KEWANEE, Ill. — The educators made their way into the white outdoor tent first, decked out in master’s regalia that provided a bit of warmth on the nippy October morning and accessorized with wide smiles. In purple robes and tassels displaying Northwestern University’s seal embossed on a metal medallion, 18 women followed, the sound of �...Read more

The greatest insurance sales pitch I ever heard was uttered by Groucho Marx in “A Night at the Opera” when he told a potential client, “I have here an accident policy that will absolutely protect you no matter what happens. If you lose a leg, we’ll help you look for it.”

That’s the kind of solemn promise you don’t hear in all ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- It's Thursday night, and sitting at the top of the football bleachers after a two-hour drive from Mission Viejo are JT and Kathy Reis, grandparents of Palos Verdes High twins Christian and Weston Reis.

While one fan shouts criticism at an official's call at Mira Costa High, Grandma and Grandpa Reis calmly and confidently root for...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Research spearheaded by a Texas Christian University professor shows students can benefit academically from having an hour of outdoor play per day. But convincing educators to budget this much time into the school day is a challenge.

Professor Deborah J. Rhea’s LiiNK Project — which stands for Let’s inspire ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- One night at the Kung Fu Necktie bar in Fishtown, Lauren Herman spotted an intriguing man across the room. Most patrons were dressed in black, to match the night’s Emo theme, but he was wearing an outlandish blue suit and a matching feather-topped hat.

Herman, an extrovert with a direct approach, walked over and asked the ...Read more

When I committed to running the Chicago Marathon this year, I also committed to learning a new life lesson from each of the 16 weeks of training.

I wrote about a few of them in earlier columns, hoping they’d resonate with some of you since they aren’t really about running as much as they’re about perspective and persevering and gratitude....Read more

It is hard for me to imagine a more beautiful tall garden phlox than Luminary Sunset Coral. Tall garden phlox, also called summer phlox, is known botanically as Phlox paniculata.

Many of you can rejoice as Phlox paniculata is native to 36 states. It is considered perennial in zones 3-8. We had no issues growing Phlox paniculata during my years ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m 35, and my wife is 37. We’ve been together for nine years, and by most measures we have a good marriage. We’re affectionate, financially stable and supportive of each other’s careers. We laugh together and have a good sex life when we make time for it. But I feel a strange heaviness around us lately, like I’m constantly...Read more

CHICAGO — Advocates and volunteers say over 1,000 birds were killed or injured after colliding with buildings in the Chicago area during fall migration this past weekend.

Most birds were rescued or recovered in and around downtown Chicago and on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus Saturday and Sunday, according to collision monitors. ...Read more

My boyfriend turned 50 this year. He didn't buy an expensive sports car. Or quit his job and form a garage band. He started taking … creatine.

"What is that, exactly?" I asked.

"Oh, one of those things everyone takes after 50," he said.

Or 30. Or 80, as it turns out.

My 84-year-old mom called just the other day: "What's, um, cree-ah-teen?"...Read more

It's completely normal to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the online dating process, and dating in general, so you’re in good company — for better or worse.

It can be a lot of work to sift through profiles, craft messages, and go on dates. But there are a few things you can do to help recharge your batteries and feel the positive energy ...Read more

Kristin Martinelli began her workday at 7:30 a.m. on a recent Monday, completing an online Medicaid recertification form for a client in a nursing home in Austin, Texas.

Next, she drove to meet an 85-year-old and her daughter, who had come in from out of town. The older woman had “pretty advanced dementia” and was scheduled to move into the...Read more

I teach adults to teach kids to be better people for a living. As a lifelong educator of both kids and adults, I’ve learned that the human brain has trouble being taught what not to do. That’s why every week in this space I show adults what to do to improve the behaviors of kids.

But, maybe just for fun, this week I’ve decided to abandon ...Read more

Could someone please explain how a person sitting in the front seat of a vehicle can be labeled a backseat driver? A backseat driver would be someone in the back seat.

Fortunately, a specific label is of little concern to me as I am ambidextrous and can direct from either the front or the back.

My husband is a lucky guy. I remind him all the ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. -- In a world where students are averaging seven and a half hours a day on screens and attention spans are waning, Connecticut teachers say that students’ reading stamina and comprehension are declining.

That’s according to a recent Connecticut Education Association survey of 113 teachers. The majority of teachers surveyed ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For decades, the bold, mid-century building at Lincoln and Olympics boulevards in Santa Monica has been the end of the line — the last address on the 2,400-mile westward journey of Route 66. Once home to the Penguin Coffee Shop, today it holds Mel’s Drive-In. But now its future is in doubt.

The owners of the property have ...Read more

I used to think all the scammers who called to say I was approved for a loan I never asked for were bloodsuckers.

Now I know that one of them is a blood donor.

A snarky guy named “Mike C.” said he was willing to give me a transfusion if I would give him personal information so he could, presumably, drain all the money in my bank account.

...Read more

The most disappointing thing about Shane Gillis’ shopworn, hackneyed, tone-deaf, retrograde, unfunny “Saturday Night Live” open was that he knew it would find an audience.

Even when, maybe especially when, the biggest news story in the nation is about an alleged gang rape on a college campus.

Even when, maybe especially when, that story ...Read more