Geneva High senior steps up for ill cousin
The way Geneva High School senior Dana Bujalski sees it, her family is putting up the good fight for her cousin Marie Zielinski.
The 28-year-old Zielinski was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer two years ago and has put up her own fight with two rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries.
Dana works at Sanfratello's Pizza in Geneva, where she helped organize a fundraiser for Marie that netted $250 toward medical expenses.
"That was pretty good," said Dana, whose family was getting together last Saturday to pool monies recently raised for Marie, who is currently at Central DuPage Hospital.
"She is not doing so well right now," Dana said of her cousin. "We're trying everything we can and hoping and praying for the best now."
Dana said that anyone who would be willing to make a donation or send a card to Marie can do so by sending to: Marie Zielinski, 1610 Douglas St., Joliet, IL, 60435.
Backyard vittles: Something tells me that gardening, always a popular activity, will experience a boom.
Won't more of us grow our own food to trim back expenses?
Those who work at the Kane County Extension office in St. Charles confirmed their phones are ringing - but mostly about problems with bugs or diseases in bushes and trees.
An office secretary said more than 1,200 calls regarding gardening came in last summer and, even though there is no trend at this time to indicate a surge, the master gardeners at the office expect that number to increase as more people consider "growing their own" because of the cost of groceries.
But what's considered the latest "trend" in gardening? I'm told there are far more calls than in the past regarding organic gardening.
It's performance art: Karen Jo Lange is marching toward her Master of Fine Arts degree at Northern Illinois University, and the 1993 graduate of St. Charles High School will showcase some of her work Saturday night in Chicago.
The 33-year-old Lange, the daughter of Sue and "Doc" Lange in St. Charles, will show her contemporary, modern art with its emphasis on "performance art" from 6 to 10 p.m. at 1504 Byron St.
A performance art show, described as music, dancing and storytelling with the use of art props, is set for 8 p.m.
More information is available at the karenjolange.com Web site.
Good staycation spot: If you have kids on spring break, and are stuck in a staycation mode because funds are tight, try the "Real Pirates" exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.
If nothing else, it may help you realize that your kids may not be as much trouble as you thought. The story about a youngster named John King, who took off on a pirate ship despite the pleading of his mother, is an amazing tale. And the fate he met is sad indeed.
It's an interesting part of our world's history that is only a train ride away - and it was good to see so many school kids with notebooks in tow at the museum. It meant they were doing a school project without sitting at a computer terminal.
dheun@sbcglobal.net