For Susan Held, a self-confessed flag nut who lives in Carpentersville, every day is the 4th of July. The inside of her house is filled with versions of Old Glory, and she wears a Stars and Stripes T-shirt regularly. That’s why she resisted so strenuously when the village’s holiday decorations code enforcers told her she had to take down the illuminated flag that has hung outside her home each day since Sept. 11. “We’re very big on the flag, if you haven’t noticed,” said Held, whose grandfather received a Purple Heart for her World War I service and whose father served in World War II. Eventually the village Grinches woke up and realized that the 4-by-5-foot net of miniature red, white and blue lights wasn’t a Christmas decoration and they weren’t required to steal the glow it provided in the hearts of Held’s neighbors.
. . . up
It was hard to sort out who was top dog Thursday as a record 54 climbers shared an emotional high after each made their way to the top of Mt. Everest. The climbers had to go single file up the narrow path to the 29,035-foot summit, then take turns standing at the summit. Everest traffic had reached its previous peak a few years ago. “There were 40 climbers there one day in 1995,” said Peter Potterfield, who runs an Internet site dedicated to the world’s highest climb. As of last year, the latest figures available, 764 men and 44 women had stood atop Everest, and at least 170 had died trying. “Climbing Everest is a chic thing to do, but it is also a physically demanding thing to do. You need to be in shape. . . . I don’t think Everest can ever be called too easy.”
. . . and away
Also planning to get higher than a kite was Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett, who announced Monday that he will try for a sixth time to make the first solo round-the-world balloon flight. Fossett’s most recent attempt failed when bad weather forced him to land in Brazil after more than 12 days in the air. It was the longest solo balloon flight on record.
On the other hand, the Illinois Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, Moses Harrison, decided to abandon his high-profile job, announcing that he would step down from his post this fall and give his seat to his former law partner. The resignation brings to an end a long legal career marked in recent years by a stand against the death penalty.
Also on the move was DePaul’s African-American scholar Michael Eric Dyson, whose broad interests range from civil rights to hip-hop. He is joining the University of Pennsylvania’s faculty.
