New decor, partially Halloween-related, partially just new 🙂
Charmer’s Cafe
New decor, partially Halloween-related, partially just new 🙂
Author: Hettie D.
My name is Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya. I was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russian (actually, back then – Leningrad, USSR) in 1963, and immigrated to the United States in 1996.
I love Saint Petersburg, the city I was born and raised in, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Similarly (but differently) I love Chicago, and can’t imagine myself moving somewhere else in the observable future.
I have three children, Igor, Vlad and Anna, all adults living on their own, and one (so far) granddaughter Nadia. I also believe that my children are the best thing that happened in my life.
As for my professional life, I am working in the field of Information Technologies. When I was twenty, I’ve declared that the databases are the coolest thing invented and that I want to do them for the rest of my life. Thirty plus years later, I still believe it’s true, and still, believe that the databases are the best. These two statements together imply that I think a person can have it all, and indeed, I think so! Keep reading my journals to find out how I did it.
… And One More Splash Of Summer!
Yesterday, before I left for the airport, I walked to the beach and realized that if I wasn’t in a rush and didn’t put away all the beach things, I could still go! It was nice and warm and calm. Several people were walking in the shallow water, likely regretting having put their swimsuits into storage.
I rolled up my jeans and followed their example:).
Art Institute And CSO
On Thursday, I had a very packed after-work schedule. First, I went to the Art Institute to finally see the Strange Realities exhibit. Usually, I am among the first to see a new exhibit, but this time, I have something going on each Thursday, and I didn’t have time to make a separate trip to the Loop on any weekend.
Upon entering the exhibit, I realized that symbolism as an art movement had completely dropped from my radar many years ago. In high school, we studied symbolism in literature, including Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely. We “obligatory loved” Balmont, Annensky, and other poets of the “Silver Century” of Russian poetry. I just tried to find (unsuccessfully) a blog post where I wrote about how an “intelligent person” in Soviet Russia was supposed to admire certain poets and writers, who were not explicitly banned, but were not praised by the official propaganda; loving symbolists was one of those “requirements.”
Now I realized that for many years, it was not obligatory anymore, and this artistic movement dropped from my sight, and it took me a while to realize: yea, I know what it is all about!
I think I will go see this exhibit again; I didn’t have enough time because I also wanted to catch up on the Elizabeth Catlett exhibit (I saw it as a “second one” when we were at the Art Institute with Boris in August, and it was not enough).
Next stop was the CSO. A week before, they advertised the pickup dinners at the Rotunda. I think it was in response to the disappearance of the affordable “before the show” dining options, which I also complained about. So I tried it, and the answer is no :). I would rather stop at Lea!
As for the concert, it was absolutely amazing! It was an all-Berlioz program with Klaus Makela conducting, and now I have finally started to like him. I won’t say I disliked him when I heard him conducting for the first couple of times, but he is so different from Riccardo Muti that it was a difficult switch! This time, I sat with my mouth open throughout the whole concert 🙂
Oh, and the violist Antoine Tamestit was absolutely outstanding!!! Loved every moment of his performance in the Harold in Italy.
You Can’t Send The Whole Country To Jail!
Today was “No Kings!” Rally day, and unfortunately, I was unable to attend the rally, because I am leaving on my two-week trip today. Technically speaking, I could, but it was risky, since I was unsure how fast I would be able to get out of the Loop back to Rogers Park. I might have tried, if I had no other things to do today, but I had, and I had to see mom before departure, and if I told her that I was planning to arrive before 11, she would have a sleepless night. I know there were enough people there (Igor texted me that it was as many people as at the Women’s March in 2017, and judging by the Tribune photos, at least that!)
So now, sitting at the AA lounge at ORD, I wanted to write something that was on my mind for over a week. When “all this” started, I was horrified not only with what exactly started, but mainly with the fact that everyone seemed to be paralyzed with fear, and not protesting.
And finally, this spell was broken. I can’t tell how happy I am with people’s movement. Since I firmly believe that thoughts are material, I firmly believe that since so many people, including myself, were wishing for the court to rule in our favor against Trump, since so many people self-organized and watched out for their neighbors, this collective power of thoughts, wills and actions made the world turn around.
