tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238580882012-02-16T14:16:17.461-06:00Our Miss Stephanie Brooks moved to Highland Park, Illinois four years ago from Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's a little different here...Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-60164847936494281802009-03-15T03:14:00.009-06:002009-03-15T03:28:57.051-06:00

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Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-14707849093164957092009-03-01T02:44:00.004-06:002009-03-01T03:23:39.393-06:00

I picked up my dog at the vet a few days ago. She had minor surgery to remove a growth that went from the size of a pea to the size of a grape and then to the size of a pea again; then it grew again and she couldn’t stop licking it. My local vet is scary. I think he might be German and he has Wagner blaring from speakers in the ceiling in a Jewish neighborhood. It’s a little creepy.

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-62776241142018596222009-01-20T15:59:00.016-06:002009-01-23T15:36:23.853-06:00

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Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-59765398816890169742009-01-09T15:52:00.005-06:002009-01-21T12:36:35.505-06:00

My friend Kelly was sitting at the bar before her shift one day last week, eating her salad. The restaurant was empty, except for a couple of servers and the kitchen staff. She was pretending to pay attention to the sports ticker on the silent t.v. screen staring back at her when she suddenly got a text message from a number she didn’t recognize that said, “How’s your salad?” She put down her

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-74742667416918294892008-10-30T02:05:00.002-06:002008-10-30T02:32:50.165-06:00

My dearest customers,I used to have a job where I earned a nice paycheck, had a company car and cell phone, health insurance, a retirement plan, you name it. I got paid to golf three times a week and I got paid to wine and dine people. In spite of the fact that I’m a woman (we’ll get to that later) I always tipped at least 20%. Now, in a great social experiment, I am waiting tables in an Irish

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-52577228013291608712008-08-13T11:10:00.005-06:002008-08-21T15:28:32.042-06:00

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Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-8892357063085745762007-10-22T11:34:00.000-06:002007-10-22T11:42:09.074-06:00

I wasn’t sure what was happening so many months ago when I started seeing an increased number of people talking to themselves in public; at least that’s what I thought they were doing. Suddenly I was in this alternate universe where I was hearing what seemed to be one-sided conversations inside other people’s heads and it worried me. Why were so many people wandering the streets alone; their

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-22558700746521563142007-10-05T14:35:00.000-06:002007-10-05T14:39:58.754-06:00

I was sitting here one day thinking that we should be more like my hamster, we’ll call her “Chipmonk*,” and clear our minds with endless hours of running on some giant plastic wheel…wondering where she goes, and if maybe this is part of her Zen practice. Upon further research, I realized that this would be impossible for my hamster, as she is inherently evil.Ethical Precept 1: I will be mindful

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-21857971465529683372007-05-28T10:21:00.000-06:002007-05-28T10:24:37.422-06:00

What is this frightening new phenomenon? I work as a server to support my writing habit,…and my working-for-a-nonprofit habit. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it. What I really don’t get is this new “hot water with lemon” thing. Is there some new diet that I’m not familiar with these days?Where we used to be able to rack the bill up with cappuccinos, hot tea and dessert, we are now bringing

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-33527216249109992802007-05-24T22:07:00.000-06:002007-05-24T22:08:33.483-06:00

Sometimes when James isn’t with me I turn the dial to 91.5, Chicago Public Radio. He says that public radio puts him to sleep, and he sleeps enough as it is, so I try not to risk it. As I was listening one day I heard them say that they were looking for new and unusual talent. I thought…”I’m unusual.” I don’t know if that’s exactly what they said, but I’m certainly different than the “usual”

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-61336588082020801162007-05-23T20:24:00.000-06:002007-05-23T20:28:07.972-06:00

I lived in Indonesia for a semester back in 1988. The first thing that I learned there was DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE. The only ‘rule” seemed to be that, like the U.S., you drive on the right side of the road, but you move quickly to the shoulder if a vehicle larger than yours is coming toward you. Yes, there are becaks, bikes, motorcycles, Bemos, and trucks that look like giant Star Wars transport

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23858088.post-1151515449137000132006-06-28T11:23:00.000-06:002006-06-28T11:24:58.556-06:00

My brother called me today to tell me that they opened a new IKEA in the Detroit area. Immediately I pictured it in my mind; the colossal size of the parking lot; the giant blue and yellow monstrosity of a building; and the excessive space for bus parking. He told me that people camped out for four days. WHAT? I can’t really criticize it too much, because I’ve been there…at least four times;

Stephanie Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696226730213930049noreply@blogger.com0