Goodbye Gunnar

This is an email I received from my friend. It talks about the death, wake, and funeral of Gunner Hotchkin. He was my nephews best friend. May he rest in peace. Debi


Gunnar Hotchkin was killed in Afghanistan on June 16th. He was part of a volunteer detail that searched out roadside bombs to secure areas for the ground troops. He and another soldier died when a bomb was detonated from a remote site as their armored tank rolled over it. He was 31 years old.

Taylor and Gunnar were swim buddies and although there was a three year age difference, Gunnar and Preston Bokos took Taylor under their wing when they were seniors and Taylor was a freshman.

I have been to many funerals but none is more intense, tragic, brutal and beautiful than a military burial with full honors. Gunnar was brought home to Midway airport on Thursday afternoon. Preston said that the airport was temporarily shut down when the plane landed. Fire engines lined in a row and shot spray over the plane while the firefighters saluted. His casket was carried off the plane by his fellow paratroopers, followed by a short memorial service. A police caravan escorted the casket to a funeral home in Hinsdale.

When I think of Gunnar, I remember a handsome, slightly goofy kid who clapped his leg when he laughed, a bit of a prankster with a smile on his face. After his wake and funeral, I learned about the man he had become. He got married, adopted his step-daughter and had two sons. He did a bit of modeling and worked for a home construction company that went bankrupt when the economy soured. He joined the army at age 30 as a way of supporting his family. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Caroline, became a paratrooper, earned ten medals and the Purple Heart. He had been in the service for about 18 months.

During the wake, the funeral home was surrounded by American flags and a volunteer detail of military vets who believe it is their sacred duty to keep the area safe from any potential protesters.Their Harley's were parked in the driveway. They stood at attention as people came in to pay their respects. Gunner's casket was closed and draped with the American Flag. An officer stayed by Gunner's wife and his parent's side throughout the entire two days. His dad is wheel chair bound, recovering from a traumatic stroke. He can't talk, but he knew what was going on. Toward the end of the evening, a ceremony was performed in front of the casket. The motorcycle vets, in pairs, walked to the casket and slowly saluted him. There wasn't a sound in the room.

The service on Friday was held in a church a block from downtown Hinsdale. Again the vets formed a line as mourners entered the church. There were many state and local dignitaries there. The governor spoke as did Gunner's commanding officer from Fort Bragg. His final comment, "Today, Gunner has a different set of wings." The last song sung was Battle Hymn of the Republic. Flags were flown at half mast.

As the casket was carried by his fellow paratroopers, the bag pipers were playing Amazing Grace. Again, the vets led the way as the funeral entourage wove their way through town. Every intersection along the fifteen mile journey was blocked off with firemen and their engines, police and their cars, standing in line and saluting. What few cars were going the opposite direction stopped and turned on their lights. A few folks got out of their cars.

Once at the grave site, the vets once again formed a circle around the mourners. The same paratroopers began the slow, precise folding of the flag. Gunnar's commanding office presented the casket flag to Erin, Gunnar's wife. Additional flags were presented to his three children and parents. Watching this part of the service was like watching a scene in slow motion. So Precis. So somber. So Real. Then came taps and the 21 gun salute. The minister spoke a few words. Each of us put a rose on his casket. We said goodbye.

At the reception, I sat next to a young paratrooper who had gone through training with Gunnar. That is when I learned what kind of soldier he had become. He talked about their first jump at 1500 feet - of course, Gunnar was the first one out of the plane. How he always gave 110%. Then he talked about what Gunnar was doing in Afghanistan. How important and difficult a job it was.

Gunnar died serving his country. It seems only appropriate a few days before the 4th of July, that we remember Gunnar and give our thanks and prayers to the men and women oversees. I hope he is the only war hero I will ever know. What I do know is that it was an honor and a privilege to have been a small part of his solemn return home.

Andrea

.........Pen to Paw 2..............

