Miryam Sas of Berkeley, Calif., flew into town June 28 to pack her 9-year-old twins off for camp in Wisconsin. She was enjoying a coffee at Alchemy Coffee and Bake House, 416 Linden Ave., and talked about what she and her husband planned to do as Chicago-area tourists for the Independence Day weekend.
Q: What are your July 3 and July 4 plans?
A: Three of my first cousins are all going to gather at one of my cousin’s for a barbecue. He owns a restaurant in Chicago, so he’s a foodie type, so that should be good. On the Fourth, one of our cousins bought tickets to Chick Correa. I do like fireworks, but usually I don’t like to be too close to them. In my house, on the second floor, you can see the fireworks way far off in San Francisco.
Q: What’s one of your favorite things about the holiday?
A: I do like the excuse to get together with friends and family, spend time on a late lunch or early dinner. In our Berkeley neighborhood, parents get a permit to block off a section of our street, and we have a party. It’s a day for the kids to play out in the street the way they aren’t allowed to at other times.
Q: Do you have a pet?
A: We have a cat, named Joey. He’s 15. He’s a tabby, brown and gold-colored.
–Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.
