nothing like it at all! The feeling of a flat-headed shovel in your hands. The movement of the gravel underneath a garden rake. The squeak of a wheelbarrow on its way to its appointed destination. The smell of pizza after a morning of moving gravel. Mmmm.

Opposite of "Mmmm?" Bugs in my bed. Over the last six months or so, I have been getting random bug bites. Not every night. Not even every other night. About once or twice a month. Now here's the thing: these are bed bugs. I've trained my whole life to look for bed bugs and I can't find a single shred of evidence that it could be a bed bug (thank goodness!!!). Is it a spider? Nobody knows--especially not the doctor at urgent care who smelled like a skunk because his dog was sprayed by a skunk earlier that morning.

No one else in my house is having these issues which is great for them and more confusing for me. Is it that I live in a basement that faces a forest with gross bugs in it? If you have a thought, please tell me!

Did everyone already know about Floratopia, the floral arts competition that takes place every few years at the Forestry Center in Washington Park? Because I didn't. I had the best time of my stinkin life getting to cast my vote for the People's Choice Awards in each category and class. I learned so much and I am a different person now.

I believe I already let you all in on the fact that I started a newsletter at work. My department sends out company-wide newsletters but my department has grown so much that I thought it was high-time to have our own department newsletter. I sent out the April newsletter and it received high praise and I was pressured to continue writing them monthly. Just send out the second newsletter last Friday. Who knew I was such a newsletter lady??

I just had my first known COVID exposure. Pretty exciting to make it 2+ years without any known exposures. And I just keep testing negative which is very cool of me. Although my greatest fear is that I get COVID and have to miss my sister's wedding! And after I bought a dress at Value Village for it and everything? 

Maybe on of the coolest things I did recently was visit Dinolandia! Mike Bennett has done it again and created a two-story museum in the heart of downtown full of dinosaurs in his classic plywood and recycled-paint style! I learned so much about dinosaurs and just had a really nice time walking through the museum. It will be up all summer and you have to go. You have to! I know I'll be going again.

Other than that, I guess I've been cat sitting, devouring Bruce Springsteen's Atlantic City, and preparing myself to proctor the SAT tomorrow.


Don't stay up too late tonight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Rachel