I’ve experienced it several times in my lifetime: if everyone stands up, no government can shut down this protest. The only time during my lifetime when it worked in Russia was in August 1991, when everyone got out on the streets, when people were unstoppable. The Communist Party activists were haphazardly burning the papers in Smolny, fearful of people banging on the gates.
Last time. The only time.
Trump is going to the upper courts, but so far, it’s a firm “no” on all levels. I know it’s not the end of it, but it’s more and more evident that he is in a war with the people, and nobody can win a war with the people, except temporarily.
Copying the pictures from the Tribune before I am completely disconnected from their website while being abroad. I look at these pictures, and my heart is filled with immense pride for my city. The best. The kindest. The warmest. The strongest.
What Defines Me (And What Doesn’t)
Yesterday, I chatted with My Favorite Coworker, with whom we didn’t have a chance to chat for a while. Among other things, we talked about my big goals in life, what I want to accomplish before retirement, and what my current priorities are. At the end of this conversation, he said: And you know, at some point, you will have grandchildren, and your priorities might change.
I stared at him: I do have grandchildren! I have two granddaughters, ages five and eight, how come you do not know?! And yes, I take them for bike rides, and museums, and places, and I love them dearly, but they do not define my life.
As I said that was almost the end of our conversation, and we started walking to our respective desks. I repeated again: I can’t believe, you didn’t know I am a grandma! How could that happen? And he said: perhaps, because you do not look like grandma! I replied: I am a cool grandma!
I love being a grandma, and really love my girls, and I love doing things together with them, but being a grandma is not what defines me.
And speaking about that, I appreciate immensely my fellow escorts from the Tuesday early morning shift, with whom we chatted about where we travel, and what jobs do we do, and about our families, and neither of them asked me where is my accent from. Huge thanks for that 🙂
Time Magazine: Can School Boards Save Our Democracy?
This article seems a little bit “off track”: with so many pressing issues, everyday challenges, and people’s rights under attack, talking about school boards might seem obsolete. Still, I think, it’s just the right time for this topic. Since I arrived in the US, I have been fascinated with how the American school system works. I think it is deeply under-appreciated by those who were born and raised here and think that any other country in the world provides better education. I maintain that the best thing about American schools is the civic values they teach, and how they help the children of newcomers become American citizens, regardless of their actual legal status.
Full article text below.
Continue reading “Time Magazine: Can School Boards Save Our Democracy?”Active Illinois National Guard members share views on recent troop activations in the Chicago area
I have several blog posts in drafts, which are just copies of articles from different Chicago newspapers. Usually, there are not that many of them in my blog, but these are unusual times, and I want to keep them for history.
The one below is from lst weeks’ Sun Times:
Members of the military are required to follow constitutional orders and disobey unconstitutional orders. But two members from Illinois see gray areas in the deployment of forces in the Chicago area to assist immigration agents.
By Bob Chiarito | For the Sun-TimesOct 12, 2025, 7:58pm CDT
Hundreds of National Guard members sent to Illinois by the Trump administration remain in a holding pattern following a federal judge’s order last week barring them from being deployed onto the streets of Chicago.
As some 500 military troops wait in limbo for the courts to decide where and how they can be sent into duty among civilians, two active Illinois National Guard members and one who is retired spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times about what they would do in the event they were activated.
Active-duty members are normally prohibited from speaking to the news media, but Dylan Blaha and Demi Palecek, who are both running for political office, said their views on the subject are already publicly known.
The third person who spoke out, Joe Prehm, left the National Guard in 2018 after serving 10 years. He is not restricted from expressing his views.
Palecek, 34, who is running for state representative as a Democrat in the 13th District, is a staff sergeant in the Illinois National Guard and has been a guard member for 12 years.
She said if she were called up to protect agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement she would not comply.
“Absolutely, I’d refuse. There’s no way,” Palecek said, adding she is also encouraging others in the National Guard to follow suit.
“I want all members to say no,” Palecek said. “This is against what we signed up for. We’re here for humanitarian things, we’re here to help and protect the people, not to be used and weaponized against our own communities to terrorize them.”
The issue is personal because her mother is from Mexico, she said.
U.S. service members take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. In addition, under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the U.S. Manual for Courts-Martial, service members must obey lawful orders and disobey unlawful orders, according to a U.S. military website. Unlawful orders are those that clearly violate the U.S. Constitution, international human rights standards or the Geneva Conventions.