Saturday was a stressful day at the Education Depot for my person. The Quickbooks POS was again not working properly. I know when Debi is upset because she continually pets me. I think it is her way of keeping her sanity. She had to talk to some (insert name) in some far off land. I know this because she kept repeating her conversation with the person on the other line. This time the credit card terminals would not function. What should have been a 10 minute fix turned into a 2 hour fiasco. All the while Debi was checking out customers, some of which were of the short persuasion and kept coming behind the counter to PLAY with me. I was not in the playful mood so I put on my tense look. This look usually gets me pretzels( I do not like dog bones). Debi kept giving me pretzels and petting me. I am surprised there is not a bald spot on my head.
This petting action is also performed during the drives to and from work. I sit in the passenger seat, licking the metal seat belt clasp, and Debi keeps rubbing my fur. Often times my person has conversations with me, but I don't answer.

PS: I would like to send a shout out to the black Labrador who walks his female person down Talman.

"I'm watching you" ...Arf Arf...

With Love Max!

Virtual High School in Chicago

I never knew that the Chicago Public Schools had Virtual High Schools and Middle Schools. This means that courses are available online for students. The population includes regular education learners, former drop outs, children who are home schooled, and alternative learners. Students take their classes via the Internet. Check out the CPS web page at www.cps.edu/Programs/Academic
There is also the Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS) for grades k-12. This is a full time tuition free public school option. The program is a combination of brick and mortar schooling and
on line learning. Books, materials, and loaner computer systems are provided. Currently there is a waiting list, but the program seems worth a look. The CVCS High School program serves students grade 9-11 who reside within Chicago City limits. This is a tuition free program with a stipend allocated to offset the cost of Internet access. There are currently summer programs available. Check out CVCS @ www.k12.com.cvcs.
Happy Summer learning Debi and Max

Pen to Paw

*** Pen to Paw ***

My person friend, Andrea V, said she would like to hear from me. I love being the Depot Dog. I follow Debi and Diana and David around the store, in hopes that some tasty morsel may drop from their fingers and into my mouth.

I am very busy at the store and have numerous responsibilities:

I bark at Stewart the Mailman every day.
I sleep behind the counter.
I bark at every UPS and Fed EX delivery person...at least twice a day.
I lick bare skin, both employee and customer, when available.
I go outside and water the bushes(ha ha)
I howl at the sirens on Western Avenue.
I lick anything metal.
I beg for treats .
I do tricks for treats
I let the children who come into the store pet me.
I growl at the vacuum cleaner.
I stayed home today to post my first blog

With Love, Max!

Quickbooks Makes Me Crazy

When I first opened my store in 1985, I hand wrote customer receipts and manually logged in inventory. I miss those days. In a perfect world, the Internet would work all the time, Ouickbooks would not fail, and power outages would be a thing of the past. HELLO this is not a perfect electronic world.
Last summer I had to spend thousands for new Quickbooks software. Why you may wonder? Because my prior Quickbooks was 3 years old and customer service would not answer any technical questions after the system was 90 days. If you can work around their system, you get an outsourced technician who barely speaks English, located in some far away country(but it was hard to work around the system on a monthly basis). So I ended up buying new software from Quicksbooks. However, like stock market trading, you do not get a tangible product i.e. a disc. For the privilege if paying $600 per computer, the customer gets to download the merchandise from their web page.. God forbid you are not a quasi tech yourself.
To get any help,for the new download,you first have to talk to 3 separate people, who you can barely understand and who frequently apologize for your problem
"Hello this is (insert Name). How are you doing today?"
"This is my 4th time calling and I am not a happy camper"
"I am so sorry to hear that..what is your name?"
"My name is Debi and my business is the Education Depot"
"I am so Sorry to hear that. What is your account Number?"
" XXX can I please speak to a technician?"
"What is the problem?"
"I can't log into my Quickbooks account"
"I am so sorry to hear that. What version of Quickbooks do you have?
" Version 8.0 I just downloaded it yesterday and I can't sign on"
"I am so sorry to hear that. What is the problem"
"I JUST TOLD YOU I CAN'T SIGN ON."
"I am so sorry to hear that.When did you purchase the 8.0 version?"
"I told you..I just downloaded it yesterday. What about this conversation with you am I missing?"
"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Let me transfer you to a supervisor"
"I don't need a supervisor, just transfer me to a technician"
"I am so sorry to hear that let me put you on hold"This could go on for 15 minutes and 6 separate telephone calls before a technician is reached. Meanwhile, I am still trying to help customers and maintain a HAPPY FACE while I think of ways to sabotage (insert name) specifically and Quickbooks in general.

