Elizabeth A. Leib

by Elizabeth A. Leib

As the dismal economic storm continues, we’re finding reasons to be happy at the start of this spring. Last weekend we had a family wedding to attend in Chicago. During the long weekend Mark and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary at the Back Room jazz club, saw the new Munch exhibit at the Art Institute and attended the new Monsters vs Aliens 3-D movie at Navy Pier. It was a fun, happy weekend for all - including Fluffy who stayed behind in Tampa.

Fluffy, Phoebe, Lindsey Leib smiling, a 5-star weekend with the Fine family

Mitzvahboy views downtown Chicago from the Adler Planetarium

Our first lettuce harvest this week came with a near-death experience for one of my favorite critters. During the usual rinsing and spinning I didn’t notice any bugs or assorted creatures that might be playing around in a home garden. So after chilling the bowl of lettuce for a few hours, I prepared a dinner salad for Mark before settling in for the evening reading time with Mitzvahboy. When Mark returned later in the evening and sat down to enjoy his first home grown organic salad he noticed the lettuce moving. Expecting a caterpillar, he moved a leaf to discover a baby green tree frog.

As the jobs loss number came crashing in this week, Creative Loafing and staff learned that the company would remain under Eason’s control during the reorganization.

Although the economy may not be in freefall as it has been for the last 4 months, I’m not placing any bets yet on where we are in the cycle. As I listen and read, many commentators seem to be hopeful that the positive gains in the stock market this week indicate we’ve reached bottom; I don’t think so. Until the banking situation gets corrected my guess is there is more pain to come and more shoes to drop.

Mark, Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum

As I write this Mark is in New York for the day attending a reading of his holocaust play “A River in the Desert.” It’s an opportunity to show the play to producers and the chance to hear it performed by Broadway actor Fyvush Finkel. It’s a happy day; we’re celebrating and counting our blessings.