Boris turned seventy-five on Thursday, and that was the first time ever that he allowed me to wish him a happy birthday on the social media. And from what I can tell, he liked the result 🙂
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.
Random Pieces
Under the impression of the recently finished book The Notebook, I decided to record some thoughts and encounters, even when they are “too small” for a blog post. Otherwise, they disappear, and I won’t remember them.
***
My coworker told me that her son thinks I am a very cool grandma, and told her that when he is a grandpa, he wants to be as cool a grandparent as Hettie:). I thought it was both funny and touching that he didn’t say “I wish I had a grandma like Hettie,” but “I want to be such a grandparent.”
***
I was in a L-train car when four police officers in full gear entered and stood close to the doors. I was sitting behind them and listening to their conversation. A couple of young women passed them with the clear intention to move to the next car through the door, and one of the officers stopped them: You can’t go there! – We can’t? – You can’t. You can exit at the next stop and move to another car. The reason they were trying to get away from that one was a nasty exchange at the front of that car. The guys standing there were still shouting something in their direction, and the women looked at the policemen expectantly.
One of the officers replied sympathetically: “It’s not illegal to be rude, sadly!” And then he stopped one of the women who started to shout back: “Do not respond. You already won! Just get into another car, the train is stopping, get out and move to another car!”
It’s not illegal to be rude, sadly! Something to remember.
***
How long does it take for a priority envelope to get from 540 W. Madison to 115 S. LaSalle? Yes, I know it’s a different zip code! But three days!!!
***
Last week, a co-worker asked me whether I would like to go for a drink with him. I stared at him, not finding the proper words… I do not have days when I am not doing something after work! I felt very bad, and tried to find time when I could go for a drink with himl and fortunately found about a week and a half later 🙂
***
Standing room only in the 7 AM train. Remind me, who is not in the office?
No Kings And More
I started the day with a long bike ride and then an escort shift:
It looked like it was going to be a very intense escorting, but the antis disappeared shortly after they marched by us. Our shift leader told us that they were fined on Friday for standing too close to the clinic entrance. If it continues to be like this, I won’t complain.
However, the moment I arrived at the clinic, a security guard told me about the Minnesota killing, which had just happened, and I was so shocked, I could not believe it (and I still can’t). For a moment, it felt like “Are we all going to be safe today?” Later, since we saw crowds passing us on their way to the Daley Plaza, these fears vanished, though the anger remains.
It was definitely a much bigger crowd than at the Hands Off rally, but same as in April, I managed to get pretty close to the center of events. I didn’t stay till the end of the march (there were at least three separate groups that took slightly different routes, and I think that marching to the Trump Tower was not in the original plans), but what I saw lifted up my spirit.
Below are some pictures and short videos taken during the rally and observing three marching groups.
Knox Commencement
Yesterday, when I chatted with a Knox alumnus, Governor Pritzker’s commencement address came up again. I shared how I wanted to go to Galesburg and how that didn’t happen, and he said, “It’s online; you can watch it!”
Indeed, I completely forgot that I meant to watch it! And yes, it’s not the same as being there in Galesburg, but still much better than not seeing it at all!
I watched it today, and cried a little bit (more than once), and listened to almost the whole ceremony, but to Pritzker’s address especially.
His closing remarks were: How do you know you are on the right side of history? The wrong side of history wants you to be afraid. The right side of history expects you to be brave.
Our country needs us to be brave; all of us, not just Knox graduates.
I do not know any of the 2025 graduates in person; still, I watched the ceremony and looked at their faces with hope. Watched until the last note of “For the long, long road to Alma Mater.” And it was inspiring.
This Week’s Events
Pizza-making at the Youth Shelter on Tuesday:
Kimberly Akimbo in the CIBC Theater on Wednesday
Today: Howard and Evanston Community Center Program showcase (I am on the Community Board and miss almost half of the board meetings, so I felt like I should show up). The event was way bigger than last year’s one, and more upscale, so one more time I felt inadequate in jeans and a t-shirt, but I guess it was just me.
The event went really well; I noticed an older gentleman in the Knox vest and asked him whether he was Knox, and he sure was, so we had a very lively conversation with him and his wife. This worldwide Knox brotherhood never ceases to amaze me.
Oh, and we had Pride cookies at work!
Chicago Is Ready To Resist
Chicago Sun-Times:
Mayor Brandon Johnson urged Chicagoans to “rise up in this moment” against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort, even as he acknowledged Wednesday that the deployment of the military to help carry out immigration raids in Los Angeles could happen here.
Johnson refused to say precisely what he would do if mass demonstrations in Chicago — perhaps as soon as Saturday’s “No Kings Day of Defiance” protests — provoke an L.A.-style federal response.
The mayor would only say that he is concerned enough to have spoken directly with Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle about the possibility that Trump might activate the Illinois National Guard to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests.
“This is a necessary fight for all of us to be able to push back. Whether we use the courts or whether we continue to protest and raise our voices, dissent matters in this moment,” the mayor said at his weekly City Hall news conference.
“It’s a war on our culture. It’s a war on our democracy. It’s a war on our humanity. I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment because, whatever particular vulnerable group is being targeted today, another group will be next. … None of us are immune from this disease.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, shown here at a public appearance June 4, used some of his strongest rhetoric yet Wednesday against President Donald Trump and the White House’s deportation-raid efforts. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Saturday’s protests have the potential to be even larger than Tuesday’s demonstrations in the Loop.