Blaha, a 32-year-old from the Champaign area who is a Democratic candidate in the 13th congressional District, has served in the Illinois National Guard for 11 years. He said refusing orders isn’t easy and may not be the ideal path to take.
“Just being told to go and stand in front of a federal building, I would recommend it’s better for these soldiers to stay there and follow what they can,” Blaha said. “If they do ever receive an order that seems like it crosses the line, then you stand up to it. But if you step aside, you might allow someone to take charge that will comply with everything.”
However, Blaha said the legality of an order is not always clear-cut.
“A soldier is obligated to disobey unlawful or illegal orders, but there’s a big gray area,” Blaha said. “You never find out what’s illegal or unlawful until after the fact, so a lot of it is a judgment call.”
Prehm, a 10-year veteran of the Illinois National Guard who ended his service seven years ago, agrees with Blaha.
“Maybe that’s why [President Donald Trump] sent Texas National Guard rather than Illinois, because with the Illinois Guard there may be a lot from Chicago,” Prehm said. “They may be less inclined to do something or help, while Texas has nothing to do with Chicago.”
Prehm, who was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, said he would refuse to guard ICE agents if he were still in the National Guard.
“The National Guard should not be used to protect federal agents. That should be the job of other law enforcement,” Prehm said.
On Friday, Blaha and Palecek attended a protest near the ICE detention facility in Broadview.
Wearing sweatshirts in honor of journalists who have been killed in Gaza, they both said they were happy with the judge’s ruling.
“I’m glad that the judge found that they violated the 10th and 14th Amendment and the Posse Comitatus Act,” Blaha said.
“I think the biggest thing right now is that President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act. I really hope he doesn’t and that we keep winning in the courts.”
The Insurrection Act gives the president power to send the military to states to put down public unrest and to support law enforcement.
Palecek said she had questions related to the fact that National Guard members are not being paid but would receive back pay once the government shutdown ends.
“They’re not getting paid, so are they going to chill here? Then we’ll have to pay for them to just chill here. It’s weird.”
We Just Turned One!
Yesterday was exactly one year since Dian, Anna, and I incorporated Prairie Postgres NFP. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine myself being a founder of a not-for-profit, and even less could I imagine how it would change my life and shift my priorities.
We celebrated in the best possible way – the Illinois Prairie Postgres meetup attendance skyrocketed (I think we had more than forty attendees). We had long, deep, and engaging conversations, and we had cake!
Medea
One of the best shows I have ever attended at the Lyric Opera!
It often happens that when you listen to an opera, you don’t get engaged with the plot and mainly focus on the voices, but that wasn’t the case this time. The show was really dramatic, and it felt almost inappropriate to applaud between musical numbers because a tragedy had been unfolding on stage.
Also, I loved this gigantic mirror on stage, which allowed to see everything what was going on from another angle:
The video and the rest of the photos are from the Lyric Opera website.
It was my first time listening to Sondra Radvanovsky live, and I so-so loved her! Most times, I am not super-excited about sopranos, but she is so versatile, and so artistic; definitely my favorite soprano from now on:).
Oh, and one more thing: the guards were wearing ICE masks! And I am sure it was not a part of the original design!
Mindfullness
On Saturday, I participated in the program, which was called “Mindfulness in Nature at Leone Beach. The person who led this program was guiding us through the process. We stayed on the lake shore, looking forward at the lake, then looking up close. Then we closed our eyes, listened, and were instructed to think about an experience when we felt “at home” in nature.
There were several other activities, and also, what we thought about, what each of us heard and saw, and which memories came to mind.
At the very end of the program, the Mindfulness Teacher asked each of us to say one or two words that would summarize our feelings of that day. Almost everyone said something about “the end,” meaning that fall is associated with the end of life. And I said: a new beginning.
And it’s not only because fall in nature is strongly associated with mushroom picking, and later with harvesting the wild flowers’ seeds, and then sowing in new places. There is something more fundamental: fall was always a new beginning for me. Everything good started in the fall.
To start, all of my relationships started in the fall, and although not all of my dates were great, it was always the beginning of a new and exciting chapter. My children were born in the fall (well, Vlad and Anna were supposed to :)), and it was in October that I came to the US. And even though I met Boris in the spring, our relationship started at the end of September.
So, that’s for October! My luckiest month ever!
Hettie's Reflections 