When you finally get a technician he has to log into YOUR system and take over your computers. Then the next day you call and go through the process again because while fixing one problem the technician created a new one. Last summer it took approximately 6 weeks to get the problems fixed. I have a list of days, times, ticket complaint numbers , and names that I can barely pronounce, yet alone spell.
All this in the name of retail progress.

So You Want a Job

The biggest overall problem with store ownership is getting good RELIABLE help. I have found that over the years the mature, often retired adults are the best. I usually have 2 teenagers supplementing the adult staff, and it never ceases to amaze me the multitude of excuses I get from these young people.

They all want to work, are desperate to save ...make...need money, and list their schedules and available times etc.

Then they get hired and the missing work excuses come in like a 747 flying into Ohare airport:
"They are sick..
They are going to the hospital...
They are in the hospital.
Their mother,father,aunt,uncle, brother,sister,dog,cat,neighbor,boyfirend,the guy,down the street is in the hospital
Their cousin, neighbor, dog, cat, turtle, someome from school, their friend' s uncle's cousin has died
Their car broke down, ran out of gas, had a flat, was in an accident, was stolen, was borrowed by a friend, mysteriously disappeared.
They are helping a friend through a personal crisis
They have a personal crisis.
They missed the bus.
They missed their ride.
They forgot that they decided that they should go to church on Sunday and it runs from 11:30-4: (our Sunday hours)_
They are helping a friend move out
They are helping a friend move to college
They have their prom, a friends prom, a siblings prom, a boyfriends prom, their parents reunion prom ( substitute dance,sporting event, shopping trip, theatre,concert, kiros,field trip,college visit for prom and the excuse is the same.
These excuses also apply to why they are late or have to leave early.

And So it Begins

My husband calls me the turtle...hard on the outside, soft on the inside. That is probably a pretty apt description of my relationships with the world. I opened my retail educational supply store as the culmination of many negative factors sucking the life out of me. My initial goal was to open a restaurant and make all the great food that I created during my role as a mother, wife, daughter, daugthter-in-law, sister, friend, committee member, etc. But the family discouraged that dream with tales of long nights and weekends away from the family.

But,there was a backup plan buzzing in my head.As a former high school teacher in the Chicago public school system, I knew a little about the educational market and needs of teachers. My parents had a business in Oak Park, Il. (where I spent my teen summers doing maid work) I learned how to do basic book keeping, clean quickly and time management. With these basic talents, and by cashing in all my banking accounts, I stepped into the twilight zone of retail sales. I incorporated in September 1985 and began the process of demolition, construction, buying, creating alogo, and all the stuff that goes into the planning and preparation of opening a business.
Posted by President & Owner at 8:21 PM 0 comments

I decided to close the store on Sunday and Monday in honor of our Veterans. There was a time when businesses were always closed on Sundays and holidays. People went to church as a way to settle down and reflect on the activies of the pervious week. Families spent quality time together visiting relatives, having a family dinner, no fast food meals from a drive thru, In the evening, maybe watching Ed Sullivan or Playhouse 90. No TV with sex, drugs, violence, etc. Just shows that depicted family values and encouraged spending time together in front of the same television. Or heaven forbid, reading outloud together from the newspaper or Readers Digest or a book. Now there are Kindles instead of books, internet instead of conversation.
I miss those gentler times. I brought one of my grandsons home with me after a family party on Sunday. Nathan and i spent alot of Monday watching the storms roll in. We danced outside with umbrellas and measured the rainfall in tupperware. Then we made chocolate chip cookies and chili in anticipation of the family comimg over for a quick meal before the Hawks game. When the rain finally stopped we went for a bike ride to see how many puddles we could bike through. I'm glad that I took the time off to create some memories.
Posted by President & Owner at 6:39 PM 0 comments