Johnson said the Chicago Police Department will preserve the right of demonstrators to peacefully assemble and protest, just as it did during the Democratic National Convention, but lawbreaking will not be tolerated.
“Our first responsibility is to ensure that we keep everyone safe. That is my No. 1 responsibility. It’s what I think about every day, all day. Our approach won’t be that much different on Saturday,” Johnson said. “The right to assemble peacefully is a constitutional right. We have to protect that. There are some actors that, unfortunately, act outside of their constitutional protection. If that were to take place, those individuals will be held responsible and accountable.”
Apparently referring to the violence and vandalism that occurred in parts of Los Angeles during anti-ICE demonstrations there, Johnson said when a “small number of protesters set things on fire, it plays into the hand of authoritarians like Donald Trump, who take advantage to ultimately suppress all protesters.
“What we have seen in Los Angeles is really not about immigration. This is not about policy. It’s about power. We have a tyrant in the White House who has a complete disregard for our Constitution and the dismissing of our democracy,” the mayor said. “This is a terrible moment in our nation’s history. … He continues to show how low he will stoop. … It is sick and demented. I didn’t know you could look worse than George Wallace.”
Johnson’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, warned that the escalatory tactics the Trump administration has used in Los Angeles could happen in Chicago.
“Yesterday, the notice was given … to federal agents that they have 48 hours to stand by and be ready to deploy — that there will be five cities that are targeted. Democratic-led cities,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Chicago being one of them for sure, and that they were going to be targeting workplaces in terms of the raids.”
Pacione-Zayas added: “There will be tactical teams. There will be mini-tanks. There will be other tools that they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in Los Angeles. That information is actually pretty public. It has been out there and, in fact, on official channels.”
Johnson’s deputy mayor for community safety, Garien Gatewood, was among those out on the street monitoring demonstrations in the Loop on Tuesday against Trump’s immigration raids. During the protests, a motorist drove toward a group of protesters and struck one of the demonstrators.
“Nobody, obviously, expects someone to do what they did yesterday. So we’ll make improvements on that,” Gatewood said. “We already had a meeting this morning with some of our team on additional resources we’ll need in place. We’ve been in contact directly with the governor’s office about some of the support they can provide, as well.”
Johnson said he is grateful that “in the midst of this effort by the Trump administration to create chaos, that we were able to get through yesterday without mass arrests or life-altering harm” to police or demonstrators.
The mayor’s remarks signaled some of his strongest rhetoric yet denouncing the president’s stepped-up immigration raids. Johnson added that he considers it “grotesque” that Trump is using the armed forces to celebrate his 79th birthday by holding a military parade Saturday, which also is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
Today, there were way more people on the streets than it was anticipated; I had a commitment close to home and could not join them, but I already changed my escorting shift on Saturday so that I could join the rally on the Daley Plaza.
Nature And Gardening
I went to a nature restoration workday for a second time, which probably indicates that this activity has returned to my life and will stay there for a while. Last Saturday, we removed teasels, an invasive I am intimately familiar with since my Deer Grove days.
And some familiar non-invasives 🙂
I finally have my little urban garden again:
And finally, it’s warm enough and my balcony flowers feel great!
Charcuterie Board Class
We often have interesting office events after work, and I try to attend when I do not have a conflict. These events often conveniently fit between the end of my workday and some later evening activity.
On Thursday, we had a charcuterie board class. I missed the original sign-up, but signed for the waitlist, and once in a lifetime, I was lucky to be the only person moved from the waitlist to the actual event participant.
If nothing else, all of us could take our delicious boards home (I still have a little bit left in the fridge), but I also learned something new (and that’s me thinking I have these skills). One of the revelations: never do cubes! Cubes are boring 😂! I also learned why you want to cut in wedges – the cheese tastes differently close to the rind, so you get the full palate if you cut in wedges. I also learned how to make salami flowers, and why breaking cheese into pieces “naturally” is good. And – all these goodes were for me to enjoy!
ICE Raids
Igor happened to be there while things were happening, so I heard the news from him first-hand. The next day, it was all over the news. And then yesterday, the California National Guard deployment. Just one thing I want to say: I am glad that people are not silent anymore. It takes courage not to be silent.
The First Homosexuals Exhibit
Yesterday, I went to see The First Homosexual Exhibit at 659 Wrightwood. Now I can’t remember where I learned about this exhibit; the usual suspect is WBEZ.
The place is seriously guarded, and all tickets should be purchased online in advance (I won’t be surprised if they run background checks before issuing tickets – they don’t show up in your inbox instantaneously).
I planned to go with a friend who cancelled a couple of days before, but I didn’t find anyone to offer tickets, so I went by myself.
The exhibit is extremely interesting, and gianormous! I didn’t expect it to be so intense, and didn’t allocate enough time. They have curators in every room, and elaborate descriptions for almost every piece in the exhibit. I came earlier than my ticket said, and they said it’s fine. I thought I would be done in an hour, but more than an hour later, I realized that I had seen only half of the exhibit. At the end, I had to rush, and unfortunately, I won’t have another chance to see the rest, since I will be out of town for the second half of June.
I ordered a catalog, which should arrive in the beginning of July. I mostly wanted it to retain the loads of information. In the beginning, I tried to take pictures of almost everything, until I realized it was not possible 🙂
Below are two pictures of the space, which is absolutely amaizing.
And just t little bit of the exhibit itself, to give an idea.
…. and over 300 pieces, each with the load of information!
For those who are planning to go, plan on staying for 2.5 hours or so.
Hettie's Reflections 